Co-Chairs,

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

2. The Group of 77 and China would like to thank Ambassador Alejandro Palma Cerna of Honduras, Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council for arranging this important meeting for an exchange of views between Member States and the Independent Team of Advisors (ITA) appointed by the Bureau of the Council to support the second phase of the Council dialogue on the longer-term positioning of the United Nations development system in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Co-Chairs,

3. We welcomed your appointments and also the rest of your team. We look forward to working closely with you in advancing the Dialogue towards a reinvigorated UN Development System. In this regard, we would like to share our views as follows:

4. First and foremost, we reiterate that the 2030 Agenda has been adopted by highest level of countries' representation and, its implementation, thus, constitutes a clear mandate for each and every agency including funds and programmes including specialized agencies under the UN development system. To implement the 2030 Agenda, we attach high importance to enhancing coherence of and integrated support by the UN Development System as per paragraph 88 of the 2030 Agenda. In this regard, we reiterate the need to undertake a comprehensive mapping exercise to assess the existing functions vis-à-vis the mandates of each and every entity under the UN Development System.

5. Second, we wish to reiterate that the eradication of poverty is at the core of the work of the UN Development System. In order to achieve a common understanding of all dimensions of poverty that would be applied across the UN development system, the Group of 77 and China recalls paragraph 29 of resolution 70/221 by which the General Assembly I quote: "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] looks forward to a discussion of this matter in the context of the ongoing dialogues of the Economic and Social Council and the quadrennial comprehensive policy review in 2016, and in the context of the implementation and follow-up of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda", end of quote. In this regard, we are of the view that there is a need to develop transparent measurements of poverty as progress on sustainable development that go beyond per capita income.

6. Third, we wish to reiterate that the scope of the Dialogue be directed by its pertinent mandates stated in ECOSOC Resolution 2014/14, that clearly made reference to the intention of the UN Development System QUOTE "…to convene a transparent and inclusive dialogue involving Member States and all relevant stakeholders on the longer-term positioning of the United Nations development system, taking into account the post-2015 development agenda, including the inter-linkages between the alignment of functions, funding practices, governance structures, capacity and impact of the United Nations development system, partnership approaches and organizational arrangements, which decided that the Bureau of the Council will provide updates on progress in this regard during the operational activities segment in 2015 and 2016, and requested the Secretary-General to reflect these discussions in his report on the quadrennial comprehensive policy review to the General Assembly for consideration and action by Member States during the 2016 review" UNQUOTE. We reiterate that the scope of the Dialogue should focus mainly on the six areas listed in the afore-mentioned ECOSOC Resolution and should not include humanitarian, peace-building, and peace operations issues.

7. In this regard, we are of the view that discussion on the need to strengthen support and meet the special needs of people living in areas affected by complex humanitarian emergencies and in areas affected by terrorism, as established by paragraph 23 of the 2030 Agenda, cannot be done at the expense of the scarce resources that the System has for supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

8. As stated in paragraph 19 of the Secretary-General's report on the QCPR, there is no system-wide classification distinguishing between development-related and humanitarian assistance-related activities. Therefore, we firmly believe that there is an urgent need for different accountings for each of the respective funding. In the imperative of leaving no one behind, we view that the financing of operational activities related to the humanitarian crises generated by war and terrorism imply urgent responsibilities for the international community, but their financing must be assessed as additional to the efforts made for financing for development and for realizing the 2030 Agenda.

9. Fourth, with the decline of the total contribution for core resources for UN operational activities for development, there is an urgent need to address the imbalance between core and non-core funding. Fresh ideas towards mobilization of core resources from the ITA would be more than welcome, inter alia, how to attain the international commitments made for the ODA. On the other hand, we cannot overemphasize 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, especially the system-wide reporting. There is also a need to strengthen 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.

10. Fifth, 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. We view that developing countries should be more represented in the relevant decision-making procedures in the UN Development System rather just standing at the recipient end. Furthermore, we call for a strengthened role of governing bodies, including the monitoring of the performance of those entities.

11. Last but not least, we took note with appreciation that the work of ITA is aimed at supporting Member States through the ECOSOC Bureau by providing ideas and supporting documents to advance the Dialogue. Indeed, we look forward to your innovative ideas and think-out-of-box recommendations in the six areas of the Dialogue including the issues we mentioned, inter alia on how the productive sectors, including economic growth, employment, industrialization and infrastructure would be repositioned and reinforced in the UN development system. In this regard, we attach high value in having open and inclusive consultation sessions including informal exchange of views with the ITA in a regular basis during the Dialogue.

Co-Chairs,

12. The Group of 77 and China wishes to assure you of our constructive engagement in this process.

I thank you.