Mozambique

It is with great pleasure and honour that I take part in the seventy-sixth session of the General Assembly on behalf of His Excellency Mr. Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, President of the Republic of Mozambique, who, due to pressing issues related to his agenda, could not be with us here today in New York. Let me convey our warm congratulations to His Excellency Mr. Abdulla Shahid on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its seventy-sixth session. We also wish to convey our appreciation for the excellent work of his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Volkan Bozkir. To our friend, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, we express our gratitude for his exceptional leadership. The General Assembly is gathered once again at a time characterized by multiple challenges of a global nature. The theme chosen for the current session reflects the unique and difficult context which all the countries in the world have been living through since 2019, on account of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Since its outbreak, we have witnessed notable efforts by different actors — Governments, regional and international organizations, the private sector, and civil society — to face this global phenomenon threatening humankind. We commend the central role of the United Nations, including through the World Health Organization, in coordinating actions aimed at mobilizing means and resources to save lives and the world from the pandemic. Mozambique has taken important steps, including the introduction of restrictive measures, increasing testing capacity, and community-awareness and capacity-building campaigns on the importance of preventive care in the fight against COVID-19. Preventive-care measures include putting in place public-health and social measures and the distribution of vaccines. One of the main challenges developing countries such as ours are faced with relate to access to essential medicines and vaccines. We believe that the private-sector and international-cooperation partners have a crucial role to play in providing support and building the critical infrastructure needed to administer vaccines. We are in favour of a temporary waiver of certain clauses of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights to allow an efficient response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccines today represent an essential good, intrinsically linked to the right to live and to life — a fundamental right that is incumbent on all of our countries to defend. Historically, humankind has shown resilience when faced with great challenges. We are therefore hopeful that we shall once more overcome the pandemic. Given the scarcity of resources, it is imperative that we renew our appeal to the international community to channel its support so that we can jointly successfully defeat COVID-19. Its impact on developing countries challenges every one of us to find effective resource-mobilization means and mechanisms aimed at stimulating the economic recovery of countries strongly hit by the pandemic, thus ensuring that we are on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The pandemic had a negative impact on the economic slowdown in Mozambique in 2020. Estimates indicate that we will resume our economic recovery this year, averaging growth rates of 1.3 per cent of gross domestic product, followed by a more sustained recovery from 2022 onwards. We would once more like to thank our international partners for the support rendered towards actions aimed at fighting the pandemic. In this context, the revitalization of the United Nations and of multilateralism is of utmost importance. Further, it is vital to revive the reform agenda of the United Nations in order to give impetus to articulating cohesive, effective, efficient and inclusive decision-making processes. Accordingly, joint efforts and the strengthening of cooperation are essential to promoting the global agenda to bring about a more just, equitable, balanced and safe world. The world continues to witness threats to international peace and security. The prevalence of terrorism and violent extremism, combined with the proliferation of and trade in arms, constitutes a serious threat to peace and security at national, regional and global levels. The African continent is among the regions most affected by terrorism and violent extremism. Terrorism warrants the unmitigated attention of the whole international community, particularly the United Nations, given the suffering and bereavement it causes in our respective countries. It is incumbent on all of us to come up with measures on how best to defeat it. In our country, terrorist activities have been seen in some districts of the Cabo Delgado province in the northern part of Mozambique. The degree of unravelling of the socioeconomic tissue, the atrocities and massacres, the wanton destruction of infrastructure and looting of goods of communities have caused grief, pain and profound suffering, leading to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Our Government has embarked on a coordinated response, with the involvement of various partners at national, regional and international levels, to address terrorism, and we can highlight positive developments and progress in the fight against this scourge. In this context, we count on the support of our region’s regional organization, the Southern African Development Community. We also count on the help of the Rwanda Defence Force. The European Union and other international partners and friendly countries have provided humanitarian assistance and training and modernization of our defence and security forces. We wish to thank the international community for the support rendered to our efforts in the fight against terrorism and its assistance in supporting the population displaced by terrorism. We would also like to thank the international community for its support for the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of the former guerrilla elements of RENAMO in the framework of the Peace and Reconciliation Accord. Climate-related issues are emerging as one of the most pressing challenges at international level. The preservation of the human habitat is intrinsically linked to the survival of human civilization. Africa is one of the most vulnerable continents and the most prone to natural disasters, which are increasing in frequency and intensity. Mozambique’s location makes it vulnerable to natural disasters, particularly cyclones, which have been occurring with increasing frequency. More than a year and a half after the country was hit by Cyclone Idai, efforts aimed at rebuilding and recovering from the social and economic damages caused by it are still ongoing. That is why Mozambique attaches particular importance to concerted efforts aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change within the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Climate change continues to pose a major obstacle to the implementation of socioeconomic development programmes in our countries. Despite our negligible contribution to greenhouse-gas emissions, our countries are the ones most affected by climate change, in particular by global warming. The cuts in international financing for programmes aimed at promoting resilience and adaptation to climate change have had an adverse impact and constitute a major challenge to developing countries. We believe that the development goals inscribed in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness are important elements in efforts aimed at sustainably rebuilding our societies. Indeed, they are a factor to consider when renewing our commitment to the decade of action to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals and in the context of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The lack of resources could seriously jeopardize the achievement of the objectives set forth under the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, should current resource mobilization and disbursement patterns remain unchanged. In Mozambique, the implementation of the 2030 Agenda is undertaken in tandem and aligned with the Government’s five-year programme for 2020-2024. Our country reaffirms our commitment to implementing international legal instruments aimed at strengthening peace and security, particularly the Arms Trade Treaty, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. Mozambique has made the decision to present its candidature for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the 2023-2024 term. In the words of His Excellency Mr. Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, President of the Republic of Mozambique, “The importance we attach to peace and security at national, regional, and international levels drives this historic decision to present for the first time since our independence in 1975 our candidacy for the prestigious seat of a non-permanent member of the Security Council”. In this context, we humbly request the support of all States Members of the United Nations to help us achieve this objective. Our candidacy is an expression of our firm commitment to building and maintaining international peace and security, preserving and respecting human rights and promoting sustainable development. We therefore reiterate our commitment to serving the international community with dedication and responsibility in order to ensure that the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter remain a source of inspiration to our peoples in building wellbeing, peace and global security. We intend to put the modest yet meaningful experience of Mozambique at the disposal of the United Nations in conflict- mediation and conflict-resolution processes through dialogue. Let me end by once again stressing Mozambique’s belief that under the stewardship of the United Nations and with the support of all Member States, the solutions for contemporary problems, despite the challenges, are within reach and attainable.