STATEMENT BY H.E. DR. MOHAMMED GHARIB BILAL,
THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA
AT THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT, [RIO+20]
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL 20 JUNE 2012
Excellency President Dilma Rousseff of the Federal Republic of Brazil
and our gracious host,
President of the United Nations General Assembly,
Distinguished Heads of State and Government,
United Nations Secretary General,
Eminent Persons,
Distinguished Delegates and Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
At the outset, let me thank the Government and Peoples of the Federal Republic of
Brazil under the able leadership of Her Excellency President Dilma Rousseff for the
warm welcome accorded to my delegation and for the efforts made to organize and
host this important conference. Let me also congratulate the Secretary General of the
Conference, H.E. Sha Zukang for the preparations of this conference. It would be a
remiss of me if I were not to mention the United Nations Secretary General and the
entire staff of United Nations System for making this conference a success.
Mr. President,
My delegation aligns itself with the statement made by the Group of 77 and China,
African Group and that of LDCs.
Mr. President,
Let me state that this conference on sustainable development is convened at critical
juncture as we reflect on our commitments and review progress two decades after
the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)
which delivered Agenda 21 and by the World Summit on Sustainable Development
held in 2002, in Johannesburg, South Africa that produced a plan of action and an
implementation mechanism.
Therefore, we came to Rio to renew our commitment and redefine the sustainable
development in our times and for a better future. We are here to assert these
important principles that will guide us towards a sustainable future.
Mr. President,
Tanzania has made great strides in implementation of a number of International
Conventions and their respective protocols and towards attaining MDGs
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particularly those on poverty reduction and environmental protection despite the
many challenges.
Mr. President,
This conference comes at an opportune time when the world and Africa in particular
face challenges resulting from severe effects of climate change. We hope that this
conference will come up with ways and means of assisting African countries
mitigate these challenges by fulfilling promises made to provide financial assistance.
Mr. President,
The focus of this conference is very diverse, addressing most important areas of
sustainable development. Tanzania wishes to focus on agriculture, infrastructure,
water and energy in short and medium term as a quick win that will support
sustainable development while continuing to address other cross cutting issues. We
commit to sharpen our focus on agriculture and ensure food security.
Furthermore, to ensure a comprehensive and multi-sectoral approach for sustainable
development, we will continue to scale up efforts to address the challenges posed by
the energy sector. Also we are focusing on economic infrastructure, particularly
supply chains and export routes, utilities and urban development, by increasing
private sector participation. At the same time we are making requisite policy
intervention, establishing effective regulatory regimes and enabling conducive
environment for business operators.
Mr. President
Let me now focus on the substance of this conference and Tanzania’s expectations:-
Firstly, It is important for the international community to continue supporting poor
countries in their efforts to eradicate poverty as a priority because of the interlinkage
between poverty and environmental degradation.
Secondly, We emphasize that sustainable development must be inclusive and people
centered, benefitting and involving all people at all levels while recognizing gender
equality, women’s empowerment and participation, rights of youth and children.
We believe that effective governance and equal opportunity for all will be a key
driver of sustainable development.
Thirdly, we would wish to remind this conference that, Africa as a continent that
provides resources in a form of raw materials for other economies is lagging behind.
We believe, it is a reasonable request that all promises made to Africa’s development
needs at various United Nations International Conferences are fulfilled.
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Mr. President,
Before I conclude, let me highlight the need for the world to adopt the idea of
integrating natural capital in national accounting. This approach will promote
environmental protection initiatives to all nations.
With this thinking in mind, African leaders gathered in Gaborone Botswana, at the
Summit for Sustainability in Africa which was held in May 2012.
The Summit undertook to ensure that the contributions of natural capital to
sustainable economic growth, maintenance and improvement of social capital and
human well being are quantified and integrated into development and business
practice.
Mr. President,
Finally, we cannot exhaust this wide subject of sustainable development and the
future we want. Rather, suffices here to welcome the agreement reached on a
common vision following intensive negotiations, with focus on promoting green
economy, strengthening of institutional mechanism and infrastructural framework
for international financing and transfer of technology for sustainable development.
Once again we wish to appreciate the stewardship of Brazil towards achieving
successful outcome of the Conference.
We hope that the agreed actions will unlock creative solutions that lead to
sustainable lifestyles and high quality of life for all.
I thank you for your kind attention.
