Hon. Mulambo Haimbe, SC, M.P, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation addressed the high-level General Debate of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Saturday, 28th September 2024.
The theme for this year’s General Debate is: “Leaving no one behind: Acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations.”
In this regard, Hon. Haimbe highlighted that the creation of the United Nations almost 80 years ago provided new hope for the international community in the maintenance of international peace and security, promotion of justice and improvement of living conditions for all people.
The Minister highlighted that the impact of conflict in some parts of the world has been felt across Africa through disruptions, soaring prices of key commodities such as energy and other inputs of trade nd production, resulting in increased cost of living.
At the regional level, the Minister highlighted the crucial role Zambia played as chairmanship of Southern African Development Community (SADC) Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation for the period August 2023 to August 2024.
He noted that the security and political situation in the region remains stable with pockets of security challenges in some of our Member States such as the situation in the eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Cabo Delgado Province in Mozambique which SADC remains seized with.
Furthermore, Zambia recognises the efforts of His Excellency Mr. João Manuel Lourenço, President of the Republic of Angola as the African Union Mediator in the facilitation of the Luanda process aimed at restoring Peace and Security in the Eastern DRC as well as the Nairobi Process that equally aims at fostering peace in the DRC.
Hon. Haimbe underscored the need for the full actualisation of the Loss and Damage Fund to help developing countries cope with climate related disasters, and extreme weather events cannot be overemphasized.
He called for further reforms to streamline the existing G-20 Framework for Debt Restructuring in order to enhance certainty and reduce the time it takes to conclude the process.
Further, Zambia joined calls for the reform of the international financial architecture to make it fit-for-purpose and equitably address the development needs of all countries in the 21st century.
He highlighted that International tax cooperation could significantly reduce illicit financial flows, a scourge that deprives economies, especially those in the developing world, of critical funding for development.
The Minister noted that Zambia, together with Sweden, negotiated a Global Digital Compact, which was adopted by the General Assembly.
The Minister noted that Zambia continues to make strides in the campaign to end Child Marriage by 2030 and safeguard the rights of girls by enacting relevant legislation to address this vice.
He further noted that President Hakainde Hichilema being the African Union Champion on Ending Child Marriage, Zambia is pleased to report that the campaign is growing from strength to strength, with 32 of the 54 countries on the continent having launched national campaigns to end child marriage.
He highlighted the need to reform the Security Council so as to make better equipped and strengthened its capacity to discharge its responsibilities of maintaining and safeguarding international peace and security.