President Kikwete's UN 68th Session General Assembly Debate

7/28/2019 President Kikwete's UN 68th Session General Assembly Debate

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STATEMENT BYHIS EXCELLENCYJAKAYAMRISHO KIKWETE,PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA AT THE

GENERAL DEBATE OF THE 681H SESSION OF THE UNITEDNATIONS' GENERAL ASSEMBLY, NEW YORK, 271H SEPTEMBER,

2013

Mr. President;Mr. Secretary-General;Excellencies;Ladies and Gentlemen;

Allowme to begin by congratulating you Mr. President on your welldeserved election to steer the affairs of 68th General Assembly of ouresteemed organisation. As I congratulate you, Iwould like to assure you ofTanzania's support and cooperation in the discharge of yourresponsibilities. I also wish to acknowledge and commend yourpredecessor, Ris Excllency Vue Jeremic for his outstanding leadership ofthe 67th General Assembly. A lot was achieved because of his visionaryand wise leadership.

In the same vein, I would like to pay glowing tribute to ourillustrious Secretary General for the excellent work he is doing for theUnited Nations and humanity at large.

My delegation and Il find the theme of this year's General Assemblyto be timely and very opportune. Indeed, we should start now to set thestage for the post 2015 development agenda. Renee, for the theme of this68th General Assembly to be "Post-2015 Development Agenda: Setting theStage" is the wisest thing to do. It affords us the opportunity to knowwhere we are with regard to the Millennium Development Goals anddecide what needs to be done to complete the unfinished business andenable us to make informed decision beyond 2015.


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The Status of MDGsMr. President;

Millennium Development Goals framework is the best developmentframework ever developed to address global and national developmentchallenges. The world has never witnessed such a coalescence of concertedefforts into a unified framework It is heartwarming indeed to note thatprogress towards attaining MDGs has been made in the last 13 years.However, the progress varies from one goal to another and is highlyuneven among nations and continents.Mr. President;

Although extreme poverty has been halved at the global level, over1.2 billion people are still trapped in extreme poverty; and an estimated19,000 children under the age of five and around 800women die every daymostly from preventable and curable diseases and other causes. This istotally unacceptable in the world of plenty we live in today where there isunprecedented advancement in science and technology which can beleveraged to solve almost aIl development challenges facing humanity. Ina world which has enough food to feed everybody, nobody should gohungry or be undemourished. In a world with so much wealth, there is noreason why poverty, hunger and deprivation should ever continue toinflict pain and cause misery to many people. I t is incomprehensibletherefore, why theMDG's could not be attained to the fullest.

This reality must be taken into account when we attempt to findways to tackle unfinished business of the 2000MDGs and design the post-2015 development agenda. Mechanismmust be put in place to ensure thatsources of financing will be adequate and reliable.Mr. President;

Tanzania made significant progress in implementing the MDGs. Wehave already achieved the targets in four of the eight MDGs weIl before the


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set deadIine of 2015. On MDG 2 we have achieved a target on universalprimary education enrolment. On MDG 3 we have achieved target ofparity of boys and girls in bath primary and secondary schools enrolment.This is different from the past when there were more boys than girls. As amatter of fact, the trend appears ta be tilting towards getting more girlsthan boys in the near future. We are yet ta meet targets with regard ta theratio of females ta males in tertiary education and in position of decisionmaking particularly Parliament. However, it is possible ta achieve thetarget on Parliamentarians by 2015 by taking advantage of the ongoingConstitutional review process.

We are on target with regard ta reducing HIV/AIDS infection rate,the requirement of MDG 6. Similarly, we have attained MDG 4 on ChildMortality which is big achievement indeed, compared ta where we were inthe year 2000. But it is depressingwe are not on track with regard ta MDG5 on MaternaI Health. We are intensifying efforts ta do better in arder taimprove the maternaI health among Tanzania women.With regard ta MDG 7 on Environmental Sustainability we are ontarget with regard ta drinking water for urban population. But, we arelagging behind with respect ta rural water supply as weIl as access taimproved sanitation bath in rural and urban areas.

That notwithstanding, we have not relented in our pursuit of thetargets in the MDGs which we are not likely ta achieve by 2015. This willbe the unfinished business for which we need ta take action probably overand above what we are doing. We are lagging far behind with regard taMDG 1 in its four main indicators. There is not much possibility ofachieving the targets despite the efforts we have beenmaking.

We have been intensifying actions ta transform and modernise ouragriculture. Our aim Is ta increase productivity and farmers' incarnes asweIl as ensure food and nutrition security for themselves and the nation.


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Agriculture employs 75 percent of the Tanzania population and this iswhere the majority of poor are concentrated. Improved agriculture meansless poor and hungry people. Plans are also underway to expand theconditional cash transfer programme under the Tanzania Social ActionFund supported by the World Bank. We want to increase the size ofinvestment to benefit more vulnerable people so as to accelerate theimplementation of MDG 1 in the shortest possible time.Mr. President;

Generally; it remainsmy firm belief that despite some failures, MDGshave been nothing short of a remarkable success. If the developed countriesprovided the financing as envisaged under MDG 8 and as per theMonterrey Consensus and their own commitment in different fora of theC8 and G20, we would have implemented aIl the MDGs to the letter andspirit. It is in this regard we would find unrealistic any approach to thepost-20I5 Development agenda that does not address the critical issue ofensuring adequate financing. This is also true with regard to acceleratingimplementation of the MDGs in the remalning period.

We will continue to look at the United Nations for guidance andleadership in steeringboth processes to their successful conclusion.

The Reform of the UnitedNationsMr. President;

The fact that the United Nations needs reform is a matter of littledisagreement. Our collective failure to respond to this reality createsscepticism on our common resolve to strengthen an institution that ismeant to serve nations and peoples. The reform we demand is longoverdue. While we welcome discussions on the reform of the ECOSOC,Africa will not relent in demanding reform of the Security Council so thatthe continent, with the largest membership of the UN, has a permanentvotee.


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Global and Regional Conflict SituationMr. President;

Regrettably conflicts have continued to interfere in our developmentendeavours as they linger on in different parts of the world, from the Sahelto eastern DRC, Syria to Afghanistan, and other areas. They have causedenormous loss of innocent lives as populations continue to endure untoldsufferings. The recent use of chemical weapons in Syria as confirmed bythe United Nations inspections team to kill innocent people is ratherdistressing. We condemn such flagrant and senseless killing of innocentpeople including children in Syria. We commend the Secretary General andthe UNSC for way they handle the matter. I believe the doors for apeaceful solution to the Syrian problem are not closed and that a militarysolution should be the last resort.

The Situation in the Great Lakes Region and DRCMr, President;

The United Republic of Tanzania regrets to see the suffering of thepeople of DRC as a consequence of the conflict in Eastern DRC hascontinued for far too long. We hope this time around the initiative of theSecretary General which resulted in the establishment of the Peace,Security and Cooperation Framework for the Great Lakes Region and DRCsigned in February, 2013 will deliver lasting peace, security anddevelopment for the DRC and the Great Lakes Region. We highlycommend the UN Secretary General for his vision and leadership in thisregards. We welcome the choice ofHer Excellency Mary Robinson, formerPresident of Ireland as the United Nations' Special Envoy for the GreatLakes Region. She will surely help advance the cause of peace in theregion if supported by aIl of us in the region and the internationalcommunity.


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Part of the enduring problem facing the DRC is the proliferation ofarmed groups with varied interests. Bolder action is required to uprootthese negative elements. These groups should be neutralized anddisarmed. I t is in this context that we welcomed MONUSCO's expandedmandate as pe r resolution 2098 (2013) of the Security Council that amongother things established the Force Intervention Brigade (Fm). Tanzaniaagreed to contribute troops to the FIB because it can help to deterbelligerence and create a conducive environment for a political process totake effect. Of course the panacea to the DRC problem is political ratherthan military.

Tanzania's Role in PeacekeepingMr. President;

Since 2007 Tanzania ha s become proactive in contributing troops tothe United Nations Peacekeeping Operations. With over 2,500 peacekeepers in Lebanon, Darfur an d the Democratie Republic of Congo, we areth e 6th contributor of military and police peacekeepers in Africa and 12thglobally. We are partaking this noble endeavour, as members of the UnitedNations with the duty of advancing and upholding the ideals of ouresteemed organisation.

We are satisfied that our contribution, though modest, is having abroader impact to those who have experienced the horrors of conflict. Inthis endeavours ou r peacekeepers have paid th e ultimate priee as was t hecase with the loss of we seven brave soldiers in Darfur, Sudan underUNAMID and tw o in Eastern DRC under MONUSCO. These are ournational heroes whose sacrifices are n ot i n vain.

The death of our peacekeepers wa s a grim reminder of th e dangersfacing peacekeepers around the world. I t is disturbing that, a rmed g ro up sand peace spoilers are increasingly attacking these servants of peace. Wemust unreservedly condemn aIl these attacks as there is no cause or


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justification for such barbarie attack which constitute a crime underinternational law. The UN Security Council whose primary role is themaintenance of international peace and security should be in the forefrontin condemning such barbarie acts in good time.

Unilateral Sanctions and EmbargoMr. President;

At this juncture, I wish to reiterate our calI for ending unilateraleconomie, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba which haslasted for more than 50 years. Our calI to end this unilateral embargo is notonly predicated on its legality but also on humanitarian concernsparticularly the negative effects of the quality of life of innocent Cubans.

We are deeply encouraged by recent developments especially ofremoving restrictions on family travel, cash remittances andtelecommunication services. We believe this spirit will culminate into totalcessation of the embargo in not to distant a future so that Cubans will berelieved of enormous economie, social and financial hardships they haveendured for far too long.

Western SaharaMy. President;

The quest to resolve the dispute over the sovereignty of WesternSahara is also long overdue. It is high time that the United Nations tookbold actions to give the people of Saharawi the opportunity to decide ontheir fate. I t is incomprehensible why the Security Council which has beenable to handle bigger security challenges cannot decide on the matter fornearly forty years now.

International Criminal Court

Excellencies;


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Ladies and Gentlemen;You will agree with me that the Rome Statute establishing the

International Criminal Court (ICC) was a major milestone of theinternational criminal justice system. Indeed, the Court's creation as amachinery for fighting impunity was only possible with the support ofAfrica.

However, a decade after its entry into force, a rift has grown betweenthe Court and the continent. The court is perceived as irresponsive to whatare, in our view, legitimate concerns of African people.

It continues to ignore repeated requests and appeals by the AfricanUnion. I t was sad to note that Iegitimate requests regarding the timing ofthe trials of PresidentUhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruttowent unanswered. This attitude has become a major handicap that fails toreconcile the Court's secondary and complementary role in fightingimpunity. Indeed, the Court's rigidity has proven counterproductive andstands to undermine the support it enjoys in Africa.Terrons! Attack in Kenya

Tanzania condemns in the strongest terms possible the cowardlyterrorist attack that happened last week at the WestgateMall in Nairobi,Kenya which left at over 60 innocent people dead and hundreds othersinjured. I spoke and wrote to President Uhuru Kenyatta to express oursadness and dismay. I also reaffirm our solidarity with him and people ofKenya during these difficultmoment and the fight against terrorism. Thishorrendous attack is a heart-breaking reminder of the threat that terrorismposes to humanity. Indeed none of us is completely safe from terrorism asi t can happen anywhere, anytime and to anyone.

We must increase vigilance, enhance regional and global cooperationand scale up the fight against terrorism. The challenge ahead of us cannotbe understated nor underestimated. The success will depend on our unity


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of purpose and determination. At this juncture I would like to commendHis Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya for hisexemplary leadership in the wake of the attack and his unshaken resolveand firm commitment to support the peace building efforts in Somalia andelsewhere. We are with Kenyan people at this time of distress and grief.

ConclusionMr. President;

In conclusion, I would like to stress once more that, we are passingthrough a time of great opportunity despitethe many challenges. We musttake advantage of the current scientific and technological innovations;information and communication technologies; and knowledge and lessonsleamed from the implementation of development programmes, includingMDGs to build a world without poverty, hunger, diseases and deprivation.

A world that protects its environment and nature. I t is possible tohave a world without wars, conflicts and acts of terrorism. A world wherehuman rights are respected, rule of law observed, democracy reigns andcivil society is regarded as an integral part of the development endeavour.With strongermultilateralism and the United Nations leading the way and,with strong political will on the part of national leaders and the peopleeverything is possible. We can make our world a better place for everyoneto live.

1 thank you for your kind attention.


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President Kikwete's UN 68th Session General Assembly Debate

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