Mr. Chairman,

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

2. At the outset, the Group would like to thank the Secretary-General for his comprehensive reports under this agenda item. The solid analyses contained therein along with the outcome of the ECOSOC Dialogue earlier this year underline the latest trends in and ambitions of Member States for the UN operational activities for development.

Mr. Chairman,

3. With the adoptions of the inter-governmentally agreed development commitments in 2015, in particular the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Group are of the view that this new QCPR resolution must take into account the new global development landscape to provide long-term strategic guidance to the UN development system at all levels leading to a fundamental enhancement and reform of the system thereof.

4. In this regard, it is very important that the operational activities for development take into account the need to build, promote and strengthen capacity of developing countries in their efforts to achieve long-term sustainable development at the national level, while bearing in mind the different development levels and realities on the ground. Continued and enhanced support from the system to developing countries must be ensured in order for these countries to address their priorities and challenges and to successfully implement the new global development agenda, which require the system to continue to improve its effectiveness, efficiency, coordination, coherence and impact.

Mr. Chairman,

5. It is in this light that the Group would like to reiterate some key issues as follows:

5.1 First, we reaffirm the importance of the QCPR through which the General Assembly establishes key system wide policy orientations for development cooperation and country-level modalities of the system.

5.2 Second, we strongly believe that development is a goal in itself and that it constitutes a key element of the overarching framework of the UN operational activities for development; while noting that development, peace and security and human rights are interlinked and mutually reinforcing.

5.3 Third, the fundamental characteristics of these activities must remain, inter alia, universal and voluntary as well as their ability to respond to the development needs of programme countries must be flexible according to national needs and priorities. In this regard, the system needs to enhance its capabilities to respond to the diverse and specific national circumstances, capacities, development levels, needs and priorities as well as to further strengthen its support to build and develop national capacity at the request of national governments, bearing in mind that national leadership and engagement throughout the process are important to ensure meaningful outcomes.

5.4 Fourth, the Sustainable Development Goals and targets must be prioritized and mainstreamed into the work of the system bearing in mind that eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the overarching objective of the 2030 Agenda. At the same time, there is the pertinent need to address the special challenges facing the most vulnerable countries, in particular, African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing states, as well as the specific challenges facing the middle-income countries, in particular the provisions under resolution 70/215, and the needs of countries in conflict and post-conflict situations and countries and peoples under foreign occupation.

5.5 Fifth, to do so the system is required to perform a system-wide mapping of existing capacities and expertise to identify gaps and overlaps and means and ways to address them in order to improve its synergy and avoid fragmentation.

5.6 Sixth, the Group would like to reiterate that core resources are the bedrock of the UN operational activities for development. We are concerned over the accelerated rate the imbalance between core and non-core resources is growing. The system, in this regard, must urgently address this imbalance through the operationalization of the concept of critical mass of core resources, incentivize donors to reverse this decline, broadening of donor base and ensuring full cost recovery among others. At the same time, non-core contributions must be more flexible and align with national priorities and plans of programme countries.

5.7 Seventh, we are of a strong view that the governance architecture of the system urgently requires comprehensive reform to enhance its coordination, coherence, effectiveness and efficiency with clear and accountable leadership modality and to improve its transparency, accountability and responsiveness to Member States. In this regard, we would like to stress that equitable geographical representation in the senior posts of the system must be improved.

5.8 Eighth, the Group reiterate the importance of improving the Resident Coordinator System, through activating a functional firewall, putting into place an accountability framework, reviewing of its authority, exercising due diligence, enhancing the selection process based on geographic and gender diversity and reviewing of its funding arrangements among others, following the leadership of national governments, in order for the it to carry out its mandates in the most efficient and effective manner.

5.9 Ninth, the Group recognize the efforts of the system on promoting the Delivering as One (DAO) approach in order to provide harmonized service delivery through programme countries. However, we would also like to reiterate that the "no one size fits all" approach and the principle of the voluntary adoption of DAO must be kept in mind.

5.10 Lastly, for the system to carry out its mandates efficiently and effectively, there must be a clear mechanism for system-wide monitoring and reporting on the progress of its work and activities.

Mr. Chairman,

6. The Group would like to reaffirm its well-known position that South-South cooperation is a manifestation of solidarity among peoples and countries of the South that contributes to their national well-being, national and collective self-reliance and the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals. South-South cooperation is, thus, complementary to and not a substitute of the traditional North-South cooperation.

7. In this regard, the Group reiterate the call to the UN funds, programmes and specialized agencies to continue taking concrete measures to mainstream support for South-South and triangular cooperation, to assist developing countries to develop capacities to maximize the benefits and impact of such cooperation in order to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Mr. Chairman,

8. The Group of 77 and China look forward to a constructive and productive engagement and deliberation during this session as it provides us the right and timely opportunity to enhance the work of the UN development system in order to better its support to us in our efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda in the years ahead.

I thank you.