Mr. Chair,

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

2. The Group of 77 and China would like to take note of the Secretary General's reports on the Implementation of the General Assembly Resolution 67/266 on the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review of Operational Activities for Development of the United Nations System (QCPR). We are looking forward for a more comprehensive, objective and coherent reporting of the implementation of the QCPR General Assembly resolution and would like to call to further enhance the analytical and evidence-based quality of the monitoring and reporting.

3. The Group of 77 and China attaches high importance to the QCPR General Assembly resolution and especially to its full and timely implementation for all United Nations authorities and entities. The Group is of the view that the implementation of the QCPR General Assembly resolution should keep an ambitious level to obtain a high quality outcome in the field.

4. 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, which requires continued improvement in effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and impact, along with a significant increase in resources.

Mr. Chair,

Let me avail of this opportunity to highlight some issues of importance to the Group of 77 and China in the context of the implementation of the QCPR General Assembly resolution:

One, 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.

Two, we recall that the very nature of the QCPR is to be a General Assembly resolution, a mandate approved by 193 countries. It deserves utmost diligence in its implementation, particularly for the UN funds and programmes, and specialized agencies. We reaffirm the importance of the full and timely implementation of the QCPR of operational activities for development.

Three, we regret that several General Assembly mandates contained in the QCPR remain unfulfilled by the UN funds and programmes, as it is the case of the specific proposal for the definition of the critical mass that were due to be presented last December 2013.

Four, we reaffirm that 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 over time and funds and programmes are not fulfilling the GA mandate to address this imbalance on a continuous basis. As the majority of the funding of the UN development system comes in the form of non-core funding, the risk for fragmentation, overlapping, higher transaction costs and inefficiencies pose a serious challenge for the legitimacy and efficiency of the implementation of the QCPR and for the implementation of the Strategic Plans approved by Member States. Non-core resources are unpredictable, cause competition among organizations, and do not reflect the systemic values of the UN development system but the particular interests of specific countries.

Five, we note the relationship between ODA and the contributions to the United Nations development system, and in this regard, express concern that the core ratio for operational development activities has been declining over the last years, representing only 28% in 2012, making thus the imbalance between core and non-core resources even more critical and visible.

Six, the G77 and China deeply regrets the decline of the official development assistance in 2012, which, for the second time, has decreased for two consecutive years, and would like to highlight the negative financial impact of this decrease in many developing countries. We urgently calls for a reversal in the decline of ODA and for the prompt fulfillment of this commitment in order to avoid further and deeper disruption, in particular in the least developed countries.

Seven, it is important that operational activities for development, in addressing the long-term development challenges, 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. We insist then that 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.

Eight, 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.

Nine, the UN Development System, has been explicitly called upon in the QCPR, to give eradication of poverty, the "highest priority" and that it should continue to be a core focus area for the United Nations development system and that all its development programmes and projects should attempt to address this greatest global challenge as their underlying objective. In this regard, QCPR had gone on to identify capacity building, employment generation, education, vocational training and rural development as some of the concrete means by which this challenge needed to be addressed. The Group of 77 and China would like to know the implementation done in this regard by the UN Development System so far.

Ten, 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.

Eleven, 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.

Twelve, Mr. Chair, the Group of 77 and China is determined to at least discuss the current composition of the UN funds and programmes in order to bring them under a more democratic governing structure, according to the principle of equitable geographic representation. The current "utilitarian model" based on allocating more representation to those who contribute more to the UN system only reflects and help to deepen the existing inequalities and tend to perpetuate them over time. We call for serious discussion on how best and fast we should modify the current structures in order to align to UN values and to more democratic representation.

The QCPR resolution is a path breaking legislation for guiding the UN system operational activities for sustainable development and we urgently need to reinforce its implementation in a serious and accountable manner.

I thank you.