Madam Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on the conclusion of the second part of the resumed sixty-fourth session of the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly.

2. The Group wishes to warmly thank and congratulate the Chairman, Ambassador Peter Maurer of Switzerland, for his able leadership and stewardship in steering the work of the Committee to a successful conclusion. We wish him great success in his future endeavors in his new capacity as the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Switzerland.

3. We would also like to thank and congratulate the distinguished members of the Bureau, all the Coordinators of the Committee, as well as the members of the Secretariat for their dedication and hard work during the session.

Madam Chair,

4. We would like to pay special tribute to the United Nations peacekeepers, particularly those who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives, and to their families, in serving the noble cause of global peace and security and in upholding the objectives of the Charter of the United Nations.

5. The Committee's actions on the cross-cutting issues are of critical importance to the United Nations peacekeeping operations and Member States, particularly the Troop Contributing Countries. These issues, however, need consistent focus and attention, and are in line with the General Assembly's resolutions.

Madam Chair,

6. The Group would like to reiterate its understanding of the General Assembly's decision contained in paragraph 6 of the cross-cutting resolution that has just been adopted, that the death and disability compensation shall be awarded to all uniformed personnel in cases of loss of life or injury in the service of the United Nations during the entire period of their deployment. The only exception, could be in case of willful neglect or self-inflicted injury, as provided for in the rules

7. It is also the understanding of the Group of 77 and China that any reduction approved by the General Assembly in the overall appropriation of the budget of specific peacekeeping operations, in relation to the level originally proposed by the Secretary-General, will not entail a reduction on the amount of resources available for quick-impact projects in those missions.

Madam Chair,

8. The Group of 77 and China would like to reiterate the relevance of the establishment of the first Regional Service Centre of the Global Field Support Strategy at Entebbe, as mentioned in paragraph 26 of the just adopted resolution on Cross-Cutting. It is important that this first Regional Service Centre be a family duty station as that will ensure that issues such as the high vacancy rates in missions are redressed in the Regional Service Centres that offer a higher sense of stability and security for staff.

Madam Chair,

9. The Group of 77 and China welcomes the progress made by the General Assembly in the major administrative initiative of the Department of Field Support in the form of Global Field Support Strategy which seeks to bring about significant improvements in the service delivery to the peacekeeping missions in their start up and expansion phases. The Group would remain positively engaged in further development and implementation of the Strategy. We urge the Secretary-General to consult extensively and comprehensively with Member States, in particular the Troop Contributing Countries who are the primary users of the support services, in further developing the elements of the Strategy as well as its implementation over the next five years as enshrined in the decisions of the General Assembly under the cross-cutting resolution.

Thank you.