Last week a heinous terrorist
attack was perpetrated against the Republic of Kenya,
resulting in the death and injury of dozens innocent
civilians as well as the destruction of property. We
condemn this senseless attack and express our fraternal
solidarity with the people of Kenya.
The theme for the sixty-eighth session is “The
post-2015 development agenda: setting the stage”. It
echoes the words of the Preamble to the Charter of the
United Nations: “to promote social progress and better
standards of life in larger freedom”. As leaders, we
are therefore challenged to ensure that the post-2015
development agenda promotes sustainable development
and a secure future for current and future generations.
When the Millennium Summit adopted the
Millennium Development Goals in 2000, it emphasized
the urgency of making the world a better place for all
humanity. That promise gave hope to millions who live
in abject poverty and deprivation in many parts of the
world. As we approach the 2015 deadline, we should ask
ourselves whether we have lived up to the commitments
that we made in 2000. We believe that the post-2015
development agenda should be people-centred and
inclusive, with a focus on the provision of health care,
education, food security and nutrition, energy, potable
water, gender equality and the empowerment of women,
young people and people with disabilities.
The challenges of climate change and
environmental conservation should continue to be
a focus of our attention. During the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012, we
made commitments to create a new global partnership
characterized by a new spirit of solidarity, cooperation
and mutual accountability. The outcome document of the
Conference, entitled “The future we want” (resolution
66/288, annex), identified poverty eradication as the
greatest global challenge facing the world today and an
indispensable requirement for sustainable development.
As I speak, the eleventh session of the Conference
of the Parties to the United Nations Convention
to Combat Desertification is about to conclude its
deliberations in our capital city, Windhoek. We
believe that the outcome of the Conference will further
strengthen the Convention’s role in mitigating the
effects of desertification and droughts, particularly on
the continent of Africa.
While developing countries have made
commendable advances in the areas of social and
economic development, many challenges remain.
Namibia holds the view that the post-2015 development
agenda should take into account the valid concerns
and challenges faced by middle-income countries,
such as access to grants and concessional funding for
developmental purposes. The post-2015 development
agenda should also embrace the protection of
fundamental human rights and freedoms, the rule of law
and the maintenance of international peace and security.
I wish to emphasize that sustainable development
requires adequate and predictable financing at the local
and international levels.
Namibia is concerned about the conflict situations
and growing instability in many parts of the world.
We welcome the signing of the Peace, Security and
Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic
of Congo and the Region. Namibia urges all signatories
to the Framework to work together in good faith
towards its full implementation. We commend the
efforts of the Intervention Brigade to restore peace in
the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and call on
the international community to give its full support to
achieving the success of that important mission. We
also appeal to the international community to provide
humanitarian assistance to the communities affected by
the conflict.
Namibia welcomes the decision of Madagascar’s
reformed special electoral court, paving the way for
holding presidential and parliamentary elections there
next month. We call on the international community to
provide the financial, technical and logistical support
necessary for those elections to be successful.
Our Government continues to support the efforts
of the African Union (AU), through the African Union
Mission in Somalia, to stabilize the situation in Somalia.
The Southern African Development Community
and AU election observer missions have declared
the harmonized elections that recently took place in
Zimbabwe to be free, peaceful and credible. In that
context, Namibia calls for the unconditional lifting of
all sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.
We welcome the holding of democratic elections in
Mali and congratulate President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita
on his election. We commend the Economic Community
of West African States and other international partners
for the leading role they have played in resolving the
crisis in that country.
I take this opportunity to reiterate our steadfast
solidarity with the people of Cuba, who have endured
harsh conditions due to the illegal economic blockade
imposed on their country. We once again call for the
unconditional lifting of the embargo on Cuba.
The attainment of self-determination of peoples
living under foreign occupation is one of the principles
that this Organization was founded on. In that regard,
we reaffirm our solidarity with the people of Western
Sahara, and call for the implementation of the United
Nations settlement plan for that country. Similarly, we
call for the implementation of relevant United Nations
resolutions on Palestine.
Namibia condemns the use of chemical weapons
against the civilian population in Syria, as confirmed
by the United Nations inspectors. We welcome the
agreement reached between the Russian Federation and
the United States of America to place Syrian chemical
weapons under the control of the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. We also support
the efforts of the Joint Special Envoy of the Secretary-
General and the League of Arab States to help the
Syrian parties find a peaceful solution to the conflict
in their country.
The process of reforming the United Nations system,
especially the Security Council, must be accelerated in
order to make it representative and democratic.
This session of the General Assembly presents an
historic opportunity for the international community to
take concrete steps to eradicate poverty and enhance
international peace and security in order to create a
world free of want, as envisaged in the Millennium
Development Goals. Let us summon the necessary
political will to act now.
I congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President
of the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session and
assure you of the full support of my delegation.