Malawi, 1999

The President of the

General Assembly has assumed the mantle of leadership at

a critical time, as we are about to enter the new

millennium. We are about to leave a century which has

revealed positive and negative aspects of the human

experience. On the negative side, the century has been

characterized by colonialism, armed conflict, racism and

racial discrimination, apartheid, dictatorship, the Holocaust,

genocide, ethnic cleansing, religious intolerance and other

forms of evil. In their wake many people, particularly

women and children, have lost their lives and have been

maimed, traumatized, dehumanized, displaced and forced to

seek refuge. Poverty and underdevelopment have wreaked

havoc.

On the other hand, humankind has demonstrated a

sense of magnanimity in overcoming suffering and despair.

We have made very strong efforts to wipe out slavery,

colonialism, racial discrimination and apartheid. We have

striven, through multilateral institutions such as the United

Nations, to promote the togetherness of humankind and

improve the well-being of all. We realize, however, that

there is a lot more that can and must be done.

As this century comes to a close, Mr. Gurirab’s

leadership as President of the General Assembly, and his

country, Namibia, represent a beacon of hope for the

future. His qualities as an outstanding diplomat, freedom

fighter and consensus-builder are all well known to us.

My delegation wishes him well as he discharges his

heavy responsibilities and leads this esteemed

Organization into the new millennium.

In today’s globalized world, the challenges are many

and the opportunities are manifold. With the same spirit

that has enabled us to surmount hurdles in the past,

together we can make the twenty-first century a century

for the prosperity of all. The groundwork, the foundation

for all this, exists. To give credit where it is due, despite

many weaknesses, humankind has never been wanting in

ideas. The standard-setting strides and intellectual

innovations of this century, particularly since the

formation of the United Nations, could have been more

appreciated if only an extra effort had been exerted

towards implementation. Indeed, the twenty-first century

should focus on the implementation and concretization of

the ideas that have made this century worthwhile.

The consolidation of human rights, good governance

and human development seems to my delegation a useful

point of departure. The country that I represent was for a

long time under a dictatorship. The people of Malawi

suffered and know what it means to be deprived of

freedom. They are well aware of the impact that denial of

human rights and fundamental freedoms has on

governance and development. To us the promotion and

protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms are

not optional, but essential prerequisites for the well-being

of humankind.

Human rights are universal and indivisible. They are

inalienable. When the people of Malawi went to the polls

in June this year, in the second democratic elections, we

confirmed our desire to strengthen further the

democratization processes that we started in 1994. The

entrenchment of democracy in Malawi has given our

people an opportunity to foster unity and common

understanding. We now have an environment conducive

to exploiting our full potential and maximizing our

contributions to the developmental efforts that the

Government is pursuing. We wish for all people of the

world, regardless of their origin, the same opportunity to

enjoy the rights and freedoms that Malawians are proud

to enjoy today.

Unfortunately, the situation globally does not give

cause for optimism, and there is no room for complacency.

Inasmuch as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights set

forth the yardstick of common achievement and has given

rise to numerous subject-specific binding instruments, every

effort should be made to assure their effective

implementation. The rights of women, children and the

disadvantaged, especially, must be given their fullest

practical meaning.

As we commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the

adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms

of Discrimination against Women, we should reaffirm our

commitment to take all practical measures to eliminate

discrimination against women and review all practices that

impede the mainstreaming of gender in all our

developmental endeavours. Malawi welcomes and looks

forward to the review conference of the Beijing Platform

for Action next year. It is our belief that gender equality,

development and peace in the twenty-first century are

achievable.

Almost 10 years ago, world leaders assembled in this

very Hall for the World Summit for Children. They made

groundbreaking commitments to reach certain goals by the

year 2000. The State of the World’s Children 1999 report,

however, indicates that the benchmarks set are far from

being realized. Meeting the commitments of the 1990

Summit remains one of the challenges that we all face at

the beginning of the twenty-first century.

The continued recruitment and use of children as

soldiers in most of today’s conflicts is a major source of

worry. The use of children as child labourers and in

prostitution is also cause for serious concern. We remain

convinced that investing in children means a secure future

for us all.

Many other conferences have also taken place —

particularly during this last decade — including those in

Paris, Vienna, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, Cairo and

Copenhagen. In all these conferences, the protection of

human rights and fundamental freedoms has been a

recurrent and cross-cutting theme. Malawi fully supports the

outcome of these conferences.

The time has come to make good the pledges that we

made: personal liberties for all, particularly women and

children; social development, especially for the least

developed countries; protection of the environment;

provision of food and shelter; jobs and income; education

for all; and secure health, including reproductive rights,

remain the core of human security. Indeed, these

conferences have brought to the fore the interlinkages

between the protection of human rights and the questions

of good governance and development. Quite often, they

seem to give rise to conflicting interests; we aspire to a

rights-based approach to development, yet the facts are

stark: how can our countries, particularly those with

fragile economies such as our own, ensure strong public

policies aimed at promoting food security, for example,

when the very interventions intended to provide incentives

for local production and distribution are put into question

by our efforts to spur economic growth? How do we give

priority to public expenditures for basic social services

such as education, health and water when these are the

first to be cut in an effort to meet structural adjustment

conditionalities and the demands of debt servicing?

The challenge for us all is to minimize conflict and

aim to strike an appropriate balance to ensure proper

services that are human-rights compliant. Malawi supports

the statement in the United Nations Development

Programme Human Development Report 1999, to the

effect that national and global governance must be

reinvented with human development and equity at their

core. With our concerted efforts, this is achievable. My

delegation particularly welcomes the positive

developments that are taking place in our beloved

continent, Africa. As democracy blossoms, we are

increasingly witnessing efforts to harness progress in

human development: Africa’s renaissance is no longer a

slogan, but a realistic achievement for the twenty-first

century.

In Malawi, we remain committed to strengthening

good governance based on the principles of accountability

and transparency. Attention is also given to addressing

corruption and strengthening public sector administration,

in particular enhancing local participation in decision-

making processes. We will continue to carry out the

necessary economic and fiscal reforms.

Despite unpalatable structural adjustment

conditionalities and the impact of debt servicing, the

Government continues to give top priority to the provision

of basic social services, particularly in education, health,

water supply, community development and road

infrastructure. The Poverty Alleviation Programme and

the Malawi Social Action Fund seek to empower the

populace so that they can contribute more positively to

development. Free primary education for all was

introduced by the Government to ensure that Malawian

children, who hold the future of the country in their

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hands, are given equal opportunities to grow into productive

and responsible adults.

In the health and water sectors, true to the slogan

“healthy people make a healthy nation”, the Government is

establishing more health centres in many parts of rural

Malawi: the Bakili Muluzi health initiative, which aims to

bring medical services right to the people, was introduced

recently. We are also making remarkable progress in

bringing clean and safe water to all rural areas.

In order to respond fully to the HIV/AIDS pandemic

in the country, the Government, in close cooperation with

civil society, has embarked on highly publicized awareness

campaigns which we hope will contribute to changing

behavioural patterns. We appeal for more resources:

additional funding for research is indeed imperative.

Meanwhile, for those already afflicted, it is important for

the drugs that are available now to be made more

affordable for the majority of our poor.

In agriculture, the mainstay of Malawi, the priority is

to achieve food self-sufficiency. In this connection, we have

embarked on irrigation programmes to supplement rain-fed

agricultural production.

The Malawian examples are typical of the important

steps that Africa is taking, which are positive signs of

renewal. Africa, however, needs the world in the same way

that the world needs Africa. Africa needs a partnership, one

that is shared and mutually beneficial — a genuine

partnership. We realize that the primary responsibility for

African development rests with African countries

themselves. It is nevertheless important for African

countries to be given meaningful assistance to enable them

to embark on sound economic development. The Cairo

Agenda for Action adopted by the Organization of African

Unity (OAU) in 1995 is an important blueprint for African

economic development: it sets out the broad priority areas

requiring specific attention. Numerous other initiatives have

highlighted the need to help the development of Africa. The

challenge as we approach the twenty-first century should

and must be to harmonize these initiatives with a view to

adopting action-oriented measures for urgent

implementation.

Whatever interventions are made, it has become

increasingly clear that a meaningful transformation of

African economies, even after introducing all the necessary

domestic, economic and market reforms, cannot be

sustained without complementary improvements in trade

flows, improvements in financial resource flows — whether

through increased official development assistance, debt

relief or forgiveness, or foreign direct investment — and

support for regional cooperation. All this must be done in

a conducive, secure and predictable environment. Indeed,

in the globalized economy of today what happens in one

part of the globe has ripple effects and impacts

developments elsewhere: the Asian financial crisis and the

recent sale of gold are clear examples of this

phenomenon.

We must act now if we are to avert a human

catastrophe in the near future. In particular, my delegation

wishes to single out the imperative need for the

international community to address the problem of debt.

Although encouraged by the positive responses in recent

months, we renew the appeal for debt forgiveness which

we made in this Hall several years ago. The current ratio

of external debt to gross national product, 89 per cent for

my country, is causing enormous economic stress and

hardship, particularly for women and children. The

situation does not augur well for the future, and is having

adverse effects on the Government’s poverty eradication

policy; also, the gains we have made politically through

democratization and good governance will become

meaningless without economic development.

Malawi is not alone in this predicament. Many other

countries find themselves in similar conditions, where

poverty is rampant and the disparities between the haves

and the have-nots are widening.

One of the major issues on which people look up to

the United Nations is because of its concern for national

identity. It is in this spirit that Malawi reiterates its

conviction that the question of participation by the

Republic of China on Taiwan in the activities of the

United Nations deserves consideration on the basis of

respect for the principle of universality and the sovereign

equality of States. The Republic of China, a democratic

country of over 21 million people, is a reality and cannot

be ignored. It cannot be wished away. Malawi believes

that readmission of the Republic of China to the United

Nations and to all its specialized agencies would be an

important factor for peace, stability and international

cooperation.

No progress towards improved human development

can be sustained without peace and stability. As we

commemorate the centennial of the first Peace Conference

at The Hague, my delegation wishes to reiterate the

importance that it attaches to the peaceful settlement of

disputes and respect for international law, including

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international humanitarian law. In this connection, Malawi

also welcomes the adoption of the Rome Statute of the

International Criminal Court last year. We have already

signed the Statute, and steps are under way to assure

ratification without delay. We are confident that as the next

century nears, the early entry into force of the Rome Statute

will fortify our resolve to bring an end to impunity.

Much as the Rome Statute will go a long way in

bringing to book those perpetrators of heinous crimes, it is

incumbent upon us all to rid the earth of all weapons of

mass destruction. The Review Conference of the States

Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear

Weapons (NPT) next year affords us an opportunity to

make greater strides in the area of nuclear disarmament. It

is worth recalling the words of Albert Einstein: “Peace

cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by

understanding.” Indeed, peace cannot be sustained by a

threat of use of force. So long as the spectre of a nuclear

war exists, the world will never be at peace with itself. We

urge all countries to sign and ratify the Comprehensive

Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and those countries that have

nuclear weapons to destroy them in order to finally realize

general and complete disarmament and a nuclear-weapon-

free world.

We also appeal to those countries that have not yet

done so to become party to the Chemical Weapons

Convention and the anti-personnel landmines Convention.

We equally enjoin current efforts to address the

proliferation of small arms. In our region, this problem has

assumed frightening proportions, as robberies and thefts

have become more and more violent. Urgent action needs

to be taken to tackle this problem resolutely. In particular,

Malawi supports a moratorium on the import, export and

manufacture of small arms and light weapons. We must

also look for ways of stopping their flow. This Organization

should prevail upon the manufacturers of these weapons to

stop the illegal export of their deadly merchandise to

Africa. Let them stop manufacturing and exporting these

weapons to Africa. That is the bottom line. There is no

point in inviting us to conferences when, under cover of

darkness, the manufacturers of those small arms continue

exporting them to Africa.

The biggest threat to international peace and security

remains humankind. As events in Kosovo, Sierra Leone,

Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

Afghanistan, Somalia, Rwanda, Guinea-Bissau, the Middle

East, the Korean peninsula and many other parts of the

globe, including, most recently, East Timor, have shown,

human beings continue to be the main centre of activity

where armed conflict, tensions and the quest for power

exist.

As the Constitution of the United Nations

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO) reminds us, “wars begin in the minds of

men”. Only human beings can control their own destiny.

Just as those who sat at The Hague Conference 100 years

ago were, we are capable of renouncing violence and of

resolving all disputes through peaceful means. In this

regard, we would like to welcome the Organization of

African Unity (OAU) Summit declaration that the year

2000 will be a year of peace, security and solidarity in

Africa. We remain optimistic that the Israelis and the

Palestinians; the people of Western Sahara and East

Timor; our brothers and sisters in Angola, the Democratic

Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone and Somalia; and

many others whose rights and liberties remain unprotected

will finally find peace. We can together provide a

conducive atmosphere for the provision of all other basic

needs that have an impact on peace and security.

In the view of my delegation, the United Nations

remains a singular Organization that is capable of

consolidating peace and promoting sustainable human

development. The relevance of the United Nations in the

maintenance of international peace and security has

become even more pronounced in recent years. My

delegation wishes to pay tribute to Secretary-General Kofi

Annan for providing leadership and a renewed sense of

mission to the Organization. Reform of the Organization

systemwide and of its funds, programmes and specialized

agencies has rekindled hopes for a secure world. Effective

collaboration by all United Nations bodies, each focusing

on areas of expertise, is a sure way of reaching our goals

and realizing our aspirations.

The task that remains is to make the United Nations

more responsive to the responsibilities ahead — the

challenges of the twenty-first century. For six years now

we have been talking about reform of the Security

Council, but without any breakthrough. It is imperative

that the Security Council be made more democratic,

transparent and accountable. Representation of developing

countries in the permanent category is necessary in order

to ensure the continued legitimacy of, and respect for, the

Council’s decisions. The United Nations must be properly

resourced in order for it to carry out adequately its noble

activities.

Similarly, the United Nations cannot remain aloof to

the requirements of civil society. Increased cooperation

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between the Organization and civil society, including the

private sector, can only make the Organization stronger.

The important role played in particular by non-

governmental organizations in the adoption of the Rome

Statute and the anti-personnel landmines Convention must

be acknowledged and ways explored to enhance it. We

believe that increased contacts between the Organization

and civil society will ensure the continued relevance of the

Organization in the twenty-first century.

As the Organization prepares for the Millennium

Assembly next year under your leadership, the role of civil

society in the consolidation of human rights, good

governance and human development might be a subject that

should be given in-depth consideration within the context

of the overall theme of the United Nations in the twenty-

first century.

Finally, Malawi would like to congratulate the three

new Members of the United Nations: the Republic of

Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga.

We welcome them to the United Nations family.