Mr. Chairman,

1. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on agenda item 146, "Administrative and budgetary aspects of financing United Nations peacekeeping operations", specifically on the support account.

2. We thank the Assistant-Secretary-General Controller, Ms. María Eugenia Casar, the Chair of IAAC Mr. John Muwanga, the Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, Ms. Carman L. Lapointe, and the Chair of the ACABQ, Mr. Collen Kelapile, for introducing their respective reports.

3. The Group of 77 and China would like to take this opportunity to express its thanks to Ms. Susana Malcorra, for all the work done during her tenure as the head of Department of Field Support and welcomes the appointment of Ms Ameerah Haq as the new Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Field Support.

Mr. Chairman,

4. The Group of 77 and China underlines that all peacekeeping operations must be provided with the necessary resources to fulfill their mandates. In this regard, we stress the importance of providing sufficient backstopping to all missions.

5. The Group recognizes the need for sufficient support during all phases of peacekeeping operations. The level of the support account should broadly correspond to the mandate, number, size and complexity of peacekeeping missions and special political missions. We recognize the changing nature of peacekeeping operations that continues to acquire new levels of complexity and requires adequate resources, development of appropriate policies and support arrangements. Support provided to missions by Headquarters must be furnished in the most integrated manner possible, in order to ensure efficiency and effectiveness and avoid duplication. The Group believes that all efforts in this regard should be aimed at qualitative improvement in service delivery to personnel on the ground.

6. The Group further emphasizes the importance of interaction and close coordination with all members states particularly troop-contributing countries (TCCs). There must be a genuine and meaningful partnership between the Secretariat and the troop-contributing countries on all aspects related to peacekeeping operations. We must ensure that troop-contributing countries have free and constant access to the Secretariat. The outcome of consultations must be reflective of the views expressed by TCCs in all phases of peacekeeping operations starting from mandate-setting to implementation and deployment decisions. Any change in mandates or in MoU must reflect the views of the TCCs concerned.

7. The representation of troop-contributing countries at senior management level in all relevant departments, including on the support side, both in the field and at Headquarters, is essential to bring greater coherence between those who manage, direct and command operations, and those who provide invaluable human resources on the ground. There is considerable room for improvement in these areas. In this context, we recall the relevant General Assembly resolutions, which consistently request the Secretary-General to make further concrete efforts to ensure adequate representation of troop-contributing countries in all relevant departments, particularly in DPKO and DFS, in line with their contributions to UN peacekeeping. The Group will follow it up during the current session.

Mr. Chairman,

8. We are equally concerned at the continuing low proportion of women from developing countries in the Secretariat, especially at senior levels.

9. The Group assures you of its constructive approach in these negotiations, with a view to providing the United Nations peacekeeping operations all the necessary resources to effectively deliver on their mandates.

I thank you Mr. Chairman.