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THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA
STATEMENT
BY
HONOURABLE MARIA MUTAGAMBA
MINISTER OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENT
AND HEAD OF UGANDA DELEGATION
AT THE
UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (RIO + 20)
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
22 June 2012
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Madam President of the Federative Republic of Brazil,
Excellencies, Heads of State and Government
The UN Secretary General,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Allow me to convey to you, Madam President, and through you to the
Government and the people of Brazil the profound gratitude of my
delegation for the warm welcome and excellent hospitality accorded to
us since our arrival in this beautiful country and the City of Rio de
Janeiro.
Madam President,
This Rio+20 Conference is being held at a critical juncture for
humankind. The Outcome document holds the promise of a better
future for the present and the coming generations. My delegation
extends its appreciation to the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon,
and his team for their tireless efforts. We also commend Brazil for the
strong leadership they provided in trying to bridge the gaps to reach
consensus on many of the substantive issues.
Twenty years ago, world leaders gathered here and made sustainable
development a global agenda. Today, we are united in renewing our
commitment to move the sustainable development agenda forward.
As we look back, we acknowledge the considerable achievements
registered at the national, regional and global levels as highlighted in
various assessment reports. However, the progress registered has been
uneven both within and across regions, sectors and social groups. My
region, Africa, has particularly lagged behind on many fronts for a
number of reasons, including lacking adequate means of
implementation.
Madam President,
In Uganda, we have registered significant progress across the three
pillars of sustainable development. The economy has more than tripled,
with an average growth rate of 6 percent over the last two decades. We
have more than halved income poverty, doubled domestic financing of
our national budget and increased literacy rates to over 70 per cent.
Access to clean and safe water in rural areas increased from below 20
percent in 1990 to 65 percent in 2010 and coverage for household
sanitation increased from 57 percent in 2005 to 69 percent in 2010.
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We have steadily reduced infant, child and maternal mortality rates
though they remain far from the MDG targets. We have put in place a
range of legal, policy and institutional frameworks on environment
management.
Uganda continues to provide a conducive environment for the active
participation and full engagement of the private sector, civil society and
other stakeholders as partners in sustainable development. We have
also involved the youth by taking into account their views and input,
through innovative processes such as U-report which utilizes mobile
phone technology.
Despite the above achievements, we are witnessing increasing
inequality in incomes and access to resources and opportunities as well
as high unemployment rates especially among the youth. As a country,
we strongly believe that there can be no sustainable development
without the eradication of poverty. The eradication of poverty in Africa is
contingent on the continent being able to sustainably produce and
trade with itself and with the rest of the world. This requires the
necessary resources, infrastructure, technologies, and skills.
Madam President,
In our view, the important point of convergence is our strong
recognition that sustainable development is not just about
environmental damage and resource depletion, but addressing how
countries can develop economically and socially while preserving the
environment.
We believe that it is time we discarded the outdated growth models and
focused our efforts and resources on boosting people’s living standards
and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and
ecological scarcities. That is what sustainability calls for. It entails
supporting people to move out of poverty, providing access to clean
energy, water and sanitation, food and nutrition, building better
transportation systems and making sure that our communities are
resilient in the face of natural disasters.
Addressing these challenges, Madam President, is essential in building
the future we want as espoused in this Conference. At the national
level, Uganda intends to achieve this through the goal of socio-economic
transformation as articulated in our National Development Plan.
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The attainment of this goal will require access to sustainable energy,
transport infrastructure, regional connectivity and a competitive human
resource, among other factors. I wish to thank the UN Secretary-
General for including Uganda among the countries that will benefit from
the Sustainable Energy for All initiative.
Madam President,
At the global level, adequate and timely global support is essential for
investment in key sectors to kick-start an effective and inclusive
transition towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient economy that will
also present substantial economic opportunities for all. This is why
Uganda stresses the critical importance of means of Implementation for
the Rio+20 Outcome. We call on our partners to honour their
commitments.
The global community is gathered here not to engage in “business as
usual” but to demonstrate real commitments to sustainable
development, including a transition to a green economy. We are also
committed to strengthening the institutional framework for sustainable
development to respond effectively to current and future challenges as
well as bridge gaps in implementation. In this regard, I applaud the
decision to strengthen ECOSOC, establish an inter-governmental high
level political forum on sustainable development, and the strengthening
and upgrading of UNEP. Uganda will participate actively in all post
Rio+20 processes that will be established to enhance international
environmental governance and to help ensure an inclusive and effective
institutional framework for sustainable development.
Madam President,
I wish to conclude by reiterating Uganda’s commitment to the outcome
of this conference. We must focus on achieving full and effective
implementation of Agenda 21, the Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation and other internationally agreed development goals
including the MDGs.
The global population is looking up to this conference to launch actions
that will make a measurable difference in their livelihoods, leading to
greater prosperity, health and opportunities, and an environment that
will continue to support growth and development. We owe it to the
present and future generations to deliver this promise.
I thank you for your attention.
