Mr. Chairman,

1. I have the honour to speak on the behalf of the Group of 77 and China on agenda item 130, in particular on the Revised Estimates resulting from the decisions contained in the outcome document of the Rio + 20 Conference.

2. The Group of 77 and China would like to thank Mr. Johannes Huisman, the Director of Programme Planning and Budget Division, for introducing the Secretary-General's report (A/67/591), and Mr. Collen Kelapile, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, for the presentation of the Committee's related report (A/67/641).

Mr. Chairman,

3. The Rio+20 Conference was a seminal moment for the multilateral system. Its outcome document, entitled "The Future We Want", enshrines the international community's bold commitment to freeing humanity from poverty and hunger as a matter of urgency. It highlights our common commitment to promote sustained and inclusive economic growth, social development and environmental protection, in order to achieve a world that is just, equitable and inclusive.

4. These objectives are very dear to the Group of 77 and China and reflect the principles enunciated in the June 1964 Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Developing Countries. That document underlined that international cooperation "must serve as a decisive instrument for ending the division of the world into areas of affluence and intolerable poverty" and noted that this was "the outstanding challenge of our times".

5. Although much progress has been made, even more remains to be done. In this regard, the new mandates conferred upon the United Nations by the outcome document of Rio+20 and by resolution 66/288 highlight the central role of the Organization in this endeavor.

6. The Secretary-General has requested that the General Assembly approve additional appropriations in the sum of $8,766,300 to finance the mandates emanating from Rio+20 in the current biennium. He also notes the resource requirement that will have to be included in the budget proposal for the 2014-2015 biennium. The ACABQ, in its wisdom, has endorsed these requests. The Group of 77 and China is convinced that these resources are absolutely essential in order to take forward the decisions of Rio+20.

Mr. Chairman,

7. Yesterday and today, a number of other revised estimates and PBIs have been submitted for the consideration of the Fifth Committee. I will briefly refer to these documents. It is the long-standing position of the Group of 77 and China, reiterated in this year's Ministerial Declaration, that the level of resources to be approved by the General Assembly must be commensurate with all mandated programmes and activities in order to ensure their full and effective implementation.

8. In this regard, we regret that some of the recommendations of the ACABQ seem to put in jeopardy the Organization's ability to effectively implement intergovernmental mandates. The Group will examine each of these documents with the attention they deserve and seek to contribute to the Fifth Committee's effective discharge of its responsibility for ensuring adequate financing for the activities of the Organization.

I thank you.