EXPLANATION OF POSITION BEFORE ADOPTION:

Mr. Chair,

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

First, allow us to express our appreciation to the Bureau for leading this important negotiation process and to acknowledge its continuous efforts to engage with delegations with a view to reaching consensus.

As you are aware, throughout the whole negotiation process, the group has demonstrated utmost good faith and a constructive spirit.

Indeed, allow me to emphasize that the group has taken the lead in revitalizing the work of the Second Committee by reviewing its own resolutions and undertaking nine concrete commitments to adjust their periodicity and consolidate them through mergers.
This was despite the fact that, during the previous revitalization exercise for the 74th session, when adjustments to the periodicity of resolutions and the merging of resolutions were undertaken, only G77 resolutions were affected.

Once again, during this revitalization process, only the Group of 77 and China came forward with proposals to adjust the periodicity of its resolutions and consolidate them where appropriate. Allow me to be clear: no other delegation outside the Group submitted proposals in this regard or contributed its share to this effort.

Despite this imbalance in the burden sharing, the group continued to show good faith throughout the process. While appreciating the efforts done by the bureau to achieve a consensual text, on Monday the group decided to break silence on paragraphs F (I) and G(vi), proposing minor amendments to fix persisting concerns. We therefore appreciate that the final text corrected paragraph F (I), while we regret that the other amendment proposed by the group was not taken on board.

The group's proposal to amend the paragraph G(vi) was a step backward from its original position to delete the paragraph, which the group clearly manifested throughout the whole negotiations. Therefore, this was already an exercise of flexibility with the intent of finding a middle ground.

The proposed amendment to paragraph G(vi) was based on the following grounds:

- First, the paragraph is too vague and may lead to unacceptable misinterpretations. The requirement to take into account the outcomes of major United Nations conferences and high-level meetings, while at the same time avoiding overlap in the Committee's substantive consideration of those outcomes, is inherently contradictory or not practical in terms of follow up of the outcomes and their implementation, except by having resolutions speak nothing about the outcomes of the said UN conferences and meetings. The Group wishes to place on record that it does not accept any interpretation of this paragraph that suggests, technically or otherwise, that the delegations should refrain from tabling resolutions on the relevant items. Such an interpretation would contradict Member States' prerogatives in this regard.

- Second, the paragraph does not uphold and preserve the understanding in the room that resolutions should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, looking into their individual merit, and that no blanket rule shall be prescribed on their periodicity and substance. The Group therefore regrets that the paragraph as drafted prescribes a blanket rule on periodicity and expresses disappointment over the lack of mutual constructiveness from all sides at the final stage of this process.

The Group is always of the view that sufficient and transparent consultations in order to achieve a consensual outcome are extremely important and really appreciates the efforts undertaken by the bureau today to avoid a vote on this decision.

In view of the points mentioned above, the Group of 77 and China does not support paragraph G(vi) as drafted and cannot commit to any implementation of it that would restrain the group and its member states prerogative to present resolutions in the 2C, including those connected to the outcomes of the UN Conferences and high level meetings.

The Group expects that the efforts undertaken by the Second Committee will be recognized in the context of the revitalization of the General Assembly and the UN80 Initiative, and that the committee should not be forced to a new review of its mandates in the upcoming session; particularly given that it is the only Main Committee of the General Assembly that has undertaken such an exercise to date. The Group further manifests that it should not be subjected again to a process where it would be asked to give more

Finally, the Group of 77 and China wishes to underscore that it attaches great importance to the work of the 2C and to emphasize that future revitalization efforts should not be aimed solely at reducing the number or periodicity of resolutions but rather at strengthening the Committee's impact and enhancing its contribution to advancing sustainable development and the eradication of poverty.

Thank you.