MR. PRESIDENT,
MR. SECRETARY-GENERAL,
YOUR EXCELLENCIES,
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
IT IS A GREAT PRIVILEGE FOR ME
TO ADDRESS THIS MILLENNIUM ASSEMBLY ON BEHALF OF KENYA. I CONGRATULATE YOU,
SECRETARY-GENERAL, ON THE
METICULOUS WAY IN WHICH YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR THIS HISTORIC MEETING. THE REGIONAL
BEARINGS, IN WHICH ALL OUR COUNTRIES PARTICIPATED, HAVE PUT FORWARD AN IMPRESSIVE LIST OF
IDEAS, SUGGESTIONS AND OBJECTIVES - PARTICULARLY ON THE ROLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS IN THE
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY.
FROM
OUR OWN REGION - AFRICA - THE ISSUES OF PEACE AND SECURITY AND THE CHALLENGES OF
DEVELOPMENT HAVE TENDED TO PREDOMINATE. WE ARE CONFIDENT, SECRETARY-GENERAL, THAT THE
PROCESS YOU INITIATED WILL ALLOW AFRICA'S VOICE TO BE HEARD WITH GREATER CLARITY. AND I
HOPE, WITH GREATER URGENCY.
MR.
PRESIDENT,
THE FIRST FEW MONTHS OF THE NEW
MILLENNIUM HAVE NOT BEEN KIND TO AFRICA. WE HAVE SUFFERED FROM SEVERE AND EXTREME WEATHER
CONDITIONS. IN MY OWN COUNTRY, KENYA, WE HAVE HAD TO FACE THE WORST DROUGHT SINCE
INDEPENDENCE.
THIS
HAS SET BACK THE PROCESS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH AND RECOVERY. WE, IN AFRICA, WORK HARD TO
ADVANCE THE SOMETIMES SLOW PACE OF DEVELOPMENT. THE TOTAL FAILURE OF THE RAINS THIS YEAR
MAKES OUR TASK HARDER AND OUR TARGETS ALL THE MORE
DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE. EVEN MORE IMPORTANT, THERE HAS BEEN A HIGH HUMAN COST TO PAY.
SOUTHER AFRICA, CONVERSELY, HAD TO
COPE WITH TORRENTIAL RAINFALL AND WIDESPREAD FLOODING. AGAIN THE COST IN TERMS OF HUMAN
MISERY HAS BEEN GREAT.
THESE, OF COURSE, ARE NATURAL
DISASTERS. THEY OCCUR FROM TIME TO TIME IN THE HISTORY OF OUR CONTINENT. WE CANNOT,
PHYSICALLY, PREVENT SUCH DISASTERS. THEY ARE NATURAL PHENOMENA. WE MUST RELY ON
INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE TO MITIGATE THE WORST EFFECTS. BUT I HAVE TO SAY THAT,
INCREASINGLY, THE INTERNATIONAL
RESPONSE, WHICH HAS BEEN SO GENEROUS IN THE PAST, HAS TENDED TO SLOW DOWN IN MORE RECENT
TIMES. AS CRISIS FOLLOWS CRISIS, WE ARE ALL AWARE OF THE HUGE DEMANDS NOW BEING MADE ON
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY - AND THE DANGERS OF DONOR FATIGUE.
MR. PRESIDENT,
OUR CONTINENT IS FACED BY OTHER
DISASTERS - BUT THESE TEND TO BE MAN-MADE. I REFER TO THE CIVIL WARS AND ENDLESS CONFLICTS THAT DESTROY, AT A STROKE, YEARS
OF PAINSTAKING DEVELOPMENT. IN CERTAIN CASES, THESE WARS HAVE LASTED, LITERALLY, FOR GENERATIONS. THEY SPILL ACROSS OUR
BORDERS BRINGING WEAPONS OF WAR, INSTABILITY, AND INCREASING CRIME INTO PEACEFUL
COUNTRIES. THEY BRING THOUSANDS OF REFUGEES THAT WE CANNOT AFFORD TO LOOK AFTER. THESE CONFLICTS ALSO MAKE A MOCKERY OF
ALL ATTEMPTS TO REDUCE POVERTY – THE GREATEST CHALLENGE FACED BY OUR CONTINENT.
THERE IS A FURTHER. REACTION TO
THESE DISASTERS - WHETHER CAUSED BY NATURE'S EXCESSES OR BY HUMAN GREED AND AMBITION. THE OVERALL
INTERNATIONAL REACTION IS INEVITABLY AN ERODING OF CONFIDENCE IN AFRICA. AND THIS, IN
TURN, LEADS TO A CUTBACK IN FOREIGN INVESTMENT WHICH is
ALREADY AT PITIFULLY LOW
LEVELS. A LACK OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT, AS WE KNOW, MEANS FEWER JOBS ACROSS THE CONTINENT
AND A WEAKENING IN THE BATTLE TO COMBAT POVERTY.
WE NEED URGENTLY, TO ADDRESS THIS
GROWING AND DANGEROUS PESSIMISM. WE NEED TO CHALLENGE THE VOICES OF DESPAIR. WE NEED TO
COUNTER THOSE SO-CALLED COMMENTATORS WHO SO OFTEN IGNORE THE SHEER SIZE OF OUR CONTINENT -
AND CONVENIENTLY FORGET THAT WE ARE DIVIDED UP INTO FIFTY-FOUR SOVEREIGN STATES, EACH WITH
ITS OWN CULTURE, CUSTOMS AND SYSTEMS OF GOVERNMENT. PERHAPS THEY ALSO NEED REMINDING THAT
- OUR BORDERS WERE CREATED ARTIFICIALLY BY THE COLONIAL POWERS WITHOUT REGARD TO THE
WISHES OF OUR PEOPLE. THIS IS, OF COURSE, A MAJOR CAUSE OF CONFLICT TODAY.
MR. PRESIDENT,
AT SUCH AN HISTORIC MEETING ASTHIS -
WE MUST LOOK FORWARD -WE MUST FIND SOLUTIONS TO THESE ENDLESS FUTILE WARS. IT IS A MATTER
OF PRIDE TO US IN KENYA, THAT WE HAVE NEVER FAILED TO REACT TO REQUESTS FROM THE UNITED
NATIONS TO PROVIDE SOLDIERS FOR UNITED NATIONS PEACE-KEEPING MISSIONS. OUR PRIDE IS
TAMPERED WITH SADNESS IN THAT, IN RECENT MONTHS, SEVERAL KENYAN SOLDIERS, SERVING UNDER
THE UMBRELLA OF THE UNITED NATIONS, HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES TO THE CAUSE OF PEACE IN SIERRA
LEONE.
BUT WE NOW FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT GREATER
RESOURCES MUST BE MOBILIZED BY THE UNITED NATIONS FOR CONFLICT PREVENTION AND RESOLUTION.
IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO REACT TO CONFLICT. WE MUST THROW OUR ENERGIES INTO ANTICIPATING AND
PREVENTING CONFLICT. I KNOW THAT THIS IS CLOSE TO THE HEART OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL.
KENYA STANDS READY - BASED ON OUR CONSIDERABLE EXPERIENCE OF MEDIATION EFFORTS IN OUR OWN
REGION - TO PLAY ITS FULL PART IN THIS REGARD. AND IF WE ARE ASKED TO PROVIDE
PEACE-KEEPERS AGAIN, I TRUST THEY WILL BE GIVEN A CLEAR AND ROBUST MANDATE TO BE ABLE TO
DO THEIR WORK EFFECTIVELY.
MR. PRESIDENT,
AS I HAVE INDICATED, OUR CONTINENT
FACES DAUNTING CHALLENGES. WE ARE FACED, ABOVE ALL, BY POVERTY NOW EXACERBATED BY THE AIDS
PANDEMIC. BUT THERE IS ANOTHER SIDE TO THIS STORY. OUR PEOPLE HAVE GREAT QUALITIES AND,
ABOVE ALL, GREAT RESILIENCE. AND PROGRESS IS BEING MADE. AFRICA HAS HUGE NATURAL RESOURCES
THAT REMAIN VIRTUALLY UNTAPPED. THERE ARE EXPANDING MARKETS AS AFRICAN COUNTRIES COME
TOGETHER TO CREATE NEW DYNAMIC TRADING BLOCKS. THERE IS RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF OUR HUMAN RESOURCES POTENTIAL ACROSS OUR ENTIRE CONTINENT.
THERE ARE HIGHLY SOPHISTICATED
BUSINESS AND BANKING CENTRES IN MANY OF OUR CITIES. OUR, FARMERS HAVE PROVED THAT, GIVEN
THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES AND FAVOURABLE WEATHER CONDITIONS, THEY CAN DOUBLE AND TRIPLE
THEIR YIELDS.
WE LIVE, WE KNOW, IN AN INCREASINGLY
COMPLEX AND INTERDEPENDENT WORLD. GLOBALIZATION HAS BROUGHT US CLOSER TOGETHER.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY OFFERS TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITIES - NOT ONLY FOR BUSINESS, BUT FOR
EDUCATION AND HEALTH.
AT THIS MILLENNIUM ASSEMBLY, DECLARE
OUR CONFIDENCE AND FAITH IN THE FUTURE OF AFRICA. I HOPE YOU SHARE THIS CONFIDENCE TOO. OUR PEOPLE - OUR GREATEST RESOURCE - DESERVE NO
LESS. WE WILL MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER.
THANK
YOU.
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