Mr. Chairman,

1. I have the honor to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on this important item.

2. We thank The Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security, Mr. Gregory Starr, for the introduction of the Secretary-General's report on the Conclusions of the high-level Working Group on Programme Criticality. We further wish to thank the Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), Mr. Collen Kelapile, for introducing the report of the Advisory Committee on this matter.

3. The Group of 77 and China reiterate the importance of safety and security for the United Nations staff, operations and premises at all its locations in Headquarters, main duty stations, and the field. The Group will continue to support measures aimed at ensuring a coherent, effective, accountable, and timely response to security-related threats and other emergencies. The Group once again emphasizes the importance of evolving a comprehensive and integrated approach to the critical issue of safety and security.

4. The Group wishes to recall the relevant provisions of General Assembly resolutions emphasizing that the primary responsibility for ensuring the safety and security of United Nations staff and premises rests with the host country. The Group, therefore, believes that any provisions for safety and security of the United Nations cannot work in isolation or due consultation process with Member States. We note that all major activities of the United Nations follow a certain standard, which is still lacking in the field of safety and security. It is therefore, imperative to establish clear criteria for determining security needs and certain basic standards for evaluating threat perception and risk assessment on a world-wide basis to ensure that the Department of Safety and Security is able to respond to any emergency, bearing in mind that the level of risk and threats vary from one place to another and that mandate of different UN activities.
       
Mr. Chairman,

5. In this context, the Group wishes to underline its concern that the Secretary-General has not yet complied with the General Assembly's request in its resolution 61/263 for a report on the comprehensive safety and security policy framework at the United Nations which provides the basis for the threat and risk assessment, cooperation with the host countries, cost-sharing arrangements and operations of the Department of Safety and Security. We hope to get some clarification from the Secretariat in this regard.

6. The Group will further seek additional information on the detailed phases, benchmarks and timelines of the programme criticality framework and the programme criticality level with their established clear lines of accountability and responsibility and a clear chain of command for all participants in field security and at duty stations.

7. In conclusion, the Group of 77 and China looks forward to engaging constructively during the forthcoming discussion on this matter.

I thank you, Mr. Chairman.