Vienna Chapter
Mr. President, H.E. Ambassador István Horváth,
On behalf of the Group of 77 and China, I am honored to convey to you,
Excellency, our happiness in seeing you chairing the work of the 26th
session of the Industrial Development Board. I wish to extend the
appreciation of the Group to the Secretariat for the excellent
arrangements of this IDB session and for the timely preparation of the
documents. We particularly extend our commendation to UNIDO Director
General, Mr. Carlos Alfredo Magariños, for his continued interest
in the industrialization of the developing countries and the countries
with economies in transition, and for his insightful introductory
statement.
Mr. Chairman, the Group of 77 and China wishes to comment on the
agenda items 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 and I will express the views of the Group on
each item in due time. Thank you.
Mr. President,
The G-77 and China participated with keen interest in the work of the
18th session of the Programme and Budget Committee and supported the
conclusions and recommendations adopted as contained in document
IDB.26/13.
In this connection, the Group of 77 and China would like to express
its satisfaction with the positive assessment made by the auditors that,
the general financial situation of UNIDO has improved considerably over
the last few years, and that the Organization has achieved financial
stability, improved technical cooperation, delivery and quality of
services through more focus activities during the last four years.
The Group of 77 and China welcomes the implementation of the new
Financial Performance Control System (FPCS) by UNIDO, through its
available human resources. It is our hope that the transitional period
would proceed smoothly and that some of the shortcomings pointed out by
the External Auditors in shifting from one to the other would be completed
with full reconciliation of accounts.
Mr. President,
We share the view that the organizational performance should be
continuously achieved and that there is an urgent need to develop
performance indicators to measure the results of the programmes, including
those for the implementation outcomes of the Medium Term Programme
Framework.
With regard to the rules and regulations of the various members of
the donor community on the use of project budgets, the Group recognizes
that such rules are in accordance with the regular organizational
processes of these donors. We however share the view that the donor
community should exhibit more flexibility in use of project budgets and
not to impose their own procedures that may complicate UNIDO's work. The
Group encourages the Secretariat to explore further possibilities for
harmonizing the donor community's rules with those of UNIDO processes.
The Group of 77 and China is mindful of the lack of funds for the
full implementation of the technical cooperation activities. We recognize
that it is a shared responsibility of all Member States together with
UNIDO to mobilize adequate resources for the implementation of UNIDO's
programmes. We believe that, for UNIDO to discharge its mandate it is
absolutely essential to ensure that the extra budgetary resources of our
organization are reliable and predictable.
We therefore encourage the Secretariat to continue its efforts in
mobilizing extra budgetary funds for UNIDO's Technical cooperation
activities, particularly the implementation of the Integrated Programmes
and the Country Service Frameworks. We also urge all Member States and
other donors to increase their voluntary contributions to UNIDO and to
consider contributing programmable funds. At the same time we once again
call upon all Member States to pay their arrears and their assessed
contributions in full and on time.
Regarding UNIDO participation in major international events the G-77 and
China, while recognizing the relevance of the Global Forum activities,
recalls that it is of the view that these activities should result in
strengthening and improving the technical cooperation programme. In
particular, we believe that through the expansion and diversification of
productive activities and new technologies, Global Forum activities should
contribute to lower the level of unemployment, alleviate poverty, bridge
the gap between developed and developing countries and reduce the risk of
marginalization of developing countries.
The Group of 77 and China, therefore welcomes the active
participation of the Director-General, Mr. Carlos Magariños in
Monterrey and Johannesburg conferences. We particularly commend the
initiatives launched such as the initiative on trade facilitation, the
assistance programme on rural energy for productive use and the initiative
on technology transfer: Assessing needs-promoting action to ensure the
economic development goals are met. It is the Group's view that in the
choice and the design of those initiatives the priorities of the
developing countries should be fully taken into account.
The Group of 77 and China encourages UNIDO to continue its work with
relevant stakeholders, particularly WTO, UNCTAD and ITC, to assist
developing countries and countries with economies in transition to
overcome technical barriers to trade.
Finally, the Group of 77 and China takes note of document IDB.26/12
regarding the programmatic review, including system-wide issues, such as
UNIDO participation in major international events like WIPO.
Mr. President,
Concerning the implementation of medium-term programme framework,
2002-2005, including field representation and technology foresight, the
Group of 77 and China reiterates its support for the Medium-Term Programme
2002-2005, and sustains its recognition of the essential role of UNIDO in
building industrial capacity aimed at facilitating market access and
poverty reduction. The Group has noted with interest the document
IDB.26/7, concerning the Medium-Term Programme 2002-2005, and reaffirms
the importance of the initiatives of UNIDO in strengthening the industrial
capacities of developing countries, the promotion of investment and the
transfer of technology, the interaction with the private sector and the
interregional cooperation that has been reflected, among others, in a
closer cooperation with financial institutions to establish more direct
links between the investment opportunities generated by UNIDO programmes
and equity financing mechanisms.
Likewise, the Group of 77 and China is pleased to note that UNIDO
continues to provide technical cooperation services aimed at promoting the
establishment of specialized support institutions for SME development, the
promotion of the agro-industry, the promotion of South-South cooperation,
and its concern with developing further cleaner production activities, as
well as the implementation of the assistance programme for greenhouse gas
reduction, increased energy efficiency and increased use of renewable and
alternative sources of energy. The Group believes that these are
substantive areas wherein UNIDO can greatly assist Member States' efforts
on sustainable industrial development.
The Group of 77 and China takes this opportunity to stress the
measures taken by UNIDO aimed at disseminating the activities of
technology foresight in other regions, particularly in African and Asian
regions. The Group believes that this decision demonstrates UNIDO's
approach in addressing the needs of all its members within the confines of
its available resources.
The Group of 77 and China also believes that it is imperative that
the organization presents a rational system of delivery of its technical
cooperation activities from among its various field units in each
recipient country. We therefore also take note with satisfaction the
proposals and measures adopted to establish an appropriate monitoring and
evaluation system for the field structure. The Group is of the view that
this is a vital effort that will help to present a unified image of the
Organization at the field, national and regional levels.
Mr. President,
On the issue of the Global biotechnology forum the Group of 77 and
China takes note with satisfaction of document IDB.26/10 regarding the
Global Biotechnology Forum and we are of the view that by addressing
problems that are intractable to conventional technologies, or harness new
opportunities in ways that improve social welfare and ensure environmental
sustainability, biotechnology presents a high potential to contribute to
sustainable development and meet socio-economic needs, particularly in
agro-food and processing industries.
We believe that the three main objectives of the Forum, namely:
identify priority needs and opportunities; examine policy options in the
context of what is technologically feasible and desirable; and explore
possibilities of managing the development and transfer of biotechnology in
ways that are acceptable to all parties involved, are relevant in the
process of strengthening the sustainable industrial capacities of the
developing countries. We therefore welcome, once more, the planned joint
hosting, along with the Government of Chile, of a Global Conference on
Biotechnology to be held in the city of Concepción, Chile, in
December 2003, and we wish to urge all the Member States to actively
participate in this as well as the regional consultative meetings.
The Group of 77 and China examined document IDB.26/8, containing the
Director General´s proposal for the Medium Term Programme Framework
2004-2007, which is expected to maintain, in general terms, a broad
continuity with the current Medium Term Programme Framework 2002-2005 and
which is likewise expected to continue to adhere to the objectives and
priorities laid out in the Business Plan. The Group of 77 and China
believes that any future recommendation on UNIDO's programme improvements
should be in conformity with the concepts outlined in these documents so
as to ensure a clearly focused direction for the Organization.
The Group of 77 and China is pleased to note that the Secretariat has
initiated consultations with Member States on UNIDO's Newly Designed
Thematic Initiatives to strengthen industrial capacities of developing
countries which are now in the pipeline and requiring input from Member
States. The Group of 77 and China is carefully studying these initiatives
and hopes that they will be incorporated in Integrated Programmes or
Country Service Frameworks with a view to bringing new financial
commitments from donors.
The Group of 77 and China welcomes and appreciates the initiative of
Japan in proposing Strategic Guidelines for the Medium Term Programme
Framework. The Group of 77 and China has carefully studied the document
and provided its views and concerns which have been taken into account in
the revised version for incorporation. The Group of 77 and China views
this initiative as a constructive contribution for the improvement of our
Organization. The Group of 77 and China therefore encourages the
Director-General and the Secretariat to give due consideration to these
recommended guidelines in the implementation of the current Medium Term
Programme Framework, and the planning for the next one including its
corresponding budget programmes.
Mr. President,
The Group of 77 and China takes note of document IDB.26/11. Given the
central role of human resource management in the success of the
Organization's programmes, we would like to encourage UNIDO to continue
the implementation of the Human Resource Management Framework, launched in
June 2001. The Group would like to seek further better clarifications on
the financial implications of the implementation of the ICSC salary scale.
Maintaining an appropriate balance in terms of gender and
geographical distribution among the Secretariat's staff is a desirable
objective in any international organization. Therefore, the Group wishes
to urge the Secretariat to continue to apply the principle of equitable
geographical distribution in personnel policy, particularly at the
professional level. In conformity with the UN system, we also strongly
support the issue of gender balance at all levels of the Secretariat
especially at the Directors level.
The Group of 77 and China notes the interim report on the consultation
with non-Member States as contained in document IDB.26/14 and urges UNIDO
to continue to intensify its efforts to encourage them to join/rejoin the
Organization, with the view to increasing its international recognition
and to widening the financial resources of the Organization. The Group of
77 and China would like to suggest that a mechanism should be set up so
that these consultations could be pursued by the Director-General in
coordination with Member States in a systematic manner.
Finally the Group of 77 and China would like to underscore the
important role of UNIDO in assisting developing countries to build
competitive industrial capacities to overcome their marginalization and to
improve their market access in order to eradicate poverty. We therefore,
reiterate our full support for and cooperation with the Organization.
Thank you, Mr. President.
|
|
|
|
| First
Page
Vienna Chapter |
G-77 Homepage |