Mr. Chairman,
Mr. Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,

1. I am pleased to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. At the outset, allow me, Mr. Chairman, to extend our warmest congratulations to you and other members of the Bureau on your election. The Group wishes to assure you of its full cooperation and support during the deliberations of the session.

2. The Group would like also to thank the Secretary-General for the reports submitted under agenda item 27, which will contribute to enrich our discussions.

Mr. Chairman,

3. Despite some significant progress in various areas over the past 17 years, much more needs to be done to achieve our mutual goals in the field of social development. The analysis contained in the report of the Secretary-General provides us with an overview that the achievement of the three major pillars of the Summit, namely eradication of poverty, promotion of full employment and decent work and social integration remain a persistent global challenge. We fully share his recommendations for an urgent and more effective action at all levels through policies aiming at eradicating poverty, creating jobs, promoting inclusive, equitable and sustained growth and providing social protection.

4. In this respect, we are extremely concerned over the multiple inter-related and exacerbating current global crises, in particular the world and financial economic crisis, the food crisis and continuing food insecurity, as well as the challenges posed by climate change, which all have a major negative implications for social development and undermine further the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

5. We firmly believe that in the light of these continuing challenges on the achievement of social development goals, the implementation of the commitments made at the Summit becomes even more urgent than ever before. In this regard, we reaffirm our commitment to implement the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the Summit and the further initiatives for social development adopted by the General Assembly at its twenty-fourth special session.

6. We also welcome the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) held this year, which emphasizes the need to advance the integration of the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development and stresses the importance of poverty eradication, social inclusion and participation to the future of our planet.

7. Given the crucial role of international cooperation in realizing the internationally agreed development goals and promoting the goals of social development, the Group of 77 and China stresses that the international community and development partners have an important role to play in collaborating with and supporting the developing countries in implementing their social development agenda. The fulfillment of developed countries of their commitments is crucial as it is also an imperative. We call in this regard for a strengthened and scaled-up of international cooperation, including the fulfillment of commitments on internationally agreed official development assistance, debt relief, market access, capacity-building, technology transfer and technical support.

8. The Group of 77 and China would like to urge once again the international community to take further effective measures to remove the obstacles to the realization of the right to self-determination of peoples living under colonial and foreign occupation, which adversely affect their economic and social development.

Mr. Chairman,

9. Persons with disabilities must be given particular attention and further actions should be taken to promote their rights and address their needs. We welcome the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Realization of the Millennium Development Goals and other Internationally Agreed Development Goals for persons with disabilities, which will be held during its sixty-eighth session. We firmly believe that this event will provide an invaluable opportunity to review development policy and practices from a disability perspective, strengthen commitment to ensuring the rights of persons with disabilities in development and further the inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities in emerging international development frameworks.

10. Population ageing is another issue which deserves great attention and requires concerted, well focused and forward looking policies and actions at all levels. The Group of 77 and China attaches great importance to the issues of elderly people, which not only face discrimination on the basis of age, but are impacted by forms of discrimination, poverty and violence, as well as lack of specific services and resources. We note with great concern that the global and financial crisis has led a number of Member states to cut social spending, which has affected the level of social protection provided to older persons. We firmly believe that urgent action is needed to accelerate the implementation of the Madrid Plan of Action and we hope that this session will contribute to discuss and move us closer to the most appropriate ways and means of achieving the development, well-being and full enjoyment of all human rights of older persons and to set the grounds for the preparation of the upcoming second review and appraisal of the implementation of the Madrid Plan of Action on Ageing.

11. The G77 and China welcomes the continued focus on youth and calls upon Member states, the UN system and relevant stakeholders to fully implement the recommendations contained in the outcome document of the UN High-level Meeting on Youth held in 2011, which outlined 17 areas of action on youth issues, including specific measures for advancing inclusive job creation, skills development and vocational training designed for specific labor-market needs.

12. We are pleased to note that since the proclamation of the International Year of the Family in 1994, the international community has undertaken a range of activities and commitments in support of its objectives. The preparation for and observance of the twentieth anniversary of the International Year of the Family in 2014 provide a useful opportunity to strengthen national family-centred policies and programmes, particularly in the areas of family poverty reduction, work-family balance and intergenerational solidarity.

13. We also note with appreciation the various activities undertaken this year with regard its proclamation as the International Year of Cooperatives and call on all Member States, as well as the United Nations and all relevant stakeholders to continue to promote cooperatives and raise awareness of their contribution to social and economic development through eradication of poverty and to share good practices on the implementation of the activities carried out during the Year.

Mr. Chairman,

14. Following the practice of previous sessions, the Group of 77 and China will submit under this agenda item the following three draft resolutions: "Implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development and of the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly", "Follow-up to the Second World Assembly on Ageing" and "Preparations for and observance of the 20th anniversary of the International Year of the Family". The Group looks forward to the valuable contributions and support of all Member States.

15. In closing, the Group of 77 and China looks forward to engaging in the discussions with partners with the aim of contributing to the achievement of our mutual goals in the field of social development.

Thank you.