I extend our sincere
congratulations to Mr. Sam Kutesa on his election to
preside over the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth
session. We see him undertaking that onerous task
at a particularly important moment in not only the
forging of the future global development agenda, but
the development of international peace and security. I
therefore assure him of my Government’s support as
he sets out to discharge that important assignment. In
the same spirit, I also convey our appreciation for the
contribution made by his predecessor, Mr. John Ashe,
President of the Assembly at its sixty-eighth session.
I wish to highlight our deep concern at the global
health emergency that has resulted from the Ebola
outbreak in parts of Africa. That burden is not only
for the people of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea;
Zambia views the epidemic as a common challenge
to humankind, and therefore stands ready to support
all efforts required to defeat the disease and ensure a
return to normalcy in the daily economic and social
lives of our sister Republics that are directly facing the
disease.
There is growing acceptance and concern that
Ebola could easily spread beyond the first four
countries that have so far borne the brunt of the
disease. The recent resurgence of the disease in the
neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo is a
reminder of the extent of the danger. Beyond that, we
remain deeply concerned that over 5,000 people in all
have been victims of the disease and 2,400 needless
deaths have already been recorded across the continent.
Zambia therefore supports the call for greater and wider
involvement by all Member States. The World Health
Organization has already warned that if the epidemic
is left unchecked, we will soon be dealing with over
20,000 Ebola patients.
It is equally for that reason that we continue to look
at global health issues as important parameters for global
development. The Ebola public health emergency and
other ongoing challenges, such as malaria, tuberculosis,
AIDS and other, non-communicable diseases, need a
concerted global approach.
In the past few months, the international community
has witnessed the growing desperation of extremist
terrorist organizations, notably through the abduction
of innocent schoolgirls in Borno state, Nigeria, and the
wider reign of terror, which includes bombing civilian
trading points across that important African nation.
Zambia is also concerned about the insecurity
currently being experienced as a result of the instability
in Ukraine. We have followed the counter-accusations,
which point to the deep-seated divisions and suspicions
of a bygone era. Sadly, the human losses have been
heavy, as ordinary Ukrainians are caught in the middle
of a crisis that is strongly influenced by foreign factors.
Innocent civilians from other nations have also been
drawn in through the loss of lives on Malaysia Airlines
Flight MH-17. We share in the sorrow of the families
and the nations that lost loved ones in that human-
caused catastrophe. Zambia believes that ordinary
Ukrainian citizens are of the same view and desire
nothing but peace, harmony and prosperity for their
country. They should be allowed to enjoy those basic
human conditions.
Those and other global security concerns linger,
facing a United Nations that is becoming ever more
challenged in coordinating any robust or convincing
global response.
This session of the General Assembly is also
taking place at a moment of renewed focus on the
global development agenda through the negotiations
on the post-2015 agenda and the work to produce
the sustainable development goals (SDGs). My
understanding has been that the negotiations have thus
far been engaging and have included the participation of
all stakeholders, including Governments, civil society,
the business community and academia. It can therefore
be said that we have laid a solid foundation upon which
the world will articulate its development policies for the
next decade and a half, in line with the three pillars of
the SDGs.
We look forward to the completion of those
deliberations, knowing that unless the means of
implementation are adequately covered with new
investment inflows, we risk rendering that noble effort
a futile exercise. Given the immense challenges facing
our nations, it is such multilateral approaches that will
address the underlying cross-border factors that affect
climate change, global poverty, public health, children’s
welfare, labour and migration, youth unemployment, the
advancement of women and many other issues whose
solutions lie in actions that may have transboundary
effects.
The new global development regime must therefore
demonstrate a new and more robust approach to
those problems. For that reason, Zambia supports the
related meetings being held alongside this session of
the Assembly, notably those relating to population and
development, labour and decent work, and the 2014
Climate Summit. It is hoped that those discussions will,
in the not-too-distant future, lead to lasting solutions
to the development challenges faced by many of our
countries.
On another important matter, I wish to report
that Zambia has increased its campaign to forestall
the growing problem of child marriages and early and
forced marriages. That problem is strongly rooted in
the prevailing poverty levels in some poor families
and in the quest by organized criminals to profit
from selling off under-age girls either into marriage
or to engage in exploitative vices. With that national
awakening to the problem, Zambia hosted a three-day
national symposium on the problem in July. We look
forward to working with other nations to ensure that a
global approach is developed to curb the incidences of
child, early and forced marriages, which is a problem
with greater consequences for the future advancement
of women.
Zambia is also undertaking several other initiatives
aimed at reducing the gender divide. My Government is
of the conviction that girls and women should be enabled
and allowed to reach their full potential and be able to
contribute to national growth on an equal footing with
men. In that regard, the education of the girl child and
the socioeconomic empowerment of women through
their representation in key decision-making positions is
at the top of the national agenda.
Furthermore, Zambia reaffirms its commitment
to gender equality and the empowerment of women
made at the fourth World Conference on Women, held
in Beijing in 1995, My Government has continued to
stress the importance of women’s emancipation and
their contribution to national development in line with
the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
The question of the reform of the Security Council
remains an important priority for Zambia and the rest
of the African continent. We remain deeply concerned
that little progress has been recorded in the negotiations
on the expansion of the Council. Africa remains fully
committed to all five clusters of the intergovernmental
negotiations process outlined in decision 62/557, of
2008. As a member of the African Union Committee
of Ten on Security Council reform, let me echo other
voices in reiterating the importance that our member
States attach to the realization of those long-overdue
reforms.
My delegation also accords due priority to the
questions relating to countries in special situations, in
particular landlocked developing countries (LLDCs),
for which group Zambia was nominated as Chair in
March. The implementation of the Almaty Programme
of Action, as adopted in 2003, has run its course, albeit
with mixed results. It is coming up for review at the
United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing
Countries, to be held in Vienna in just over a month’s
time, from 3 to 5 November. The 32 Member States in
that grouping are counting on the support of the entire
United Nations membership to ensure a successful
Conference, which we expect will firmly place the
LLDCs on a sound path of development. I therefore
look forward to the full participation of Member States
at the Conference.
I would like to end by informing the Assembly
that our historic capital city, Lusaka, has for the past
year been celebrating its centenary. That occasion was
followed this year by two other important celebrations,
namely, the ninetieth birthday of our founding father, the
first Republican President, Mr. Kenneth Kaunda, and
the fiftieth anniversary of our national independence,
which falls on 24 October.
The commemorations have offered a unique
chance not only to celebrate, but also to reflect on
our development path. I submit that within our known
difficult struggle to achieve social and economic
development lies a strong national spirit, eager to
contribute not only to our own growth, but also to that
which the growing global interdependence demands.
Let me, on behalf of all Zambians, express appreciation
to all those that have helped our beloved country in
achieving those milestones. Zambia looks forward to a
strengthened and more versatile United Nations system
that will help create the conditions for the further
growth and development of our youthful nation.