First of all, allow me to congratulate you on your election as President of the 58th session of the United Nations General Assembly, and also to commend His Excellency Mr. Jan Kavan, for his outstanding and astute leadership when he presided over the 57th session. May I further commend His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the United Nations, for the dynamic and great leadership qualities he continues to display in steering the affairs of the United Nations. I wish to assure you of Malawi's continued support and cooperation as we deal with the challenges before us.

Mr. President,

I would like to express Malawi's sincere condolences to the families of the victims of the senseless and barbaric attack at the headquarters of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq that resulted into loss of lives, including that of the Special Representative of the Secretary General, Mr. Sergio Viera de Mello. The attack should warn us to remain focused on the fight against terrorism and ensure that the war against the scourge proceeds as a multilateral undertaking. We fully support the call that all those responsible for such attacks should be charged with war crimes.

Mr. President,

Time has demonstrated the cardinal place of multilateral approaches to international issues and problems. The Iraq situation has revealed to us all in the international community the importance of multilateralism under the umbrella of the United Nations whose central role in addressing international conflicts should not be undermined.

Mr. President,

Let me seize this opportunity to express, on behalf of the Government and the people of Malawi, my gratitude to the United Nations and its agencies, as well as other multilateral and bilateral donors for the emergency relief assistance given to Malawi as well as other countries in Southern Africa during the past two years when we faced a critical food shortage that threatened millions of lives of our people. The timely intervention enabled us to prevent massive loss of lives. We trust that the international community will also assist us in improving our agricultural production so as to check against the recurrence of famine.

Mr. President,

Africa continues to experience the tragedy created by the HIV/ AIDS scourge. Our national budgets are seriously over-stretched by the demands of care, treatment, support and funerals of HIV/ AIDS victims, which occur on an hourly basis in an environment of devastating economic decline and famine. We are losing able-bodied people and professional expertise in all the sectors of our society at a rate two-and-half times more than we can replace. We are grappling with the problem of care for tens of thousands of orphans .whose numbers are increasing at an alarming rate.

The bleak and desperate situation created by HIV/ AIDS urgently calls for international concerted practical action to implement the Millennium Declaration and Development Goals in the fight against this pandemic. I would like to thank all those partners that continue to assist us in addressing this serious problem.

Mr. President,

Malawi has paid close attention to the new international debate presently taking shape advocating a qualitative paradigm shift from policy frameworks and mere commitments in conferences to the concrete implementation of agreed action program, or what has become known as the New Multilateralism which aims at addressing the serious shortcomings of the existing multilateral policy prescriptions. The debate also seeks to effect a move in the right direction. My government supports this important innovation and, especially, the newly- launched UN system¬wide integrated framework for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) jointly worked out by the six core agencies and designed to facilitate the effective integration of the least developed economies into the multilateral trading system. We also support the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) mechanism for effecting increased coordination and collaboration at the national level in the preparation of development plans and programmes. We are keen to see a better coordinated and integrated follow-up to, and implementation of not only conference outcomes but also outstanding donor commitments to our development efforts.

In the same vein, the Government of Malawi fully endorses the current exercise designed to reform the United Nations. A more representative and democratic United Nations will enhance the efficiency and credibility of this world organization.

Mr. President,

I cannot stress more the centrality of market access and trade to the whole question of poverty eradication and sustainable agriculture and rural development. We need to move the debate about Western protectionism to a deliberate, broad-ranging global policy against trade barriers. Malawi is concerned with the collapse of the recent World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Cancun, Mexico. We can only hope the stalemate of the talks represents only a temporary punctuation. In the current unbalanced trade, the low commodity prices on the international market have allowed a virtual free flow of our primary products to the West with a near zero return on our agriculture sector, making it all the more difficult to develop the sector into a key catalyst for rural and sustainable development as a strategy for effective poverty reduction.

Mr. President,

The world today is faced with multiple challenges, which have tested the resilience of the strong, as well as the weak. In Africa, the noble objectives of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), geared at enabling. Africans themselves to assume full responsibility for developmental challenges, can only be meaningfully realised with the support of the developed countries. So far, not much has been achieved owing to resource constraints. The resource pledges made by the G8 at meetings in Canada and France must be honoured for the implementation of the NEPAD programmes to pull Africa out of economic stagnation.

Mr. President,

We were heartened by the launch, early this year, of the Road Map for the Middle East Peace with the expectation that it had established conditions for an irreversible transition to the establishment of an independent Palestinian State co-existing with the State of Israel. It is, therefore, regrettable that the road map is being frustrated by elements that do not wish to see peace taking root in the Middle East. We call upon the Middle East Quartet and the Israeli and the Palestinian sides, in particular, to remain committed to the Road Map by doing everything in their power to make it succeed.

Mr. President,

I would like to commend the Secretary-General, jointly with the Assembly and the Security Council, for taking a number of decisive steps towards the resolution of conflicts in Africa, including through the framework of the Open-ended Ad Hoc Committee. of the Security Council on conflict prevention and recovery in Africa. Malawi re-affirms its alignment with the African and the SADC positions on preventive diplomacy and commends, in this regard, the General Assembly work on a draft resolution on the prevention of armed conflict in Africa. We also support the ECOSOC resolution establishing an advisory Ad Hoc Group for mobilizing assistance for African countries emerging from conflict.

The humanitarian tragedies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d' Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone and Liberia remain a serious distraction from important national and regional development initiatives.

In this regard, we welcome the peaceful hand-over of the reigns of power in Burundi, on 156' April, 2003, in accordance with the terms of the Peace Accord of August, 2001. We also commend the successful establishment and launching of a broad-based government of national unity in the DRC on 15th July, 2003, and the peaceful and successful elections recently held in Rwanda. However, it is important that war crimes committed in conflict areas be thoroughly investigated so that justice may take its course. This would help check against impunity witnessed in most conflict situations. In this connection, my government welcomes the announcement on 16th July, 2003, by the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court about plans to investigate war crimes committed in the DRC's northeastern region of Ituri.

Mr. President,

Malawi believes that the United Nations can meaningfully advance the principles upon which it was founded and effectively deal with the multiple challenges the global community is facing by taking an all-inclusive approach in its membership. It is in this spirit that my country has, time and again, called for the participation of the Republic of China in the affairs of this organization in line with the principle of universality. Taiwan has a lot to offer to the promotion of global common good, which the United Nations is there to advance. I, therefore, hope that the 23 million people of Taiwan will be given a sympathetic consideration so that they may, once again, enjoy the right to associate with the world community through this august organisation.

Mr. President,

Next year is an important year for the people of Malawi, as we will be holding the third general elections, in the democratic dispensation ushered in 1994. The elections will be tripartite, as they will include Presidential, Parliamentary and local government elections.

Coming soon after the country experienced a serious food shortage that further strained the little resources available in the country, the elections could not have been scheduled to take place at a worse period. However, in response to the demands of the country's constitution, the government and the people of Malawi remain committed to fulfilling this constitutional necessity for good governance based on free and fair elections. Malawi seeks the cooperation and support and assistance of the international community to facilitate the entire electoral process.

Mr. President,

May I conclude by conveying to you, Mr. President, the Secretary-General and, indeed, the United Nations family the profound gratitude and appreciation of His Excellency President Dr. Bakili Muluzi and the people of Malawi for the support and cooperation extended to the President and his government since assuming power in 1994. As President Muluzi prepares to retire next year, after- setting the people of Malawi as President for two consecutive 5-year terms, he is confident that the United Nations and, indeed, the international community at large, will remain committed to assisting the new leadership and the people of Malawi in their quest for meaningful and quality socio-economic and political development.

I thank you for your attention.