Zimbabwe’s president reiterates Africa's call for UN Security Council reforms

MANZINI, Eswatini

Zimbabwe’s president told the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday that there is an urgent need to establish a fair and inclusive global security architecture.

Addressing the delegates, Emmerson Mnangagwa said inclusive global security is urgent for sustainable development.

“The maintenance of peace and security should not be the preserve of the privileged few. Zimbabwe reaffirms the calls by Africa for the reform of the UN Security Council in line with the Ezulwini Consensus,” he said.

The president criticized Western countries for their ulterior actions in Africa.

“We strongly condemn tendencies by some powerful countries who preach peace, human rights and democracy and yet clandestinely fund conflicts and unconstitutional change of governments for their own narrow interests,” he said.

“We further condemn the use of unilateral and illegal sanctions as a foreign policy tool at the disposal of some powerful nations, such as those sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe and Cuba.”

Zimbabwe for decades has rallied for support to have sanctions against the country lifted by the European Union and the US. The southern African country was slapped with economic sanctions in 2000 for implementing its controversial land reform policy which allowed the government to seize farms from white farmers and redistributed them to Black Zimbabweans.

However, President Mnangagwa told the UN delegates that the sanctions were illegal.

“These sanctions were designed to subjugate the sovereign will of the Zimbabwean people, he said.

“We therefore demand that unjustified unilateral sanctions be unconditionally lifted, including those imposed on countries like Cuba. We remain grateful for the support and solidarity of progressive countries in the committee of nations. In spite of these debilitating sanctions, the people of Zimbabwe have become masters of their destiny.”

The president said his government has a duty and responsibility of developing the country using their own domestic resources and he was proud of his people’s resilience and success.

“For the last three years, our country has been the fastest growing economy in the southern Africa region. With effect from this year, our country will become a net exporter of wheat,” said Mnangagwa.

He reiterated calls for respecting the sovereign equality of nations big or small, poor or rich. He said contemporary realities across all regions bring to the fore the importance of global solidarity, because even powerful countries cannot stand alone to realize sustainable and inclusive development.

Mnangagwa said that in order for countries to strengthen their adaptation and resilience mechanisms, concrete climate action should be taken as opposed to mere promises.

“Commitments made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement must be honored to deliver on climate justice. Countries must transition to a lower carbon resilient economy by increasing investments in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and green infrastructure.

“The need to reform global financial institutions is of essence to unlock funding for developing countries. The current exclusionary architecture dominated by a few states is failing to deliver the requisite resources for countries to finance their developmental priorities and other pressing health and environmental challenges,” he said.