1. At the outset allow me, on behalf of the group, to express gratitude to you, your excellency, Ambassador Héctor Gómez, the vice President of ECOSOC and the Chair of this year's Humanitarian Affairs Segment for convening this important event.

Mister Vice President,

2. The Group of 77 and China acknowledges with grave concern that we are facing unprecedented humanitarian challenges, with humanitarian needs reaching record levels, and deeply regrets that developing countries continue to bear a disproportionate burden of the impacts of conflicts, disasters, climate change, economic shocks, food insecurity and public health emergencies. These interconnected crises threaten hard-won development gains and place additional pressure on already constrained national capacities.

3. Therefore, the Group wishes to underscore that the imperative for strengthened international solidarity is more critical than ever to respond to humanitarian needs effectively. We must accelerate our efforts to strengthen coordination, financing, delivery and impact of humanitarian assistance to all people in need, in particular the 239 million people that are projected to need assistance this year, as quoted in the 2026 Humanitarian Overview.

4. At the same time, the Group reaffirms that humanitarian assistance must be guided by the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence. The Group continues to strongly condemn the alarming rise in attacks, threats and violence against humanitarian and medical personnel, particularly local and national staff, as well as, their facilities, equipment, and supplies. Such acts violate International Humanitarian Law, severely hinder the delivery of life-saving assistance and may constitute war crimes. The Group pays tribute to the courage and commitment of all those engaged in humanitarian operations, especially those on the front lines, and reaffirms its strong and continuous support to the key humanitarian work undertaken by OCHA and UNRWA on the ground.

5. The Group of 77 and China unequivocally condemns the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, including attacks on objects essential for their survival, which is strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law. In that regard, the group wishes to underscore that protecting civilian infrastructure is vital for essential services and the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

6. The Group also wishes to highlight the urgent necessity to promote and respect international humanitarian law, including the obligation of all parties to armed conflicts to allow and facilitate rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access, as we strive to alleviate suffering and uphold the dignity of all those affected by humanitarian emergencies. We must also double efforts to hold perpetrators accountable for violations of international humanitarian law, including attacks on civilians, civilian infrastructure, humanitarian personnel and United Nations associated personnel.

Mister Vice President,

7. The Group of 77 and China notes with concern the decrease in total reported humanitarian funding amid these unprecedented challenges. More than ever, international cooperation and sustained technical and financial support from States and the UN system are indispensable. The group extends its appreciation to all Member States that provide humanitarian funding and urges developed countries to continue to do so, while recognizing the need to escalate innovative funding mechanisms and diversifying via non-traditional donors. The Group also stresses the importance of bridging the humanitarian financing gap while maintaining a clear distinction between humanitarian and development financing. Prioritizing capacity-building and resilience, particularly in developing countries, is essential to ensure nationally led and sustainable responses to humanitarian challenges.

8. The Group also wishes to highlight that humanitarian action alone cannot address the growing scale and complexity of humanitarian crises. Greater attention must be given to addressing their root causes, including poverty, inequality, the adverse impacts of climate change and other structural vulnerabilities that continue to disproportionately affect developing countries.

9. In conclusion, the Group stands ready to work together with all relevant partners to respond more effectively to the urgency and scale of today's humanitarian emergencies, ensuring that the needs and priorities of affected developing countries remain at the centre of our collective efforts through genuine solidarity, respect for international law, and the empowerment of national capacities.

We recall that Parties should cooperate to promote a supportive and open international economic system that would lead to sustainable economic growth and development in all Parties, particularly developing country Parties, thus enabling them better to address the problems of climate change.

The group highlights that measures taken to combat climate change, including unilateral ones, should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade. G77 and China is concerned by trade-related climate measures being designed without due considerations of their impacts in developing countries nor on the principles of equity and CBDR-RC.

Further, G77 and China emphasizes that the dialogue should not be a talkshop, and looks forward to a concrete process that builds from one dialogue to the next.

International cooperation can be an enabler for a supportive and open economic system, as a driver of the prosperity, development, and means of implementation that enable climate action. It can be an engine for the prosperity and growth that developing countries need, and this development can promote sustained climate action.
 
International cooperation can help generate the resources, technologies, diversified economies that can finance and lower the cost of the implementation of the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement. Framing this as an opportunity, and grounding it in the right to development, allows us to make a constructive, forward-looking contribution.

We recognize the need to discuss these measures, particularly in relation to the challenges of, reporting requirements, certification, traceability, costs, and market access, cross-border impacts, competitiveness, and increased costs of imports and exports.

G77 and China highlights the need of transparency and assessment and analysis of such measures and their impacts.

Additionally, we underscore the need for predictable support, including technical assistance, international cooperation, capacity-building, finance, and technology access to developing countries to address these impacts.

G77 and China reaffirm the commitment to multilateralism and a supportive and open international economic system consistent with Article 3.5 of the Convention.
On the other hand, there are opportunities for international cooperation to support developing countries to contribute in a nationally determined manner to the objective of the Convention and the goals of the Paris Agreement.

G77 and China encourages broad participation by Parties, observers and relevant international organizations.

We Look forward to the outcome of the dialogue, a report to the high-level event aggregating the reports of the individual dialogues.

We should examine how trade can contribute to a supportive and open international economic system that delivers sustainable economic growth and development in all Parties - particularly developing country Parties - so they can address climate change.

The reaffirmed principles in the Convention and Paris Agreement are unambiguous: measures taken to combat climate change, including unilateral ones, should not constitute arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade. Trade- related climate measures place an increasing burden on our economies, in particular placing additional burdens on import costs on developing countries, including SIDS and LDCs.

Trade-related climate measures should be designed and implemented in a manner consistent with equity, CBDR-RC and the sustainable development priorities of developing countries and respecting nationally determined nature of contributions. International cooperation can serve as an enabling channel for developing countries in many ways such as scaled-up predictable finance, technology transfer, and by facilitating access to technologies and services and low emission infrastructure.

In this context, we underscore the need of an objective and meaningful assessment of the impacts of on implementation of the Paris Agreement, and on developing countries' capacity and potential to address climate change.

Climate action cannot be implemented by closing markets, shifting costs, extracting revenues, or imposing one-size-fits-all policy models designed elsewhere without consent nor support. It must be achieved through international cooperation, support, technology access, capacity-building, and respect for development priorities and sovereign choices. In fact, international cooperation and our multilateral system cannot hold without the mutual recognition of each other's sovereignty and equality in status.
 
G77 and China therefore calls on Parties to use this dialogue to promote a focused and in-depth consideration of issues related to what Article 3.5 requires, in a concrete and balanced manner. A supportive and open international economic system must support development, not constrain it.

It must enable developing countries to be able to pursue climate action, not penalize those with the least responsibility and the greatest needs. And it must strengthen multilateral cooperation.

Trade-related climate measures should avoid creating disproportionate compliance costs, reduced market access and new barriers for developing countries, acknowledging our limited institutional, technical and financial capacity, recognizing the special circumstances of SIDS and LDCs. On the other hand, international cooperation can support developing countries, to participate in emerging markets, technologies and value chains.

We highlight the challenges faced by developing countries, including SIDS and LDCs, like import dependence, commodity exports dependence, high transport and logistics costs, reliance on maritime connectivity and vulnerability to external shocks.

International cooperation can seek to ensure that developing countries' ability to engage in climate action is strengthened without shifting the costs onto countries that have contributed least to climate change, and possess the fewest resources available to respond.

The dialogue should serve as a constructive space for Parties to assess, analyze, and discuss approaches to address trade-related climate measures impact on developing countries.

We look forward to a concrete process that builds from one dialogue to the next.

As the largest end-to-end UN development organization, UNDP is a crucial partner in enhancing and accelerating assistance to developing countries in implementing their respective sustainable development priorities and supporting their efforts to achieve them through collaboration with the Resident Coordinators.

The Group of 77 and China reiterates its grave concern about the decline by 23.1% in official development assistance (ODA) in 2025, the largest fall on record, and by 24 % in the case of UNDP's core funding over the same period. The Group extends its appreciation to all Member States that continue to provide its financial support to UNDP, and reiterates its longstanding call for a significant increase in core contributions, urging all development partners to reverse the current trajectory by providing adequate, predictable, and flexible funding, which is indispensable to achieving the Strategic Plan's objectives.

As you yourself have put it, Mr. Administrator, development is the smartest long-term investment we can make. To make the returns on that investment more visible, the Group sees value in the continuous enhancement of the assessment of results and impact at country level, while promoting transparency and accountability, within existing means and without additional cost to programme countries.

With less than 9 per cent of system funding flowing through pooled mechanisms last year, well short of the 30 per cent Funding Compact target, the Group acknowledges the need to continue to work to rebuild donor confidence and mobilize adequate, predictable and sustainable financing to meet the priorities of developing countries.

As we approach the final years for implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the Group of the 77 and China stresses that the United Nations development system must intensify its support to programme countries to accelerate progress in line with their national priorities. This requires strengthened multilateral cooperation, fulfillment of official development assistance commitments, enhanced access to concessional financing, debt sustainability measures, technology transfer and capacity-building support.

Mr. Administrator,

The Group of 77 and China reiterates its general support to the UN80 initiative and its overarching objective of achieving "a paradigm shift" in how the UN system organizes its work in order to deliver greater impact on the ground for the people we serve. The Group is of the view that any reform must be Member State-led, transparent and inclusive, and should place the views, needs, and priorities of programme countries at its centre and should not jeopardize the long-standing country-level work carried out by UN development entities, including UNDP, with which developing countries have built long-standing relationships of trust since its establishment in 1965. With regard to the proposal to merge UNDP and UNOPS, the Group of 77 and China looks forward to receiving the information requested during the UN80 dialogue held last Monday 8 June to continue to analyze the merit of the different options presented in the UNDP and UNOPS joint assessment.

In addition, the Group considers any reform should remain fully aligned with the QCPR and the UNDS repositioning resolutions, which emphasize agile coordination, comparative advantage, and country-tailored models. Country Programme Documents should remain the core programmatic and oversight framework, together with National Cooperation Frameworks, and any institutional adjustments should not weaken the Board's ability to guide, monitor, and hold the system accountable for country-level results. These efforts should go hand in hand with a Resident Coordinator system, responsive to national priorities and circumstances, and fully aligned with the principles established by Member States in the QCPR.

Mr. Administrator,

Amid the multiple global crises we are currently facing, we wish to reiterate our Group's firm support for your efforts to restore trust in international cooperation and strengthen confidence in the development system through greater cost-efficiencies and stronger results and deliverables for Member States.

I thank you.