The Group of 77 (G-77) marked its 50th anniversary with a two-day summit on the theme of ‘A New World Order For Living Well,' issuing an outcome document that addressed the themes of development in the national context, South-South cooperation, global challenges, and particular needs of developing countries in special situations.
15 June 2014: The Group of 77 (G-77) marked its 50th anniversary with a two-day summit on the theme, ‘A New World Order for Living Well.’ The G-77 issued a 242-paragraph statement at the close of the summit, titled ‘Declaration of Santa Cruz: For a New World Order for Living Well,’ which addresses development in the national context, South-South cooperation, global challenges and particular needs of developing countries in special situations.
Evo Morales, President of Bolivia and current chair of the G-77, opened the summit, which many heads of state, ministers and senior officials attended in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, from 14-15 June 2014.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasized the importance of cooperation, partnerships and a robust accountability framework, backed by reliable data. He highlighted the need to uphold the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
UN General Assembly (UNGA) President John Ashe noted that South-South cooperation is a top priority of the UNGA in the context of the post-2015 development agenda. Ashe highlighted the strengthening of the UN Office for South-South Cooperation and the UN Secretary-General’s appointment of a UN Envoy for South-South Cooperation for the first time.
The Declaration underscores the need to define adequate means of implementation (MOI) for each of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) being negotiated in the Open Working Group (OWG) and for developed countries to fulfill their previous commitments.
On the post-2015 agenda, the Declaration calls for international commitment to eradicate poverty by 2030. It recommends quantitative, time-bound targets consistent with the eighth Millennium Development Goal (MDG 8) on a global partnership for development, with North-South cooperation remaining at its core, complemented by South-South and triangular cooperation. It also calls for reform of the institutions of global economic governance to enable stronger participation by developing countries and correction of weaknesses and imbalances in global economic financial and trading systems.
On climate change, the Declaration reaffirms the importance of implementing the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage, calling for concrete steps to be taken before the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC in Lima, Peru. Stressing the historical responsibility of developed countries, the Declaration reiterates the urgency of operationalizing the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and meeting the goal of mobilizing US$100 billion yearly by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries. The Declaration calls for strong provisions on technology transfer, under the UNFCCC.
The G-77 was established at the first session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1964. The Group now has 133 members. [UN Press Release] [UN Secretary-General’s Remarks] [General Assembly President’s Remarks] [Santa Cruz Declaration]