GAMBIA
statement
by
HIS EXCELLENCY
DR. MOMODOU LAMIN SEDAT JOBE
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE
GAMBIA
AT
THE 55TH SESSION OF THE
UNITED NATIONS GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK
20 SEPTEMBER 2000
Mr. President
Your
Excellencies
Distinguished
Delegates
Ladies and
Gentlemen
Allow me first of all, Mr. President, to
congratulate you on your election as President of the 55th Session of the UN
General Assembly and commend you too for the able leadership you have shown
since the beginning of our meeting. With your wisdom and vast experience there
is no doubt that you will guide our deliberations to a successful conclusion.
In the same vein, I would also like to commend His
Excellency Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, the outgoing President, for the professional
and efficient manner in which he had conducted the affairs of this August
Assembly.
Last but by no means the least, I pay tribute to His
Excellency the Secretary-General for the dynamic and visionary manner in which
he has been carrying out his mandate. I would also like to seize this
opportunity to congratulate him for his forward-looking Millennium Report,
entitled, "We the Peoples-The Role
of the United Nations in the 21st Century".
May I also join previous speakers in congratulating
Tuvalu on its admission as the newest member of the United Nations.
The Millennium Summit that has just ended, Mr.
President, was a historic event that brought together world leaders of the
highest political echelon who re-dedicated themselves to the principles of the
United Nations. As the Summit's Political Declaration and Outcome document
indicate, our leaders considered the various challenges faced by the United
Nations, exchanged views and explored ideas on the role that the organization
is expected to play in the 2lst century.
I am confident that through concerted efforts, we, the servants of the people, will energize
our United Nations to enable it tackle the challenges of this century.
Mr. President,
Some of the important issues that were raised during
the just concluded Summit, such as conflict resolution, poverty eradication and
accessibility to healthcare, and debt relief only to mention a few, have been
echoed by many speakers since the general debate began.
An issue that is of particular concern to the
President of the Republic of The Gambia and to my present delegation, Mr.
President, is that of conflict situations, particularly those in Africa. I am
referring to situations such as those that currently prevail in Angola, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia and Eritrea, Sierra Leone and
Somalia.
In Angola, we are concerned by the continuing civil
strife and its negative impact on the well being of the brotherly people of
this country. It is an open secret that the intransigence of UNITA is largely
responsible for the present state of affairs. We therefore commend the UN
Security Council Sanction Committee on Angola especially the work done by Ambassador Fowler and his Panel of
Experts to show the way forward on how to reduce UNITA's capacity to
wage war. We hope that the recommendations contained in the Panel's report will
be fully implemented. This will force UNITA back to the negotiating table if we
implement these recommendations scrupulously.
We are equally alarmed at the volatile situation in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its repercussions throughout the
Great Lakes region. My delegation therefore strongly urges the belligerents,
signatories of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement, to adhere to the latter's terms
and conditions, with a view to accelerating the peace process.
Regarding Ethiopia and Eritrea, we are heartened by
the current adherence to the June 2000 cease-fire and strongly urge the two
brotherly countries to accelerate negotiations on a comprehensive peace
agreement that would hopefully lead to a definitive conclusion of the
regrettable two-year border conflict. In this connection, my delegation strongly
supports the speedy deployment of a peacekeeping mission in the disputed area.
Somalia also continues to attract our attention. We
therefore commend His Excellency President Ismael Omar Guelleh for his
relentless endeavour to broker the Djibouti process that culminated in the
recent election of His Excellency President Abdiquassam Salad Hassan. We wish
President Salad Hassan all the best in his onerous task of forming a
representative government, a government of national unity, and in the uphill
task of rebuilding his war-torn country. We also appeal to all the Somali
factions to put their differences aside and put their country first and join in
the concerted effort to achieve the national unity that has eluded Somalia
since 1991.
Nearer home, Mr. President, the volatile situation
in the brotherly country of Sierra Leone continues to be of great concern to
us. My delegation however takes heart in the UN Security Council's decision by
its resolution 1317, to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission in
Sierra Leone. This together with the efforts being deployed by ECOWAS will
definitely bring about positive results very soon.
At this point, we also want to commend the UK
Government for stepping militarily to bolster the UN troops showing courage and
leadership when it was most needed. Other members of the Security Council
should emulate their example and show leadership by example.
My delegation welcomes the establishment of the
Special Court to try war crimes and other atrocities. Our only disappointment
is that unlike other Tribunals, funding is based on voluntary contributions.
How then do we expect the Sierra Leone Special Court to function effectively
and efficiently? Are we serious about the needs to eradicate the culture of
impunity? We also appreciate the work being done by the Security Council to ban
the trade of "conflict diamonds".
At the national, regional and sub-regional levels
the Secretary-General's 1998 Report on the
causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable
development in Africa remains a useful guide in our collective efforts to
resolve conflicts around the continent and at the same time address the problem
of development.
In addition to that, the Brahimi Report on UN Peace
and Security Activities is indeed very timely but we will only be doing justice
to the Report if we implement the recommendations contained in it and to do so
as soon as possible.
Mr. President, apart from the conflict in Africa we
also closely monitor conflict situations in other parts of the world such as
the Middle East, the Korean Peninsula and the Taiwan Strait.
In the Middle East, my delegation strongly supports
the peace process and the indefatigable efforts of President Bill Clinton to
help the parties concerned to reach an agreement satisfactory to all sides. We
must always bear in mind, however, that the relevant UN Security Council
Resolutions especially Resolution 242 and 338 remain the most credible basis
for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
Mr. President, if we unanimously agree that might is
not right in one part of the world we should apply the same principle in any
other part of the world. I will refer to a number of situations.
In the situation between Kuwait and Iraq, we in The
Gambia have always maintained that the international community should as a
matter of urgency find ways of alleviating the suffering of the Iraqi people.
But, at the same time, the Iraqi leadership must be accountable for the Kuwaiti
POWs and Missing Persons. The families of the POWs and Missing Persons have
also been suffering for too long. Furthermore, Mr. President, we cannot treat
lightly the issue of the Kuwaiti National Archives still in Iraqi hands. They must
be returned, as well as all other properties removed illegally from Kuwait at
the time of the invasion. Let us be fair to the people of Kuwait too.
Let justice prevail everywhere, Mr. President. The
sanctions imposed on Libya have since been suspended but what is stopping the
Security Council from lifting them altogether? Libya has complied with all the
conditions laid down by the Security Council. We therefore call on the Latter
to keep its part of the bargain.
Still on the subject of Libya, Mr. President, the
Government of The Gambia would like to congratulate President Muamar Gaddafi
for the preponderant role that he played to diffuse the hostage crisis in the
Philippines.
We also hope that the difference between the U.S.A.
and the Republic of Sudan will soon have a peaceful solution in the interest of
all.
Let me come back to the issue of sanctions, Mr.
President, but this time, I want to talk about Cuba. The unjust sanctions imposed on Cuba for over thirty years should be lifted as
many people of goodwill around the world are calling for it, including some
lawmakers here in the United States who believe that such sanctions are of
another age and are not conducive to good neighbourliness and international
cooperation.
It is our fervent hope that common sense would soon
prevail so that we see at long last the normalization of relations between the
U.S. and Cuba, two neighbours, two great countries, who have a lot to offer to their peoples and to the rest of the world.
It is in this spirit that my delegation hails the
thaw in relations between North and South Korea signaled by the June 2000
Summit in Pyongyang between Presidents Kim Jong II and Kim Dae-Jung. We
encourage the two brotherly countries to continue on the path of reconciliation
which, we hope, will lead to the eventual reunification of the two Koreas.
This is why we are equally hopeful that the ROC and
the PRC would one day be united. Meanwhile, Mr. President, we are here yet
again to reason with this august body the pressing need to reconsider its
position with regard to the case of the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan. At
this moment when we the United Nations are at a crossroads, when History is in
the making, when we are talking about inclusiveness, universality,
globalization, democratization-and the list goes on-it defies logic that a
country of 23 million with all that they have to offer to the rest of mankind
is continuously barred from participating in the work and activities of the
United Nations. The ROC has a national flag, a national ceremony, Banks that
are recognized all over the world. It is also one of the most advanced in the
field of technology and electronics, agriculture and medicine.
Here is a country relatively small in size but in
terms of social, economic, financial, cultural, technological and scientific
achievements, the ROC on Taiwan is indeed a force to be reckoned with, a
formidable powerhouse. This country has always espoused everything that our
Organization stands for, its purposes and principles, its aims and its
objectives, its shared values and dreams. The ROC is not discouraged. We must
in the spirit of democracy and justice allow them to hoist their flag as an
independent nation in this edifice of the United Nations.
Mr. President,
It is my delegation's firm belief that on this
historic occasion of the Millennium Summit, this is the time of embracing
opportunities, making progress on issues that divide us, moving forward and
looking to the future with confidence, rather than living in the past, burying
our heads in the sand, or turning the other way.
Mr. President,
If we look closely at the documents prepared for the
Millennium Summit whether it is the one introduced by the Secretar-General or
the working draft by the President, it will be seen that on almost all the
issues raised in these important documents, the ROC has a lot to offer.
Let's
take Human Rights, Democracy and Good Governance.
It will be recalled, Mr. President, that on March 18
this year, the ROC held its second presidential election. Nearly 12.8 million
people, approximately 83% of all eligible voters in Taiwan participated in
these elections, vigorously contested by candidates from all political parties.
The opposition won the election which resulted in an unprecedented transition
of power from one political party to another, in an orderly and peaceful
process.
In the area of Development and Poverty Eradication,
Mr. President, we have witnessed on a number of occasions how the ROC, through
its International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) has been
collaborating with such agencies as the Asian Development Bank, the Central
American Bank of Economic Integration, and the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development to support development projects around the world.
As for the crucial sector of the Information and
Communications Technology Revolution, it is an open secret that the ROC is in
the vanguard. We will be talking a lot about the growing digital divide. We
have to bridge this divide and it goes without saying that one of the major
pillars of this bridge is the ROC. How then can this country be excluded from
the UN family? Furthermore, in this era of globalization and liberalization, it
cannot be understood how a leading trading nation like the ROC should be
excluded from playing its rightful role in the comity of Nations. The ROC, Sir,
is one of the most successful examples of economic development in the 20th
century and is now the world's 19th largest economy in terms of GDP and, the
14th most important trading nation. And yes, it possesses the 3rd largest
amount of foreign reserves in the world.
What is even more praiseworthy, Mr. President, is
that the ROC has over the years sent over 10,000 experts to train technicians
in countries all over the world, especially in developing countries. In
addition to that, the ROC has also been providing disaster relief around the
world amounting to billions of dollars. This country, Sir, continues to respond
promptly and positively to UN appeals for emergency relief and rehabilitation
for countries suffering from natural disasters and wars.
Mr. President,
It will also be useful and
helpful to talk about cross-strait relations. (Whilst I still have the floor)
just to show that the door to dialogue is not completely shut between the ROC
and the PRC. In fact, since 1987, over 12 million visits had been affanged and
100 million letters and phone calls exchanged. Last year alone, some 2 million
visits were exchanged. We note with a sense of great satisfaction, Mr. President,
that cross-strait trade totaled $27 billion!!! These figures speak volumes, Mr.
President. This is why we believe that we should not only take note of but also
support the conciliatory gestures of the ROC towards the PRC, especially the
request for a summit to pursue cros-strait reconciliation efforts without
specifying any preconditions, format, or location. The newly elected President
of the ROC even went further by expressing the hope that the leaders of the ROC
and the PRC would respect the free choice of the people on both sides and work
together to resolve the question of a future "one-China".
Meanwhile, Mr. President,
whilst working to achieve that goal, we the United Nations should help the
process by considering how both sides of the Taiwan Strait can participate at
the same time in the United Nations. In this way, we are confident that as was
the case between the former East Germany and the former West Germany parallel
representation of divided nations in the United Nations in addition to contributing
to regional peace and security could also lead to their peaceful unification.
Mr. President,
Other than conflict
situations in the world, poverty eradication is also a matter that is close to
our heart. Indeed, Mr. President, as we begin the 21st Century, poverty remains
our number one challenge to sustainable human development. In this connection,
I would like to mention that about three weeks ago, The Gambia launched the 1998 National
Household Poverty Survey (NHPS) and the 1999-2000 Participatory Assessment
National Summary Reports. The poverty survey revealed that households engaged
in farming and the informal sectors record the highest poverty incidence at 80
percent and 85 percent respectively. Some of the causes identified were low
crop yields, inaccessibility to credit, low rainfall, poor soil fertility,
unemployment, insufficient food, lack of income for basic needs, poor health
and lack of education. We intend to address these causes within the framework
of The Gambia's Vision 2020-our national blueprint for socio-economic
development. The President of the Republic of The Gambia had thus reinforced
the use of tractors and mechanized plowing in order to increase the production
of rice, groundnuts and other agricultural commodities.
Mr. President,
Efforts to eradicate
poverty should also include a health component. Indeed, as the World Bank
rightly puts it, "a major acceleration of growth is unlikely without a
dramatic initiative by the World Bank and IMF while complementing the global
efforts also falls short of the expected target of complete cancellation of the
debt stock of all developing countries. Unless this is done, the debt burden
will continue to have a negative impact on the availability of adequate
resources to finance Africa's economic recovery and social development.
Mr. President,
The task of peace building
and peace making at the national and international level and the other tasks
within the United Nations' mandate are facilitated because we are fortunate to
have an organization such as the United Nations to provide the framework for
such efforts. As the Secretary-General aptly puts it in his We the Peoples Report, the United
Nations is "...the only body of its
kind with universal membership and comprehensive scope, and encompassing so
many areas of human endeavour. These features make
it a uniquely useful forum for sharing information,
conducting negotiations, elaborating norms and voicing expectations,
coordinating the behaviour of states and other actors, and pursuing common
plans of action”.
Regrettably the organization has not always been in
a position to effectively carry out its peacekeeping and other important roles.
This is due mainly to a dearth of financial resources.
Therefore, if it is to assume the important role the
founding fathers assigned it in the first place, that of meeting the needs of
the world's peoples, we the Member States have to provide it with the necessary
financial and other resources. The UN is expected to play an even greater role
in the 21st Century.
Quite apart from providing the Organization with the
necessary resources, there will be the need to carry out some reforms,
especially the Security Council. We must begin by making its membership more
reflective of present day realities. Any reform of the Security Council, Mr.
President, must first and foremost address the serious anomaly which excludes
Africa from the present permanent membership category. This must be corrected
and then give Africa a minimum of two permanent seats if and when the Council
is ever reformed. The right to veto is a rebellion against democracy. We call
upon the five permanent members that to understand the present situation in
this light will be a mark of the sense of equity and justice on their part. We
will then know that they also want a world of mutual respect and fraternal
cooperation in the service of humanity at large.
Mr. President,
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize once again
that the United Nations is the best legacy that the founding fathers could have
left for the peoples of the world. It has served us reasonably well for the
past fifty years, nations big and small, rich and poor. It can serve us even
better in the 21st century provided that we have the political will
to strengthen the Organization so that it can carry on with the difficult but
not impossible task of making this world a better place for all nations.
I thank you for your kind attention.