Tanzania

On behalf of the delegation of the United Republic of Tanzania, and on my own behalf, allow me to extend to Mr. Didier Opertti our sincere congratulations on his unanimous election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session. To his predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, I should like to convey our deep appreciation for the exemplary manner in which he presided over the last session. My delegation also wishes to take this opportunity to commend the Secretary-General for the dedication he has demonstrated in guiding our Organization through one of its most challenging periods, as we seek to reform and revitalize it and to restore its focus on the economic, social and development agenda — the very heart of its mission. The reform of the United Nations is a course we have set for ourselves. Indeed, the reform we desire cannot be an end in itself; rather, it is a means to better enable our Organization to carry out its mission efficiently and more effectively. Therefore, our efforts must be directed not only at placing the development problems we face on the global agenda, but also at strengthening the concrete contribution of the United Nations in the development field and resisting any attempts at withdrawal in this area. For it is in the area of development that the challenge to the United Nations is most critical, and it is for this reason that we believe the Organization should continue to be involved, and its role be strengthened. My delegation strongly shares the general desire of Member States to strengthen the role of the Security Council, as well as to review its composition. We also share disappointment about the degree of progress we have been able to achieve so far. However, progress on this matter can only be made after we reach agreement on the fundamental principles involved and how we can move together in the direction of implementing that agreement. Tanzania, and indeed Africa, has made its position clear: that we desire an expanded, representative and democratized Security Council in which each Member is given a rightful role to play. Africa, as the largest group, demands and deserves no fewer than two permanent seats in an appropriately expanded Council. At the moment, we must place the emphasis on reaching agreement on the principle and extent of expanding the Council, and not elsewhere. An effective United Nations is a matter of as much great concern to my country as it is to all Member States. The effectiveness of our Organization depends, to a considerable extent, on its being financially stable. It is sad that the financial situation of our Organization has become increasingly precarious. Cash balances continue to be dangerously low, the timing and amount of inflows continue to be unpredictable, and the Organization is unable to meet its commitments on time. In other words, a bad financial situation has persisted and become increasingly rigid. We are all aware of the fact that this difficult financial situation has been brought about and is being exacerbated by the non-payment of outstanding assessed contributions on the part of some Member States, especially the major contributor, for reasons of political expediency. We urge them to pay on time, in full and without qualification. On 7 August this year, the American embassy in my country was the target of a terrorist bombing deliberately planned and callously executed to cause maximum damage. The attack in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, claimed the lives of 10 innocent and unsuspecting Tanzanians, injured over 70 people and caused extensive damage to property. A similar and almost simultaneous bombing of the American embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, brought about far greater loss of life and destruction of property. In the wake of the attack, many friends here sent us messages of condolence and solidarity. Some of them extended financial and material support to help us meet the requirements of treating the victims of the bombing, as well as to help with the investigations. I would like to reiterate the gratitude of the people and Government of Tanzania to all those Governments, organizations and individuals who have expressed solidarity with us or extended material support following that tragic terrorist bombing. Of particular mention here are the people and Government of the United States of America, who extended medical support and assisted in the investigations through the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Terrorism is a heinous crime against humanity. It is cruel, indiscriminate and, above all, wanton and senseless. Whatever cause may have prompted the perpetrators to resort to it, we do not believe that it is any way justifiable. It is the most rational way neither of 4 expressing one’s indignation, nor of dealing with one’s socalled enemy. Instead, from the moral and political standpoint, acts of terrorism lead to the alienation of the perpetrators, incite hatred and so, deservedly, earn them outrage and condemnation. Invariably, terrorism reduces the number of sympathizers and adds to the list of opponents. It is a worthless recourse — indeed, a misadventure which common sense demands to be abandoned now. The bombings brought home a number of realities, namely, that terrorism is a global problem and that no country is safe from its menace. It also reminded us that, just as terrorism has a global reach, so must the fight against it be concerted and global. The world must therefore make it quite clear to the perpetrators of these heinous crimes that terrorism will be answered with swift and decisive action to bring those responsible to justice and that they will find no solace or refuge anywhere. Thanks to international cooperation and partnership, the investigations into those terrorist bombings are on course and arrests have been made. In fact, two people have already appeared in court in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, charged with committing acts of terrorism and murder, thanks to cooperation between Tanzanian investigators, the FBI and several other countries and organizations. We need to strengthen that cooperation in order to bring all of those responsible to justice and ensure that terrorism is comprehensively dealt with. In this regard, we should strengthen international legal regimes against terrorism. Three months ago in June, world leaders met here in New York and addressed the world drug problem, another international criminal question which deserves global action. The objective was to commit themselves to fighting the demand for illicit drugs, the manufacture of psychotropic substances and the diversion of precursors within precise time-frames. The Political Declaration and the Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Drug Demand Reduction that world leaders adopted at the end of the special session were the first agreements ever aimed exclusively at examining individual and collective problems arising from drug abuse. Just like terrorism, drugs are an international menace which must be dealt with through global cooperation and partnership. On 12 December this year, we shall be celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, which was adopted by the General Assembly on 10 December 1948. The celebration of the fiftieth anniversary is a fitting occasion for all of us to look critically at our record in the protection and promotion of human rights. This is the time for us to ask ourselves whether our adherence to human rights agreements has made any difference to the way we observe human rights. This is the time for us to renew our commitment to all international instruments to which we are party by implementing the provisions of those agreements. I wish I could preface my remarks on the Great Lakes region on a more positive note than I did last year. The situation in Burundi remains precarious, notwithstanding the holding of the negotiating process within the framework of the Arusha peace talks. We continue to receive refugees from Burundi, as the security situation inside the country has not improved appreciably. Yet, we are encouraged that the parties to the conflict continue to demonstrate the disposition to a pacific settlement and persist in dialogue. In a couple of weeks, a further round of negotiations will convene in Arusha, under the facilitation of Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere, to thrash out the details of a settlement and strengthen the undertakings already entered into during the last round of talks. We will continue to urge the parties to the conflict in Burundi along the path of dialogue in the full knowledge that Tanzania and, indeed, the region can only help. The onus of delivering peace and sustaining it rests squarely and solely on the people that country. The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is very worrisome indeed. The conflict there, in both its internal and external contexts, threatens to throw that country and the region into prolonged anarchy and war unless it is arrested now. The region, particularly within the framework of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Organization of African Unity (OAU), has expended efforts aimed at securing a ceasefire in order to initiate a political process to bring the conflict to a peaceful end. This was the spirit of the Victoria Falls and Pretoria summits, as well as of the SADC summit in Mauritius only a couple of weeks ago. We are also appreciative of the efforts deployed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan during the Non-Aligned summit in Durban, South Africa, in the search for a speedy end to the hostilities and the beginning of a process of dialogue and negotiation. My Government believes that anarchy and war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are not inevitable. They can be avoided provided all the parties demonstrate a sense of realism and a willingness to work on a comprehensive settlement based on scrupulous respect for 5 the sovereignty and territorial integrity of that country; the principle of a peaceful settlement of the conflict; full respect for the rights of all the citizens of that country; and the consideration of the legitimate security concerns of the neighbouring countries. My country will therefore continue, within this framework and in the context of the mandate given to it by the SADC summit meeting which took place in Mauritius recently, to urge all the parties involved to bring an immediate end to the hostilities and to facilitate the commencement of negotiations aimed at securing an understanding on the ceasefire and its monitoring, troop withdrawals and the internal dialogue, which is so critical to the long-term security, peace, stability and unity of that country. I urge the international community to support the regional efforts now under way to avert catastrophe in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. My delegation is equally concerned about the EritreaEthiopia border conflict, which has brought these two sister republics and fraternal peoples into a war which has already claimed many lives and huge damage to property. We continue to urge the two countries to exercise restraint and consider initiatives, particularly those of the OAU, aimed at diffusing tension and finding a peaceful solution to the border conflict. These two countries, which have endured decades of conflict, know the destruction and pain which war can engender, and they owe it to themselves and to peace in Africa to ensure that nothing is done to aggravate the situation and reignite military confrontation. We also urge them to give mediation a chance. After all, it is in dialogue that both sides of the argument can be heard, and it is in dialogue that mechanisms for enduring peace can be negotiated and put in place. The instability in the Great Lakes area continues to be the source of refugees in the region. Tanzania has hosted thousands of them, and it seems we will continue to do so because of the deterioration of the political situation in some countries. The exercise to repatriate refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo began in October last year and was proceeding well. By June this year, 48,658 Congolese refugees had been repatriated. There were 47,857 remaining, but the repatriation programme was going well. However, with the outbreak of civil strife in the Congo, the exercise has stalled and new refugees are once again streaming into Tanzania. In the two months of the new conflict in that country, we have already received about 10,000 new refugees. As part of the international community and a responsible member of the United Nations, Tanzania will continue to meet its international obligation of hosting these refugees, and about 200,000 refugees more from Burundi. But we must confess that because of various circumstances, our perseverance is wearing out and our hospitality should not be considered open-ended. While appealing for increased support and assistance for our country for hosting refugees, we call upon the international community to exert great efforts to deal with the root cause of the refugee problem. Many times before in this Assembly and other forums, the international community has spoken of and committed itself to helping the refugee-producing countries address the root cause of the displacements. I regret that this has remained an unfulfilled intention. I always wonder why there has been so much talk about it and little is being achieved. Today, we see latent reluctance to engage those countries in sustained political dialogue requiring them to take responsibility for their refugee-generating policies. We see greater preparedness to rationalize their actions in the name of humanitarianism. At times the host country has been the object of undue pressure to make more concessions or even of unjustified blame and accusations. It is very frustrating indeed. This is not the way to assist refugee-producing countries to come to terms with their internal problems and spare others the unending burden of hosting refugees. We need to emphasize the closure of those factories which produce refugees, as we do meeting the needs of those innocent refugees who are the products. It is in this light that I ask the Assembly and the international community to encourage the countries of the Great Lakes to resolve the underlying political conflicts of the region and to call for mechanisms for greater burden-sharing in a way that will ease strain on the resources of the countries which have borne the brunt of hosting refugees. The peace process in Angola is, to our utmost regret, moving dangerously towards collapse. While the Lusaka Protocol may still be salvaged, we strongly condemn UNITA for its blatant violations of both the agreement and relevant Security Council resolutions. The people of Angola need and deserve the peace they have been waiting for for so long. The international community must hold UNITA and its leadership responsible for their 6 failure to fully implement their obligations under the Peace Accords, thus frustrating the successful outcome of the peace process. Tanzania will support any efforts by this Assembly which will ensure that peace obtains in Angola. The search for a peaceful settlement in Somalia has not borne fruit yet. The country remains divided into sectors, each held by a warlord. We support the efforts of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), within the terms of the Sodore agreement, as well as those of the OAU Chairman and Secretary-General, in searching for a solution in Somalia. We support the efforts to hold a consultative meeting to bring together various groups of people, including individuals, businessmen and community groups, in order to get views and proposals in addition to those of political parties. Another long-standing issue is the question of Western Sahara. We hope that the referendum will go ahead as planned on 7 December of this year. Tanzania calls on the United Nations to ensure that the preparations are well executed so that justice will prevail, especially in deciding who should vote in the referendum. We regret that the situation in the Middle East continues to be characterized by tension and continued denial to the Palestinian people of their right to full selfdetermination and to a homeland of their own, due to the refusal by Israel to honour its obligations towards the peace process. The Israeli policy of territorial expansion, in utter violation of the letter and spirit of those commitments, stands to undermine the prospects for the permanent status negotiations leading to agreement for peace in the area. We call upon the Israeli Government to abandon its obstructionist policies and to resume dialogue. In this regard, my Government is encouraged by the high-level consultations which are currently taking place between the leaders of Palestine and Israel. We hope they will lead to overcoming the present impasse in the peace process. My delegation has welcomed the recent breakthrough in the long-standing conflict between the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya on the one hand, and the United States and the United Kingdom on the other, over the Lockerbie incident, which culminated in the adoption of Security Council resolution 1192 (1998). It remains our fervent hope that agreement will be reached soon on the trial arrangements so that the sanctions imposed upon Libya can be quickly lifted. The Korean Peninsula remains an area of tension and unpredictability. We continue to believe that durable peace and eventual unification can be attained only through dialogue. We therefore urge the parties and the international community to support this course. We welcome the agreement reached between the Governments of Portugal and Indonesia to address the question of East Timor. We urge the two Governments to expand the dialogue they have initiated so that the wishes of the East Timorese people can be fulfilled. Africa is faced by a number of devastating conflicts. It accepts the primary responsibility for bringing them to an end and for elaborating mechanisms for enduring peace in the continent. It is in fulfilment of that responsibility that the OAU has taken a leading role in searching for solutions. This the organization has done in partnership with its subregional groups of countries and organizations, as was the case with Liberia, Sierra Leone and now in Burundi, Somalia, the Comoros and Lesotho, among others. My Government continues to believe in the centrality of the OAU in the search for solutions to African problems. At the same time, we also believe that where necessary, the OAU and the African continent deserve the support of the international community and of the United Nations in particular. In this regard, once again wish to pay tribute to the Security Council for the initiative it took a year ago in having a regular ministerial debate on Africa, the result of which was the report of the Secretary-General on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa. We applauded the Secretary-General for that report and we do so again today. We could not agree more with his observation that “it is the persistence of poverty that is impeding the full promise of peace for all of Africa’s peoples. The alleviation of poverty must be the first aim of our efforts. Only then — only when prosperity and opportunity become real — will every citizen, young or old, man or woman, have a genuine and lasting stake in a peaceful future for Africa — politically, economically and socially.” Indeed, our illustrious Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, has underscored two important facts here. One, that a poor man, a hungry man, has no peace. Two, only when prosperity and opportunity become real will Africa take its rightful place in the global economy. Africans, more than anyone else, recognize that they bear the responsibility to move towards that noble objective. They need the support of the international community. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which my country is privileged to host, has been working under challenging circumstances. During the past 12 months it has made commendable progress. Regrettably, more attention has been attracted by the difficulties it has had to confront than what it has achieved. My Government remains strongly committed to supporting the Tribunal. We are also keenly aware that, just as we have to play our part, the international community must also lend its firm support to the Tribunal to enable it to discharge its mandate and assist, as quickly as it should, in the healing process in Rwanda. The recent judgements by the Tribunal constitute a milestone towards that end. They are a landmark we should welcome and build on. The adoption in Rome of the Statute for the International Criminal Court is a welcome step towards bridging a critical gap in both international criminal law and international humanitarian and human rights law. My delegation believes that the establishment of the Court will be a concrete assurance of our profound concern about respect for and protection of the humanity we all share. It represents an important assurance that individuals, whether as leaders or otherwise, will be accountable and therefore that impunity will not go unpunished. Indeed, the establishment of the Court will be a legacy of our commitment to the pursuit of justice, and could well go down as one of the most momentous decisions of the twentieth century. It is in the context of the pursuit of justice that we must, however, mention what in our view is the most serious failure of the Rome Conference. At a time when some financial institutions are making, albeit belatedly, some form of reparation to the victims of the Nazi Holocaust, it is to be regretted that the attribution of some form of criminal responsibility to legal persons is a notion conspicuously absent from the Statute. To the extent that this was driven by considerations of corporate interest, it speaks about our lack of real commitment to justice, notwithstanding any measure of concern and grief we may pretend to extend to victims. Disarmament continues to be an important issue for my country. The Treaty of Pelindaba establishing a nuclearweapon-free zone in Africa is testament to the resolve of Africa to pursue the cause of nuclear disarmament. While it is easy to take exception to the recent events in South Asia, we are keenly aware that international responses remain the sole alternative in determining a preferable course of action. We remain convinced that the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is a valuable international instrument for nuclear disarmament. In the end, the only viable alternative for international peace continues to be a commitment by all States to a total and comprehensive nuclear disarmament. The Assembly is meeting against the background of a deteriorating international economic situation brought about by the persistence of old problems and the emergence of new ones. The situation has been compounded by the challenges of adjusting to a rapidly liberalizing and globalizing world economy. The majority of humankind resides in developing countries, and Africa is the least developed of the continents. It is in this regard that my delegation is concerned that after a three-year period of positive economic growth, Africa’s economic performance slackened last year, thus demonstrating once again the fragility of the recovery process in our region. A combination of factors, including unpredictable weather conditions, lack of financial resources and poor infrastructure and technology, continue to adversely affect production performances and therefore pose a major constraint on efforts towards recovery, growth and sustainable development. Trade plays a crucial role in the economic development of any country. Despite the slowdown in production by African countries, the volume of their exports has increased over time. In 1997, for example, Africa’s volume of trade increased by 8 per cent, thereby raising the continent’s total revenue from trade by 5.9 per cent. However, it is sad to point out that despite all its efforts, Africa’s contribution to world trade remains very small and is actually decreasing. Limited access to markets, high tariffs, low commodity prices and low output deny African countries the benefits of the twin process of globalization and trade liberalization. This is unjust, because many of these countries are painfully undertaking major reforms aimed at diversifying their economies. There is therefore an urgent need to address this problem if African countries are to be assisted to increase their participation in global trade. Failure to do so would mean that Africa will continue to be marginalized and will stand to benefit little from the recent years’ economic growth and global integration. Tanzania calls for the establishment of an equitable, secure, non-discriminatory and predictable multilateral trading system that would enhance the trade development 8 possibilities of African countries, and especially of the least developed among us. The question of sustainable development of African countries also continues to be seriously affected by the heavy debt burden these countries endure. Tanzania is among such affected countries, and is currently spending almost one third of its revenue to pay its external debt, which has now reached a disproportionate rate. My country is currently implementing various debt management programmes to reduce the effects of the debt on Government operations. Despite the resource constraint, my Government has set as a top priority the repayment of its foreign debt, while continuing to negotiate with our creditors on the possibility of rescheduling and/or cancelling some of its debt. Tanzania believes that the establishment by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative is a step in the right direction in this endeavour. However, as we have had occasion to state in the past, we are concerned about the conditionalities associated with this initiative. A way out has to be found to ensure that the criteria are made more objective so that as many least developed countries as possible benefit from this otherwise important initiative. What could be a more objective criterion for eligibility under the Initiative than poverty itself? In the same manner, we support the call for the holding of an international conference on money and finance. On the eve of the new millennium, Tanzania notes with regret that poverty levels remain very high, despite the observance of the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty two years ago. This is unacceptable, and it is not sustainable in the long run. While those who have more can decide to turn a blind eye or ignore our calls to look for a solution to this human tragedy, it cannot be overemphasized that poverty is the root cause of many problems that cut across the boundaries between rich and poor. The interconnectedness of the world leaves no country insulated from the problems of others. Indeed, even if not in the same sense, the recent financial crisis in Asia and its global ramifications serves to illustrate this fact. It has been argued that foreign direct investment is more effective in bringing about development than official development assistance. This could be so, but my delegation is concerned that private capital flows are going only to a few selected countries. This leaves the majority of the poor developing countries little hope of extricating themselves from the poverty trap. Official development assistance is still an important factor in assisting developing countries in their efforts to upgrade infrastructure, which is necessary to attract direct foreign investment. It is unrealistic, therefore, to expect this enormous cost to be met by private capital or domestic savings alone. We therefore urge the developed countries to arrest the trend of diminishing official development assistance and fulfil the official development assistance target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product. We would like to thank those partners that have reached the official development assistance target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product. Others should emulate the example they have set. Tanzania attaches great importance to South-South cooperation as a means of attaining collective self-reliance and complementing international development cooperation. In this regard, my country will continue to work very closely with other developing countries for the realization of this goal, for we believe that this is the best way for countries of the South to integrate themselves into the global economy. My delegation urges the international donor community to extend its support to the South-South cooperation arrangements initiated by the developing countries. In particular, countries of the South wish to be assisted in developing capacities in science and technology that are suitable for local conditions. We call on the United Nations system to continue assisting countries of the South, and in particular the least developed ones, to mobilize the necessary resources to enable them to enter the twenty-first century of science and technology with confidence. Before concluding my statement, I would like to extend our condolences and sympathy to the Government and people of the many Caribbean island nations, as well as the United States, who have been and continue to be devastated by Hurricane Georges. Our hearts go out particularly to the people of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Puerto Rico, who have suffered the most devastation. In conclusion, I wish to reiterate our strong belief in and commitment to the United Nations and its aspirations and the principles of the Charter. However, we are conscious of the fact that the strength, or otherwise, of the 9 United Nations will stem from the moral and material support rendered by its Members. This is the challenge we all have to pursue ceaselessly in the interests of international peace and security and for the equitable development of humanity.