Mr. President;
Mr. Secretary-General;
Excellencies;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Allow me to begin by
congratulating you Mr. President on your well-deserved election to steer the
affairs of 68th General Assembly of our esteemed organisation. As I congratulate you, I would like to assure
you of Tanzania’s support and cooperation in the discharge of your
responsibilities. I also wish to acknowledge
and commend your predecessor, His Excllency Vuc Jeremic for his outstanding
leadership of the 67th General Assembly. A lot was achieved because of his visionary
and wise leadership.
In the same vein, I
would like to pay glowing tribute to our illustrious Secretary General for the
excellent work he is doing for the United Nations and humanity at large.
My delegation and I,
find the theme of this year’s General Assembly to be timely and very opportune.
Indeed, we should start now to set the stage for the post 2015 development
agenda. Hence, for the theme of this 68th General Assembly to be “Post-2015
Development Agenda: Setting the Stage” is the wisest thing to do. It affords us
the opportunity to know where we are with regard to the Millennium Development
Goals and decide what needs to be done to complete the unfinished business and
enable us to make informed decision beyond 2015.
The
Status of MDGs
Mr. President;
Millennium
Development Goals framework is the best development framework ever developed to
address global and national development challenges. The world has never witnessed such a
coalescence of concerted efforts into a unified framework. It is heartwarming indeed to note that
progress towards attaining MDGs has been made in the last 13 years. However, the progress varies
from one goal to another and is highly uneven among nations and continents.
Mr. President;
Although extreme
poverty has been halved at the global level, over 1.2 billion people are still trapped in extreme poverty; and an
estimated 19,000 children under the
age of five and around 800 women die
every day mostly from preventable and curable diseases and other causes. This
is totally unacceptable in the world of plenty we live in today where there is unprecedented
advancement in science and technology which can be leveraged to solve almost all
development challenges facing humanity. In
a world which has enough food to feed everybody, nobody should go hungry or be undernourished. In a world with so much wealth, there is no
reason why poverty, hunger and deprivation should ever continue to inflict pain
and cause misery to many people. It is
incomprehensible therefore, why the MDG’s could not be attained to the fullest.
This reality must be
taken into account when we attempt to find ways to tackle unfinished business
of the 2000 MDGs and design the post-2015 development agenda. Mechanism must be put in place to ensure that
sources of financing will be adequate and reliable.
Mr. President;
Tanzania made significant progress in implementing the MDGs. We have already achieved the targets in four of
the eight MDGs well before the set deadline of 2015. On MDG 2 we have achieved a
target on universal primary education enrolment. On MDG 3 we have achieved
target of parity of boys and girls in both primary and secondary schools
enrolment. This is different from the
past when there were more boys than girls.
As a matter of fact, the trend appears to be tilting towards getting
more girls than boys in the near future.
We are yet to meet targets with regard to the ratio of females to males
in tertiary education and in position of decision making particularly Parliament. However, it is possible to achieve the target
on Parliamentarians by 2015 by taking advantage of the ongoing Constitutional
review process.
We are on target with
regard to reducing HIV/AIDS infection rate, the requirement of MDG 6. Similarly, we have attained MDG 4 on Child
Mortality which is big achievement indeed, compared to where we were in the
year 2000. But it is depressing we are
not on track with regard to MDG 5 on Maternal Health. We are intensifying efforts to do better in
order to improve the maternal health among Tanzania women.
With regard to MDG 7
on Environmental Sustainability we are on target with regard to drinking water
for urban population. But, we are
lagging behind with respect to rural water supply as well as access to improved
sanitation both in rural and urban areas.
That notwithstanding,
we have not relented in our pursuit of the targets in the MDGs which we are not
likely to achieve by 2015. This will be
the unfinished business for which we need to take action probably over and
above what we are doing. We are lagging
far behind with regard to MDG 1 in its four main indicators. There is not much possibility of achieving
the targets despite the efforts we have been making.
We have been intensifying
actions to transform and modernise our agriculture. Our aim is to increase productivity and
farmers’ incomes as well as ensure food and nutrition security for themselves
and the nation. Agriculture employs 75
percent of the Tanzania population and this is where the majority of poor
are concentrated. Improved agriculture means less poor and hungry people. Plans are also underway to expand the conditional
cash transfer programme under the Tanzania Social Action Fund supported by the
World Bank. We want to increase the size
of investment to benefit more vulnerable people so as to accelerate the
implementation of MDG 1 in the shortest possible time.
Mr. President;
Generally,
it remains my firm belief that despite some failures, MDGs have been nothing
short of a remarkable success. If the developed countries provided the
financing as envisaged under MDG 8 and as per the Monterrey Consensus and their
own commitment in different fora of the G8 and G20, we would have implemented
all the MDGs to the letter and spirit. It
is in this regard we would find unrealistic any approach to the post-2015
Development agenda that does not address the critical issue of ensuring
adequate financing. This is also true
with regard to accelerating implementation of the MDGs in the remaining
period.
We will continue to
look at the United Nations for guidance and leadership in steering both processes
to their successful conclusion.
The
Reform of the United Nations
Mr. President;
The fact that the
United Nations needs reform is a matter of little disagreement. Our collective
failure to respond to this reality creates scepticism on our common resolve to
strengthen an institution that is meant to serve nations and peoples. The
reform we demand is long overdue. While we welcome discussions on the reform of
the ECOSOC, Africa will not relent in demanding reform of the Security Council
so that the continent, with the largest membership of the UN, has a permanent
voice.
Global
and Regional Conflict Situation
Mr. President;
Regrettably conflicts
have continued to interfere in our development endeavours as they linger on in
different parts of the world, from the Sahel to eastern DRC, Syria to
Afghanistan, and other areas. They have caused enormous loss of innocent lives
as populations continue to endure untold sufferings. The recent use of chemical
weapons in Syria as confirmed by the United Nations inspections team to kill
innocent people is rather distressing. We condemn such flagrant and senseless
killing of innocent people including children in Syria. We commend the
Secretary General and the UNSC for way they handle the matter. I believe the doors for a peaceful solution
to the Syrian problem are not closed and that a military solution should be the
last resort.
The
Situation in the Great Lakes Region and DRC
Mr. President;
The United Republic
of Tanzania regrets to see the suffering of the people of DRC as a consequence
of the conflict in Eastern DRC has continued for far too long. We hope this time around the initiative of
the Secretary General which resulted in the establishment of the Peace,
Security and Cooperation Framework for the Great Lakes Region and DRC signed in
February, 2013 will deliver lasting peace, security and development for the DRC
and the Great Lakes Region. We highly commend the UN Secretary General for his
vision and leadership in this regards. We
welcome the choice of Her Excellency Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland
as the United Nations’ Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region. She will surely help advance the cause of
peace in the region if supported by all of us in the region and the
international community.
Part of the enduring
problem facing the DRC is the proliferation of armed groups with varied
interests. Bolder action is required to uproot these negative elements. These
groups should be neutralized and disarmed.
It is in this context that we welcomed
MONUSCO’s expanded mandate as per resolution 2098 (2013) of the Security
Council that among other things established the Force Intervention Brigade
(FIB). Tanzania agreed to contribute troops
to the FIB because it can help to deter belligerence and create a conducive
environment for a political process to take effect. Of course the panacea to the DRC problem is
political rather than military.
Tanzania’s
Role in Peacekeeping
Mr. President;
Since 2007 Tanzania has
become proactive in contributing troops to the United Nations Peacekeeping
Operations. With over 2,500 peace keepers in Lebanon, Darfur and the Democratic
Republic of Congo, we are the 6th contributor of military and police
peacekeepers in Africa and 12th globally. We are partaking this
noble endeavour, as members of the United Nations with the duty of advancing and
upholding the ideals of our esteemed organisation.
We are satisfied that
our contribution, though modest, is having a broader impact to those who have
experienced the horrors of conflict. In this endeavours our peacekeepers have
paid the ultimate price as was the case with the loss of we seven brave soldiers
in Darfur, Sudan under UNAMID and two in Eastern DRC under MONUSCO. These are our
national heroes whose sacrifices are not in vain.
The death of our
peacekeepers was a grim reminder of the dangers facing peacekeepers around the
world. It is disturbing that, armed groups and peace spoilers are increasingly
attacking these servants of peace. We must unreservedly condemn all these
attacks as there is no cause or justification for such barbaric attack which
constitute a crime under international law. The UN Security Council whose
primary role is the maintenance of international peace and security should be
in the forefront in condemning such barbaric acts in good time.
Unilateral
Sanctions and Embargo
Mr.
President;
At this juncture, I
wish to reiterate our call for ending unilateral economic, commercial and
financial embargo against Cuba which has lasted for more than 50 years. Our
call to end this unilateral embargo is not only predicated on its legality but
also on humanitarian concerns particularly the negative effects of the quality
of life of innocent Cubans.
We are deeply
encouraged by recent developments especially of removing restrictions on family
travel, cash remittances and telecommunication services. We believe this spirit
will culminate into total cessation of the embargo in not to distant a future
so that Cubans will be relieved of enormous economic, social and financial
hardships they have endured for far too long.
Western
Sahara
Mr.
President;
The quest to resolve
the dispute over the sovereignty of Western Sahara is also long overdue. It is high time that the United Nations took bold actions to
give the people of Saharawi the opportunity to decide on their fate. It is incomprehensible why the Security
Council which has been able to handle bigger security challenges cannot decide
on the matter for nearly forty years now.
International
Criminal Court
Excellencies;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
You will agree with me that the Rome
Statute establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC) was a major
milestone of the international criminal justice system. Indeed, the Court's creation as a machinery
for fighting impunity was only possible with the support of Africa.
However, a decade after its entry into
force, a rift has grown between the Court and the continent. The court is
perceived as irresponsive to what are, in our view, legitimate concerns of
African people.
It continues to ignore repeated requests
and appeals by the African Union. It was
sad to note that legitimate requests regarding the timing of the trials of
President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Rutto went
unanswered. This attitude has become a major
handicap that fails to reconcile the Court's secondary and complementary role
in fighting impunity. Indeed, the Court's rigidity has proven counterproductive
and stands to undermine the support it enjoys in Africa.
Terrorist
Attack in Kenya
Tanzania condemns in the strongest terms
possible the cowardly terrorist attack that happened last week at the Westgate
Mall in Nairobi, Kenya which left at over
60 innocent people dead and hundreds others injured. I spoke and wrote to
President Uhuru Kenyatta to express our sadness and dismay. I also reaffirm our solidarity with him and
people of Kenya during these difficult moment and the fight against
terrorism. This horrendous attack is a
heart-breaking reminder of the threat that terrorism poses to humanity. Indeed none of us is completely safe from
terrorism as it can happen anywhere, anytime and to anyone.
We must increase vigilance, enhance regional
and global cooperation and scale up the fight against terrorism. The challenge ahead of us cannot be
understated nor underestimated. The
success will depend on our unity of purpose and determination. At this juncture I would like to commend His
Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya for his exemplary
leadership in the wake of the attack and his unshaken resolve and firm
commitment to support the peace building efforts in Somalia and elsewhere. We are with Kenyan people at this time of
distress and grief.
Conclusion
Mr.
President;
In conclusion, I
would like to stress once more that, we are passing through a time of great
opportunity despite the many challenges. We must take advantage of the current
scientific and technological innovations; information and communication
technologies; and knowledge and lessons learned from the implementation of
development programmes, including MDGs to build a world without poverty, hunger,
diseases and deprivation.
A world that protects its environment and
nature. It is possible to have a world
without wars, conflicts and acts of terrorism.
A world where human rights are respected, rule of law observed,
democracy reigns and civil society is regarded as an integral part of the
development endeavour. With stronger multilateralism and the United Nations
leading the way and, with strong political will on the part of national leaders
and the people everything is possible.
We can make our world a better place for everyone to live.
I
thank you for your kind attention.
I salute President JK for mentioning that ICC has ignored AU concerns regarding Kenya's case not even answering the repeated requests.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on his speech.