I congratulate my brother Sam
Kutesa of the Republic of Uganda on his well-deserved
election as President of the General Assembly at its
sixty-ninth session. While wishing him every success
in the discharge of his duties and responsibilities,
my delegation and I promise him our full support
and cooperation. Allow me also to pay tribute to his
predecessor, Mr. John Ashe of Antigua and Barbuda,
for his remarkable leadership of the Assembly at its
sixty-eighth session.
Our illustrious Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
deserves praise and appreciation for his leadership
and the good work he is doing for our esteemed
Organization. He has been performing his duty with
courage, dedication, passion and commitment in
driving the United Nations agenda. We will always be
grateful to him.
We welcome and fully endorse the theme of this
year’s debate, “Delivering on and implementing
a transformative post-2015 development agenda”.
We expect the discussion on it to make important
contributions in the intergovernmental negotiations
about to start on the post-2015 development goals. As
we dedicate our time and effort to the negotiations on
the post-2015 development agenda, we must not lose
sight of the unfinished business of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). It is important that
any unaccomplished targets and indicators should be
properly factored into the new agenda. In the meantime,
we should ensure that we use the remaining 461 days to
accelerate the pace of implementing the MDGs.
The issue of financing the implementation of
the post-2015 development agenda must be given
special attention. I am mentioning this matter because
experience has taught us that, other factors aside, we
will fall short of attaining a number of the MDG targets
and indicators because of unpredictable, unreliable,
insufficient and untimely availability of financial
resources. Therefore, for the post-2015 development
agenda to be achieved, we must devise a mechanism
to ensure stable, predictable and reliable sources of
finance for their implementation.
There is more to the year 2015 than the deadline for
the MDGs and the onset of the post-2015 sustainable
development goals. The year 2015 is also a deadline
for the world to conclude a legally binding climate
change agreement. We thank the Secretary-General
for convening the Climate Summit that took place on
23 September, here at the United Nations. It afforded
us a unique opportunity to put our minds together and
deliberate on ways to save this planet from disaster and
advance on clean development pathways. It was very
opportune, indeed, to hold the Summit two months
before the twentieth Conference of the Parties to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (COP-20), which is due to be held in Lima in
December 2014, and one year before COP-21, to be held
in Paris next year. In many ways, the Summit may help
to make the work in Peru less difficult. As members
know, a successful Lima Conference will mean a lot
in terms of the Paris Conference, where we expect
to conclude a legally binding climate agreement. We
know it is not easy, but Tanzania and Africa as a whole
are appealing to all countries from all continents to do
whatever it takes to ensure that COP-21 delivers on the
expectations all of us have. Failure should not be an
option.
United Nations reforms are long overdue. Reports
that consultations and negotiations are not showing
encouraging signs of progress are very frustrating
indeed. We should remain steadfast and vigilant and not
allow the momentum to be lost. We humbly request the
President of the Assembly to use his good offices and
long-standing diplomatic skills to revitalize the process
and keep it on track. We must keep the flame burning.
Global peace and security are in a state of flux.
The events occurring in North Africa, the Middle
East, Eastern Europe, the Great Lakes region and the
Horn of Africa are matters of concern to all of us.
Equally important is the menace of terrorism; the illicit
exploitation of natural resources; poaching; and the
illicit trade in narcotic drugs and weapons, which are
making the world less secure.
Terrorism is assuming new dimensions, making
it a huge threat today because of its indiscriminate,
lethal and callous character. Hundreds of innocent
people have lost their lives or been abducted, with
fatal consequences. No country is insulated from this
menace, and nobody is safe. As such, it calls for all of
us to play an active role in the fight against terrorism
and cross-border crime. Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, the
Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham and other terrorist
organizations should not be allowed to have their way.
Libya should not be left to disintegrate. The senseless
fighting in the Central African Republic and South
Sudan must be brought to an end. This world, under
the leadership of the Security Council and regional
organizations, has the capacity to do exactly that. Let
us do what is required of us to stop the bloodshed, loss
of life, suffering of innocent people and destruction of
property.
The horrifying scenes of bombings and the
deaths of innocent women, children and men in the
recent hostilities between Israel and Palestine are
heartbreaking. Unfortunately, the conflict has been
going on for far too long, despite the fact that the
lasting solution is known: two States, living side by
side harmoniously. That solution has been elusive. The
time has now come for the United Nations, the United
States of America, Russia, Europe and other global and
regional Powers to come together in concerted efforts
to make it happen. We should not wait any longer.
As regards the question of Western Sahara, let me
reiterate the appeal I made last year to the Security
Council to do everything in its power to resolve that
problem once and for all. Honestly, I cannot comprehend
why that problem, which began around the same time as
that in East Timor, nearly 40 years ago, should remain
unresolved to this day. What are the insurmountable
challenges impeding the United Nations from ending
the impasse? I ask the United Nations to please do what
is needed and put the Sahrawi question to rest. I know
it can.
Once again, we in Tanzania wish to join others who
spoke before us in calling for an end to the sanctions
and embargo against Cuba and its people. For over 50
years, the embargo has condemned the people of Cuba,
including innocent children and women, to perpetual
hardship and poverty. It is high time that the embargo
be lifted and the people of Cuba given the opportunity
to live in dignity like everybody else on this planet.
This session of the General Assembly is being held
at a time when our brothers and sisters in Liberia, Sierra
Leone and Guinea are confronting the worst outbreak
of the deadly Ebola epidemic to date. In those three
countries, together with Nigeria and the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, some 2,400 people have lost
their lives. The disease, which has no cure or vaccine
as yet, presents a major threat to the countries where
the disease is known to exist, but also to neighbouring
countries and beyond. Unless the world succeeds in
controlling the spread of this disease, there is every
likelihood that it will become a global epidemic.
Our collective efforts in that regard are the best
way forward. I believe the world has the technology,
knowledge and financial resources that, if put together,
can defeat the threat posed by Ebola. We should also
continue to support the efforts of the world’s scientists,
who are working tirelessly, day and night, in search
of a cure and a vaccine. We applaud the efforts being
undertaken by the United Nations, the World Health
Organization, the United States Government and other
countries with the necessary technical and technological
capabilities to assist the affected countries and wage
the fight against the disease worldwide
We request four things. First, we must continue and,
where possible, bolster that support until the spread of
the disease is under control. Secondly, we must continue
to assist other nations in West Africa and elsewhere on
the African continent in building their capacities for
surveillance, isolation and treatment. Thirdly, we must
intensify our efforts to develop a cure and a vaccine
to save the lives of those infected now and to prevent
others from being infected. Fourthly and finally, we
must help Africa; we must help African nations so that
the stigma that is developing against Africa because of
Ebola is stopped.
Reports that a number of people from other
continents are now shying away from coming to Africa
and are cancelling travel plans because of Ebola are
disturbing. That is threatening to kill the all-important
tourism industry, trade and investment flows to Africa.
May the United Nations and friends of Africa please
help us to tell the world that Africa is a continent of
54 countries, not a country of 54 provinces. Not all
countries in Africa have the disease. Moreover, many
countries are far away from the concerned countries in
West Africa. In fact, the affected countries are closer
to Europe than they are to Kenya, Tanzania or South
Africa in eastern and southern Africa, to mention but a
few. As a matter of fact, they are 9 to 11 hours away by
air from those countries. To cancel travel to our parts
of Africa is incomprehensible and a gross injustice to
the continent.
I am confident that this seven-day debate on
the theme “Delivering on and implementing a
transformative post-2015 development agenda” affords
us another opportunity to define a bright future for
ourselves, our children, our children’s children and their
grandchildren. We should seize the moment to build on
the success stories and lessons from the many countries
and peoples who have been successful. We should
also learn from the challenges and failures during the
implementation of the MDGs in conceiving the goals,
targets and indicators of the post-2015 development
agenda. Tanzania stands ready to cooperate with the
rest of the Members of the United Nations family in
building consensus on the post-2015 development goals.
Allow me to conclude by appealing to everyone in
this Hall to promise to work for a post-2015 development
agenda that will make the world a better place for all of
us to live in.