YouSaid · the spoken record

Frederick Chiluba

lines on the record: 41
first: 1999-09-24
most recent: 2001-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“I have tried my best during my tenure of office and can therefore only hope that I have lived and performed up to your 17 expectations. Soon Zambia will have a new president. It is my hope that he will be accorded the same support and cooperation you have so kindly given to me in the last ten years.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Debt relief, debt cancellation, increased production, accessibility to export markets, better terms of trade and economic integration — these mark the way forward to African development, sustainable growth and poverty reduction. Under economic growth and improved social conditions, democracy and good governance will be sustained and conflicts reduced and managed, while peace and security will last. The time has come for me to thank the people of Zambia for having given me the privilege and honour of serving in the distinguished capacity of President of the Republic of Zambia, to thank my colleagues in Africa for entrusting me with the chairmanship of the OAU and for their confidence and support and to thank all of you in the international community.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“I wish to take this opportunity to express Africa’s appreciation to the Group of 8 which, at its meeting in Genoa, Italy, in July, endorsed the African initiative. I also wish to thank the European Union, which, during our meeting last month in Brussels, pledged its full support of the initiative. It is important to note also that Africa has been an active participant in global trade liberalization initiatives. We thank the Government of the United States for the practical step it has taken through the African Growth and Opportunity Act. It is a pioneering example in expanding trade and export opportunities for Africa and for development.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The thirty-seventh session of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Assembly of Heads of State and Government, held in Lusaka, Zambia, last July, took Africa to a new historical stage when it launched the African Union (AU). The AU will elevate Africa’s integration agenda by forging a more cohesive political union, while also creating an economic community of nations. The Union also seeks to promote new levels of partnerships with the international community, particularly in the areas of sustainable economic growth and development and of peace and security. At the Lusaka Summit, the OAU also adopted a new economic-centred recovery programme and poverty reduction strategy called the New African Initiative, which is now called the New Partnership for African Development.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“We are asking for more African countries to have access to the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC), so that they could use the freed resources to build infrastructure such as schools, combat diseases, provide safe drinking water and invest in income-generating community activities because, eventually, these are the measures which will reduce poverty. We further call on the international community to intensify and accelerate initiatives that should bring debt cancellation to the poor countries. There cannot be a credible solution to the problem of poverty in Africa without debt cancellation. The continent of Africa has accepted and fully shares the responsibilities that come with globalization. As a developing continent, we need to continue to reorganize ourselves to face the challenges of the time.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“On the one hand, the resulting huge trade deficits of African nations reduce their purchasing power for the technology, equipment and investment capital they need for economic growth and development. On the other hand, the deficit increases the foreign debt and shrinks public investment programmes for infrastructure and education and health delivery systems, thereby further suppressing the very conditions necessary for development and the eradication of poverty. Africa is not asking for charity! No. What Africa is asking for is more accessible conditions for its raw materials and products, and for prices that are fair and conducive to development. We are not asking for charity. No.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The advent of HIV/AIDS, coupled with centuries-old diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis and with many other communicable yet curable diseases such as cholera, dysentery and diarrhoea, has reduced African life expectancy from 68 years to 50 years, and in some countries to only a pathetic 38 years. The mortality rate for children under the age of 5 years is 140 per 1,000 births on the average. Such adverse social conditions cannot be at all conducive to economic development and improvement in the standard of living. These conditions have to be changed for the better. The development process of post-colonial or independent Africa has also accumulated debt and suffered negative terms of trade for its raw materials and products exported to the developed countries.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Our final objective is to bring about justice, political liberation, economic development and a fair social system that will promote the human rights of individuals, the national sovereignty of States and mutually beneficial regional and global interdependence and cooperation. 16 The African economic and social condition has been on the agenda of the United Nations since Africa’s decade of independence. Slavery, colonialism and apartheid, and now pervasive poverty, misery and squalor for the majority of our people continue to ravage the continent with negative consequences for human life.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The African continent, with barely 40 years of independence, has suffered centuries of fractured development, deprivation of resources and the political and social suppression of its people. These are the conditions at the centre of Africa’s current struggle to redress both the political and economic imbalances. The United Nations World Conference against Racism, held in South Africa this year, took a major historical step by refocusing on that human injustice of the past, whose consequences continue to ravage our societies to this day. The Conference condemned the slave trade, slavery, colonialism and apartheid as crimes against humanity. The condemnation of past injustices should be made on the premise that we now have the will, the resolve and the commitment to embark upon the process of healing, reconciliation and redress.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“I would therefore like to appeal to the international community, through the Assembly, to provide the necessary assistance to Sir Ketumile Masire, the facilitator of the inter-Congolese dialogue, to enable him to proceed with organizing the dialogue and to conclude the peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In particular, I wish to make a special appeal to all those who have made pledges to the facilitator to release these pledges urgently. Conflicts do not stand alone or develop in a vacuum. Political conflicts and social tension are a result of imbalances in the dispensation of political power, economic wealth and benefits, as well as of social suppression, segregation and the repression of one or more groups of people on the basis of race, ethnicity or even religion.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Our men and women have served as peacekeepers in Europe, in Asia and in the Middle East because we believe that peace is indivisible. Africa therefore expects that, just as we are ready and willing to serve in the promotion and defence of peace everywhere, so, too, should the international community be willing to be full partners in the search for peace in Africa. In this regard, I cannot help but register our disappointment that after the painstaking efforts by Sir Ketumile Masire to organize the inter-Congolese national dialogue in Addis Ababa on 15 October 2001, and notwithstanding the many pledges made to finance it, the dialogue could not take off due partly to insufficient funds.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Most recently, a Transitional Government of National Unity was inaugurated in Burundi on 1 November 2001, as a culmination of efforts started by the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and completed by Nelson Mandela, two of Africa’s most distinguished sons. It is clear from the foregoing that what Africa needs to successfully resolve the conflicts on the continent is the moral, practical and financial support of the international community. Africa has always believed in the dictum that in unity there is strength. We believe that all nations belong to a common global community with a shared destiny and shared responsibilities. To this end, Africa has always been ready and willing to participate in efforts to restore peace where peace has broken down, irrespective of the location of the region.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Instead, Africa has acknowledged responsibility for these conflicts and has spearheaded efforts to bring peace wherever there have been conflicts. It was Africa, through the efforts of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, that brought about an end to the Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict. The guns were silenced in Liberia and Sierra Leone, thanks to the efforts of the leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), who are still leading the effort to bring peace to the Mano River basin. The leaders of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) have continued to seek peaceful settlements in Sudan and Somalia, while the Lusaka peace processes have addressed the conflicts in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“We have witnessed conflict in the Mano River basin involving Sierra 15 Leone, Liberia and Guinea; the situations in Sudan and Somalia are yet to be settled; disturbances recently erupted in the Comoros; and violence continues to threaten the constitutionally elected Government in the Central African Republic. The Great Lakes region remains a tinderbox, while the conflict in Angola has experienced no movement towards resolution for quite some time now. Meanwhile, the ceasefire agreement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is yet to be fully implemented. Africa does not lack the political will or resolve to find solutions to these conflicts. Neither has Africa sat back and waited for the outside world to come and resolve these conflicts.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“We remain resolute and resolutely committed to, and united in, the pursuit of this goal. However, let me also hasten to add that, in spite of its gravity and magnitude, the threat of terrorism must not override or deduct from the appropriate focus on the outstanding matters on the global agenda. Burning issues such as the scourge of conflicts, poverty eradication, the debt problem and the HIV/AIDS pandemic, among other things, should continue to be accorded the necessary attention they so much deserve. While many good things and positive developments have been taking place on the African continent, these are, nevertheless, largely overshadowed by the many conflicts that continue to rage in a number of our countries.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Indeed, today more than ever before, the entire world seems more conscious of, and gripped by, the evil of international terrorism and the consequent loss of life and destruction of property. Terrorism is an affront to humanity. It is a heinous and cowardly act that is hated almost as much as we hated apartheid or any form of racism. It is for these reasons that Africa has for a long time been fighting international terrorism. In Algiers, Algeria, in 1999, we, as African leaders, took a mammoth decision by adopting a Convention on the prevention and combating of all forms of terrorism. Although the Convention has not entered into force, Africa has since then been seeking international support in the adoption of appropriate strategies for the effective eradication of the multiple root causes of terrorism.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“I am addressing this session in my dual capacity as President of the Republic of Zambia and current Chairman of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). This occasion holds a special significance to me as I make my last statement to the General Assembly as President of the Republic of Zambia, having almost come to the end of my second and last tenure of office of my country. This year the general debate of the General Assembly is taking place in November instead of two months ago, because of the tragic events of 11 September. Those developments united us on the need to postpone this session, just as we were united in our resolve to fight international terrorism, which knows no boundaries.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Let me begin by congratulating you, Mr. President, on your election as President of this fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly. My delegation pledges its support and cooperation to you and your country as you discharge your important responsibilities. I also wish to take this opportunity to pay tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri of Finland, President of the fifty-fifth session. We are grateful to him for the able and successful manner in which he presided over the session. I wish to salute the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, on his re-election to the helm of the United Nations, which is an attestation of the commitment and the dynamism with which he has guided the Organization during this period of great challenge.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Justice must prevail in our economic relations in order to lay the foundation for political and social justice. A start should now be made by reviewing the inequitable conditions imposed by the World Trade Organization, which, if maintained, will only ensure continued marginalization of third world countries, condemning them to poverty and further instability. I am quite aware that this forum may not be the appropriate one for addressing these issues, but it definitely has the right people to address the issues I have raised. Therefore, my fervent prayer and hope is that we enter the new millennium with a renewed sense of unity of purpose to eradicate manifest global injustices and create a more equitable world where want will not create chaos and instability.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“There are various ways the world can come to the aid of Africa, the most important of which are through aid and by creating conditions to make it possible for Africa to trade with the international community on terms acceptable to all. Africa is not asking for charity. No, Africa is asking for genuine trade. Africa is not asking for arms. No, Africa is asking for fair and equitable recompense for its labour and resources. Africa is not asking for pity, but genuine partnership based on mutual interests. 22 The relationship between poverty and political instability can no longer be in any way doubted. It is not good enough for the developed world to demand good governance — an indefinable term — while creating conditions of poverty by bad governance in the economic area.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Events in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Kosovo and now in East Timor cannot but exert more pressure on the time and resources of the international community in general and particularly on the Security Council. But this is the mission of that world body: to attend to just such areas of conflict. Admittedly, these are the most perilous times Africa has ever faced. The multiple dangers of armed conflict and general political instability and the ever-growing danger posed by the HIV/AIDS pandemic can only call for concerted joint world efforts to help reduce the dangers that face Africa and the world in general.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“These developments, coming towards the close of the twentieth century, are an indictment of the world’s global structures, which pose today, more than at any other time in history, a challenge to the very articles of faith upon which this organization was founded. The challenges cannot be wished away, nor can they be remedied by empty words. Global poverty can be eradicated only with a concerted global programme. Solving the issue of poverty would solve the problem of conflict and instability in the developing countries, and unless the world addresses these underlying causes of conflict, they will continue to be major sources of friction that will threaten and undermine international peace and security.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“I need not remind the Assembly of the solemn and important responsibility that the United Nations bears on behalf of us all in the maintenance of international peace and security. It is, therefore, incumbent upon it to ensure that peace prevails in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To this end, it should learn from the lessons of the past and avoid costly mistakes. Time is of the essence. What is equally of the essence is the need to address the root causes of the poverty confronting third world countries. The world community must tackle those root causes with speed and urgency. This session of the General Assembly is meeting against a backdrop of growing tensions and armed conflicts, especially in the third world.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“To this end, I make an earnest appeal to the United Nations that the Organization, first, should authorize and support the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with an appropriate mandate and, on an appropriate scale, based on the assessed needs on the ground; second, it should quickly dispatch the technical survey team to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in addition to the team of military liaison personnel which has already been sent to that country and some of its neighbours; third, it should make available adequate resources for the peacekeeping mission; fourth, it should extend necessary and adequate support to facilitate the process of internal dialogue within the Democratic Republic of the Congo; fifth, it should help in the mobilization of humanitarian assistance for the Congolese refugees and internally displaced persons and facilitate their return and resettlement; and sixth, it should assist with resources for the economic reconstruction of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The Commission is scheduled to meet again on 10 October 1999. For peace to prevail in the Democratic Republic of Congo, United Nations support for the successful and comprehensive implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement is of paramount importance. For this reason, I wish to commend the Secretary-General for his timely and positive response in sending a team of military liaison personnel to the region. The United Nations must move more expeditiously than it has in the past if the job it does is to be commensurate with the tasks facing it in the field.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Both the Political Committee and the Joint Military Commission met on 2 and 3 September 1999 in Lusaka with the participation of all members except the MLC, whose representatives were not able to travel to Lusaka because of logistical constraints. Among the issues considered by the meetings were: first, the formal installation of the Chairman of the Commission, Brigadier-General Rachid Lallali, from Algeria; the budget of the Joint Military Commission; its structures; and its programme of work. The representative of OAU briefed the meetings on OAU activities in support of the peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the United Nations representative briefed them on the relationship that is expected to prevail between the United Nations and the Joint Military Commission.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“I am pleased to inform the Assembly that these efforts culminated in the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement by the MLC and the RCD on 1 August and 31 August 1999 respectively. Allow me at this juncture to place on record my sincere appreciation for the cooperation and assistance I received from all my colleagues in the region and other African leaders, the United Nations, OAU and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the execution of my mandate. The Ceasefire Agreement is an all-embracing document which addresses all aspects of the conflict, including the security concerns of all the countries neighbouring the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I wish to inform the Assembly that the implementation process of the Agreement has already 21 begun in earnest.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“On 10 July 1999, our perseverance on the regional and Pan-African levels finally paid off when heads of State of all the six States parties to the conflict signed the Ceasefire Agreement in Lusaka. Unfortunately, a split in the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) the previous May led to differences over who should sign the Agreement on behalf of the movement, which prevented them from appending their signature on that occasion. The other non-State party to the conflict, the MLC, also chose not to sign the Agreement until the differences within the RCD were resolved. In order to secure the signatures of the RCD and the MLC, I was mandated by the regional heads of State to carry out further consultations with the two movements.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“For a period of almost a year, I have, on behalf of our region, carried out exhaustive consultations inside and outside Zambia, and convened a number of meetings at the level of experts and Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministers. Let me state here that, right from the outset, regional leaders acknowledged the need to involve the Congolese rebel movement in the mediation process to ensure that the outcome would be respected by and acceptable to all. The process initially engaged the rebel movement through a proximity mechanism. Later, however, the rebels, who now included the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC), were invited to participate directly in the peace talks with all the other parties to the conflict.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“As the Assembly is aware, this unfortunate state of affairs was occasioned by the intransigence of UNITA with regard to the implementation of the remaining tasks under the Lusaka Protocol. Every effort should therefore be made to bring an end to the hostilities. With regard to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Assembly will recall that on 2 August 1998 a conflict erupted in that country. In response to this serious development, a series of efforts by regional heads of State and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) were immediately undertaken in search of a peaceful solution to the conflict. At the summit held at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, from 7 to 8 September 1998, the regional heads of State mandated me to chair the regional mediation effort, with the assistance of OAU.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“It is my hope that the United Nations will therefore embrace the outcome of the Conference and provide the necessary leadership in the fight against this pandemic, which threatens the very survival of humankind. The AIDS problem deserves our collective moral and political will to combat it successfully. Let me now turn to the phenomenon of the conflicts which have continued to bedevil Africa. In our own Southern African subregion, the conflicts in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are not only a threat to peace and security but have also been a major impediment to the economic development of the region. The resumption of hostilities in Angola in December 1998, after four years of relative peace following the signing of the Lusaka Protocol, is regrettable.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“It is therefore necessary for all humanity to rise to regard HIV/AIDS as a global problem and to act in unison. I therefore call upon the international community to redouble its efforts in fighting this scourge. Let me take this opportunity to report to this body that last week, from 12 to 16 September 1999, Zambia hosted the eleventh International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Africa. The holding of that Conference, which adopted a programme of action to fight the spread of this deadly disease in Africa in the twenty- first century, is among other things a demonstration of the African continent’s commitment to fight against this deadly disease.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Our efforts are, however, hampered by the huge debt burden which takes away large amounts of resources from our countries through debt servicing. The declining levels of official development assistance and foreign direct investment to our countries, combined with the debt burden, have made economic reforms difficult and have slowed down the pace of economic growth and development. 20 The solution to this is for all concerned to approach the question of debt with open minds, with a view to finding a lasting solution to the problem. Added to that problem is the spread of HIV/AIDS. This is a matter of grave concern to my country and to Africa as a whole. This disease has continued to overwhelm the continent and to rob it of its meagre material and financial resources through devastation of its youthful and active population.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“It is the view of my Government that the Group of Eight target for debt relief of about $100 billion for the poorest countries in the world, the majority of which are in Africa, will have little effect on the problem unless the terms of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative are further revised in such a way as to make them more flexible and better tailored to suit the specific conditions of the targeted countries. Many of us in the developing countries understand that, in order to survive and contribute positively in the global markets, we need to make our economies more competitive. In this regard, many of our countries have embarked on the implementation of structural adjustment programmes.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“While we welcome the recent outcome of the Group of Eight meeting held in Cologne, Germany, on the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt (HIPC) Initiative, the measures for faster, broader and deeper debt relief, in our view, will not be sufficient to resolve the external debt problem of developing countries, especially the poorest among them, unless they are translated into real tangible, practical economic development programmes.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Reform of the United Nations will not be implemented effectively if the financial situation is not seriously addressed. It is the inescapable duty of all of us to honour our obligations by ensuring that we pay our assessed contributions in full, on time and without conditions. This will enable the Organization to function smoothly and more effectively to execute the mandate we have entrusted to it. That among many other reasons is why we want to build strong economies in Africa to enable us shoulder our obligations. But external debt remains both a burden and a major impediment to the development process of many developing countries, including my country, Zambia.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The impact of landmines has also had a telling toll on the provision of social services in the affected countries. I equally appeal to Member States, parties to the United Nations Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, to implement the Maputo Declaration and programme of action, adopted in May this year. Only a strong and viable United Nations can constitute the much-needed viable vehicle to achieve this goal. My delegation is therefore deeply concerned about the continued deterioration of the financial situation of the United Nations. This situation is well known to all of us in this Assembly, as it has been the focus of our discussions for the past five years.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Regrettably, a number of States continue to be threatened in our time by the dangerous proliferation of small arms and light weapons acquired by non-state entities. The continued proliferation and illegal transfer of small arms, among other factors, are responsible for the supply of the weapons being used in conflict situations across the African continent. I would therefore like to appeal to all Member States to support and strengthen the United Nations monitoring mechanisms on the transfer of these arms, particularly to non-state entities, in order to forestall this problem. Related to the problem of small arms is the question of landmines planted in large tracts of land in many countries, rendering unusable what otherwise is productive land.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The relevance of this Organization has continued to grow since its inception, and is today exemplified by the universality of its membership, which has grown from the original 51 States in 1945 to the present 188 States. It goes without saying that since the membership of the United Nations has been growing, there should have been a continuous and corresponding process of reform of the decision-making structures and processes of the Organization in order to make the world body as representative as possible. It is a matter of considerable disappointment, however, that while reform of the administrative structures has, to a large degree, been accomplished, reform of the Security Council has not moved in tandem. As members are all aware, the creation of the United Nations was intended to strengthen international peace and security.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Didier Opertti of Uruguay, for the able manner in which he presided over the fifty-third session. In the same vein, I would like to place on record my country’s deepest appreciation of the work of the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, whose leadership is well respected and has given new impetus to the implementation of the United Nations reform programme. 19 As you rightly observed in your statement to this Assembly, Sir, the fifty-fourth session is the last to be convened in the twentieth century, a century that saw the creation of the United Nations from the ashes and ravages of the Second World War. Indeed, the world cannot but thank the founding fathers of our Organization for their foresight and wisdom.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“I join other speakers who have already addressed the Assembly, Sir, in congratulating you on your well-deserved election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session. Your unanimous election is a clear demonstration of the confidence this Assembly has in you and in your country, Namibia, with which my country enjoys very friendly and warm relations. It is especially significant that you come from Namibia, a country whose independence stands as a crowning moment in our Organization’s support for the right of peoples under colonial and foreign domination to self-determination and independence. I am confident that, given your experience and diplomatic skills, you will guide the work of this session successfully. I wish to take this opportunity to commend your predecessor, His Excellency Mr.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)