Mr. Chairman

1. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on agenda item 134, entitled "Human Resources Management".

2. The Group of 77 and China wishes to express its appreciation to the Deputy Secretary-General, Ms. Asha-Rose Migiro, the Under Secretary-General for Management, Ms. Angela Kane, the Director of the Ethics Office, Ms. Joan Elise Dubinsky, for their introductions of the relevant reports of the Secretary-General on human resources management. The Group also thanks the Chair of the ACABQ, Ms. Susan McLurg, for introducing the related report of the Advisory Committee.

3. We further thank the Vice-President of the Staff-Management Coordination Committee, Ms. Paulina Analena, and President of the Staff Union of the United Nations Secretariat, Mr. Stephen Kisambira, for their statements.

Mr. Chairman,

4. The Group of 77 and China has pronounced itself on different occasions in favour of the efforts by the Secretary-General to continue the transformation of the human resources management. To us, the efficient and effective delivery of the UN mandates fundamentally hinges on the quality of its staff and the availability of resources. Ensuring the well-being of all international civil servants is of the utmost importance to the Group of 77 and China. We support all reform measures aimed at establishing a highly motivated, vibrant and dynamic workforce for our Organisation.

5. The Group of 77 and China continues to believe that long-term workforce planning is an important tool for the Secretariat. While we support the intention of the Secretary-General to focus on shorter-term operational workforce planning to address already identified demands in field operations, we believe that it is equally important to develop a long-term perspective. We concur with the opinion of the ACABQ that, despite the fact that the staffing requirements are dependent on mandates, which are difficult to predict, this situation should not prevent the Secretary-General from extrapolating future staffing needs based on experience and trends.

6. In keeping with our long-standing position, the Group of 77 and China does not support the proposed reduction of the period of advertising individual vacancies. We believe that many other aspects of the whole recruitment process could be streamlined in order to continue reducing the number of days needed to fill vacancies. We consider that any proposal in this regard must address the issue in a comprehensive and holistic manner.

7. The Group of 77 and China emphasizes that all candidates should be assessed on the basis of the requirements of the post. In this regard, we stress that the recruitment process must follow the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, the priorities set by the General Assembly, the provisions of relevant General Assembly resolutions and the staff rules and regulations, taking into account the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, as well as giving due regard to the principles of geographical diversity and gender parity. Accordingly, the Group is deeply concerned with the use of discriminatory procedures for the selection of external candidates from the staff selection system. We urge the Secretary-General to ensure equal treatment of candidates and stress, in this regard, that his administrative instruction on this matter, as contained in ST/AI/2010/3, be abolished immediately, as underlined by the ACABQ.

8. With regard to Inspira, the Group of 77 and China expresses its deep concern over its system reliability and the many shortcomings the system has faced since its release. As Inspira has been described as the centerpiece of the recruitment and talent management system of the Secretariat, the Group stresses the need to overcome these challenges on an urgent basis.

9. The Group takes note of the proposed Young Professional Programme and the intention of the Secretary-General to implement measures for the more effective recruitment, placement and professional development of young professionals. We will seek further clarifications on the scope, implications and rationale of the specific proposals of the Secretary-General.

10. The Group regrets that the report of the Secretary-General does not adequately respond to the request of the General Assembly to present a comprehensive review the system of desirable ranges "with a view to establishing a more effective tool to ensure equitable geographical distribution in relation to the total number of staff of the global United Nations Secretariat". The Group notes that the number of staff under the system of desirable ranges is at the level of 3,300, while the total number of staff of the global United Nations Secretariat stands at 44,000. This represents only 7.5% of the total number of staff.

11. In this regard, the Group reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to intensify his efforts to achieve equitable geographical distribution and gender balance of staff, as mandated by the General Assembly.

12. The Group of 77 and China encourages the Secretary-General to work closely with major troop-contributing countries in order to fill vacancies in the field missions. However, the report of the Secretary-General does not make appropriate provision for proper representation of troop-contributing countries in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Field Support of the Secretariat, taking into account their contribution to United Nations peacekeeping.

Mr. Chairman,

13. It is imperative for Member States to agree on the modalities of implementation of the continuing contracts. It is not acceptable, after approving the new contractual arrangement comprising the continuing contracts, in accordance to General Assembly resolution 63/250, to freeze granting the continuing contracts due to the absence of agreement on the modalities of its implementation. The option of returning to the old contractual arrangement should be explored, if no agreement is reached regarding the modalities of implementing the continuing contracts.

14. The Group of 77 and China fully supports the recommendations of the International Civil Service Commission regarding the harmonization of conditions of service in non-family duty stations, as referred to in the Secretary-General's report. The three proposals presented by the Commission have merit and are interlinked. Therefore, their full implementation will ensure across-the-board harmonization and the preservation of the United Nations common system. The conditions of service of staff serving in peacekeeping missions are of utmost concern to the Group. It is a matter of principle that staff serving in the field, facing the same challenges on the ground, be given the same treatment that their counterparts from Agencies, Funds and Programmes receive. It is imperative that we, as General Assembly, put an end to this discriminatory treatment.

15. Moreover, as mentioned by the ACABQ, the Group expects that the Secretary-General will exert his leadership as Chairman of the Chief Executives Board for Coordination to ensure the full system-wide application of the new arrangements that the General Assembly will approve during the main part of the 65th session.

16. In the above context, the Group of 77 and China considers of the utmost importance the strict abidance of all organizations that are part of the common system to paragraph 45 of General Assembly resolution 64/289 on system-wide coherence.

Mr. Chairman,

17. This agenda item constitutes a priority for our Group. We would like to assure you of our commitment and willingness to engage in a constructive debate to foster substantive progress on this pivotal agenda item.

I thank you.