Zimbabwe

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Al-Nasser on his election as President of the sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly. My delegation is confident that under his able leadership the General Assembly will successfully address the pressing issues on the agenda of the current session. I also wish to pay tribute to his predecessor, Mr. Joseph Deiss, for having successfully steered the proceedings of this House during the sixty- fifth session. I wish also to congratulate the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, on his reappointment for a second term. We remain hopeful that the Secretary-General will strive to shepherd the United Nations with an open, transparent and inclusive multilateral approach. Such an approach, I believe, would renew and revive the hopes and expectations of developing countries in the efficacy of this world body. Zimbabwe places its hopes in a United Nations that recognizes the equality of sovereign States as enshrined in the founding Charter. I want to express my heartfelt congratulations to the Republic of South Sudan on its attainment of independence and its subsequent admission as the 193rd Member of the United Nations family. As we all congratulate this new nation, Zimbabwe calls upon the international community to render all the necessary support to its Government and its people in tackling the numerous development challenges that lie ahead of them. Zimbabwe stands ready to make its modest contribution to that end. The theme “The role of mediation in the settlement of disputes by peaceful means” is most apt. But how do we, the United Nations Members, measure up in relation to it in our activities here at the United Nations and out there, in the real world? It is my principled view that we must be duty-and honour- bound to operationalize the principles upon which the Charter of the United Nations is based. We must not be guilty of manipulating the Charter to serve our particular or sectional designs and ambitions. The Charter is our set of commandments that must be strictly obeyed by each and every Member if international and regional peace is to be maintained. We cannot honestly say today that this is the position with regard to NATO States versus Libya. Whatever political disturbances might have first occurred in Benghazi, the process of mediation and peaceful negotiations was never given full play. It was deliberately and blatantly excluded from positively influencing developments. There was quick resort to invoking Chapter VII of the Charter, with a gross, deliberate misinterpretation of the scope of the mandate originally given NATO to oversee and protect civilians. Bilateral hatreds and quarrels or ulterior motives must not be allowed to creep into the consideration of matters pertaining to threats to international peace and security, or even to the principle of the responsibility to protect. We have yet to be convinced that the involvement of the mighty Powers in Libya’s affairs has not hindered the advent of the process of peace, democracy and prosperity in that sister African country. Our African Union would never have presumed to impose a 11-50871 18 leadership on the fraternal people of Libya, as NATO countries have illegally sought to do, and, in fact, have done. At the very least, the African Union would have wished to join those principled members of this body who preferred an immediate ceasefire and peaceful dialogue in Libya. The African Union was and remains fully seized of this crisis and will spare no effort in working to fully complement the United Nations so that peace may return to Libya and its tormented people. We wish that process Godspeed. The newly minted principle of the responsibility to protect should not be twisted to provide cover for its premeditated abuse in violating the sacred international principle enshrined in the Charter of non-interference in the domestic affairs of States, because to do so amounts to an act of aggression and causes the destabilization of a sovereign State. Moreover, to selectively and arbitrarily apply that principle serves merely to undermine its general acceptability. Indeed, more than other States, all five permanent members of the Security Council bear a huge responsibility in this regard for ensuring that their historical privilege is used more to protect the United Nations Charter than to breach it, as is happening currently in Libya through the blatantly illegal, brutal, callous and murderous NATO bombings. There we see NATO bombing places, seeking out, hunting and hounding the children of Al-Qadhafi. Have the alleged sins of the father now been visited on the sons? Have the children lost their right to life? They are no longer human beings; they are being hunted every day. Or is it because each of them is no longer worth the price of a barrel of oil? After more than 20,000 NATO bombing sorties that targeted Libyan towns, including Tripoli, there is now an unbelievable and most disgraceful scramble by some NATO countries for Libyan oil, indicating thereby that the real motive for their aggression against Libya was to control and own its abundant fuel resources. What a shame. Yesterday, it was Iraq, and Bush and Blair were the liars and aggressors as they made unfounded allegations of possession of weapons of mass destruction. This time, it is the NATO countries that are the liars and aggressors, as they make similarly unfounded allegations of destruction of civilian lives by Al-Qadhafi. When we in Zimbabwe sought to redress the ills of colonialism and racism by fully acquiring our natural resources, mainly our land and minerals, we were and still are subjected to unparalleled vilification and pernicious economic sanctions, the reasons — lies again — alleged to be violations of the rule of law, human rights and democracy, which never, never occurred. My people have condemned these illegal sanctions, and recently more than two million protesters’ signatures have demonstrated their antipathy for them. We thank the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the African Union for supporting us and demanding the immediate removal of the illegal sanctions. We in Africa are also duly concerned about the activities of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which seems to exist only for alleged offenders from the developing world, the majority of them Africans. A blind eye is routinely turned to leaders of the powerful Western States guilty of international crimes, such as Bush and Blair. Such selective justice has eroded the credibility of the ICC on the African continent. My country continues to work with others for a revitalized General Assembly. However, our ambitions extend to the need to reform the Security Council as well. Africa’s call for at least two permanent seats on the Security Council for its members has been constant for decades. Africa cannot remain the only region without permanent membership in the Security Council. The current global economic crisis and the attendant financial crisis compounds the plight of the most vulnerable, that is, the developing countries. The present international economic and financial architecture has to be reformed and made to respond timeously to the real needs of all our peoples. The situation challenges the ability of our developing world to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. As we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action against racism, xenophobia and other related social ills, let us all recommit ourselves to fighting and defeating these evils. My country fully supports the right of the gallant people of Palestine to statehood and membership in the Organization. The United Nations must become credible by welcoming into its bosom all those whose right to attain sovereign independence and freedom from occupation and colonialism is legitimate. Let us all accept Palestine as a legitimate State and a Member 19 11-50871 of this body. Similarly, the tormented people of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic must not be forgotten. We call for immediate progress in the engagements for a solution to their long-running saga. The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held later this year, is a pivotal occasion from which we should emerge with agreed measures to address matters of climate change and how to mitigate threats to the very existence of small island States in particular, and to the coastal regions of many heavily populated nations. Zimbabwe will be fully engaged in those negotiations. Let me reiterate my country’s full belief in the aspirations enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. We must all resist any abuse to which it may be exposed through the unwelcome behaviour of a few. My country celebrates the UN-Women entity, as it addresses the position of more than half of humankind in all our countries. The African Union must not be undermined; rather, it should be allowed to complement the efforts of the United Nations for peace and security on the continent. Zimbabwe is a peaceful member of the African Union, SADC, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the Non-Aligned Movement and many other international economic and trade organizations, and thus desires to continue to play its part in creating a peaceful environment in the world. The United Nations can count on the unqualified support of Zimbabwe as required, even if only in our modest way. I wish the sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly every success.