Tanzania

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session. Your election is a clear manifestation of the entire membership’s confidence in and high regard for your able leadership and diplomatic skills. We wish you success in the tasks ahead. I want to assure you of my delegation’s full cooperation and support. Our salutations are also extended to your predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri of Finland, for a job well done. Allow me also to sincerely congratulate Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the able and distinguished manner in which he has continued to administer and guide the affairs of our Organization. His re-election to a second term attests to the confidence and trust that we have in him. The award of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to him and the United Nations is recognition of his personal attributes and contributions to strengthening the world body. It is also recognition of the glorious performance and achievements of the United Nations in the search of global peace, solidarity and prosperity. As we applaud and pay tribute to the Secretary- General and the United Nations for their remarkable achievements, the horrific terrorist attacks of 11 September against the United States are a clear reminder to us all that the fight for lasting world peace is far from being won. Strangely enough, the fight can take new dangerous dimensions when aeroplanes, which are a magnificent human invention for the fast movement of people, goods and services between distant places, can themselves become weapons in terror attacks. Coming from a country that fell victim to a terrorist attack with the bombing of the United States Embassy in Dar es Salaam in 1998, I can clearly understand the pain, anger and quest for revenge on the part of President George Bush, his Administration and the people of the United States of America. On that fateful day, when 11 of our fellow citizen’s perished and over 70 people were wounded, the Government and people of my country felt exactly the same. We therefore perceive and share the pain and grief of the people of the United States and support their right and that of their Government to seek redresses and fight the perpetrators of this heinous crime. Terrorism is a horrendous crime in its brutality and victimization. It is wanton, cruel and indiscriminate. The world must work together to fight and defeat it. Allow me to reiterate Tanzania’s pledges, resolve and readiness to continue to participate fully in the efforts to combat terrorism. The events of 11 September remind us once more of the need to expedite the process establishing the International Criminal Court. Allow me also to convey sincere sympathy to the families of the deceased in yesterday’s tragic plane crash. Our thoughts and prayers are with them in this time of grief. This is the first session of the General Assembly after the Millennium Summit held here last year. At that Summit, the world leaders defined the agenda and strategies of our Organization in the new century. There was common understanding in the new century, a resolve to continue to work together to tackle the numerous problems bequeathed by the last century. It is the view of my delegation that this session of the General Assembly and the subsequent ones should translate that commitment into concrete actions. Permit me at this juncture to share with the Assembly some thoughts about what could be the important priorities of the United Nations. Tanzania 11 would like to see a United Nations that continues to be the guarantor of world peace and security, a United Nations that has the development agenda at the centre of its main objectives and activities and a United Nations that continues to fight for justice and equality among peoples and nations the world over. Strengthening and revitalizing the United Nations is an imperative we all agreed to undertake almost a decade ago. We have done a remarkable job as regards the restructuring of the Secretariat and the United Nations agencies. It is regrettable that reform and restructuring of the Security Council remain elusive. A process started seven years ago has yet to bear the desired result. The disturbing thing is the fact that in some quarters it no longer appears to be a priority subject. Tanzania believes that expansion of Security Council membership in both categories is as relevant and desirable today as it was seven years ago. We would like to reaffirm our support for the principle of equitable representation of Member States on the basis of their geographical regions. In particular, we want to reiterate support for Africa’s request for two seats in the permanent category. As the continent with the largest portion of the membership of our Organization, such a representation is well deserved. We also think that the time has come to have a serious look at the circumstances and modalities for invoking the use of veto powers. We are of the view that the veto power should be used in pursuit of global interests, and not narrow national interests. At the Millennium Summit, world leaders emphasized that the development agenda should continue to be at the centre of the objectives and activities of the United Nations. We know that the United Nations is not a major funding institution, but over the years it has been the moral force behind the many difficult decisions taken to address serious economic issues. The United Nations organized several forums where various development agenda items were discussed and continue to be discussed, and decisions taken. We want the United Nations to continue to do that. In a period of global economic slow-down like the one we are witnessing today, the task of forging new strategies to tackle the intractable problems of poverty, hunger, disease, deprivation and environmental degradation becomes very challenging indeed. We hope the current economic crisis will not last long, because if it does its consequences may be bad for us all, especially the developing countries. I would also add that Africa, as a continent with 34 of the 48 least developed countries, will suffer the most. In view of this situation, this world body, donor countries and least developed countries must muster collective efforts to ensure that these problems and many more are addressed collectively. I know that there can never be quick fixes to resolving such problems. However, building those kinds of partnerships is one thing that the United Nations should help realize. There is no doubt that for development to make sense in the context of the developing countries like Tanzania, the availability of official development assistance (ODA), plus long-term capital flows and access to technology and markets of the developed countries, are essential. These will have a catalytic role in building domestic supply capacity. We are particularly concerned that the situation with regard to availability of ODA is still not encouraging. Most developed countries are far from meeting the target of contributing 0.7 per cent of their gross domestic product to ODA, as agreed way back in 1970 and reiterated at the 1992 Rio Summit. What is more disturbing to us is the fact that the decline continues unabated despite numerous appeals. My delegation would once again like to use this opportunity to call upon the developed countries to honour this historic duty to mankind. We hope the United Nations will remain seized of the matter and exercise leadership. The flow of foreign direct investment (FDI), which is so essential for inducing growth in our nations, leaves much to be desired. So far, the flow of FDI is not as we would have wanted or have expected it to be. The painful part of this problem is the fact that many of our countries have done everything that has been demanded of us in order to create a conducive environment for FDI to flow, yet there is not much of it coming. Take the example of my country, where we have established, through an Act of Parliament, a financial, legal and institutional framework as attractive and competitive as one would find anywhere in the world. We have a sound macroeconomic environment; there is political stability; and good 12 governance and democracy are vibrant, yet foreign direct investment flows are minimal. My country’s experience is the experience of many countries in the developing world. We are at a loss as to what else we have to do. Maybe someone will volunteer to tell us. While we continue to appeal to the developed countries to do more, we request the indulgence of the United Nations. In this regard, we welcome and support the convening of the International Conference on Financing for Development, to be held next March. We hope that the question of ODA and FDI will be given appropriate consideration. I promise Tanzania’s full participation in that Conference. Easy access by the developing countries to the technology and markets of the developed world could contribute immensely towards the alleviation and eventual eradication of poverty in the world. There are encouraging developments in the area of market access, with initiatives such as the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which allows over 1,800 products from countries of sub-Saharan Africa to enter the United States market duty-free and quota-free, and the Cotonou Agreement, which allows everything but arms from the countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific to enter the European Union duty-free and quota-free. We hope the initiatives taken by Japan under the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) and by the People’s Republic of China under the China-Africa Cooperation Forum will go a little further and offer opportunities similar to those offered under AGOA and the Cotonou Agreement. It is our sincere hope and expectation that the four aforementioned initiatives by the United States, the European Union, China and Japan will also ease the difficulties experienced by our countries in accessing the financial, scientific and technological resources available in those nations. While our nations will continue to engage the developed countries bilaterally or collectively in various forums, the United Nations should never lose sight of the need to help us. The problem of the external debt of developing countries, and particularly of the least developed countries, continues to pose a serious challenge to the development efforts of those countries. External debt servicing has been crowding out priority social investments in our respective countries. In Tanzania, for example, debt servicing averaged one-third of the entire Government’s budget. With another one-third spent on payment of salaries, the Government is left with only a third of the budget to perform its duties, which range from maintaining law and order to the provision of basic social and economic services. This clearly underscores the fact that debt relief and debt forgiveness for nations like mine will go a long way towards enhancing Government capacity to discharge its duties. In this regard, Tanzania welcomes the various measures undertaken by the international community aimed at dealing with this chronic debt problem. Our only concern is that, despite all these measures, the scope and magnitude of debt is continuing to build up to dangerous proportions. More surgical measures should therefore be taken to deal more effectively with this crippling problem. Let me now turn to issues related to peace and security. At the outset, let me state that it is heartwarming to see the Security Council more engaged in the process of trying to tackle the crisis in the Great Lakes region. The Government of Tanzania is committed to building a secure and stable Great Lakes region. In this regard, I want to assure the United Nations that we will continue to play a positive role, as we have been doing, in order to help the people of Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo secure and enjoy the peace which they so richly deserve. It is encouraging to note that in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite difficulties, the implementation of the Lusaka Agreement is on track. We are particularly glad that the inter-Congolese dialogue is under way. I would like to use this opportunity to appeal to the parties to the conflict to stay the course. We also appeal to the Security Council to remain seized of the matter, and to the international community to extend the urgently needed financial resources to the facilitation of the dialogue. We welcome the installation of the Transitional Government in Burundi. We hope that this historic event, which marks the successful conclusion of long and arduous political negotiations, is also the beginning of an irreversible process that will put an end to the long years of pain and suffering endured by the people of Burundi. Indeed, the subregion continues to work towards the cessation of hostilities and towards 13 ultimately securing a ceasefire agreement between the rebels and the Government. In this respect, I would like to take this opportunity to say three things. First, let me reiterate Tanzania’s previous calls for the leaders of the Front for the Defence of Democracy (FDD) and the National Liberation Forces (FNL) to see reason and to join the Arusha process. I believe that there is nothing they are fighting for which has not been discussed and decided upon in the Arusha Agreement. Even if they feel strongly that something has been excluded, the Arusha Agreement provides opportunities for discussion of the same by the parties. Secondly, Tanzania promises its readiness to work with the new Government and to do all it can to help it succeed. We are ready to work with the new Administration in Bujumbura and with the Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU) to engage the rebels and encourage them to join the Arusha Agreement. The third issue I would like to address relates to the repatriation of Burundi refugees living in Tanzania. It need not be emphasized that the return of refugees to their homeland is a crucial element in the healing and normalization process in that troubled country. As host to over 800,000 refugees from Burundi, Tanzania expects repatriation of these refugees to be among the top priority issues in the implementation of the Arusha Agreement. It is our sincere hope that, in that exercise, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will include not only the half a million people in the camps that they manage in Kigoma and Ngara, but also the earlier caseloads of about 300,000 they left to Tanzania to manage. It is sad that Savimbi and his renegade UNITA continue to be a menace in Angola. The United Nations and the international community should do more to stop this menace. If action could be taken in Kosovo and Sierra Leone against criminal leaders, why not do the same against Savimbi and UNITA? I believe it can be done. Let us muster the political courage. With regard to Western Sahara, Tanzania reiterates its long-held position that this is a question of decolonization and that the Sahrawi people have a right to decide on their future through a referendum, as stipulated in the relevant Security Council resolutions. We fear that abandoning that path could lead to untoward events. It is regrettable that the situation in the Middle East remains volatile and explosive. It is our hope that the peace negotiations between Palestine and Israel will be revived through a resolute commitment by all parties. The United Nations has a major role in ensuring that the peace process gets back on track. The commitment made by President Bush on the creation of the state of Palestine on the basis of Security Council resolutions is very reassuring. We hope this will be followed through and that the United States Government will once again assume its leadership role. As host country to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, we cannot but reiterate our call for continued support for the Tribunal. It is gratifying that the Tribunal’s mission of bringing to justice those responsible for the genocide in Rwanda is well under way. Contrary to previous negative publicity, the Tribunal is increasingly obtaining the appreciation and credit it deserves for its work. I would be remiss if I were to conclude my remarks without saying a word about the debilitating disease of HIV/AIDS. The impact of this worldwide scourge is not only a major scientific and medical challenge, but a threat to the very existence of humanity. Our leaders at the June special session dedicated to HIV/AIDS pronounced themselves on this scourge and on their resolve to fight it. Let me express our appreciation for the leadership role of the United Nations, particularly the Secretary-General’s commitment to combat this global crisis, from which no corner of this world is safe. I believe that, with resolute political will, the war against this world pandemic is not insurmountable.