Tanzania, 2012

At the

outset, allow me to convey the fraternal greetings of

His Excellency Mr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President

of the United Republic of Tanzania, who could not

attend this session of the General Assembly due to

other equally important engagements.

On behalf of the Government and people of the

United Republic of Tanzania, I wish to congratulate

Mr. Jeremić on his well-deserved election as President

of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session. It

is indeed a pleasure for me to participate in the general

debate under his presidency. Similarly, I congratulate his

predecessor and commend him on the manner in which

he steered the work of the sixty-sixth session. It would

be remiss of me not to acknowledge and commend the

Secretary-General and the entire Secretariat on their

service to the Organization.

Echoing the President’s words during the opening

of the session, we meet here amid upheavals of

unprecedented scope, characterized by multiple intra-

and inter-State conflicts in the world and a time of

emerging and worsening conflicts, most of which

are taking place in Africa and the Middle East (see

A/67/PV.1). Those conflicts have caused the deaths

and suffering of millions of people, including children,

women and the elderly. Undoubtedly, a new world order

of lasting peace, security and freedom, as envisaged in

the United Nations Charter, can be achieved through

dialogue and reconciliation.

We applaud the fact that the theme of this general

debate is “Adjustment or settlement of international

disputes or situations by peaceful means”. Similarly,

we welcome the many initiatives undertaken at the

national, regional and international levels in promoting

that matter.

During the 50 years of the independence of the

United Republic of Tanzania, we have witnessed and

respected the effectiveness of preventive diplomacy. We

have participated in various mediation processes in the

region and on the continent, such as in Burundi, Côte

d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya

and Madagascar. The involvement of former Presidents

of Tanzania the late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage

Nyerere and Benjamin William Mkapa, as well as

His Excellency Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of

the United Republic of Tanzania, in those processes

is a clear testimony of our continued commitment to

preventive diplomacy.

We are all too aware of the dire consequences

of conflict, particularly when all the mechanisms

provided for under the Charter of the United Nations

to resolve conflicts fail to find a permanent solution

and to ensure lasting peace. The situation in Syria is

a case in point. It is important that we find ways to strengthen early-warning mechanisms and to prevent

conflicts before they occur. In no case should we

pursue actions that would encourage parties in conflict

to resort to armed solutions instead of dialogue. While

facilitating dialogue, it is also important that we uphold

the principles of impartiality, objectivity and respect for

international law. The unity of the entire membership is

crucial in ending impunity and human rights violations,

wherever they occur.

The pacific settlement of disputes as provided under

Chapter VI of the Charter of the United Nations has

never been so pertinent. In the interest of maintaining

peace and security, we should learn to keep our

differences aside and not allow them to create divisions

among us. I believe the presidency of Mr. Vuk Jeremić

will guide us in that direction.

Tanzania is the current Chair of the Southern Africa

Development Community (SADC) Organ on Politics,

Defence and Security. We have taken up the mantle of

leadership of the Organ at a time when some countries of

the region face security challenges. Under the umbrella

of SADC and the International Conference on the Great

Lakes Region of Africa, we have resolved to find a

durable solution to the crisis in the eastern part of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, where rebel groups

such as the Mouvement du 23 mars are destabilizing and

threatening the peace and security of the entire region.

Members of the International Conference on the Great

Lakes Region have agreed to establish an international

neutral force comprising 4,000 troops to address the

problem. Tanzania has committed to contribute troops

to the neutral force. Through the African Union (AU),

we are taking the necessary steps to ensure that the

deployment of this international neutral force is done

under the mandate of the United Nations.

Likewise, Tanzania will work assiduously with

other SADC member States to support the return

to constitutional normalcy in Madagascar and the

finalization of the drafting a new constitution in

Zimbabwe, which will open the way to democratic

elections by June 2013. We proceed in that endeavour

with the firm belief that a solution in both countries

will finally be achieved through the effective and

constructive engagement of all parties concerned.

Twelve years ago, in the month of September,

we met in this very Hall to adopt the United Nations

Millennium Declaration (resolution 55/2), which gave

birth to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).Three years from now, we will reach the deadline we

agreed. We have undoubtedly made some progress on

many fronts, but most developing States are unlikely to

achieve all the goals by the deadline of 2015.

My country has also made progress in the

achievement of the MDGs. It attained Goal 2, on

universal primary education, back in 2009. It has also

registered considerable gains on Goal 3, on promoting

gender equality and the empowerment of women, as

well as on Goal 6, on combating HIV/AIDS, malaria

and other diseases. We have also achieved moderate

results on MDGs 4 and 5, dealing with infant and

maternal mortality, respectively. However, much more

remains to be done to emancipate our people from the

traps of poverty.

Our goals to improve the livelihood of our people

must go beyond 2015. It is therefore necessary that we

consider the post-MDG agenda as one that complements,

instead of diverting our focus from the current MDGs.

My delegation proposes a second generation of MDGs,

whereby all our efforts are directed to ensure that

MDGs are achieved post-2015 in those countries that

will not have achieved them by 2015.

At the sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly,

President Kikwete expressed serious concern regarding

global food insecurity (see A/66/PV.15). Since then,

the situation has worsened and the vulnerability of

many developing countries has increased. We must

work collectively to address food insecurity. We

must increase food production and productivity on

a sustainable basis, strengthen agricultural systems,

and establish early-warning mechanisms, as we also

must develop effective responses to calamities such

as those in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel region.

While ensuring food security, we need also to address

the issue of nutrition. It is in that regard that Tanzania is

a proud member of the Scaling Up Nutrition movement.

At the national level, the Government is undertaking

various initiatives to ensure food security through

public-private partnerships. My Government has had

the pleasure of hosting the Africa Green Revolution

Forum, in Arusha, which concluded today, with the

participation of African leaders, ministers, private

agribusiness firms, financial institutions, farmers,

non-governmental organizations and agricultural

experts. The Forum was organized by the Alliance for

a Green Revolution in Africa.

United Nations reforms are long overdue. The

United Nations is composed of its States Members,

without which there is no United Nations. If we Member

States cannot agree on reforms then the United Nations

will never be reformed. It is a fact that we have had long

discussions without reaching concrete agreements. The

time has come to walk the talk.

It is important to remind ourselves that Africa is

the largest regional group in the United Nations and

the only continent that is not represented among the

permanent seats on the Security Council. That situation

equally overlooks the fact that most discussions in the

Security Council concern Africa. We, African leaders

and the African Union, have voiced our sentiments

and agreed to have two permanent seats with the veto

power. We will continue working together based on the

agreed Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration,

to which we all subscribed. I therefore appeal to Africa

to maintain that momentum and solidarity.

My country will continue to support reform

of the United Nations, including the Delivering as

One initiative, which has been implemented with

considerable success in Tanzania since 2007. The

Government will continue to support that process,

including its continuation in programme countries.

The endorsement of that initiative by some members

of the Assembly is a clear testimony to the value of

the approach. We believe that the 2012 quadrennial

comprehensive policy review will take into account

those positive achievements.

The United Nations is anchored in the principles

of human rights, the rule of law, good governance and

democracy. We the Member States must implement

what we deliberate and agree upon, otherwise the

credibility of the United Nations will be at stake. The

Security Council and the General Assembly have

adopted many resolutions on Palestinian independence.

Tanzania applauds the admission of the Palestinian

State to UNESCO. As we do so, Tanzania would like

once again to appeal to the major Powers and donors in

UNESCO to review their decision to punish UNESCO

by withdrawing their contributions. That decision

impacts more on developing countries, in particular

African countries, which draw on up to 65 per cent of

UNESCO funds in education, science and culture.

With regard to Western Sahara, Tanzania calls

upon the Secretary-General to continue his mediation

efforts in bringing together the Government of Morocco and the leadership of Western Sahara to resolve the

longstanding crisis. In that regard, my delegation

encourages Morocco to rejoin the AU so that together

we can find a durable solution on the independence of

Western Sahara.

Tanzania remains troubled by applications of

unilateral sanctions and embargos imposed against

Cuba and its people. As President Kikwete said at

the previous session of the General Assembly (see

A/66/PV.15), Tanzania is in full solidarity with the

people of Cuba in demanding the end to all unilateral

sanctions and embargos against them.

We Member States have the duty and responsibility

to make the world a better place. We should maintain the

sanctity of humankind before our ambitions and desires.

In order to achieve that, we should recommit ourselves

to and uphold the objectives and principles contained

in the Declaration on Principles of International Law

concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among

States in accordance with the Charter of the United

Nations (resolution 2625 (XXV)).