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Hama
Arba Diallo, CCD Executive Secretary
Blaise
Compaoré, President of the Republic of Burkina
Faso
Alhaji Yahya Jemus Junkung Jammeh, President
of the Republic of the Gambia
Pakalitha
Bethuel Mosisili, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of
Lesotho
Amadou
Toumani Touré, President
of the Republic of Mali
Hugo
Chávez Fría
engages Fidel
Castro Ruz
in
dialogue during his speech
Hugo Chávez Frías, President of the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela
Robert
Gabriel Mugabe, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe
A
representative of the NGO community
MOROCCO,
for the G-77/China
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CCD
COP-6 HIGHLIGHTS: MONDAY 1 SEPTEMBER, 2003
In
the morning, delegates to COP-6 met in a Special High Level
Segment to hear statements from Heads of State and Government,
and in the afternoon convened in a round table to exchange
views on the theme of “The UNCCD as a tool to achieve
the Millennium Development Goals as they relate to poverty
eradication and food security.” Informal consultations
on the programme and budget, the outcomes of the WSSD, and
Regional Coordination Units (RCUs) were also held in the afternoon.
SPECIAL
HIGH LEVEL SEGMENT
In his
opening statement, Cuba’s President Fidel Castro
Ruz emphasized the importance of education and public
awareness in sustainable development and poverty eradication.
Presenting examples of Cuba’s literacy and education
campaigns, he stressed that the most urgent task is to build
universal awareness among adults and children.
 Listen
to Castro's speech
CCD Executive Secretary Arba Hamma Diallo
highlighted the CCD as an important multilateral process that
transcends the interests of any country. He said that the
CCD is a vehicle to ensure sustainable development for people
living in fragile environments.
Ibrahim Gambari, representative of the UN
Secretary-General, underscored the importance of the CCD,
the most broad-based multilateral treaty in the area of sustainable
development, in efforts to fight rural poverty and achieve
food security.
Blaise
Compaoré, President of the Republic of Burkina
Faso, highlighted the need to use the CCD to improve the living
standards of the poor.
Alhaji
Yahya Jemus Junkung Jammeh, President of the Republic
of the Gambia, noted that poverty, environmental degradation,
and unsustainable consumption patterns impact all countries,
and said that international cooperation should be regarded
as an unifying element to address these challenges.
Percival James Patterson, Prime Minister
of Jamaica, stressed the need for a global partnership to
effectively address desertification, and called on COP-6 to
provide a clear understanding of how individual and joint
actions, and funding promises will be realized.
Listen
to Patterson's speech
Pakalitha Bethuel Mosisili, Prime Minister
of the Kingdom of Lesotho, said COP-6 marked a turning point
for the CCD. He noted that addressing land degradation requires
countries to make substantial financial resources available
from their national budgets.
Listen
to Mosisili's speech
Amadou
Toumani Touré, President of the Republic of
Mali, said that while the struggle against desertification
is global, the countries of the Sahel are “at the heart
of the battle.”
Listen
to Touré's speech
Sam
Nujoma, President of the Republic of Namibia, called
for adequate financing for the CCD. He underscored the need
to promote awareness regarding the linkages between biodiversity,
climate change, and land degradation.
Listen
to Nujoma's speech
Keith C. Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada,
highlighted the vulnerability of small island developing States
(SIDS) to desertification and land degradation, and called
for Parties to support the CCD’s implementation in these
countries.
Listen
to Mitchell's speech
Ralph
Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines, underscored the need for effective land management
to avoid deforestation, overgrazing and the negative impacts
of the tourism industry.
Listen
to Gonsalves' speech
Hugo Chávez Frías, President
of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, reviewed the history
of the CCD and noted that many previous COP decisions have
not been implemented. He stressed the importance of political
will to effectively address the causes of poverty and desertification.
He also explained Venezuela’s illiteracy eradication
programme.
Listen
to Cháves' speech
-Listen
to Castro's comments
Robert
Gabriel Mugabe, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe,
expressed concern over the “unfulfillment” of
promises made by developed countries to commit funds to improve
the lives of the poor. He highlighted the Zimbabwean land
reform programme.
Jacob
Zuma, Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa,
called on the upcoming WTO negotiations in Cancún,
Mexico, to make headway on the CCD’s implementation.
He suggested stronger linkages between NEPAD’s Environment
Initiative and the CCD, as well as between African countries,
the GEF and UNEP.
Amara
Essy, Interim Chairperson of the African Union (AU),
highlighted the initiatives of the AU Summit in Maputo, Mozambique,
and underscored the role of the AU in assisting the CCD Secretariat
in implementing programmes on desertification.
MOROCCO,
for the G-77/China, noted concern regarding the absence of
long-term strategies to implement the CCD and of reliable
means of implementation, in particular adequate financial
resources, technology transfer, and capacity building. He
stressed the importance of south-south, regional, and subregional
cooperation as key elements in the CCD’s implementation.
A
representative of the NGO community highlighted the
importance of GEF’s small grants programme for supporting
implementation of the CCD at the local level. She welcomed
NGO participation in COP-6 deliberations, and urged Parties
to ensure NGO participation on the Facilitation Committee.
ROUND
TABLE OF HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT:
Round
table Chair Chair Fidel Castro Ruz said discussion will enable
an open exchange on the theme, “The UNCCD as a tool
to achieve the Millennium Development Goals as they relate
to poverty eradication and food security.”
*
Click
here for a full text report on today's events
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Cuba's President Fidel Castro Ruz
Percival
James Patterson, Prime Minister of Jamaica
Sam
Nujoma, President
of the Republic of Namibia
Ralph
Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Keith
C. Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada
Chávez poked fun at many things related to Castro
during his speech
Castro
responds to Chávez with gestures
during the Venezuelan president's speech
Castro
finally adds a few words of his own to Chávez speech
Mugabe
close-up
Amara
Essy, Interim Chairperson of the African Union
Jacob
Zuma, Deputy President of
the Republic of South Africa
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