Statement of the G-77 and China at the 41st session of UNIDO Industrial Development
Board, 24 - 27 June 2013, delivered by H.E. Ambassador Mr. Mahmoud Elamin, PR of the Sudan
Mr President, Ambassador Mr. Antonio García - Revilla, PR of Peru
1. On behalf of the Group of 77 and China allow me to congratulate you on your
election as the Chair of the 41st session of UNIDO Industrial Development Board
as well as other members of the bureau on their election. The Group is confident
that under your leadership, this Session of the IDB would be guided in a smooth
manner and reach fruitful conclusion.
2. I would also avail myself of this opportunity to thank your predecessor H.E.
Ambassador Balázs CSUDAY, Permanent Representative of Hungary, for his
commendable conduction of the previous IDB meeting.
3. Allow me to express the Group's sincere appreciation for the arrangements
of the meeting as well as the provision of the necessary documentation by the
Secretariat.
4. Being this the last meeting Dr. Kandeh Yumkella attends as Director-General
of UNIDO, the Group commends him for the overwhelming enthusiasm he has shown
in leading the Organization during the past 7 years. The increase in technical
cooperation delivery and the strengthening of UNIDO's expertise and role in
industrial development are part of his legacy.
5. We have found his remarks useful and inspiring. His reflections on UNIDO's
future leave us with hope to move towards a comprehensive industrial development
agenda that effectively contributes to a global sustainable development and
in which UNIDO, can engage its knowledge and expertise.
6. The Group thanks Dr. Yumkella for his work and wishes him the best for his
future endeavors.
The Group will comment on Agenda items 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 13.
Item 3: Annual Report 2012
Mr President,
1. The Group of 77 and China would like to reiterate some of the comments made
on this agenda item, on occasion of the 29th Programme and Budget Committee.
In this sense, we express our appreciation for the report, which offers detailed
information on the activities undertaken by UNIDO during last year.
2. The Group notices with interest the numerous activities the Organization
carried out to disseminate knowledge and set development projects across all
regions in the fields of poverty reduction, trade capacity building and energy
and environment. We welcome as well, the important role of UNIDO to convey and
engage more stakeholders in the promotion of industrial development; the Group
appreciates in particular, the steps taken to increase south - south cooperation
and to promote public - private alliances.
3. Nevertheless, the Group of 77 and China reiterates its concern on the disparity
in the resources available for each of the three thematic priorities of the
Organization and its distribution among regions.
4. Finally, Mr. President, the Group wishes to recognize the efforts undertaken
by the Government of Costa Rica and UNIDO in the organization of the High-level
Conference on Middle-Income Countries "Challenges for Sustainable Development
and International Cooperation in Middle Income Countries: The Role of Networks
for Prosperity", held in San José, Costa Rica from 12 to 14 June
2013, which adopted the "San Jose Declaration. The Group looks forward
to the follow-up of the High-Level Conference.
Item 5: Programme and Budgets, 2014 - 2015
Mr President,
1. The Group of 77 and China reiterates its appreciation for the efforts made
by the Director General and the Secretariat to present a budget proposal that
while adjusted to a reduced membership, contemplated a minimal impact on technical
cooperation activities for the next biennium.
2. The Group welcomes the proposal for the period 2014 - 2015, in the total
amount of €147,251,013 approved by consensus during the 29th Programme
and Budget Committee. The Group acknowledges the efforts made in this regard
by H.E. Ambassador Ali A. Soltanieh, Permanent Representative of Iran, in his
capacity as Chair of the PBC and his Bureau.
3. At the same time, the Group stresses the need of improving the efficiency
in the use of the financial resources available and calls the Secretariat to
intensify its efforts to find new ways to reduce expenses and increase fund
mobilization for technical activities in all three thematic priorities.
Item 6: Medium-term Programme Framework
Mr President,
1. The Group of 77 and China reiterates its endorsement to the proposal for
the extension of the current Medium Term Programme Framework until 2015, bearing
in mind the labor of the Informal Working Group on the Future of UNIDO, including
programmes and resources, and the discussions on the quadrennial comprehensive
policy review (QCPR) that are taking place in the United Nations.
2. Recognizing that the Informal Working Group on the Future has produced already
a very important outcome in the form of a Strategic Guidance Document, the Group
of 77 and China request the Director General and the Secretariat, to consider
and implement as far as possible, some of the guidelines and recommendations
provided by the Informal Working Group while a new Medium Term Programme Framework
is elaborated and the QCPR process produces its conclusions and recommendations.
3. Meantime and until the expiry of the biennium 2015, bearing in mind that the
MTPF is a revolving four-year document updated every two years in order to represent
the programmatic and managerial response of the Organization to the emerging challenges,
the Group would like as well to request the Director General and the Secretariat
to undertake a midterm biennial review of the extended MTPF taking into consideration
the guidelines and recommendations provided by the informal Working Group on the
future of UNIDO as well as the conclusions of the QCPR process.
Item 7: Informal working group on the future, including programmes and resources
of UNIDO
Mr President,
1. The Group of 77 and China expresses its appreciation for the work of the
Co - chairs of the Informal Working group on the future of UNIDO, including
programmes and resources, H.E. Mrs. Ana Teresa DENGO, Ambassador and Permanent
Representative of Costa Rica and Counsellor Alberto GROFF, of the Permanent
Mission of Switzerland.
2. The Group of 77 and China actively participated in this Informal Working
Group, guided by the strong belief of UNIDO's relevance for development and
its contribution for a sustainable future. The Group thanks the Co- chairs for
their commitment in fulfilling the task entrusted to the IWG.
3. The "Strategic Guidance Document", outcome document of the informal
working group, contains clear, balanced, and pragmatic guidelines and recommendations
for a better elaboration of programmatic and budgetary frameworks in UNIDO.
It properly reflects the common understanding of Member States on the strengths
and challenges of the Organization within the current global development agenda,
as well as the performance Member States want to see in UNIDO's cooperation
delivery.
4. Due to the above and in line with the Terms of Reference agreed on this matter,
the Group of 77 and China considers that this "Strategic Guidance Document",
shall be endorsed by the General Conference as basis for the formulation and
implementation of the medium-term programme frameworks, the programmes and budgets
and other operational programmes of UNIDO.
5. Without prejudice to the foregoing and due to the extension of the current
Program Framework until 2015, the Group reiterates its recommendation in the
sense that the working guidelines contained in the "Strategic Guidance
Document", should be considered in the midterm review of the current MTPF.
Item 8: Environment and Energy
Mr President,
1. The Group of 77 and China takes note of the documents IDB.41/18 and IDB.41/17
related to UNIDO's activities in the fields of environment and energy, respectively.
2. Regarding the activities on environment, the Group highlights the efforts
of the Organization to contribute to international initiatives on resource efficient
and cleaner production, through the provision of knowledge and technical support
for projects in the manufacturing sector, to strength national capacities through
the National Cleaner Production Centers and the National Implementation Plans
for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, and projects
on management of water and waste, among others.
3. The Group is confident that the expertise the Organization has acquired on
this field can continue receiving adequate attention and support from relevant
donors and partners. The Group encourages UNIDO, based on its mandate, to keep
a clear and targeted focus in all its initiatives related to environment.
4. With regard to energy, the group recognizes the enthusiasm which has guided
the actions of the Organization to ensure global recognition of energy as a
key driver of development and in this regard, to expand its portfolio of projects
in this field.
5. Taking into account the active role of UNIDO to convey relevant stakeholders
in this issue, the Group urges the Organization to provide continue support
for training programmes and to identify and implement more technical projects
addressed to promote industrial energy efficiency, renewable energy for industrial
uses and clean technologies.
6. Finally, the Group wants to recognize the leading role of UNIDO in organizing
the third version of the Vienna Energy Forum, which is progressively considered
as a relevant scenario for discussions on the future of energy. The Group request
the Secretariat to inform Member States on a regular basis, on the progress
made in following up the key recommendations emerged from the Forum and specifically,
on how the Organization will contribute or implement, some of those conclusions.
Item 9: Joint Inspection Unit
Mr President,
1. The Group of 77 and China takes note of the document IDB.41/16 related to
the Activities of the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and acknowledges that UNIDO
maintain its commitment to accept and implement relevant recommendations formulated
on the JIU reports.
2. The Group encourages the Organization to take further steps on the recommendations
related to personnel, such as management of sick leaves, staff recruitment benchmarks
and consultancies. At the same time, the Group urges UNIDO to move forward in
the process of align the planning cycles while fostering coherence and synergies
with the United Nations system, what from the point of view of the G-77, will
contribute to improve the efficiency and visibility of UNIDO's activities.
Item 10: Personnel Matters
Mr President,
1. The Group of 77 and China welcomes the progress report contained in document
IDB.41/19, related to the initiatives of UNIDO to develop a new staff performance
management system and the introduction of the human capital management module
in the enterprise resource planning system (ERP).
2. While reiterating that the staff is the most valuable strength of the Organization,
the Group encourages the Director General to assess on a regular basis, the
achievements, gains and challenges of the full implementation of the new system
to measure staff performance in terms of achievement of both individual and
corporate goals.
3. With regard to the recent decisions taken by the International Civil Service
Commission (ICSC) and recommendations adopted by the United Nations General
Assembly that are of relevance to UNIDO, the Group of 77 and China recalls the
Programme and Budget Committee Conclusion 2013/3, that among others, request
the Director General to keep Member States informed on the actions to be taken
to urge the ICSC to take into consideration the financial situation of UNIDO
and its Member States, during the comprehensive review of the compensation package
for staff in the Professional and higher categories.
4. The Group of 77 and China would like to comment on the issue of gender and
geographical representation in the composition of the staff of UNIDO in Vienna
and the offices in the field.
5. Taking into consideration the importance the Group attaches to gender balance
in the recruitment process, the Group notices with concern the figures contained
in Appendix J of the Annual Report 2012, according to which 44% of the total
staff are women, just 31% of the total staff in levels P and D are women and
71% of the total women force at UNIDO are in G positions. The Group encourages
the Secretariat to ensure a better access to more women to all position levels.
6. With regard to the geographical distribution of the personnel, the Group
of 77 and China reiterates that recruitments and appointments to be made by
the Director-General, must ensure the highest standard of efficiency, competence
and integrity with due regard to the principle of equitable geographical distribution,
in accordance with Article 11 of the Constitution of the UNIDO.
7. While the Group stresses the need to safeguard the principles of geographical
distribution, it welcomes and encourages the recent merit promotion exercise.
The Group reiterates and requests that equal opportunities for fair and timely
assessments are afforded to all officers in their legitimate pursuit of career
advancement. The Group believes that a fair promotion process contributes positively
to motivating the staff of UNIDO and will thus ensure that the Organization
remains a center of excellence, guaranteeing in that manner optimal outputs
to the benefit of Member States.
Item 13: 15th session of the General Conference
Mr President,
1. The Group of 77 and China reiterates its high appreciation to the generous
offer made by the Government of Peru to host the next fifteenth session of the
General Conference of UNIDO in Lima from 2-6 December 2013. The fact that the
General Conference is being held in a country of our Group, after 20 years,
shows more than ever, the relevance of the organization for the Group of 77
and China.
2. The Group acknowledges with appreciation your efforts, as President of this
Board, in order to start in the following months the negotiations of the Lima
Declaration and its Plan of Action. The Group is confident that this important
document will constitute a milestone for the organization, as the Lima Declaration
did in 1975. In that regard, the Group considers that holding the fifteenth
session of the General Conference in Lima in 2013 represents an opportunity
to strengthen the strategic views on the future of UNIDO.
3. The Group would like to invite the Secretariat to keep Member States informed,
including through briefings, on to preparations of the General Conference.
Thank you, Mr. President.
Congratulatory statement by the Chairman of the Group of 77 and China, H.E.
Ambassador Mahmoud Elamin, PR of the Sudan
Vienna, 28 June 2013
1. First of all let me take this opportunity to reiterate the Group's appreciation
for Dr. Yumkella's great leadership of the Organization during the past 7 ½
years and to wish him full success in his personal and professional future endeavors.
The Group once more commends him for the overwhelming enthusiasm he has shown
in leading UNIDO. The increase in technical cooperation delivery and the strengthening
of UNIDO's expertise and role in industrial development are part of his legacy.
Director General, Mr. Li Yong,
2. I have the great honor to address you on behalf of the Group of 77 and China,
to express our great satisfaction on your election as the new Director General
of UNIDO and to ensure our full cooperation during your mandate.
3. The Organization is at a special juncture that requires optimism, pragmatism
and action. While the services and expertise of UNIDO on its priority fields
are still needed in all States of the Group of 77, the global development agenda
is evolving and the financial crisis have changed the priorities of the traditional
donors, creating new challenges for a small but very specialized Organization.
4. Your vast experience Mr. Li, give us hope and confidence for a better future
of UNIDO, based on its relevance and contribution for a sustainable and inclusive
development. Challenges and opportunities are to be faced, the Group is sure
that under your guidance, UNIDO will be better positioned, will improve the
delivery of cooperation, increase mobilization of resources and excel its management.
5. After intense and constructive discussions, Member States can provide you
today, a budget and some strategic recommendations for the Organization. You
offer us hope, vision and work. Together, we will make UNIDO a key and effective
partner for development.
6. Director General, count on the support of the Group, its openness for a
permanent and continuous dialogue.
7. The Group of 77 and China wishes you full success in this new endeavor.
