Namibia, 2005

I wish to congratulate you

most warmly, Mr. President, on your unanimous

election to the presidency of the General Assembly at

its sixtieth session and to assure you of my delegationís

full support. May I also express our profound

appreciation to your distinguished predecessor,

Mr. Jean Ping of Gabon, for the effective leadership he

provided during the fifty-ninth session.

I am most delighted and indeed honoured to

address this Assembly for the first time as President of

the Republic of Namibia. I stand before you with the

democratic mandate given to me by the people of

Namibia during our presidential elections in November

2004 and following my inauguration on 21 March

2005.

At the same occasion, we celebrated 15 years of

our national independence, which, as the Assembly

will recall, was brought about by a long and bitter

struggle waged by the people of Namibia under the

leadership of the national liberation movement,

SWAPO, with wide international support, and thus

culminating in the implementation of Security Council

resolution 435 (1978).

I recall these important events in our history to

underline the fact that Namibiaís nationhood is directly

linked to the United Nations. In this regard, allow me,

therefore, on behalf of the Government and people of

Namibia and indeed on my own behalf to express our

sincere appreciation and gratitude to the men and

women of the United Nations family, who stood side

by side with us until final victory was achieved.

As we mark the sixtieth anniversary of the United

Nations, it is indeed proper and fitting to reflect on the

achievements and setbacks of our Organization since

its inception. In this exercise, we must be guided by an

honest and objective analysis of events along the path

we have travelled so far.

In this connection, I would like to take this

opportunity to commend our Secretary-General,

Mr. Kofi Annan, most sincerely for his tireless efforts

to strengthen the United Nations system through the

proposed reforms. Indeed, the challenges we face today

require renewed commitment and visionary leadership

to ensure efficient and effective service delivery to all

humanity.

When we address the crucial issue of the reform

of the United Nations system, we must be guided by

the principles of democracy, equity, justice and fairness

for all. At the centre of this overdue exercise must be

the compelling need to serve all our people better,

regardless of their race, religion or status of

development.

With specific reference to the Security Council,

genuine democratization and reform can take place

only when all its members are accorded the same

privileges - including the veto power, which is

currently enjoyed only by a few member States, who

use it for national self-interest. That creates resentment

and mistrust from those who are negatively affected by

the abuse of veto power.

It is against this background that African States

adopted the Harare Declaration in 1997, in which they

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demanded that the veto power be abolished. However,

if the veto power is maintained, it is only logical that

new permanent member States who join the expanded

Security Council must of necessity be accorded the

same rights and privileges. Otherwise, such reform will

be cosmetic at best, and meaningless at worst.

On this very crucial matter, Namibia fully stands

by the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration,

as reaffirmed by the Fourth Extraordinary Summit of

the African Union, held in Addis Ababa on 4 August

2005. We collectively maintain that the African

continent, which has been underrepresented for so

long, deserves two permanent seats with veto power

and five non-permanent seats on the Council. This

demand is logical, reasonable and justifiable. We

therefore call on all regions to support Africaís

position. It is indeed only when we stand together on

firm principle that we can effect real and meaningful

change in our only truly international Organization, the

United Nations.

Concerning the General Assembly, Namibia holds

the strong view that that organ, which provides a

genuinely democratic and representative platform for

all Member States to be heard, should play a critical

role in the entire reform process of our international

Organization. We are equally of the strong conviction

that the authority of the General Assembly should be

reasserted, to ensure that its resolutions and decisions

are binding and enforceable.

In this crucial process, our highest priority should

be our collective commitment to ensure sustainable

social and economic development on a global scale. In

order to achieve that goal, we must be guided by a

strong spirit of human solidarity and a shared sense of

justice and fairness for all.

For many developing countries, implementation

of the Millennium Development Goals is severely

hampered by the lack of adequate resources,

compounded by other challenges, including the

HIV/AIDS pandemic, malaria and tuberculosis, as well

as other socio-economic difficulties. Against that

background, the Economic and Social Council must be

strengthened and given sufficient resources, together

with the United Nations agencies, in order to take the

lead in implementing effective human-centred country

programmes.

We accept the fact that Governments in

developing countries have a responsibility to work

together and to encourage the active participation of

the private sector, civil society and other stakeholders

in bringing about sustainable social and economic

development for all segments of our society.

It is equally important that Governments and

institutions in the economically advanced countries

offer genuine partnership by providing new and

additional resources, commensurate with their

commitments in line with the Millennium Development

Goals. To that end, if the countries regarded as low-

middle-income countries are to meet the Millennium

Development Goals by 2015, they will require

increased support from the international community,

including market access as well as access to financial

sources such as the International Development

Association and official development assistance.

Our ability to effectively eliminate threats to

international peace and security will depend on the

manner in which we address the social and economic

challenges facing our peoples at the global level.

In our review, during the 2005 summit, of the

implementation of the Millennium Development Goals

and of other decisions taken by major international

conferences, it became clear that we still have a long

way to go to honour our commitments. It is therefore

important that we narrow our differences and form a

common front with a common objective to better serve

humanity. We should therefore make collective and

effective use of existing multilateral mechanisms,

especially the United Nations, in order to succeed in

eliminating current and future threats.

The process of decolonization has not yet been

completed. The peoples of Palestine and of the Western

Sahara continue to suffer under foreign occupation and

are denied the exercise of their inalienable rights to

self-determination and national independence. It is our

collective responsibility to rectify that historical

injustice. In that regard, we call for the immediate and

unconditional establishment of an independent State of

Palestine and the full implementation of the United

Nations settlement plan for Western Sahara.

I am equally concerned at the fact that the people

of Cuba continue to suffer from the effects of the

unilateral embargo imposed on them by the United

States of America. We call on the international

community to demand the unconditional lifting of that

embargo.

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In conclusion, I wish to reiterate my

Governmentís hope that, when we accept our collective

responsibility, the United Nations can and will succeed

in preserving international peace and security and

therefore guarantee equality and justice for all

humanity. We, the peoples of the United Nations, must

do what is required to bequeath to the next generations

a better future. To that end, the Government and the

people of Namibia pledge our total commitment.