Zambia, 2008

At the outset, my

delegation wishes to convey, on behalf of the people

and the Government of the Republic of Zambia, our

deepest and sincere appreciation and gratitude to

Member States, as well as the United Nations, for the

numerous messages of condolences we received

following the loss of our beloved President, His

Excellency Mr. Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, State

Council, who passed away in Paris, France on

19 August 2008. Their messages of sympathy

comforted and strengthened us immensely.

We are particularly indebted to the Government

of Egypt for the medical attention rendered to our late

President when he suffered a stroke while attending the

African Union summit in Sharm el-Sheik on 29 June

2008 and for his subsequent evacuation to France. We

are similarly grateful to the Government of France for

the medical attention and hospitality availed to the late

President up to the time of his death as well as for the

repatriation of his body to Zambia for burial. The

President was put to rest on 3 September 2008, which,

incidentally, would have been his sixtieth birthday.

I wish to inform this Assembly that, in

accordance with the Zambian Constitution, elections

for the new President should be held within 90 days of

the death or incapacitation of a sitting President. Thus,

the Government has designated 30 October 2008 for

the presidential by-election. In the spirit of

transparency, accountability and good governance, the

Zambian Government has invited international

organizations, including the United Nations, to send

election observers to the elections.

At this juncture, let me join others who have

spoken before me in congratulating you, Mr. President,

on your assumption of the presidency of the General

Assembly at its sixty-third session. Zambia has no

doubt that you will steer this session to a successful

conclusion. I wish to assure you of Zambia’s support.

May I also take this opportunity to pay tribute to

your predecessor, Mr. Srgjan Kerim of the former

Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, for ably presiding

over the proceedings of the General Assembly at its

sixty-second session.

I wish to thank the Secretary-General for his

tireless efforts in his dedicated service to humankind in

trying to maintain international peace and security,

achieve development and eradicate poverty for all.

The theme for this session, “The impact of the

global food crisis on poverty and hunger in the world

as well as the need to democratize the United Nations”,

is indeed testimony to the noble efforts of the

Secretary-General. The theme is also most appropriate,

especially since it is relevant to the development

challenges currently facing Africa and the developing

world as a whole.

It is confirmed in the Secretary-General’s reports

that many developing countries, and in particular

sub-Saharan Africa, will not meet the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 and that Member

States should therefore redouble and reconfirm their

commitments if we are to meet that target.

Zambia believes that the attainment of the MDGs

will be meaningful only if it is all-inclusive. That will

require the implementation of programmes and policies

for empowering women, the girl child and other

vulnerable groups of society be part of the overall

process within that framework.

11 08-53129

In that regard, Zambia supports the assertion that

women’s empowerment and gender equality are drivers

for reducing poverty, building food security and

reducing maternal mortality. It is in that realization that

most of the States members of the Southern African

Development Community (SADC) signed the SADC

Protocol on Gender and Development in

August 2008 — the first of its kind in Africa.

Such regional and national efforts need to be

complemented by global action. It is in that regard that

Zambia welcomes the ongoing debate on reforms in the

context of United Nations system-wide coherence,

particularly as they relate to strengthening the gender

architecture, which is currently fragmented and

underresourced.

In the process of empowering women and striving

for gender equality, Zambia realizes that HIV/AIDS

continues to be a challenge to the country’s

development, with the prevalence rate for women

being higher than that of men. The pandemic is robbing

the country of a young and productive workforce. The

Zambian Government therefore has put in place a

number of policies that have helped to reduce the

prevalence of HIV from 16 per cent in 2001 to

14 per cent in 2007. That reduction in the prevalence

rate is an indication that our Government is determined

to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. That would not,

however, be possible without the support of the

international community.

The Monterrey Consensus places obligations on

developed and developing countries alike to come up

with concrete strategies and action to address poverty.

Most African countries, including Zambia, have

resolved to develop their economies and embarked on

prudent macroeconomic management, channelling

resources to growth sectors that present the greatest

prospect for wealth and employment creation. They

have further developed policies, plans and programmes

that are not only growth-oriented but also pro-poor and

address social development.

I wish to acknowledge with appreciation the role

that our cooperating partners and the international

community have played and continue to play in all our

development and poverty-eradication programmes. We

welcome the commitments made by Africa and its

cooperating partners in the context of various

important initiatives and partnerships in recent years,

inter alia, the Tokyo International Conference on

African Development, which among other things, came

up with a Follow-up Mechanism with regard to

implementation of commitments made during the

conference.

Similarly, the China-Africa Partnership and the

European Union-Africa Strategic Partnership have also

contributed substantially to Africa’s development

needs. With regard to the India-Africa Forum, we also

look forward to the speedy implementation of

commitments undertaken during the Summit Forum in

India in April 2008.

Furthermore, we appreciate the assistance

rendered by the G-8 Africa Partnership, the Emergency

Plan for AIDS Relief of the President of the United

States of America, the comprehensive health-care

initiative sponsored by the Government of Cuba, the

Initiative for Africa’s Development of the Republic of

Korea and Pakistan’s Special Technical Assistance

Programme for Africa. In similar vein, we look forward

to the implementation of the recently launched Africa-

Turkey partnership forum.

Zambia notes with concern, however, that the

efforts the cooperating partners are making with regard

to improved access to the markets of the developed

countries and official development assistance flows

and finance for development for African countries have

not been completely fulfilled. We commend the five

cooperating partners that have met or exceeded the

target of 0.7 per cent of their gross national income as

their contribution to official development assistance.

We urge the cooperating partners that have not fulfilled

their commitments to do so. We also look forward to

the upcoming Follow-up International Conference on

Financing for Development to Review the

Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus in Doha

and hope donors will honour their commitments.

We are aware that improved market access for

developing countries is one commitment that, once

fulfilled, will offer the greatest prospects for our

integration into the world trading system. It also has

the potential to foster food security for all and to raise

the standard of living of the majority of the population

that depends on agriculture for its livelihood.

In that regard, Zambia notes with disappointment

that the Doha Round of trade negotiations collapsed at

a time when many of us were looking forward to a

successful conclusion to those protracted talks. It is my

country’s hope that the negotiations will reconvene and

08-53129 12

conclude as soon as possible so that the developing

countries can compete favourably and become

integrated into the multilateral trading system.

The current global oil and food crises not only

pose a threat to the gains made in achieving

macroeconomic stability and growth in developing

countries, but are an even greater threat to the

achievements made towards eliminating extreme

poverty and reducing by half the proportion of people

suffering from hunger.

A solution to the food crisis must be found as a

matter of urgency. In that connection, Zambia wishes

to thank the Secretary-General for establishing the

High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Security

Crisis, whose task is to find a coherent and coordinated

approach to resolving the food crisis. In addressing the

crisis, we must be mindful of the fact that a large

percentage of the people in developing countries

depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Therefore,

in finding a solution to high food prices, we should

ensure that we do not inadvertently encourage rural-

urban migration by including measures that are

disadvantageous to those engaged in food and general

agricultural production.

In addition, the issue of climate change, which

has worsened the food crisis, requires the concerted

efforts of the international community to address it

through the development of adaptation and mitigation

measures. Zambia, like most of sub-Saharan Africa,

has not been spared the adverse effects of climate

change, such as increased exposure to drought, rising

temperatures, more erratic rainfall and extreme weather

conditions. Those are threatening water and

agricultural systems, thereby condemning millions

more to face malnutrition and water shortages.

Mr. Tanin (Afghanistan), Vice-President, took the

Chair.

Let me now turn to the ongoing reforms of the

United Nations, in particular the protracted discussions

on reform of the Security Council. Zambia wishes to

reiterate the fact that United Nations reform will not be

complete without meaningful reform of the Security

Council. Any new proposals to reform the Council

should take into account Africa’s call for two

permanent seats with the veto power and two

additional non-permanent seats, as that will not only

address the historical injustice against Africa, but also

respond to the need to democratize the Security

Council, given that Africa constitutes the second-

largest bloc of the United Nations membership.

Equally important in that regard will be the need to

reform the working methods of that important United

Nations body.

It is a matter of concern to Zambia that the

question of Western Sahara has remained unresolved

for such a long time. In accordance with the principles

enshrined in the United Nations Charter and General

Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960,

the people of Western Sahara should be free to exercise

their inalienable right to self-determination. In that

regard, Zambia calls for the implementation of all

relevant United Nations resolutions on that matter,

while supporting the ongoing efforts between the

parties concerned to find a lasting solution.

With regard to the situation in Zimbabwe, Zambia

welcomes the signing of the Inter-Party Agreement on

15 September 2008 and pays tribute to former South

African President Thabo Mbeki, who, on behalf of

SADC, successfully discharged the mandate entrusted

to him. We remain optimistic that the concerned parties

will adhere to the Agreement, which has created a good

basis for addressing the socio-economic problems

confronting the country. In that regard, we appeal to

the international community to provide all possible

support to the people of Zimbabwe in their efforts to

resuscitate their economy.

There is no doubt that the United Nations remains

the only multilateral institution capable of addressing

the challenges of our one world. The world’s poor are

looking to the United Nations system to deliver on its

commitments to enable them to live in dignity with

every possible opportunity, free from hunger and

diseases such as HIV/AIDS and, above all, in a

peaceful, secure and environmentally sustainable

world. Let us therefore not fail them, for they deserve

no less.