STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINAB Y MRS. AICHA AFIFI, MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY, PERMANENT MSISION OF THE KINGDOM OF MOROCCO TO THE UNITED NATIONS, ON AGENDA ITEM 59: STRENGTHENING OF THE UN SYSTEM: AN AGENDA FOR FURTHER CHANGE (New York, 10 November 2003)

Mr. Chairman,

1. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on agenda item 59, Strengthening of the UN system: An agenda for further change. I wish to express the appreciation of the Group to the United Nations Controller, Mr. Jean-Pierre Halbwachs, for the introduction of the reports A/57/786 on an intergovernmental review of the medium-term plan and the programme budget and A/58/395 and Corr.1 on improvements to the current process of planning and budgeting;

2. The Group would like also to thank Inspector Muhammad Yussuf for introducing the report of the Joint Inspection Unit A/58/375 on the review of the United Nations budgetary process, and Ambassador Conrad Mselle for the introduction of the report of the ACABQ contained in document A/58/7/Add.5, I.

3. While commending the efforts of the Secretary-General aimed at further strengthening the United Nations system, the Group of 77 and China will continue to approach the planning and budgetary reform process in a constructive way with a view to reinforcing the role and capacity and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the Organization in order to achieve the objectives established by Member States.

4. The Group of 77 and China stresses that the reform should be dealt with in a comprehensive and integrated manner, encompassing all components of the process.

5. The Group of 77 and China attaches great importance to planning as an integral part of the cycle and reaffirms the role of the General Assembly and its relevant intergovernmental and expert bodies, within their respective mandates, in the consideration of the planning, programming, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation process.

6. Having considered the different proposals submitted to the General Assembly, the Group of 77 and China would like to request clarification from the Secretariat with regard to the following:

- Elaboration on the evolution of the proposals of the Secretary-General concerning improving the current process of planning and budgeting from those contained in document A/57/387 to those proposed in document A/58/395;
- Clarification on proposed measures to improve the current process of programme performance, monitoring and evaluation, including a modified biennial programme performance report and improved format and timing of evaluation reports;

7. The Group would also appreciate being presented with additional information as follows:

- Detailed flow charts reflecting the different phases of the current and proposed planning and budgetary process, including the sequence of submission and consideration, by the different bodies, of the relevant documents, such as the Medium Term Plan, the Budget Outline, the Proposed Programme Budget and the budget and programme Performance Reports;
- Mockups for the format of the Medium Term Plan and the budget outline as proposed in A/58/395;

Mr. Chairman,

8. The Group of 77 and China would like to stress that priorities should not be set by resources; indeed priority setting should be based on legislative mandates. Resources should be commensurate with mandated programmes and activities.

9. The Group awaits the information requested from the Secretariat to have a clearer understanding of the different proposals before us in order to reach a well informed decision on the matter, while reserving the right for posing, where appropriate, questions and seeking further clarifications.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.