MALAWI SETS A GOOD TONE AT UN SESSION

September 27, 2012

The President of the 67th session of the General Assembly, Serbian Vuk Jeremić, has chosen a prickly issue as the theme for this year's General Debate (25 September - 1 October 2012):

“Adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations by peaceful means”.

This is a fitting subject when there are so many issues brewing around the world: China and Japan, Israel and Iran, Bolivia and Chile, Georgia and Russia... The list is long and worrying. Some of the speeches were understandably tense, Georgia's and Palestine's, for instance. Others were conciliatory. Malawi President Joyce Banda's speech, for example, could have been vitriolic owing to its border dispute with Tanzania over Lake Nyasa, but despite this, her speech was upbeat and visionary. Growth was one of her key points:

"For me, growth is not merely GDP growth. Growth is about wealth and prosperity for all, opportunity for all, happiness for all, political and economic freedom for all. Growth is also about growing the number of children in school, and young people in jobs. Growth is about increasing the number of mothers who give safe birth in a hospital, and of growing the number of families who have plenty of food."

True, President Banda did not tackle the session's theme explicitly. She simply acknowledged Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's sentiment around sustainable development being one of the best opportunities countries have to avoid conflict and she made a vague reference to opening a dialogue with "neighbours, with African leaders and indeed with the rest of the world". But this is a start. Her speech indicates dignity, clarity and a dedication to social justice. It sets the right tone for dialogue and progress.

Still speeches are not necessarily debate and debate does not automatically lead to solutions. One can only hope that when this 67th session closes we will all be a few steps closer to peace.