Zambia, 2011

I wish, first of all,

instance to extend my sincere congratulations to the

President on his election as President of the sixty-sixth

session of the General Assembly. In a similar vein, I

thank His Excellency Joseph Deiss for his leadership

of the sixty-fifth session. I also take this opportunity to

congratulate His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon on his

reappointment as Secretary-General.

I would also like to take this opportunity to

extend a warm and hearty welcome to the community

of nations to the Republic of South Sudan following its

independence on 9 July. We commend both the

Governments of the Sudan and the Republic of South

Sudan for the smooth transition during the handover

and takeover of power. Zambia encourages the two

countries to resolve the outstanding issues between

them amicably and to work towards maintaining

peaceful relations, as that is the only way to achieve

economic and social development.

The theme for the sixty-sixth session of the

General Assembly, “The role of mediation in the

settlement of disputes by peaceful means”, is indeed a

pertinent one, considering the various conflicts across

the globe that threaten international peace and security.

The recent upheavals in North Africa and the Middle

East not only present a new dimension to politics in

that region but also highlight the need for mediation to

avert the outbreak of fighting.

My delegation wishes to underscore the need for

the international community to resolve conflicts on the

African continent, including the situation in Libya,

within the frameworks established by the African

Union. We believe that local solutions have a higher

prospect of being respected and accepted by all parties

to the conflict.

In this regard, Zambia aligns itself with the

mediation efforts put in place by the African Union and

supports the Roadmap for the Resolution of the Crisis

in Libya endorsed by the African Union heads of State

and Government at their seventeenth Summit held in

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Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, this year. With regard to

Libya, Zambia shares the relief of the Libyan people in

ridding themselves of a leader who committed

egregious atrocities against his people.

We must, however, express serious concern about

new atrocities being committed against black people in

that country — both citizens and migrants from African

countries. We call on this body to send a strong

message that it will not only pursue perpetrators of

such atrocities as vigorously as it did Al-Qadhafi but

also undertake to investigate all allegations thoroughly.

It would be tragic if, in the euphoria of celebrating the

ousting of Al-Qadhafi, the United Nations turned a

blind eye to atrocities still being committed.

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict continues to be a

major concern to international peace and security. We

understand the frustrations of the Palestinian people

over the long negotiations, which have completely

stalled in recent years. In that regard, I wish to reaffirm

that Zambia recognizes the Palestinian State, with pre-

1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital. In a

similar vein, Zambia recognizes the State of Israel and

its right to live in peace with its Palestinian neighbour.

The drought situation in the Horn of Africa

presents a humanitarian emergency that threatens the

lives of 12 million people. While erratic rainfall in past

years is the main cause of the drought, the prevalent

political instability and violence in Somalia has

hampered that country’s ability to effectively respond

to the crisis. Zambia has pledged to donate several

metric tons of various food items and cash from the

Government and the private sector.

The need to address the political instability and

violence in Somalia continues to be urgent. We

therefore call upon the United Nations to implement

the recommendations of the Special Representative of

the Secretary-General for Somalia, in which he called

for the establishment of a United Nations peacekeeping

mission there.

Exactly one week ago, on 20 September, general

elections took place in my country. On Friday, three

days later, the fifth and newest President of the

country, Mr. Michael Chilufya Sata, was inaugurated.

The incumbent President graciously conceded and

handed over power. It was smooth and peaceful. It was

a triumph for democracy in my country. Zambia

strongly believes in the rule of law and is concerned at

trends towards unconstitutional changes of

Government — trends that in some cases receive the

active support of powerful countries in the

international community.

The political stability that Zambia has and

continues to enjoy has had a positive impact on the

economic development of the country. Over the past

decade real gross domestic product growth has

averaged 5.4 per cent. While that growth has reflected

effective macroeconomic management and good

copper prices, it has also been built on the foundation

of Zambia’s stable political environment and improved

record of governance. In 2011, we expect to

consolidate that strong performance with growth now

projected to be above 7 per cent, second only to the

projected growth rates of 9.2 per cent for developing

Asia and significantly above the projected 5.5 per cent

growth rate for sub-Saharan Africa.

Those economic trends notwithstanding, Zambia

still faces the challenge of translating its economic

growth into a significant reduction in poverty and a

general improvement in the living standards of its

citizenry. It is our intention for the benefits of

economic growth to be broadly shared by the

population at large. We hope to achieve that by

continuing to strengthen our governance institutions,

maintaining peace and stability and ensuring that we

remain open to the opportunities that global trade and

the exchange of ideas and experiences offer to a

developing economy.

The country’s economic development agenda is

guided by the National Vision, under which Zambia

aspires to be a prosperous middle-income country by

2030. The national agenda has been operationalized

through five-year national development plans.

Currently the country is operating under its Sixth

National Development Plan, under the theme

“Sustained economic growth and poverty reduction”.

With these achievements, Zambia is on course to

achieve five of the eight targets of the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) by 2011.

In four years the MDG target date will be upon

us. While Zambia has made notable progress towards

achieving the 2015 MDG targets, particularly in terms

of increased access to education, reduced maternal,

infant and under-5 mortality rates and child nutrition,

those achievements risk being reversed, pushing the

country off track, owing to the multifaceted negative

impacts of the world economic recession, unfulfilled

23 11-51681

commitments and ever diminishing levels of financial

assistance from cooperation partners. Under the

circumstances, many developing countries are unlikely

to meet the MDG targets. It is therefore important not

only that every effort should be made to assist

countries stay on track but that we start planning for a

post-2015 MDG framework.

Beyond the challenges posed by infectious

diseases, Zambia is also affected by the emerging

global trend of non-communicable diseases. The

socio-demographic and technological transition that

goes with urbanization and industrialization has

resulted in an increase in non-communicable diseases

in our country. I would therefore like to commend

President Al-Nasser for hosting the High-level Meeting

on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable

Diseases. My delegation is, nevertheless, cautious that

while focusing on non-communicable diseases,

resources meant for infectious diseases, such as

HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, should be

secured, so that the gains already achieved in these

areas are not lost.

Allow me to express Zambia’s gratitude to the

Secretary-General for organizing the High-level

Meeting on addressing desertification, land

degradation and drought in the context of sustainable

development and poverty eradication on 20 September

2011. There is no doubt that the United Nations

Convention to Combat Desertification is the least

supported of the three Rio Conventions, the others

being the United Nations Framework Convention on

Climate Change and the Convention on Biological

Diversity. It is in that light that the convening of the

High-level Meeting, as a means of raising awareness

about desertification, land degradation and drought at a

high level, is most welcome. There is clearly a need for

concerted efforts on the part of all Member States to

raise the profile of the Desertification Convention to

the level of the other two.

Zambia views desertification and land

degradation as a major economic, social and

environmental problem that requires immediate

attention. It is in that regard that my country’s sixth

national development plan, for 2011 to 2015, has

endeavoured to mainstream environmental management in

general and sustainable land management in particular.

The challenge now is for Zambia to mobilize adequate

and predictable financial resources to implement the

programmes contained in the plan. The mobilization of

resources for implementing programmes to combat

desertification and mitigate the effects of drought is an

obligation shared by all Member States, including

those unaffected by desertification, as is spelled out in

the Convention, in Agenda 21 and in the Johannesburg

Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on

Sustainable Development, among others.

We therefore call for the judicious

implementation of the outcome decisions of the

recently held High-level Meeting on desertification and

land degradation. We also call on all States to ensure

that adequate financial resources are available for

programmes aimed at combating desertification and

mitigating the effects of drought.

Turning to the topical subject of climate change,

whose adverse effects are responsible for exacerbating

desertification, land degradation and drought, the need

to put in place a new and dynamic international regime

for climate change has never been so urgent. The

adverse effects of climate change are being borne

disproportionately by poor countries such as my own.

The effects of climate change are real and are already

affecting our agriculture, water, and infrastructure, to

mention only some sectors. Yet, as we have repeatedly

said, it is rich countries that are responsible for the

historic build-up of greenhouse gases in our

atmosphere, the problem that has brought about global

warming and climate change. The developed world

should therefore show leadership when it comes to

agreeing on a new international regime on climate

change.

Zambia looks forward to the forthcoming United

Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in

Durban, South Africa, in December. We are confident

that these talks will build on the positive outcome of

the last Conference, held in Cancún, last December.

Africa, which is hosting such talks for the first time, is

determined to ensure a successful outcome. Time is

running out and we can no longer afford the luxury of

inconclusive talks each year. We call on all parties to

commit to making progress and ensuring that

agreement is reached on all outstanding issues so as to

pave the way for a new climate change regime. We also

call for the immediate operationalization of all funds

established so far under the Climate Change

Convention, thereby making financial resources

accessible to countries in need.

11-51681 24

The High-level Meeting to commemorate the

tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Durban

Declaration and Programme of Action was a timely

reminder to all nations to continue to promote the

rights of all people regardless of race or creed as equal

citizens of the world. Zambia recommits itself to the

just cause of fighting against any form of racism or

racial discrimination, xenophobia and related

intolerance.

With the year 2012 very much in sight, Zambia

hopes for a successful conclusion to negotiations on

the arms trade treaty. A strong and robust treaty will

help foster regional and international peace and

security. Zambia also supports an arms trade treaty that

encompasses all conventional weapons, including

small arms and light weapons and their ammunition;

components of weapons; dual-use equipment with a

military end-use; and arms production equipment and

technology. Furthermore, Zambia advocates an arms

trade treaty with a broad scope that includes landmines

and conventional weapons already covered by

international weapon-specific agreements, as well as

technical support.

Last Friday the President of Sierra Leone, in his

capacity as Coordinator of the African Union

Committee of Ten Heads of State on Security Council

reform, reminded the Assembly of the need to hasten

negotiations on this important issue. Zambia aligns

itself with that statement and sentiment. It is a fact that

Africa is now one of the largest regions represented in

the United Nations, with 54 members, the same

number as Asia. It is also a fact that three-quarters of

the issues on the Security Council’s agenda are African

issues.

Unfortunately, it is also a fact that Africa is the

only continent with no representation in the permanent-

membership category of the Council. In addition,

Africa is underrepresented in the non-permanent-

member category. Africa’s request for two permanent

seats, with all the rights and obligations of current

members, and for two additional non-permanent seats,

is a matter of justice and the right to have an equal say

in the decision-making on issues that concern our

continent. It is also a matter of democracy. Above all, it

is about the dignity of a people and the dignity of a

continent.