Namibia, 2007

Sir, allow me to

congratulate the President on his unanimous election to

preside over the General Assembly at its sixty-second

session. We are confident that he will discharge the

high responsibility of his office with the wisdom, skill

and experience for which he is renowned.

I also wish to commend Ambassador Sheikha

Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa, who acquitted herself very

well in the management of the General Assembly at its

sixty-first session.

I equally wish to express our appreciation to the

Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon,

for taking up challenging issues facing humanity with

courage and determination.

The world needs a stronger United Nations and

effective multilateralism that can help humanity to

respond in a timely and effective way to global

challenges. Namibia regards climate change as one of

the urgent challenges facing humanity today. There is

an overwhelming body of scientific evidence that

points to the urgency and gravity of climate change.

Climate change is a global issue with serious

implications for economic growth, sustainable

development and the achievement of the Millennium

Development Goals.

Climate change is a present-day reality that

adversely affects the lives of many people. The

international community has to live up to its

commitment to provide resources to developing

countries in order that they may adapt to the effects of

climate change. By the same token, compulsory targets

must be set for the reduction of greenhouse gas

emissions.

Namibia is not happy with the rate at which

investments are being made in the development of

renewable and clean energy sources. I call upon the

private sector to join hands with Governments to

develop and apply technologies that can mitigate

climate change. Sir, I assure you of Namibia’s

commitment to act in consort with other Member

States to solve this problem through the establishment

of concrete and ambitious goals to be implemented

over an agreed period. All countries have a

responsibility to act according to their common but

differentiated responsibilities and respective

capabilities.

Namibia would like to see the process for the

reform of the United Nations expedited. The

importance of a stronger and effective United Nations,

capable of delivering its mandate, cannot be

overemphasized. This, among other things, would

involve the revitalization and reaffirmation of the

authority of the General Assembly as the chief

deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of

the United Nations.

Namibia is pleased with the enhanced role of the

Economic and Social Council. I believe that it is well

positioned to shape the overall development agenda, to

deal effectively with economic and social issues and to

mobilize international efforts for the protection of the

environment.

We believe that the Security Council should be

made more democratic and transparent in its

composition and working methods. All Member States,

both big and small, should have a meaningful stake in

it. Namibia appreciates the efforts of the President of

the General Assembly at its sixty-first session to move

the reform process forward. The Security Council has

great significance for Africa, since a major part of its

agenda currently concerns peace and security issues on

that continent. In 2006, for example, 42 out of a total

of 87 resolutions adopted by the Security Council dealt

with Africa. However, Africa has only three

non-permanent seats on the Council.

I wish to reiterate Namibia’s strong support for

the common African position as contained in the

Ezulwini consensus and in the Sirte Declaration. The

need for Africa to be equitably represented in the

Council, with all the privileges associated with

membership, remains a priority for us. The challenge in

the immediate future would therefore be to begin a

genuine intergovernmental negotiation process, based

on the principle of justice and fairness for all.

The achievement of the Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs) and other internationally agreed

commitments stand central to global economic stability

and prosperity. The highest priority should be our

collective commitment to sustainable socioeconomic

development on a global scale. I therefore wish to

express my delegation’s appreciation for the

Millennium Development Goals Report 2007, which

we find very useful as a summary of what has been

achieved so far.

Namibia is concerned, however, that the results

are slow and uneven. We wish to underline what is

stated on page 4 of the report: “that the MDGs will be

attained only if concerted additional action is taken

immediately and sustained until 2015”. All

stakeholders need to fulfil, in their entirety, the

commitments they made in the Millennium Declaration

and their subsequent pronouncements. It is, therefore,

important that Governments and institutions in the

economically advanced countries offer genuine

partnership by providing new and additional resources

commensurate with the commitments made in line with

the MDGs.

Namibia is classified as a lower middle-income

country. It ranks number 126 out of 177 countries on

the Human Development Index, as it still bears the

legacy of social and economic inequalities inherited

from its colonial past. Inequality in the distribution of

income and assets in Namibia is among the highest in

the world. Nevertheless, Namibia has made progress in

the provision of health, education and other critical

services for the majority of the population, and we are

on course to meet a number of the MDGs.

Indeed, we face severe difficulty in responding to

a combination of the devastating HIV/AIDS pandemic,

high levels of food insecurity and poverty at the

household level. This situation is compounded by

declining international aid to Namibia because of its

classification as a lower middle-income country. I once

again call upon the international community to increase

its support to Namibia, including market access and

access to financial sources, in the form of targeted

official development assistance, concessional loans and

investment flows.

Namibia applauds the Joint Communiqué agreed

to by the United Nations Security Council and the

African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council as a

step in the right direction. There is a need for more

structured and formalized cooperation between the two

bodies on issues of peace and security in Africa. Such

cooperation should also include the areas of financing,

logistics, technology and training.

The right of peoples to self-determination is a

fundamental human right that is enshrined in the

Charter of the United Nations. It is sad that, seven

years into the twenty-first century, colonialism is still

with us, posing a serious challenge to this Organization

and humanity at large. My delegation has raised its

voice repeatedly in this Assembly by calling for the

realization of the inalienable rights of the people of

Western Sahara to self-determination. The international

community has an obligation to assist the people of

Western Sahara in their quest for freedom and

independence. Namibia, therefore, calls for the

immediate and unconditional implementation of the

United Nations Settlement Plan for Western Sahara,

and all resolutions of the Security Council and the

General Assembly, with the aim of holding a free and

fair referendum in Western Sahara.

Similarly, Namibia is deeply concerned about the

continuous suffering of the people of Palestine under

Israeli occupation. We wish to reaffirm our full and

unequivocal support for the inalienable rights of the

Palestinian people to self-determination, including

their right to return to their land. I reiterate our appeal

to the parties to resume the peace process on the basis

of international law and all the relevant United Nations

resolutions. To this end, the United Nations has a

responsibility to assist the process.

My delegation reiterates its call for an

unconditional end to the economic, commercial and

financial blockade imposed by the United States of

America against Cuba. We believe that the blockade is

not only against international law, but that it is also

politically unjustifiable and undemocratic. Its

extraterritorial nature impedes free trade and economic

development. We urge the Government of the United

States of America to heed the call of the international

community and to implement the resolutions of the

General Assembly that call for an end to the blockade.

Let us commit ourselves, once again, during this

session of the General Assembly, to address effectively

the challenges we face, to save humanity from

catastrophe and to make the earth a common place for

all, where all will live in peace and security.