At the outset, my
delegation wishes to convey, on behalf of the people
and the Government of the Republic of Zambia, our
deepest and sincere appreciation and gratitude to
Member States, as well as the United Nations, for the
numerous messages of condolences we received
following the loss of our beloved President, His
Excellency Mr. Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, State
Council, who passed away in Paris, France on
19 August 2008. Their messages of sympathy
comforted and strengthened us immensely.
We are particularly indebted to the Government
of Egypt for the medical attention rendered to our late
President when he suffered a stroke while attending the
African Union summit in Sharm el-Sheik on 29 June
2008 and for his subsequent evacuation to France. We
are similarly grateful to the Government of France for
the medical attention and hospitality availed to the late
President up to the time of his death as well as for the
repatriation of his body to Zambia for burial. The
President was put to rest on 3 September 2008, which,
incidentally, would have been his sixtieth birthday.
I wish to inform this Assembly that, in
accordance with the Zambian Constitution, elections
for the new President should be held within 90 days of
the death or incapacitation of a sitting President. Thus,
the Government has designated 30 October 2008 for
the presidential by-election. In the spirit of
transparency, accountability and good governance, the
Zambian Government has invited international
organizations, including the United Nations, to send
election observers to the elections.
At this juncture, let me join others who have
spoken before me in congratulating you, Mr. President,
on your assumption of the presidency of the General
Assembly at its sixty-third session. Zambia has no
doubt that you will steer this session to a successful
conclusion. I wish to assure you of Zambia’s support.
May I also take this opportunity to pay tribute to
your predecessor, Mr. Srgjan Kerim of the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, for ably presiding
over the proceedings of the General Assembly at its
sixty-second session.
I wish to thank the Secretary-General for his
tireless efforts in his dedicated service to humankind in
trying to maintain international peace and security,
achieve development and eradicate poverty for all.
The theme for this session, “The impact of the
global food crisis on poverty and hunger in the world
as well as the need to democratize the United Nations”,
is indeed testimony to the noble efforts of the
Secretary-General. The theme is also most appropriate,
especially since it is relevant to the development
challenges currently facing Africa and the developing
world as a whole.
It is confirmed in the Secretary-General’s reports
that many developing countries, and in particular
sub-Saharan Africa, will not meet the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 and that Member
States should therefore redouble and reconfirm their
commitments if we are to meet that target.
Zambia believes that the attainment of the MDGs
will be meaningful only if it is all-inclusive. That will
require the implementation of programmes and policies
for empowering women, the girl child and other
vulnerable groups of society be part of the overall
process within that framework.
11 08-53129
In that regard, Zambia supports the assertion that
women’s empowerment and gender equality are drivers
for reducing poverty, building food security and
reducing maternal mortality. It is in that realization that
most of the States members of the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) signed the SADC
Protocol on Gender and Development in
August 2008 — the first of its kind in Africa.
Such regional and national efforts need to be
complemented by global action. It is in that regard that
Zambia welcomes the ongoing debate on reforms in the
context of United Nations system-wide coherence,
particularly as they relate to strengthening the gender
architecture, which is currently fragmented and
underresourced.
In the process of empowering women and striving
for gender equality, Zambia realizes that HIV/AIDS
continues to be a challenge to the country’s
development, with the prevalence rate for women
being higher than that of men. The pandemic is robbing
the country of a young and productive workforce. The
Zambian Government therefore has put in place a
number of policies that have helped to reduce the
prevalence of HIV from 16 per cent in 2001 to
14 per cent in 2007. That reduction in the prevalence
rate is an indication that our Government is determined
to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. That would not,
however, be possible without the support of the
international community.
The Monterrey Consensus places obligations on
developed and developing countries alike to come up
with concrete strategies and action to address poverty.
Most African countries, including Zambia, have
resolved to develop their economies and embarked on
prudent macroeconomic management, channelling
resources to growth sectors that present the greatest
prospect for wealth and employment creation. They
have further developed policies, plans and programmes
that are not only growth-oriented but also pro-poor and
address social development.
I wish to acknowledge with appreciation the role
that our cooperating partners and the international
community have played and continue to play in all our
development and poverty-eradication programmes. We
welcome the commitments made by Africa and its
cooperating partners in the context of various
important initiatives and partnerships in recent years,
inter alia, the Tokyo International Conference on
African Development, which among other things, came
up with a Follow-up Mechanism with regard to
implementation of commitments made during the
conference.
Similarly, the China-Africa Partnership and the
European Union-Africa Strategic Partnership have also
contributed substantially to Africa’s development
needs. With regard to the India-Africa Forum, we also
look forward to the speedy implementation of
commitments undertaken during the Summit Forum in
India in April 2008.
Furthermore, we appreciate the assistance
rendered by the G-8 Africa Partnership, the Emergency
Plan for AIDS Relief of the President of the United
States of America, the comprehensive health-care
initiative sponsored by the Government of Cuba, the
Initiative for Africa’s Development of the Republic of
Korea and Pakistan’s Special Technical Assistance
Programme for Africa. In similar vein, we look forward
to the implementation of the recently launched Africa-
Turkey partnership forum.
Zambia notes with concern, however, that the
efforts the cooperating partners are making with regard
to improved access to the markets of the developed
countries and official development assistance flows
and finance for development for African countries have
not been completely fulfilled. We commend the five
cooperating partners that have met or exceeded the
target of 0.7 per cent of their gross national income as
their contribution to official development assistance.
We urge the cooperating partners that have not fulfilled
their commitments to do so. We also look forward to
the upcoming Follow-up International Conference on
Financing for Development to Review the
Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus in Doha
and hope donors will honour their commitments.
We are aware that improved market access for
developing countries is one commitment that, once
fulfilled, will offer the greatest prospects for our
integration into the world trading system. It also has
the potential to foster food security for all and to raise
the standard of living of the majority of the population
that depends on agriculture for its livelihood.
In that regard, Zambia notes with disappointment
that the Doha Round of trade negotiations collapsed at
a time when many of us were looking forward to a
successful conclusion to those protracted talks. It is my
country’s hope that the negotiations will reconvene and
08-53129 12
conclude as soon as possible so that the developing
countries can compete favourably and become
integrated into the multilateral trading system.
The current global oil and food crises not only
pose a threat to the gains made in achieving
macroeconomic stability and growth in developing
countries, but are an even greater threat to the
achievements made towards eliminating extreme
poverty and reducing by half the proportion of people
suffering from hunger.
A solution to the food crisis must be found as a
matter of urgency. In that connection, Zambia wishes
to thank the Secretary-General for establishing the
High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Security
Crisis, whose task is to find a coherent and coordinated
approach to resolving the food crisis. In addressing the
crisis, we must be mindful of the fact that a large
percentage of the people in developing countries
depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Therefore,
in finding a solution to high food prices, we should
ensure that we do not inadvertently encourage rural-
urban migration by including measures that are
disadvantageous to those engaged in food and general
agricultural production.
In addition, the issue of climate change, which
has worsened the food crisis, requires the concerted
efforts of the international community to address it
through the development of adaptation and mitigation
measures. Zambia, like most of sub-Saharan Africa,
has not been spared the adverse effects of climate
change, such as increased exposure to drought, rising
temperatures, more erratic rainfall and extreme weather
conditions. Those are threatening water and
agricultural systems, thereby condemning millions
more to face malnutrition and water shortages.
Mr. Tanin (Afghanistan), Vice-President, took the
Chair.
Let me now turn to the ongoing reforms of the
United Nations, in particular the protracted discussions
on reform of the Security Council. Zambia wishes to
reiterate the fact that United Nations reform will not be
complete without meaningful reform of the Security
Council. Any new proposals to reform the Council
should take into account Africa’s call for two
permanent seats with the veto power and two
additional non-permanent seats, as that will not only
address the historical injustice against Africa, but also
respond to the need to democratize the Security
Council, given that Africa constitutes the second-
largest bloc of the United Nations membership.
Equally important in that regard will be the need to
reform the working methods of that important United
Nations body.
It is a matter of concern to Zambia that the
question of Western Sahara has remained unresolved
for such a long time. In accordance with the principles
enshrined in the United Nations Charter and General
Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960,
the people of Western Sahara should be free to exercise
their inalienable right to self-determination. In that
regard, Zambia calls for the implementation of all
relevant United Nations resolutions on that matter,
while supporting the ongoing efforts between the
parties concerned to find a lasting solution.
With regard to the situation in Zimbabwe, Zambia
welcomes the signing of the Inter-Party Agreement on
15 September 2008 and pays tribute to former South
African President Thabo Mbeki, who, on behalf of
SADC, successfully discharged the mandate entrusted
to him. We remain optimistic that the concerned parties
will adhere to the Agreement, which has created a good
basis for addressing the socio-economic problems
confronting the country. In that regard, we appeal to
the international community to provide all possible
support to the people of Zimbabwe in their efforts to
resuscitate their economy.
There is no doubt that the United Nations remains
the only multilateral institution capable of addressing
the challenges of our one world. The world’s poor are
looking to the United Nations system to deliver on its
commitments to enable them to live in dignity with
every possible opportunity, free from hunger and
diseases such as HIV/AIDS and, above all, in a
peaceful, secure and environmentally sustainable
world. Let us therefore not fail them, for they deserve
no less.