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make this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 & China.

The 25th Session of the Committee on Agriculture endorsed the proposal to establish an International Year of Camelids and later, the 156th Session of the FAO Council endorsed the Draft Resolution of the International Year of Camelids in 2024. Likewise, it is to the 40th Session of the FAO Conference to submit this proposal for the approval.

The promotion of the sustainable development farming of camelids, is essential for food security, poverty reduction and livelihood improvement for millions of people in 90 countries.

There is no denying the range of opportunities and benefits to be gained with the declaration of the International Year of Camelids, as a contribution to the implementation of the Agenda 2030 for the Sustainable Development, the SDG's and the Strategic Objectives of FAO. It will enable a concerted action to protect these species, ensuring the fulfillment of their key role in agriculture.

Likewise, it will increase the quantity and quality of the products and services they provide, which are of the utmost importance for the livelihoods of the communities dependent on them, in time to avoid the extinction of some of these species. In addition, they play an important role against the effects of climate change, as this species is one of the least contributors to carbon emissions.

Camelids will contribute in the fight against extreme poverty: ending hunger and achieving food security (ODS1 and ODS 2); Ensuring an alternative mode of food production and responsible consumption patterns (ODS 12); Promoting the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems; Combating desertification and preventing the loss of biological diversity (ODS 15); They will allow the empowerment of women and young people for their high labor participation in the use of camelids' fiber and in pastoral work (ODS5); Camelids can generate a more sustainable and more environmentally friendly economic activity (ODS13).

Camelids are part of the non-traditional and underutilized biodiversity, as well as the production systems with ancestral and indigenous knowledge, which maintain and use biodiversity for food and agriculture.

For this reason, the International Year of Camelids will provide a platform to develop the full potential of these species, since "Living well in harmony with nature, recognized by some cultures as Mother Earth, is essential as a fundamental condition for the well-being of all forms of life, since it depends on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity as well as the ecosystem services it supports”, as stated in the first paragraph of the Declaration of Cancun on Integration of Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity Welfare on the occasion of the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity - Mexico 2016.

In terms of the funding of this international year, FAO policy will be continued with the establishment of a Trust Fund and voluntary contributions, in which the Government of Bolivia commits itself to provide resources that will ensure the successful development of the Master Plan for the International Year of Camelids, as well as ensuring that these resources are available during the implementation, taking responsibility for finding resources from other sources. South-South and Triangular Cooperation modalities will be promoted to ensure the participation of multiple stakeholders and ensure that the International Year of Camelids achieves its objectives and benefits, especially for the sectors of the population related to the sustainable farming of camelids.

Considering the call of the Agenda 2030 for "no one left behind", we request the members of the Conference to approve the Draft Resolution and ask the Director-General to transmit it to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, so that the General Assembly of the United Nations, at its next session, may consider declaring the Year 2024, as the International Year of Camelids.