2. The Group of 77 and China would like to thank Ms. Catherine Pollard, Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, for her presentation on the financial situation of the Organisation on 11 October 2019, and for the updates provided this morning. The Group also expresses its appreciation to the Office of Contributions for the updated information on the assessments of Member States.

Mr. Chair,

3. The Group is gravely concerned with the deepening liquidity crisis in the regular budget. The Working Capital Fund and Special Account have been depleted for the second consecutive year. We have had to resort to borrowing from the accounts of closed peacekeeping missions yet again. This is not a good budgetary practice, nor is this sustainable. Despite the Secretary-General's multiple warnings about the regular budget liquidity crisis, the situation has not been stemmed, let alone improved. The Group had studied the Secretary-General's earlier proposals in a constructive spirit and with good faith. Unfortunately, consensus on measures to alleviate the liquidity crisis could not be reached. While the Group remains committed to studying any proposals, we reiterate that any proposals must be sustainable, based on good budgetary practice, and must not unfairly shift the burden to developing countries that have relatively less capacity to pay.

Mr. Chair,

4. Finance serves as a foundation and an important element underpinning the United Nations governance. The Group expresses its appreciation to Member States who have paid their assessments in full, and to Member States who have made efforts to reduce their outstanding contributions. The Group also empathises with Member States who are genuinely unable to meet their financial obligations for reasons beyond their control.

5. At the same time, we firmly believe that any deliberate and unilateral withholding of contributions by Member States that do have the capacity to pay is unacceptable. This is particularly so for Member States that have exhibited repeated patterns of withholding contributions for political reasons. As of today, about 76% of the total unpaid regular budget assessments and more than half of all funds owed to the United Nations are attributed to a single Member State that continues to cling on to its special privileges, despite already benefiting from a fundamental distortion in the determination of how the Organisation is financed. The Group stresses that the deliberate and unilateral withholding of contributions cannot and must not be used as political leverage to distort the mandates of the Organisation.

6. This irresponsible behavior has contributed to the crisis we face today, and has forced the Organisation to take severe measures, some of which would impact on mandate delivery. The Group is concerned about the impact of these financial issues on the development pillar, including but not limited to, the valuable work of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs; the Regional Economic Commissions; UN Duty Stations, Offices and UN presence in developing countries; the Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island States. In addition, as Member States' communications to the United Nations often include significant and time-sensitive political-security issues, the issuance and distribution of these communications should not be affected as part of the austerity measures. These communications must be issued and distributed as early as possible, and at minimum in the English language.

Mr. Chair,

7. On peacekeeping operations, the Group is encouraged to note that there are already discernible results from the measures approved in resolution 73/307. We are also pleased to hear that the Secretary-General is committed to meeting obligations to Troop and Police Contributing Countries as expeditiously as possible, and trust that the Secretary-General will attach high priority to maximise the quarterly reimbursements.

Mr. Chair,

8. The Group has repeatedly said that the simple solution to the liquidity crisis is for all Member States to pay their assessed contributions in full, on time, and without conditions. Any cash shortfall should not be confused with the flexibility of budget mechanisms, as no amount of flexibility will solve a basic lack of financial resources. In the meantime, the Secretariat should improve the overall budget performance and strengthen accountability to effectively spend Member States' taxpayers money.

9. In closing, Mr. Chair, we reiterate our call to all Member States that have the capacity to do so to pay their assessments promptly and in full. Please be assured the Group will participate constructively in any efforts towards resolving the financial difficulties of the Organisation.

I thank you Mr. Chair.

2. At the outset, the Group would like to thank the Secretary-General for the reports submitted under this agenda item.

Mr. Chair,

3. Much remains to be done to ensure an enabling international economic environment and an equitable global trading system so that all countries and all people can benefit from the full potential of globalization. Many people around the world remain mired in poverty. The gap between globalization's potential and its unequal gains has elicited fear, anxiety and despair among disadvantaged populations. Such an environment only confirms that the benefits of globalization can be fundamentally unequal and ultimately unsustainable if not checked with sound policies.

4. What we need is new approaches premised on the imperatives of shared responsibility and the promise to ensure the inclusion and participation of those who are furthest behind to achieve a more inclusive, just and sustainable world.

5. Let us reinvigorate our focus on reducing inequalities through trade and development, understanding migration and its effects and harnessing the potential of information and communications technologies for the greater good. Major discrepancies persist among countries with regard to their infrastructure, technology, assets and skills. We must reaffirm our commitment to creating an enabling international environment for development and on facilitating the necessary means of implementation, particularly in the areas of finance, international trade, technology and capacity-building for developing countries, and in this regard calls for a sincere and effective follow-up on the global commitments of all actors, particularly developed countries.

6. There is no alternative to multilateralism. A reinvigorated multilateral system, with the United Nations at its centre, is the cornerstone of a renewed approach to fairer and more inclusive and sustainable globalization. In this regard, we welcome with appreciation the UN Secretary-General's on-going efforts to reposition the United Nations Development System to better support countries in their implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Mr. Chair,

7. The Group recognizes that science, technology and innovation (STI), including environmentally sound technologies and information and communications technologies, are critical in the pursuit of sustainable development and are one of the key means of implementation of the 2030 Agenda. We welcome the recently launched 2019 Global Sustainable Development Report which has identified STI as a lever for transformation to accelerate progress in achieving the SDGs and that transfer of technology, especially to developing countries, will be critical to scale up and accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

8. The Group would like to stress the need to mobilize and scale up financing for STI, especially in developing countries, in support of the SDGs and the importance of supporting developing countries in STI through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation in the areas of financial and technical assistance, capacity-building and technology transfer on mutually agreed terms.

9. Furthermore, the Group recognizes culture as an enabler and a driver of sustainable development. We stress the importance of respect and understanding for cultural diversity and fostering intercultural understanding and dialogue. Culture represents a source of identity, innovation and creativity, and makes important contributions to the three dimensions of sustainable development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and targets. We recognize the efforts and initiatives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the mandated United Nations agency on culture.

10. The Group welcomes the convening of the High-Level Meeting on Middle Income Countries by the GA in December 2018. We also thank UNCTAD for its work, specifically on external debt sustainability and development.

11. We reiterate that middle-income countries still face diverse and significant challenges towards achieving sustainable development. We also stress the importance of addressing the particular and diverse needs and challenges faced by countries that are close to surpassing or have recently crossed the upper middle-income threshold but still have structural gaps and vulnerabilities.

12. In closing, we invite the United Nations system, in consultation with the international financial institutions, to develop transparent measurements of progress on sustainable development that go beyond per capita income, building on existing initiatives as appropriate. These should recognize the multidimensional nature of poverty and the social, economic and environmental dimensions of domestic output and structural gaps at all levels. In this regard, we underscore the importance of achieving concrete progress in this issue.

I thank you.

2. The Group would also like to thank the Secretary-General for the reports submitted under agenda item 22.

3. The Group reaffirms that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, for all people everywhere, is the overarching goal of the 2030 Agenda, and remains the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.

4. The Group commends the proclamation of the Third UN Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2018-2027) by the GA and its theme, "Accelerating global actions for a world without poverty". In this vein, the Group reiterates that the Decade should be a 10-year rolling campaign by the UN system to demonstrate that, despite the daunting scale of the challenge of ending poverty, an inclusive, fair and sustainable future is possible through determined collective action by all States, with the support of the UN development system.

5. The Group notes with concern that despite some progress, the world as a whole, is not on track to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030, as called for under Goal 1 of the 2030 Agenda. We acknowledge that in recent years, poverty reduction has started to stagnate in the world, owing to the global economic slowdown, conflicts and vulnerability to climate change and disasters. With heightened international policy uncertainty with regard to trade and weaker global growth, per capita gross domestic product growth in many regions is significantly below the rates needed to eradicate poverty. Those left behind are becoming increasingly harder to reach, especially those living in rural areas and those who are members of disadvantaged and marginalized social groups.

6. In this regard, we call upon the international community, and the United Nations development system, including the funds, programmes, and the specialized agencies, to continue to accord the highest priority to poverty eradication within the UN development agenda and to urgently take measures to address the root causes and challenges of poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, hunger, and all forms of malnutrition, in the light of their negative impacts on sustainable development, through integrated, coordinated and coherent strategies at all levels, in accordance with the outcomes of the major UN conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields.

7. The Group also calls upon the developed countries to commit to fully implementing their official development assistance commitments, and to support the effective national efforts of the developing countries through predictable financial resources and technical assistance.

8. The Group stresses the importance of using multidimensional indicators and developing transparent measurements of progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic product in order to effectively reflect the reality of the populations of all developing countries, eradicate poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, and reduce inequality everywhere, in accordance with the 2030 Agenda.

9. On the issue of Women in Development, the Group recognizes the necessity of prioritizing women's economic empowerment and inclusion as an important pillar to the eradication of poverty. We note with deep concern that gender inequality continues to exacerbate the impact of poverty on the lives of women and girls and are committed to fostering stronger international cooperation to ensure that every woman and girl is empowered to achieve their full potential. In this year's resolution on Women in Development, the Group wishes to place greater focus and investment in women's education, social protection, financial inclusion, access to productive assets and resources and technology transfer as priority areas that could transform the lives of women and close the gender gap in our efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals with no one left behind. We are aware that poverty will remain a stumbling block to achieving gender equality and can only be addressed by empowering women and girls with the same opportunities as their male counterparts to ensure economic growth and prosperity for all.

10. The Group stresses that human resources development lies at the heart of economic, social and environmental development and that health and education are at the core of human resources development. Human resources development is vital to the efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals and to expand opportunities for people, in particular for the most vulnerable groups of the population, as well as critical in view of the current global challenges.

11. It is equally important to harness the opportunities of ongoing technological change in human resource development, and to address the associated risks, including the loss of jobs due to labor-displacing technologies. We also emphasize the need to bridge the technological divide, which is an important precondition to bridge the economic divide among and within the countries.

I thank you.