Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

At the outset, The Group expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for the reports submitted under this important agenda item documents A/69/203, A/69/207 and A/69/216. These reports examined the progress and challenges of the international migration and development, culture and sustainable development and the New International Economic Order. The reports' conclusions and recommendations in those reports provide a good reference point for our deliberations.

Mr. Chairman,

The issues covered under this Agenda Item are of particular relevance to the development prospects of developing countries. It was hoped that the era of globalization would bring sustained and equitable growth for all, as a consequence of free movement of persons, capital, goods and services.

The fast pace of globalization in recent years has been facilitated by the rapid developments in science, technology and innovation (STI), including information and communication technologies. The Group recognizes the vital role that science and technology, including environmentally sound technologies, can play in development and in facilitating efforts to confront global challenges. These challenges include eradicating poverty, achieving food security, fighting diseases, improving education, protecting the environment, combating desertification and land degradation, accelerating the pace of economic diversification and transformation, and improving productivity and competitiveness.
 
In this context, the Group of 77 and China has a firm conviction that the United Nations is the only global body with universal membership, and well positioned to strengthen international cooperation for promoting development in the context of globalization; in particular the integration of developing countries into the globalizing economy to enable them to take full advantage of all their potentials for economic growth; in the implementation of the internationally agreed development goals, including the MDGs and also to address global economic governance with the objective of reaching sustainable and socially balanced economic development. The United Nations should also promote greater coordination and interaction with relevant international financial and economic institutions to ensure coherence with the UN development agenda, particularly in the Post-2015 era.

Mr. Chairman,

The Group of 77 and China considers that the nexus between migration and development must be addressed comprehensively, mindful of the economic, social and environmental dimensions and include a cultural and human perspective. We recognize the need to address this issue through international, regional or bilateral cooperation and dialogue and through a comprehensive, balanced, coordinated and coherent approach, recognizing the role and responsibilities of countries of origin, transit and destination in promoting and protecting effectively the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants and their families, especially those of women and children, regardless of their migration status. We also stress the need to continue to consider the recognition of the qualifications and competencies of migrants and their access to low-cost financial services for remittances.

We note that despite progress in discussion and dialogue and cooperation at the international level, migration remains inadequately reflected in development frameworks, development agendas and sectoral policies at both the national and global levels. Therefore, we stress the need to explore a legally binding convention on migration and development to improve the governance of international migration and to protect and promote the human rights of migrants and their contribution to development, regardless of their migratory status.

We urge the international community to address the challenges caused by the international migration on the basis of common understanding and genuine partnership, in order to assure that international migration can contribute to the development of both origin, transit and destination countries while minimizing the negative impacts.

The G77 and China recognizes that remittances constitute an important source of private capital, and reaffirm the need to promote conditions for cheaper, faster and safer transfers of remittances in both source and recipient countries, and in this regard underscores the importance of reducing to less than 3% the transactions costs of migrants remittances and eliminate remittances corridors with costs higher than 5%. The Group reiterated in this regard, that remittances cannot be considered a substitute for foreign direct investment, official development assistance, debt relief or other public sources of financing for development.

The Group acknowledges the important contribution of migration in realizing the Millennium Development Goals, and recognizes that human mobility is a key factor for sustainable development which should be adequately considered in the elaboration of the post 2015 development agenda.

We condemn the acts, manifestations and expressions of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance against migrants and the stereotypes often applied to them, including on the basis of religion or belief, and recognizes the need to improve public perceptions of migrants and migration. In this regard, we urge States to apply and, where needed, reinforce the existing laws when xenophobic or intolerant acts, manifestations or expressions against migrants occur, in order to eradicate impunity for those who commit those acts.

Mr. Chairman,

The Group of 77 and China recognizes that culture is an essential component of sustainable development. It represents a source of identity, creativity and innovation for the individual and the community, and is an important factor in social inclusion and poverty eradication, providing for sustainable economic growth and ownership of development processes. Cultural industries play a key role in boosting the economy while providing decent work in particular for the youth. We acknowledge that cultural diversity is an important source of enrichment for humankind and a significant contribution to the sustainable development of local communities, peoples and nations, empowering them to play an active and unique role in development initiatives. We also believe the important linkages between cultural and biological diversity and the positive contribution of local and indigenous traditional knowledge in addressing environmental challenges in a sustainable manner.

We reaffirm the value and the diversity of the cultures and the forms of social organization of indigenous peoples and their holistic traditional scientific knowledge, innovations and practices, which play a significant role in strengthening the livelihoods of the local populations, ensuring food security and addressing climate change. In this regard, we emphasize the need to respect and safeguard indigenous cultural identities, knowledge and traditions in our countries.

The Group of 77 and China acknowledges that the important contribution of culture to the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, its role as an enabler of sustainable development, and its potential as a driver of sustainable development, are reflected in the outcome document of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, and in this regard looks forward for fully integrating culture in the post 2015 development agenda.

Thank you.