Mr. Chair,

1. I have the honor to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on Agenda Item 138: Proposed Programme Budget for 2022: Revised estimates resulting from resolutions and decisions adopted by the Economic and Social Council at its 2021 Session.”

2. The Group would like to thank Mr. Chandramouli Ramanathan, Controller, Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts, and Mr. Abdalla Bachar Bong, Chair of the Advisory Committee for Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), for introducing their respective reports.

Mr. Chair,

3. It is a paramount position of the Group to ensure that mandates approved by intergovernmental bodies of the United Nations are given adequate resources to ensure their successful implementation. It is the responsibility of the Fifth Committee to fulfill this mandate.

Mr. Chair,

4. The Group of 77 and China welcomes the Economic and Social Council resolution 2021/31, entitled “Follow-up to the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean”, through which the Membership decided to request the Secretary-General to provide resources to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean to perform its functions as secretariat of the so called “Escazú Agreement”.

5. This important international agreement reached its required threshold to enter into force last April and must now be provided with the necessary means to carry out its mandate. For those activities, additional temporary resources in the amount of $500,400 must be made available to the Secretary-General. This includes both financial resources and the establishment of three GTA positions.

6. The Group of 77 and China also welcomes the Economic and Social Council resolution 2021/18, which extends the mandate of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti until the conclusion of the 2022 session, with the purpose of following closely and providing advice on the long-term development strategy of Haiti to promote socioeconomic recovery, reconstruction and stability. This is all the more important under the particularly difficult situation that country has been facing for the past months. We note that the resource requirements arising from the adoption of the resolution are $ 47,900, to be accomodated within the overall resources to be made available under section 9, Economic and Social Affairs, of the Proposed Programme Budget for 2022.

7. The Group of 77 and China would like to express its appreciation for the valuable support of the Secretary-General to the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti and underscores the importance of collaboration amongst the mandated offices in Haiti. Furthermore, the Group of 77 and China wishes to express its support to the provision of the required resources to finance resolution 2021/18.

Mr. Chair,

8. In conclusion, the Group of 77 and China wishes to express its support for the provision of the required resources to finance both these ECOSOC resolutions, and to assure you that we will constructively engage on this important agenda item.

I thank you.