Kenya

I would like to begin by congratulating the President on his unanimous election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session. I am confident that under his able leadership and with his vast diplomatic experience, we shall have fruitful deliberations and a successful session. Allow me also to pay tribute to his predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, for the skill and sensitivity he displayed while presiding over the work of the General Assembly during its fifty-second session. May I also take this opportunity to commend the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his untiring efforts to build a prosperous United Nations through the ongoing reforms to better meet the challenges of the next millennium. Although adjustment and reorientation can sometimes be painful, I am confident that under Mr. Annan's leadership the United Nations will continue to flourish. Kenya supports the Secretary-General in these efforts. The General Assembly provides Member States with an opportunity to discuss and gain useful insights and perceptions on key global issues of common concern to the international community, such as securing a stable, 32 peaceful and equitable world order. In this context, we continue to witness the presence of the United Nations in peacekeeping and peace-building, development programmes and humanitarian assistance in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas. In our own region, for example, I wish to mention the good work of the Nairobi-based Great Lakes Programme, which operates under the auspices of the United Nations Great Lakes Task Force on Relief, Reconstruction and Development. This Programme is funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and contributes immensely to identifying the development priorities of the Great Lakes countries as they endeavour to make a transition from conflict to development. Furthermore, Kenya appreciates the timely response by the United Nations Disaster Management Team to drought and the floods caused by El Niño. In addition, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with the support of the World Food Programme (WFP), continues to look after the needs of refugees in our country. All these efforts by United Nations agencies are commendable and need to be encouraged and sustained. In the last 10 years, we have witnessed significant advances in democracy, respect for human rights and international cooperation. Unfortunately, this was also a period in which an estimated 4 million people were killed in armed conflicts. A majority of these conflicts, which now threaten international peace and security, are of an intra-State rather than inter-State nature. Currently, there are up to 30 civil wars and a much larger number of lower- intensity conflicts being fought around the world. This new pattern of conflicts comes with new problems and new challenges for conflict resolution. There is a need, therefore, to review the existing conflict resolution mechanisms so as to meet these new challenges. As the Secretary-General?s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict pointed out to the Security Council in June this year, “Both international and national actors need to take political, economic and social measures that can generate within communities a sense of hope in place of despair, a sense of inclusion and participation instead of exclusion, a sense of belonging instead of alienation”. (S/PV.3896, p. 5) The credibility of the international community is anchored in its ability to dispense just and sometimes radical solutions to important questions. I have in mind the commendable resolve of the world community to punish the perpetrators of war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law. In this connection, Kenya welcomes the work of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, as well as the International Criminal Court, which shall soon become a reality. The international community must demonstrate its resolve to pursue such criminal elements whoever and wherever they are. Kenya supports the legitimization and strengthening of regional bodies in peacekeeping. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), under the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in West Africa, stand out as examples of regional organizations that have contributed immensely to peacekeeping in conflict situations. I should also underline the commendable role played by the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in the conflicts in Croatia; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Albania; Abkhazia, Georgia; and currently in the Kosovo region of Yugoslavia. In Africa, the forces of the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) reinstalled the democratically elected Government of President Kabbah of Sierra Leone and restored constitutional order in Liberia. The superb performance of the Inter-African Mission to Monitor the Implementation of the Bangui Agreements (MISAB) in the Central African Republic also deserves commendation. In the Eastern African region, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) continues to promote political dialogue between the warring factions in the Sudan and Somalia. In southern Africa, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has embarked on initiatives to address, inter alia, the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These regional organizations have made significant progress in conflict resolution and should be given due recognition and the necessary support. However, I would like to emphasize that the responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security remains primarily with the United Nations Security Council. The holding of special meetings on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa underscored the need for a concerted international effort to promote peace and security in our continent. During the special meeting on Africa held in September 1997 and the follow-up meeting of 24 September 1998, the Security Council observed that, despite the progress achieved by some African 33 States, the number and intensity of armed conflicts on the continent remained a matter of grave concern. We share the view of the Secretary-General that durable peace and economic development go hand in hand. Kenya welcomes the challenge posed by the Secretary-General in the three broad areas he emphasized in his report: the necessity for Africa to rely on political rather than military responses to problems; the need to summon the political will to seriously promote good governance, human rights and democracy; and, finally, the necessity to undertake and adhere to various reforms necessary to promote political stability and economic growth. While the general tendency is to seek ways of deepening political cooperation and economic integration, the unity and stability of some States, especially on the African continent, is being threatened by ethnic, social and other intra-State conflicts. In particular, conflicts in the Great Lakes region, Somalia and southern Sudan — and, more recently, the inter-State conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea — are of major concern to us. Kenya has been and will continue to be involved in efforts aimed at reducing tension in Africa and, indeed, beyond. In 1996 and 1997, Kenya hosted the various Nairobi summits on the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and, indeed, the conflict in the southern Sudan, under the auspices of IGAD. More recently, President Moi met separately with the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea in an effort to secure their commitment to pursuing negotiations rather than war in their border dispute. These efforts have helped to complement the important initiatives of the United Nations, the Organization of African Unity and others and have, in our view, contributed to ensuring the avoidance of a full-scale war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. I trust the necessary goodwill exists for a negotiated final settlement in this conflict. Regarding Somalia, we are concerned about the lack of progress in the efforts to restore normalcy and statehood to that country. Both the IGAD and the Cairo initiatives have stalled. However, the cessation of hostilities; the agreement by the warring factions in Mogadishu to have a joint administration for the hitherto divided city; and the reopening of the harbour and airport are encouraging. It is our hope that the parties concerned will resume serious dialogue sooner rather than later. In June this year, the Security Council held an open debate on children and armed conflict. This is a matter of particular interest to Africa, where there are horrifying accounts of atrocities to which children are subject or in which they participate. We are painfully aware of the disturbing new phenomenon of “armed labour” in some parts of Africa and are therefore concerned about the possibility that children could be involved in these activities. There is the added dimension of the easy availability of illegal small arms which, as pointed out last week by Foreign Minister Jozias van Aartsen of the Netherlands, have the potential of destabilizing the whole region. Children are our future and all should continue to support the work of the Secretary-General and his Special Representative to safeguard and protect them in areas of armed conflict. To that end, my delegation reiterates the need for strict compliance by all Member States with the relevant provisions of international law. Kenya believes that the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was a crucial step in the fulfilment of one of the main objectives in the implementation of relevant obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We believe that our common objective should lead to complete nuclear disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States. It is regrettable that the perceived lack of serious commitment by nuclear-weapon States to moving rapidly towards genuine disarmament recently provided an excuse for others to conduct nuclear tests. There is therefore a need for security assurances from non-nuclear-weapon States and, even more importantly, for urgent measures and renewed efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons. We expect the nuclear-weapon States to take their responsibilities seriously by seizing the initiative towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons from our planet. The process of development during the past decade has been uneven. A number of developing countries recorded high rates of growth and have been able to accelerate development. However, many of the developing countries, especially those in Africa, have made modest progress. The disparities in economic growth among developing countries have largely widened. These conditions have taken place against a backdrop of rapid changes in the world economy, characterized by the twin processes of globalization and liberalization, which have become the hallmark of global economic policy. The preferential treatment enjoyed by a large number of developing countries under the Generalized System of Preferences and other preferential trading arrangements, such as the Lomé Convention, continues to be eroded. 34 It is imperative for the international community to strengthen commodity-dependent countries by means of expanded market access for their products, as well as support in the development of their technical and human capacities so that they may actively participate in the multilateral trading system. In this regard, my delegation would like to urge the effective implementation of the Uruguay Round results, especially with regard to market access for goods and services of export interest to developing countries. Developing countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, have, during the past decade, undertaken many efforts aimed at attracting foreign direct investment. Unfortunately, these efforts have not yielded any significant inflows. International capital flows play an important role in the process of development. Kenya reiterates the need for increased access to international financial markets for the acquisition of finance on concessionary terms by developing countries. In this context, Kenya attaches great importance to the convening of an international conference on financing for development under the auspices of the United Nations. The liberalization of financial transactions and the increasing freedom of capital mobility have become important policy objectives for many countries. The resultant need to grapple with massive international capital flows, coupled with the experiences of financial turbulence and turmoil in some Asian economies, has highlighted the need to reform the international financial system. On the Asian financial crisis, my delegation wishes to advocate measures aimed at the restoration of stability in the affected countries to avoid serious negative consequences around the globe. The external debt problem of low-income developing countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, remains unresolved. The international community is called upon to take actions aimed at finding lasting solutions to the debt problem. On official bilateral debt, while we are gratified at the adoption of the Naples terms by the Paris Club, the slow pace of their implementation continues to be of concern. Kenya wishes to urge the Paris Club of creditor countries to revise the eligibility criteria so as to allow for the inclusion of all low-income developing countries. The problem of multilateral debt also needs to be accorded serious attention, taking into account issues such as increased concessional finance, debt cancellation, debt reduction and debt relief. My delegation would like to express concern over the declining trend in real terms of official development assistance over the years. In this regard, Kenya wishes to call for the expeditious reversal of this trend by donor countries in line with their commitments in various United Nations resolutions and with the aim of meeting the internationally agreed target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product. The interdependence of the global economy makes it necessary for those of us in the developing world to call upon the international community, including the United Nations agencies, international financial institutions and multilateral and bilateral donors, to support the implementation of strategies for the development of the developing countries and to give priority to financing for development and expansion of trade in those countries through mobilization of new and additional resources. Kenya welcomes the appointment of Mr. Klaus Töpfer as Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi and the elevation of the Nairobi centre to the level of other United Nations centres at Vienna and Geneva. As the United Nations proceeds with reform measures to ensure the efficient use of resources, it is imperative for the Organization to ensure maximal and rational use of existing facilities within the system to minimize waste. As host to the only United Nations centre in the developing world, we are concerned that facilities at the Nairobi Office continue to be underutilized. Kenya would appreciate seeing maximal utilization of facilities at the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (HABITAT) to try and reach the capacity-utilization levels of Geneva and Vienna. In this regard, we wish to thank the Secretary- General for the various measures he has taken, aimed at improving this situation. Kenya, however, still urges that the various General Assembly resolutions on this matter be adhered to. We also note that both UNEP and HABITAT need to be strengthened by streamlining their administrative and financial management. In this connection. Kenya welcomes the establishment of the Task Force on Environment and Human Settlements, whose task is to provide recommendations for new measures to strengthen and restructure those two organizations on the basis of General Assembly resolutions 2997 (XXVII) and 32/162, while taking into account decisions and recommendations of the Governing Council of UNEP and the Commission on Human Settlements. The report of the Task Force captures the challenges we continue to face in this area. It states that human demands on the global life-support system continue to mount as poverty and affluence spread 35 in parallel around the globe. Despite all the efforts made since the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held at Stockholm, the environment continues to deteriorate in many parts of the world. Certain social, economic and technological trends are exacerbating these problems. Against this background, it is imperative that UNEP be strengthened through the provision of adequate and predictable financial resources to better execute its mandate, and that more vigorous and coordinated action be taken to respond effectively to these problems. In line with resolution 52/220, Kenya urges that energetic steps be taken on the funding from the regular budget of the United Nations Office at Nairobi in order to enable it to discharge its mandate. My delegation welcomes this opportunity to express its outrage at and condemnation of the criminal and unjustified terrorist bombings which occurred simultaneously in Nairobi and in Dar-es-Salaam on 7 August 1998. Terrorist acts are by design ruthlessly indiscriminate, and the bomb blast in Nairobi, which occurred at one of the busiest locations in the city in terms of human traffic and commercial activities, was no exception. It has so far claimed 250 lives, and the death toll continues to rise. Damage estimated at over $500 million was caused by the bomb blast. The bombings in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam brought mayhem and terror of an untold magnitude to our two countries, which had hitherto considered themselves secure and far removed from the threats and dangers posed by acts of international terrorism. These two incidents not only make it abundantly clear that nobody is safe or unaffected by such heinous acts, but also exemplify the expanding reach and growing menace of the perpetrators of terrorist acts. Let me take this opportunity on behalf of the Government of Kenya to express gratitude for the generous assistance and support promptly made available in the rescue efforts by Governments and international organizations, and by volunteers who came from far and wide. Kenya welcomes the General Assembly?s adoption earlier this year of the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings. In this regard, we wish to underscore the importance of enhancing international cooperation to combat terrorism in accordance with the relevant international instruments. We support the proposal of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries calling for the convening of an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations to formulate an organized and concerted response by the international community to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. In conclusion, I wish to reiterate that Kenya will continue to participate actively in the work of the Organization and to bear its rightful share of responsibilities and obligations under the Charter. As we enter the new millennium, we should all contribute to the effort to chart a new course for a reinvigorated United Nations in a manner that fulfils the vision of its founders and meets the challenge of our generation and of generations to come.