Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe
Speech Addressing
the U.N. General Assembly
United Nations, New York - September 25, 2008
UNITED NATIONS - Robert Mugabe, President of
Zimbabwe, said that the current food crisis, and attendant escalating food
prices, caused suffering to the majority of poor people in many developing
countries. Compounded by the energy crisis, it had caused devastating social and
economic consequences for the most vulnerable. The crisis was a humanitarian
emergency requiring global solidarity to provide speedy assistance with food,
water and energy needs.
The crisis competed with scarce resources for development and achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals, especially with declining ODA and foreign direct
investment. National efforts to address the global food and energy crises must
be complemented by international interventions, among them, debt cancellation
for low-income, food-deficient developing countries. He urged support for food
production programs, research into better seed varieties, assistance in
irrigation technology and improved water harvesting methods necessary to
mitigate the effects of climate change on agriculture.
He called for an open, rule-based, predictable and non-discriminatory trading
and financial system and the removal of trade barriers, and expressed dismay at
the collapse of the Doha Round of World Trade Organization talks. He further
stressed the importance of just land ownership patterns, and said that
sustainable development was impossible without agrarian reform. Zimbabwe had
created a foundation for sustainable food production through its land reform
program, and had empowered its rural people to be masters of their own destiny.
However, the effects of climate change “and the illegal, unilaterally imposed
sanctions on [the] country have hindered Zimbabwe’s efforts to increase food
production.” He appealed to the world community to pressure the United Kingdom,
the United States and their allies to lift the sanctions.
Mr. Mugabe said that some permanent members of the Security Council had sought
to invoke Chapter VII of the Charter so that its sanctions could be applied
against his “small country, which by any stretch of the imagination is no threat
to international peace and security”. He called the act abuse of the Charter.
Further, he asked what protection small countries had from false allegations of
violations of the rule of law and human rights by those who “are themselves
international perpetrators of genocide, acts of aggression and mass
destruction”. Those who had invaded Iraq under false pretences, in “blatant
violation of the Charter” and at the cost of the lives of “masses of innocent
men, women and children” must be made liable for them, he declared.
He also recognized the important role of the good offices of the
Secretary-General in assisting Member States to resolve political and other
problems, and noted that international civil servants must serve with neutrality
without pandering to the whims of the mighty against the weak. He called on some
members of the Security Council to desist from using the Secretariat to promote
their political interests.
“The Secretary-General and his staff should be allowed to serve all Member
States without fear or favor.” Democratization of the Security Council would
prevent its manipulation by powerful countries. He reiterated his support for
the Ezulwini Consensus, which called for Africa to have two permanent and two
non-permanent seats on the Council, and further called for the revitalization of
the General Assembly.
In closing, he reported the success of negotiations, which had led to the
formation of an all-inclusive Government in Zimbabwe. That had been achieved, he
noted, entirely through African mediation, which demonstrated that Africa was
“capable of solving her challenges and problems […] often the remnants of
colonialism”. He extended his thanks to former South African President Thabo
Mbeki, SADC, the African Union and others who had supported the mediation
initiative, and pledged to abide by the spirit and letter of the agreement.
Finally, he called again for the lifting of sanctions against Zimbabwe so that
it could focus on its economic turnaround program. [Source:
GA/10754]
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