Namibia, 2013

Last week a heinous terrorist

attack was perpetrated against the Republic of Kenya,

resulting in the death and injury of dozens innocent

civilians as well as the destruction of property. We

condemn this senseless attack and express our fraternal

solidarity with the people of Kenya.

The theme for the sixty-eighth session is “The

post-2015 development agenda: setting the stage”. It

echoes the words of the Preamble to the Charter of the

United Nations: “to promote social progress and better

standards of life in larger freedom”. As leaders, we

are therefore challenged to ensure that the post-2015

development agenda promotes sustainable development

and a secure future for current and future generations.

When the Millennium Summit adopted the

Millennium Development Goals in 2000, it emphasized

the urgency of making the world a better place for all

humanity. That promise gave hope to millions who live

in abject poverty and deprivation in many parts of the

world. As we approach the 2015 deadline, we should ask

ourselves whether we have lived up to the commitments

that we made in 2000. We believe that the post-2015

development agenda should be people-centred and

inclusive, with a focus on the provision of health care,

education, food security and nutrition, energy, potable

water, gender equality and the empowerment of women,

young people and people with disabilities.

The challenges of climate change and

environmental conservation should continue to be

a focus of our attention. During the United Nations

Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012, we

made commitments to create a new global partnership

characterized by a new spirit of solidarity, cooperation

and mutual accountability. The outcome document of the

Conference, entitled “The future we want” (resolution

66/288, annex), identified poverty eradication as the

greatest global challenge facing the world today and an

indispensable requirement for sustainable development.

As I speak, the eleventh session of the Conference

of the Parties to the United Nations Convention

to Combat Desertification is about to conclude its

deliberations in our capital city, Windhoek. We

believe that the outcome of the Conference will further

strengthen the Convention’s role in mitigating the

effects of desertification and droughts, particularly on

the continent of Africa.

While developing countries have made

commendable advances in the areas of social and

economic development, many challenges remain.

Namibia holds the view that the post-2015 development

agenda should take into account the valid concerns

and challenges faced by middle-income countries,

such as access to grants and concessional funding for

developmental purposes. The post-2015 development

agenda should also embrace the protection of

fundamental human rights and freedoms, the rule of law

and the maintenance of international peace and security.

I wish to emphasize that sustainable development

requires adequate and predictable financing at the local

and international levels.

Namibia is concerned about the conflict situations

and growing instability in many parts of the world.

We welcome the signing of the Peace, Security and

Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic

of Congo and the Region. Namibia urges all signatories

to the Framework to work together in good faith

towards its full implementation. We commend the

efforts of the Intervention Brigade to restore peace in

the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and call on

the international community to give its full support to

achieving the success of that important mission. We

also appeal to the international community to provide

humanitarian assistance to the communities affected by

the conflict.

Namibia welcomes the decision of Madagascar’s

reformed special electoral court, paving the way for

holding presidential and parliamentary elections there

next month. We call on the international community to

provide the financial, technical and logistical support

necessary for those elections to be successful.

Our Government continues to support the efforts

of the African Union (AU), through the African Union

Mission in Somalia, to stabilize the situation in Somalia.

The Southern African Development Community

and AU election observer missions have declared

the harmonized elections that recently took place in

Zimbabwe to be free, peaceful and credible. In that

context, Namibia calls for the unconditional lifting of

all sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.

We welcome the holding of democratic elections in

Mali and congratulate President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita

on his election. We commend the Economic Community

of West African States and other international partners

for the leading role they have played in resolving the

crisis in that country.

I take this opportunity to reiterate our steadfast

solidarity with the people of Cuba, who have endured

harsh conditions due to the illegal economic blockade

imposed on their country. We once again call for the

unconditional lifting of the embargo on Cuba.

The attainment of self-determination of peoples

living under foreign occupation is one of the principles

that this Organization was founded on. In that regard,

we reaffirm our solidarity with the people of Western

Sahara, and call for the implementation of the United

Nations settlement plan for that country. Similarly, we

call for the implementation of relevant United Nations

resolutions on Palestine.

Namibia condemns the use of chemical weapons

against the civilian population in Syria, as confirmed

by the United Nations inspectors. We welcome the

agreement reached between the Russian Federation and

the United States of America to place Syrian chemical

weapons under the control of the Organization for the

Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. We also support

the efforts of the Joint Special Envoy of the Secretary-

General and the League of Arab States to help the

Syrian parties find a peaceful solution to the conflict

in their country.

The process of reforming the United Nations system,

especially the Security Council, must be accelerated in

order to make it representative and democratic.

This session of the General Assembly presents an

historic opportunity for the international community to

take concrete steps to eradicate poverty and enhance

international peace and security in order to create a

world free of want, as envisaged in the Millennium

Development Goals. Let us summon the necessary

political will to act now.

I congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President

of the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session and

assure you of the full support of my delegation.