Group of 77

The Group of 77 (G77) at the United Nations (UN) is a coalition of 134 developing countries, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. There were 77 founding members of the organization headquartered in Geneva, but it has since expanded to 134 member countries. Cuba holds its chairmanship for 2023, succeeding Pakistan. The group was founded on 15 June 1964, by 77 non-aligned nations in the "Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Countries" issued at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The first major meeting was in Algiers in 1967, where the Charter of Algiers was adopted and the basis for permanent institutional structures was begun under the leadership of Raul Prebisch who had previously worked at ECLA. There are Chapters of the Group of 77 in Geneva (UN), Rome (FAO), Vienna (UNIDO), Paris (UNESCO), Nairobi (UNEP) and the Group of 24 in Washington, D.C. (International Monetary Fund and World Bank). The group was credited with a common stance against apartheid and for supporting global disarmament. It has been supportive of the New International Economic Order. Regarding environmental matters, the G77's position is that the developed countries bear historical responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions, pointing also to the disparity in per capita emissions between the developing and developed countries. As a result, the G77 often resists binding commitments to reduce its emissions. The G77 has been subject to criticism for its lacklustre support, or outright opposition, to pro-environmental initiatives, which the group considers secondary to economic development and poverty eradication initiatives. In turn, the G77 has criticized the wealthier nations for their insufficient attention to poverty eradication, including at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. As of 2020, the group comprises all of the UN member states (along with the U.N.