Remarks by the President of the General Assembly H.E. Dennis Francis at,
the Joint Session of the Parliament of Namibia,
(Parliament Building, Parliament Gardens, Robert Mugabe Ave)
Namibia
20 June 2024
[As Delivered]
The Hon. Peter Katjavivi, Speaker of the National Assembly,
Madame Deputy Chairperson of the National Council,
Honorable Members of Parliament,
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am especially moved and privileged to have been bestowed the high honour of addressing this joint sitting of the Parliament of Namibia, a truly rare honour, reflecting, I believe, the values and goodwill that bind the people of Namibia and the United Nations; the special significance of which I will take forward with me, both in my heart and in my memory, for many, many years.
I am under the impression that this visit has apparently created many ‘firsts’; it is my very first visit to the Republic of Namibia, whose striking landscapes and vistas are breathtakingly beautiful. I am also told that this is the first occasion on which the honour and privilege has been extended to the President of the General Assembly to address a joint sitting of the Parliament.
My grateful thanks, therefore, to the Government and People of Namibia for this grand gesture of respect and appreciation for the UN values and principles that attend all that we, the United Nations, do to create and to encourage a secure world of peace and tranquillity, strong in its capacity to meet the needs of sustainable development for all, and marked by equality of opportunity and justice before the law.
I am proud to be doing so in Namibia – a country with a storied legacy of advocacy, civic engagement and political representation that led to the creation of this very esteemed bicameral legislature that meets the democratic credentials as it is “of the people, by the people and for the people.”
Importantly, Namibia also stands out among nations of the world as an ardent believer in inclusivity – and a shining example of women’s representation, with gender parity close to being achieved also in this very National Assembly.
Honorable Members of Parliament,
From my vantage point, presiding over the General Assembly, I can say that,
we in New York need to replicate the exemplary representation and energy that inhabits your House and Council, to inspire us in the General Assembly Hall; we need the words “we the peoples” now, more than ever, on the global stage at the United Nations, considering the several challenges that often undermine cooperation and consensus.
It is the kind of energy I have felt keenly throughout my travels in Africa – during animated discussions at the Non-Aligned Movement and G77 Summits in Kampala, Uganda, at the start of the year, and later, at the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) in Nairobi, Kenya.
Through it all, I have felt the pulse and indeed the spirit of Africa to rise up; I felt this too just a few days ago, during my visit to South Sudan – where I engaged not only with the leadership, but also with bright young minds and future leaders, who hold bold ideas for peace and sustainable development in that country.
It was no different thereafter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – the permanent seat of the African Union – where I also visited Africa Hall, the oldest building symbolizing African unity and the birthplace of the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union), within the premises of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
Indeed, Africa is home to countless examples of unity and solidarity.
As an international community, we would do well to follow the exemplary lead of African resilience and perseverance – against all odds stacked against the continent and its hardworking peoples.
Because we are at a crossroads – navigating a delicate and fragile global economy that, while displaying signs of recovery, faces heightened testing amid escalating conflicts and geopolitical tensions.
Climate change also looms as a grave threat to humanity – particularly for countries across the global South, including Namibia – while a record number of humanitarian upheavals settle into new protracted realities.
Amid the growing divides, many are increasingly – and rightly so – questioning the efficacy of the United Nations and our multilateral system in stimulating international cooperation to deliver real impactful results at this juncture.
And yet, we have seen – time and again when it mattered most – recourse to multilateral solutions – because of the very nature of the time-tested process of dialogue and diplomacy itself, and its viability as an indispensable savior; a guarantor of peaceful relations among all nations.
An embrace of multilateralism is an embrace of the shared values of cooperation, conciliation, inclusion, equality and solidarity – of actions rooted in our common humanity and put to their best use in the service of peace, human rights and sustainable development, for all peoples of the world, without exception.
An embrace that promoting multilateralism and international cooperation amounts to recognition that when we join in common purpose and unify our processes, we are phenomenally stronger, together.
And that the United Nations stands as the central forum for tackling common challenges that can easily defy attempt at resolution by any one nation acting alone – big or small, developed or developing.
Honorable Members, and My Dear Friends,
Within these dynamics, we must remember that “Namibia is a child of international solidarity, midwifed by the United Nations” – a phrase heard often during the general debate of the UN General Assembly each September. It is a phrase that aptly describes the intertwined history of Namibia and the United Nations.
I am especially cognizant of the pioneering role of one of my predecessors in the Office of the President of the General Assembly, the Honourable Theo Ben Gurirab – a Namibian icon and renowned diplomat. He skillfully oversaw the work of the Assembly at its 54th session – an auspicious time, when the world was moving from one millennium into the next, with great anticipation and hope.
Under his leadership, the groundwork was laid for the Millennium Summit in the year 2000, which saw the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals – the precursors to the Sustainable Development Goals we work so ardently to attain, today.
During the Millennium Declaration negotiations, we witnessed Namibia take the lead – with active involvement of your own Ambassador Selma Ashipala-Musavyi – who unwaveringly advocated for the recognition in the Millennium Declaration of the Special Needs of Africa.
I am grateful for the opportunity this evening to deliver a lecture as part of the Theo-Ben Gurirab Lecture Series, at Namibia University of Science and Technology Auditorium – a moment I will profoundly cherish beyond my visit.
Emerging as we are from what can be described as perhaps the most dangerously fractuous periods of our times, and as we look to the future, we are again at a moment of inflection.
This September, Africa will again assume the rotating Presidency of the General Assembly – allowing me the great privilege, as a member of the African diaspora, to officially hand over the gavel to a son of Africa, His Excellency, Mr. Philémon Yang of the Republic of Cameroon – who will preside over the General Assembly during the 79th Session.
And our multilateral system must draw, again, on its greatest strength – its diversity, with the power and inclusive voice diffused equally among the 193 Member States, large and small – and expressed uniquely through a multitude of social, cultural, economic, political, linguistic and other traditions that typically define the United Nations.
Namibia’s continued leadership – within this increasingly complex mosaic – is evidenced by the many pivotal roles it has played, and continues to play, on the global stage.
In addition to the Millennium Development Goals, I would be remiss not to mention the landmark adoption of UN Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), on Women, Peace and Security – also championed by Namibia, and brought to life under its Presidency of the Council in October 2000.
The adoption of 1325 sparked a turning point in the global discourse on peace and security – particularly as it related to women in conflict and post-conflict situations, an experience that Namibia has not only lived but benefitted from in your unwavering quest to liberate this Republic.
After nearly a quarter century, resolution 1325 has made its way to the very heart of the United Nations system – and led to what is now broadly known as the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, or in short WPS.
A pivotal Agenda that today rightly motivates each one of us to continually push for the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in peacebuilding efforts.
Honorable Members,
Today, Namibia is relentlessly active and engaged at the United Nations – most notably, into the second year as a dependable and trusted co-facilitator of the intergovernmental preparatory process for the Summit of the Future in September.
It is during this pivotal and eagerly anticipated Summit that world leaders are expected to forge a new global consensus on the modalities by which to strengthen our multilateral system and recapture our commitment to international solidarity and cooperation.
Even as we speak, the groundwork is being painstakingly laid to achieve these ends and I am therefore grateful to your own Ambassador Neville Gertze, alongside Ambassador Antje Leendertse of Germany – who, as co-facilitators, have skilfully led what is an intricately delicate but promising intergovernmental negotiations process.
As credence to the investment that Namibia is making in the Summit of the Future process, the Pact for the Future – together with two other outcomes, namely the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations – cannot fall short of ensuring that our multilateral system delivers better for the African continent and its peoples.
In support of the co-facilitators’ efforts, I once again urge all Member States to harness this opportunity to “unite the nations” – to renew trust and solidarity which I pledged to reignite when I assumed the Presidency, at all levels – between peoples, Governments, and indeed, present and future generations.
The Summit of the Future is part of a continuum of efforts to deliver faster and smarter on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda – and, importantly, the Paris Agreement on climate change, which remains our best answer to the myriad effects of the climate crisis.
Africa is the continent most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, which it did not cause.
Namibia – like many countries in Southern Africa – is facing the worst drought in 100 years.
Yet – again like most African countries – Namibia does not have adequate fiscal space to cater to the demands of the means of implementation, due to its lack of access to affordable climate financing.
This is why the conversation on debt sustainability – and reform of the international financial architecture – is of such pressing importance, loudly echoing in repeated calls by countries in the Global South for meaningful reform of the global architecture.
Building resilience means we must improve the terms of access to much-needed finance and find sustainable solutions to the massive debt burden crippling public spending, and diverting attention to essential services:
- It means we must equip young people – the torchbearers of the future – with the education, knowledge and skills they need to compete and prosper in a rapidly changing world.
- It means we must invest in robust resilient infrastructure that connects communities, and connects people and markets.
- It means we must bolster the strength of our health systems to provide affordable, accessible quality services that place people at their core.
- And at the UN, it means we must continue the focus on modernisation of our institutions and reform, strengthening our structures and systems to deliver for the global public good – and demonstrating that we are indeed serious about enacting real change, including safeguarding our beleaguered planet from the triple planetary crises of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss
- To be credible, it also means that we must include substantive reform of the primary custodian of peace and security, the Security Council of the United Nations – ensuring it is more representative, more functional, more agile and better equipped to serve the future, including addressing the historical injustice on Africa’s non-representation in the Council.
I look forward to collaborating with the Council’s Presidency under Sierra Leone, in August, to add my voice to Africa’s common position on this long outstanding matter.
Honourable Speaker,
Members of Parliament and Dear Friends,
Allow me to end with the following message to you all, Parliamentarians and drivers of change:
“To build a new Africa we must act together, act now, and act decisively,” – these are not my words, I am quoting the late, distinguished visionary leader, Kenneth Kaunda – who pursued a relentless vision of Pan African unity to bring about transformational change on the continent.
We must channel his timeless vision, today.
Both the magnitude and the urgency of today’s challenges – and their deleterious impacts on Africa – demands that we work in solidarity and unity, and with focus and undistracted foresight.
I maintain that the United Nations will have totally destroyed its political credibility by pursuing Agenda 2030 on sustainable development and yet, left Africa behind and outside the mainstream of global economic dynamism.
Accordingly, the sustainable development of Africa and, by extension, Namibia must therefore remain a key focus for the international community as a whole, as indeed for the United Nations.
Amidst the heightened geopolitical tensions, we cannot afford to neglect Africa.
With more young people in Africa, by 2035, entering the workforce each year than in the rest of the world combined, it demands that the continent reaps such a demographic dividend – by empowering current and future generations of Africans to realize their fullest potential, for the benefit of the region.
Together, let us re-commit to building peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all, without exception, everywhere – let us entrench these four watch words into the very fabric of our shared future; a future of solidarity and cooperation. It is that and that alone that will guarantee the delivery of “the Africa We Want.”
Together, let us ensure that Namibia – and indeed, Africa – emerges stronger and better equipped from the heightened geopolitical tensions, to better meet the challenges of tomorrow, and for The Africa We Want.
I thank you.
PGA’s Website: https://www.un.org/pga/78/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@unpga78
X (Twitter): www.twitter.com/UN_PGA
Instagram: www.instagram.com/unpga
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/un-pga78/
