Uganda

At the outset, I wish to convey the apologies of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who was supposed to address the Assembly. He is unable to come to New York because of other pressing State duties. Allow me, on behalf of my delegation, to convey our warm congratulations to you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session. Let me pay a special tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko of Ukraine, for the excellent manner in which he presided over the work of the fifty- second session of the General Assembly. I wish also to thank the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for all the endeavours he is undertaking in shaping our Organization to enable it to effectively meet the challenges of the next millennium. The United Nations has been at the forefront of efforts to tackle problems of international peace and security and social and economic development. It has helped many communities around the world attain peace, greater security and higher standards of living. Africa faces a number of challenges which must be urgently addressed. It is a volatile region in which a multiplicity of conflicts have combined to create a very explosive atmosphere. Refugee populations have multiplied to provide a further recipe for future instability. The situation has been further complicated by large numbers of internally displaced people. Indeed, a large political and humanitarian tragedy is taking place in the region. There is therefore an urgent need for the international community to support Africa?s efforts to address the fundamental causes of the conflict. It has been alleged that ethnic differences are the prime causes of conflict in the region. My delegation does not share this view. We believe that poor leadership, poverty and low levels of economic development in the region are the main underlying causes. The leadership in our region must correctly define and analyse the root causes of the problems and establish clear priorities. It is also imperative that, for a permanent and durable peace to prevail in the region, a comprehensive programme of economic recovery and development be implemented in Africa. Concerted efforts must therefore be made to reduce and ultimately eradicate poverty in the world. In this regard, Uganda had the honour of hosting a leaders? forum in Kampala in January this year at which the heads of State and Government of countries in the eastern, southern and central regions of Africa met and held discussions with the President of the World Bank. That meeting, which in many ways was unique and inspiring, opened a new chapter in Africa?s relations with 18 the Bank. It ushered in a genuine spirit of partnership between Africa and the Bank. Two of the significant outcomes of the meeting were, first, the decision that Africa would be considered a priority development region by the World Bank and, secondly, a commitment to depoliticize foreign aid. It was also agreed at the meeting that African countries must set their own priorities for development. It is the hope of my delegation that the agreements reached at the Kampala leaders? forum will be translated into concrete action by the international community in the near future. We believe that similar initiatives could be undertaken together with other organs of the United Nations system. For too long, international efforts have been expended on short-term humanitarian programmes, ignoring the long- term requirements for sustainable peace and development. Past experience has shown that this approach cannot ensure durable peace and development. Indeed, as the Secretary- General noted in his report on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa, “Preventing such wars is no longer a matter of defending States or protecting allies. It is a matter of defending humanity”. (A/52/871, para. 3) Conflict prevention, including post-conflict peace- building, requires a sustained effort to infuse funds into the region. In this regard, we urge serious consideration and expeditious implementation of the recommendations contained in the Secretary-General?s report. The massive cuts in social spending and public investments, with the attendant high levels of unemployment, create new centres of discontent and thus further fuel the embers of conflict. Attempts to impose conditionalities which are antithetical to the peace process and the cutting off of aid from weak Governments making sincere efforts to pursue reconciliation or implement peace agreements have been counterproductive. My delegation would wish to argue for “peace-friendly” structural adjustment programmes, if durable peace and sustainable development are to be achieved in Africa and elsewhere. A number of delegations have expressed their views on the situation in the Great Lakes region with specific reference to the ongoing crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. My country was specifically accused of involvement in the crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The facts of the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are not clear to some member States of this Assembly. Since, many speakers have raised this issue, we would like to make the following clarifications. Uganda?s interest in the situation in the Great Lakes region has always been and is still based on the following: the need to ensure total security in all parts of Uganda and the protection of the lives and property of the people of Uganda; and the desire to ensure maximum stability in the Great Lakes region, because instability in any neighbouring country directly affects our security and economy. These concerns are legitimate. Our position on this crisis therefore reflects our efforts to pursue those interests. Before the fall of former President Mobutu, it was not possible for Uganda to get cooperation from the then Government in Zaire to ensure that Zairian territory was not used by terrorist organizations to create insecurity along the Uganda-Zaire border and inside Uganda. When President Laurent Kabila came to power it was mutually agreed between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo that our two armies would jointly operate in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to contain and eventually remove the bandits who were using the bases they had in the area to destabilize Uganda. Pursuant to that understanding, Uganda has since maintained a military presence in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in accordance with the provision of the bilateral agreement between our two countries. The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo today necessitates that Uganda must maintain that military presence, which is crucial for the security of our country and our people. Let me make it clear to all and sundry that Uganda has no territorial designs on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is not the primary responsibility of Uganda to dictate the political arrangements of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, any internal arrangement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which does not take into account the legitimate security concerns of its neighbours is our concern. We would like to say that unilateral military intervention by individual countries or sectional intervention by groups of countries is unacceptable. These actions are likely to escalate the problem. If there are good reasons for an intervention, it should be regional, carried out, for example, through the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Organization of African Unity (OAU) or 19 even the United Nations, and in the context of the peace initiatives that are already in place. We would therefore like to stress that there are serious regional efforts to address the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We believe these efforts should be supported by the entire membership of this Organization and by all parties that are interested in the conflict and have a vested interest in peace and security in the Great Lakes region. Uganda?s commitment to the full respect for and universal enjoyment of human rights is well known. However, we regret that crimes are now being committed on a daily basis against the people of Uganda by surrogate forces of the so-called Lord?s Resistance Army (LRA) with the full knowledge and assistance of their sponsors, who do not believe in freedom and respect for human rights. Innocent children are abducted daily, subjected to forced labour and military service and made victims of other, similar crimes, with the support of the sponsors of these terrorist groups. The world awoke to this horrendous crime at the fifty-fourth session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, when it adopted draft resolution E/CN.4/1998/L.40, which calls upon the LRA and its sponsors to release all the abducted children immediately and unconditionally. My delegation believes that without external support the Lord?s Resistance Army would not be in a position to commit these atrocities and defy international public opinion on this extremely important matter. We call upon the international community to intensify pressure on the countries involved to stop backing these terrorists. On the other hand, we wish to thank the United Nations bodies, non-governmental organizations and all others who have been involved in seeking the freedom of these children. We hope their efforts will not be in vain. The United Nations is a vibrant institution for many reasons, among them its unwavering support for actions aimed at advancing freedom, peace and security. Today, terrorism poses a serious threat to these values. Individuals and organizations whose stock in trade is the violation of these values roam the globe with impunity. Recent attacks in East Africa came at a time when we thought the world had learned the futility of such senseless, wanton murder and destruction. It is the firm belief of my delegation that the international community should collectively take action to deny sanctuary to these savages. Countries known to harbour such elements should be isolated and punished severely so that human freedom can be protected. My delegation further believes that this is an opportune moment to convene an international conference on terrorism which must map out strategies to deal with this escalating problem. Last year the world had only five declared nuclear States; today we have seven; next year we may have more. In essence, such non-proliferation agreements as the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) have not deterred the emergence of new nuclear States. The philosophy of dependence on nuclear weapons for security is, in a creeping and disturbing fashion, becoming universal. This situation is creating new dangers for the survival of mankind. My delegation believes that a new universal security doctrine needs to evolve. All nuclear weapons should be eliminated. In line with this belief, my delegation calls for the adoption of an action plan for the elimination of all nuclear weapons within a time-bound framework. Such an approach should be universal, and not regional or discriminatory, if it is to achieve the desired goals. Since the last session of the General Assembly, several developments have taken place in the international arena, some of which have offered hope and encouragement, while others have led to destruction and despair. The issue of Western Sahara is of concern to my delegation. We are concerned by the slow progress towards the holding of a United Nations-supervised referendum on the self-determination of the people of that territory. We appeal to the parties to overcome their differences and allow a just and impartial referendum to take place. On the Lockerbie incident, Uganda welcomes the initial moves taken in a bid to solve the problem between the United States of America and the United Kingdom on the one hand and Libya on the other. We encourage the Secretary-General to work out comprehensive and clear arrangements, acceptable to all concerned parties, so that the matter can finally be resolved. Today we live in a globalized world. Globalization has created new opportunities as well as grave risks and challenges. Its impact has strengthened the developed countries and weakened the developing countries. Such a situation does not augur well for international peace and 20 security. There is an urgent need for deliberate policies to reorient international trade and finance. The crisis in South- East Asia should serve as a warning to the world of the catastrophe that inaction will breed. The ever widening gap between the developed and the developing countries and among countries in the South could also become a source of future instability. There should be no delay in addressing these problems. My delegation calls upon the developed countries to honour their obligations and increase the transfer of resources to the developing countries for the transformation of their economies, so that they may become equal partners in the global economy. In the recent past, despite drastic limitations in both human and financial resources, the United Nations has responded admirably to the challenges of the era, including peacekeeping, emergency operations and development. It has a commendable record which should serve to strengthen our confidence in the Organization. As we inch our way into the twenty-first century, we should translate this confidence into the necessary political will to strengthen the Organization. We should demonstrate our faith and dedication to the United Nations and its component parts by providing it with the resources necessary to fulfil its immense mandate. Our challenge is to bequeath to succeeding generations a strong United Nations, able to guarantee the principles enshrined in the preamble of its Charter.