Mr. Chairman,

        I speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on agenda item 140. The Group would like to thank Ms. Alicia Barcena, Under-Secretary-General for Management, for presenting the Reports of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Logistics Base in Brindisi (UNLB), and Mrs. Susan McLurg, Chair of the ACABQ, for presenting the related report of the Advisory Committee.

Mr. Chairman,

        The Group of 77 and China would like to express its concern over the fact that the report of the ACABQ on this agenda item has not yet been translated into all official languages of the United Nations. We would like to reiterate our longstanding position that this Committee has to work on the basis of documents translated into all official languages, in full accordance with all General Assembly resolutions on pattern of conferences.

        After consultations within our Group, we have decided that, due to time constraints, we will not object to the introduction and informal consultations of this agenda item.  However, we would like to make clear that this is an exception to the rule and we should not allow this exception to become a practice. We remain committed to the legislative requirement to have documents in all official languages before their formal introduction.

Mr. Chairman,

        I would like to express, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, our deepest appreciation to Mrs. Alicia Bárcena for her commitment to this Organization and excellent work to improve the management of the United Nations. The Group of 77 and China wishes to recognize her tireless efforts to present Member States with concrete proposals on many issues of extreme importance to the Organization, like human resources management, administration of justice and capital master plan.

         Mrs. Bárcena is an example to be followed by all Secretariat officials. Intelligent, articulate, capable and extremely competent, Mrs. Bárcena has proved to be a leader who can deliver results and achieve important steps in the reform of the UN Secretariat.  She worked very closely with all of us in the Fifth Committee. By listening carefully to our concerns, she gained our admiration and respect, showing that a smooth and balanced relationship between the Fifth Committee and Management is possible and that by working together we can achieve so much more.

         The Group of 77 and China would like to assure Mrs. Bárcena that the Group will continue to work closely with her to ensure that the Economic Commission for Latin America and Caribbean receives adequate resources and support from Member States so that it is able to implement its mandates effectively.   

Mr. Chairman,

        The Group of 77 and China would also like to welcome the presence of Mrs. Susana Malcorra, the Under-Secretary for Field Support, in the Fifth Committee. Mrs. Malcorra can be assured of the strong support of the Group of 77 and China. Indeed, we are very pleased to be able to work closely with her, in a spirit of partnership and co-operation.

        As the Head of the Department of Field Support, Mrs. Malcorra will direct all support for United Nations peace missions worldwide. She will be leading staff at Headquarters in support of 32 field operations currently comprising over 100,000 military, police and civilian personnel.

        We are encouraged by her professional profile and experience. Ms. Malcorra was Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), overseeing daily emergency and humanitarian operations in more than 80 countries, with over 10,000 personnel.  During her tenure at World Food Programme, she led the initial phase of the operational response to the tsunami emergency in December 2004 and has managed human resources, budget, finance, information, technology, telecommunications, administration and security.

        We wish to assure Mrs. Malcorra that she can count on the Group of 77 and China to ensure that all peacekeeping operations receive resources commensurate to their mandates.

        I thank you.