Zambia, 2013

At the outset, I wish to congratulate

His Excellency Mr. John. Ashe on his election as

President of the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth

session. I am confident that his wisdom and skill will be

brought to bear as he steers the Assembly through a year

of progressive dialogue and challenging negotiations.

The theme of this year’s session, “The post-2015

development agenda: setting the stage”, is timely, as it

presents an opportunity for us to discuss the future of

global development. To that end, I wish to assure the

President of our delegation’s support as he discharges

the function of President at this session.

The African continent has this year also reached a

significant milestone. In May, together with the rest of

the continent, we celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of

the founding of the Organization of African Unity, the

forerunner to the African Union. The African Union

is a symbol of the collective hopes and aspirations

of our resilient continent. As expected, that occasion

formed the basis for mutual reflection on the future

direction of a young and versatile Africa. Furthermore,

next year, our country will commemorate 50 years of

its independence. We approach that milestone proud

that Zambia continues to enjoy political stability and

has embraced democratic principles that have formed

the basis for social and economic transformation for

improving the lives of the Zambian people.

Our country is also honoured to have played a

significant role in peacebuilding initiatives within

the subregion and the continent at large and continues

to participate in them. Zambia will therefore remain

committed to the ideals for which she has stood and

is prepared to contribute to global efforts aimed at

uplifting humanity.

To address the aspirations of our peoples, in

particular those of the most vulnerable nations, we

as a global community meeting in this Assembly

set ourselves the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs) — eight clear targets that resonate with our

populations’ aspirations. In less than two years, we

will have reached the deadline for the attainment of the

MDGs, and Governments will have an opportunity to

take stock of the achievements made in efforts to attain

the development targets set at the turn of the century.

We are all champions of the MDGs. We have run

the race, and we continue to run the race, albeit at

different paces and on different terrains. What remains

critical, therefore, is what we do between now and the

deadline, as well as how we will move beyond 2015.

Amid much anxiety, the 2013 progress report for

my country was released in May. On a positive note,

the report indicated the tremendous progress made

by Zambia on MDGs 4 and 5, regarding reducing the

under-five mortality rate by two thirds and the maternal

mortality ratio by three quarters by 2015. I emphasize

here that maternal mortality is rooted in gender

inequality, which manifests itself as poor education for

girls, early marriage, adolescent pregnancies and lack

of access to sexual and reproductive health care. The

results therefore tell us that with more effort, gender

inequality can be redressed.

Zambia’s MDG report further indicates that we

have made great strides in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The challenges are still immense, and we have to ensure

that those living with HIV and AIDS are receiving the

best care and access to social protection services. All

efforts must be made to reach zero infection and zero

deaths by building on what has been achieved so far.

International support is equally critical for a sustained

and enhanced response.

The Zambian economy is presently enjoying

macroeconomic stability and has experienced

appreciable economic growth over the recent past.

However, our Government still has the huge task of

ensuring that the basic needs of Zambians are met, as

poverty levels and unemployment remain a challenge. It

is not surprising, therefore, that we have made marginal

progress in reducing the prevalence of hunger. In order

to accelerate Zambia’s efforts to achieve MDG 1, our

Government has taken an unprecedented and painful

step in curtailing subsidies on fuel and maize. That

has enabled us to release much-needed resources for

programmes that are deliberately targeted at poverty

alleviation. We have also transformed and repositioned

social protection services to optimize efficiency.

The International Monetary Fund and the World

Bank estimate that economic growth in sub-Saharan

Africa can be expected to be higher than the global

average — around 5.5 per cent in 2013 and 6.1 per

cent next year. However, in the absence of inclusive

social development and without food security, that

growth risks being undermined by social exclusion,

particularly for the youth. For instance, while our

Government recorded a growth in gross domestic

product of 7.3 per cent in 2012, we recognize the fact

that it is equally important to ensure that we put in

place specific measures that will promote equality and

social justice in the labour market. It is for this reason

that we are strongly advocating for investment that

creates real and sustainable employment prospects for

our people, while at the same time making our economy

more labour-absorbent.

In turning to the post-2015 agenda, our Government

believes that the importance of the intergovernmental

processes on sustainable development goals is critical

and cannot be overemphasized. I wish to reiterate

the need to have a single set of universally agreed

sustainable development goals reflecting sustainable

development priorities that are actionable and concise

and whose implementation will resonate with the

different development and economic levels of Member

States. Furthermore, the goals will need to be prudently

balanced and to effectively integrate the economic,

social and environmental aspects of sustainable

development. To that end, it is necessary to build global

partnerships that are supported by commitments to

regional and international cooperation, anchored with

mutual accountability, enhanced local private sectors

and public-private partnerships.

Our Government believes that addressing issues of

poverty is important for the achievement of sustainable

and inclusive development in the future we want for

Zambia. Our country attaches importance to improving

the welfare of our people, especially women, children

and young people, through wealth and employment

creation, the provision of quality education and of

quality health care, and industrialization, among other

things.

In particular, our Government wishes to emphasize

the need to mainstream children’s issues, including

access to quality education and quality health care

services, provided at the right time. Social protection

and upholding the rights of all children is critical and

should transcend the global desire for a better future. It

is therefore imperative that the post-2015 agenda take

into account the momentum that has been attained in the

realization of the MDGs in order to ensure continuity

and sustainability.

My address to the Assembly would be incomplete

if I did not underscore Zambia’s, and indeed Africa’s,

desire to realize a more democratic and representative

Security Council. As a continent, our voice could not

be clearer. We continue to call for greater progress in

those negotiations, whose conclusion is long overdue. I

wish to reiterate our position, as defined in the Ezulwini

Consensus. The United Nations boasts of an all-inclusive

multilateral process, but that is obviously lacking when

it comes to the Security Council. The effectiveness of

that organ should be enhanced by adapting it to the

prevailing global realities of international peace and

security and the legitimacy realized through an all-

inclusive process.

In conclusion, allow me to express Zambia’s

gratitude for the support received in the recent hosting

of two important United Nations conferences, namely,

the twentieth session of the General Assembly of the

World Tourism Organization and the fourth Meeting of

States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

I therefore take this opportunity, on behalf of my

Government and the Zambian people, to thank all those

who participated and contributed to the success of

those meetings. We look forward to the opportunity to

host again in the near future.