Group+of+77

**Group of 77**

 * Who are they?**

The Group of 77 (G-77) consists of 130 developing countries. They are the largest intergovernmental organization of developing states in the United Nations. The original seventy-seven were 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, 15 June 1964. The countries represented are mainly in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. The G-77 is organized into chapters by common features such as a similarity in membership, decision-making and specific operating methods.


 * What are they trying to do?**

The G-77 aims to provide the means for the developing countries of the South to articulate and promote their shared economic interests and enhance their joint negotiating capacity on all major international economic issues within the United Nations system, as well as to promote cooperation for development between southern countries. Their objectives are explained in detail in the Charter of Algiers, which was adopted in 1967 at the first Ministerial Meeting.


 * How do they function?**

The South Summit is the supreme decision-making body of the Group of 77. It is convened once in every five years. A Chairman, who acts as its spokesman, coordinates the Group’s action in each Chapter. The Chairmanship is the highest political body (not an individual position, held by nations) within the organizational structure of the Group of 77, and rotates on a regional basis (regions are: Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean) and is held for one year in all the Chapters. Each has a liaison office, which are located in Geneva (UNCTAD), Nairobi (UNEP), Paris (UNESCO), Rome (FAO/IFAD), and Vienna (UNIDO). The G-77 initiates resolution and decisions in the UN General Assembly as well as in various UN bodies and specialized agencies. They produce joint declarations, action programs and agreements on development issues.


 * What have they said about climate change?**

Countries most at risk are those in Africa, the LDCs, the LLDCs, SIDS and disaster prone countries, many of these are developing countries that do not have the capability to deal with the consequences of climate change. Thus, the adverse effects of climate change threaten the sustainable development, livelihoods and the very existence of many developing countries.

Climate change should be addressed in a manner that addresses all three pillars of sustainable development i.e. economic development, social development and environmental protection. The hope is to encourage and enable sustainable development in developing countries, while at the same time producing sustained economic growth and eliminate poverty, hunger and virus removal service disease.

Developing countries have called for industrialized nations to continue to take the lead in efforts to mitigate climate change and the adverse effects thereof. Developed countries must significantly reduce GHG emissions, and commit to the promises they have made already.


 * Notes:**
 * Members of the G-77 are welcome to attend G-24 meetings as Observers while the People's Republic of China enjoys the status of "Special Invitee" and addresses the plenary sessions of the G-24.
 * The is an additional liaison office for the Group of 24 (G-24) in Washington, D.C
 * The Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund (PGTF) sponsors projects on South-South cooperation
 * The Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP) promotes South-South trade

Links [] the homepage of the G-77

[] the joint declaration of the seventy-seven developing countries

[|http://www.g77.org/doc/algier~1.htm] Charter of Algiers

[] statement on behalf of the group of 77 and China: Addressing the leadership challenge on climate (New York, 24 September 2007)