Mr. President,
Distinguished Co-facilitators,
Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

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

2. At the outset, let me commend the Distinguished Co-facilitators, Ambassador Minouni of Algeria and Ambassador Hermann of Denmark and their teams for their hard work and for diligently guiding us through this process to a successful conclusion, as the path to consensus amidst a number of divergent views was extremely difficult, but not impossible.

3. The Group of 77 and China strongly recommits to the repositioned UN development system and its reinvigorated Resident Coordination system, as established under the guidance of the Secretary-General. As programme countries, the members of the Group count on the support, in various degrees, of the UN development system and its entities as we strive to follow our national development priorities and needs and to implement the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, the achievement of its SDGs and other development frameworks and goals.

4. Although disappointed that the General Assembly was not able to move the funding of the RC system to a more stable and predictable foundation, the Group of 77 and China is elated that at least this resolution’s funding proposal does not weaken the current funding of the system. We are convinced that adequate, predictable and sustainable funding of the resident coordinator system is essential to delivering a coherent, effective, efficient and accountable response in accordance with national needs and priorities, with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as our overarching goal. We note with appreciation the effort made by the co-facilitators to improve the collection of the levy and we call on all entities of the United Nations Development System to continue contributing to the funding of the system through the cost-sharing arrangement.

5. The G-77 and China remains gravely concern about the state of the funding of the RC system, particularly with regards to the financial shortfalls observed in the budget since the start of its functioning, and that is one of the reasons why we were open to discuss the possibility of partially funding the system through a hybrid model with a share coming from assessed contributions. We thank the co-facilitators and the whole membership for understanding our call for this resolution to include a clear revision mechanism that would allow for the issue of the funding of the RC system to be reassessed should such shortfalls persist.

6. The Resident Coordinators and their teams are central pieces of the UNDS repositioning and key to a stronger, focused delivery on the ground in the Decade of Action and for a sustainable inclusive recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. In that regard, we call on traditional donors to step up and provide the needed voluntary contributions in line with the SG’s proposal and what is outlined in the resolution we adopt today.

7. Mr. President, Distinguished Co-facilitators, once again, the Group of 77 and China would like to reaffirm the strong political support that we attach to the new Resident Coordinator System, and we recall the importance that the Resident Coordinators, while delivering on their mandate, remain in constant dialogue with and consult frequently with the host governments, in line with national leadership and ownership. It is high time we move ahead and give the necessary tools to the RCs and to the UN Country Teams so they can implement the mandates of the 2020 QCPR and help countries to move towards their development goals.

8. The G-77 and China congratulates the co-facilitators and the Member States for the successful conclusion of this process and we, as always, will remain engaged with you and our development partners. And through you, Mr. President, to also convey our continued thanks and appreciation to the Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General for their work in ensuring the UN Development System is fit-for-purpose and to assure them of the Groups continued support in this regard.

9. Mr. President, a final word to convey that the Group would like to wish Ambassador Minouni the very best for all his future endeavors, as His Excellency successfully concludes his tenure as Permanent Representative of Algeria to the United Nations.