Mr. Chairman,

1. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on agenda item 134, entitled "Scale of assessments for the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations".

2. The Group of 77 and China would like to thank Mr. Bernardo Greiver, Chairperson of the Committee on Contributions, for introducing the report of the Seventy-second session of the Committee on Contributions, as contained in the document A/67/11. We value and recognise the important work undertaken by the Committee on Contributions in advising the Fifth Committee on the technical aspects of the item under consideration. We also thank Mr. Lionelito Berridge, Chief Contributions and Policy Coordination Service, for introducing the report of the Secretary-General on multi-year payment plans, as contained in the document A/67/75.

Mr. Chairman,

3. The Group reaffirms its long-standing position that the financial resources provided to the Organisation must be commensurate with its legislative mandates. Without adequate resources, the Organisation cannot be expected to implement its mandates effectively. We therefore believe that all Member States should fulfill their legal obligations to bear the expenses of the Organisation, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the requirements to pay their assessed contributions in full, on time and without conditions. We also stress that the special and genuine difficulties faced by some developing countries that prevent them from temporarily meeting their financial obligations should be fully taken into account and that the decisions of the General Assembly on this item must be responsive to such difficulties. The Group thus emphasizes the importance of dealing with the issue of Article 19 on an urgent basis.

4. The Group of 77 and China further reaffirms that the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly is the sole Main Committee of the organization entrusted with responsibilities for administrative, financial and budgetary matters. In this regard, we stress that any budgetary, financial, and administrative related matters should be discussed solely in the framework of the Fifth Committee, in conformity with the UN Charter.

Mr. Chairman,

5. The Group of 77 and China, as expressed in its Ministerial Declaration of 28th September 2012, underlines that the current methodology for the preparation of the scale of assessments reflects the changes in the relative economic situations of the United Nations Member States, reaffirms the principle of "capacity to pay" as the fundamental criterion in the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations and rejects any change to the elements of the current methodology for the preparation of the scale of assessments aimed at increasing the contributions of developing countries. In this regard, the Group of 77 and China emphasizes that the core elements of the current methodology of the scale of assessments, such as base period, Gross National Income, conversion rates, low per capita income adjustment, gradient, floor, ceiling for Least Developed Countries and debt stock adjustment must be kept intact and are not negotiable.

6. Also as expressed in its Ministerial Declaration, the Group of 77 and China stresses that the current maximum assessment rate, or ceiling, has been fixed as a political compromise and is contrary to the principle of the capacity to pay and a fundamental source of distortion in the scale of assessments. In this context, they urge the General Assembly to undertake a review of this arrangement, in accordance with paragraph 2 of General Assembly resolution 55/5 C.

Mr. Chairman,

7. The Group of 77 and China is committed to adopt the updated scale of assessments for the period 2013-2015 as prepared on the basis of the current methodology. We strongly encourage all our Partners to do likewise quickly. Such an act of prompt fulfillment of our obligations to the Organisation will be an instructive exercise in collective responsibility and prudence. The Group notes that any attempt to change the methodology for preparing the scale of assessments to further and unfairly shift the burden of financing the Organisation to developing countries will only entail unproductive discussions that will not have any meaningful outcomes. Maintaining the current methodology will lead to substantial increases in the 2013-2015 contributions of many developing countries, yet the Members of the Group are committed to fulfilling their responsibilities as members of the Organization.

8. The Group of 77 and China wishes to emphasize that any negotiations on this item must be conducted in an open, inclusive and transparent manner which upholds the legitimacy and competency of the Fifth Committee as the sole Main Committee of the General Assembly entrusted with responsibilities for administrative, financial and budgetary matters.

9. We reiterate our strong opposition to decision-making on this item in small group configurations, as well as to the imposition of any conditionalities in the negotiations. We affirm the unity and solidarity of all our Members on this item and we stand ready to engage in a constructive dialogue with all our Partners on this important issue.

10. On the issue of multi-year payment plans, the Group appreciates the efforts made by those Member States that have submitted multi-year payment plans and that have honoured their commitments under those plans. At the same time, we reiterate that multi-year payment plans should remain voluntary in nature and should take into account the financial situation of the concerned Member State. It should not be used as a way of exerting pressure on Member States that are already in difficult circumstances, and should definitely not be included as a factor when considering exemption under Article 19 of the Charter. We continue to invite all Member States with significant arrears to consider submitting multi-year payment plans if they are in a position to do so.

11. The Group has carefully reviewed the requests by Central African Republic, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe, and Somalia for exemption under Article 19 of the Charter. We are convinced that their inability to make the minimum payments on their assessed contributions was due to conditions beyond their control. We therefore endorse the recommendations of the Committee on Contributions to permit these countries to vote until the end of this 67th session of the General Assembly. In this connection, we stress that this Committee should act promptly on the requests of these countries at the earliest opportunity.

I thank you, Mr. Chairman.