Position Paper - Cusanus.net

Position Paper
Delegation from
Zambia
Represented by
Initiative Cusanuswerk,
Haus Villigst
Position Paper for General Assembly Plenary
The topics before the General Assembly Plenary are: Examining the uses and implementation
of technology in education and social development, promotion and protection of the rights of
children in conflict and improving emergency response through humanitarian reform.
I. Examining the Uses and Implementation of Technology in
Education and Social Development
The Zambian government has made a serious effort to recover and reform the education
sector. Next to regional activities we are committed to the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) and the Education for All (EFA) initiative on a global level and emphasize the need
for Member States to follow the recommendations to contribute at least 4% of their GDP to
education. The Fifth National Development Plan’s (FNDP) target is to scale up Government
funding to the education sector to 4.5% of GDP by 2010. Also we have joined the Fast-Track
Initiative (FTI) established by the World Bank.
Zambia recognises the crucial role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT’s)
for the accessibility of education and the development of the education sector. We are ranked
in position 148 out of 154 in the ICT diffusion Index published by the UN Conference on
Trade and Development in 2006 and are aware of the need to find solutions for improvement.
There is a need to investigate energy alternatives for to guarantee access to electricity. We
have set a target to achieve 50% access by the year 2010. Solar-power could be an alternative,
especially for isolated areas. According to the African Development Bank (AfDB) Zambia
like the entire Southern African Development Community region is still failing to meet the
demand for electricity. We urge Member States in accordance to A/65/350 for more effective
assistance. We draw attention to our successful use of education programs operating with
inexpensive devices such as radio and recommend all least developed countries (LDC’s) to
consider these programs while providing additional educational facilities and supporting
effective infrastructure development.
In regard of the dynamic links between economy and human development as described in
ST/ESA/2005/DWP/8 Zambia will continue to aim for to reach the MDG’s as well as the
targets of the EFA.
II. Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Children in Conflict
Zambia is a signatory to the Convention of Rights of the Child (CRC) and the African Charter
on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. To fully implement A/RES/54/263 and the CRC,
Zambia urges all Member States to support the functioning and implementation of regional

children’s programs and take responsibilities for a smooth and quick organization and
exchange of information.
Zambia ratified the ILO Convention number 138 on the Minimum Age and number 182 on
the Worst Forms of Child Labour. We emphasize the need for States in Conflict to establish
support for children as called for in A/C.3/63/L.16. According to Section 14, Chapter 106
(article 8 ICCPR) a recruiting officer in Zambia can not enlist a person under the age of 18 for
military services unless the parents or a guardian allows it.
Relating to A/RES/54/263 we are gravely concerned about Zambian children. Due to the
AIDS pandemic the number of orphan and vulnerable children (OVCs) increases and
especially girls will face poverty, malnutrition and many will be exposed to violence, abuse
and child prostitution. We urge Member States to increase donations to intergovernmental
organizations and NGO’s that support programs (like APCAN: Association for the Prevention
of Child Abuse and Neglect) for children in need in Zambia and whole Africa.
We continue our efforts to ensure, that we consider the African Charter on the Rights and
Welfare of the Child according to CAB/LEG/153/Rev2.
III. Improving Emergency Response through Humanitarian Reform
Zambia strongly believes that all human beings share the inalienable right to live with dignity.
Especially in emergency situations and times of need, mankind is bound to guarantee the
integrity of every man’s dignity. We emphasise the need of a thorough humanitarian reform to
improve the global emergency response. Therefore Zambia appreciates the reform process
launched by the Humanitarian Response Review commissioned in 2005 by the USG/ERC and
clings to the ambitious aims formulated in this document. We recognize that an impressive
progress has been made in several areas in focus stressing the improvements in funding and in
administration of aid. The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) established by
A/Res/60/124 has according to the CERF – Two Year Evaluation in July 2008 proved to be
an effective means to assure the funding of emergency response and is “truly a Fund by all, a
Fund for all” as the Secretary-General put it during the donor’s conference in 2008. Zambia is
convinced that the cluster approach contributes to a better accountability and has lead to a
more transparent hierarchy of command. We are fully aware that we could not be contributor
to this fund, but profited from it and organisational infrastructure so that thousands Angolan
refugees in Zambia could be successfully repatriated. Seeing the refugees from the
Democratic Republic of Congo which have found a shelter in Zambia, we are thankful that we
can rely on UN help in the future.
However, Zambia draws attention to the fact that the funds of CERF are not distributed
equally on the eleven sections. Especially its low expenses for education and agriculture in the
years 2006-2008 imply that a sustainable aid is not a key interest. Zambia recommends
considering how emergency aid can be successfully combined with a sustainable
development.
Although the Global Humanitarian Platform (GHP) has achieved certain progress in the
cooperation between UN bodies and NGOs, Zambia sees still a need for further development
of coordinating structures to make aid more effective. We endorse an immediate
implementation of GHP’s Action Plan 2007-2009 and a more flexible cooperation between
the different clusters. Zambia likes to point to the negligence of the country level coordination
and stresses the need to involve more local partners in all stages of an aid action.
We urge all Member States facing severe cases of emergencies to cooperate with the UN
bodies, to support the humanitarian coordinators and to ensure the security of aid workers.