Tanzania, 2002

I

should like to begin by congratulating Mr. Kavan on

his well-deserved election to the presidency of the

General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session and to

assure him of my delegation's full support and

cooperation.

I would also like to commend his predecessor,

Mr. Han Seung-soo, for having skilfully presided over

the work of the fifty-sixth session. Similarly, I would

like to express my delegation's sincere appreciation to

Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General, for the able

manner in which he has continued to manage the day-

to-day affairs of our Organization in the face of

numerous and daunting challenges.

My delegation wishes to join others in welcoming

the admission to the United Nations of Switzerland, a

country that has done so much for the Organization

over the years. I would also like to welcome East

Timor to the community of nations, following the

successful tutelage of the United Nations.

As we commemorate the first anniversary of the

tragic events of the 11 September terrorist attacks, I

would like to take this opportunity to reiterate

Tanzania's solidarity and support for international

efforts to fight terrorism. Coming from a country that

experienced a similar tragedy four years ago, I

understand the continued pain and suffering of those

who lost their loved ones as they come to terms with

the aftermath of those tragic events. We have every

confidence that, through our collective efforts, the war

on terrorism will ultimately be won.

It is a welcome coincidence that the fifty-seventh

session should be held so soon after the World Summit

on Sustainable Development. Tanzania is glad that

poverty eradication was underscored as humanity's

critical challenge and an indispensable requirement for

sustainable development, particularly in the developing

countries.

It was very gratifying, indeed, to note that due

regard was also given to the burning issues of

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education, health, energy, shelter, water and sanitation,

as well as agriculture, in particular food security. The

abundance of pledges from all speakers and

participants to fight poverty, promote social and

economic development and enhance measures to deal

with pollution and protect the environment was very

reassuring indeed. However, many stakeholders,

including those from my country, are anxiously waiting

to see how we move beyond rhetoric to concrete action.

Those of us from the developing countries know

too well in this regard that our biggest challenge is to

get our act together by practicing and observing good

governance, democracy, the rule of law and human

rights. We have to institute sound political, social and

economic policies, as well as to fight corruption and

graft. We have to create conditions conducive to

investment flows and trade. Fortunately, this is no

longer wanting, because most of our countries have

made serious efforts to meet these ideals with

reasonable success. However, it is frustrating to note

that there is little appreciation of these achievements.

Instead, there is amplification of the little that is yet to

be overcome. Many of us feel that we deserve to be

treated better.

It is surprising also to note the temptation in some

quarters to evolve a new paradigm in international

relations that of assigning collective responsibility,

condemnation and punishment to a region or continent

for the mistakes of one country in that part of the

world. A crisis in an African country, for example, is

meant to be left to African countries to fix and they are

threatened with being held responsible and accountable

if that is not done. Several times, we have been

reminded to sort out the problem in some crisis-

stricken African countries or else risk losing

cooperation on the New Partnership for Africa's

Development (NEPAD) from the developed countries.

Tanzania considers such tendencies not only to be

strange, but also dangerous, unfair, discriminatory and

totally unacceptable. Let all of us continue to work

together to resolve problems facing our countries and

peoples wherever they may occur.

We look forward to seeing the developed

countries of the North play their part, as is expected of

them, as expressed in the millennium development

goals, the Monterrey Consensus, the Brussels Plan of

Action for the least developed countries, the Doha

agreement and the Johannesburg Plan of Action and at

yesterday's historic high-level plenary meeting of the

General Assembly on support for NEPAD. We consider

the role of the developed countries to be very critical to

success in the war against poverty and the attainment

of sustainable development. We look forward to seeing

the countries of the North increase official

development assistance to the countries of the South.

At Monterrey, Kananaskis and Johannesburg,

there were good signs that this is now possible.

However, when one looks at the resource requirement

of the millennium goals and the time frame for

implementation, the promises made are far below

target. At Monterrey and Kananaskis, some $12 billion

were pledged over a period of three to four years,

whereas the requirement is $50 billion annually until

2015. We appeal to the developed countries to commit

more resources and within the time frames set out in

the millennium development goals.

Another important area where the intervention of

the developed countries is essential is debt relief. Debt

servicing is crippling the economies and Governments

of the poor developing countries. Debt relief releases

resources which can be used to finance priority sectors

and activities, such as education, health, energy, water,

rural roads and microfinance schemes.

Let me take the example of my country, Tanzania.

After reaching the completion point for the Heavily

Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative and the

cancellation of a portion of the external debt,

Government expenditure on basic social services has

increased to unprecedented levels. We will now be able

to give clean water to more people than we could have

done in the past. We are now able to hire more

teachers, build more classrooms, take more students

into schools and buy more textbooks and teaching

materials. We have improved health-care delivery

systems. We have hired more medical practitioners in

rural dispensaries and health centres and we have

provided more equipment and medicines. There are

more rural roads maintained now than before and new

ones are being opened up. The list of benefits is long

and we could have done much more if we had got a

bigger debt-cancellation package. That is why we

continue to appeal for deeper debt cancellation for

Tanzania and the rest of the least developed countries.

Moreover, the amount of debt that has not been

forgiven to my country is not payable, given our level

of poverty.

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Debt cancellation or relief on its own cannot

solve the resource needs of developing countries.

Measures to make capital and financial resources

available for investments and trade in the developing

countries are very important. To date, not much has

come to our part of the world, despite our having put in

place the most competitive investment incentives. May

I once again appeal to the Governments of the

developed countries to intervene in the most judicious

way possible to encourage investment flows to Africa

and the developing countries. I believe that their words

of encouragement and support will have a positive

impact.

Market access is another very important matter

for us. We highly appreciate and thank the United

States and the European Union for granting duty-free

and quota-free access for goods from Africa and the

African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

respectively. This has acted as an important stimulus to

increased production and investments in our countries.

We welcome similar decisions taken by Japan, Canada

and China, thus further expanding Africa's market

access. However, agricultural subsidies in the

developed countries remain an obstacle to which we

again appeal to the developed countries to give due

consideration.

As we all know, it is in agriculture that we have

the best of the comparative advantage. Unhindered

access to the markets of the developed countries,

therefore, could have immeasurable benefits. I am of

the view that the developed countries can afford to

dispense with subsidies to agriculture. Instead, the $1

billion spent on such subsidies daily could be used to

fund the implementation of millennium development

goals.

Among today's daunting global challenges are the

conflict situations in Africa and the escalation of

violence in the Middle East. We highly appreciate the

proactive role played by the United Nations, countries

of the respective regions and the international

community in trying to mediate and end the conflicts.

We pray for the continued involvement of the

international community in putting an end to conflicts.

The framework for the resumption of negotiations

between Israel and the Government of Palestine

already exists. Both sides must create an environment

conducive to negotiations. There has to be an end to

Israeli occupation of Arab lands and significant

movement towards the creation of a viable Palestinian

State living side by side with Israel as an imperative to

lasting peace in the Middle East. The security concerns

of Israel should be addressed and encoded properly in

any agreement. In this regard, all relevant Security

Council and General Assembly resolutions must be

adhered to.

It is our conviction that, without the active

involvement of a third party, not much can be achieved.

Tanzania is convinced that the Security Council, as

well as the United States, the Russian Federation, the

European Union and the Arab League, can play a

pivotal role in getting to a sustainable solution.

Fortunately, all of these are now actively involved. We

appeal to them to remain seized of the problem and to

continue to work together.

The situation in the Democratic Republic of the

Congo and Burundi remains a major concern and

preoccupation of Tanzania and other countries in the

region. I want to reaffirm the continued commitment

and readiness of my Government to contribute in any

way possible towards building a peaceful, secure and

stable Great Lakes region.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is

encouraging to note that there are some positive

developments following the recent agreement and

understanding reached between that country, Rwanda

and Uganda. It is our hope that the implementation of

the agreements and understanding will be scrupulously

observed. We welcome the undertaking of the United

Nations and the Republic of South Africa to help the

parties.

The security situation in Burundi is fragile. The

new transitional Government installed on 1 November

2001 is functioning, but the continuation of the civil

war seems to be undermining its base. Tanzania

underscores the significance of getting a ceasefire

agreement for the sake of the people of Burundi and

the success of the transitional Government. It was in

appreciation of that imperative that my President

accepted the request of the facilitator and that of

President Pierre Buyoya of Burundi for Tanzania to

help urge the rebels to come to the negotiating table.

We tried our best and, as a result, the Burundi

Government and the rebels started direct talks in Dar es

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Salaam on 12 August. The negotiations are continuing.

They are not easy, but we are confident that they will

be crowned with success. Tanzania will continue to

assist in and work for the success of the negotiations.

We do so on the clear understanding that we stand to

gain more from a peaceful and stable Burundi and to

lose if there is war and lack of stability. The end of the

refugee problem, as well as the end of mistrust between

our two Governments and the free flow of trade across

our common borders, are the obvious benefits which

we long to see realized.

One of the serious consequences of the conflicts

in the Great Lakes region has been the massive

displacement of people and the influx of refugees,

which constitute a huge burden for Tanzania. At

present, Tanzania is hosting close to a million refugees

from Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of

the Congo. While we appreciate the work being done

by the United Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian agencies to

protect the refugees, much remains to be done to offset

the burden which these refugees place upon my

country. We would like to see more being done to

facilitate repatriation of the refugees.

Unfortunately, the 1951 Convention is not as

elaborate concerning the responsibilities of refugee-

generating countries or those of the international

community as it is on the responsibilities of the

refugee-receiving countries. This is probably due to the

context in which the Convention was conceived. The

situation has changed. Tanzania feels strongly that

there is a need to review the 1951 Convention to keep

it in step with changing times and circumstances.

The long and protracted war in Angola appears to

have ended. However, Angola still needs the continued

support of the international community to deal with the

reconstruction and the huge humanitarian crisis facing

the country. Tanzania welcomes the decision on

continued United Nations involvement.

With regard to Western Sahara, Tanzania firmly

believes that the United Nations cannot, and must not,

retreat from this unfinished agenda. Tanzania wishes to

reiterate its longstanding support for the efforts of the

United Nations, which will enable the Sahrawi people

to exercise their right to self-determination.

While we appreciate the progress made in the

reform of the working methods of the Security Council,

we remain concerned that no movement has been

recorded in the area of expansion of membership.

Tanzania would like to reiterate its support for Africa's

quest for two permanent seats.

In his address to the Assembly on 4 October

1996, my President, Mr. Benjamin Mkapa, said:

The founding of the United Nations was inspired

by the human solidarity which the world sought

to promote five decades ago... What holds our

nations together, despite their diversity, is the

common bond and solidarity we feel for each

other as human beings. Today, more than ever

before, we need that solidarity in order to deal

with the myriad problems we all face together'.

These words were relevant then, and they are still

relevant today.