Tanzania, 2001

I

would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you,

Mr. President, on your election as President of the

General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session. Your

election is a clear manifestation of the entire

membership’s confidence in and high regard for your

able leadership and diplomatic skills. We wish you

success in the tasks ahead. I want to assure you of my

delegation’s full cooperation and support.

Our salutations are also extended to your

predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri of Finland, for a job

well done.

Allow me also to sincerely congratulate

Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the able and

distinguished manner in which he has continued to

administer and guide the affairs of our Organization.

His re-election to a second term attests to the

confidence and trust that we have in him. The award of

this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to him and the United

Nations is recognition of his personal attributes and

contributions to strengthening the world body. It is also

recognition of the glorious performance and

achievements of the United Nations in the search of

global peace, solidarity and prosperity.

As we applaud and pay tribute to the Secretary-

General and the United Nations for their remarkable

achievements, the horrific terrorist attacks of 11

September against the United States are a clear

reminder to us all that the fight for lasting world peace

is far from being won. Strangely enough, the fight can

take new dangerous dimensions when aeroplanes,

which are a magnificent human invention for the fast

movement of people, goods and services between

distant places, can themselves become weapons in

terror attacks.

Coming from a country that fell victim to a

terrorist attack with the bombing of the United States

Embassy in Dar es Salaam in 1998, I can clearly

understand the pain, anger and quest for revenge on the

part of President George Bush, his Administration and

the people of the United States of America. On that

fateful day, when 11 of our fellow citizen’s perished

and over 70 people were wounded, the Government

and people of my country felt exactly the same. We

therefore perceive and share the pain and grief of the

people of the United States and support their right and

that of their Government to seek redresses and fight the

perpetrators of this heinous crime.

Terrorism is a horrendous crime in its brutality

and victimization. It is wanton, cruel and

indiscriminate. The world must work together to fight

and defeat it. Allow me to reiterate Tanzania’s pledges,

resolve and readiness to continue to participate fully in

the efforts to combat terrorism.

The events of 11 September remind us once more

of the need to expedite the process establishing the

International Criminal Court.

Allow me also to convey sincere sympathy to the

families of the deceased in yesterday’s tragic plane

crash. Our thoughts and prayers are with them in this

time of grief.

This is the first session of the General Assembly

after the Millennium Summit held here last year. At

that Summit, the world leaders defined the agenda and

strategies of our Organization in the new century.

There was common understanding in the new century, a

resolve to continue to work together to tackle the

numerous problems bequeathed by the last century. It is

the view of my delegation that this session of the

General Assembly and the subsequent ones should

translate that commitment into concrete actions.

Permit me at this juncture to share with the

Assembly some thoughts about what could be the

important priorities of the United Nations. Tanzania

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would like to see a United Nations that continues to be

the guarantor of world peace and security, a United

Nations that has the development agenda at the centre

of its main objectives and activities and a United

Nations that continues to fight for justice and equality

among peoples and nations the world over.

Strengthening and revitalizing the United Nations

is an imperative we all agreed to undertake almost a

decade ago. We have done a remarkable job as regards

the restructuring of the Secretariat and the United

Nations agencies. It is regrettable that reform and

restructuring of the Security Council remain elusive. A

process started seven years ago has yet to bear the

desired result. The disturbing thing is the fact that in

some quarters it no longer appears to be a priority

subject.

Tanzania believes that expansion of Security

Council membership in both categories is as relevant

and desirable today as it was seven years ago. We

would like to reaffirm our support for the principle of

equitable representation of Member States on the basis

of their geographical regions. In particular, we want to

reiterate support for Africa’s request for two seats in

the permanent category. As the continent with the

largest portion of the membership of our Organization,

such a representation is well deserved. We also think

that the time has come to have a serious look at the

circumstances and modalities for invoking the use of

veto powers. We are of the view that the veto power

should be used in pursuit of global interests, and not

narrow national interests.

At the Millennium Summit, world leaders

emphasized that the development agenda should

continue to be at the centre of the objectives and

activities of the United Nations. We know that the

United Nations is not a major funding institution, but

over the years it has been the moral force behind the

many difficult decisions taken to address serious

economic issues. The United Nations organized several

forums where various development agenda items were

discussed and continue to be discussed, and decisions

taken. We want the United Nations to continue to do

that.

In a period of global economic slow-down like

the one we are witnessing today, the task of forging

new strategies to tackle the intractable problems of

poverty, hunger, disease, deprivation and

environmental degradation becomes very challenging

indeed. We hope the current economic crisis will not

last long, because if it does its consequences may be

bad for us all, especially the developing countries. I

would also add that Africa, as a continent with 34 of

the 48 least developed countries, will suffer the most.

In view of this situation, this world body, donor

countries and least developed countries must muster

collective efforts to ensure that these problems and

many more are addressed collectively. I know that

there can never be quick fixes to resolving such

problems. However, building those kinds of

partnerships is one thing that the United Nations should

help realize.

There is no doubt that for development to make

sense in the context of the developing countries like

Tanzania, the availability of official development

assistance (ODA), plus long-term capital flows and

access to technology and markets of the developed

countries, are essential. These will have a catalytic role

in building domestic supply capacity.

We are particularly concerned that the situation

with regard to availability of ODA is still not

encouraging. Most developed countries are far from

meeting the target of contributing 0.7 per cent of their

gross domestic product to ODA, as agreed way back in

1970 and reiterated at the 1992 Rio Summit. What is

more disturbing to us is the fact that the decline

continues unabated despite numerous appeals. My

delegation would once again like to use this

opportunity to call upon the developed countries to

honour this historic duty to mankind. We hope the

United Nations will remain seized of the matter and

exercise leadership.

The flow of foreign direct investment (FDI),

which is so essential for inducing growth in our

nations, leaves much to be desired. So far, the flow of

FDI is not as we would have wanted or have expected

it to be.

The painful part of this problem is the fact that

many of our countries have done everything that has

been demanded of us in order to create a conducive

environment for FDI to flow, yet there is not much of it

coming. Take the example of my country, where we

have established, through an Act of Parliament, a

financial, legal and institutional framework as

attractive and competitive as one would find anywhere

in the world. We have a sound macroeconomic

environment; there is political stability; and good

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governance and democracy are vibrant, yet foreign

direct investment flows are minimal.

My country’s experience is the experience of

many countries in the developing world. We are at a

loss as to what else we have to do. Maybe someone

will volunteer to tell us. While we continue to appeal to

the developed countries to do more, we request the

indulgence of the United Nations. In this regard, we

welcome and support the convening of the

International Conference on Financing for

Development, to be held next March. We hope that the

question of ODA and FDI will be given appropriate

consideration. I promise Tanzania’s full participation in

that Conference.

Easy access by the developing countries to the

technology and markets of the developed world could

contribute immensely towards the alleviation and

eventual eradication of poverty in the world. There are

encouraging developments in the area of market access,

with initiatives such as the Africa Growth and

Opportunity Act (AGOA), which allows over 1,800

products from countries of sub-Saharan Africa to enter

the United States market duty-free and quota-free, and

the Cotonou Agreement, which allows everything but

arms from the countries of Africa, the Caribbean and

the Pacific to enter the European Union duty-free and

quota-free.

We hope the initiatives taken by Japan under the

Tokyo International Conference on African

Development (TICAD) and by the People’s Republic of

China under the China-Africa Cooperation Forum will

go a little further and offer opportunities similar to

those offered under AGOA and the Cotonou

Agreement. It is our sincere hope and expectation that

the four aforementioned initiatives by the United

States, the European Union, China and Japan will also

ease the difficulties experienced by our countries in

accessing the financial, scientific and technological

resources available in those nations. While our nations

will continue to engage the developed countries

bilaterally or collectively in various forums, the United

Nations should never lose sight of the need to help us.

The problem of the external debt of developing

countries, and particularly of the least developed

countries, continues to pose a serious challenge to the

development efforts of those countries. External debt

servicing has been crowding out priority social

investments in our respective countries. In Tanzania,

for example, debt servicing averaged one-third of the

entire Government’s budget. With another one-third

spent on payment of salaries, the Government is left

with only a third of the budget to perform its duties,

which range from maintaining law and order to the

provision of basic social and economic services. This

clearly underscores the fact that debt relief and debt

forgiveness for nations like mine will go a long way

towards enhancing Government capacity to discharge

its duties.

In this regard, Tanzania welcomes the various

measures undertaken by the international community

aimed at dealing with this chronic debt problem. Our

only concern is that, despite all these measures, the

scope and magnitude of debt is continuing to build up

to dangerous proportions. More surgical measures

should therefore be taken to deal more effectively with

this crippling problem.

Let me now turn to issues related to peace and

security. At the outset, let me state that it is

heartwarming to see the Security Council more

engaged in the process of trying to tackle the crisis in

the Great Lakes region. The Government of Tanzania is

committed to building a secure and stable Great Lakes

region. In this regard, I want to assure the United

Nations that we will continue to play a positive role, as

we have been doing, in order to help the people of

Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

secure and enjoy the peace which they so richly

deserve.

It is encouraging to note that in the Democratic

Republic of the Congo, despite difficulties, the

implementation of the Lusaka Agreement is on track.

We are particularly glad that the inter-Congolese

dialogue is under way. I would like to use this

opportunity to appeal to the parties to the conflict to

stay the course. We also appeal to the Security Council

to remain seized of the matter, and to the international

community to extend the urgently needed financial

resources to the facilitation of the dialogue.

We welcome the installation of the Transitional

Government in Burundi. We hope that this historic

event, which marks the successful conclusion of long

and arduous political negotiations, is also the

beginning of an irreversible process that will put an

end to the long years of pain and suffering endured by

the people of Burundi. Indeed, the subregion continues

to work towards the cessation of hostilities and towards

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ultimately securing a ceasefire agreement between the

rebels and the Government. In this respect, I would like

to take this opportunity to say three things.

First, let me reiterate Tanzania’s previous calls

for the leaders of the Front for the Defence of

Democracy (FDD) and the National Liberation Forces

(FNL) to see reason and to join the Arusha process. I

believe that there is nothing they are fighting for which

has not been discussed and decided upon in the Arusha

Agreement. Even if they feel strongly that something

has been excluded, the Arusha Agreement provides

opportunities for discussion of the same by the parties.

Secondly, Tanzania promises its readiness to

work with the new Government and to do all it can to

help it succeed. We are ready to work with the new

Administration in Bujumbura and with the Front for

Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU) to engage the

rebels and encourage them to join the Arusha

Agreement.

The third issue I would like to address relates to

the repatriation of Burundi refugees living in Tanzania.

It need not be emphasized that the return of refugees to

their homeland is a crucial element in the healing and

normalization process in that troubled country. As host

to over 800,000 refugees from Burundi, Tanzania

expects repatriation of these refugees to be among the

top priority issues in the implementation of the Arusha

Agreement. It is our sincere hope that, in that exercise,

the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Refugees (UNHCR) will include not only the half a

million people in the camps that they manage in

Kigoma and Ngara, but also the earlier caseloads of

about 300,000 they left to Tanzania to manage.

It is sad that Savimbi and his renegade UNITA

continue to be a menace in Angola. The United Nations

and the international community should do more to

stop this menace. If action could be taken in Kosovo

and Sierra Leone against criminal leaders, why not do

the same against Savimbi and UNITA? I believe it can

be done. Let us muster the political courage.

With regard to Western Sahara, Tanzania

reiterates its long-held position that this is a question of

decolonization and that the Sahrawi people have a right

to decide on their future through a referendum, as

stipulated in the relevant Security Council resolutions.

We fear that abandoning that path could lead to

untoward events.

It is regrettable that the situation in the Middle

East remains volatile and explosive. It is our hope that

the peace negotiations between Palestine and Israel

will be revived through a resolute commitment by all

parties. The United Nations has a major role in

ensuring that the peace process gets back on track. The

commitment made by President Bush on the creation of

the state of Palestine on the basis of Security Council

resolutions is very reassuring. We hope this will be

followed through and that the United States

Government will once again assume its leadership role.

As host country to the International Criminal

Tribunal for Rwanda, we cannot but reiterate our call

for continued support for the Tribunal. It is gratifying

that the Tribunal’s mission of bringing to justice those

responsible for the genocide in Rwanda is well under

way. Contrary to previous negative publicity, the

Tribunal is increasingly obtaining the appreciation and

credit it deserves for its work.

I would be remiss if I were to conclude my

remarks without saying a word about the debilitating

disease of HIV/AIDS. The impact of this worldwide

scourge is not only a major scientific and medical

challenge, but a threat to the very existence of

humanity. Our leaders at the June special session

dedicated to HIV/AIDS pronounced themselves on this

scourge and on their resolve to fight it. Let me express

our appreciation for the leadership role of the United

Nations, particularly the Secretary-General’s

commitment to combat this global crisis, from which

no corner of this world is safe.

I believe that, with resolute political will, the war

against this world pandemic is not insurmountable.