Tanzania, 2014

I congratulate my brother Sam

Kutesa of the Republic of Uganda on his well-deserved

election as President of the General Assembly at its

sixty-ninth session. While wishing him every success

in the discharge of his duties and responsibilities,

my delegation and I promise him our full support

and cooperation. Allow me also to pay tribute to his

predecessor, Mr. John Ashe of Antigua and Barbuda,

for his remarkable leadership of the Assembly at its

sixty-eighth session.

Our illustrious Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

deserves praise and appreciation for his leadership

and the good work he is doing for our esteemed

Organization. He has been performing his duty with

courage, dedication, passion and commitment in

driving the United Nations agenda. We will always be

grateful to him.

We welcome and fully endorse the theme of this

year’s debate, “Delivering on and implementing

a transformative post-2015 development agenda”.

We expect the discussion on it to make important

contributions in the intergovernmental negotiations

about to start on the post-2015 development goals. As

we dedicate our time and effort to the negotiations on

the post-2015 development agenda, we must not lose

sight of the unfinished business of the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs). It is important that

any unaccomplished targets and indicators should be

properly factored into the new agenda. In the meantime,

we should ensure that we use the remaining 461 days to

accelerate the pace of implementing the MDGs.

The issue of financing the implementation of

the post-2015 development agenda must be given

special attention. I am mentioning this matter because

experience has taught us that, other factors aside, we

will fall short of attaining a number of the MDG targets

and indicators because of unpredictable, unreliable,

insufficient and untimely availability of financial

resources. Therefore, for the post-2015 development

agenda to be achieved, we must devise a mechanism

to ensure stable, predictable and reliable sources of

finance for their implementation.

There is more to the year 2015 than the deadline for

the MDGs and the onset of the post-2015 sustainable

development goals. The year 2015 is also a deadline

for the world to conclude a legally binding climate

change agreement. We thank the Secretary-General

for convening the Climate Summit that took place on

23 September, here at the United Nations. It afforded

us a unique opportunity to put our minds together and

deliberate on ways to save this planet from disaster and

advance on clean development pathways. It was very

opportune, indeed, to hold the Summit two months

before the twentieth Conference of the Parties to the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change (COP-20), which is due to be held in Lima in

December 2014, and one year before COP-21, to be held

in Paris next year. In many ways, the Summit may help

to make the work in Peru less difficult. As members

know, a successful Lima Conference will mean a lot

in terms of the Paris Conference, where we expect

to conclude a legally binding climate agreement. We

know it is not easy, but Tanzania and Africa as a whole

are appealing to all countries from all continents to do

whatever it takes to ensure that COP-21 delivers on the

expectations all of us have. Failure should not be an

option.

United Nations reforms are long overdue. Reports

that consultations and negotiations are not showing

encouraging signs of progress are very frustrating

indeed. We should remain steadfast and vigilant and not

allow the momentum to be lost. We humbly request the

President of the Assembly to use his good offices and

long-standing diplomatic skills to revitalize the process

and keep it on track. We must keep the flame burning.

Global peace and security are in a state of flux.

The events occurring in North Africa, the Middle

East, Eastern Europe, the Great Lakes region and the

Horn of Africa are matters of concern to all of us.

Equally important is the menace of terrorism; the illicit

exploitation of natural resources; poaching; and the

illicit trade in narcotic drugs and weapons, which are

making the world less secure.

Terrorism is assuming new dimensions, making

it a huge threat today because of its indiscriminate,

lethal and callous character. Hundreds of innocent

people have lost their lives or been abducted, with

fatal consequences. No country is insulated from this

menace, and nobody is safe. As such, it calls for all of

us to play an active role in the fight against terrorism

and cross-border crime. Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, the

Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham and other terrorist

organizations should not be allowed to have their way.

Libya should not be left to disintegrate. The senseless

fighting in the Central African Republic and South

Sudan must be brought to an end. This world, under

the leadership of the Security Council and regional

organizations, has the capacity to do exactly that. Let

us do what is required of us to stop the bloodshed, loss

of life, suffering of innocent people and destruction of

property.

The horrifying scenes of bombings and the

deaths of innocent women, children and men in the

recent hostilities between Israel and Palestine are

heartbreaking. Unfortunately, the conflict has been

going on for far too long, despite the fact that the

lasting solution is known: two States, living side by

side harmoniously. That solution has been elusive. The

time has now come for the United Nations, the United

States of America, Russia, Europe and other global and

regional Powers to come together in concerted efforts

to make it happen. We should not wait any longer.

As regards the question of Western Sahara, let me

reiterate the appeal I made last year to the Security

Council to do everything in its power to resolve that

problem once and for all. Honestly, I cannot comprehend

why that problem, which began around the same time as

that in East Timor, nearly 40 years ago, should remain

unresolved to this day. What are the insurmountable

challenges impeding the United Nations from ending

the impasse? I ask the United Nations to please do what

is needed and put the Sahrawi question to rest. I know

it can.

Once again, we in Tanzania wish to join others who

spoke before us in calling for an end to the sanctions

and embargo against Cuba and its people. For over 50

years, the embargo has condemned the people of Cuba,

including innocent children and women, to perpetual

hardship and poverty. It is high time that the embargo

be lifted and the people of Cuba given the opportunity

to live in dignity like everybody else on this planet.

This session of the General Assembly is being held

at a time when our brothers and sisters in Liberia, Sierra

Leone and Guinea are confronting the worst outbreak

of the deadly Ebola epidemic to date. In those three

countries, together with Nigeria and the Democratic

Republic of the Congo, some 2,400 people have lost

their lives. The disease, which has no cure or vaccine

as yet, presents a major threat to the countries where

the disease is known to exist, but also to neighbouring

countries and beyond. Unless the world succeeds in

controlling the spread of this disease, there is every

likelihood that it will become a global epidemic.

Our collective efforts in that regard are the best

way forward. I believe the world has the technology,

knowledge and financial resources that, if put together,

can defeat the threat posed by Ebola. We should also

continue to support the efforts of the world’s scientists,

who are working tirelessly, day and night, in search

of a cure and a vaccine. We applaud the efforts being

undertaken by the United Nations, the World Health

Organization, the United States Government and other

countries with the necessary technical and technological

capabilities to assist the affected countries and wage

the fight against the disease worldwide

We request four things. First, we must continue and,

where possible, bolster that support until the spread of

the disease is under control. Secondly, we must continue

to assist other nations in West Africa and elsewhere on

the African continent in building their capacities for

surveillance, isolation and treatment. Thirdly, we must

intensify our efforts to develop a cure and a vaccine

to save the lives of those infected now and to prevent

others from being infected. Fourthly and finally, we

must help Africa; we must help African nations so that

the stigma that is developing against Africa because of

Ebola is stopped.

Reports that a number of people from other

continents are now shying away from coming to Africa

and are cancelling travel plans because of Ebola are

disturbing. That is threatening to kill the all-important

tourism industry, trade and investment flows to Africa.

May the United Nations and friends of Africa please

help us to tell the world that Africa is a continent of

54 countries, not a country of 54 provinces. Not all

countries in Africa have the disease. Moreover, many

countries are far away from the concerned countries in

West Africa. In fact, the affected countries are closer

to Europe than they are to Kenya, Tanzania or South

Africa in eastern and southern Africa, to mention but a

few. As a matter of fact, they are 9 to 11 hours away by

air from those countries. To cancel travel to our parts

of Africa is incomprehensible and a gross injustice to

the continent.

I am confident that this seven-day debate on

the theme “Delivering on and implementing a

transformative post-2015 development agenda” affords

us another opportunity to define a bright future for

ourselves, our children, our children’s children and their

grandchildren. We should seize the moment to build on

the success stories and lessons from the many countries

and peoples who have been successful. We should

also learn from the challenges and failures during the

implementation of the MDGs in conceiving the goals,

targets and indicators of the post-2015 development

agenda. Tanzania stands ready to cooperate with the

rest of the Members of the United Nations family in

building consensus on the post-2015 development goals.

Allow me to conclude by appealing to everyone in

this Hall to promise to work for a post-2015 development

agenda that will make the world a better place for all of

us to live in.