Namibia, 2010

I wish to congratulate

Mr. Deiss on his election as President of the General

Assembly at its sixty-fifth session. We are confident

that he will discharge the responsibilities of his high

office with wisdom. I assure him of Namibia’s

cooperation and support. I would also like to commend

his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Ali Abdussalam

Treki, for the able manner in which he presided over

the sixty-fourth session.

The Secretary-General of the Organization, His

Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, and his staff have done a

commendable job in overseeing the ongoing efforts to

improve the working methods of the Organization and

for better interaction with Member States. We

commend them for their dedication and hard work.

The theme for this year’s session, “Reaffirming

the central role of the United Nations in global

governance”, is both timely and appropriate. In that

spirit, Member States should reaffirm the central role

of the United Nations in global governance. Namibia

shares the views expressed in the outcome document of

the Conference on the World Financial and Economic

Crisis and Its Impact on Development (resolution

63/303, annex).

We believe that because of its universal

membership and legitimacy, the United Nations is well

positioned to participate in the reform processes to

improve and strengthen the effective functioning of the

international financial system. In that regard, we must

reaffirm our commitment to a universal, rules-based,

open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral

trading system and also work together for a speedy and

equitable conclusion to the Doha Round.

Although Namibia is currently classified as a

high middle-income country, it still bears the scars of

social and economic inequalities inherited from its

colonial past. As a result, we carry the unenviable

distinction as the country with the most unequal

distribution of income and economic resources in the

world. Ironically, our country also faces declining

international development assistance due to that very

classification, which has negatively impacted our

ability to mobilize resources for national development

efforts.

In that light, I appeal to the international financial

institutions to create special mechanisms to enable

middle-income countries to access financial resources

for development on concessional terms, as called for

by the 2008 Windhoek Declaration on Development

Cooperation with Middle-Income Countries.

Our recently concluded High-level Plenary

Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs) gave world leaders and other stakeholders a

unique opportunity to review progress made towards

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the achievement of the MDGs and to share valuable

experiences. It is also evident that more work remains

to be done. The challenges encountered should

encourage us, and the successes recorded should

inspire us all to work relentlessly for the noble and

common objectives of achieving all of the MDGs.

At the global level, climate change is one of the

major challenges facing humanity today. The

devastating impact of natural disasters around the

world has affected most of our countries. Although

Namibia does not significantly contribute to the

emission of greenhouse gases, it is one of the countries

most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. In

recent years, we have experienced increasingly severe

floods and droughts that have destroyed crops,

livestock and wild animals. We thus call upon

industrialized countries to take practical steps and

demonstrate greater political will to bring about drastic

reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. We also urge

them to give meaningful support to the efforts of

developing countries to mitigate and adapt to the

adverse effects of climate change.

It is our hope that the industrialized countries will

meet their commitments to provide adequate resources,

in line with the undertakings made at Copenhagen in

2009. Namibia looks forward to a successful outcome

of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held

in Mexico later this year.

In 2000, while serving as a member of the

Security Council, Namibia initiated and introduced a

theme on women, peace and security, which resulted in

the adoption of the resolution 1325 (2000). Our

objective was to highlight the plight of women in

conflict situations and to recognize the vital role that

they can play in peacemaking efforts for the effective

resolution of conflicts. As we commemorate the first

decade of that resolution, let us recommit ourselves to

the protection of women and girls in conflict situations

in all parts of the world.

We welcome the Assembly resolution on system-

wide coherence and the establishment of UN Women as

an entity dedicated to dealing with gender-related

issues (resolution 64/289). We hope that that new

entity will strengthen the institutional capacity of the

United Nations for the support of gender equality and

the empowerment of women. My delegation wishes to

congratulate Ms. Michelle Bachelet on her appointment

as UN Women’s first head.

In August, Namibia assumed the chairmanship of

the Southern African Development Community

(SADC). In that capacity, we will work to promote

cooperation with other regional economic communities

in Africa, as the building blocks for intracontinental

integration. SADC strives for political stability in the

region as a prerequisite for sustainable development. In

that connection, we have taken proactive steps to

resolve the political crisis in Madagascar, through the

facilitation efforts of former President Joachim

Chissano of Mozambique.

The recent African Union (AU) summit, held in

Kampala in July, focused on maternal, infant and child

health and development in Africa. African leaders

reaffirmed their commitment to mobilize and direct

resources to check the deaths of women and children

from preventable diseases.

Namibia has consistently urged the international

community to fulfil its obligation to help the people of

Western Sahara in their quest for self-determination.

We therefore call for immediate and unconditional

implementation of the United Nations Settlement Plan

for Western Sahara and for the holding of a free and

fair referendum, based on the terms of the relevant

resolutions of the Security Council and the General

Assembly.

Namibia is deeply concerned about the ongoing

suffering and humiliation of the Palestinian people

under Israeli occupation and the denial of their

fundamental right to self-determination. It is

encouraging, however, that direct negotiations have

been resumed between the parties. We hope that a

durable solution will be found without further delay

and on the basis of the relevant United Nations

resolutions.

Namibia is also concerned about the prolonged

and extraterritorial economic embargo imposed on the

people of Cuba. We fully support the decision of the

AU summit in Kampala calling for the embargo’s

removal. We believe that the economic blockade is

unjustifiable and unfair and should therefore be lifted.

Similarly, Namibia calls for lifting the economic

sanctions imposed, directly or indirectly, on the

Republic of Zimbabwe by some Western countries.

Those sanctions have caused enormous suffering, not

15 10-54965

only to the people of Zimbabwe, but also to other

countries in the SADC region.

For many years now, we have been calling for

comprehensive reform of the United Nations system,

particularly the Security Council. The process must be

finalized to render the Council more representative,

democratic and accountable. It is unjust that Africa

remains the only region of the world without

permanent representation on the Security Council. In

that connection, we reiterate our support for the

African common position on Security Council reform,

as articulated in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte

Declaration.

The maintenance of international peace and

security is our collective responsibility. Namibia

believes that peace, security and stability are the

cornerstones of sustainable development, and thus we

will continue to participate in United Nations and AU

peacekeeping missions. We urge the international

community to support conflict prevention and

peacebuilding efforts around the world.

Recently, States parties to the Nuclear Non-

Proliferation Treaty reaffirmed their commitment to

nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and the

peaceful use of nuclear energy. We welcome that

positive step, in the belief that multilateralism is the

most viable option for achieving a world free from the

danger of nuclear weapons.

Namibia believes in the effectiveness of

collective action under the auspices of the United

Nations to resolve conflicts by peaceful means and to

address the challenges facing the world. My delegation

is optimistic that together we can successfully work for

the common good of all humanity. Let us join hands to

achieve our common objective of building a better

world for present and future generations.