Mr. President,

1. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China at this plenary meeting of the General Assembly on agenda item 70(a): Strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations.

2. Member States and the international humanitarian community are being challenged by humanitarian needs which continue to grow over the years, due to new and ongoing conflicts and an increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters. It is necessary to keep working together in order to address this challenging situation and to step-up efforts to alleviate the suffering of tens of millions of people across the world.

Mr. President,

3. Bearing in mind the 20th Anniversary of the adoption of resolution 46/182 on December 16th, 1991, the Group of 77 and China reaffirms the guiding principles of neutrality, humanity, impartiality and independence for the provision of humanitarian assistance.

4. Furthermore, the Group of 77 and China emphasizes the primary role of the affected State in the initiation, organization, coordination and implementation of humanitarian assistance within its territory.

5. While recognizing the responsibility of Member States to undertake disaster risk reduction, the Group of 77 and China urges the international community to continue to support the efforts of developing countries in building their national and local capacities for preparedness, response and early recovery, through the transfer of technology and expertise.

6. We reaffirm that Member States must fully comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 to protect and assist civilians in occupied territories and call on the UN system and the international community to strengthen their efforts to provide humanitarian assistance for those civilians.

Mr President,

7. The Group wishes to express its appreciation to the role of the UN in the coordination of the humanitarian assistance and the progress already made in humanitarian reforms aimed at improving the effectiveness of humanitarian response.

8. For further progress in this regard, the Group of 77 and China looks for an equitable geographical distribution upon the recruitment of staff in the United Nation humanitarian system.

9. In the context of increasing humanitarian emergencies, funding remains a challenge to Member States, in particular developing countries, and to the international humanitarian response system. In the view of the Group, it is necessary to promote and achieve effective, predictable, flexible and adequate funding through enhanced partnerships and strengthened financial mechanisms for humanitarian assistance.

Mr President,

10. The Group of 77 and China has engaged constructively during the negotiations on the resolution entitled "Strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistant of the United Nations" and looks forward to its adoption.

11. In addition to this, as in previous sessions of the General Assembly the G77 and China will submit a draft resolution entitled "International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development". By introducing the resolution, the Group aims at mainstreaming a holistic approach into humanitarian assistance, which promotes a better articulation of humanitarian and developmental efforts in the fields of disaster risk reduction and disaster recovery. The Group looks forward to the continued support of its partners to this important initiative.

12. In closing, I would like to express that the Group of 77 and China is confident that this general debate and the adoption of these important resolutions will contribute to a more effective coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance by the international community.

Thank you.