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UN Radio
UN Radio
UN and Africa
Programme Number: 118
Week of: Sunday, 17th September, 2006
Recording Date: Thursday, 21st September, 2006
Topical Issue(s):
" The General Assembly started its general debate
on issues and challenges facing the international community.
Presenting his last report on the work of the Organization,
the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said that development,
the rule of law and respect for human rights remain
the main challenges facing the world.
" The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio
Guterres, says that as a result of repatriation operations,
the number of refugees has decreased. He stresses the
importance of ensuring that the people who have returned
to their country have sustainable livelihood.
" Fighters of the Lord's Resistance Army of Uganda
gather at assembly points in Southern Sudan as part
of the implementation of an agreement to stop fighting.
Welile Nhlapho of the Department of Political Affairs
says that this is an encouraging development.
RESENTER: This is United Nations Radio in New York.
:
Hello and welcome to UN and Africa, I'm Ransford Cline-Thomas.
PRESENTER:
In this edition, the President of South Africa, Thabo
Mbeki calls for a more equitable world economic order
as world leaders gather in New York.
CLIP 1: THABO MBEKI
Something is wrong when many Africans traverse, on foot,
the harsh, hot and hostile Sahara Desert to reach the
European shores.
PRESENTER:
Also in this programme, the head of the United Nations
refugee agency, Antonio Guterres says although the number
of refugees has declined in recent years, people who
return to their countries face a huge challenge.
CLIP 2: ANTONIO GUTERRES
The main problem we face is that in some of these situations,
it is very difficult to guarantee the sustainability
of return. Why? Either because conflict can reignite
or because the economic conditions are so bad that there
are really no opportunities to build a new life with
their families.
PRESENTER:
And later in the programme, you will hear about progress
in ending the conflict in Northern Uganda as fighters
gather at assembly points in Southern Sudan.
So, stay tuned to UN Radio.
*** SIG TUNE *** (Bring up briefly, dip and hold under
until first sentence.)
PRESENTER:
It is that time of the year again when world leaders
gather at United Nations in New York to express their
views on various issues of concern to the international
community. The issues range from eradicating poverty
and hunger, tackling disease, resolving conflicts, fighting
terrorism to reforming the United Nations itself. UN
Radio's Diane Bailey has been listening to what some
of the leaders have been saying, especially about Africa.
NARRATOR:
First we have to look at what Secretary-General Kofi
Annan told member states when he gave his assessment
of the work of the organization not only over the past
year, but since he became Secretary-General in 1997.
And he did so from three perspectives, what he called
the three great challenges facing the international
community. These challenges were the security, development
challenge and the challenge of human rights and the
rule of law. Africa, Mr. Annan said, had not fared well,
especially on the economic front.
CUT 1: KOFI ANNAN
Africa was in great danger of being excluded from the
benefits of globalization, indeed of being left to rot
on the margins of the world economy. And many of Africa's
people felt they were unjustly condemned to be exploited
and oppressed, generation after generation, since colonial
rule had been replaced by an inequitable economic order
on the global level, and sometimes by corrupt rulers
and warlords at the local level.
NARRATOR:
Mr. Annan said while these three global challenges
continued to confront our world, we've also been presented
with new challenges. The goal of cutting the number
of poor people by half in the next nine years, he observed,
is not likely to be achieved. Meanwhile, the South African
President Thabo Mbeki, who is also Chairman of the Group
of 77 Developing countries and China, touched on a related
theme, namely the gap between rich and poor countries
and the extremes desperate people go through to get
out of poverty. He referred to Africans who risk life
and limb travelling in suffocating containers to Western
Europe in search of a better life.
CUT 2: THABO MBEKI
Something is wrong when many Africans traverse, on foot,
the harsh, hot and hostile Sahara Desert to reach the
European shores. Something is indeed wrong when all
these people, whose fault is merely the fact that their
lives are defined by poverty, try desperately to reach
countries where they believe the conditions of their
existence would improve, only to meet hostile, and at
times most barbaric and inhuman receptions.
NARRATOR:
The President of the Republic of the Congo, Denis Sassou
Nguesso, who is currently chair f the African Union,
focused on more positive developments, including the
holding of general elections in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo with the holding of general elections.
He stressed that everything must be done to ensure a
successful conclusion of the electoral process, particularly
the second round of the elections.
CUT 3: SASSOU NGUESSO
(French with English translation)
Similarly, the fact that we are talking today about
peace building in countries such as Burundi, Liberia,
Sierra Leone, is not only a reason for satisfaction
but also a reason for hope for other countries that
are still in a state of conflict. At the same time,
in a number of other situations as in Cote d'Ivoire,
in Sudan or Somalia, the search for ways out of the
crisis is still on the agenda.
NARRATOR:
Also participating in this year's general debate, was
the first elected African woman head of state, President
Ellen Johnson-Sirfleaf of Liberia. Delegates applauded
when she spoke strongly in favour of equality between
men and women.
CUT 4: ELLEN JOHNSON-SIRLEAF
It is my hope that the establishment of a new, independent
UN fund or programme for the empowerment of women and
gender equality will be fully supported by member states,
and that such fund will have sufficient resources to
support targeted programmes for women empowerment. (APPLAUSE)
NARRATOR:
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia taking part
for the first time in the UN General Debate. Reporting
for UN Radio, I am Diane Bailey.
STING/JINGLE: UN AND AFRICA THEME
PRESENTER:
The number of refugees and asylum seekers worldwide
has declined sharply in the past five years. However,
the issue of migration continues to be of great concern
as people from developing countries, particularly Africa
continue to face obstacles when they try to enter Europe.
This problem has come into sharper focus as the deadly
business of smuggling people across the Gulf of Aden
from Somalia to Yemen has resumed. The staff of the
UN refugee agency has already started to help several
hundred survivors who arrived in four open fishing boats
a few weeks ago. Four of them drowned. I caught up with
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio
Guterres who was in New York last week and asked him
to first explain the difference between migrants and
refugees.
GUTERRES: In general, migrants are those that move from
one country to the other because they want a better
life, because they have no jobs, they want to improve
their livelihoods, the conditions for the future of
their children. Refugees are those that flee from one
country to the other because they are forced because
of persecution, civil war, or other reasons of the same
sort.
CLINE-THOMAS: Earlier this year you launched a report
in London, The State of the World's refugees. And in
that report, it was stated that there has been a sharp
decline in the number of refugees and asylum seekers
over the past five years. What are reasons for that
decline?
GUTERRES: I think the main reason is the success of
several very relevant repatriation operations in which
people went back home as soon as peace was established
with a lot of courage and with a lot of will to participate
in the construction of a new feature for their countries.
The main problem we face is that in some of these situations,
it is very difficult to guarantee the sustainability
of return. Why? Either because conflict can reignite
or because the economic conditions are so bad that there
are really no opportunities to build a new life with
their families. I just came from Liberia. Liberia has
had a very remarkable transition for peace, for democracy.
But the whole budget of the Liberian government is $18
million and a teacher has a salary of $20 a month. So
in these circumstances, you can imagine how difficult
it is for someone that comes back to have a successful
life in her or his country.
CLINE-THOMAS: So you would say that support from the
international community is or will be part of the solution
to this whole question of sustainability?
GUTERRES: It is absolutely crucial. The international
community knows how to deliver assistance in emergencies.
CLINE-THOMAS: You mentioned Liberia. What's the assessment
of the situation in the whole continent of Africa? Are
things getting better or worse?
GUTERRES: I think we have a mixed picture. We have remarkable
achievements in establishing peace, in establishing
democracy, in creating the conditions for countries
to rebuild themselves. But at the same time the challenges
are huge. The resources are very scarce, especially
human resources are very scarce. You lack doctors, you
lack teachers, you la ck people to build an administration.
There is a question of capacity building that is absolutely
crucial and again that strongly needs international
support.
CLINE-THOMAS: And, if I may, I'd like us now to just
focus a little on the deadly business of smuggling Africans
across the Gulf of Aden from Somalia to Yemen. How serious
is this problem and what is the solution?
GUTERRES: Well, it is absolutely unacceptable. It's
something intolerable - smuggling and even worst, trafficking
are two nightmares in today's world and we need to crack
down on them with the same kind of determination that
the international community is facing for instance drug
trafficking. And at the same time, if people smuggle,
it's because there are not enough legal channels of
migration open.
CLINE-THOMAS: What can be done then to muster the political
will to resolve this problem?
GUTERRES: First of all to recognize that globalization
is asymmetric, money flows freely, goods, well with
some obstacles but a lot has been done in the liberalization
of trade. But people still have lots of obstacles to
move. And this is one of the factors that makes the
world more unfair. And to recognize that markets also
work to use liberal economic approach, markets also
work for people. And if supply and demand are not met
legally, they will be met illegally, and create the
conditions for migration to become a normal thing in
today's world and an important instrument for development
both in the North and in the South.
PRESENTER:
That was Antonio Guterres, the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees.
PRESENTER:
After battling government forces, killing and abducting
civilians for twenty years, the Lord's Resistance Army
has finally signed an agreement with the government
to stop the fighting. The agreement reached in the town
of Juba in Southern Sudan a few weeks ago is expected
to end the ordeal of more than one million people who
have been displaced in northern Uganda. Already hundreds
of LRA fighters have gathered at assembly points in
Southern Sudan and their leaders, Joseph Kony and Vincent
Otti were expected to report at an assembly point at
the Sudan-Congo border this week. UN Radio's Derrick
Mbatha discussed these positive developments with Welile
Nhlapho, Director of African affairs at the United Nations.
NHLAPHO: Well there have been very encouraging reports
that have been coming through in the past two weeks
about fighters of the LRA moving in the direction of
the assembly points, those who are coming from Northern
Uganda itself, moving towards the agreed assembly point
at Owiny-Ki-Bul and of course the others will be coming
from the Congo and other areas in the region had also
started reporting at the assembly point at Ri-Kwangba.
MBATHA: And what does this mean in terms of the implementation
of the agreement to end this conflict in Northern Uganda?
NHLAPHO: I think one we chose that this commitment
to implement agreement so it means there is good faith;
it means he is confident, which is what the cessation
of hostility is supposed to achieve. So this phase has
been encouraging, I mean if we have one thousand six
hundred and four people reporting already and then about
four thousand, who are reported to be on their way in
different directions I think that is encouraging and
of course amongst those are also women and children,
who are a targeted group that has got special care to
be arranged for them.
MBATHA: What is going to happen to these fighters?
NHLAPHO: They will remain there until the final cease
fire agreement is signed. And once that has been signed
then the process of separation part of which will begin
now to separate the armed people from those women and
children and other non-essentials as they call them.
You then have to go through a process of disarming,
demobilising and reintegration of those people, which
means those who want to go into the army, then they
will be taken care of in the usual way and those who
want to go back into the communities then all sorts
of processes that have been prepared are going to have
to kick off to accommodate for that process.
MBATHA: What about this issue of the indictments that
were served by the International Criminal Court? How
does one here now balance the need for justice while
promoting peace in Northern Uganda?
NHLAPHO: Well first I think it has to be registered
that it is the prerogative of the ICC to prosecute once
the matter has been brought to them. At the moment there
are discussion between the ICC and the government of
Uganda to find the best possible way of ensuring that
that balance you are referring to can be struck that
both justice and the need for peace should be served
in whatever processes that will follow. In the view
of the government of Uganda, they are ready to give
this people amnesty.
MBATHA: You were in Uganda recently. What impression
did you get of the possibility of peace finally coming
to that part of Uganda?
NHLAPHO: I passed through Uganda, Juba where the talks
are taking place. From my experience and what I realise
there, I think everything is in place to make this thing
to succeed. The participation of the political, cultural
and religious leaders from Northern Uganda itself as
observers in the process, has been a major boost to
the efforts of the mediator because they do come in
with, I think a tranquilising effect and bring some
calm between the parties and get them to remain focused
on the real issues that they must be negotiating on.
PRESENTER:
That was Welile Nhlapho of the Department of Political
Affairs at the United Nations.
And that's all for this edition of UN and Africa. Our
producer was Derrick Mbatha, Production Assistant was
Nyi Nyi Teza and our sound engineer was Mosie Nagal
And from me Ransford Cline-Thomas, bye for now.
*** CLOSING MUSIC ***
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