YouSaid · the spoken record

Mpinganjira

lines on the record
13
first
1999-09-29
most recent
1999-09-29
sittings or episodes
1
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un-security-council

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  1. “We believe that in this respect, too, Africans are working hard, encouraging people on the continent to change their attitudes. However, for those already afflicted by the disease, only cheaper medication available to a large majority of people would help ease the problem. As of now, most of the drugs used to treat AIDS are not affordable for the majority of Africans, and this will therefore continue to pose a major problem.”

    1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049Resumption1 (1999) · source

  2. “We believe that that issue should not be a major problem at all, because we all know the sources of those small arms. If those who produce small arms have the will to help Africa, they will be able to do so. There is no point in asking us in Africa to take action against small arms when they keep being pumped into Africa every day. We have seen how, because of reasons beyond our control, our resources in Africa - resources in battle-ridden countries - are being utilized. The whole world looks away in order to allow unscrupulous businessmen to trade minerals for arms in order for us to be able to continue to fight each other. The countries of the West - the developed countries - have a moral responsibility to ensure that there is stricter control over arms flowing into Africa. AIDS is eating away at the whole of Africa.”

    1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049Resumption1 (1999) · source

  3. “The Secretary-General was quite right in pointing out that it is in deeds rather than in declarations that the international community's commitment to Africa will be measured. This is a challenge that we must all live up to. That is why I was so delighted to hear the revolutionary speech made earlier this morning by the United Kingdom, and indeed by the solidarity expressed in all the speeches that I have heard here today. It is my prayer that Africa will now receive renewed attention and action. It is my hope that when all the pieces are put together, when the principal organs have concretized their responses to the Secretary-General's report, this will lead to Africa and its people enjoying enduring peace and prosperity. There have been references to the question of the control of small arms in Africa.”

    1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049Resumption1 (1999) · source

  4. “Poverty and underdevelopment are a source of immense hardship to our people. We give this example only to buttress the point that the democracies that are spawning will remain fragile if the international community does not assist them to overcome their economic and financial problems. We ourselves have obeyed and followed ever so religiously all prescriptions by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but we are still as poor and backward as we were. The biggest challenge for the international community will be to build a durable peace and promote economic growth in Africa. Such a challenge can be met only by moving beyond our own national or vital interests. The African people need meaningful assistance, assistance that is people-centred.”

    1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049Resumption1 (1999) · source

  5. “The United Nations and OAU trust funds established to improve preparedness for conflict prevention and peacekeeping in Africa must be properly resourced. The Security Council can also play an important role in preventive diplomacy or conflict prevention. A clear and unequivocal message, and indeed action early on in a dispute or crisis, can make all the difference. After so many years of dictatorship, my country is now a democracy where all human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected and promoted. Within the constraints of our resources and financial assistance from developing partners, we are trying our best to build and strengthen our democratic institutions. Unfortunately, it is not an easy task. The international climate has not been favourable, particularly to small countries like mine.”

    1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049Resumption1 (1999) · source

  6. “If we wait too long, we cannot be too sure of what is going to happen next. My own country is keen to be more involved in peacekeeping operations. We are ready to provide troops in the service of peace. We have participated in the African Crisis Response Initiative, sponsored by the United States Government, precisely because we want to be able to respond to humanitarian crises and peacekeeping challenges in a timely manner. We have also indicated to the Secretariat our readiness to enter into the Standby Arrangement System. At the same time, we are the first to realize that our intention to participate in peacekeeping operations cannot be achieved without financial assistance and logistical support. We will continue to rely on outside help for this. We have no alternative. We have no choice.”

    1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049Resumption1 (1999) · source

  7. “For example, Somalia is no longer around today as a country, otherwise it would have been represented in this Chamber. And yet the international community and all of us Africans, as well as everyone else, are watching. The Security Council has the capacity to act resolutely and expeditiously in response to crises in Africa. Many countries in Africa are ready to assist. We have the commitment. In southern Africa, for example, SADC forces have re-established peace in Lesotho, and SADC forces and SADC peace initiatives, led by President Chiluba, have re-established the peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We are waiting for the Security Council to commit the necessary troops to keep the peace in that country. But time is of the essence; the peace there is fragile.”

    1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049Resumption1 (1999) · source

  8. “Under the Charter of this Organization the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security rests with the Security Council. This is a responsibility that the entire membership has conferred on the Council. The Council must therefore act to advance the interests of the international community as a whole and not of individual members of the Council or the General Assembly. The United Nations, particularly the Security Council, should not and must not be seen as being insensitive to African problems and crises. It cannot afford to allow such a perception to germinate. Africa is worried that our crises are receiving less and less attention from an international community which is devoting more and more attention elsewhere. In the process, whole countries in Africa have been allowed to disappear.”

    1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049Resumption1 (1999) · source

  9. “Quite often we have used aid and technical assistance to advance our own interests. Otherwise, how does one explain the statement in the Secretary-General's report that 90 per cent of the $12 billion a year spent on technical assistance is still spent on foreign expertise? We can and must do something to change this, because clearly Africa is not getting what it is said to be getting. The point that we are trying to make is that so long as national interests or vital interests continue to inform and direct our involvement in international affairs, the chances that meaningful change will come appear very slim. We must redefine "national interest". It must of necessity give way where international consensus to act exists. It must not block such consensus. While the task is not easy, it should not be difficult for the Security Council.”

    1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049Resumption1 (1999) · source

  10. “Democracies have blossomed, although many remain nascent and fragile. Military dictatorships have started to give way to civilian governments. At the end of the cold war, there were even calls for a new world order. However, most of those that have the capacity to help Africa and enable it to change for the better are reluctant to take any action, claiming that their national interests or the protection of their vital interests do not permit them so to do. Quite often we have looked the other way, allowing arms, diamonds and other mineral resources to be sold in order to protect our vital business interests and in the name of free trade, knowing full well that such arms or the proceeds of such sales were being used in armed conflict. We have deliberately broken the sanctions regimes.”

    1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049Resumption1 (1999) · source

  11. “We are pleased that the relevant principal organs of the United Nations, including the Security Council, have devoted some time and effort to analysing and responding to the contents of that important report. Given that it takes time for matters of this nature to coalesce and crystallize, the question still remains whether the response of the international community has been commensurate with the call to act with urgency, as contained in the Secretary General's report. The progress report of the Secretary-General, while optimistic, clearly shows that more needs to be done. Today almost everybody acknowledges that since the end of the cold war, the world has undergone momentous and significant changes. The winds of change that have swept through the globe have rekindled hopes for a better future.”

    1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049Resumption1 (1999) · source

  12. “These are declarations of renewed African commitment, signs of resolve and promises to act for peace and prosperity. These are voices that have come most recently from Algiers and from Sirte, with echoes all over the continent. They are calls that we believe should be taken seriously. The question that always arises, though, is: what can the international community do to respond to Africa's call? And what can the Security Council, consistent with its responsibilities under the Charter, do to assist Africa? The Secretary-General's incisive report on Africa last year was very specific in the recommendations that were offered. We stand by the statement that South Africa made then on behalf of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries.”

    1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049Resumption1 (1999) · source

  13. “Malawi is very pleased to participate in this debate under your presidency, Sir. Dutch interest and involvement in Africa and African issues are quite well known and very well documented. We are therefore delighted that you were able to call for this meeting to discuss the situation in Africa. We are also most grateful to Secretary-General Kofi Annan for his useful briefing on the state of Africa, coming as it does soon after the briefing by President Frederick Chiluba of Zambia last week. We also thank the Secretary General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), Salim Ahmed Salim, for his inspiring statement this morning. There is no doubt that the messages that are coming out of this ancient continent are significant.”

    1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049Resumption1 (1999) · source