STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA
BY MS. KAREN LOCK PERMAI\ENT MISSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA TO THE UNITED NATIONS, ON THE ORGAIIISATION OF WORK OF THE FIFTH COMMITTEE New York 6 March 2006 Mr. Chainnan, I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China at this meeting of the Fifth Committee during the first part of the resumed 60th session of the General Assembly. The Group of 77 and China wishes to reiterate our support for the work that youo Mr. Chaiffnan, and the other Members of the Bureau are doing to ensure the smooth functioning of the Committee. We wish to assureyou that you can continue to count on the co-operation and support of the Group during this and future sessions.We also wish to welcome our partners and the members of the Secretariatback to conferencerooms 3 and 5, which have become a secondhome to all of us. We look forward to a close and constructive engagementwith our partners this session. Mr. Chairnan, The Group of 77 and China believes that this is an opportune moment to reflect on recent unfortunate experiencesin this Committee so that corrective measuresmay be taken to avoid their repetition during the current session. We believe that through open and frank dialogue with other Member Statesand the Secretariatwe can help ensurethat the interestsof all Member Statesare reflected in the final decisionsof the Committee and that the practice of consensus decision-makingremainsintact. We are also guided by our firm conviction that the establishedpractices and rules of procedure of the General Assembly, which provide a transparent inter-governmental framework for our negotiations,should be respected. In 2005 the Fifth Commiffee dealt with an unprecedentedworkload. We were in sessionfor most of the year, which placed Member Statesand the Secretariatalike under tremendous and constant pressure. However, we managed to end the 59th session in early-September 2005 in a position where the Committee was able to bring most - if not all - of the agendaitems before it to a satisfactoryconclusion. This not only resulted in good outcomes that benefited the Organisation, but also bore testimony to the professionalismand dedication of delegationsand the Secretariat complete the task at to hand. We showed that although we may not always be able to satisfy every delegation's interest, we were willing to listen to each other and to work towards finding the best possiblecompromiseand consensus solutions. However, a frank assessment the 60th sessionthus far would show that the of resultshave been mixed. The Committeemanagedto deal with many important and time-

bound items within a very short period of time, including some that were only introduced and considered during the last few days of the session. The Committee also adopted a good prograrnme budget that will enablethe Organisation to implement its mandatesand programmes for the next two years. The unfortunate link, however, that some made decision betweenreform and the budget of the Organisationresultedin the unprecedented The view of the Group of 77 and impose a spending cap on the Secretary-General. to China on the spending cap and the automaticity thereof has been clearly expressedduring the debates within the Informal Working Group of the Plenary on Secretariat and ManagementReform and we do not wish to repeat them in this forum. The Committee, furthermore, found itself in the unfortunate situation where it had to resort to a vote on a purely procedural matter, which could have been resolved through negotiations.It also had to defer negotiationson several draft resolutions that it would traditionally have been able to complete in its main sessions.At the same time, the Committee found itself in a position where several resolutions were put to it for a decision on the last day of the session without any prior informal consultations taking place on the draft texts or without any clarity on their origins or the sponsorsthereof. Towards the final stages of our sessionlast year, there was a debate by some "time-bound" items at the expenseof some of the other about allocating time to so-called items that were before us. We believe that, in addition to time-bound items, this Committee deals with many other important items that may not be time-bound but are still necessaryfor the smooth functioning of the Organisation. In our view, this aspectof the work of the Committee is equally as important as many of the budgetary and timebound decisionsthat it has to take. The position of the G77 and China is that we were not "non-timedoing ourselves or the Organisation a favour by deferring action on important bound" items dealing with issues, such as planning, accountability, management and oversightof the Secretariat. Mr. Chaitrnan, With these recent experiencesin mind, the Group of 77 and China wishes to clearly express our expectations of the Secretariat,the Bureau and the Committee at the outsei of this session,so as to ensurethat we are able to hold constructive negotiations completion. and bring the heavy workload of the Committeeto a successful Firstly, we expect the Secretariatto make every effort to ensurethat it provides Member States with complete and unbiased information and to submit its reports on time. We recognisethat the Secretariatis faced with a heavy and additional workload, but there are several items that are standard in nature and reports thereon should be submitted earlier than in the last few days of the session. Secondly,we have several important items before us, including the follow-up to the World Summit Outcome Document that will require sufficient allocation of time slots. We trust that the Bureau will continue to ensurethat the programme of work is

realistic, reflects the interestsof the collective membershipand allocates sufficient time for the thorough consideration of both the new and deferred items. Thirdly, we hope that the Bureau will continue to engagewith the Secretariatand the ACABe to ensureittat reports are submitted well in advanceto the Committee. Fourthly, wo expect that the breach of procedure that occurred last year whereby several resolutions were put to the Committee for adoption without going through the will be corrected. The rules of procedure and practices of the General usual processes Assembly provide an important framework that guide our interaction and have to be respected. Finally, we trust that Member Stateswill be willing to engage in negotiations in informal and informal informal settings, as has been the practice of this Committee, in and completeall the agendaitems before us. To order to ensurethat we reach consensus this end, we stand ready to engagein negotiations from the start of the session.We trust that others are ready to do the same. Mr. Chairrnan, The Group of 77 andChina firmly believesin the oversightrole of Member States and the negotiaiing framework provided by the Fifth Committee. We believe that dialogue between Member States is crucial to ensuring that we take decisions that strengthenthe Organisation. The United Nations is important to us. We therefore remain committed to working very closely with each and every Member State,to listening to their views and to solutions. We will onlybe able to do this if Member Statesare willing finding consensus to constructively engagein negotiationsand to actively participate in meetings.We trust that our attempi at having a tink dialogue from the outset will facilitate the work of this Committee and ensurethat a constructive spirit prevails throughout the session. I thank you, Mr. Chairrnan.