United Nations A/79/442/Add.

2
General Assembly Distr.: General
11 December 2024

Original: English

Seventy-ninth session
Agenda item 23 (b)

Operational activities for development: South-South

cooperation for development
Report of the Second Committee *

Rapporteur: Ms. Stefany Romero Veiga (Uruguay)

I. Introduction
1. The Committee held a general discussion on agenda item 23 (see A/79/442,
para. 2). Action on sub-item (b) was taken at the 23rd meeting, on 25 November 2024.
An account of the Committee’s consideration of the sub-item is contained in the
relevant summary record. 1

II. Consideration of draft resolutions A/C.2/79/L.15 and

A/C.2/79/L.15/Rev.1

2. At the 21st meeting, on 13 November 2024, the representative of Uganda (on

behalf of the States that are members of the Group of 77 and China, taking into
account also the provisions of General Assembly resolution ES-10/23 of 10 May
2024) introduced a draft resolution entitled “South -South cooperation”
(A/C.2/79/L.15) .
3. At the 23rd meeting, on 25 November, the Committee had before it a revised
draft resolution entitled “South-South cooperation” (A/C.2/79/L.15/Rev.1),
submitted by the sponsors of A/C.2/79/L.15.
4. At the same meeting, the Committee was informed of the programme budget
implications of draft resolution A/C.2/79/L.15/Rev.1, contained in document
A/C.2/79/L.50.
5. Also at the same meeting, the Secretary announced that Belgium, Croatia,
Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania,
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* The report of the Committee on this item is being issued in three parts, under the symbols
A/79/442, A/79/442/Add.1 and A/79/442/Add.2.
1
A/C.2/79/SR.23.

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Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands (Kingdom of the), North Macedonia, Poland,

Portugal and Spain had joined in sponsoring the draft resolution.
6. Also at the 23rd meeting, Albania, Austria, Finland, Montenegro and Sweden
joined in sponsoring the draft resolution.
7. At the same meeting, the Committee adopted the draft resolution entitled
“South-South cooperation” (A/C.2/79/L.15/Rev.1) (see para. 9).
8. Also at the same meeting, the representative of the United States of America
made a statement after adoption.

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III. Recommendation of the Second Committee

9. The Second Committee recommends to the General Assembly the adoption of
the following draft resolution:

Draft resolution
South-South cooperation

The General Assembly,

Reaffirming its resolution 73/291 of 15 April 2019, in which it endorsed the
Buenos Aires outcome document of the second High-level United Nations Conference
on South-South Cooperation,
Reaffirming also its resolution 64/222 of 21 December 2009, in which it
endorsed the Nairobi outcome document of the High-level United Nations Conference
on South-South Cooperation,
Reaffirming further its resolution 33/134 of 19 December 1978, in which it
endorsed the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical
Cooperation among Developing Countries, 1
Recalling its resolutions 57/270 B of 23 June 2003, 60/212 of 22 December
2005, 62/209 of 19 December 2007, 63/233 of 19 December 2008, 64/1 of 6 October
2009, 66/219 of 22 December 2011, 67/227 of 21 December 2012, 68/230 of
20 December 2013, 69/239 of 19 December 2014, 70/222 of 22 December 2015,
71/244 of 21 December 2016, 72/237 of 20 December 2017, 73/249 of 20 December
2018, 74/239 of 19 December 2019, 75/234 of 21 December 2020, 76/221 of
17 December 2021, 77/185 of 14 December 2022 and 78/167 of 19 December 2023,
Reaffirming its resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, entitled “Transforming
our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, in which it adopted a
comprehensive, far-reaching and people-centred set of universal and transformative
Sustainable Development Goals and targets, its commitment to working tirelessly for
the full implementation of the Agenda by 2030, its recognition that eradicating
poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest
global challenge and an indispensable requirement for su stainable development, its
commitment to achieving sustainable development in its three dimensions –
economic, social and environmental – in a balanced and integrated manner, and to
building upon the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals and see king
to address their unfinished business,
Reaffirming also its resolution 69/313 of 27 July 2015 on the Addis Ababa
Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development,
which is an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, supports
and complements it, helps to contextualize its means of implementation targets with
concrete policies and actions and reaffirms the strong political commitment to address
the challenge of financing and creating an enabling environment at all levels for
sustainable development in the spirit of global partnership and solidarity,
Reaffirming further the Paris Agreement 2 and its early entry into force,
encouraging all its parties to fully implement the Agreement, and parties to the United
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1
Report of the United Nations Conference on Technical Cooperation among Developing
Countries, Buenos Aires, 30 August–12 September 1978 (United Nations publication, Sales
No. E.78.II.A.11 and corrigendum), chap. I.
2
Adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in
FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1, decision 1/CP.21, annex.

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Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 3 that have not yet done so to
deposit their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, where
appropriate, as soon as possible,
Welcoming the convening of the Summit of the Future on 22 to 23 September
2024 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, at which resolution 79/1
entitled the “Pact for the Future” and its annexes were adopted,
Reaffirming that South-South cooperation is an important element of
international cooperation for development, and is not a substitute for, but rather a
complement to, North-South cooperation,
Noting with great concern the severe negative impact on human health, safety
and well-being caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as
the severe disruption to societies and economies and the devastating impact on lives
and livelihoods, and that the poorest and most vulnerable are the hardest hit by the
pandemic, reaffirming the ambition to get back on track to achieve the Sustainable
Development Goals by designing and implementing sustainable and inclusive
recovery strategies to accelerate progress towards the full implementation of the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development and to help to reduce the risk of and build
resilience to future shocks, crises and pandemics, including by strengthening health
systems and achieving universal health coverage, and recognizing that equitable and
timely access for all to safe, quality, effective and affordable COVID -19 vaccines,
therapeutics and diagnostics are an essential part of a global response based on unity,
solidarity, renewed multilateral cooperation and the principle of leaving no one
behind,
Encouraging the continuation and advancement of South-South and triangular
cooperation on efforts for recovery from the socioeconomic effects of the pandemic
and other multiple crises in the pursuit of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable
Development Goals, and calling for continued support from the relevant United
Nations development system entities in that regard, particularly in the areas of poverty
eradication and food security, as well as reducing inequalities, and promoting
resilience, including through the establishment of vaccine production facilities in
developing countries and strengthening of health systems and economic
diversification in developing countries,
Recognizing the special challenges facing all developing countries in pursuing
sustainable development, in particular African countries, the least developed
countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States, as
well as the specific challenges facing middle-income countries and countries in
conflict and post-conflict situations,
Recognizing also that climate change, the continuing impact of the COVID -19
pandemic and ongoing geopolitical tensions and conflicts are creating additional
challenges relating to the eradication of poverty, food security, energy security and
the cost of living, and that developing countries are disproportionately affected by
these challenges,
Underlining the importance of South-South and triangular cooperation for the
least developed countries, in particular with regard to technical assistance, and the
sharing of best practices in terms of their sustainable development, especially in areas
of productive capacity-building, infrastructure, energy, science and technology, trade,
investment and transit transport cooperation,
Stressing the important role of South-South and triangular cooperation in
addressing the development needs of middle-income countries, including through
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capacity-building and fostering peer-learning and sharing of best practices among

middle-income countries across the regions,
Reiterating the call for advancing the elaboration of a system-wide response
plan aimed at better addressing the multidimensional nature of sustainable
development and facilitating sustainable development cooperation and coordinated
and inclusive support to middle-income countries based on their specific challenges
and diverse needs,
Reaffirming the importance of a renewed framework for international support to
address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and to strengthen
partnerships between the landlocked developing countries and transit countries and
their development partners to ensure the implementation of the new Programme of
Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2024 –2034,
Looking forward to the convening in 2025 of the Fourth International
Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, Spain,
Welcoming the convening of the fifteenth session of the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development, and taking note of the adoption of its outcome
document, the Bridgetown Covenant, 4 and looking forward to the continued work of
the Conference on issues related to South-South cooperation, triangular cooperation
and regional cooperation, including by promoting dialogue between economic
integration structures with a view to enhancing mutual trade and exchanging best
practices and experiences, towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development
Goals,
Welcoming also the ongoing efforts to enhance South-South and triangular
cooperation in the area of trade under the Global System of Trade Preferences among
Developing Countries as a vehicle to support economic resilience and promote
sustainable development, and looking forward to the continued work of the United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development to support developing countries in
deepening and enlarging South-South trade integration, regional, subregional and
interregional economic integration and cooperation arrangements,
Welcoming further the development of an initial voluntary conceptual
framework for the measurement of South-South cooperation, which marks a
breakthrough in its measurement on the basis of country-led mechanisms and helps
shed light on the importance of South-South cooperation towards achieving the 2030
Agenda, by adding for the first time country-owned data on South-South cooperation
in assessing the contributions of such cooperation to sustainable development,
Recalling that triangular cooperation complements and adds value to South -South
cooperation by enabling requesting developing countries to source and access more, and
a broader range of, resources, expertise and capacities, that they identify as needed in
order to achieve their national development goals and internationally agreed sustainable
development goals,
Taking note of the establishment by the United Nations Office for South -South
Cooperation of a triangular cooperation window under the United Nations Fund for
South-South Cooperation, launched on 7 October 2024 in Lisbon,
Reaffirming the mandate and the central role of the United Nations Office for
South-South Cooperation as the focal point for promoting and facilitating South -
South and triangular cooperation for development on a global and United Nations
system-wide basis, and noting with appreciation the actions taken by the Office in
strengthening the United Nations system-wide coordination on South-South and
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TD/541/Add.2.

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triangular cooperation, which has served as a channel to facilitate the mainstreaming

of South-South and triangular cooperation into the corporate strategies and
operational activities of United Nations entities, as well as noting the development of
a handbook on integrating South-South and triangular cooperation in the voluntary
national reviews in collaboration with the Co-Chairs of the Group of Friends of the
Voluntary National Reviews, Morocco and the Philippines,
Reiterating the pledge that no one will be left behind, reaffirming the
recognition that the dignity of the human person is fundamental, and the wish to see
the Goals and targets met for all nations and peoples and for all segments of society,
and recommitting to endeavour to reach the furthest behind first,
1. Recalls the convening of the second High-level United Nations
Conference on South-South Cooperation in Buenos Aires from 20 to 22 March 2019
and its outcome document, 5 and calls upon the international community to support
the full implementation of the outcome document of the second High -level
Conference;
2. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the state of South-
South cooperation; 6
3. Reaffirms its support for the High-level Committee on South-South
Cooperation, recalls its decisions 21/1 and 21/2 adopted during its twenty -first
session, held from 30 May to 2 June 2023, and looks forward to the convening of the
twenty-second session of the Committee, to be held in 2025;
4. Encourages the continuation and advancement of South-South
cooperation and triangular cooperation on efforts for COVID -19 response and
recovery from the socioeconomic effects of the pandemic and other multiple crises in
the pursuit of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 7 and its Sustainable
Development Goals, and calls for continued support from the relevant United Nations
development system entities in that regard, particularly in areas such as equitable and
non-discriminatory access to safe, quality, effective and affordable healthcare and
services and medical supplies and equipment, including diagnostics, therapeutics,
medicine and other health products, vaccines, as well as digitalization, the
environment, climate change, social protection and the eradication of povert y, noting
that the world needs a stronger, better coordinated, inclusive and more agile global
health architecture for pandemic prevention, preparedness, response and recovery to
stop the severe impact of future outbreaks;
5. Welcomes the support of development partners for triangular cooperation
towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in the global South,
and urges developed countries to continue providing financial, scientific and
technological assistance to developing countries, to close the digital divides and to
better harness science, technology and innovation to accelerate the achievement of
the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030;
6. Urges Member States and United Nations entities to strengthen South -
South and triangular cooperation on access to science, technology and innovation by
creating synergies, developing expertise and boosting resources in different regions
and institutions, and in this regard notes with appreciation the convening of the
Summit on Science, Technology and Innovation by the Group of 77 and China, in
Havana on 15 and 16 September 2023, as an effort to boost cooperation in this field
to increase its benefit to all people;

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5
Resolution 73/291, annex.
6
A/79/230.
7
Resolution 70/1.

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7. Encourages Member States, with the support of the United Nations

development system, to facilitate the development and access to appropriate
technologies, promote digital transitions and foster the exchange of innovative
practices through South-South and triangular cooperation, with the aim of
safeguarding the interests of present and future generations, and to integrate science,
digital technologies, including emerging ones, and data governance into national and
international development strategies;
8. Encourages Member States and all relevant stakeholders, as appropriate,
to establish or strengthen coordinated mechanisms at the subnational, national,
regional and global levels to leverage the expertise and other resources of
multi-stakeholder partnerships to support South-South cooperation and triangular
cooperation initiatives towards the attainment of the 2030 Agenda, while
acknowledging that governments have the principal role of coordinating and leading
development efforts;
9. Welcomes the convening of the ministerial meeting on South-South
cooperation held in 2023 during the second part of the Fifth United Nations
Conference on the Least Developed Countries, in Doha, on leveraging South -South
and triangular cooperation for the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals,
and looks forward to the ministerial meeting on South-South cooperation to be held
on the margins of the third United Nations Conference on the Landlocked Developing
Countries;
10. Takes note of the various experiences and locally driven development
approaches to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and reiterates the
importance of learning and sharing good practices, including through South -South,
North-South and triangular cooperation through platforms such as South-South
Galaxy, the Global South-South Development Expo, regional sustainable
development forums and other knowledge-sharing platforms supported by the
different entities of the United Nations system;
11. Welcomes the organization of the eleventh Global South-South
Development Expo in Bangkok from 12 to 14 September 2022, and encourages
Member States to host future Global South-South Development Expos, which can
serve as important knowledge-sharing platforms;
12. Notes with appreciation the convening of the Third South Summit, held in
Kampala on 21 and 22 January 2024;
13. Welcomes the adoption of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small
Island Developing States: A Renewed Declaration for Resilient Prosperity 8 at the
Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States, held in Antigua
and Barbuda from 27 to 30 May 2024, which commits to supporting small island
developing States (SIDS), including by leveraging triangular and South -South
cooperation, including SIDS-to-SIDS, to mobilize resources, as a complement to
North-South cooperation, towards the realization of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda
for Small Island Developing States by 2034;
14. Looking forward to the third United Nations Conference on Landlocked
Developing Countries as an opportunity for the international community to scale its
support to landlocked developing countries in their efforts to leverage South -South
and triangular cooperation, to achieve sustainable development and to realize the full
implementation of the new Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing
Countries for the Decade 2024–2034;

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8
Resolution 78/317, annex.

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15. Recognizes the growing debt burden of developing countries, and also
recognizes the role of the United Nations, within its mandates, to facilitate South -
South exchanges of knowledge on debt to help countries of the South;
16. Also recognizes the need to enhance the provision and mobilization of
adequate resources for enhancing South-South and triangular cooperation, and in this
context invites all countries in a position to do so, in particular developed countries,
to scale up the contributions, in support of such cooperation, to the United Nations
Fund for South-South Cooperation and to the Pérez-Guerrero Trust Fund for
South-South Cooperation, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 57/263 of
20 December 2002, and to support other initiatives for all developing countries;
17. Highlights that 20 December 2023 marked the fortieth anniversary of the
Pérez-Guerrero Trust Fund for South-South Cooperation, and acknowledges the Trust
Fund’s effectiveness in providing catalytic support to South -South cooperation,
underscoring the enduring partnership between the Group of 77 and the United
Nations Office for South-South Cooperation;
18. Encourages United Nations entities to support developing countries in
integrating development cooperation perspectives, including, in particular, South -
South and triangular cooperation perspectives, into the preparation and presentation
of the voluntary national review reports on sustainable development;
19. Notes that, within the context of the United Nations development system,
the United Nations system-wide strategy on South-South and triangular cooperation
has the potential to enhance the role and impact of South -South and triangular
cooperation through galvanizing the expertise of United Nations organizations to
support South-South and triangular cooperation, and in this regard calls upon the
United Nations development system to continue mainstreaming South -South and
triangular cooperation into the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation
Frameworks, at the country level, as appropriate, as a means to accelerate the
implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals, and also
calls upon the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation to work in
collaboration with the United Nations system organizations and the regional
commissions to mainstream South-South and triangular cooperation, including
through regional collaborative frameworks for South-South and triangular
cooperation;
20. Notes with appreciation the countries that have increased cooperation with
the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, and calls upon the Office to
further strengthen its support to South-South cooperation projects;
21. Calls upon the United Nations development system entities to further
integrate, as appropriate, South-South and triangular cooperation into their strategic
frameworks and planning instruments, and urges them to allocate sufficient financial
resources dedicated to supporting and facilitating South-South and triangular
cooperation, and encourages the United Nations resident coordinators to continue to
advance the integration of South-South and triangular cooperation into the work of
United Nations country teams to achieve greater system-wide results and impacts for
the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals;
22. Also calls upon the United Nations development system to support
Member States in enhancing the establishment and development of platforms for
innovation and information-sharing in education and pedagogical methods, including,
inter alia, in technical, vocational and tertiary education, and digital literacy, and
leverage technological advancements through South-South and triangular
cooperation;

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23. Calls upon Member States to prioritize and scale up South-South and
triangular cooperation initiatives targeting the 1.9 billion young people,
predominantly in developing countries, to enhance their digital skills, employability
and entrepreneurship, including by incentivizing the mobilization of financing from
all sources, and with the support of the United Nations development system;
24. Requests the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to
strengthen capacity-building and support to developing countries, provide technical
guidance, data collection tools and reporting systems for applying the initial voluntary
conceptual framework for the measurement of South-South cooperation based on
country-led mechanisms, and establish a platform to enable country-led development
of methodologies and sharing of experience;
25. Recommends that the United Nations development system support the
efforts of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in raising
awareness and developing the capacity of national statistical offices and cooperation
agencies to use the initial voluntary conceptual framework for the measurement of
South-South cooperation, and acknowledges the importance of exploring possible
options for the measurement of triangular cooperation;
26. Recognizes the contribution of and the need to scale up and strengthen
South-South and triangular cooperation as a complementary means of implementation
of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals, including in achieving
the overarching goal of the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions,
including extreme poverty, and the goals of, inter alia, ending hunger, reducing
inequalities, within and among countries, as well as for the use, capacity -building and
transfer of digital technologies, on mutually agreed terms, to accelerate the attainment
of the Sustainable Development Goals and close the digital divides;
27. Also recognizes the contribution of South-South and triangular
cooperation in promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls
in sustainable development, as well as in achieving the overarching goal of the
eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty;
28. Further recognizes the role of South-South and triangular cooperation in
enhancing connectivity and digital transformation within and among developing
countries, and in this regard invites the United Nations Office for South -South
Cooperation and the United Nations system, in line with their respective mandates, to
support efforts to develop and implement policies to bridge the digital divides and
fast-track digital transformation to improve the delivery of public services in the
South;
29. Reaffirms the commitment at the very heart of the 2030 Agenda to leave
no one behind and commit to taking more tangible steps to support people in
vulnerable situations and the most vulnerable countries and to reach the furthest
behind first;
30. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its
eightieth session a comprehensive report on the state of South-South cooperation,
including the implementation of the outcome document of the second High -level
Conference;
31. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its eightieth session, under
the item entitled “Operational activities for development”, the sub -item entitled
“South-South cooperation for development”.

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