STATEMENT BY H.E. MR. STAFFORD NEIL, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF JAMAICA TO THE UNITED NATIONS, CHAIRMAN OF THE GROUP OF 77, ON AGENDA ITEM 51: FOLLOW-UP TO AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OUTCOME OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT, IN THE SECOND COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY (New York, 12 October 2005)

Mr. Chairman,

I would like to thank Mr Oscar de Rojas and Mr Alexander Trepelkov for their comprehensive presentations.

The urgency with which financing for development has to be tackled has been reiterated in the many reviews and discussions we have had since the start of this year. I wish today to reiterate some of them in the context of the deliberations of the Second Committee. Many of the ideas have been highlighted in the Report of the Secretary General in document (A/60/289), the summaries of the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development and the Annual Spring meeting of the ECOSOC with the BWIs, WTO and the UNCTAD, which were held earlier this year.

Mr. Chairman,

We acknowledge and welcome the very positive and encouraging developments over recent months. We continue to praise the decision of the EU to establish a timetable to attain the 0.7% target for ODA and would hope that other developed countries will follow suit and live up to the commitments accepted in Monterrey.

The ongoing efforts to explore new and additional sources of financing for development, including the Lula Initiative on Action against Hunger and Poverty, the solidarity contribution and the launching of the IFF all have helped to generate a new momentum.

In welcoming these positive developments, we have to strive even harder for greater progress for concrete action and results that can make a real impact on the lives of those most in need.

I wish to draw attention to some important areas.

Resources

Mr. Chairman,

The Monterrey Consensus highlighted the importance of increased resources in financing for development. Developing countries have made progress in adopting measures to promote domestic resource mobilisation and to attract foreign investment. Despite these efforts, however, the volume of resources continues to fall short of the required level to promote sustained economic growth and eradicate poverty. A substantial increase in additional resources is required.

Several paragraphs of the development cluster of the 2005 World Summit Outcome reaffirm the commitment of development partners to support developing countries in their efforts to devise and implement national strategies for development. This commitment we expect will be honoured. Domestic resources need to be complemented by external financing through international trade and investment and ODA, if the process of implementation is to be taken forward. What are also needed are measures to mitigate the impact of excessive volatility of short-term capital flows and to sustain sufficient and stable private financial flows to developing countries. There is a great need for source country measures to help address this problem and to encourage expansion of investment flows in a more even and diversified manner.

On debt, we have already had a lengthy discussion. We just want to reiterate our expectation that debt relief is a commitment for additional resources and not a set-off against ODA. We hope that this will be taken into account in determining the exact details of the recently endorsed G8 proposals on debt.

The Role of the UN System

Mr. Chairman,

As we have stated in the past, the United Nations has a critical role to play in promoting development cooperation.

We accept that there are issues, the substantive and technical nature of which is being determined beyond these walls. That however, does not preclude us from sending a clear message on our expectations with respect to their deliberations. I speak specifically of the areas of trade, finance and money. We do not accept that the United Nations – the primary intergovernmental organisation in which developing countries are able to have a voice- does not have a significant role to play in shaping the global economic environment.

I will identify two important ways in which to increase the UN’s role.

First, through the provision of increased and predictable funding for development cooperation. The lack of sufficient core resources for both administration and programme development represents the single most important constraint on the performance of development entities. The continued reliance on non-core funding limits the extent to which resources can be committed and increases the likelihood of a piece-meal, fragmented approach to development.

Second, the ECOSOC should be suitably empowered to support this endeavour. The recently adopted 2005 World Summit Outcome provides a useful basis for doing so. In the future greater attention can be paid to the Council’s role in overseeing the implementation of goal 8 on the global partnership for development.

Policies

Mr Chairman,

Many of the commitments to be undertaken to ensure the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus can be undermined by restrictive policies such as the imposition of political conditionalities in the provision of development assistance and concessionary financing. We will continue to insist on their removal as they impede further progress in recipient countries.

Similarly, we wish to reiterate the importance of addressing global systemic issues to enhance the coherence of the international monetary, financial and trading system in support of development. To do so, more serious and genuine efforts are needed to enhance the voice and effective participation of developing countries in global economic decision-making.

The Way Forward

Mr Chairman,

As we have noted on previous occasions, the challenge before us is one of implementation. We need to review the implementation of and identify ways in which we can build on the elements of the Monterrey Consensus. We already have a generous offer from the State of Qatar to host a Follow-up Conference on Financing for Development in 2007. We urge the General Assembly to accept this offer. The conference would provide us with a timely opportunity for stock-taking both in terms of our achievements and the requirements for making further progress. We look forward to working with others in advancing such an objective.

I thank you Mr Chairman.