27 January 2015: In a public lecture in Kampala, Uganda, UN General Assembly President Sam Kutesa highlighted UN accomplishments and challenges since its creation in 1945, as well as priorities for the rest of the 69th session. He noted that successful implementation of the post-2015 development agenda will “largely depend on mobilizing adequate resources and mainstreaming the agenda in our national development plans.” Uganda’s Vice President, Speaker of Parliament and Prime Minister were among those attending the lecture on 27 January 2015.

Kutesa said that “the most visible work of the United Nations has been in the area of decolonization,” citing the difference in Africa from 1945, which most of the continent was under colonial rule and administration, to the present, 54-country membership of the African Union.

Kutesa called on the post-2015 development agenda to focus on putting people at the center, through promoting inclusive economic growth and development. He emphasized the need to mobilize adequate means of implementation and to increase market access “especially for developing countries through fair trading regimes.” He also highlighted the importance of: incentivizing the private sector to meaningfully contribute to growth and development through private-public partnerships in strategic areas of the economy; and lowering the cost of commercial loans, to support cottage industries and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

On climate change, he noted that Uganda and many other developing countries already experience climate change effects, such as landslides, floods, and melting glaciers. “Mitigation and adaptation measures should not waver,” he said, and called for increasing financing for climate change technologies, including investment in renewable, clean technologies.

Among priorities for the 69th UNGA session, Kutesa highlighted UN Security Council reform, observing “the historical injustice that Africa continues to suffer as the only region without permanent representation,” and urged Member States to move the intergovernmental process towards text-based negotiations.

Addressing another meeting in Kampala, Kutesa described his upcoming series of high-level events, including on: Means of Implementation for a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda (9-10 February 2015); Advancing Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women in the Post-2015 development agenda (6 March 2015); Promoting Tolerance and Reconciliation (6 April 2015); Strengthening Cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organizations (15 May 2015); the Demographic Dividend and Youth Employment (June 2015); and Climate Change (29 June 2015). [Lecture: The United Nations at 70: towards a transformative socio-economic development agenda] [Breakfast Meeting] [UNGA President’s Calendar of Events]