Mugabe calls for permanent seat for Africa on UN Security Council

President Robert Mugabe called for two more permanent seats for Africa on the United Nations Security Council with veto power and two additional non-permanent seats.

He said the United Nations General Assembly was the best forum to tackle global issues but it needed to serve the collective interest of all its members, not just a select few.

He also called for an increase in investment in agriculture in developing countries and the removal or reduction of agricultural subsidies.

Full cable:

Viewing cable 09USUNNEWYORK887, UN GENERAL DEBATE CONTINUES (SEPTEMBER 25 AM)

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000887

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TAGS: UNGA ECON PGOV PREL AORC KPKO US ZI NR PS

EN, IV, UV, LE, SO, MK, DO, KR, PK, AC, KU, MP

SUBJECT: UN GENERAL DEBATE CONTINUES (SEPTEMBER 25 AM)

USUN NEW Y 00000887 001.4 OF 003

¶1. SUMMARY: The UN General Debate continued on September 25

on a range of topics from climate change to UN reform

(particularly Security Council membership), the

Israel-Palestine dispute and multilateralism. The following

heads of state or government spoke: Zimbabwe; Nauru; Palau;

Estonia; Cote d’Ivoire; Burkina Faso; Lebanon; Somalia;

Macedonia; Dominica; Kiribati; Pakistan; Palestinian

Authority; Antigua and Barbuda; Kuwait; and Mauritius. Full

text of statements is available on at

www.un.org/ga/64/generaldebate, video archives are at

www.un.org/webcast/2009.html. END SUMMARY

¶2. Zimbabwe: President Robert Mugabe reaffirmed Zimbabwe’s

position that the UN General Assembly is the “best forum to

tackle global issues” but that it needs to serve the

collective interest of all of its members, not just a select

few. He advocated for Africa’s position for two more

permanent seats on the Security Council with veto power plus

two additional non-permanent seats. Mugabe called for an

increase in investment in agriculture in developing countries

in addition to the removal or reduction of agricultural

subsidies. He also urged the international community and

pharmaceutical companies to make anti-retroviral drugs more

accessible. Although he complimented the United States on

the recent non-proliferation agreement with Russia, he

criticized the United States (and the E.U.) for imposing

sanctions on Zimbabwe and for continuing the embargo on Cuba.

¶3. Nauru: President Marcus Stephen called for the

revitalization of the multilateral system to make it more

equitable and representative. Stephen urged Member States

not to lose focus of the MDGs, and invited the United Nations

to open a field office in Nauru. He advocated for immediate

action to address climate change and for developed countries

to provide one percent of GDP to developing countries for

adaptation and mitigation efforts. He closed with a request

to include Taiwan more substantively in UN activities and to

make Japan, India, Germany, and Brazil permanent members of

the Security Council.

¶4. Palau: President Johnson Toribiong began his address by

thanking the permanent members of the Security Council for

recognizing Palau’s sovereignty. Like other small island

countries, Toribiong expressed his concern over the effects

of climate change and hopes the Summit on Climate Change in

Copenhagen will yield concrete results. He identified Japan

for a permanent seat on the Security Council and also

recommended including Taiwan in UN activities. Toribiong

stated that Palau is ending all commercial shark fishing in

its waters and called for a worldwide moratorium on deep sea

trawling.

¶5. Estonia: President Toomas Hendrik Ilves implored

countries to avoid protectionist policies in the wake of the

financial crisis. He encouraged Member States to reach a

comprehensive and binding agreement at the Summit on Climate

Change in Copenhagen including a “polluter pays” principle.

Ilves expressed his support for the stability and security of

both Georgia and Afghanistan and warned members not to

underestimate cyber threats. He closed with a push for

Security Council restructuring, gender reform, and

humanitarian issues.

¶6. Cote d’Ivoire: President Laurent Gbagbo said his country

had been hit hard by the energy, food, and financial crises.

Gbagbo appealed for reform of the international monetary and

financial systems and noted that reform is essential if the

United Nations does not want to become obsolete. He

commented that there needs to be more dialogue on religion

and peace among member nations and that countries need to

focus on the MDGs.

¶7. Burkina Faso: President Blaise Compaore observed that it

was not fair that African nations were the ones most affected

by the economic crisis even though they did not cause it.

USUN NEW Y 00000887 002.4 OF 003

Similarly, he noted that climate change severely affected

Africa (most recently with floods) and hoped that the Summit

on Climate Change in Copenhagen would yield bold decisions.

Compaore called for peaceful resolutions to problems in

Sudan, Madagascar, and Guinea. He concluded by thanking

President Obama for leading the Security Council resolution

on non-proliferation and by calling for reform of the

Security Council.

¶8. Lebanon: President General Michel Sleiman focused his

entire speech on the Palestine-Israel issue. He criticized

Israel for its settlement construction and use of force and

for not wanting peace. Sleiman reaffirmed his country’s

position that it is not in the Palestinian refugees’ national

interest for Lebanon to allow permanent settlement in its

territories. He called on the international community to

follow through with Security Council Resolution 1701 which

he said requires Israel to withdraw from certain areas.

¶9. Somalia: President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed listed

three priorities for his country: 1) to improve the security

situation, 2) to promote reconciliation and 3) to provide

humanitarian assistance to displaced persons. He said

Somalia is rebuilding its naval forces and coast guard to

combat piracy. Ahmed commented that terrorism is not

confined to Somalia and that it should be tackled with

international assistance. He plans to institute a

transparent system of government which will respect

individual freedoms, gender and rights, and encourage foreign

direct investment and individual ownership. Ahmed requested

that the Security Council revisit its arms embargo resolution

against Somalia to help him rebuild his country’s security

forces.

¶10. Macedonia: President Gjorge Ivanov highlighted the

importance of the MDGs, fighting climate change, regional

cooperation, and multilateralism. Macedonia hopes to join

the European Union and NATO soon. Ivanov reproached Greece

and stated that Macedonia was entitled to a solution that

affirmed its right to “self determination and self

identification.”

¶11. Dominica: President Nicholas Joseph Orville Liverpool

reiterated Caribbean Community (CARICOM) concerns that the

economic and food crises affected island nations the hardest.

He welcomed the USD 15 billion from the G-8 for food

security but warned that countries need to remove agriculture

subsidies. Liverpool expects a solution to the “Earth

Crisis” at the Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen. He

expressed concern over the situation in Haiti but embraced

the appointment of former U.S. President Clinton as Special

Envoy for Haiti. Finally, Liverpool demanded the removal of

the U.S. embargo on Cuba.

¶12. Kiribati: President Anote Tong centered his address on

the issue of climate change and called for a global compact

on climate change for “if we don’t act now, who the hell is

going to do it?” Tong noted that Kiribati does not want to

graduate from Least Developed Country (LDC) status as it

relies heavily on assistance provided to LDCs. Kiribati

supports allowing Taiwan to participate more meaningfully in

the United Nations.

¶13. Pakistan: President Asif Ali Zardari, with a picture of

Benazir Bhutto at his side, described Pakistan’s transition

to democracy and his plans to make democracy sustainable and

irreversible. Zardari highlighted his goals for Pakistan:

the return of internally displaced persons to their homes,

reconstruction, economic development, market access, and

counterterrorism. He advocated for a resolution to the

Kashmir dispute, support for Palestine, the release of Aung

San Suu Kyi in Burma, friendship with India, and promotion of

non-proliferation. Zardari petitioned for foreign direct

investment in agriculture, mega-hydroelectric projects, and

infrastructure deals.

USUN NEW Y 00000887 003.4 OF 003

¶14. Palestinian Authority: President Mahmoud Abbas described

the situation in the Middle East as a “lack of commitment to

the (U.N.) Charter.” Abbas welcomed President Obama’s

support for the two state solution and called on the

international community to exert pressure on Israel to stop

its settlement activities, release the approximately 11,000

prisoners, and lift the siege on the Gaza Strip.

¶15. Antigua and Barbuda: Prime Minister Winston Baldwin

Spencer advocated the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas

(ALBA) as an alternative to the Washington Consensus,

espousing its principles of solidarity, cooperation, and

respect for sovereignty. He criticized institutions such as

the IMF for their conditionalities and blamed developed

countries for the current climate change problem. Spencer

backed non-proliferation, nuclear disarmament, the end to the

U.S. embargo on Cuba, gender equality, women’s empowerment,

and a permanent memorial to victims of the transatlantic

slave trade.

¶16. Kuwait: Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad

Al-Ahmad Al Jaber Al-Sabah highlighted Kuwait’s successes,

such as topping the Arab states in the fields of education

and health and ranking third globally in combating drug use

and trade. Al-Sabah supported the recent Security Council

resolution on non-proliferation and urged that Israel join

the Non-Proliferation Treaty and be subject to review by the

International Atomic Energy Agency. Kuwait condemned the

terrorist acts in Iraq and stressed the importance of a

unified and peaceful Iraq. He condemned Israel for its

“illegal policies and practices in contradiction to

international law and relevant U.N. resolutions.” Al-Sabah

called for the peaceful resolution of the Iran nuclear

dispute and for Iran to settle the Emirates Islands argument.

¶17. Mauritius: Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam

appealed for Bretton Woods institutions reform and protested

that for too long global economic decisions were made by too

few. He called for a Marshall Plan for developing countries

and for the successful achievement of the MDGs and Doha

Round. Ramgoolam contended that countries that polluted the

most should shoulder more of the burden. He advocated for

the Human Rights Council, the International Criminal Court,

the release of Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma, and for permanent

positions on the Security Council for India, a Latin American

country, and an African country. Ramgoolam criticized the

unconstitutional governments in Madagascar and Honduras, and

the United Kingdom for not returning the Chagos Archipelago.

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