Sudan

Allow me at the outset to extend to Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab the sincere congratulations of my delegation on his election to the presidency of this session. We are confident that his well- known experience and abilities will lead this session to a successful conclusion. We assure him of the full cooperation of our delegation to achieve that objective. We also wish to express our appreciation to his predecessor for his valuable efforts, which led to the success of the previous session. By the same token, our appreciation also goes to Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary- General of the United Nations, for his efforts at the helm of the Organization. I also wish to welcome our newest Members — the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga. Mr. President, heeding your appeal to be very brief, I will not touch on all the points detailed in my statement before the Assembly, and I ask that the edited version be placed on record. Since I last spoke before the Assembly one year ago, the Sudan has witnessed numerous developments in the political, economic and social fields. A permanent constitution was endorsed by an overwhelming majority of the people in a popular and free referendum. This constitution guarantees for the Sudanese people all political and civil freedoms and rights, including the right 27 to form political parties and social and cultural organizations. Despite the difficulties faced by Sudan, as a result of both the war and natural disasters, it has been able, through its own efforts, to restructure its economy to meet the requirements of the free market. All this took place in the near-total absence of foreign aid. The Sudan has also started to exploit its natural resources, both agricultural and mineral, in particular oil, which we started exporting on 30 August last. Oil revenues will contribute to strengthening national efforts for socio-economic development. In the economic field, these endeavours have contributed to reversing a number of the short-term negative effects of the economic liberalization policies. These reform measures have so far helped to achieve an 8 per cent total growth rate and to reduce the rate of inflation to 13 per cent, and have led the International Monetary Fund to commend this remarkable achievement. In order to alleviate the economic burdens resulting from economic reform policies, our Government has adopted a number of measures to assist the more vulnerable groups and low- income citizens through social assistance funds, the provision of “soft” loans and the establishment of small productive projects for youth and women. In the search for peace in southern Sudan, the Government accepted the Declaration of Principles as a basis for its negotiations with the rebels within the framework of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). It also declared a partial ceasefire, as it had repeatedly done, in order to ensure the delivery of relief assistance to its citizens affected by the war. Subsequently, we came to the conclusion that the most effective way to show our seriousness about arriving at a genuine and lasting solution to this humanitarian tragedy was to ensure the cessation of all hostilities. The Government therefore took its recent initiative to establish a general and comprehensive ceasefire while continuing the negotiations through IGAD, with the assistance of our IGAD partners. However, those efforts by my Government were met by prevarication and were not taken seriously by the other side. The failure of the rebel movement to accept a comprehensive ceasefire is proof of its lack of interest and seriousness in searching for a solution to the problem, which has enriched its leaders at the expense of the Sudanese people in general and of our southern citizens in particular. The Sudan looks forward to a more effective role by IGAD, the partners of IGAD and the Egyptian and Libyan conciliation initiative, in support of the peace efforts. The call for a comprehensive ceasefire has also been endorsed by the United Nations and the international community. We are grateful for and appreciate that support. Yet the process needs to be given further impetus and support if an environment conducive to the establishment of peace is to be created and all the obstacles in its way are to be removed. In this context, we call upon the international community to take punitive measures against the rebel Garang similar to those taken against Savimbi in Angola, in order to persuade him to join the peace effort. We also call for continued support for the Government initiative aimed at achieving a comprehensive ceasefire, through bringing pressure to bear on the rebel movement to accept that initiative and to show some seriousness in the negotiations in order to find a solution to the problem. Furthermore, demands must continue to be made for the handing over of the remains of the four relief workers murdered by the movement last April. With regard to the practices of the rebel movement, I should like to speak about developments in the humanitarian situation, which continues to deteriorate in the south of the country despite relative improvements in Bahr el-Ghazal and other areas. From this rostrum, I would like to express our thanks and appreciation to the countries and organizations that continue to provide relief and humanitarian assistance to those affected in the Sudan, whether directly or through Operation Lifeline Sudan. We believe that there is a need for the gradual transition from relief to development in the areas that enjoy stability, security and peace now that the Khartoum peace agreement and the Fashoda accord have been signed. We call upon the donor countries and organizations to make contributions to the consolidated appeal for the Sudan for 1999, in view of the noticeable decline in its resources, which last June amounted to only 31 per cent of requirements. We also emphasize that it is important not to allow political posturing to get in the way of humanitarian and relief work. There is also a need to avoid selectivity in dealing with humanitarian issues, which affect the lives of peoples and individuals. The Sudan would like to inform the Assembly of its full commitment to a general and comprehensive ceasefire throughout southern Sudan for humanitarian reasons and as a means of paving the way for peace negotiations. We hope that the other party will respond positively so that 28 we can begin to take practical steps to disengage the forces and monitor the ceasefire. The Government will allocate a large part of its oil revenues for humanitarian and development needs in the south. It will also allocate part of this year's grain harvest for distribution by United Nations agencies to the needy population in the south. The war has continued for a long time, and we appreciate the role played by the international community in extending humanitarian assistance. That situation cannot go on forever; the one and only solution to the crisis is a peaceful one. The conflicts in Africa have brought untold suffering and hardships, to the peoples of the continent. One of the greatest problems is that of the more than 8 million refugees who live under extremely difficult circumstances. In its search to put an end to the suffering of the refugees and to find radical solutions to the problem, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) decided to convene the first ministerial meeting of the committee on refugees and internally displaced persons. That important meeting was held last December in Khartoum with the active participation of the sisterly African States, the relevant United Nations bodies, the regional organizations concerned, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other non-governmental organizations. The meeting adopted the Khartoum Declaration, which contained an assessment of the problems facing refugees and displaced persons with a view to addressing the underlying causes of these problems and to establishing favourable conditions for the restoration of peace and stability in order to encourage the voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes in safety and dignity. From this rostrum, we appeal to the international community and the relevant organizations to continue to provide support for the States affected by these problems so as to ensure the prompt and effective implementation of the Khartoum Declaration and its recommendations with regard to refugees and internally displaced persons. We call for the renunciation of selectivity in dealing with the question of humanitarian assistance, human rights and democracy at the international level. We also appeal to States to avoid politicizing these questions and using them as a pretext for interference in the internal affairs of others. We are eager to see those lofty principles applied effectively while preserving the principle of the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of States. In this context, we should like to draw attention to the cooperation of the Government of the Sudan with the United Nations in the delivery of relief assistance to the affected population in the south, as well as to the recent visit of the United Nations mission to the Nuba Mountain region to assess the humanitarian needs there. In his report on the work of the Organization and his opening statement before this session, the Secretary-General reflected the international concern about the expansion and intensification of civil wars and other conflicts in various regions and the human tragedies and physical and economic destruction that result from such wars. We share the Secretary-General's concern on this matter. We reaffirm the importance of maximizing collective efforts to eliminate the causes of conflicts before they erupt and of using all available means to put an end to them. We believe, however, that any actions taken or means used must have the consent and agreement of the State concerned and must be within the framework of international laws and standards, particularly those of the United Nations Charter. In the absence of a transparent, democratic and just international order, moving outside that framework and calling for interference in the internal affairs of States will only lead to chaos and the hegemony of the powerful over the weak. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the current Chairman of the OAU, summed up the fears and concerns of the small and weak States in this regard by saying that we remain very sensitive to any encroachment on our sovereignty, not only because it constitutes our last line of defence against the laws of an unjust world but because we do not participate effectively in the decision-making process in the Security Council or in the monitoring of the implementation of these decisions. Modern history is full of examples of such unjust interpretation and application of laws and resolutions. I would like to highlight just one example: the unjust and unjustified attack by the United States on the al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory and the inability of the Security Council to take a decision on Sudan's request to send a mission to investigate the American allegations concerning the factory. The ideas put forward by the Secretary-General in his report require further consultations and consideration by the General Assembly and other United Nations bodies, with the participation of all Member States and within the framework of the Charter and international laws and norms. 29 Undoubtedly, the continued imbalance in international relations has strengthened the trend towards unilateral supremacy and double standards. This imbalance has had negative effects on international peace, security and stability. It has also created an unhealthy atmosphere which promotes the interests of certain States while ignoring, indeed belittling, the interests and rights of the weaker members of the international community. Hence, the Sudan has always supported the call for the establishment of a balanced and diverse international order, an order that respects the specific religious, historical and cultural characteristics of peoples and that protects their natural right to choose their own social, economic and political systems in harmony with their cultural attributes. The fact that the Sudan is being targeted by the United States Administration is not open to question. Indeed, the United States Administration itself does not deny this. It has taken many measures aimed at destabilizing Sudan and its security, and has pursued a declared policy of isolating the Sudan through the provision of military assistance to some of its neighbours. It has consistently voted against the Sudan in the international financial institutions and has sponsored resolutions condemning and denouncing the Sudan at the United Nations and its specialized agencies. It has also attempted to smear the Sudan’s image in the international arena. It has made baseless accusations against the Sudan, charging it with involvement in international terrorism and placing its name on its list of what it calls States sponsoring terrorism. Furthermore, the United States Administration imposed unilateral economic sanctions on the Sudan despite the international community’s clear and declared position on such coercive economic measures. All these actions have been taken by the United States on the basis of totally false and unfounded allegations and accusations. The United States Administration has never been able to produce a single piece of evidence to prove its allegations. The unjust United States actions and accusations against the Sudan culminated last year in the bombing and destruction of the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum. A whole year has elapsed since I addressed the General Assembly from this rostrum about the flagrant aggression by the United States of America against that factory, which was privately owned and financed by the bank of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). Has any action been taken since the Sudan explained to the international community the enormity of the mistake perpetrated by the United States against the Sudanese people, depriving them of a main source of medication for their innocent children and for the many refugees and displaced persons that are given shelter by the Sudan? The Sudan continues to demand and to expect justice and redress from the Security Council as the organ with the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Immediately after the bombing of the factory last August, Sudan requested the Security Council to send a mission to ascertain the facts regarding the factory’s ownership and output, and to verify the allegations invoked by the United States to attempt to justify its aggression. The non-aligned countries, the Arab Group, the African Group and the members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference all wrote letters to the Security Council supporting the Sudan’s request. Most regrettably, the Council remained unable to act. The United States prevented the Council from discharging its most basic duty in this regard, namely to investigate the allegations that the United States used to try to justify its armed aggression. Since I addressed the Assembly last year, dozens of articles and reports have been published in major United States newspapers. Numerous statements have been made by United States congressional officials and former Central Intelligence Agency experts, along with a number of academic studies by specialized institutes in the United States and other countries, all of which affirm that the Al- Shifa factory was a pharmaceutical factory producing human and veterinary medicines. They also affirm that the United States made a terrible mistake by destroying that factory, which had links to the United Nations: the Security Council had authorized the factory to export medicines to Iraq within the framework of the oil-for-food programme. The Sudan referred all these studies, articles and declarations to the Security Council. This year, the owner of the factory hired some of the best known United States experts in the field of chemical weapons to examine the factory and ascertain the truth about its output. The experts took samples, which were examined in the most sophisticated and advanced laboratories in Europe and the United States. The conclusion was that the factory produced nothing other than medications for human and veterinary use. The Sudan also formed its own specialized scientific committee composed of university professors in the Sudan to examine the factory. The committee issued a report affirming once again that the United States allegations about the factory had no logical or scientific basis. A most important development then followed: a decision by the United States Departments of Justice and of the Treasury to unfreeze the assets of the owner of the 30 factory in the United States. That reaffirms that the justifications put forward by the United States for the bombing of the Al-Shifa factory were baseless. There is no physical evidence to prove them. Rather, they were based on misleading intelligence information. The United States allegations that the factory is owned by terrorist groups are also baseless and lack any supporting evidence or proof. The United States decision to unfreeze the assets of the factory’s owner came after the United States Administration ascertained that he had no connection with terrorism. This in itself is clear and irrefutable proof of what Sudan has been saying before the international community all along. When the matter was put before the Security Council last year and when the Sudan requested the dispatch of a fact-finding mission, the United States objected on the pretext that it would settle the question bilaterally with the Sudan. A whole year has elapsed and all we have received is more procrastination. This led me last August to send another letter to the President of the Security Council asking him again to dispatch a fact-finding mission. We appeal to the United Nations, as it represents all countries, big and small, to prove its impartiality and objectivity; we appeal to the Security Council to send a mission to uncover the facts about the destruction of the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory. The United Nations should request the United States not to object to the dispatch of such mission if it is confident of the information and the causes that led it to bomb the factory. The bombing of the pharmaceutical factory took the lives of a number of Sudanese. It deprived hundreds of workers of their livelihood. It also deprived the Sudanese people and the refugees from neighbouring countries of their main source of medication and vaccines. All this makes the international community wonder about the sincerity of the United States commitment to human rights. In their 1998 and 1999 ministerial declarations, the Group of 77 and China called for applying justice in this case in accordance with the United Nations Charter and international law. This act of aggression was a unilateral act unacceptable to the international community. The Movement of Non-Aligned Countries condemned this act at its Durban Summit and at subsequent ministerial meetings. Persisting in targeting the Sudan, the United States Administration recently appointed a special envoy for the Sudan with specific objectives and terms of reference. Sudan was not party to the choice of that envoy or to the definition of the objectives and terms of reference of his mission. Clearly, the way in which the United States Administration chose this envoy reflects a condescending attitude and is an act of cultural arrogance inconsistent with the spirit of the United Nations Charter, which governs relations between States. At the time when the United States claims to be concerned with the problems of the Sudan, we find that it has blocked, to a large degree, all channels of bilateral contact. When announcing the appointment of the special envoy, the United States spokesman affirmed that his mandate would not include the bilateral aspect of relations between the two countries. Here we would like to pose a question: how could a State appoint an envoy to another State without having his task include their bilateral relations? This is indeed bizarre, since the basic disagreements between us and the United States are of a bilateral nature. Such disagreements led the United States to use force to destroy a pharmaceutical factory, and then it refused international arbitration in the matter. It is also bizarre that the United States Administration has given its envoy to the Sudan the task of dealing with the questions of relief, human rights and peace in the southern Sudan. I say this is bizarre because these questions are dealt with either in the United Nations or at the regional level. The first question, relief, and the second, human rights, are dealt with in the relevant organs of the United Nations, respectively, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Commission on Human Rights. The issue of peace in the southern Sudan is being dealt with at the regional level by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), with the support of the Organization of African Unity, the United Nations and the group of IGAD partners, of which the United States is a member. The Sudan will continue to follow closely the steps taken by the United States Administration and will take the necessary measures to protect its national interests. Here I would like to reaffirm that the Government of the Sudan is willing to settle its differences with the United States of America through dialogue and the initiatives already taken in this regard, with a view to breaking the stalemate. This interest continues even after the cruel American aggression against the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory. Yet this interest of ours must be met with an objective response by the other party. Hence, we call upon the United Nations and peace-loving countries to urge the United States Administration to take positive steps towards the normalization of relations with the Sudan and to desist from interference in its internal affairs, which only results in prolonging the civil war and death and suffering for the Sudanese people. 31 The Sudan believes that the United States, as a great Power concerned with world and regional peace, could play an important role in the settlement of the Sudan’s problems. But for the United States to play that role, we demand that it show neutrality and desist from injustice and aggression. The delegation of the Sudan is of the view that the Millennium Assembly, in which all world leaders will participate, is an important occasion for the United Nations to enhance its role and its neutrality. In this regard, we propose that the Millennium Summit declaration contain the following: a reaffirmation of the importance of peaceful coexistence; respect for plurality and diversity and the promotion of dialogue between various cultures and religions; a reaffirmation of the need to achieve security and stability by resorting to the United Nations for the settlement of conflicts between States; a reaffirmation of the need to coordinate international efforts for the achievement of development and the eradication of poverty; and a reaffirmation of the resolve of the international community to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. In this regard, we would like to state our understanding that the adoption of a declaration by the Millennium Summit will not detract from the United Nations Charter, which embodies lofty and noble principles valid for all time. In conclusion, most of the people of the Sudan are adherents of Islam and Christianity. Thus, the Sudan has a rich legacy of tolerance and coexistence between religions and cultures. Christianity, the religion of Jesus Christ — peace be upon him — teaches fraternity, tolerance and succour for the weak. Islam, the last of the revealed religions, has brought an integrated way of life that upholds the value of freedom and thought. It also consecrates the principle of coexistence between religions and cultures. The Holy Koran states, “Invite (all) to the Way Of thy Lord with wisdom And beautiful preaching; And argue with them In ways that are best And most gracious.” (The Holy Koran, XVI:125).