Zambia, 2014

I extend our sincere

congratulations to Mr. Sam Kutesa on his election to

preside over the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth

session. We see him undertaking that onerous task

at a particularly important moment in not only the

forging of the future global development agenda, but

the development of international peace and security. I

therefore assure him of my Government’s support as

he sets out to discharge that important assignment. In

the same spirit, I also convey our appreciation for the

contribution made by his predecessor, Mr. John Ashe,

President of the Assembly at its sixty-eighth session.

I wish to highlight our deep concern at the global

health emergency that has resulted from the Ebola

outbreak in parts of Africa. That burden is not only

for the people of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea;

Zambia views the epidemic as a common challenge

to humankind, and therefore stands ready to support

all efforts required to defeat the disease and ensure a

return to normalcy in the daily economic and social

lives of our sister Republics that are directly facing the

disease.

There is growing acceptance and concern that

Ebola could easily spread beyond the first four

countries that have so far borne the brunt of the

disease. The recent resurgence of the disease in the

neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo is a

reminder of the extent of the danger. Beyond that, we

remain deeply concerned that over 5,000 people in all

have been victims of the disease and 2,400 needless

deaths have already been recorded across the continent.

Zambia therefore supports the call for greater and wider

involvement by all Member States. The World Health

Organization has already warned that if the epidemic

is left unchecked, we will soon be dealing with over

20,000 Ebola patients.

It is equally for that reason that we continue to look

at global health issues as important parameters for global

development. The Ebola public health emergency and

other ongoing challenges, such as malaria, tuberculosis,

AIDS and other, non-communicable diseases, need a

concerted global approach.

In the past few months, the international community

has witnessed the growing desperation of extremist

terrorist organizations, notably through the abduction

of innocent schoolgirls in Borno state, Nigeria, and the

wider reign of terror, which includes bombing civilian

trading points across that important African nation.

Zambia is also concerned about the insecurity

currently being experienced as a result of the instability

in Ukraine. We have followed the counter-accusations,

which point to the deep-seated divisions and suspicions

of a bygone era. Sadly, the human losses have been

heavy, as ordinary Ukrainians are caught in the middle

of a crisis that is strongly influenced by foreign factors.

Innocent civilians from other nations have also been

drawn in through the loss of lives on Malaysia Airlines

Flight MH-17. We share in the sorrow of the families

and the nations that lost loved ones in that human-

caused catastrophe. Zambia believes that ordinary

Ukrainian citizens are of the same view and desire

nothing but peace, harmony and prosperity for their

country. They should be allowed to enjoy those basic

human conditions.

Those and other global security concerns linger,

facing a United Nations that is becoming ever more

challenged in coordinating any robust or convincing

global response.

This session of the General Assembly is also

taking place at a moment of renewed focus on the

global development agenda through the negotiations

on the post-2015 agenda and the work to produce

the sustainable development goals (SDGs). My

understanding has been that the negotiations have thus

far been engaging and have included the participation of

all stakeholders, including Governments, civil society,

the business community and academia. It can therefore

be said that we have laid a solid foundation upon which

the world will articulate its development policies for the

next decade and a half, in line with the three pillars of

the SDGs.

We look forward to the completion of those

deliberations, knowing that unless the means of

implementation are adequately covered with new

investment inflows, we risk rendering that noble effort

a futile exercise. Given the immense challenges facing

our nations, it is such multilateral approaches that will

address the underlying cross-border factors that affect

climate change, global poverty, public health, children’s

welfare, labour and migration, youth unemployment, the

advancement of women and many other issues whose

solutions lie in actions that may have transboundary

effects.

The new global development regime must therefore

demonstrate a new and more robust approach to

those problems. For that reason, Zambia supports the

related meetings being held alongside this session of

the Assembly, notably those relating to population and

development, labour and decent work, and the 2014

Climate Summit. It is hoped that those discussions will,

in the not-too-distant future, lead to lasting solutions

to the development challenges faced by many of our

countries.

On another important matter, I wish to report

that Zambia has increased its campaign to forestall

the growing problem of child marriages and early and

forced marriages. That problem is strongly rooted in

the prevailing poverty levels in some poor families

and in the quest by organized criminals to profit

from selling off under-age girls either into marriage

or to engage in exploitative vices. With that national

awakening to the problem, Zambia hosted a three-day

national symposium on the problem in July. We look

forward to working with other nations to ensure that a

global approach is developed to curb the incidences of

child, early and forced marriages, which is a problem

with greater consequences for the future advancement

of women.

Zambia is also undertaking several other initiatives

aimed at reducing the gender divide. My Government is

of the conviction that girls and women should be enabled

and allowed to reach their full potential and be able to

contribute to national growth on an equal footing with

men. In that regard, the education of the girl child and

the socioeconomic empowerment of women through

their representation in key decision-making positions is

at the top of the national agenda.

Furthermore, Zambia reaffirms its commitment

to gender equality and the empowerment of women

made at the fourth World Conference on Women, held

in Beijing in 1995, My Government has continued to

stress the importance of women’s emancipation and

their contribution to national development in line with

the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

The question of the reform of the Security Council

remains an important priority for Zambia and the rest

of the African continent. We remain deeply concerned

that little progress has been recorded in the negotiations

on the expansion of the Council. Africa remains fully

committed to all five clusters of the intergovernmental

negotiations process outlined in decision 62/557, of

2008. As a member of the African Union Committee

of Ten on Security Council reform, let me echo other

voices in reiterating the importance that our member

States attach to the realization of those long-overdue

reforms.

My delegation also accords due priority to the

questions relating to countries in special situations, in

particular landlocked developing countries (LLDCs),

for which group Zambia was nominated as Chair in

March. The implementation of the Almaty Programme

of Action, as adopted in 2003, has run its course, albeit

with mixed results. It is coming up for review at the

United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing

Countries, to be held in Vienna in just over a month’s

time, from 3 to 5 November. The 32 Member States in

that grouping are counting on the support of the entire

United Nations membership to ensure a successful

Conference, which we expect will firmly place the

LLDCs on a sound path of development. I therefore

look forward to the full participation of Member States

at the Conference.

I would like to end by informing the Assembly

that our historic capital city, Lusaka, has for the past

year been celebrating its centenary. That occasion was

followed this year by two other important celebrations,

namely, the ninetieth birthday of our founding father, the

first Republican President, Mr. Kenneth Kaunda, and

the fiftieth anniversary of our national independence,

which falls on 24 October.

The commemorations have offered a unique

chance not only to celebrate, but also to reflect on

our development path. I submit that within our known

difficult struggle to achieve social and economic

development lies a strong national spirit, eager to

contribute not only to our own growth, but also to that

which the growing global interdependence demands.

Let me, on behalf of all Zambians, express appreciation

to all those that have helped our beloved country in

achieving those milestones. Zambia looks forward to a

strengthened and more versatile United Nations system

that will help create the conditions for the further

growth and development of our youthful nation.