Mr. President,

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

2. We thank you for convening this meeting, and we particularly thank Under-Secretary-General Ryder for providing us with an update on the UN80 initiative, as well as on Workstream 2, and Assistant Secretary-General Ramanathan for his presentation on Workstream 1.

3. We take note with great interest of the work already being undertaking through these two workstreams as outlined today. While we are happy that you have begun this work, we wish to reiterate the need for continued transparency and accountability to the Member States of the UN General Assembly along every step of the process.

Mr. President,

4. The Group believes it is important that we reflect on the course of actions undertaken in previous reforms, especially to gain insights into what were beneficial and what were not so that in this exercise we would not make similar or exactly the same errors but would be able to enhance the objectives of this reform. Reforms must not be reactive but must be grounded in sound well thought out facts that will drive the overarching objective of the reform. In this vein, noting the current financial crisis of the Organization, which we are hopeful is temporary, we believe the reform must be centered beyond this.

5. Regarding the presentation by USG Ryder on Workstream 1 on efficiencies and improvements. We are concerned about the proposed 15 - 20 percent budget reductions and the 20 percent reduction in regular budget posts across the Organization. We would like to have more insight into how that figure was agreed upon and what were the scope and methodologies used. This is important, since we know that the departments/divisions in the organization, funds, programmes and agencies vary greatly, we are concerned that such a generalist approach may result in an unfair and imbalance in the cuts. We must also prioritize the equitable geographical representation and gender balance in the context of any downsizing, especially taking into account many Group members are not represented or underrepresented.

6. As the Group has reiterated several times the matter of transparency, accountability and inclusivity are paramount during this process, we welcome today's engagement and we look forward to being regularly consulted, especially noting that this year the intention is to present a revised estimates report to the General Assembly in October. And in this regard, we welcome that the revised estimates will be presented through the ACABQ to the Fifth Committee.

7. We take note that there will also be efforts undertaken to identify opportunities for efficiencies across the UN System. However, the Group stresses that these efficiency gains must be pursued in a manner that upholds the delivery of mandates.

Mr. President,

7. In relations to the presentation on Workstream 2 on Mandate Implementation Review, the Group notes the stated focus on enhancing implementation without altering the substance of existing mandates. We welcome the development of a comprehensive online registry, starting with a dashboard of relevant mandate source documents for the UN Secretariat on the basis of the Programme Budget. In this regard, we underscore the central role of intergovernmental bodies such as the Fifth Committee, ACABQ, and CPC in maintaining coherence across mandate implementation, program planning, and budgetary allocations. We highlight the importance of avoiding any unintended impact on mandate integrity or prioritization and encouraged the Secretariat to ensure that assessments of delivery challenges are undertaken in close coordination with relevant governing bodies.

Mr. President,

8. We are encouraged to hear that Workstream 2 is conducting an in-depth review, with the help of data analytics tools, to review the current mandate implementation landscape and identify potential areas for improvement, and in this regard, we look forward to the Secretary-General report at the end of July 2025, outlining the key findings for our further consideration.

I thank you.