Statement of the G-77 and China for the consultations with co-facilitators of the Working Group on Programme and Budget and Technical Cooperation Fund targets for 2014-2015, delivered by Ambassador Mahmouud Hassan ElAmin, Permanent Representative of Sudan
Vienna, 16 April 2013
1.The Group of 77 and China wishes to thank the co-facilitators for convening this meeting.
2.We are confident that today's consultations will be helpful in identifying the ways and means to make the Technical Cooperation Fund sufficient, assured and predictable, an issue of utmost importance for the Group.
3. The Group believes that the discussions in this Working Group should be guided by the previous decisions of the Board on the funding of the Technical Cooperation Fund.
4. The Group recalls that the regular budget has increased by 12.6 % from 2009-2013 while the Draft Programme and Budget 2014-2015 has proposed a 3.5% increase of the regular budget for the year 2014.
5. The G-77 firmly believes that, in accordance with the indicated decisions of the Board, the Technical Cooperation Fund targets to be established for 2014 and beyond must be proportionate to the evolution of the regular budget in the last four years, in 2014 and in the future.
6. We wish to propose that the TCF target for 2014 be established at a level which is proportionate to the 12.6% increase of the regular budget between 2009 and 2013, plus the increase of the regular budget to be established for 2014.
7. The Group notes with concern the downward trend in the rate of attainment against the TCF target. The rate of attainment decreased from 94% in 2009 to below 90% in 2011 and that only 95 countries contributed to the TCF in 2011 compared to 114 in 2009. The Group urges all Member States to contribute their share of TCF in a timely manner so that technical cooperation delivery is not affected as it continues to be fully dependent on voluntary contributions and has not actually grown in proportion to the increased membership of the Agency.
8. The Group reiterates that the extra budgetary contributions, which always come with attached conditions, cannot be a substitute to the assessed contributions to the Technical Cooperation Fund.
9. The Group expresses its strong expectation that under your guidance, this Working Group will allow for a meaningful dialogue with substantive outcomes for Board action that will facilitate the budget and TCF discussion on 2014-2015.
