Zimbabwe, 2012

On behalf of my delegation

and myself, may I extend to Mr. Jeremić our warmest

congratulations on his election as President of the

General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session. His

extensive experience in both regional and international

affairs will undoubtedly enrich the debate and the

proceedings during this session. I wish to assure him of

the full cooperation of Zimbabwe as he discharges the

onerous duties of that high office.

If I may be allowed, I would like to preface my

speech with a reference to the most glowing and moving

speech that we heard from the President of the United

States yesterday (see A/67/PV.6), the significance of

which was to get us to condemn the tragic death of the

United States Ambassador to Libya. I am sure that we

were all moved and that we all agree that it was, indeed,

an appalling event that we all condemn.

A year ago, we saw the barbaric and brutal death

of the Head of State of Libya, which is a member of

the African Union. His death occurred in a context in

which NATO was operating supposedly in order to

protect civilians. As we join the United States in spirit

in condemning the Ambassador’s death, will the United

States also join us in condemning the barbaric death of

the Head of State of Libya, Al-Qadhafi?

That great and tragic loss to Africa occurred in

circumstances in which NATO had sought the authority

of the Security Council under Chapter VII to operate

in Libya in the protection of civilians, who were said

to be at the mercy of the Government of Libya, led by

Colonel Al-Qadhafi. The mission was strictly to protect

civilians, but it became a brutal hunt for Al-Qadhafi

and his family. NATO caught up with them. Al-Qadhafi

and some of his children suffered the brutal deaths

about which we know.

As the United States President spoke, I am sure that

that he was aware that his country, as a NATO Power,

had, alongside the other NATO Powers, the authority

under Chapter VII to operate in Libya in order to protect

civilians. But is that what the operation turned out to

be? In a very dishonest manner, we saw the authority

entrusted under Chapter VII being used as a weapon in

order to rout a whole family and to commit the murders

that occurred in that country. Bombs were hurled in a

callous manner. Quite a number of civilians died. Was

that the protection they had sought under Chapter VII

of the Charter? So the death of Al-Qadhafi must be seen

in the same tragic vein as the death of Chris Stevens.

We condemn both. Let me begin by reaffirming the rightful and

important role of the United Nations in the management

of issues affecting international peace and security. In

the quest for a more just and equitable international order,

Zimbabwe remains strongly opposed to unilateralism

and committed to multilateralism. We would therefore

like to see a United Nations that continues to be a

guarantor of world peace and security and a bulwark

in the fight for justice and equality among nations. It

behoves us all, therefore, to take the necessary steps to

ensure that the United Nations is not marginalized on

international issues.

Equally important, the United Nations must, in

future, never allow itself to be abused, as it was in the

case I referred to earlier, when NATO sought under

Chapter VII authority to protect civilians, but it did not

turn out to be that. In the future, the Security Council

must never allow itself to be abused by any Member

State or group of States that seeks to achieve parochial,

partisan goals. The Charter of the United Nations

clearly stipulates that it is an international body that

should work for the good of all the peoples of the world,

big and small.

We recognize that there are existing and emerging

threats and challenges that continue to frustrate our

individual and collective efforts to attain greater

economic development and social progress, as well

as peace and security. But the increasing trend

among the NATO member States, inspired by the

arrogant belief that they are the most powerful

among us — demonstrated in their recent resort to

unilateralism and military hegemony in Libya — is

the very antithesis of the basic principles of the United

Nations. In the case of Libya, the African Union and its

peacemaking role was defied, ignored and humiliated.

The African Union sought dialogue between the Libyan

authorities and the so-called revolutionaries. May we

urge the international community to collectively nip

this dangerous and unwelcome aggressive development

in the bud before it festers.

In that regard, the theme that the President has

chosen for this session — “Bringing about adjustment

or settlement of international disputes or situations by

peaceful means” — is very appropriate. This is what we

in the African Union stress — the settlement of disputes

in a peaceful way, through dialogue. The warmongers

of our world have done us enough harm. Wherever they

have imposed themselves, chaos in place of peace has

been the result. One example was the situation created by the Bush-Blair illegal campaign in Iraq — an illegal

campaign undertaken because it was alleged that

Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction,

when it was well known to those two and their

Governments that he did not have such weapons — and,

indeed, after invading Iraq, creating much havoc and

getting rid of Saddam Hussein, they admitted that he

had no weapons of mass destruction. So why had they

attacked Iraq in the first place? Why did they seek to

get rid of Saddam Hussein? Was it merely because he

was a dictator, as they alleged? No, he was the head of

a country that sat on tons and tons of oil. It was oil they

required, and we saw companies — indeed, one such

company was headed by a brother of Bush — rushing

to suck oil from Iraq.

That is also what happened with Libya. The situation

they created in Iraq has now brought about greater

instability than there ever was. We have Sunnis rising

against Shias, and vice versa, let alone the disastrous

economic consequences of that unlawful invasion. The

economy is unstable, society unstable, and people are

fighting one another. Libya has been made equally

unstable after NATO’s deceitful intervention under the

sham cover of Chapter VII of the Charter of the United

Nations and the phony principle of the responsibility to

protect. I listened to the speech made by the Secretary-

General. He made reference to that principle. It is

one that can be abused, and it has been abused. And,

anyway, it is still being debated.

Zimbabwe fi rmly believes in the peaceful settlement

of disputes between and among States in a manner that

is consistent with the principles and purposes of the

United Nations. In the maintenance of international

peace and security, much more must be done to prevent

conflicts from erupting in the first place, and to prevent

relapses once a situation has been stabilized. Beyond

deploying adequate resources for managing conflicts,

it is important to address their underlying causes, and

to pursue, more proactively, a comprehensive approach

focusing on conflict prevention, peacebuilding,

peace-maintenance and development. In pursuing thst

cause, my delegation strongly believes that adherence

to the Charter of the United Nations should be a solemn

obligation of all Member States.

We have noticed, with deep regret, that the

provisions of the United Nations Charter dealing with

the peaceful settlement of disputes have, on occasion,

been ignored by the Security Council. In contrast,

there appears to be an insatiable appetite for war, embargoes, sanctions and other punitive actions, even

on matters that are better resolved through multilateral

cooperation and dialogue. Instead of resorting to the

peaceful resolution of disputes, we are daily witnessing

a situation where might is now right. We have said,

“Well, yes, those who are powerful might hang on the

principle that might is right”, but certainly right is also

might.

We need to take stock of the inspiring Preamble to

the United Nations Charter, where the plenipotentiaries

who met in San Francisco in 1945 undertook to “save

succeeding generations from the scourge of war”. That

is especially pertinent at present, when global events

represent a radical departure from that solemn and

noble San Francisco declaration. What do the NATO

alliance members have to say about that, one may ask.

It is therefore important that the Security Council

should respect and support the decisions, processes and

priorities of regional organizations. In contrast, recent

events — as has already been stated — particularly with

reference to Africa, have demonstrated the scant regard

that the United Nations and certain powerful members

of the international community give to the pivotal role of

regional organizations. Effective cooperation between

the United Nations and regional organizations will

become viable and sustainable only when developed on

the basis of mutual respect and support, as well as on

shared responsibility and commitment.

It is regrettable to note that certain unacceptable

concepts are currently being foisted on the United

Nations membership in the absence of intergovernmental

mandates. For instance, there is no agreement yet on

the concept of the responsibility to protect, especially

with respect to the circumstances under which it might

be invoked. We are concerned by the clear and growing

evidence that the concept of responsibility to protect

has begun to be applied and seriously abused, thus

inevitably compromising and undermining the cardinal

principle of the sovereignty of States and the United

Nations Charter principles of territorial integrity and

non-interference in the domestic affairs of countries.

For the international community to successfully

deal with global economic, social, security and

environmental challenges, the existence of international

institutions to handle them and a culture of genuine

multilateralism are critical. The United Nations,

its specialized agencies and international financial

institutions are the only instruments available for

responding effectively to the global challenges we face in the global village. It is therefore critical that those

structures be reformed and realigned in response to

both global challenges and our contemporary realities,

in order to enable them to better serve our collective

interests.

This Assembly is the most representative organ

within the United Nations family. We must therefore

dedicate ourselves to finding consensus on measures to

revitalize it so that it fulfils its mandate in accordance

with the provisions of the Charter. We wish to reiterate

our deep concern that the mandate, powers and

jurisdiction of the General Assembly are shrinking

as a consequence of the Security Council’s gradual

encroachment on the Assembly’s areas of competence.

That, in our view, upsets the delicate balance envisaged

under the Charter and undermines the overall

effectiveness of the United Nations system. The

General Assembly must remain the main deliberative,

policy-making organ of the United Nations.

We have been seized with the debate on the reform of

the Security Council for far too long. My delegation fully

supports the current intergovernmental negotiations on

the reform and expansion of the Council. However, we

wish to caution against an open-ended approach that

short-changes those of us from regions that are not

represented at all among the permanent membership of

the Council. Zimbabwe stands by Africa’s demand for

two permanent seats, complete with a veto if the veto

is to be retained, plus two additional non-permanent

seats, as clearly articulated in the Ezulwini Consensus

and the Sirte Declaration.

For how long will the international community

continue to ignore the aspirations of a whole continent

of 54 countries? We shall not be bought off with empty

promises, nor shall we accept some cosmetic tinkering

with the Security Council disguised as reform. It is

indeed a travesty of justice that the African continent,

which accounts for almost a third of the membership

represented in this Assembly, has no permanent

representation in the Council. Is that good governance?

Is that democracy? And is that justice?

My delegation condemns unreservedly the

economic sanctions imposed against my country and

people in an unjustified effort to deny them the chance

to fully benefit from their natural resource endowment.

We wish to remind those who have maintained sanctions

against us that there is international consensus — fully

supported by the Southern African Development Community, the African Union, the Non-Aligned

Movement and the rest of the progressive world — that

these sanctions must go. We hope they will go.

Allow me to conclude by reaffirming Zimbabwe’s

commitment to the principles that have brought us

together in the United Nations for the last 67 years.

My country is confident that in this inextricably

interdependent world, our commitment to the common

good, which the Organization embodies, will be

resolute and enduring. Zimbabwe will continue to stand

firm and to condemn unilateralism, the imposition of

unwarranted and illegal sanctions on nations and the

unwarranted extraterritorial application of national

laws.