South Centre Statement at the G77 and China Geneva Handover Ceremony
The Group of 77 and China (Geneva Chapter) held a Changeover Ceremony on 10 January 2017 at the Palais Des Nations in Geneva to mark the passing of the baton of Chairmanship from Ambassador Wayne McCook of Jamaica to Ambassador Modesto Mero of Tanzania. The South Centre was invited to be present and to speak at the ceremony. Below is the statement presented by Mr. Vicente Paolo Yu, Deputy Executive Director, South Centre.
Your Excellency Ambassador Hector Marcelo Cima, Your Excellency Ambassador Wayne McCook, Your Excellency Ambassador Modesto Mero, Secretary General Kituyi, distinguished guests, it is my pleasure to be here on behalf of the South Centre to witness this annual rite of transition of leadership in the Group of 77 and China in Geneva.
Let me express, however, the apologies and best wishes of Mr. Martin Khor, Executive Director of the South Centre, who could not be here today.
The year 2016 was a year of great activity and accomplishment by the Group of 77 and China in Geneva, under the able and distinguished leadership of Ambassador McCook of Jamaica and Ambassador Cima of Argentina, particularly in the negotiations up to and during UNCTAD XIV and in the post-UNCTAD XIV discussions on the implementation of the Nairobi Outcome.
The South Centre is proud to note that it worked closely with the G77’s negotiators and its member States prior to and during UNCTAD XIV, contributing in that way to the success of UNCTAD XIV. Our work at the South Centre derives its credibility and importance from the value and use that developing countries, including the Group of 77 and China, make of our work.
We also worked closely with the other G77 chapters in New York, Paris, Vienna, and Nairobi in 2016 on issues that are relevant here in Geneva and UNCTAD – such as on climate change, sustainable development goals, financing for development, environmental governance, science and education, technology development and transfer, among other issues.
We look forward to continuing this relationship with the G77 in Geneva as the attention shifts to the implementation of the Nairobi Outcome, as part of the implementation of the other key outcomes from the various multilateral conferences that took place in 2015 and 2016 – such as on the SDGs, Agenda 2030, FFD3, climate change, the WTO Nairobi Ministerial Conference.
The year 2017 will likely be a very interesting year in global politics, economics, and environment, after major political events in key developed countries that took place in the latter half of 2016 look set to redraw longstanding political and economic relationships. We could see protectionism, xenophobia, and narrow nationalism increase in developed countries, with corresponding impacts on their global policy agenda. These may in turn increase the economic uncertainty and financial shocks that many developing countries that are reliant on developed country markets are already experiencing. As the adverse impacts of climate change increase, especially on developing countries, the momentum generated by the Paris Agreement for global climate action needs to be sustained regardless of potential policy reversals that might take place in some developed countries.
While there are new uncertainties that have come up in 2017, there are also new opportunities that developing countries can take advantage of in shaping alternatives and reforms that are anyway needed on the global and national economies, on the environment, and on geopolitics. While most of the main levers of power and decision-making globally continue to be controlled by developed countries, developing countries now have increasing opportunities to organize themselves better, through collective action guided by their own research and analysis, in order to become the shapers and drivers of global policy.
There will also be many issues and many opportunities for the Group of 77 and China, its individual members, and the South Centre to work together on issues other than those in UNCTAD. Just to highlight a few, the global economic situation is still very fragile with developing countries being adversely affected more and more; WTO discussions are likely to ramp up with the preparations for the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference; the climate change negotiations for the rules on the implementation of the Paris Agreement are now ongoing; there continues to be major policy discussions taking place at WIPO; issues relating to health – in particular in relation to antibiotic resistance. On these issues and more, the South Centre stands ready to work together with the Group of 77 and China to promote and protect developing countries’ rights and interests.
The South Centre is the South’s own research institution that is tasked with promoting the views of the South on various development issues. We take this mandate seriously and we also look forward to the Group and your countries’ support to the South Centre in carrying out this mandate. We will be interacting closely with the Group and your missions, either through meetings such as this one, or joint activities, or even individual visits and discussions, in order to strengthen the South Centre’s ability to carry out its mission and to respond to your needs and interests.
We would like to thank Mr. Miguel Bautista and his team, with whom the South Centre has worked closely, as the focal point for UNCTAD’s support to the Group of 77 and China, and we also look forward to working with Secretary General Kituyi and his team in furthering the interests of developing countries through UNCTAD.
Thank you very much.
