At the outset, allow me to extend our warmest congratulations to you, Mr. Chair, and the members of the Bureau on your election. The Group of 77 and China assures you of our full support and cooperation during this session.

The Group thanks the Secretary-General for the submission of the reports under agenda items of concern for the group, which will enrich our discussions.

The Group of 77 and China renews its unwavering commitment to multilateralism, international cooperation and the purposes and principles of the United Nations. The Group pledges to continue to advance its three interlinked pillars, peace and security, human rights and development, in a balanced manner, and calls on all Member States to renew the multilateral spirit that gave birth to the Organization for the benefit of present and future generations.

The Group also emphasizes that we must join hands to realize the 2030 Agenda, leaving no country and no person behind, and building together a just, inclusive and better world, respecting, promoting and protecting human rights for all. The Group also reaffirms that the Commission for Social Development has the primary responsibilities for the follow-up to the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action, and stresses its role in contributing to the follow-up to the 2030 Agenda.

The Group of 77 and China reaffirms that all humans are equal in dignity and rights, as recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Vienna Declaration and Programme for Action. The group also stresses that all human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated, and the international community must treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing, and with the same emphasis.

Mr. Chair,

The Group would like to remind Delegations that is the traditional proponent of four draft resolutions, reflecting our shared priorities and collective commitments, meaning:

- Implementation of the Outcome of the World Summit for Social Development and of the Twenty-Fourth Special Session of the General Assembly
- Follow-up to the Thirtieth Anniversary of the International Year of the Family and Future Needs
- Follow-up to the Second World Assembly on Ageing
- Global Call for Concrete Action for the Total Elimination of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance and for the Comprehensive Implementation of and Follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action

Thirty years after the World Summit for Social Development, we acknowledge the progress made in advancing the core pillars of Copenhagen declaration; yet, we remain deeply concerned that poverty, inequality, exclusion and challenges to achieving full and productive employment and decent work for all persist, compounded by new and emerging global challenges. In that regard, we welcome the hosting by the State of Qatar of the Second World Summit for Social Development, held from 4 to 6 November 2025, which reaffirmed the commitment to the Copenhagen Declaration and its Programme of Action on Social Development and to its implementation, while providing renewed momentum towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Group also underscores the need to strengthen inclusive social policies and programmes, including family-oriented policies and programmes through concrete strategies that build national capacities within a comprehensive approach to development, as catalysts for reducing poverty and hunger, promoting the well-being of all at all ages, supporting children's development, and breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty.

At the same time, as the global population ages, we must also foster an enabling environment for the equal and meaningful participation of older persons, by combating discrimination and safeguarding their rights and dignity.

The Group of 77 and China reaffirms its strong opposition to all forms of discrimination, including racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and expresses concern at the alarming rise in religious hatred and intolerance. The Group calls upon Member States and the international community to condemn religious intolerance and hatred, foster dialogue, tolerance, and respect for cultural, ethnic and religious diversity. The legacy of colonialism, slavery, and systemic exploitation has created deep-rooted global inequalities that persist across generations. Advancing reparatory justice is vital in addressing global inequality through structural reforms in global governance, trade, debt, finance to advance the SDGs.

Mr. Chair,

The Group of 77 and China recommits to eliminating all forms of discrimination and violence against all women and girls and to ensuring their empowerment in all spheres of life, since achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls as well as the full, equal and meaningful participation of women are also indispensable to just and inclusive societies. The G77 and China also stresses the importance of redoubling efforts to ensure full and equal access to education, employment, and healthcare for persons with disabilities, and of strengthening support for youth through inclusive education, training, skills development, addressing digital literacy challenges and promoting employment.

The Group of 77 and China reaffirms it is crucial to cooperate internationally to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration involving full respect for human rights and the humane treatment of migrants, regardless of their migration status, refugees and displaced persons. Such cooperation should also strengthen the resilience of communities hosting refugees, particularly in developing countries. The Group also stresses that migrants positively contribute to sustainable development, while recognizing that the roles and responsibilities of the countries of origin, transit and destination should be appropriately balanced. The Group further commits to combat misinformation and disinformation, negative stereotyping and misleading narratives that generate negative perceptions of migration and migrants.

In conclusion, the Group of 77 and China remains firmly committed to the promotion and protection of human rights and to advancing social development. We wish this session of the Third Committee every success and look forward to counting on the constructive participation of all delegations in the consultations on the resolutions that the Group will be introducing during this session.

I thank you.

The Group of 77 and China has remained firmly committed to its foundational opposition to all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. As the core group presenting the annual resolution on the follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, we have a demonstrated history of commitment and support for this seminal and fundamental process.

This High-level Meeting convene to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action offers an important opportunity to reaffirm its enduring significance as a landmark framework in our collective commitment to combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and strengthen global support for the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and its implementation.

The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action is not only about combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; it is also about improving education and awareness, fighting poverty and marginalization, securing inclusive and sustainable development, reducing inequalities and respecting, protecting and promoting the human rights of all persons. Its relevance is further strengthened by the recognized nexus between combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the achievement of sustainable development.

The Group also underscores the fundamental need to eliminate persistent historical and structural inequalities, particularly affecting women and girls, people of African descent and Indigenous Peoples and local communities including by acknowledging, addressing and taking effective measures to remedy past tragedies and their consequences, such as affirmative policies and reparatory justice and to eradicate all forms of discrimination.

Moreover, in order to effectively eliminate racism and racial discrimination and eradicate negative stereotypes, we must educate today's children and young people about the history of racism and racial discrimination and their impacts, ensuring that future generations do not carry the weight of the past, either by perpetuating these harmful practices or by suffering their consequences.

We remain deeply concerned about the alarming resurgence of all forms of racism in societies and call upon States to combat and oppose all forms of racism, including hate speech and religious intolerance, online and offline, worldwide, in line with the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.

It is also important to recognize the modern elements shaping racism and racial discrimination. Today, technology is developing at an unprecedented pace, while social media enables messages of hatred to spread at alarming speed, alongside misinformation and disinformation, increasingly amplified by Artificial Intelligence. New technologies can be extremely beneficial for sustainable development if used responsibly. We must work together to ensure that new developments contribute to a better world and do not perpetuate or exacerbate existing and structural inequalities.

Mr. President,

We will never achieve peaceful, just and inclusive societies until we all begin to see and treat one another with equity. In this regard, I wish to conclude by reaffirming the Group's unwavering commitment to the global fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

I thank you.

2. This observance provides an opportunity not only to commemorate the adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action in 1978, but also to reaffirm the principles and aspirations that continue to guide our collective efforts. The Buenos Aires Outcome Document, adopted in 2019, further strengthened this vision and provided an important framework for advancing South-South and triangular cooperation in accordance with the national priorities, needs and ownership of developing countries.

3. In this context, the Group welcomes the adoption, on 24 July 2026 of the modalities resolution establishing the framework for the comprehensive, inclusive and Member State-led review of the implementation of the Buenos Aires Outcome Document. The forthcoming review provides an important opportunity to assess progress, identify remaining gaps and emerging challenges, and renew political momentum for South-South cooperation.

4. South-South cooperation is guided by the principles of respect for national sovereignty, national ownership and independence, equality, non-conditionality, non-interference in domestic affairs, and mutual benefit. It is voluntary in nature and remains a complement to, and not a substitute for, North-South cooperation. Nor can South-South cooperation substitute for official development assistance or for the commitments undertaken by developed countries in the field of development, as well as on climate finance.

Madam/Mr. President,

5. We meet at a time when developing countries continue to face multiple and interconnected challenges: financing gaps, debt vulnerabilities, constrained fiscal space, climate change, food and energy insecurity, and persistent technological and digital divides, among others.

6. Against this backdrop, the importance of South-South cooperation has never been greater. Cooperation among developing countries enables the exchange of knowledge, technology, expertise and innovative solutions, while strengthening resilience and supporting nationally determined and country-led development priorities, in line with the Agenda 2030.

7. South-South and triangular cooperation can also support productive transformation, strengthen national capacities and institutions, and enable developing countries not merely to be recipients or users of knowledge and technology, but increasingly to act as innovators, producers and co-creators of solutions.

8. Particular attention must be given to closing technological and digital divides and ensuring that advances in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies do not generate new forms of exclusion or dependency.

9. South-South cooperation is therefore more than a mechanism for exchanging good practices. It is an important vehicle for strengthening collective self-reliance, advancing the development priorities of the Global South.

10. The Group also reaffirms the central role of the United Nations in promoting and supporting South-South cooperation. In this regard, the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation plays a particularly important role in facilitating partnerships, knowledge-sharing and the exchange of development solutions.

11. We stress the need for adequate, predictable and sustained financial and institutional support for UNOSSC so that it can effectively support Member States and fulfil its mandates.

12. The Group commends South-South and Triangular Cooperation initiatives and funding mechanisms, such as the United Nations Fund for South-South Cooperation, the India-UN Development Partnership Fund, the India, Brazil and South Africa Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation (IBSA Fund), the Pérez-Guerrero Trust Fund for South-South Cooperation (PGTF), the Triangular Cooperation Window under the United Nations Fund for South-South Cooperation, and the China-UN Global South-South Development Facility, and other Trust Funds, for their contribution to the Global South. These Funds seek to innovatively put into practice South-South cooperation by contributing resources and expanding partnerships for development cooperation anchored at the multilateral level.

13. As we move towards the forthcoming review of the Buenos Aires Outcome Document, the review should help us close implementation gaps, strengthen institutional support without duplications, expand access to the means of implementation or improve its quality and scale up successful Southern-led solutions to achieve greater impact on the ground, while fully preserving the distinct nature and principles of South-South cooperation.

14. On this United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation, the Group reiterates its readiness to engage constructively to strengthen international development cooperation based on the principle of solidarity being South-South cooperation an instrument of collective action and transformation in support of a more just, peaceful, resilient and sustainable future for all.

I thank you.