Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour to make this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on Operational Activities for Development of the United Nations system.

The Group of 77 and China would like to thank the Secretary-General for his comprehensive reports for the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR). The analyses contained in the reports of the Secretary-General underline the latest trends in the United Nations Operational Activities for Development and we hope this will be helpful for our deliberations

The Group of 77 and China attaches high importance to this Quadrennial exercise through which the UN membership undertakes a comprehensive review of the operational activities for development of the UN system. And the Group is of the view that the QCPR should lead to an ambitious outcome that determines the course of the operational activities for the next four years. It should make discernable difference in the way results are delivered for programme countries. We would like to see a strengthened role of the UN operational activities for development and its capacity to assist developing countries in achieving their development goals including the MDGs by 2015, take forward the outcome for Rio +20 and in forging a vision for the post-2015 development agenda which requires continued improvement in effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and impact, along with a significant increase in resources.

Mr. Chairman,

Let me highlight some issues of importance to the Group of 77 and China in the context of the QCPR 2012:

One, we reaffirm the importance of the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review of operational activities, through which the General Assembly establishes key system wide policy orientation for the development cooperation and country-level modalities of the UN system. The process, therefore, should not be superseded or preempted by any other parallel process

Two, the fundamental characteristics of the UN operational activities for development must remain, inter alia, the universal, voluntary and grant nature, the neutrality and the multilateralism, as well as their ability to respond to the development needs of program countries in a flexible manner.

Three, the operational activities should be carried out for the benefit of recipient countries, at the request of those countries and in accordance with their own policies and priorities for development. The recipient country should be in the driving seat.

Four, the QCPR process should be guided by a vision of a stronger role for the United Nations on development issues, and by the need to fully implement all agreed commitments from all the major United Nations Summits and Conferences in the economic, social and related fields including IADGs and MDGs.

Five, the need for a strengthened global partnership for development, based on the recognition of national leadership and ownership of development strategies should be a guiding principle of UN operational activities at the country level. Partners should provide support for the realization of the objectives and goals of national development strategies. The entire UN system as well as the BWIs and bilateral donors should recognize the ownership of the concerned developing countries, align their cooperation programmes with the national development strategies and also harmonize their individual cooperation programmes with a view to making the optimum contribution to the realization of national development strategies.

Six, Quality and quantity of funding should be improved. Despite repeated calls from the General Assembly, the imbalance between core and non-core funding has worsened. This needs to be properly addressed. The increasing shift from core to non-core funding leads to fragmentation and can impair the effectiveness and efficiency of operational activities, as non-core resources are unpredictable, increase transaction costs, inefficiency, incoherence and fragmentation of the UN system, including at the country level, causing competition among organizations, as well as inviting them to divert from their respective mandates. Efforts and incentive measures should be made for improving the quality of non-core.

Seven, the importance of the regional dimension of development is manifested in the mandates given to the regional commissions in the outcomes of the major UN Conferences and Summits. Improved coherence at the regional level will require strengthening existing UN regional mechanisms for horizontal coordination, and ensuring a vertical link-up and alignment in the UN development and coordination architecture at the global, regional, and country levels.

Eight, it is important that operational activities for development, in addressing the long-term development challenges of recipient countries, take into account the need to promote national capacity building in developing countries. For developing countries to address national priorities and achieve internationally agreed development goals, a continuous process of capacity building is required to which the UN system can make a significant contribution. In this regard, the UN system should make optimal use of the available national expertise by enabling and facilitating the access of the recipient countries to the full range of services available throughout the UN development system, including the regional commissions. The UN system should promote the sharing of information on the best practices in its operational activities at the country level.

Nine, the programming instruments at country level could be further streamlined. The United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), where they exist, should serve as an overarching strategic framework for agency programming. The UNDAFs shall not be converted into a rigid instrument that prevents both the flexibility and the case-by-case approach needed in the field.

Ten, the resident coordinator should carry out his duties in fair and transparent manner, in accordance with its mandate and in full coordination with the national authorities. More coordination should be done in the field and at the Headquarters.

Eleven, innovative solutions should be explored to reduce excessive transaction costs for the UN development system. We encourage every UN entity to rationalize its business practices. We also invite all UN agencies to use lead agencies or common service to provide administrative services wherever is feasible and becomes cost-effective. The QCPR should give guidance that provide more effectiveness and efficiency in delivery.

Twelve, regarding the Delivery as One initiative, we reaffirm the "no one size fits all" approach, and reiterate that this initiative can only be implemented upon request of the interested Member States. In addition, the QCPR outcome should ensure the necessary flexibility for those countries that choose to remain or decide, after a period of trial, to go back to other modalities of cooperation. The independent evaluation of Delivering as One, while indicating that in pilot countries the cost of coordination has increased by 3 times, is providing some insights on the modality and those should be discussed for better understanding and clarity.

"Delivering as One+" should be guided by the principle of voluntary adoption, so that the United Nations system can tailor its approach to partnership with individual programme countries in a way that most suits their national needs, realities, priorities and planning modalities as well as the achievement of the MDGs, other internationally-agreed development goals and the post-2015 agenda, in a framework of a holistic and comprehensive concept of development.

Thirteen, the Group of 77 reiterates the call to the UN funds and programmes as well as the specialized agencies to continue taking concrete measures to mainstream support for South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation, to help developing countries to develop capacities to maximize the benefits and impact of South-South and triangular cooperation.

Mr. Chairman,

The Group looks forward to a constructive and productive discussion during this session. We would like the QCPR resolution to be a path breaking legislation for guiding the UN system operational activities for sustainable development.

I thank you.