The Prime Minister of Uganda, Robinah Nabbanja, has highlighted that it is essential for all United Nations member states to reaffirm their commitment to a collective identity rooted in shared humanity within today’s interconnected global community.
She observed that the detrimental impacts of disunity have led to conflicts, global instability, and inter-state tensions, further aggravating the persistent challenges of poverty, hunger, and disease in various parts of the globe.
“As peoples of the United Nations, we should live by the Charter of the United Nations with a sincere determination to save future generations from the scourge of war,” she noted.
Furthermore, she emphasized the need to preserve the dignity and value of every individual, fostering peaceful coexistence and tolerance despite our diverse values, cultures, races, ideologies, and religions, free from the influence of political or military coercion and the dominance of warfare.
She was delivering her speech at the high level segment of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, US on September 27, 2024.
“We must resolve our political commitment for the full implementation of globally agreed frameworks for the promotion of social – economic development and advancement of all people. In this regard, urgent action is required to address global inequalities with regard to poverty, hunger and disease which continue to disproportionately affect the poorest and most vulnerable,” she said.
Nabbanja emphasized that many drivers of conflict originate from unresolved local or regional issues, which can evolve into more complex situations often involving various stakeholders.
She proposed that regional conflicts should be tackled in a holistic manner, extending beyond mere security concerns, and highlighted the necessity for robust and extensive political commitments from the regional governments.
“Uganda believes in the peaceful resolution of conflicts wherever they occur. We are at the forefront of promoting regional peace, security and stability necessary for economic development. In this respect, Uganda encourages international partners to support local and regional-led initiatives or solutions for building peace and stability as prerequisites for sustained and inclusive economic growth and development in our countries and regions,” she noted.
She urged the international community to enhance cooperation in order to eliminate or mitigate the occurrence of conflicts driven by issues such as inequality, climate change, pandemics, emerging technologies, transnational organized crime, and terrorism.
“Uganda believes that the benefits of this world must be shared with all humanity and detest all forms of exclusion by the relatively few wealthy nations. We reject the increasing competition and confrontation between major powers, which undermines the collective international responses to security, peace, stability and social economic development,” she noted.
Advocates for reform of UN Security Council
Nabbanja emphasized that Uganda continues to advocate for the immediate and thorough reform of the UN Security Council.
She highlighted the necessity for Africa to be represented in both the Permanent and Non-Permanent categories as a unique case, aiming to rectify historical injustices. “Uganda fully endorses the Common African Position (CAP) regarding this issue,” he added.
The African Union Committee of Ten Heads of State (C10), under the leadership of the Republic of Sierra Leone, has been pursuing the mandate to promote, advocate and canvass for support of the Common African Position (CAP) on the reform of the United Nations Security Council as stipulated in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration.
“The position is that, Africa should have two Permanent Seats with a veto if others have it and two additional Non-Permanent Seats on the Security Council,” she noted.
She said the Committee of Ten (C-10), since 2005, has been driven with the hope and conviction of sovereign equality in representation and participation in intergovernmental negotiations for the reform of the UN Security Council, to make it more responsive to current circumstances, and achieve a future of shared goals for humanity.
She said the core aspiration is for Africa to get representation in the United Nations Security Council as equal partners, and make a contribution to a multilateral system that should become inclusive, equitable, and work for the international peace and security of all, without paralysis or succumbing to parochial interests of major powers.
“We demand for the right to development as equal members of the international community without any preconditions or politicization for greater human dignity, freedom, social economic justice,” she added.
She advocated for equitable access to production resources, technology, and capital to facilitate the socio-economic transformation of our economies, aligning with our national legal frameworks and development strategies.
Nabbanja emphasized that the ongoing existence of poverty and inequality in developing nations jeopardizes essential human rights, especially those of marginalized and impoverished populations.
“This situation poses a significant risk to international peace and security, which must not be ignored any longer,” she added.
She stressed that Uganda as chair of the Non-Aligned Movement will work with countries of the Non-Aligned Movement as well as other countries on the inter-governmental processes that shall lead to the adoption of the UN Covenant on the Right to Development.
She also noted that financing remains one of the greatest challenges that undermine the efforts of developing countries to fully implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achievement of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
“Borrowing is critical for financing investments in sustainable development. Sovereign debt is an important tool for financing sustainable development, enabling low-income countries to invest in infrastructure, health, education, and other critical areas. We emphasize that loans to low-income developing countries should be concessional and at zero interest rate,” she noted.
She stressed that this will enable developing countries to finance productive investments, including building infrastructure to improve connectivity, make debt sustainable in the long-run and spur economic growth which will in turn help to improve domestic tax collection and raise revenues.
She said Uganda, like other developing countries, faces constraints of domestic resource mobilization due to limited tax base.
“We call for strengthening of the international cooperation in tax matters to ensure that it is effective and inclusive by making Multinational Corporations pay taxes in countries of their operations, including collections of revenue generated by e-commerce in cross border transactions,” he added.
She also called for the strengthening of international cooperation in the prevention of and combating illicit financial flows with a view of ensuring that all illicit funds or resources including assets are returned to their countries of origin.
She extended her congratulations to Philemon Yang on his election as President of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly and assured him of Uganda’s unwavering support.
She also praised H.E. Mr. Dennis Francis, the former President of the General Assembly, for his leadership during the 78th Session and also expressed her respect for the Secretary-General, H.E. António Guterres, for his dedication to the mission of the United Nations.
