Zimbabwe

Let me begin by extending our warmest congratulations to you, Sir, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. Your election to this high office is a fitting and eloquent tribute to the personal and diplomatic qualities that we have witnessed in you over the years. We are indeed proud of the honour that has been bestowed upon the African continent by your election. We are confident that under your wise stewardship we will make pleasing progress on the important agenda before us. In the same vein, Mr. President, I wish to commend your predecessor, the President at the sixty- third session, Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, for having brought his experience and wisdom to bear upon the various meetings and conferences that he presided over during the last year. He brought integrity, transparency and credibility to the deliberations of the General Assembly. Indeed, we share his assertion that the “G-192” — that is, the General Assembly — being the most representative body of the United Nations, is the best forum in which to tackle global issues, which include the current financial and economic crises. We commend him for standing up for what is right and for upholding the right of each Member State, no matter how small, to be heard. Over the years, my delegation has underlined the need for the United Nations and other international bodies to truly serve the collective interest of all Member States. Our unchanging conviction is that all international institutions should abide by the universal principles that underlie the multilateral processes of decision-making, particularly, the principle of equality among States and the right to development. It is in this context that we welcome the appropriate, indeed, timely, theme of this session, namely, effective global responses to global crises, and strengthening multilateralism and dialogue among civilizations. It is our hope that we will have a candid and holistic debate on the global responses to the crises that currently affect our world. Zimbabwe supports the revitalization of the General Assembly in order to make it more effective and thus enable it to fulfil its mandate. As the pre-eminent deliberative and policymaking body of the United Nations, the Assembly should play a more active role in mobilizing action against such challenges 09-52463 2 today as the maintenance of peace and security, the financial and economic crises, economic and social development and climate change. Accordingly, the encroachment of other United Nations organs on the work of the General Assembly is of great concern to us. We therefore reiterate that any process of revitalization should strengthen the principle of the accountability of all principal and subsidiary organs of the United Nations to the Assembly. It is our hope that the current negotiations on the reform of the Security Council will break the deadlock that for some time now has prevented us from making progress in an area of strategic interest to Africa. The reform of the Council is not only desirable but imperative if it is to ensure the successful implementation of its global mandate to maintain international peace and security on behalf of all Member States. The fact that Africa, a major geographical region, remains underrepresented and without a permanent seat on the Security Council is not only a serious and antiquated anomaly whose time for address is overdue. It is also clearly an untenable violation of the principle and practice of democracy in international relations. The reform of the Security Council should urgently take full notice of the African position, which demands two permanent seats, with complete veto power — as long as the veto lasts — plus two additional non-permanent seats. The United Nations Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development, held in June 2009, rightfully positioned the Organization at the centre of efforts to deal with the global financial and economic crisis. The devastating effect of the current global crisis has clearly exposed the folly of leaving the management of the global economy in the hands of a few self-appointed countries and groupings. My delegation, therefore, fully supports the setting up of a follow-up working group under the aegis of the General Assembly. It is urgent and critical that the working group reach an early agreement on immediate policy actions to be taken by the international community in support of developing countries, which have suffered the most as a result of this global financial meltdown. Such actions should include the development of a global stimulus plan to respond to the crisis and issues related to it. Those measures will not achieve the desired objectives unless accompanied by a comprehensive reform of the Bretton Woods institutions. Such reforms would, inter alia, include representation of sub-Saharan Africa on the Executive Boards of these institutions. We are glad that our unequivocal call for their reform is beginning to bear fruit. We welcome the recent decision by the World Bank to establish three seats for Africa on its Executive Board. We are similarly pleased that, earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund finalized the re-allocation of special drawing rights on the basis of the $250 billion pledged by the Group of 20 at its meeting in April 2009. Regrettably, only a mere $18 billion of this money was allocated to low-income countries, while the developed countries — which caused the crisis, after all — got the lion’s share. The need to ensure global food security has been raised and restated at many international forums. We reiterate our call for an urgent and substantial increase in investment in agriculture in developing countries. It is critical that provisions of agricultural inputs — seeds, fertilizers and chemicals — be put in place for small-scale farmers, particularly women. To achieve this, we need to channel more support towards agriculture, which has dwindled over the last few decades. In addition, we call upon developed countries to remove or reduce their agricultural subsidies and to open up their markets to agricultural products from developing countries. In the area of health, efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality and to combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis still fall short of targets despite the commitments made at national and international levels. Over the last few years, Zimbabwe has made great strides in the fight against the HIV and AIDS pandemic, our limited resources notwithstanding. The country has witnessed a drop in the adult prevalence rate from 20 per cent in 2000 to 11 per cent this year. However, we still face a major challenge in increasing the availability of affordable antiretroviral drugs. We therefore continue to urge the international community, in cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, to assist in increasing access to affordable essential drugs, particularly for people in Africa. People living with HIV and AIDS expect delivery on the commitments we have made. 3 09-52463 For sub-Saharan Africa, malaria presents yet another still-formidable challenge. The commitment of the international community and national Governments therefore needs to be strengthened to eradicate the scourge of malaria in our part of the world. We warmly welcome the renewed enthusiasm on the part of Russia and the United States to pursue actions to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons, and we urge other nuclear-armed States to do the same. In this regard, Zimbabwe is honoured to have chaired, in May of this year, the third session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference and takes this opportunity to thank all members for their support. We are hopeful that, having secured agreement on the Conference agenda, members will produce a renewed commitment to the three pillars of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful use of nuclear energy. I would now like to turn to developments in my country. Since its formation in February this year, the Inclusive Government in Zimbabwe has demonstrated a conviction and unity of purpose and an unwavering commitment to chart a new vision for the country and to improve the lives of the people in peace and harmony. In the Global Political Agreement, we have defined our priorities as the maintenance of conditions of peace and stability, economic recovery, development, promotion of human rights and improvement of the condition of women and children. Regrettably, while countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region have made huge sacrifices and given Zimbabwe financial and other support at a time when they too are reeling from the effects of the global economic crisis, the Western countries — in particular the United States and the European Union, who imposed illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe — have, to our surprise, and that of SADC and the rest of Africa, refused to remove the sanctions. We wonder what their motives are, and we ask what they would want to see us do. Indeed, some Western countries are working strenuously to divide the parties in the Inclusive Government. If they will not assist the Inclusive Government in rehabilitating our economy, could they please, please stop their filthy clandestine, divisive antics. Where stand their humanitarian principles, we ask, when their illegal sanctions are ruining the lives of our children? We simply call for an immediate end to the coercive, illegal and unjustified 50-year economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba, which is estimated to have cost Cuba a total of some $96 billion so far. My delegation joins other countries of the Non-Aligned Movement that have repeatedly condemned the use of unilateral coercive measures as a flagrant violation of the norms of international law and international relations, especially as they govern relations between States under the United Nations Charter. Let me conclude by reiterating the need for effective and comprehensive multilateralism to promote a global partnership for peace and development. The United Nations and other international organizations that carry the legitimacy of multilateralism should play a leading role in directing the course of events and developments, taking into account the interests of the majority of the Organization’s members in an inclusive, peaceful, just, universal and democratic manner. It is our hope that through our unity, solidarity, cooperation and commitment, the challenges facing the international community can be addressed. Let us rise to the occasion and demonstrate our political will and ability to work together for the good of humanity. Zimbabwe is willing and ready to play its part.