Zimbabwe, 2002

I would like to congratulate

Mr. Jan Kavan on his assumption of the presidency of

the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session. I am

confident that his leadership will successfully carry us

through this session. We extend to his predecessor,

Mr. Han Seung-soo, our sincere appreciation for the

excellent manner in which he steered the work of the

recently concluded fifty-sixth session of the General

Assembly.

My delegation warmly welcomes Switzerland as

a new Member of this family of nations. I would be

remiss if I did not pay tribute to the United Nations for

its role in ensuring the smooth transition of East Timor

to statehood. We believe that the new nation will for

some time continue to require the support of the

international community in its efforts at nation-

building. We look forward to welcoming East Timor

into the United Nations in the near future.

Yesterday, the United States and, indeed, the

whole world, commemorated the first anniversary of

the horrific terrorist attacks on New York and

Washington. Terrorism is a threat to international peace

and security. No matter where it occurs, no matter

whom it is directed at and no matter what form it takes,

the scourge of terrorism must be condemned and dealt

with decisively and in conformity with the ideals and

principles of the United Nations Charter. The adoption

of unilateral measures by some countries to combat

terrorism not only is counterproductive but also

undermines the mandate and effectiveness of the

United Nations. In dealing with this scourge, the world

community needs to focus on identifying and

addressing its root causes, such as poverty, the denial

of fundamental freedoms and the absence of social

justice.

The United Nations is confronted with a volatile

situation in the Middle East that has the potential to

engulf the entire subregion. The Palestinian question

should be resolved without further delay, as it is

causing untold suffering to the people in the occupied

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territories. Israel must withdraw its forces from

Palestinian lands, and the Palestinians must be afforded

the opportunity of having a State of their own. The

carnage that is going on at present will benefit neither

side. Israel must know that its chances for peace and

security lie in having a Palestinian State that will live

side by side with it in mutual respect between

sovereign States.

We believe that Palestinians should be left alone

to elect the leaders of their choice, as it is their

democratic and sovereign right to do. It is only leaders

thus elected who can ensure peace and stability within

the State of Palestine and between Palestine and all of

its neighbours. We note with concern that some

countries wish to arrogate to themselves the right to

choose or impose leadership in developing countries by

sidelining or overthrowing democratically elected

Governments. Not only is this a negation of democracy

and democratic principles, but it constitutes outright

interference in the internal affairs of independent

sovereign States, and must be resisted. I say this in

relation not only to other States but also to my own

country. My people elected me, and that election was

held to have been valid by Africa and its organizations.

But Europe said, “No” — and it was Europe that

yesterday was our oppressor and colonialist. Europe

said “No”, but Africa said, “Yes”. To whom do we

listen? The whites in Europe or the blacks in Africa?

We listen to our own blacks and their judgement; they

are our people. They, and no one else, are the ones who

should elect us.

Zimbabwe welcomes the emergence of peace in

Angola — a fellow member of the Southern African

Development Community — and urges both sides to

the conflict to remain committed to the Memorandum

of Understanding signed earlier this year. The

international community should urgently assist that

country in consolidating the peace, and move on with

the reconstruction and rehabilitation process. This is a

small price to pay in order to give the people of Angola

the peace that has eluded them since the 1950s.

We are also pleased that the peace process in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo is moving in the

right direction. We would like to recognize the efforts

of the Government of South Africa and the United

Nations in this regard and to call on the United Nations

to take strong measures against those who violate the

agreed ceasefire.

Let me take this opportunity to announce once

again that, in view of these positive developments,

Zimbabwe is in the process of withdrawing its

remaining forces from the Democratic Republic of the

Congo. We hope, however, that the Security Council

will act boldly and without favour in ensuring that

peace is consolidated in the Democratic Republic of

the Congo and that it will immediately proceed with

the full deployment of the third phase of the United

Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic

Republic of the Congo.

In the same vein, we note that the mandate of the

Expert Panel on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural

Resources and Other Forms of Wealth in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo expires in

December 2002. It is our fervent hope that this time the

Panel will have the courage to fully expose the

economic agenda of the countries that invaded the

Democratic Republic of the Congo.

We are gathered here to chart the way forward

towards the creation of a world fit for all of us, to the

turn of the century and beyond. We are meeting against

the backdrop of the crucial summits that were held this

year, during which landmark decisions were made

regarding sustainable global economic and social

development. Among these were the Monterrey

International Conference on Financing for

Development, and the recently concluded World

Summit on Sustainable Development, held in

Johannesburg, South Africa. It is our hope that the

decisions of these conferences will be translated into

meaningful cooperation among development partners.

In this context, we welcome the pledges made for

increased development aid and the commitment to

sustainable development, which are essential for future

generations.

Unfortunately, the World Summit on Sustainable

Development demonstrated beyond doubt the

unwillingness on the part of some developed countries

to commit themselves more meaningfully to these

international undertakings. They preferred instead to

hide behind hackneyed and spurious conditionalities

which all but oppose and negate the practice of

democracy, good governance and respect for human

rights in the developing world. While we all cherish

these values, we are dismayed that they are

increasingly being used by developed countries that

have checkered democratic credentials and poor human

rights records in order to settle political scores and to

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forestall the economic development of countries whose

Governments they do not like. When we see these same

countries propping up regimes that are blatantly

undemocratic, we cannot but conclude that this wilful

commingling of issues is just an excuse for doing

nothing about legitimate demands that the development

aspirations of developing countries be addressed. The

United Nations General Assembly should express its

deep dismay at such dishonest attempts on the part of

those countries and call upon them to stop the abuse of

international agreements and shared values and the

imposition of their interests upon other, often smaller

nations.

We call for improved global governance through

the democratization of multilateral organizations, such

as the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions

and the World Trade Organization. There is also need

for coherence in global policy-making. In the same

vein, the management of the globalization process

should not be left to market forces alone but should be

regulated in a way that gives it a humane face and

reverses the marginalization of developing countries.

In the area of world trade, we call for a level

playing field in agenda setting and rule making in the

World Trade Organization. We also need to see greater

market-access opportunities for goods of export

interest to developing countries in developed country

markets, as well as greater willingness to address

issues of commodity pricing. In addition, we call for

the removal of agricultural subsidies, which have

depressed the competitiveness of products from

developing countries and inhibited their entry into the

lucrative markets of the North. In the same vein, my

delegation also calls for the immediate cancellation of

the debt of poor countries, so that debt-service funds,

which are crippling the development efforts of

developing nations, can be used to improve the

situation of those countries.

The special session on children, which was held

here in New York in May of this year, did much to

bring to the fore the need to address, in a meaningful

way, the rights and development needs of children,

with a view to enabling them to play their respective

roles in society. The United Nations should continue to

articulate those needs and foster the creation of a world

fit for children.

Since the attainment of independence in 1980,

Zimbabwe has made tremendous progress in the

provision of schools and health-care facilities to

improve the quality of life of its children. Regrettably,

these gains were later to be reversed, as the Bretton

Woods institutions demanded that we deprioritize

education, health and social welfare in our resource

allocations. Even without the support of those

institutions, we have continued, within our limited

means, to place primary importance on the

development of the Zimbabwean child and the welfare

of the underprivileged, thereby raising the literacy rate

in our society to 87 per cent.

Zimbabwe and other countries in Southern Africa

are grappling with the effects of the HIV/AIDS

pandemic. Our own efforts at combating the scourge

are not enough, and they need to be augmented by the

positive contribution of those countries that have the

requisite financial resources and technological know-

how.

We continue to call on the international

community and private companies to hasten their

efforts at finding an answer to this pandemic, which is

ravaging our populations and economies. Affordable

but effective drugs need to be made available, while

support should be given to care givers helping those

who suffer from the disease. Special assistance should

be given to the growing number of children orphaned

by the pandemic. We hope that the fund set up at last

year's General Assembly special session on HIV/AIDS

will receive the urgent and meaningful support that it

deserves.

As you are aware, my country and most parts of

Southern Africa, are currently experiencing a

humanitarian crisis as a result of the drought that hit

during the main cereal-producing season earlier this

year. We commend the efforts being made by

international organizations and the donor community to

provide urgent food and non-food aid to our

communities. We particularly wish to mention the

efforts of United Nations agencies in this regard. We

also welcome additional assistance in programmes that

will mitigate the effects of future droughts.

Finally, my delegation is happy to inform you that

Zimbabwe has concluded the fast-track land-

redistribution programme that we introduced in July

2000 in order to transfer land to the hitherto landless

black majority. It will be recalled that we had to face

vehement protestations, bad publicity and

misinformation from those who did not wish us well.

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We remained resolute in the face of powerful forces

determined to preserve vestiges of colonial privilege.

The primary objective of our agrarian reforms has

been to redress the colonial injustice perpetrated by

Britain, whereby a minority of British settlers in 1890

seized our land and acquired our natural resources but

never paid any compensation to our ancestors.

By assuming its independence in 1980,

Zimbabwe discarded the colonial yoke for all time and,

therefore, will never brook any interference in its

domestic affairs by any foreign Power. I appeal to this

General Assembly to convey to Britain and especially

to its current Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, that

Zimbabwe ceased to be a British colony in 1980 after

Prince Charles, on behalf of the Government of the

United Kingdom, gracefully lowered the British flag,

called the “Union Jack”. He should also be informed

that the people of Zimbabwe waged an armed

revolutionary struggle for their independence and stand

ready to defend it in the same way. We want to be left

in peace to carry out our just reforms and development

plans, as we peacefully interact and cooperate with

other countries within the region, the African continent

and the international community. We refuse to be an

extension of Europe. We are Africans and shall remain

so forever. I wish the 57th session of the General

Assembly every success.