I take this opportunity to
add my voice to those of numerous speakers who
extended their warmest congratulations to Mr. d’Escoto
Brockmann on his assumption of his responsibilities as
President of the General Assembly at its sixty-third
session. I am confident that this world body will
benefit from his rich experience and wise guidance.
I also appreciate the Secretary-General’s
commitment to putting Africa’s urgent needs at the top
of his agenda during his term in office, and particularly
his untiring efforts to assist Somalis in finding a lasting
solution to their conflict.
In that connection, I propose to confine my
remarks first to what I consider to be the most
important issues surrounding the development needs of
Africa and the implementation of the Millennium
Development Goals. Secondly, I will raise some of the
major concerns we have about the current situation in
Somalia. In recent years, a great deal has been said
about Africa and its problems regarding development
needs and policy implementation. I would like to dwell
briefly on three particular areas: aid, the debt burden
and trade.
On the issue of aid to Africa, we are mainly
concerned with its quantity, relevance and quality. Of
course, we support any measure, be it bilateral or
multilateral, likely to increase the effectiveness,
coordination and coherence of aid. With regard to the
quantity of total official development assistance, most
observers would agree that total aid to Africa in the
coming years is not likely to increase and may even
decrease. Therefore, it would be unrealistic to entertain
exaggerated hopes for development through aid. Most
donor countries have yet to reach the United Nations-
recommended target of dedicating 0.7 per cent of their
gross national income to official development
assistance.
With regard to the debt burden of many countries
in Africa, especially the so-called highly indebted poor
countries, we believe that the international community
should be doing far more than has been attempted or
achieved in recent years. For one thing, the process of
reducing debt should be accelerated to give credence to
our recognition of the existence of an urgent crisis. We
believe that, in respect of the least developed and low-
53 08-52265
income countries, outstanding debts should be totally
cancelled. We need to free resources for growth and the
achievement of national development goals, including
the Millennium Development Goals.
With regard to the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals, we need to take a
closer look at our development policies and institutions
with a view to effecting urgent reforms. Corruption
needs to be controlled and better governance given a
real boost and not just lip service. Priority attention to
agriculture should be reinstated. Africa can and should
produce more food.
We are convinced that Africa has enormous
potential. We believe that its greatest potential is in the
sphere of trade, and less as a recipient of aid or debt
relief. In that connection, trade barriers against the
agricultural products of Africa should be removed from
the markets of the European Union and North America
if the developed countries are really serious about
aiding the less developed.
As we are all well aware, the Doha Round of
negotiations is still at an impasse due to the divergence
of interests between the developed and developing
members of the World Trade Organization. At the heart
of the impasse is the existence of huge subsidies given
to farmers in the European Union and North America.
Unless those subsidies are totally eliminated or
substantially reduced, there is little hope for Africa and
developing countries elsewhere to compete in the
markets of the developed countries.
I would now like to move from major issues
facing development in Africa to the specific problems
and prospects of Somalia. We wish first to reaffirm that
the Transitional Federal Government of the Somali
Republic is fully committed to the implementation of
the road map envisaged under the Somali Charter
adopted in 2004, despite daunting natural and man-
made challenges.
With regard to reconciliation, we wish to point
out that a peace and reconciliation agreement was
agreed upon and signed between the Transitional
Federal Government and the opposition alliance on
19 August 2008 in Djibouti. We are now in the process
of implementation, we hope without undue delays. But
we are also mindful, after 18 years of conflict, that
delays could occur as a result of the tactics of those
who have developed a vested interest in anarchy and
chaos. It is also important that the leadership, both on
the Government side and on the opposition side, show
resolve and leadership if the process is to succeed —
and succeed it must. We are also determined to ensure
that the efforts of saboteurs and spoilers will not keep
hostage the whole Somali nation and peace in the
region. We hope that we can count on the unambiguous
support of the members of this United Nations body
and the Security Council.
The situation in Somalia has been on the agenda
of the Security Council for a long time. We urge the
United Nations and the Security Council to play their
part and not to allow opportunities to be lost through a
policy of wait and see. Ultimately, history may not be
very kind to the way the Security Council has been
handling the Somali case when compared to the ways
that it has responded to other crises in comparable
situations. We urgently need the deployment of a fully
fledged United Nations peacekeeping force to restore
peace and stability and to create a secure environment
for institution-building and socio-economic development.
Let me draw to the Assembly’s attention the
increasing acts of piracy and armed robbery against
vessels in Somali and adjacent waters, which have
resulted in the loss of both human life and property.
My Government has strongly condemned those
criminal acts, which violate international law and the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of
l0 December 1982. Those criminal acts of piracy are
unacceptable and should be put to an end. Since
Somalia has no capacity to interdict vessels or patrol
its long coastline to ensure the security of the sea lanes,
we call on the international community to cooperate
with the Transitional Federal Government in the fight
against sea piracy, in conformity with the provisions of
paragraph 7 of Security Council resolution 1816
(2008). We stand ready to cooperate with all Member
States as well as with the United Nations in
implementing that resolution.
We believe that the time has come for the world
to take resolute action against the piracy off the coast
of Somalia and to put an end to these criminal acts. It
is unconscionable that, at the dawn of the twenty-first
century, piracy on such a scale has been left unchecked
for so long. We applaud the efforts of the Government
of France, particularly President Sarkozy, in the fight
against the piracy and armed robbery off the coast of
Somalia.
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Finally, I would like to touch on the dire
humanitarian situation in Somalia, which is the result
of conflict, drought and acts of piracy, as well as
flooding in some regions. I appeal to the international
community to provide more humanitarian aid to the
Somali people. I wish to thank the Governments of
France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Canada for
escorting ships carrying humanitarian aid to Somalia. I
would also like to express our profound thanks to all
countries that are currently providing humanitarian aid
to our country.
Permit me to conclude by emphasizing the
importance of conflict prevention, conflict resolution
and conflict management, not only in Somalia, but also
throughout Africa and the developing world. It is hard
to imagine that any meaningful socio-economic
development could take place without peace or
security. It is not realistic to expect countries in a state
of conflict to achieve all or any of the agreed-upon
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Therefore, it
is incumbent upon all developing countries, the United
Nations and the Security Council to promote the
conditions for effective development. Otherwise, the
MDGs will appear to be an exercise in wishful
thinking.