PERMANENT
MISSION OF THE FEDERAL
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA,
`TO THE UNITED NATIONS
BY
H.
E. MR. SEYOUM MESFIN
MINISTER
OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE
FEDERAL
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA
AT
THE
FIFTY‑FIFTH
SESSION OF THE
UNITED
NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
UNITED
NATIONS, NEW YORK
18
SEPTEMBER 2000
Mr.
President,
Allow me, from the outset, to extend warm
congratulations to you on your election to preside over the Fifty-fifth
session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. I would like also to
express our appreciation to your predecessor, Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab,
for the able manner with which he had discharged his responsibilities as
President of the Fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly.
I wish also to take this opportunity to express our
sincere appreciation to our Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for all the
efforts he has been making to make the United Nations equally relevant to all
of us. I wish, in particular, to congratulate him on the success of the
Millennium Summit which we are hopeful will be a landmark for a more meaningful
and enhanced cooperation among nations.
Mr. President,
We have indeed been encouraged by the well‑deserved
emphasis that was given to Africa and to Africa's predicament at the Millennium
Summit. It is our hope that the Summit may have helped create greater
determination for cooperation with the peoples of Africa so that Africa
may make real progress in addressing the challenges of development, and of
peace and security.
The problems of Africa, Mr. President, are defined
by those two very closely related challenges. Africa's development continues to
be arrested by problems of insecurity, instability and lack of peace. On the
other hand, it appears unrealistic to expect durable peace in Africa without
hope in the future that could be brought about only by visible indications
about possibilities for progress.
In both areas, Africa has not had the necessary
support commensurate with the complexity of the challenges it has faced. It
might be necessary to hasten to add here that indeed Africa itself might not
always have taken advantage of available opportunities for making progress, and
we might sometimes have squandered real opportunities for breaking out of the
vicious cycle of poverty, and lack of peace and stability.
While this may be partly true, the significance of
the missed chances that Africa has allowed to pass should not be exaggerated.
It is far from the truth that Africa has enjoyed sustained, resolute and all-out
support, either in the area of economic development or in the sphere of peace
and security. On the other hand, it is precisely this type of cooperation
which is required by many in Africa to be able to embark on sustainable
economic development and growth. But whether with respect to debt relief, or to
declining terms of trade, or to all aspects of the challenges of and obstacles
to development, the types of cooperation made available to our countries
have always been limited as well as entangled with all kinds of conditions
which have been far from helpful.
Mr.
President,
Like all regions of the world and like all
countries, Africa and African nations should and must assume primary
responsibility for what happens in Africa in general, and in individual African
countries. But at one time or another in their history, most regions of the
world, and most countries, have had occasions to rely on international
solidarity and co-operation as a catalyst for creating conditions for
development, and for stability.
But Africa's fate has been different. For whatever
reason, it has been easier to lose hope on Africa, than to give the continent
the benefit of the doubt. This, even when little has been done to help Africa
address the real challenges it is facing in a variety of areas.
This is not, Mr. President, only in the area of
economic development. We have seen the same thing taking place with respect to
the need for Africa to promote respect for the rule of law and to create
conditions for peace and stability. Africa is also being marginalized in terms
of the universal applicability of principles of international law. It is our
hope that Africa will be judged by the same standard in this regard. Otherwise,
there can be little chance for peace and stability in our continent.
We say this from experience. There is no effective
substitute, if opportunities are to be created for peaceful resolution of
situations of crisis in Africa, for a quick and an appropriate response by the
international community to violations of international law. Peace can never be
promoted through appeasement of aggression or by creating the impression that,
depending on circumstances, on where they take place and to whom they happen,
some acts of aggression can be tolerated.
Mr.
President,
We in Ethiopia have, only a week ago, celebrated our
new year. We have entered the year 1993 with confidence that it will be a year
of peace and progress. Our people have made the commitment to resume the task
of economic development in full force - a task which was
rudely interrupted two years ago when our country became a victim of
aggression.
It is also in this spirit that we are proceeding
with full commitment to put behind us the crisis we have had with Eritrea. Even
before the deployment of peace-keepers, contrary to experience in other
places, the cessation of hostilities has held for months now. We look forward,
both to the deployment of the peace-keepers and to a speedy conclusion of
a comprehensive settlement. All those prepared to contribute to this effort
should rest assured that what they should expect from Ethiopia, its people and
their Government, is the fullest cooperation. For us agreements concluded are
made to be respected, not to be violated. In any case, what our people wish to
be identified with, fully and with no ambiguity, is peace‑making, not war-making.
We hope that we now will have the opportunity to work for peace and for economic
growth and development.
There are few who need the blessings of peace more
than the people of Ethiopia and of our Sub-region. As much as our people
refuse to see aggression rewarded at their expense, they have, on the other
hand, never been wanting in demonstrating full commitment to peace and
legality. Our people will never jettison this noble tradition.
Ethiopia takes also its responsibility for peace and
stability in our Sub-region and in Africa as a whole, very seriously. In
this regard, we have been enormously encouraged by the developments with
respect to the peace initiative on Somalia under the auspices of President
Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti.
It is Ethiopia's hope that what has already been
achieved in Djibouti will be built upon and that the momentum for peace and
national reconciliation will be maintained.
We are convinced that if the remaining problems are
handled with realism, wisdom and mutual accommodation, there is little doubt
that the people of Somalia will very soon be able to put behind them the ten-year
nightmare they have faced. I would like therefore to take this opportunity to
call on all concerned to make this newly created opportunity for peace in
Somalia, and for the restoration of the Somali state, irreversible. The process
should not be allowed to be held hostage by those who may not be prepared for
national reconciliation. Nor should it be endangered by failure to be
sufficiently accommodating and sufficiently patient. This is what the
international community should encourage.
The opportunity now created in Somalia should not be
allowed to slip away. This could easily happen if all attention is focused on
seeking international legitimacy rather than internal national reconciliation.
It would indeed be a tragedy and a recipe for further bloodshed in Somalia if
effort is not made to build on the peace and stability that has already been
achieved by some regions and parts of Somalia. The issue of Somaliland, for
instance, requires great sensitivity and a sense of enormous responsibility.
Whatever has been achieved in Djibouti is going to be tested by how well the
peace and stability that some parts of Somalia have achieved, is preserved.
For Ethiopia, and for Somalia's neighbours, these
are critical issues. And the formal stand we will be taking with respect to the
evolving situation in Somalia will depend on how these issues are addressed by
those who have now the chance to affect the destiny of the people of Somalia.
While we wish them well and promise them our full cooperation, we also
ask them to use this historic opportunity with full sense of responsibility and
wisdom.
Let me take this opportunity, Mr. President, to also
state that Ethiopia, along with its IGAD partners, will continue to do the
maximum possible for peace and national reconciliation in the Sudan. It has
always been our firm conviction that the Declaration of Principles provides a
just and realistic basis for reaching a settlement on the crisis in South
Sudan. It is also our view that a broader national reconciliation in the Sudan
can easily be achieved on the basis of democratic principles and mutual
accommodation. Ethiopia will continue to be committed to peace in the Sudan on
this basis, and to cooperate with all those who have the good will to
contribute to peace in our Sub-region.
Let me reiterate, Mr. President, Ethiopia will do
the maximum possible for peace and durable stability in Africa as a whole with
the full knowledge that without peace we in Africa will have little chance for
ensuring a better future for our people.
Mr.
President,
Before concluding, I would like to say a few words
on how much vital it is that the reform of the Security Council is completed as
speedily as possible. The reform of the Council is critical for the credibility
of the United Nations and for its increased legitimacy. As matters stand now,
it cannot but be too obvious that not many believe that the work of the
Security Council is conducted with sufficient transparency. In fact, there is a
growing conviction that the Council is being less and less representative and
more and more distant from the sentiments of the majority.
This, we believe, needs to be rectified. And this
can be done in two ways, First, by ensuring that there is equitable
representation of all regions of the world on the Council. Secondly, it is also
important that the work of the Council is made more open, and its decision
making made more transparent. The interest of peace and Security will be served
better if the Council is more transparent and more open to the views of others,
most particularly to the views of those directly affected by the decisions of
the council.
It is our earnest hope, Mr. President, that the
United Nations will be more relevant to all in the 21ST century, and in equal measures, than it has
been in the past fifty-five years. This is not an unrealistic objective.
But it requires the commitment of all, big and small.
I
thank you.