NANGOLO MBUMBA, President of Namibia, said his country is proud to have served alongside Germany as co-facilitator of the Summit of the Future. Namibia’s interest in the Pact for the Future is grounded in the understanding that multilateral institutions, including the Security Council, do not represent African needs and aspirations.  At the core of the Pact is this recognition and the urgency for profound global transformation.  “At the heart of our quest to rebuild trust in multilateralism is a legitimate demand to be recognized as equal partners,” he added.  Partners who can be trusted; partners in the fight against war, poverty, global injustice and inequality.

Namibia is particularly concerned about the impact of climate change, he said.  Changes in ocean temperatures have affected its fish stocks with potential long-term consequences for livelihoods, ecosystems and tourism.  Namibia and the rest of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region are going through the El Niño phenomenon which has adversely impacted food security.  In this regard, Namibia had to declare a state of emergency to address the severe effects of drought.  Turning to gender equality, he said Namibia remains among the top nine countries globally that have closed at least 80 per cent of the gender gap.  “In the past 12 months, we have achieved perfect parity in the National Assembly, where 50 per cent of representatives are women,” he said.

Namibia is also establishing green industrialization ecosystems, for decarbonizing industries that find it difficult to lower their greenhouse emissions, he went on to say.  Investment in these key sectors is critical and Namibia is urging developed nations to scale up support for developing countries to facilitate gradual energy transitions.  He urged the Assembly to support the modalities to actualize the advisory opinion rendered by the International Court of Justice regarding the ongoing conflict in Gaza.  “As a country that has endured genocide, Namibia believes that Israel, by intent and by action, is committing genocide,” he went on to say.

Namibia also called for the end of the economic, financial and commercial blockade against Cuba, he said, stressing the need for the immediate and unconditional lifting of illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe.  A further affront to the Charter of the United Nations, its purposes and principles is the continued disenfranchisement of the people of Western Sahara, who are denied their right to self-determination.  “The United Nations system can be strengthened if we hold hands and work together as bridge builders,” he added.