STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA BY MS. SIRITHON WAIRATPANIJ, COUNSELLOR, PERMANENT MISSION OF THE KINGDOM OF THAILAND TO THE UNITED NATIONS, ON THE ORGANIZATION OF WORK AT THE SECOND PART OF THE RESUMED SEVENTIETH SESSION OF THE FIFTH COMMITTEE OF THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY (New York, 2 May 2016)

Mr. Chairman,

1. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on the Organization of Work for the second part of the resumed seventieth session of the Fifth Committee.

2. At the outset, the Group of 77 and China would like to reiterate its deep and sincere appreciation to you for the professional and able leadership in steering the work of the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly during this seventieth session. We extend also our gratitude to the Bureau and the Secretariat of the Committee in preparing the draft Programme of Work and the status of preparedness of documentation for this session as contained in document A/C.5/70/L.33.

3. We would like to take this opportunity to also thank Ms. Bettina Tucci Bartsiotas, Assistant Secretary-General, Controller, Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts, and Mr. Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Chairperson of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions for joining us today.

Mr. Chairman,

4. During the next four weeks of the second part of the resumed session, the Fifth Committee is tasked to consider and approve peacekeeping and its related budget with the proposed financial resource amounting to over eight billion USD. At the same time, an equally important agenda item that the Group has given top priority and constantly and closely followed, since the main part of the seventieth session, is the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. We have stated our position clearly, throughout the last session and in the letter from the Chair of the Group to you, that all efforts should be exerted to ensure that the Secretary-General report and the related report of the ACABQ are presented for due deliberation by the Committee at this very second resumed session in a timely manner. It is our view that any attempt to further delay the consideration of this agenda item will only hamper the credibility and the ability of the organization in delivering its services according to the mandates given by our own leaders already 8 months ago, 10 months ago in the case of Addis Ababa Action Agenda. This will be unacceptable.

5. In this connection, we trust that the Bureau will approach this agenda item, especially in setting it out in the Programme of Work, in a coherent and balanced manner to ensure that all agenda items receive full and equal treatment, especially in terms of the allocation of sufficient time for substantive deliberations. In this regard, we wish to point out that the Programme of Work presented to us today is provisional in nature, and will be subsequently reviewed and updated to appropriately reflect development on the availability of the reports and progress of negotiations. By doing so, we believe, it will help Member States in having adequate time to complete a thorough consideration on each the agenda item.

6. With the substantial number of reports and heavy workload that the Committee will face in the coming weeks, the Group would like to assure you of our readiness to engage constructively during the course of deliberations. In this regard, we would like to urge all groups and delegations to spare no efforts to do the same to ensure that the Fifth Committee successfully concludes its work in a timely fashion.

Mr. Chairman,

7. On the peacekeeping matters, the Group attaches great importance to the consideration of administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of the UN peacekeeping, in particular, cross-cutting issues, closed peacekeeping missions, and support account for peacekeeping operations. These issues are even more important as they are addressed against the backdrop of the report of the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operation, which sets out a broad set of recommendations to adapt and reinvigorate the approach to peace operations.

8. The Group is of the view that, during the session, the following key priorities will have to be tackled, and looks forward to engaging in these issues during the Committee's informal consultations:

i. To ensure that the formulation, presentation, and approval of the peacekeeping budgets is done on the basis of their mandates and the real situation on the ground, and not as an arbitrary, across-the-board cost-cutting exercise;
ii. To explore options to achieve a fair solution for the unpaid assessments, accounts payable and other liabilities of closed peacekeeping missions, so as to settle claims outstanding in the missions with cash deficit;
iii. To assess achievements and shortfalls of the implementation of the Global Field Support Strategy of the Secretary-General after the end of its implementation period of five years;
iv. To consider systematically addressing the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping operations, in particular, on the measures to prevent such occurrence.

Mr. Chairman,

9. In closing, the Group of 77 and China would like to reassure you that we will engage actively and constructively during the Committee's deliberations on all issues under its consideration during this session.

I thank you Mr. Chairman.