Madam Vice-President,

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

At the outset, the Group of 77 and China wishes to thank you for your efforts in convening this ECOSOC Dialogue on the longer-term positioning of the United Nations development system (Session I) and the presentation of the draft Discussion Paper on this issue that will provide Member States an opportunity to have a structured discussion on each of the key elements and interactive dialogues.

In general terms, the Group feels that the Discussion Paper is not balanced. We regret to say that many of the positions that the Group of 77 and China have expressed in many fora are not reflected in the appropriate depth, or in many cases are not reflected at all. We hope to see a more balanced paper for the next session of the dialogues.

The Group firmly believes that the mandate provided by GA resolution 68/6 for the adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda is through a process of intergovernmental negotiations. As such, this process must be member-state driven and conducted as per standard modalities for intergovernmental negotiations in the General Assembly underpinned by the rules of procedure of the General Assembly and ECOSOC.

Madam Vice-President,
 
The key changes that have impacted on the development landscape and the likely changes that will be required under the new unified and universal agenda, cannot be set at the same level, as the discussion paper does.

We acknowledge that there have been changes in the landscape, that there are emerging economies. This will have implications in the setting of the new alliance for development and in the implementation of the Agenda. However, the document falls short of mentioning the persistent levels of poverty and inequality present in the Middle Income Countries (MICS). A balanced document needs to acknowledge the challenges faced by Middle Income Countries in their path to sustainable development, including the persistence of structural gaps and vulnerabilities that make poverty resilient.

The Group considers that the process we are engaged in is not about adjusting the system to the new landscape. The great task that we have before us is adjusting the system so that it is prepared for the post 2015 development agenda and to assist countries in its implementation. This is the task on which we should concentrate all our efforts.

Madam Vice-President,

The Group of 77 and China notes with deep concern the lack of mention of the gaps in technology access and transfer. In this regard, the Group highlights the four structured dialogues on possible arrangements for a technology facilitation mechanism to promote the development, transfer and dissemination of clean and environmentally sound technologies, during the 68th Session of the Assembly in accordance with the General Assembly resolution 68/210 of December 2013.

According to Rio+20 mandate, the main three functions of the mechanism should be development, transfer, and dissemination of clean and environmentally clean technology. Those 3 functions should constitute the core of the technology transfer mechanism, but they are not fully covered by the existing recommendations coming from the Structured Dialogues.

The first task of the technology facilitation mechanism should be how to address different existing gaps and fragmentation with regard to international efforts in the field of technology cooperation; different stages of the technology cycle itself; gap between technology possibilities and needs; and gap between developed and developing countries with regard to technological and innovation capacities.

The Group of 77 and China will engage constructively during the 69th Session aiming at achieve concrete results on this issue and to enhance the role of technology facilitation in the context of the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

Madam Vice-President,

Regarding the post 2015 agenda, it is worth reminding that the intergovernmental negotiations will have as their main basis the documents that have been produced in intergovernmental processes. In this sense, Resolution 68/309 on the "Report of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals established pursuant to General Assembly resolution 66/288", adopted by the 68th General Assembly on 10 September 2014, clearly recognizes that the proposal of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals contained in the report shall be the main basis for integrating sustainable development goals into the post-2015 development agenda, while recognizing that other inputs will also be considered, in the intergovernmental negotiation process at the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly.

The members of the Group of 77 and China attach high importance to the outcome document of the OWG containing a proposal for SDGs. This outcome was produced through painstaking and intensive work stretching for a period of almost 18 months, during which the Members States of the G77 participated constructively and in good faith.

The Group of 77 and China firmly believes that the outcome of this inter-governmental process needs to be fully preserved and should not be re-opened or re-negotiated.

In this sense, the General Assembly reached a successful conclusion for all processes established by the Rio+20 outcome document, namely: the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the Open Working Group on SDGs, the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing and the process of structured dialogues leading to the establishment of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism, even though such Dialogues failed in reaching the conclusion mandated for them. The outcomes of such processes will provide Member States with the main elements for the intergovernmental negotiations for the Post-2015 Development Agenda that will take place during the 69th Session of the General Assembly.

Madam Vice-President,

The Group of 77 and China, highlights the elaboration of the synthesis report on the Post-2015 Development Agenda "The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet" by the Secretary-General that reflects upon the various post-2015 development-related processes and the outcomes of the above mentioned intergovernmental processes that have occurred during the 68th session of the General Assembly.

We understand the synthesis report as a support document that contains suggestions. It could also serve as the basis for a communication effort of the Agenda. However, it does not constitute the basis for the intergovernmental negotiations, therefore the primacy of intergovernmental processes must be borne in mind.

Madam Vice-President,

The G77 and China reiterates its position that the Monterrey and Doha conferences on financing for development provide a holistic approach and a strong foundation for a Post-2015 development agenda financing strategy. While we recognize that an effective strategy of financing for sustainable development will require the mobilization of financial resources from all sources, the Group would like to underscore the important role of ODA in leveraging and sustaining financing for development in developing countries and in facilitating the achievement of development objectives.

We expect the Third International Conference on Financing for Development to take place in Addis Ababa in July 2015, will achieve an ambitious outcome, given the need to review the progress in the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus and the Doha declaration, reinvigorate and strengthen the financing for development follow-up process, identify obstacles encountered in the achievement of the goals therein and actions to overcome these constraints, as well as support the implementation of the Post-2015 development agenda.

Madam Vice-President,

We find that proposals to integrate Official Development Aid, Remittances and Foreign Direct Investment do not positively influence the discussions. We have said over and over again that Remittances are a private flow that cannot be considered as ODA, as debt relief nor as any other source of financing for development. ODA cannot be substituted by any other source of FFD.

The issue of regular/core resources versus extra budgetary resources is not a rhetoric matter as the document states. On the contrary, it is a crucial issue for the Funds and Programs as it is regular resources that implement strategic plans and the mandates established by the UN system, instead of supporting projects that reflect the interests of a particular donor.

Madam Vice-President,

The Group of 77 and China reiterate the need to agree and commit to a new phase of international cooperation through a strengthened and scaled-up global partnership for development based on quantified and time-bound targets consistent with Millennium Development Goal No. 8 and in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. This new global partnership should be the centerpiece and anchor for both the sustainable development goals and the Post-2015 Development Agenda, and should include the issues of providing adequate financial resources to developing countries, official development assistance, debt relief and debt restructuring, trade, technology transfer and greater participation of developing countries in global economic governance.

The G77 and China underscores the importance of linking international factors to an enhanced and expanded global partnership for development, the critical role of effective means of implementation, together with national actions and efforts to be taken by countries at the national level. The three-component approach is essential because the formulation of meaningful goals at the national level will not be attainable unless structural factors, including international factors, are addressed. Similarly, developing countries require continued and strengthened international cooperation in finance including the fulfillment of the commitments related to ODA, debt relief, technology transfer and capacity-building if they are expected to achieve the SDGs.

The Group believes that a strengthened and revitalized global partnership is essential for the success of the Post-2015 development agenda, and must be a priority of the intergovernmental negotiations. The discussions on a strengthened global partnership will no doubt benefit from the discussions under the FfD process, but these discussions cannot be artificially restricted to any one process, and should be discuss also in the process of the Post-2015 development agenda negotiations.

Madam Vice-President,

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. 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.

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 these challenges need to be addressed. The Group of 77 and China demands in this regard accurate reporting on the implementation done by the UN Development System so far.

The Group of 77 and China attaches high importance to the QCPR resolution A/C.2/69/L.39/Rev.1 entitled "Operational activities for development of the United Nations system", that was adopted by the Second Committee of the 69th General Assembly on 11 December 2014. 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 resolution:

The Group underlines the need to better reflect the multidimensional nature of development and poverty, as well as the importance of developing a common understanding among Member States and other stakeholders of that multidimensionality and reflecting it in the context of the post-2015 development agenda.

Reiterates that core resources, because of their untied nature, continue to be the bedrock of the operational activities for development of the United Nations system, Notes with concern that the percentage of core resources in the overall funding for operational activities has declined, and proposes a balance between core and non core resources through the operationalization of a precise definition of critical mass.

We request all entities of the United Nations development system to consider the post-2015 development agenda, once adopted, in the context of midterm reviews and the elaboration of strategic plans and frameworks, in order to ensure consistency and alignment with the agenda;

The Group Reaffirms the importance of achieving diversification in the composition of the resident coordinator system in terms of geographical distribution and gender, and recalls the need to address the governing structures of the United Nations funds and programmes in a constructive dialogue towards a reform to ensure the legitimacy of the system.

Most importantly, the resolution calls for an early reform of the structures of governance of the UN funds and programmes, including their composition and functioning. This is an issue to which the G77 attaches the highest importance within the context of the Post 2015 development agenda. The UN development system is called to play a key role in the implementation of an ambitious, transformative and universal agenda. Structures of governance perceived as a Club of donors would not be able to address such imperative in a legitimate or effective way. The developmental landscape has changed as the world faces new realities and emerging challenges. The structures of governance of UN funds and programmes, their composition and functioning, need to reflect those realities and therefore must be reformed.

Thank You.