At the outset, Mr. President,
I would like to warmly congratulate you, my brother,
on your assumption of the presidency of the General
Assembly at its sixty-ninth session, with its theme of
“Delivering on and implementing a transformative post-
2015 development agenda”, which is both timely and
appropriate. I would also like to take this opportunity
to express my deep appreciation to your predecessor,
Ambassador John Ashe, for a job well done.
Next year, 2015, marks the seventieth anniversary of
the birth of the United Nations. The world has changed
almost beyond recognition since 1945. Originally
founded by 50 Members, the United Nations has seen
three times that many nations join it in the intervening
years. The demographic, economic, political and cultural
realities of its Member States bear little resemblance to
those of the past. The challenges of the time and the
demands of the age are vastly different from those of
the period following the Second World War, or even
the past few decades. Change, rapid transformative
change, is the order of the day. And yet the United
Nations, the Organization that ostensibly represents
the entire community of nations and the peoples of the
world, remains stuck in the past. It is still thoroughly
dominated by a few countries and has marginalized the
overwhelming majority. Its institutions and structures
are an anachronism in the modern world.
More crucially, the United Nations has fallen
far short of playing the primary role in pursuing the
fundamental objectives for which it was established.
The maintenance of global peace and security was and
remains one of its cardinal goals, and yet conflicts and
wars — even simultaneous and multiple wars — have
become a constant feature of our lives. Many of them
are waged in total disregard for the United Nations and
its mandate. In Africa — from the East to the West
and in the North — in the Middle East and on every
other continent, extremism, terrorism and all forms of
bigotry and intolerance are spreading. The record on
other key principles and aspirations is also far from
satisfactory, whether the issue is ending poverty,
ensuring sustainable development, advancing human
rights, preventing epidemics, respecting sovereignty
and non-interference in the affairs of others, ensuring
justice and equality or protecting the environment.
The world is unquestionably facing a very grave
and dangerous situation. To paraphrase the words
of the Secretary-General, this is a terrible time “for
the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations” (A/69/PV.6, p. 1).
In order to restore the relevance and credibility
of the United Nations — to turn it into a truly
representative institution of all nations and peoples,
where all nations, no matter how big or small, have
respect for its Charter and for international law, and
where all nations contribute, each according to its
capabilities, to peace and security and to the welfare
of people and the planet — it is imperative that we
fundamentally restructure, democratize and rebuild the
United Nations. The crucial and pressing need for that
has been clear for several decades now, starting in the
height of the Cold War and continuing through the past
25 years, during which time the world has lived through
an unsuccessful attempt to impose a unipolar world.
Consequently, United Nations reform has formally been
on the agenda for close to two decades. No country has
openly disputed the importance of restructuring the
United Nations, and many workable proposals have
been presented and thoroughly discussed. Yet we are no
nearer to change, because of the stubborn and cynical
opposition of the dominant Powers.
Given the determination of those Powers to
maintain their control of the United Nations and its
unrepresentative and undemocratic character, the
chances of genuine change in the next few years are
indeed slender. It is therefore vital that all nations and
peoples — as well as the political and social forces
that stand for peace, independence, international law,
justice, equity and sustainable development — forge
a common front. They must consolidate partnerships
and coordinate their efforts on the basis of a broad
common strategy to stem the threats we face and to
build a better and more equitable world, while at the
same time containing without let-up the campaign to
restructure the United Nations, eradicate poverty,
prevent conflicts, address global warming and fight all
forms of terrorism and extremism.
Eritrea’s perspective on the need for an overhaul of
the United Nations system is informed not only by the
shared experience of the majority of nations, but also
by its own history. The international system and the
dominant Powers have dealt the Eritrean people a raw
deal. First, they were denied the right to decolonization
and independence to satisfy what the then United
States Secretary of State John Foster Dulles in 1952
stated were in “the strategic interests of the United
States in the Red Sea basin”. When the Eritrean people
embarked on a 30-year armed struggle for national
liberation and independence in order to advance their
geopolitical interests in the Horn of Africa and the
Red Sea region, the super-Powers supplied arms and
advisers to their client States to crush Eritrea’s right
to self-determination, and the United Nations ignored
their plight. Even after achieving independence at a
tremendous human and material cost and joining the
community of nations, the Eritrean people are still
victimized. The United Nations once again has failed to
uphold an internationally endorsed, final and binding
arbitration of the border decision. In fact, to add insult
to injury, it has imposed unjust sanctions on their
country.
That travesty of justice has caused harm not only
to Eritrea but to the entire Horn of Africa, which is
now mired in endemic conflicts and instability. Once
again and from this rostrum, Eritrea calls on the
United Nations and the Security Council to redress that
injustice by taking concrete measures to end the illegal
occupation of sovereign Eritrean territory. The unjust
and unfair sanctions, for which everyone now agrees
that there was and continues to be no justification, must
also unconditionally and immediately be lifted. Such
long-overdue measures would contribute positively to
the tireless efforts of the Eritrean people to build their
nation, maintain peace, stability and harmony, improve
their livelihood, lay the foundations of a strong,
equitable national economy, create opportunities
for youth and women, and advance regional and
international engagement and cooperation.