Mr. President,

1. I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. At the outset please allow me to express my appreciation on behalf of the Group to you for providing this opportunity to share our position in this operational activities for development segment.

2. With the adoptions of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Decision under the UNFCCC COP21 in 2015 as well as the on-going ECOSOC dialogue on longer-term positioning of the United Nations development system and the upcoming deliberation on the new Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) cycle as the backdrop, the timing of this operational activities segment is crucial and significant as we embark on our journey towards our common sustainable future.

Mr. President,

3. In streamlining our common global commitments into the operational activities for development of the UN development system, we must remind ourselves that those commitments are not up for reinterpretation but rather must be followed and implemented in accordance with their objective and purpose. The 2030 Agenda recognised that, let me quote "eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development" end of quote, this along with our agreement in the previous cycle of QCPR resolution 67/226 in 2012 have, undoubtedly, placed highest priority to poverty eradication and the fundamental objective of the UN development system to work alongside national governments with clear and focused programmes and projects.

4. The Group also wishes to see a scaled up effort and strengthened role of the UN operational activities for development, in particular its capacity to assist developing countries in our collective efforts in implementing and achieving the 2030 Agenda in a universal and inclusive manner. In this light, it is very important that the operational activities for development of the UN development system take into account the need to build, promote and strengthen capacity of developing countries in their efforts to address long-term sustainable development at the national level while at the same time bearing in mind the different levels of social and economic development and realities on the ground in these countries. Continued and significant support from the UN development system to developing countries through access to the full range of services at all levels must be ensured and enhanced in order for these countries to address their priorities and challenges and successfully implement the new global development agenda.

5. In this regard, the Group of 77 and China would like to reiterate our request to the UN funds and programmes to include in their regular reporting to the Council the followings:

5.1 Firstly, on the efforts made with regard to their respective strategic plans, programmes and projects, and in accordance with their respective mandates; 5.2 Secondly, on the scaling up of efforts to address the root causes of poverty and hunger in line with the 2030 Agenda; 5.3 Thirdly, on the sharing of good practices and lessons learned in implementing their work on the grounds; and 5.4 Lastly, on the mainstreaming of the 2030 Agenda into the system-wide planning and reporting.

Mr. President,

6. The Group of 77 and China cannot overemphasise the importance the QCPR resolution 67/226 and the subsequent QCPR resolutions adopted annually by the General Assembly since 2013. It is in this light that the Group would like to reiterate some of the issues of great importance to developing countries:

6.1 First, with the decline of the total contribution for core resources for UN operational activities for development which constitutes only 24 per cent of the overall funding in 2014 as highlighted in the Secretary-General's report on the implementation of the 2012 QCPR resolution, the Group would like to reiterate the need to enhance coherence, effectiveness and efficiency of the UN development system in particular in mainstreaming the 2030 Agenda and other inter-governmentally agreed development commitments into the system-wide planning and reporting as well as in strengthening coordination and coherence at the country level to enhance effective utilization of diminishing core resources and the expertise of the UN funds and programmes and specialised agencies.

6.2 The Group recognizes that the Delivering as One (DAO) voluntary approach, among inter alia, other operational modalities and approaches, can contribute to enhancing the coherence, relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of the UN development system, strengthening national ownership and leadership in the operational activities for development of the UN system and achieving results. However, the Group would also like to reiterate that the principle of no-one-size-fits-all must be kept in mind for engagement of the UN funds and programmes and specialised agencies with countries at different levels of social and economic development with varying national priorities and challenges;

6.3 Second, with the incremental nature of funding for the short-term humanitarian assistance over the past few years, due to protracted period of humanitarian crises in parts of the world, amounting to 41 per cent of total funding for UN operation activities for development in contrast to funding for long-term development objectives, the Group underlines the need for creating separate tracks of accountability for both development and humanitarian assistance works of the UN development system in order to keep ourselves informed on the proper utilization of those funds in particular to address the urgent needs of humanitarian crises and the implementation of the new global agenda for sustainable development;

6.4 Third, the Group would like to reiterate that core resources continue to be the bedrock of the operational activities for development of the UN system. It is of great concern to the Group that the percentage of core resources in contrast to earmarked resources in the overall funding for operational activities has continued to decline. Therefore, there is an urgent need to maintain a balance between core and non-core resources in order to operationalize critical mass of the UN development system. Moreover, the Group would like to stress the need to avoid the use of core resources to subsidize non-core financed activities, and reaffirms that the guiding principle governing the financing of all non-programme costs should be based on a full cost recovery, proportionally, from core and non-core funding sources. Efforts must be stepped up to expand donor base for core resources and their efficient and effective use must be ensured;

6.5 Fourth, the Group reaffirms the importance of achieving diversification in the composition of the resident coordinator system in terms of geographical distribution and gender. We would also like to stress the need to address the governing structures of the UN funds and programmes in a constructive dialogue towards much-needed reform in this area, to ensure equitable and inclusive participation and maintain the legitimacy of the system as a whole; and

6.6 Fifth, the Group stands firm in its call for the strengthening of the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) and urges the UN system to implement the recommendations and measures set out in decision 18/1 of the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation, on the strengthening of South-South and Triangular Cooperation, including through system-wide provision of financial and human resources for the Office.

6.7 Lastly, the Group would like to refer to the specific mandate given by the General Assembly in its resolution 70/215 on "Development cooperation with middle-income countries", which stresses that the QCPR deliberations in 2016 should give due consideration to ways in which the UN development system could improve its support to different country contexts, including how to provide efficient, effective, better-focused and better-coordinated support to middle-income countries in order to strengthen their efforts to overcome the significant challenges they face in achieving sustainable development. The same resolution also invites the Economic and Social Council to discuss, inter alia, concrete proposals to this effect in the ongoing process of dialogues of the Council on the longer-term positioning of the UN development system.

Mr. President,

7. The Group of 77 and China looks forward to continuing its engagement on these and other issues related to operational activities for development of the UN development system in a constructive manner that has marked our deliberations on the QCPR. The Group stands ready in the same spirit to engaging in the ongoing dialogue on longer-term positioning of the UN development system and the upcoming deliberation of the 2016 QCPR.

I thank you.