from ALFRED SHILONGO in Windhoek, Namibia
Namibia Bureau
WINDHOEK, (CAJ News) – NAMIBIA has called for the lifting of sanctions against Zimbabwe and removal of Cuba from the list of states sponsoring terrorism.
The Southern African country is also concerned over the prevailing situation in Gaza, Venezuela and Western Sahara.
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah aired the concerns at the High-Level General Debate of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
“We meet against a backdrop of profound global tensions. The world is fractured by conflict, displacement, and economic instability, straining multilateral cooperation, further fragmenting consensus,” she said.
The president said the Charter of the United Nations has laid the foundation for conditions necessary for peaceful co-existence and harmony among nations.
Therefore, she said, unilateral coercive measures should not be used as tools to undermine sovereign states for, this violates the Charter and its principles and purposes.
“In this regard, we call for an end to the continued illegal economic, financial and commercial embargo imposed on the friendly people of Cuba and removing her from the list of states sponsoring terrorism,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
“We call for an end to the illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe. We are also gravely concerned about the emerging threats against Venezuela, and call for the removal of sanctions and threats against that country,” she added.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said the impasse in the UN Security Council over the Question of Western Sahara was an injustice, as is the unprecedented human suffering of the people of Palestine.
“What we need is constructive dialogue to prevail. The people of Palestine must also benefit from the noble promises of the United Nations Charter.”
Namibia is one of countries in Southern Africa providing refuge to Zimbabweans that have fled economic crises, blamed on sanctions slapped on Zimbabwe since the early 2000s.
– CAJ News