Distinguished Colleagues,

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

2. At the outset, please allow me to thank the Deputy Secretary General and the Development Coordination Office for the opportunity to engage in this discussion as a follow-up of the review process of the RC system.

3. The Group believes that the basic principles underpinning the Resident Coordinator system must determine the results framework for the RC system. These include:

– Sustainable development and eradication of poverty should remain its overarching objective.
– The UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), under national leadership and ownership with a development perspective, should guide the activities of the RC office and the country teams.
– They should be fully accountable to the host governments and should periodically report back to them on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework.
– Adherence to principle of equitability in the appointment of RCs, particularly from developing countries.
– Adequate, predictable, and sustainable funding of the resident coordinator system is essential for delivering a coherent, effective, efficient and accountable response in accordance with national needs and priorities.
– On the whole, the UN Development System must take guidance from the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR).

4. While upholding above principles, the Group has the following preliminary views and questions on the concept note circulated by the Development Coordination Office:

– On the proposed objectives of the Resident Coordinator System, we stress that strengthening of leadership, convening & management should be assessed in relation to streamlining and implementation of the Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework across the activities of all UN entities in a programme country. The same principle should apply to measuring the success of the RC system.
– The mandate of the RC system results framework from resolution 76/4 is clear. We hope that a framework would be presented based on the parameters outlined in the 2020 QCPR.
– The indicators and targets should be reflective of the cooperation frameworks, which is based on the priorities, needs and plans at the national level.
– It will be important to know how the RC system responds to these priorities, how it utilizes resources, and how the outcomes are achieved in a consistent reporting manner that allows year-to-year comparison.
– How does the various levels of the system work and utilize its budget and what are the outputs?
– Regarding the suggestion of referring to the 2021 indicators of achievements and results as the baseline, the Group would like to know more information about the 2021 and 2019 versions of indicators, especially their difference.
– The Group also believes that more time should be given to delve into the guiding questions.

5. At the end the Group reaffirms its continued support and constructive engagement in this process to ensure that the repositioned UN Development System, along with the reinvigorated Resident Coordinator system, remains fit-for-purpose.