Mr Chairman,

I wish to thank the Secretary General for the Reports presented under this agenda item. They provide useful information on important activities undertaken during the past year. I would also like to acknowledge and thank the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT for her very comprehensive presentation. On behalf of the Group of 77 and China, I would like to briefly reiterate some issues of primary importance to the Group in of 77 and China in our consideration of this item.

Mr Chairman,

As a Group, we remain committed to the targets for human settlements including slum upgrading. We are convinced that the most fundamental and sustainable solution to the human settlements dilemma is the reduction of poverty through the expansion of employment, and the provision of access to markets for the goods and services of rural and urban semi-skilled and unskilled workers. We therefore acknowledge the significance of the urban dimension of poverty eradication and the need to integrate water and sanitation issues within a broad-based approach to human settlements, which also emanated from the 13th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development held earlier this year. To do so requires more than conducive macro economic policies at the national level, but also speaks to the need for facilitative policies at the international level.

Mr Chairman,

The high levels and persistence of poverty and diseases such as HIV/AIDS and the increasing frequency and scale of natural disasters, particularly in developing countries, imply not only a reduction in capacity but also means that much of the investment in human settlements, including the infrastructural facilities for water and sanitation will be for replacement rather, than for addition to the stock of facilities.

The most critical constraint, therefore, is the issue of financing. In many developing countries the capacity of the Government is constrained by the low level of revenues. In this regard, we stress the need for the international community to fully implement its commitments to support developing countries efforts through the provision of the requisite resources, capacity-building, the transfer of technology and the creation of an international enabling environment. Developing countries cannot meet these investments targets from internal resources. They need the strong support from the international community.

The urgent need for increased and predictable financial contributions to the United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation to ensure timely, effective and concrete global implementation of the Habitat Agenda, the Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements in the New Millennium, the water and sanitation and slum upgrading goals of the Millennium Declaration is also of the utmost importance. We call for financial support to UN-HABITAT through increased non-earmarked contributions to the United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation, and invite Governments to provide multi-year funding to support programme implementation and the capitalization of the Foundation and its Slum Upgrading Facility

Thank you, Mr Chairman.