Zambia, 2003

Let me begin by

congratulating you, Sir, on your assumption of the

presidency of the General Assembly at this session. My

delegation pledges its support and its cooperation to

you. I wish you a very successful tenure of office. I

also wish to pay tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Jan

Kavan of the Czech Republic, for the efficient manner

in which he presided over the proceedings of the

previous session. In addition, I wish to take this

opportunity to commend the Secretary-General, Mr.

Kofi Annan, for his relentless efforts and dedication to

the cause of international peace, security and economic

development.

My delegation wishes to express our deepest

sympathies to the families of the United Nations staff

who died in the terrorist bombing at the United Nations

offices in Baghdad on 19 August 2003. Those tragic

deaths are an incalculable loss to the United Nations.

Such violent acts should not be allowed to continue.

My Government also joins other Members of the

United Nations in condemning these inhuman acts.

I should like to state that Zambia condemns, in all

its forms and manifestations, the terrorism that is

occurring in various parts of the world. We pledge to

cooperate with the international community in the fight

against international terrorism. It is in that vein that the

Zambian Government welcomes Security Council

resolution 1502 (2003), on the protection of United

Nations personnel, associated personnel and

humanitarian personnel in conflict zones, which was

adopted on 26 August 2003 and which, inter alia,

expresses strong condemnation of all forms of

violence.

The tragedy in Baghdad underscores the need for

concerted efforts to strengthen multilateral approaches

to international peace and security. The United Nations

should be allowed to lead efforts to achieve

comprehensive disarmament in nuclear, chemical and

conventional weapons. Terrorists should be denied

access to all weapons of mass destruction.

Nuclear, chemical and conventional weapons,

including small arms and light weapons, pose a serious

threat to international peace and security. In Africa,

small arms and light weapons, as well as anti-personnel

landmines, have destabilized States and have taken a

great toll on life and property. My Government is

hopeful that this session will advance the horizon of

the international disarmament agenda.

Zambia mourns the untimely death of Ms. Anna

Lindh, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, who

dedicated her life to the pursuit of peace, social

progress and development. My country will miss her

friendship, dynamism and broad understanding of

developmental issues.

As a peace-loving Member State, Zambia will

continue to cooperate with and to support the efforts of

the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), established

by the Security Council to fight terrorism. The CTC

should be encouraged to work to raise the capacities of

Member States to fight international terrorism.

Emphasis should be placed on addressing linkages

between terrorism, money-laundering and organized

crime, which are among the most serious challenges to

stability and peace in our era.

The strength of the United Nations lies in its

legitimacy, founded on the bedrock of principles of

international law accepted by all Member States. It is

essential that the conduct of international affairs be in

conformity with those principles. The common security

agenda should reflect a global consensus on all major

threats to peace and security. The spirit of cooperation

based on the shared values of equality and sovereignty,

which are enshrined in our Charter, is a source of our

strength.

Poverty is the greatest impediment to

development. Poverty reduction therefore remains the

foremost priority of developing countries and should

continue to feature highly on the agenda of the United

Nations. It is regrettable that, since the Millennium

Declaration three years ago, indications are that most

developing countries risk falling short of achieving the

Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This is

largely due to lack of resources and capacity and

weaknesses in national and global economies. Zambia

continues to strive to implement those goals.

Globalization has brought about both

opportunities and challenges. But the current world

economic conditions are unfavourable to developing

countries in general, and to the least developed

countries in particular. Unless there is an increase in

the flow of the official development assistance (ODA),

foreign direct investment and other forms of assistance,

it will be difficult for these countries to come out of the

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vicious circle of poverty and lack of development. This

situation is exacerbated by the huge external debts that

the least developed countries are struggling to pay off.

Given their economic problems, the least

developed countries, of which 34 out of 49 are in

Africa, there is need for support from the international

community within the framework of the 2001 Brussels

Plan of Action. In that vein, I wish also to urge

developed countries to honour their pledges to meet the

target of 0.7 per cent of their gross national product

offered as ODA to developing countries.

While we welcome the Heavily Indebted Poor

Countries (HIPC) Initiative in addressing the external

debt, there is a need to broaden and ease the process of

accessing funds. Equally important, developing

countries need easy access to the markets of the

developed countries. This is important to stimulate

economic growth. To level the playing field, my

delegation calls for the removal of agricultural

subsidies in developed countries, which have

contributed to the adverse and poor terms of trade for

the developing countries.

Zambia regrets the failure to achieve a consensus

at the World Trade Organization Ministerial

Conference at Cancún. There is an urgent need to

overcome the impasse that emerged. Developed

countries should demonstrate a give-and-take spirit in

these negotiations.

In the effort to address social and economic

problems and promote development, the African heads

of State and Government, at their summit held in

Lusaka, Zambia, in July 2001, adopted the New

Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), to

place the continent on a path to sustainable growth.

Although the ownership and the implementation

of the NEPAD programme is the responsibility of the

Africans themselves, in order to succeed they need the

cooperation and assistance of the international

community. My delegation would like to appeal to the

donor community, including United Nations agencies,

to assist in the implementation of NEPAD.

My delegation is mindful that Africa’s

development is hampered by conflicts. Wherever these

occur, there is no development; rather, there is more

destruction and loss of life and property. Zambia

commends the leadership of Africa for taking up the

challenge to resolve conflicts in the African way. We

thank them for their time and resources directed at that

effort. We are happy to note the positive developments

that have taken place in the recent past in various parts

of Africa where the peace processes have led to the

cessation of conflict and the return of peace.

In that regard, my Government reaffirms its

readiness to contribute to the international conference

on the Great Lakes region initiated by the United

Nations in collaboration with the African Union.

The international community should make efforts

for conflict prevention and resolution. Conflicts should

be avoided by creating a conducive political

environment and allow political pluralism, democracy,

good governance and transparency to flourish. My

country’s commitment to the peaceful resolution of

conflicts is unwavering, and we will continue to

participate in peacekeeping operations.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is indeed a global

crisis. It is no longer just a health concern, but an

impediment to human development and political

stability, which threatens international peace and

security. The startling figures of 42 million people who

live with HIV/AIDS globally, the majority of whom are

in sub-Saharan Africa, and the 31 million people who

have died from the pandemic, should compel the

international community to take concrete measures to

combat the scourge.

The scourge has ravaged Zambia. My

Government is devoting considerable attention and

resources to combat its spread and to limit its impact

on our communities. We are also tackling the problems

created by the pandemic such as the plight of AIDS

orphans, street kids and vulnerable households. In this

task, Government, civil societies, the relevant United

Nations agencies and the private sector are all working

together. Zambia is also cooperating with other

Governments as well in tackling this pandemic.

The Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS,

Tuberculosis and Malaria, which is a welcome

initiative, has provided renewed impetus to the

programmes and interventions of Member States

designed to combat these deadly diseases. There is a

need to contribute more generously to the Fund for it to

be solvent and viable. My delegation wishes to appeal

for easier access to these funds to enable affected

countries to procure cheaper and affordable generic

drugs that are urgently needed.

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My delegation calls for radical reform and

strengthening the world body to make it a more

efficient and effective instrument to meet the

challenges of the twenty-first century. Zambia supports

the Secretary-General’s proposals for reform of the

United Nations aimed at the strengthening this world

body.

In conclusion, I wish to state that my delegation

recognizes the numerous challenges that the United

Nations faces. I have every hope, that through our

collective effort, we will succeed in attaining peace,

development and prosperity for all humanity. Zambia

pledges her support in these efforts.