I stand before this Assembly as an envoy of His Excellency Mr. Rupiah Bwezani Banda, President of the Republic of Zambia. Zambia wishes to align itself with the statement delivered by His Excellency Ngwazi Professor Bingu Wa Mutharika, President of the Republic of Malawi and current Chairperson of the African Union. This session is taking place amid global challenges such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, environmental degradation, international terrorism, piracy, HIV/AIDS, extreme poverty and hunger, among others. It is an occasion for all Member States to collectively engage in dialogue aimed at finding solutions to the challenges that our countries are facing, in order to contribute to the socio-economic development and well-being of our people. The Assembly’s theme this year is appropriate, as it provides an opportunity to reaffirm the central role of the United Nations in global governance. The role of the United Nations is felt in areas such as peacekeeping, security, human rights, the promotion of gender equality and the fight for social justice and equality. However, emerging global challenges, such as the recent financial and economic crisis, also call for a greater role for the United Nations in global economic governance. In that regard, our Government would like to see a strengthening and enhancing of capacity in the United Nations to enable it to deal with some of those challenges. Allow me to express Zambia’s gratitude to the Secretary-General for organizing the important high- level meetings that preceded the general debate. The summit to review the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) provided an opportunity for the international community to take stock of existing gaps and the challenges faced in the attainment of the MDGs. At that meeting I elaborated on the progress Zambia has made and the challenges we continue to face in our efforts to attain the MDGs. In spite of the strides made in improving the macroeconomic environment and putting in place development frameworks, the incidence of poverty in my country remains high, partly because our efforts alone are not enough. I therefore wish to reiterate calls to the international cooperating partners to honour all of their commitments to ensure that the 2015 targets are realized. Let me also add that the measures that the Zambian Government has adopted to address the issue of hunger and poverty include devising agricultural sector policies that enable smallholder farming 10-55128 56 households to improve their productivity. In that connection, this year Zambia has recorded a bumper harvest of maize, which is our main food crop. That will ensure food security and increased incomes for smallholder farmers, who constitute the majority of the farming community. We are mindful, however, of the fact that climate change, as evidenced by persistent periods of droughts and floods in our countries, poses one of the most serious threats to the agricultural sector and thus to overall food production. While as a Government we are doing everything possible, such as investing in agricultural research and irrigation methods, the debate on climate change should not lose sight of the need to assist developing countries, including Zambia, in building capacities to adapt in order to mitigate negative impacts on the agricultural sector. Without those, poverty and hunger will persist in my country. Zambia shares the concerns of the Secretary- General regarding current global resource loss and ecosystem degradation. It is important that mankind reverse the ongoing trends of natural resource loss and ecosystem degradation as a commitment to protect biodiversity. That will be achieved only if all stakeholders step up their efforts and meet the MDGs and other internationally agreed development goals. My delegation welcomes the positive developments that have occurred in the past year in the area of arms control and disarmament. The Security Council’s convening of a summit to address disarmament issues, the Secretary-General’s launch of a five-point nuclear disarmament proposal, the entry into force of treaties establishing nuclear-weapon-free zones in Central Asia and Africa, and the convening of a summit in Washington to discuss nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, among others, must indeed be commended. We hope those efforts and the momentum generated will be sustained and will lead to the resolution of all outstanding issues in the area of disarmament. Zambia, however, continues to face difficulties in controlling the inflow of small arms and light weapons. The illicit trade in small arms threatens security and retards social and economic development in our country. Zambia therefore calls for the establishment of a strong and legally binding international instrument on the arms trade. We strongly support the convening of the United Nations conference in 2012 to establish legally binding common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms, with specific measures against defaulters. On the reform of the United Nations, in particular the Security Council, Zambia reaffirms its support for the African position, as espoused in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, that Africa should be granted, among others, not less than two permanent seats, with all of the prerogatives and privileges including the right of veto, and two additional non-permanent seats. Africa is the only continent without permanent seats, and yet it has the second largest membership of the United Nations. Granting Africa permanent seats will redress that historical injustice. The Government of Zambia recognizes the important role that women play in attaining development. Furthermore, we recognize that the empowerment of women and their inclusion in the decision-making process have enhanced their role in development. That is why Zambia has integrated women of all sectors of society in decision-making positions, and we are committed to doing even more. Our Government welcomes the establishment of UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, and the appointment of Ms. Michelle Bachelet, the former President of Chile, to head it. It is our hope that the new Entity will have a strong and effective presence at country level and will help Member States implement standards and will provide them with the much-needed financial and technical support required to achieve women’s empowerment, equality and equity. As the Assembly is aware, Zambia has been hosting refugees prior to and since its independence in 1964 and is party to all refugee conventions. My country was among the first on the African continent to host a refugee camp. Zambia is committed to hosting refugees, and our experience has demonstrated that voluntary repatriation is a desirable and durable solution. However, as an under-resourced and least developed country, hosting refugees is a major challenge for us. We therefore call upon the international community to provide financial assistance to enable us to discharge that responsibility through the provision of minimum standards of care. In addition to the question of refugees, the issue of internally displaced persons, which has continued to increase worldwide, especially in Africa, equally calls 57 10-55128 for our attention. The adoption by the African Union last year of the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa is an important landmark that requires the support of the international community at large. The sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe continue to cause great suffering to the people of that country and to the southern Africa region as a whole. Similarly, the embargo that the United States has imposed on Cuba, which the United Nations has condemned through numerous General Assembly resolutions, has caused untold hardship to the people of Cuba. Zambia calls on this body to ensure that the sanctions on Zimbabwe and the United States embargo on Cuba are lifted. In an effort to consolidate democratic governance, Zambia is in the process of enacting a new constitution. The National Constitutional Conference that was established to oversee the process concluded its work and submitted a draft constitution, which awaits tabling before Parliament. As the Assembly may be aware, Zambia will hold presidential and general elections in 2011. As in the past, international election observers, including those from the United Nations, will be invited. As we reaffirm the role of the United Nations in global governance, let us not be complacent in the face of great suffering and hardship in our world. Let that be the force that drives us to action, where all nations will work together in meeting the goals and aspirations of our peoples.