Tanzania, 2013

Allow me to begin by

congratulating you, Mr. President, on your well-

deserved election to steer the affairs of the General

Assembly at its sixty-eighth session. As I congratulate

you, I would like to assure you of Tanzania’s support and

cooperation as you discharge of your responsibilities.

I also wish to acknowledge and commend your

predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Vuk Jeremi., for his

outstanding leadership during the sixty-seventh session.

A great deal was achieved because of his visionary and

wise leadership. In the same vein, I would like to pay

glowing tribute to our the Secretary-General for the

excellent work he is doing for the United Nations and

humankind at large.

My delegation and I find the theme of this year’s

General Assembly to be timely and very opportune.

We should start now to set the stage for the post-2015

development agenda. Hence I find the theme, “The post-

2015 development agenda: setting the stage”, to be a

wise choice: it affords us an opportunity to know where

we are with regard to the Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs) and to decide what needs to be done

to complete the unfinished business and enable us to

make informed decisions beyond 2015.

The Millennium Development Goals framework

is the best development framework ever produced to

address global and national development challenges.

The world has never witnessed such a coalescence of

concerted efforts into a unified framework. It is heart-

warming to note that progress towards attaining MDGs

has been made over the past 13 years. However, that

progress varies from one Goal to another, and is highly

uneven across nations and continents.

Although extreme poverty has been halved at

the global level, more than 1.2 billion people are still

trapped in extreme poverty, which is a saddening fact.

An estimated 19,000 children under the age of five

and approximately 800 women die every day mostly

from preventable and curable diseases. That is totally

unacceptable in a world of unprecedented advances

in science and technology, which could be leveraged

to solve almost all the development challenges facing

humankind.

In a world that has enough food to feed everybody,

nobody should go hungry or be undernourished. In

a world with so much wealth, there is no reason that

poverty, hunger and deprivation should ever continue

to inflict pain and cause misery to many people. It is

incomprehensible, therefore, that the MDGs could not

be fully attained.

Tanzania has made significant progress in

implementing the MDGs. We have already achieved

the targets in four of the eight MDGs, well before the

deadline set of 2015. In MDG 2, we have achieved the

target on universal primary education enrolment. On

MDG 3, we have achieved the target of gender parity in

both primary and secondary school enrolment. That is

a change from the past, when there were more boys than

girls in schools. As a matter of fact, the trend is now

tilting towards more girls than boys in school. We are

yet to meet targets with regard to the ratio of females

to males in tertiary education and in decision-making

positions, in particular Parliament. However, it is

possible to achieve the target for parliamentarians by

2015 because we are now in the process of reviewing

our Constitution.

We are on target with regard to reducing

HIV/AIDS infections, which is the requirement of

MDG 6. Similarly, we have attained MDG 4, on child

mortality, which is a major achievement as compared

to where we were in 2000. But it is depressing that we

are not on track with regard to MDG 5, with regard to

maternal health. We are intensifying efforts to do better

in order to improve the health of women in Tanzania.

With regard to MDG 7, on environmental

sustainability, we are on target with regard to drinking

water for the urban population, but we are lagging

behind when it comes to rural water supply and access

to improved sanitation, both in rural and urban areas.

We have not relented in our pursuit of the MDG

targets that we are not likely to achieve by 2015. That

will be the unfinished business on which we will

probably need to take action over and above what we are

doing. We are lagging far behind with regard to MDG

1 in its four main indicators. There is not much chance

of meeting those targets by 2015 despite the efforts we

have been making.

However, we have been intensifying actions to

transform and modernize our agriculture. Our aim

is to increase productivity and farmers’ incomes, as

well as to ensure food and nutrition security for them

and the nation. Agriculture employs 75 per cent of the

Tanzanian population, and it is in that sector where the

majority of poor are concentrated. Therefore, improved

agriculture will mean fewer poor people and fewer

hungry people. Plans are also under way to expand

the conditional cash-transfer programme under the

Tanzania Aocial Action Fund supported by the World

Bank. We want to increase the size of investment to

benefit more vulnerable people, so as to accelerate the

implementation of MDG 1 in the shortest possible time.

Generally, it remains my firm belief that despite

some failures, the MDGs have been nothing short of

a remarkable success. If developed countries provided

financing as envisaged under MDG 8 and in keeping with

the Monterrey Consensus and their own commitments

in different forums of the Group of Eight and Group

of 20, we would have implemented all of the MDGs to

the letter and spirit. We find unrealistic any post-2015

development agenda that does not address the critical

issue of ensuring adequate financing. That is also true

with regard to accelerating the implementation of the

MDGs in the period remaining. We will continue to

look to the United Nations for guidance and leadership

in steering both processes to a successful conclusion.

The fact that the United Nations needs reform is

a matter of little disagreement. Our collective failure

to respond to that reality creates scepticism about

our common resolve to strengthen the Organization,

which is meant to serve all nations and peoples. The

reform we demand is long overdue. While we welcome

discussions on the reform of the Economic and Social

Council, Africa will not relent in demanding reform

of the Security Council so that the continent with

the largest membership in the United Nations has a

permanent voice.

Regrettably, conflicts have continued to interfere in

our development endeavours, as they linger in different

parts of the world — from the Sahel to the eastern part

of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and from Syria

to Afghanistan and other places. Conflicts have caused

an enormous loss of innocent lives, as populations

continue to endure suffering.

The recent use of chemical weapons in Syria, as

confirmed by United Nations inspectors, is rather

distressing. We condemn that flagrant and senseless

killing of innocent people, including children, in Syria.

We commend the Secretary-General and the Security

Council for way they have handled the matter. I believe

the doors for a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis are

not closed and that a military solution should be the last

resort.

The United Republic of Tanzania regrets to see the

suffering of the people of the Democratic Republic of the

Congo as a consequence of a conflict that has continued

for far too long. We hope that this time around, the

initiative of the Secretary-General that resulted in the

establishment of the Peace, Security and Cooperation

Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo

and the Region, which was signed in February, will

deliver lasting peace, security and development for the

Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Great Lakes

region as a whole. We highly commend the Secretary-

General for his vision and leadership in that regard.

We welcome the choice of Her Excellency Ms. Mary

Robinson, former President of Ireland, as the Special

Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes

Region. She will surely help advance the cause of peace

in the region, if supported by all of us in the region

and the international community. Tanzania commits its

support in that respect.

Among the enduring problems facing the

Democratic Republic of the Congo is the proliferation

of armed groups with varied interests. Bolder action

is required to uproot those negative elements. Those

groups should be neutralized and disarmed. It is in that

context that we welcomed an expanded mandate for the

United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in

the Democratic Republic of the Congo as per Security

Council resolution 2098 (2013), which, among other

things, established the Intervention Brigade. Tanzania

agreed to contribute troops to the Brigade because we

believe it will help to deter belligerence and create a

conducive environment for a political process to take

effect. Of course, any panacea for the Democratic

Republic of the Congo problem will be political rather

than military.

Since 2007, Tanzania has been a proactive

contributor to United Nations peacekeeping operations.

With more than 2,500 peacekeepers — in Lebanon,

Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo — we

are the sixth-largest contributor of military and police

peacekeepers in Africa, and twelfth globally. We

are partaking in that noble endeavour as a faithful

Member of the United Nations, ready to perform the

duty of advancing and upholding the ideals of the

Organization. We are satisfied that our contribution,

albeit modest, is having a broader impact on those who

have experienced the horrors of conflict. In discharging

that historic mission, however, our peacekeepers, and

therefore Tanzania, have sometimes paid the ultimate

price, as was the case recently with the loss of seven

brave soldiers in Darfur and two in the eastern part of

the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Those soldiers

are our national heroes, and their sacrifice is not in

vain. We hold them in very high regard.

The death of our peacekeepers was a grim reminder

of the dangers facing peacekeepers around the world. It

is disturbing that armed groups and peace spoilers are

increasingly attacking such servants of peace. We must

unreservedly condemn all such attacks, as there is no

cause or justification for such barbaric attacks. They

constitute a crime under international law. The Security

Council, whose primary role is the maintenance of

international peace and security, should be in the

forefront in terms of condemning such barbaric acts in

good time.

At this juncture, I wish to reiterate our call for

an end to the unilateral economic, commercial and

financial embargo against Cuba, which has lasted for

more than 50 years. Our call to end that unilateral

embargo is predicated upon not only its legality but

also upon humanitarian concerns, in particular the

negative effects it has on the quality of life of many

innocent Cubans. We are deeply encouraged by recent

developments, especially the removal of restrictions on

family travel, cash remittances and telecommunication

services. We hope that spirit will culminate in a total

cessation of the embargo in the not-too-distant future so

that Cubans will be relieved of the enormous economic,

social and financial hardships they have endured for far

too long.

A solution to the dispute over the sovereignty of

Western Sahara is also long overdue. It is high time

that the United Nations took bold action to give the

Saharawi people an opportunity to decide their fate. It

is incomprehensible that the Security Council, which

has been able to handle bigger security challenges,

including in similar circumstances, has not been able

to resolve the matter for nearly 40 years now. Justice

delayed is justice denied.

Members will agree that the Rome Statute, which

established the International Criminal Court, was a

major milestone for the international criminal justice

system. The Court’s establishment as a mechanism for

fighting impunity was possible only with the support

of Africa.

However, a decade after its entry into force, a rift

has grown between the Court and our continent. The

Court is perceived as unresponsive to what are, in our

view, the legitimate concerns of African leaders and

the peoples of Africa. It continues to ignore repeated

requests and appeals by the African Union. It was sad

to note that legitimate requests regarding the timing

of the trials of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy

President William Ruto went unanswered. That attitude

has become a major handicap in terms of reconciling

the Court’s secondary and complementary role in

fighting impunity. The Court’s rigidity has proved

counterproductive and threatens to undermine the

support it enjoys in Africa. We demand a change in that

perception.

Tanzania condemns in the strongest terms

possible the cowardly attack that happened last week

at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, which left more than

60 innocent people dead and hundreds more injured.

I spoke and wrote to President Kenyatta to express

our sadness and dismay. Yesterday, I signed the book

of condolences at the Kenyan Mission to the United

Nations here in New York. I reaffirmed our solidarity

with President Kenyatta and the people of Kenya during

these difficult moments, as well as our solidarity in the

fight against terrorism.

That heinous attack is a heartbreaking reminder of

the threat that terrorism poses to humankind. None of

us is completely safe from terrorism, as it can happen

anywhere, anytime and to anyone. We must therefore

increase our vigilance, enhance regional and global

cooperation and scale up the fight against terrorism.

The challenge ahead of us can be neither underestimated

nor understated. Success will depend upon our unity of

purpose and determination. At this juncture, I would

like to commend His Excellency President Uhuru

Kenyatta for his exemplary leadership in the wake of the

attack and his unshaken resolve and firm commitment

to continue to support the peacebuilding efforts in

Somalia and elsewhere. We are with the Kenyan people

in this time of distress and grief.

In conclusion, I would like to stress once more that

we are passing through a time of great opportunity

despite the many challenges. We must take advantage

of the current scientific and technological innovations,

the current advances in information and communication

technologies and the knowledge and lessons learned

from the implementation of development programmes,

including the MDGs, to build a world without poverty,

hunger, disease and deprivation.

We must build a world that protects its environment

and nature, a world without wars, conflicts or acts of

terrorism, a world where human rights are respected,

the rule of law is observed, democracy reigns and

civil society is regarded as an integral part of the

development endeavour. With stronger multilateralism

and the United Nations leading the way, and with

strong political will on the part of national leaders and

the people of our nations, everything is possible. We

can make our world a better place for everyone to live.