Mozambique

I wish to congratulate His Excellency Mr. Han Seung-soo upon his election to preside over the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session, and to express my confidence that with his skilful guidance, his leadership and his outstanding experience our deliberations will be crowned with success. Allow me also to pay a special tribute to His Excellency Mr. Harri Holkeri for the excellent manner in which he conducted the affairs of the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session. I wish him success in his future endeavours. On behalf of the people and the Government of Mozambique, I would like to extend our congratulations to His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan on his well-deserved election to the post of Secretary- General for a second term, as well as on having won the Nobel Peace Prize this year. We hail his re-election and the Noble Peace Prize awarded to him and to the United Nations as recognition of his and the Organization’s tireless efforts in the search for viable and lasting solutions to the problems facing humanity. Allow me to express our sympathy to the Government and the people of Algeria with regard to the loss of life and property caused by the recent floods in that sisterly country. Mozambique, having been the victim of terrible floods over two consecutive years, shares the sorrow of the Algerian people. We also express our condolences to the Government and the people of the United States of America and of the Dominican Republic on the tragedy which resulted from the plane crash last Monday here in New York. On 11 September, we witnessed the most barbaric terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. We are deeply shocked at the loss of thousands of innocent lives. We wish to avail ourselves of this opportunity to reiterate once again the condolences of the Government and the people of the Republic of Mozambique to the Government and the people of the United States of America on the tragic and unjustifiable deaths of their citizens. We express our sympathy and solidarity with all of the victims and the families that have lost their loved ones. 19 We reiterate our condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, regardless of its origin or place of occurrence, or of the race or religion of those who perpetrate it. Terrorism represents a serious threat to international peace and security as well as to friendly relations among peoples and nations worldwide. The struggle against this scourge requires concerted action by the whole international community, within the framework of the United Nations, for the target of this evil is not a single nation or people but humankind as a whole. It is therefore crucial that all United Nations Member States work together towards signing and ratifying all of the conventions and protocols related to the eradication of this enemy of humanity. These conventions represent the legal foundation upon which we can build our collective action against international terrorism. The work that is under way for the elaboration of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism constitutes a further effort to reinforce the international community’s resolve to face the challenge of eliminating the scourge of terrorism. Mozambique came about as the result of the exercise by Mozambicans of their inalienable right to self-determination. Therefore, Mozambicans know well from their own experience what terrorism is all about. But they are also aware of the distinction between terrorism and the legitimate struggle of peoples for their freedom and independence. Mozambique is ready to participate in a global discussion on this issue, as an important and useful initiative to formulate a joint organized response to international terrorism, so that the targets of our common struggle against terrorism are clearly defined. Conscious of the need for the effective implementation of national measures to combat terrorism as a way to complement the international legal regime, Mozambique has already initiated a comprehensive review of international legal instruments to combat and eliminate terrorism, with a view to ratifying and adhering to them. In this context, Mozambique signed, on 11 November, the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. However, it is clear to us that, for an effective implementation of this and other legal instruments, Mozambique needs support from the international community to strengthen its institutions — namely the police, the judiciary, the financial system and the State prosecutor’s office. Last year, our heads of State and Government met here during the Millennium Summit to reaffirm their faith in the United Nations and in its Charter as indispensable foundations for a just, peaceful and more prosperous world. The leaders set specific targets to halve the proportion of people who live in extreme poverty, to provide clean water and basic education for all, to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and to achieve other development goals. They called for the strengthening of United Nations peace operations so that vulnerable communities can count on them in their hour of need. They committed themselves to fighting injustice and inequality, terror and crime, and to meeting the special needs of Africa. In order to achieve these lofty goals, all Member States should display political will and the determination to turn these commitments into concrete actions at the international, regional and national levels. The holding by the United Nations of the special sessions of the General Assembly on HIV/AIDS and on Habitat, the Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects and the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance represent bold steps towards resolving the various problems affecting humanity and constitute concrete steps in the implementation of the provisions of the Millennium Declaration. Mozambique is proud of having played an active role in contributing to the promising outcome of the United Nations Conference on small arms and light weapons. We are confident that the commitments assumed at that Conference will contribute decisively towards preventing, combating and eradicating the illicit trade in, and proliferation of, small arms and light weapons. We should continuously and critically assess the progress made in each area of commitment, with a view to translating into reality the aspirations and needs of our peoples. Each subsequent session of the General Assembly should be used to assess the degree of progress made in the implementation of the declared commitment towards specific targets. To this end, we 20 should ensure that follow-up mechanisms are put in place and effectively enhanced for the successful implementation of the plans of action adopted. As we take on the daunting task of pursuing the goals of the Millennium Summit, we need to work together in a spirit of partnership and cooperation. Today we are living in a world in which a few countries are reaping the benefits of globalization, while the majority, particularly in Africa, are increasingly being marginalized by the global economy. Consequently, these increasing inequalities and asymmetries aggravate poverty, fuel conflicts and threaten international security, stability, democracy and peace. To reverse this negative trend, we call upon all developed countries to fulfil their commitment with regard to official development assistance, increase the levels of foreign direct investment in poor countries, and to cancel the external debt of the heavily indebted poor countries. It is disturbing to note that in Africa 340 million people — half of the population of the continent — live on less than $1 per day. The mortality rate for children under five years of age is about 140 per 1,000, and life expectancy at birth is only 54 years. Only 58 per cent of the population has access to safe water; the rate of illiteracy for people over 15 is 41 per cent; and there are only 18 main telephone lines per 1,000 people in Africa, compared with 145 for the world as a whole and 567 for high-income economies. This appalling situation requires a strong and clear commitment on the part of us all — Africans first and foremost — the international community and other relevant stakeholders. The establishment of the African Union during the thirty-seventh Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of the African Unity is recognition that only by pooling our efforts can we find effective solutions to problems affecting the continent. This effort deserves the support of the international community, so that a solid union and strong integration can become a reality in Africa. The New Partnership for African Development is an initiative aimed at setting an agenda for the renewal of the continent, based on national and regional priorities and on development plans prepared through a participatory process. It foresees a new framework of interaction with the rest of the world, including the industrialized countries and multilateral organizations. The encouragement given by the G-8 Summit and other multilateral institutions in Genoa, Italy, last July is much appreciated. We are also encouraged by the commitment assumed by ministers and heads of delegations at the high-level segment of the substantive session of the Economic and Social Council held in Geneva last July, in welcoming the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) and calling on the United Nations system and the international community to support it. The invitation extended by the Council to the Secretary-General to take the necessary measures to ensure an effective and coordinated response of the United Nations system is a good course of action aimed at promoting sustainable development and active participation of Africa in the world economy. The African leadership and ownership of the NEPAD must be guaranteed during its implementation. Conflicts are one of the main obstacles to development, particularly in Africa. In order to find durable solutions to conflicts, we need to focus our actions on prevention measures and address the root causes of conflict. In this regard, prevention should be aimed at addressing, inter alia, poverty, governance, human rights abuses, hunger, endemic diseases and underdevelopment. The success of this action requires national ownership based on partnership between the Government and civil society. Beyond the preventive measures, we should also think how we can effectively implement sound strategies for conflict resolution and management. The comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects contained in the Brahimi report provides sound recommendations to improve the effectiveness of peacekeeping. It emphasizes the need for effective command and control structures, enhanced levels of interoperability, as well as the importance of training troops to understand and operate with more robust rules of engagement. We believe that the recommendations contained in the report will be effective if more resources are allocated to peacekeeping activities, particularly in Africa, and if the response to actual conflicts are timely, so as to avoid the application of double standards. Initiatives undertaken by regions and subregions aimed at conflict prevention, management and 21 resolution should be supported and endowed with the resources they need to build their capacity to act effectively. The Organization of African Unity Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution should be enhanced and consolidated to better give appropriate and timely responses to conflicts affecting Africa. The international community should continue to assist Africa in searching for the peaceful resolution of conflicts, particularly in Sierra Leone and Somalia, as well as in Western Sahara, when a United Nations plan has been agreed to by all parties to the conflict. It is worth noting that within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) we are strongly engaged in activities aimed at tackling conflicts affecting the region. As the current chair of the SADC Organ for Politics, Defence and Security, Mozambique, in close cooperation with the other member States, will spare no efforts to promote peace and security, through conflict prevention and resolution. SADC will continue to work with the United Nations and all cooperating partners to bring about lasting peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and in other conflicts on the continent. The partnership between SADC and the United Nations should be continuously maintained and nurtured in the spirit of the Brahimi report. As the chair of the Community of the Portuguese- Speaking Countries, Mozambique is also engaged in the current efforts to bring about lasting solutions to the problems still affecting some of Community’s member States. The Community is happy to welcome East Timor, which will proclaim its independence in May 2002 as a result of our joint, concerted efforts with the East Timorese people. We are committed to the efforts made by SADC members to eradicate poverty, combat HIV/AIDS and better respond to challenges posed by globalization, as a way to prevent conflicts. We are also supportive of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan within SADC, which aims at boosting the region’s development agenda for the coming decade. Political dialogue, consensus building, partnership and cooperation are a must and should be pursued vigorously. We believe that the World Trade Organization Ministerial Meeting in Doha, the forthcoming International Conference on Financing for Development and the World Summit on Sustainable Development provide unique opportunities to collectively produce an integrated and effective mechanism for the eradication of poverty and the overall implementation of the development goals set out in the Millennium Declaration and in the plan of action for the Least Developed Countries. It is our expectation that the Monterrey Conference will be instrumental in reshaping the world economic order, giving it more equity and fairness. To that end, the Conference must resolutely address the steady decline of official development assistance and foreign direct investment, untie development aid (as already done by the United Kingdom, which we salute), reform the international financial architecture and provide a sustainable solution to the debt crisis through broad, deep and faster debt relief mechanisms, including total debt cancellation for least developed countries. The World Summit on Sustainable Development should allow us to assess the implementation of Agenda 21, as well as devising appropriate strategies to further pursue this daunting challenge. In Johannesburg, we should strive to ensure the right balance between environmental protection and socio- economic development, while making poverty eradication our highest priority and fully reinstating the principle of common but differentiated responsibility. This is perfectly consistent with the Rio spirit embodied in Agenda 21, a blueprint that should be absolutely endorsed; we should avoid any renegotiation of Agenda 21. In Mozambique the incidence of poverty reaches about 70 per cent of the population. To address this negative picture, the Government approved an action plan for the reduction of absolute poverty, commonly known as PARPA, for the period 2001-2005. The strategic vision of PARPA is founded on two imperatives: the need to maintain peace and stability and the need for rapid, sustained and broad-based growth, where private initiatives play an important role. The programme has gained strong support from the meeting of the Consultative Group that was held recently in Maputo and a boost from Mozambican debt reduction, made within the framework of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Mozambique is greatly thankful to all its cooperating partners for the support pledged at the Consultative 22 Group meeting and for the enhanced HIPC. We hope for a quick implementation of the commitments made, so that our resolve to combat poverty can be a success. Looking at the longer term, the Government of Mozambique launched a national initiative, Agenda 2025, a strategy based on a constructive dialogue on the future of Mozambique. The Agenda aims at creating, through a participatory and inclusive process, a national strategic vision for development, as well as strengthening the Government’s and civil society’s ability to define and implement national policies and projects. The fight against HIV/AIDS is another priority for the Government of Mozambique, for which it has adopted a national strategic plan that focuses on prevention and reduction of the impact of the disease. The plan places the human being at the centre of action and is directed at the vulnerable groups of the society, including women, orphaned children and youth, particularly girls. In this endeavour, the Government has adopted a multisector approach, with the active involvement of all stakeholders, including our civil society. Because HIV/AIDS is a global problem, combating it calls for a global solution, and we commend the United Nations for having proposed the creation of a Global AIDS and Health Fund to combat HIV/AIDS. The Fund will contribute positively to the prevention and combat of this epidemic, which gravely affects the region of sub-Saharan Africa. Floods affected Mozambique in the years 2000 and 2001 consecutively, which resulted in loss of life and production and damage to infrastructure, including roads, schools, hospitals and houses, and forced people to flee from their lands and abandon their belongings. These catastrophes posed a serious setback to the development of our country. We are encouraged by the outcome of the Post- Flood Reconstruction Conference, held in Maputo in July 2001, at which the Government of Mozambique presented the reconstruction programme for the central region of the country, following the devastation caused by the floods in the early part of 2001. At that Conference, the Government also had the opportunity to report on progress made on the implementation of the programme that had been presented at the International Reconstruction Conference on Mozambique in Rome in May 2000. Once again, we wish to thank all those who extended assistance to our country. The Government of Mozambique also appreciates the contribution of the United Nations system and the international community at large in our efforts to consolidate peace, to strengthen democratic institutions and to promote development. In conclusion, I would like to reaffirm my country’s faith in the United Nations and its Charter, for they both remain indispensable foundations for a just, peaceful and more prosperous world.