Permanent Mission of the
United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations
STATEMENT BY
AMBASSADOR HASSAN KIBELLOH
PERMANENT SECRETARY
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
AND INTERNATIONAL
COOPERATION
OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF
TANZANIA
IN THE GENERAL DEBATE
OF THE 55TH SESSION
OF THE UNITED NATIONS
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
FRIDAY, 22 SEPTEMBER, 2000
Mr. President,
At the outset I should like
to congratulate you on your well-deserved election to the Presidency of this
Millennium Assembly. I wish also to congratulate your predecessor for his
invaluable contribution and his outstanding leadership during the 54th General
Assembly. In the same vein, I should like to register my delegation's appreciation
to the Secretary General for the excellent manner he is conducting the affairs
of our Organization. Let me also take this opportunity to express our delight
in welcoming the Republic of Tuvalu as the newest member of the United Nations
family.
Mr. President,
Tanzania is gratified that
the recently concluded Millennium Summit has addressed some of the most
pertinent issues and challenges facing the United Nations and its members in
the new millennium. The issues include development and poverty eradication,
effects of globalization, including technological disparities; conflict
prevention management and resolution; disarmament; the HIV/AIDS pandemic,
malaria and tuberculosis. It was recognized that Africa, and particularly the
least developed countries, suffer most and hence demand urgent remedial action
by the international community.
Mr. President,
Poverty remains one of the
areas of great concern in Africa. The number of poor people in our region
living on less than one dollar a day is estimated to be 300 million. This
number represents more than 40% of Africa's total population. Indications are
that the number of poor people in the continent is likely to increase as
Africa's output continues to drop. There is therefore a dire need for a
comprehensive strategy for Africa to address poverty eradication in all its aspects.
The strategy should include a compendium of measures aimed at capacity building
in the development process, including social services.
The implementation of such
a far-reaching strategy for poverty eradication would very much depend on
the availability of resources. Bearing in mind that in 2001 the United Nations
will convene an international conference on financing for development, it
is our hope that the issue of mobilizing resources for development of Africa
will be thoroughly addressed.
Mr. President,
Official Development
Assistance (ODA) continues to be particularly critical in supporting the
development efforts in Africa and the least developed countries. It is sad to
note that ODA flows have fallen to an all time low of 0.2%, far from the agreed
target of 0.7% of GNP of developed countries. My delegation therefore wishes to
appeal to our development partners to reverse the trend of declining resources
and increase the level of ODA contributions.
Mr. President,
Many African countries are
undertaking painful reform measures aimed at attracting Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI). However, FDI flows have been minimal. Investors should feel
encouraged to invest In Africa because the competitive rate of return on FDI
stands at between 24% and 30%. This rate is higher than that of all developed
countries which stand at between 16% and 18%. We therefore call on governments
and relevant international organizations to assist in sensitizing potential
international investors to direct their investment to Africa.
Mr. President,
The various debt relief
initiatives pursued by the international community have been helpful but not
sufficient in providing meaningful solution to the debt problem of the
developing countries. In some of these countries, external debt service
constitutes a major drain on scarce resources taking at least 30% of the
national income.
In this regard we welcome
the Heavily Indebted Countries Initiative (HIPC) to support some of the poor
countries in their efforts to resolve the external debt problem. My government
is appreciative that it is one of the countries which have attained eligibility
under this scheme. We call upon the concerned institutions to speed up the
process towards our reaching the completion point so that we can fully benefit
from the HIPC relief.
Commenting on the HIPC
Initiative, our President, H.E. Benjamin William Mkapa, had this to say:
"Tanzania welcomes the
revisions made to the HIPC Initiative. If implemented in full they will provide
additional debt relief, which in turn will facilitate the war on poverty and
contribute to sustainable growth and development if managed well. However,
if growth is to be sustained, adequate levels of external funding must complement
our economic reform efforts. Debt relief under the HIPC Initiative should
also not be a substitute for increased bilateral non-debt-creating aid, and
neither should it be financed through reallocation of committed aid.”
Even while acknowledging the
importance of the HIPC initiative, the burden of meeting debt service payments
even after debt relief would remain heavy for most of the least developed
countries. We therefore call upon the donor community to increase HIPC debt
relief and consider additional relief measures, including debt cancellation,
so that scarce resources are released to cater foeconomic development and
poverty eradication programmes.
Mr. President,
The development of LDCs
depends on improvement of their production capacity for goods and services.
Improvement of the terms of trade and market access for LDCs' goods in the
developed countries' markets would further contribute towards poverty
eradication efforts. In this regard, we call upon developed countries to
provide unhindered market access for goods from developing countries, particularly
least developed countries.
In the same context, my
delegation calls for speedy implementation of the Integrated Framework of the
WTO that will facilitate the integration of LDCs into the world trading system.
Mr. President,
The development process of
developing countries very much depends on access to technology and the endogenous
capacity to develop it. We are encouraged that the Millennium Summit has reiterated
the need to assist developing countries to leapfrog into new technologies
in order to close the existing technological gap between developed and developing
countries, especially LDCs. It is our hope that the Millennium Declaration
will be translated into a concrete programme of action to assist developing
countries in developing critical technologies, including information technologies
needed for their development. We therefore call upon our development partners,
and all relevant international institutions to facilitate the transfer of
technology, including environmentally sound technologies, on favourable terms.
Mr. President,
My delegation believes that
South-South cooperation is an important means of realizing some of the objectives
for economic development. Tanzania fully supports the programme of action
adopted last April in Havana by the South Summit.
Mr. President,
Tanzania recognizes and fully
supports the role of women in the development process. To this end, the government
has adopted a number of specific measures aimed at enhancing the participation
of women in decision-making processes, equal access to education and health,
and, to credit on a preferential basis. In the area of representation, for
example, the government has increased the minimum quota of women parliamentarians
from 15% to 20%. The government has also passed legislation that criminalizes
discriminatory activities against women. Furthermore, the Land Act was revised
in 1999 to enable women to own land-the major means of production in Tanzania.
Tanzania is firmly committed to implementing the Beijing Platform of Action.
We therefore call on the international community to support our efforts in
this regard.
Mr. President,
Serious pandemics such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis are
threatening the economic and social development of developing countries, especially
of Africa and the least developed countries. For example, the scale of the
HIV/AIDS pandemic has grown to alarming proportions in Africa. The Security
Council has recognized this menace as constituting a security threat.
Moreover, the Millennium Summit has underscored the urgency of adopting
effective action to combat the scourge. Tanzania urges the international
community to assist developing countries in this endeavour, particularly in
education and access to affordable treatment.
Mr. President,
Disarmament, peace and
security continue to be crucial to the aspirations of all humanity and
therefore they constitute a critical challenge of the new millennium. The
existence of huge arsenals of nuclear weapons poses a major potential threat to
world peace and security. These weapons continue to represent a threat to the
survival of mankind. Tanzania calls for the complete destruction and
elimination of all nuclear weapons. The United Nations also needs to urgently
address the problem of small arms and light weapons which fuel most of the
ongoing conflicts in various regions of the world. In this context, we strongly
support the convening of the 2001 International Conference on Illicit Trade of
Small and Light Weapons.
Mr. President,
The Millennium Summit did
address extensively the conflict situations existing in some countries,
including those of Africa. The Summit reaffirmed the existence of an intrinsic
link between peace and development which requires an integrated approach to
conflict prevention, management and resolution. While supporting the United
Nations peace efforts we note with concern that in African conflicts there has
been slow and inadequate response from the United Nations.
In Angola, it is with
apprehension that we bear witness to the continuing hostilities and grave
humanitarian situation brought about by Jonas Savimbi and his organization
UNITA, who have blatantly violated the decisions of the Security Council
regarding the implementation of the Lusaka protocol. It is disturbing that
Savimbi has been able to sustain his insurgency by violating the sanctions
imposed against UNITA by the Security Council. We call upon the international
community to continue its support to the government of Angola.
On Burundi, my delegation is
pleased to note that after protracted negotiations between the parties involved
in the Burundi conflict the Burundi Peace and Reconciliation Agreement was
concluded in Arusha, Tanzania on 28th
August, 2000. We welcome the Agreement and commend the Facilitator, President
Nelson Mandela, for his role in reconciling the parties. We also commend the regional leaders
for their efforts in support of the Burundi peace process.
Although a small number of parties to the conflict did
not sign the agreement, efforts were made to ensure that all of them sign the
peace accord. As I speak here, most of the parties have now signed. It is our
hope that the parties will abide by the terms of the agreement and afford the
people of Burundi the opportunity to realize their aspirations for peace and
development. We call upon the United Nations and the international community to
extend its support to the Agreement.
As for the DRC, the Lusaka
Peace Agreement remains the basis for the resolution of the conflict in that
country. It is unfortunate that there is an impasse in the implementation of
the agreement. One of the reasons for the existing situation is due to the
mistrust among the parties. The delay in the deployment of MONUC has created a vacuum which has
further contributed to the impasse. Tanzania supports Security Council
resolution 1234 of 1999 calling for the withdrawal of uninvited forces from the
DRC. We also urge the Security Council to deploy the peacekeeping force in the
DRC as soon as possible.
On Somalia, we welcome the
agreement reached in Djibouti on the formation of the government of that country. In this regard, we congratulate the government of Djibouti for its constructive role in the reconciliation process.
Concerning Western Sahara,
Tanzania reiterates its support for the self-determination of the Saharawi
people and the effort of the United Nations to
organize and supervise an impartial, free and fair referendum in accordance
with the Settlement Plan for Western Sahara and the relevant Security Council
and United Nations resolutions. We urge the United Nations to conduct, as soon
as possible, the referendum on the basis of
the
preparations that have so far been made. The lessons of East Timor should not be ignored.
On the Middle East, Tanzania
continues to support the cause of the Palestinian people. In
this regard, we welcome the ongoing peace process aimed at achieving a
comprehensive, just and lasting peace in that volatile region.
Mr. President,
There is a direct linkage between
conflicts and the incidence of
refugees and
internally displaced persons. In this respect, Tanzania finds itself in a
very difficult situation of hosting more than 800,000 refugees, most of whom are products of the crisis in the
Great Lakes region. This is a huge burden for a poor country like Tanzania.
Besides, refugees pose many problems relating to security and environmental
degradation. There is urgent need for the international community to increase
its support to the refugees as well as the refugee-hosting countries. In the
same vein, we reiterate our call for international burden sharing and responsibility
in refugee situations. A final solution to the refugee situation lies in resolving
conflicts so as to enable the repatriation of refugees to their countries
of origin.
Mr. President,
One of the pressing reform
issues in the United Nations is the reform of the Security Council. Among the
significant changes of our time is the liberalization and democratization of
economic as well as political processes. The Security Council cannot persist in
being an exception. Its composition and powers must bear a relationship to the
democratic ideals necessary for its continued relevance and legitimacy. It is
our hope that the Council membership would be expanded in both categories and
that such expansion should include both developed and developing countries.
Furthermore, Tanzania
believes that the capacity of the United Nations to effectively carry out its
mandate is contingent upon the willingness of all Member States to support it
politically as well as financially. In this regard, we call upon the Member
States to provide it with adequate resources on a timely and predictable basis.
Tanzania also welcomes the many reform proposals and measures that have been
made and introduced to improve work methods, both at the Secretariat and
intergovernmental levels. For this effort to succeed, there has to be consensus
within Member States on the best method to manage change in the United Nations.
Mr. President,
In conclusion, allow me to
observe that this Millennium Assembly, like the preceding Summit is an act of
partnership. We can only hope therefore that the renewed enthusiasm and the
recommitment to the Charter of the United Nations would galvanize our energies
and enable us to rise and fulfill the hopes and aspirations of this
organization and its people as espoused in the Millennium Declaration.
Mr. President,
I thank you.