Group of 77 (G-77)
THE Group of 77 (G-77) was established on 15 June 1964 by seventy-seven developing countries signatories of the “Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Countries” issued at the end of the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) in Geneva.
Beginning with the first ministerial meeting of the G-77 in Algiers (Algeria) in October 1967, which adopted the Charter of Algiers”, a permanent institutional structure gradually developed which led to the creation of Chapters with liaison offices in Geneva , Nairobi, Paris Rome, Vienna, and the Group of 24 (G-24) in Washington, D.C.
Although the members of the G-77 have increased to 130 countries, the original name has been retained because of its historic significance.
Aims
The Group of 77 is the largest inter-governmental organization of developing states in the United Nations. It provides the means for the countries of the South to articulate and promote their collective economic interests and enhance their joint negotiating capacity on all major international economic issues within the United Nations system, and promote South-South cooperation for development.
Structure
The operation and modalities of work of the G-77 in the various Chapters have certain minimal features in common such as a similarity in membership, decision-making and certain operating methods. A chairman, who acts as its spokesman, coordinates the Group’s action in each Chapter. The chairmanship, which is the highest political body within the structure of the G-77, rotates on a regional basis between Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean and is held for one year in all the Chapters.
Antigua and Barbuda holds the chairmanship of the G-77 in New York for the year 2008. Ambassador John W. Ashe is Antigua and Barbuda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and chairman of the G-77 in New York.
The South Summit is the supreme decision-making body of the G-77. It is convened once in every five years. The First and the Second South Summits were held in Havana, Cuba, April 2000 and in Doha, Qatar, June 2005. In accordance with the principle of geographical rotation, the Third South Summit is due to be held in Africa in 2010.
The Annual Meeting of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the G-77 is convened at the beginning of the regular session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York. Periodically, sectoral ministerial meetings in preparation for Unctad sessions and the General Conferences of Unido and Unesco are convened.
Other Sectoral Ministerial Meetings in various fields of cooperation of interest to the Group are convened, in order to pursue South-South cooperation. Starting in 1995, the Group convened a series of sectoral meetings in the following fields:
- Sectoral Review Meeting of the Group of 77 on Energy, Jakarta, Indonesia, 5 - 7 September 1995;
- Sectoral Meeting of the Group of 77 on Food & Agriculture, Georgetown, Guyana, 15 - 19 January, 1996;
- South-South Conference on Trade, Investment and Finance, San Jose, 13 - 15 January 1997;
- High-level Conference on Subregional and Regional Economic Cooperation among Developing Countries, Bali, Indonesia, 2 - 5 December 1998;
- South-South High-level Conference on Science and Technology of the Group of 77, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 27 - 30 October 2002;
- High-level Conference on South-South Cooperation, Marrakech, Morocco, 16 - 19 December 2003;
- High-level Forum on Trade and Investment, Doha, Qatar, 5 - 6 December 2004;
- Open-ended Intergovernmental Study Group Workshop on the Trade and Development Bank, New York, 2 - 3 May 2005;
- Group of Experts Meeting on Development Platform for the South, Kingston, Jamaica, 29 - 30 August 2005;
- Meeting of the Ministers of Science and Technology of the Member States of the Group of 77, Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 3 September 2006
In addition to the Sectoral Meetings, the Intergovernmental Follow-up and Coordination Committee on Economic Cooperation among Developing Countries (IFCC), which is a plenary body consisting of senior officials, meets once every two years to review the state of implementation of the Caracas Programme of Action (CPA) adopted by the Group of 77 in 1981 and the progress made in the implementation of the outcomes of the South Summits in the field of South-South cooperation.
To date IFCC has held eleven sessions:
IFCC-I (Manila, Philippines, 23 - 28 August 1982); IFCC-II (Tunis, Tunisia, 5 - 10 September 1983); IFCC-III (Cartagena, Colombia, 3 - 8 September 1984); IFCC-IV (Jakarta, Indonesia, 19 - 23 August 1985); IFCC-V (Cairo, Egypt, 18 - 23 August 1986); IFCC-VI (Havana, Cuba, 7 - 12 September 1987): IFCC-VII (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 31 July - 5 August 1989); IFCC-VIII (Panama City, Panama, 30 August - 03 September 1993); IFCC-IX (Manila, Philippines, 8 - 12 February 1996); IFCC-X (Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, 18 - 23 August 2001); IFCC-XI (Havana, Cuba, 21 - 23 March 2005);
In accordance with geographical rotation, the Twelfth session of IFCC is due to be held in Africa in 2008.
Finance
The activities of the Group of 77 are financed through contributions by Member States in accordance with the decision of the First South Summit.
Activities: Besides resolution and decisions initiated by the G-77 in the UN General Assembly and its Committees as well as various UN bodies and specialized agencies, the Group of 77 produces joint declarations, action programmes and agreements on development issues. The Group has adopted dozens of declarations/documents since its first Ministerial Meeting held in Algiers in 1967.