I wish, first of all,
instance to extend my sincere congratulations to the
President on his election as President of the sixty-sixth
session of the General Assembly. In a similar vein, I
thank His Excellency Joseph Deiss for his leadership
of the sixty-fifth session. I also take this opportunity to
congratulate His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon on his
reappointment as Secretary-General.
I would also like to take this opportunity to
extend a warm and hearty welcome to the community
of nations to the Republic of South Sudan following its
independence on 9 July. We commend both the
Governments of the Sudan and the Republic of South
Sudan for the smooth transition during the handover
and takeover of power. Zambia encourages the two
countries to resolve the outstanding issues between
them amicably and to work towards maintaining
peaceful relations, as that is the only way to achieve
economic and social development.
The theme for the sixty-sixth session of the
General Assembly, “The role of mediation in the
settlement of disputes by peaceful means”, is indeed a
pertinent one, considering the various conflicts across
the globe that threaten international peace and security.
The recent upheavals in North Africa and the Middle
East not only present a new dimension to politics in
that region but also highlight the need for mediation to
avert the outbreak of fighting.
My delegation wishes to underscore the need for
the international community to resolve conflicts on the
African continent, including the situation in Libya,
within the frameworks established by the African
Union. We believe that local solutions have a higher
prospect of being respected and accepted by all parties
to the conflict.
In this regard, Zambia aligns itself with the
mediation efforts put in place by the African Union and
supports the Roadmap for the Resolution of the Crisis
in Libya endorsed by the African Union heads of State
and Government at their seventeenth Summit held in
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Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, this year. With regard to
Libya, Zambia shares the relief of the Libyan people in
ridding themselves of a leader who committed
egregious atrocities against his people.
We must, however, express serious concern about
new atrocities being committed against black people in
that country — both citizens and migrants from African
countries. We call on this body to send a strong
message that it will not only pursue perpetrators of
such atrocities as vigorously as it did Al-Qadhafi but
also undertake to investigate all allegations thoroughly.
It would be tragic if, in the euphoria of celebrating the
ousting of Al-Qadhafi, the United Nations turned a
blind eye to atrocities still being committed.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict continues to be a
major concern to international peace and security. We
understand the frustrations of the Palestinian people
over the long negotiations, which have completely
stalled in recent years. In that regard, I wish to reaffirm
that Zambia recognizes the Palestinian State, with pre-
1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital. In a
similar vein, Zambia recognizes the State of Israel and
its right to live in peace with its Palestinian neighbour.
The drought situation in the Horn of Africa
presents a humanitarian emergency that threatens the
lives of 12 million people. While erratic rainfall in past
years is the main cause of the drought, the prevalent
political instability and violence in Somalia has
hampered that country’s ability to effectively respond
to the crisis. Zambia has pledged to donate several
metric tons of various food items and cash from the
Government and the private sector.
The need to address the political instability and
violence in Somalia continues to be urgent. We
therefore call upon the United Nations to implement
the recommendations of the Special Representative of
the Secretary-General for Somalia, in which he called
for the establishment of a United Nations peacekeeping
mission there.
Exactly one week ago, on 20 September, general
elections took place in my country. On Friday, three
days later, the fifth and newest President of the
country, Mr. Michael Chilufya Sata, was inaugurated.
The incumbent President graciously conceded and
handed over power. It was smooth and peaceful. It was
a triumph for democracy in my country. Zambia
strongly believes in the rule of law and is concerned at
trends towards unconstitutional changes of
Government — trends that in some cases receive the
active support of powerful countries in the
international community.
The political stability that Zambia has and
continues to enjoy has had a positive impact on the
economic development of the country. Over the past
decade real gross domestic product growth has
averaged 5.4 per cent. While that growth has reflected
effective macroeconomic management and good
copper prices, it has also been built on the foundation
of Zambia’s stable political environment and improved
record of governance. In 2011, we expect to
consolidate that strong performance with growth now
projected to be above 7 per cent, second only to the
projected growth rates of 9.2 per cent for developing
Asia and significantly above the projected 5.5 per cent
growth rate for sub-Saharan Africa.
Those economic trends notwithstanding, Zambia
still faces the challenge of translating its economic
growth into a significant reduction in poverty and a
general improvement in the living standards of its
citizenry. It is our intention for the benefits of
economic growth to be broadly shared by the
population at large. We hope to achieve that by
continuing to strengthen our governance institutions,
maintaining peace and stability and ensuring that we
remain open to the opportunities that global trade and
the exchange of ideas and experiences offer to a
developing economy.
The country’s economic development agenda is
guided by the National Vision, under which Zambia
aspires to be a prosperous middle-income country by
2030. The national agenda has been operationalized
through five-year national development plans.
Currently the country is operating under its Sixth
National Development Plan, under the theme
“Sustained economic growth and poverty reduction”.
With these achievements, Zambia is on course to
achieve five of the eight targets of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) by 2011.
In four years the MDG target date will be upon
us. While Zambia has made notable progress towards
achieving the 2015 MDG targets, particularly in terms
of increased access to education, reduced maternal,
infant and under-5 mortality rates and child nutrition,
those achievements risk being reversed, pushing the
country off track, owing to the multifaceted negative
impacts of the world economic recession, unfulfilled
23 11-51681
commitments and ever diminishing levels of financial
assistance from cooperation partners. Under the
circumstances, many developing countries are unlikely
to meet the MDG targets. It is therefore important not
only that every effort should be made to assist
countries stay on track but that we start planning for a
post-2015 MDG framework.
Beyond the challenges posed by infectious
diseases, Zambia is also affected by the emerging
global trend of non-communicable diseases. The
socio-demographic and technological transition that
goes with urbanization and industrialization has
resulted in an increase in non-communicable diseases
in our country. I would therefore like to commend
President Al-Nasser for hosting the High-level Meeting
on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable
Diseases. My delegation is, nevertheless, cautious that
while focusing on non-communicable diseases,
resources meant for infectious diseases, such as
HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, should be
secured, so that the gains already achieved in these
areas are not lost.
Allow me to express Zambia’s gratitude to the
Secretary-General for organizing the High-level
Meeting on addressing desertification, land
degradation and drought in the context of sustainable
development and poverty eradication on 20 September
2011. There is no doubt that the United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification is the least
supported of the three Rio Conventions, the others
being the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change and the Convention on Biological
Diversity. It is in that light that the convening of the
High-level Meeting, as a means of raising awareness
about desertification, land degradation and drought at a
high level, is most welcome. There is clearly a need for
concerted efforts on the part of all Member States to
raise the profile of the Desertification Convention to
the level of the other two.
Zambia views desertification and land
degradation as a major economic, social and
environmental problem that requires immediate
attention. It is in that regard that my country’s sixth
national development plan, for 2011 to 2015, has
endeavoured to mainstream environmental management in
general and sustainable land management in particular.
The challenge now is for Zambia to mobilize adequate
and predictable financial resources to implement the
programmes contained in the plan. The mobilization of
resources for implementing programmes to combat
desertification and mitigate the effects of drought is an
obligation shared by all Member States, including
those unaffected by desertification, as is spelled out in
the Convention, in Agenda 21 and in the Johannesburg
Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on
Sustainable Development, among others.
We therefore call for the judicious
implementation of the outcome decisions of the
recently held High-level Meeting on desertification and
land degradation. We also call on all States to ensure
that adequate financial resources are available for
programmes aimed at combating desertification and
mitigating the effects of drought.
Turning to the topical subject of climate change,
whose adverse effects are responsible for exacerbating
desertification, land degradation and drought, the need
to put in place a new and dynamic international regime
for climate change has never been so urgent. The
adverse effects of climate change are being borne
disproportionately by poor countries such as my own.
The effects of climate change are real and are already
affecting our agriculture, water, and infrastructure, to
mention only some sectors. Yet, as we have repeatedly
said, it is rich countries that are responsible for the
historic build-up of greenhouse gases in our
atmosphere, the problem that has brought about global
warming and climate change. The developed world
should therefore show leadership when it comes to
agreeing on a new international regime on climate
change.
Zambia looks forward to the forthcoming United
Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in
Durban, South Africa, in December. We are confident
that these talks will build on the positive outcome of
the last Conference, held in Cancún, last December.
Africa, which is hosting such talks for the first time, is
determined to ensure a successful outcome. Time is
running out and we can no longer afford the luxury of
inconclusive talks each year. We call on all parties to
commit to making progress and ensuring that
agreement is reached on all outstanding issues so as to
pave the way for a new climate change regime. We also
call for the immediate operationalization of all funds
established so far under the Climate Change
Convention, thereby making financial resources
accessible to countries in need.
11-51681 24
The High-level Meeting to commemorate the
tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Durban
Declaration and Programme of Action was a timely
reminder to all nations to continue to promote the
rights of all people regardless of race or creed as equal
citizens of the world. Zambia recommits itself to the
just cause of fighting against any form of racism or
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance.
With the year 2012 very much in sight, Zambia
hopes for a successful conclusion to negotiations on
the arms trade treaty. A strong and robust treaty will
help foster regional and international peace and
security. Zambia also supports an arms trade treaty that
encompasses all conventional weapons, including
small arms and light weapons and their ammunition;
components of weapons; dual-use equipment with a
military end-use; and arms production equipment and
technology. Furthermore, Zambia advocates an arms
trade treaty with a broad scope that includes landmines
and conventional weapons already covered by
international weapon-specific agreements, as well as
technical support.
Last Friday the President of Sierra Leone, in his
capacity as Coordinator of the African Union
Committee of Ten Heads of State on Security Council
reform, reminded the Assembly of the need to hasten
negotiations on this important issue. Zambia aligns
itself with that statement and sentiment. It is a fact that
Africa is now one of the largest regions represented in
the United Nations, with 54 members, the same
number as Asia. It is also a fact that three-quarters of
the issues on the Security Council’s agenda are African
issues.
Unfortunately, it is also a fact that Africa is the
only continent with no representation in the permanent-
membership category of the Council. In addition,
Africa is underrepresented in the non-permanent-
member category. Africa’s request for two permanent
seats, with all the rights and obligations of current
members, and for two additional non-permanent seats,
is a matter of justice and the right to have an equal say
in the decision-making on issues that concern our
continent. It is also a matter of democracy. Above all, it
is about the dignity of a people and the dignity of a
continent.