Statement of the Group of 77 and China during the 14th session of the UNIDO
General Conference, Vienna, 28 November - 2 December 2011, delivered by H.E.
Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic
of Iran
Vienna, 29 November 2011
Madam President, (H.E. Ms. Verónica Sión, Minister of Industry and Productivity of Ecuador)
1. It is with great pleasure that I congratulate you on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on your election as the President of the 14th session of the UNIDO General Conference.
2. The Group is confident that your experience and skills will contribute to the success and fruitful conclusion of this session. On behalf of the Group and as your predecessor, I also take this opportunity to extend my congratulations to other members of the Bureau on their election. The Group also expresses its appreciation to the Secretariat for the organization of this Conference.
Madam President,
3. The Group of 77 and China welcomes the opening remarks by the Director-General, Dr. Kandeh Yumkella and reaffirms its support to the Organization and to the excellent work during his term in office.
Madam President,
4. The Group highly appreciates UNIDO's initiative on hosting the LDCs Ministerial Conference focusing on the theme "LDCs structural transformation and UNIDO's support in the context of the Istanbul Programme of Action".
5. The Group welcomes Tuvalu as new member of UNIDO bringing the membership to 174 countries.
Annual Reports of the Director-General on the activities of the Organization for 2009 and 2010
Madam President,
1. The Group of 77 and China is pleased to note the increase in technical cooperation delivery during the years 2009 and 2010 as well as the increase in funding for technical cooperation mobilized in the year 2009 that reached $183 million and continued in 2010 to $183.6 million. The Group encourages the Organization to continue its efforts to maintain this upward trend. Also, the Group would like to express its appreciation to donors and funds for their support.
2. The Group welcomes UNIDO's Change Management Initiative and appreciates the efforts of the Organization in implementing the Programme of Change and Organizational Renewal (PCOR). The Group looks forward to the tangible dividends in the form of measurable improvements in efficiency and enhancement in technical cooperation delivery through the successful implementation of PCOR.
3. Having compared the Annual Report 2010 with the previous Annual Reports, the Group would like to thank the Director-General and the UNIDO Secretariat for the efforts to develop this document in a new format. The Group, however, encourages the Organization to include cogent information, on a statistical base, on economic and social impacts of UNIDO's technical projects/programmes on developing countries in the future Annual Report.
To complement the Annual Report, the Group also requests the Director-General to inform Member States twice a year on the results and performance of regional, sub regional and national programmes.
4. The Group wishes to call the attention of the Secretariat to the recommendations made by the External Auditor that in order to improve human resources management, the Organization needs to enhance a wider geographical representation and an adequate gender balance. Therefore, the Group requests UNIDO to consider these recommendations when recruiting the staff and requests the Secretariat to inform what measures have been undertaken in this matter.
Forum on industrial development issues
Madam President,
1. The Group of 77 and China commends the Secretariat for the arrangements for the forum on industrial development issues.
2. The Group believes that the discussions at the high-level forum as well as at the regional round tables will explore the ways and means and make recommendations related to sustainable industrial development.
3. The Group encourages UNIDO to take due consideration of recommendations of the forum and reflect them in its technical cooperation programmes and projects to be delivered to Member States.
Programme and Budgets, 2012-2013
Madam President,
1. The Group of 77 and China takes note of the document IDB.39/13/Rev.1on programme and budgets, 2012-2013 and endorses the Board's decision IDB.39/Dec.7.
Financial matters - Scale of assessments of Member States
1. The Group of 77 and China takes note of the scale of assessments for the fiscal period 2012-2013.
2. In order to minimize the variance between the United Nations and UNIDO scales of assessments, the Group requests the Director-General to continue his efforts with former Member States to convince them to rejoin the Organization as well as to encourage other Member States of the UN to become members of UNIDO.
Madam President,
Financial situation of UNIDO
1. On the financial situation of UNIDO, the Group notes with concern that the assessed contributions' collection rates decreased in comparison with the corresponding previous periods. With a view to undertaking all the activities envisaged in the programme and budgets, the Group requests the Secretariat to continue its effort in achieving greater collection rates.
2. The Group takes note of the information that 67 Member States, including 8 Least Developed Countries (LDCs), have already made full payment for their assessed contributions for the year 2011, while partial payments have been received in respect of another 39 Member States, including 10 LDCs.
3. The Group is pleased to note that the number of Member States without voting rights has been reduced in comparison with the previous year. Nevertheless the Group is concerned that the amount of outstanding assessed contributions for previous years remains above 100 million Euros.
4. The Group of 77 and China takes note of the document GC.14/19 and welcomes the firm commitment of the Government of Brazil regarding the settlement of its arrears through a payment plan over a period of five years which has been effective since 2010, having two installments already paid. The Group therefore expresses its support to the request of Brazil addressed to the General Conference on the restorations of its voting rights.
5. The Group appeals to all current and former Member States in arrears to fulfill their financial commitment towards the Organization.
Madam President,
Financial regulations
1. The Group welcomes and supports the amendments to the financial regulations of UNIDO in compliance with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards.
Appointment of External Auditor
Madam President,
1. The Group of 77 and China appreciates the performance of Mr. Tanwir Ali Agha the Auditor General of Pakistan, as the External Auditor of UNIDO. The level of commitment and expertise demonstrated by the External Auditor is a true reflection of his professional competence. The Group endorses the election of the new Auditor General of Pakistan, Mr. Muhammad Akhtar Buland Rana and is confident that the Organization would benefit from his services. This extension conforms to existing practices in the Organization as well as the principles of continuity and equitable geographical distribution.
2. The Group thanks the governments of Ghana, Spain, Turkey and Ukraine for withdrawing their candidatures.
UNIDO activities related to energy and environment
1. The Group would like to commend UNIDO for its initiatives and activities in promoting sustainable industrial development, as well as technical assistance in the two areas of energy and environment.
2. With respect to the field of energy, the Group appreciates UNIDO assistance to Member States to build capacity for implementation of industrial energy management systems in accordance with the new ISO standard and its development of a technology roadmap for carbon capture and storage for industry for developing countries and transitional economies.
3. The Rio+20 Conference stands as a unique historic opportunity to mobilize the political resources required to design a lasting solution to the international crisis, taking into account the complexity of economic, social and environmental aspects of development. While noting with appreciation that UNIDO's key contribution to the Rio+20 process is built around the two themes of sustainable energy for all and green industry, the Group would like to encourage UNIDO to increase its cooperation with other organizations and agencies in the development community to achieve the 'three energy goals on energy for sustainable development', also known as the 30-40-30 agenda.
4. The Group appreciates the important work carried out by UNIDO to highlight the importance of Green Industry to help promote environmentally sustainable industrial development in countries and recent activities undertaken to promote best practices in the 3Rs (reuse, reduce and recycle) and technology transfer; and its promotion and support of the network of National Cleaner Production Centers (NCPCs) in developing countries.
5. The G77 and China expresses its conviction that UNIDO can improve its activities in the fields of energy and environment through promotion of technological innovation in national productive systems. New inputs in terms of innovation would build Member-States capabilities on three major aspects directly linked to sustainable development as included under the mandate of the Organization: i) energy security, with emphasis on renewable energy sources and promotion of energy efficiency; ii) food security, including the dimensions of access to irrigation water and technological innovation applied to agricultural production and iii) the role of biodiversity resources in social inclusion, such as the production of pharmaceuticals for health, through the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and the fair and equitable access to the benefits of biodiversity.
UNIDO activities related to agribusiness, trade and job creation
Madam President,
1. The Group of 77 and China is convinced that discussions related to agenda item 13 would help UNIDO refocus on its priorities in the fields of agribusiness, trade and job creation. The Group is of the view that UNIDO's assistances in these areas will enhance developing and least developed countries' participation in global trade and maximize employment opportunities, in order to contribute to the efforts of poverty eradication.
2. The Group appreciates UNIDO's initiative in providing specialized services in these areas. The Group encourages UNIDO to source additional funding to finance activities in the area of agribusiness, trade and job creation, in particular in developing and Least Developed Countries.
3. The Group wishes to receive reports on the progress of these programs on a regular basis.
Review of the progress of the deliberations of the informal working group
Madam President,
1. The Group of 77 and China welcomes the establishment of the Informal Working Group on the future, including programmes and resources of UNIDO and supports the co-chairs of this Working Group, H.E. Ana Teresa Dengo (Costa Rica) and Mr. Alberto Groff (Switzerland). The Group is confident of the ability of the co-chairs to successfully conduct the deliberations of the working group in an inclusive manner.
2. The Group looks forward to commencing the substantive work of the Informal Working Group based on Terms of Reference arrived at from the contributions of all Member States. The Group is of the view that the Informal Working Group should be enabled to evaluate the management of UNIDO in line with the needs of its Member States, with the aim of enhancing the implementation of the mandate of the Organization.
Thank you, Madam President.
UNIDO activities related to the 2009 Vienna Ministerial Declaration and Plan of Action of the Least Developed Countries
Madam President,
1. The Group of 77 and China is pleased to note that under the 2009 Vienna Ministerial Declaration and the Plan of Action of Least Developed Countries, UNIDO has undertaken a number of important programmes and initiatives with significant progress in the field of agro-business, food security, trade capacity-building, small and medium enterprise development, clean production and technology transfer. The Group wishes to express its appreciation for voluntary contributions made by some Members States, and invites other donors to do so.
2. The Group takes this opportunity to thank the Government of Turkey for hosting the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, from 9-13 May 2011 in Istanbul, and welcomes the intention of the government to allocate $200 million annually, starting in 2012, towards LDC projects and programmes. The Group also takes note of the adoption of the Istanbul Declaration and the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA) that will provide a road map in support of LDC's economies and the need for a structural transformation of their socio-economic environment within the decade, 2011-2020. The Group encourages UNIDO to continue to work closely with Governments, relevant international and regional organization and contribute actively to the implementation of these important conclusions.
3. The Group of 77 and China highly appreciates UNIDO's initiative on hosting LDCs Ministerial Conference on the theme "LDCs structural transformation and UNIDO's support in the context of the Istanbul Programme of Action" and welcomes the adoption of the UNIDO LDC strategy and operational plan 2012-2020, that will provide a comprehensive road map for UNIDO programmes and thematic initiatives in favour of LDCs, thereby contributing towards an effective implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA).
Other matters
1. The Group of 77 and China welcomes the report on "Networks for Prosperity: Achieving Developments Goals through knowledge sharing", launched on 14 November 2011, and in particular the newly introduced Connectedness Index. This report is part of the initiative "Global Knowledge Management System" of the eighth funding window of the Spanish MDG Achievement Fund on "Development and the Private Sector". The Group appreciates UNIDO efforts and invites all Member States to consider the results of the first global meeting of Programme Coordinators of the initiative that took place in Panama City on 1 to 3 March 2011 and the resulting Panama Plan of Action. In support of efforts to develop and foster, within the Organization's mandate, activities that promote international knowledge networking and knowledge sharing, the Group has tabled a draft resolution.
2. Finally, the Group would like to emphasize the activities of UNIDO in providing policy orientation to Member States to improve their contribution of industry to sustainable development, social inclusion, productivity growth and the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Group therefore requests UNIDO to continue implementing technical cooperation projects aimed at formulating, implementing and monitoring pragmatic and evidence-based industrial policies in the developing world. A draft resolution titled "UNIDO activities in the field of industrial policy with a view to promote social inclusion" has also been tabled in this regard.
Thank you, Madam President.
Closing Statement of the Group of 77 and China during the 14th session of the UNIDO General Conference, Vienna, 28 November - 2 December 2011, delivered by H.E. Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Vienna, 2 December 2011
Madam President, (H.E. Ms. Verónica Sión, Minister of Industry and Productivity of Ecuador)
1. On behalf of the Group, I wish to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to you as President of the fourteenth session of the UNIDO General Conference. Your able leadership in steering the debates has helped to bring the Conference to a successful conclusion.
2. The Group of 77 and China would also like to thank the Director-General for his pertinent closing remarks, the overall organization of the Conference and the enlightening Forum, Round Tables and other side events.
3. To the Chair of the Main Committee the Group of 77 and China presents its special thanks for his tireless efforts and diplomatic skills in successfully completing the work of the Main Committee.
4. Finally, the Group would like to thank the Secretariat and Conference Services for their efforts and support during all the formal and informal meetings which took place at this General Conference.
