I would like to congratulate Mr. Jan Kavan on his assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session. I am confident that his leadership will successfully carry us through this session. We extend to his predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-soo, our sincere appreciation for the excellent manner in which he steered the work of the recently concluded fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly. My delegation warmly welcomes Switzerland as a new Member of this family of nations. I would be remiss if I did not pay tribute to the United Nations for its role in ensuring the smooth transition of East Timor to statehood. We believe that the new nation will for some time continue to require the support of the international community in its efforts at nation- building. We look forward to welcoming East Timor into the United Nations in the near future. Yesterday, the United States and, indeed, the whole world, commemorated the first anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Terrorism is a threat to international peace and security. No matter where it occurs, no matter whom it is directed at and no matter what form it takes, the scourge of terrorism must be condemned and dealt with decisively and in conformity with the ideals and principles of the United Nations Charter. The adoption of unilateral measures by some countries to combat terrorism not only is counterproductive but also undermines the mandate and effectiveness of the United Nations. In dealing with this scourge, the world community needs to focus on identifying and addressing its root causes, such as poverty, the denial of fundamental freedoms and the absence of social justice. The United Nations is confronted with a volatile situation in the Middle East that has the potential to engulf the entire subregion. The Palestinian question should be resolved without further delay, as it is causing untold suffering to the people in the occupied 25 territories. Israel must withdraw its forces from Palestinian lands, and the Palestinians must be afforded the opportunity of having a State of their own. The carnage that is going on at present will benefit neither side. Israel must know that its chances for peace and security lie in having a Palestinian State that will live side by side with it in mutual respect between sovereign States. We believe that Palestinians should be left alone to elect the leaders of their choice, as it is their democratic and sovereign right to do. It is only leaders thus elected who can ensure peace and stability within the State of Palestine and between Palestine and all of its neighbours. We note with concern that some countries wish to arrogate to themselves the right to choose or impose leadership in developing countries by sidelining or overthrowing democratically elected Governments. Not only is this a negation of democracy and democratic principles, but it constitutes outright interference in the internal affairs of independent sovereign States, and must be resisted. I say this in relation not only to other States but also to my own country. My people elected me, and that election was held to have been valid by Africa and its organizations. But Europe said, “No” — and it was Europe that yesterday was our oppressor and colonialist. Europe said “No”, but Africa said, “Yes”. To whom do we listen? The whites in Europe or the blacks in Africa? We listen to our own blacks and their judgement; they are our people. They, and no one else, are the ones who should elect us. Zimbabwe welcomes the emergence of peace in Angola — a fellow member of the Southern African Development Community — and urges both sides to the conflict to remain committed to the Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier this year. The international community should urgently assist that country in consolidating the peace, and move on with the reconstruction and rehabilitation process. This is a small price to pay in order to give the people of Angola the peace that has eluded them since the 1950s. We are also pleased that the peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is moving in the right direction. We would like to recognize the efforts of the Government of South Africa and the United Nations in this regard and to call on the United Nations to take strong measures against those who violate the agreed ceasefire. Let me take this opportunity to announce once again that, in view of these positive developments, Zimbabwe is in the process of withdrawing its remaining forces from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We hope, however, that the Security Council will act boldly and without favour in ensuring that peace is consolidated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and that it will immediately proceed with the full deployment of the third phase of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the same vein, we note that the mandate of the Expert Panel on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo expires in December 2002. It is our fervent hope that this time the Panel will have the courage to fully expose the economic agenda of the countries that invaded the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We are gathered here to chart the way forward towards the creation of a world fit for all of us, to the turn of the century and beyond. We are meeting against the backdrop of the crucial summits that were held this year, during which landmark decisions were made regarding sustainable global economic and social development. Among these were the Monterrey International Conference on Financing for Development, and the recently concluded World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is our hope that the decisions of these conferences will be translated into meaningful cooperation among development partners. In this context, we welcome the pledges made for increased development aid and the commitment to sustainable development, which are essential for future generations. Unfortunately, the World Summit on Sustainable Development demonstrated beyond doubt the unwillingness on the part of some developed countries to commit themselves more meaningfully to these international undertakings. They preferred instead to hide behind hackneyed and spurious conditionalities which all but oppose and negate the practice of democracy, good governance and respect for human rights in the developing world. While we all cherish these values, we are dismayed that they are increasingly being used by developed countries that have checkered democratic credentials and poor human rights records in order to settle political scores and to 26 forestall the economic development of countries whose Governments they do not like. When we see these same countries propping up regimes that are blatantly undemocratic, we cannot but conclude that this wilful commingling of issues is just an excuse for doing nothing about legitimate demands that the development aspirations of developing countries be addressed. The United Nations General Assembly should express its deep dismay at such dishonest attempts on the part of those countries and call upon them to stop the abuse of international agreements and shared values and the imposition of their interests upon other, often smaller nations. We call for improved global governance through the democratization of multilateral organizations, such as the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization. There is also need for coherence in global policy-making. In the same vein, the management of the globalization process should not be left to market forces alone but should be regulated in a way that gives it a humane face and reverses the marginalization of developing countries. In the area of world trade, we call for a level playing field in agenda setting and rule making in the World Trade Organization. We also need to see greater market-access opportunities for goods of export interest to developing countries in developed country markets, as well as greater willingness to address issues of commodity pricing. In addition, we call for the removal of agricultural subsidies, which have depressed the competitiveness of products from developing countries and inhibited their entry into the lucrative markets of the North. In the same vein, my delegation also calls for the immediate cancellation of the debt of poor countries, so that debt-service funds, which are crippling the development efforts of developing nations, can be used to improve the situation of those countries. The special session on children, which was held here in New York in May of this year, did much to bring to the fore the need to address, in a meaningful way, the rights and development needs of children, with a view to enabling them to play their respective roles in society. The United Nations should continue to articulate those needs and foster the creation of a world fit for children. Since the attainment of independence in 1980, Zimbabwe has made tremendous progress in the provision of schools and health-care facilities to improve the quality of life of its children. Regrettably, these gains were later to be reversed, as the Bretton Woods institutions demanded that we deprioritize education, health and social welfare in our resource allocations. Even without the support of those institutions, we have continued, within our limited means, to place primary importance on the development of the Zimbabwean child and the welfare of the underprivileged, thereby raising the literacy rate in our society to 87 per cent. Zimbabwe and other countries in Southern Africa are grappling with the effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Our own efforts at combating the scourge are not enough, and they need to be augmented by the positive contribution of those countries that have the requisite financial resources and technological know- how. We continue to call on the international community and private companies to hasten their efforts at finding an answer to this pandemic, which is ravaging our populations and economies. Affordable but effective drugs need to be made available, while support should be given to care givers helping those who suffer from the disease. Special assistance should be given to the growing number of children orphaned by the pandemic. We hope that the fund set up at last year's General Assembly special session on HIV/AIDS will receive the urgent and meaningful support that it deserves. As you are aware, my country and most parts of Southern Africa, are currently experiencing a humanitarian crisis as a result of the drought that hit during the main cereal-producing season earlier this year. We commend the efforts being made by international organizations and the donor community to provide urgent food and non-food aid to our communities. We particularly wish to mention the efforts of United Nations agencies in this regard. We also welcome additional assistance in programmes that will mitigate the effects of future droughts. Finally, my delegation is happy to inform you that Zimbabwe has concluded the fast-track land- redistribution programme that we introduced in July 2000 in order to transfer land to the hitherto landless black majority. It will be recalled that we had to face vehement protestations, bad publicity and misinformation from those who did not wish us well. 27 We remained resolute in the face of powerful forces determined to preserve vestiges of colonial privilege. The primary objective of our agrarian reforms has been to redress the colonial injustice perpetrated by Britain, whereby a minority of British settlers in 1890 seized our land and acquired our natural resources but never paid any compensation to our ancestors. By assuming its independence in 1980, Zimbabwe discarded the colonial yoke for all time and, therefore, will never brook any interference in its domestic affairs by any foreign Power. I appeal to this General Assembly to convey to Britain and especially to its current Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, that Zimbabwe ceased to be a British colony in 1980 after Prince Charles, on behalf of the Government of the United Kingdom, gracefully lowered the British flag, called the “Union Jack”. He should also be informed that the people of Zimbabwe waged an armed revolutionary struggle for their independence and stand ready to defend it in the same way. We want to be left in peace to carry out our just reforms and development plans, as we peacefully interact and cooperate with other countries within the region, the African continent and the international community. We refuse to be an extension of Europe. We are Africans and shall remain so forever. I wish the 57th session of the General Assembly every success.