Gambia

Let me at the outset congratulate the President on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly and to reassure him of the Gambia’s full support and cooperation during his tenure in office. Let me also use this opportunity to express our appreciation of the excellent manner in which the outgoing President of the General Assembly, Mrs. Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa managed the affairs of the Assembly at its sixty-first session. My delegation would also like to use this opportunity to once more congratulate our new Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, on his assumption of the leadership of the United Nations. The Gambia is particularly delighted that Mr. Ban had the opportunity to address the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union during his meeting in Banjul in July 2006. His subsequent election, surely can only be a source of pride and delight for us. We also wish to commend him for the initiative he took to convene a high-level event several days ago on a subject that is of great concern to all nations and peoples of the world, namely, climate change. All the salient issues surrounding this phenomenon have been brought to the fore. It is now our fervent hope that action will be taken to address them in a most timely manner. The mid-term review of the Millennium Declaration two years ago indicated that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are far from being attained in most of the developing world. This notwithstanding, our commitment to the MDGs is unwavering. The overarching policy objective of the Government, under the leadership of the President of the Republic of the Gambia Al Hadji Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh, is to reduce poverty and achieve all the MDGs. We have just concluded a second Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, which clearly sets out our policy framework for achieving growth and poverty reduction, despite our meagre resources and endowments and despite the failure of several partners to fulfil their pledges of aid, debt relief and market access for African countries. The same mid-term reviews also showed that the commitments that were made in many forums by the international community in support of the MDGs in poor countries have not translated into real resource flows into these countries. We therefore call on the international community to rededicate itself to the provisions of the Monterrey Consensus and the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. In this regard, my delegation welcomes the panel of eminent personalities established by the former British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, to monitor pledges made at summits of the Group of Eight, including those made at Gleneagles. My delegation considers it particularly critical to take action to reverse the downward trend in overseas development assistance. We also need to re-examine the framework of key rules that govern, inter alia, international trade and finance, global competition, foreign direct investment and international migration. It is important that bodies making rules in those areas accommodate the views of developing countries in general, and least developed countries in particular. For Africa, where we must of necessity move away from aid dependency, the development of the continent must be addressed from the crucial vantage point of trade and market access, so as to enable our economies to be advantageously positioned in order for us to begin enjoying the fruits of globalization. My delegation would like to seize this opportunity to request the Assembly to pause for a moment and reflect on the plight of the poor the world over. Poverty anywhere, we will all agree, is indeed a problem everywhere. And it is worth remembering that the plight of the poor can affect the comfort and security of the more privileged and affluent members of human society. There is no doubt that poverty engenders many economic, social and political problems. It negatively affects global health and is a threat to international peace and security as well. Therefore, the need for greater international solidarity to fight poverty in all its forms and ramifications cannot be overemphasized. The development efforts of most Governments, particularly those in Africa, continue to be undermined by the scourges of malaria, HIV/AIDS and other health related issues, such as hunger and malnutrition. I must thank our true friends and development partners for the excellent support they are providing to the Gambian people, particularly in the areas of health, education, and agriculture. It is my fervent hope that the international community will live up to its commitment to support the efforts of our Government as we strive to improve the well-being of our people. In order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, which we should all consider to be a necessary condition to affect people’s living standards, Africa sorely needs significant investments in health, education, agriculture and infrastructure. Allow me to turn to peace and security in the world, especially on our continent of Africa. In recent years, we have witnessed significant improvements in most of the continent. In West Africa, for example, we have been consolidating peace and deepening the democratization process as well. The people of Sierra Leone have just gone through a peaceful, free and fair presidential election. My delegation would like to congratulate them and to wish the new Government all the success in its efforts to follow the path of rapid socio-economic development for the Sierra Leonean people. The return of peace to Côte d’Ivoire is a welcome and a vital development not only for the country and its people, but also for the entire West Africa subregion. The Government of the Gambia fully welcomes the Ivorian Government’s commitment to organize presidential elections shortly, and we wish the friendly people of that great country every success. The situation in Somalia requires the urgent response of the international community. Lasting peace, stability, and reconciliation can return to that country only when the Transitional Federal Government is empowered to establish law and order. The United Nations, as the overall guardian of international peace and security, should support the efforts of the African Union (AU) in that regard, and Somalia’s neighbours as well, to rally the various factions together and bring lasting peace to that country. As we gather here, thousands of innocent civilians, including women and children, continue to be victimized by the fratricidal conflict in the Sudanese region of Darfur. My Government therefore welcomes the commitment of the international community to replace the existing African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) with a hybrid United Nations-African Union mission, invested, of course, this time around, with a more active mandate to keep and enforce peace in Darfur. We in the Gambia have been in the forefront in the African Union’s peace efforts in Darfur, and we will certainly continue to support the international effort with a substantial contribution of Gambian troops to serve in the new arrangement. At this juncture, let me salute the Sudanese Government for their cooperation and their manifest willingness to find a lasting solution through a political process. The peace and security situation of the Great Lakes region remains a major concern. While we welcome the successful elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo last year, we recognize the fragility and precarious nature of peace in that country and the region as a whole. My delegation therefore calls on the international community to continue to work to search for ways of achieving durable peace. We also urge the international community to assist in bringing all the parties to the negotiation table and to move vigorously to address the humanitarian situation. Just as the security and peace situation in Africa preoccupies my delegation, so also do the conflicts and turmoil in the rest of the world, especially in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. The conflict in Iraq remains a major source of concern, not least because it now threatens the peace and security of the entire Middle Eastern region, if not the whole world. Within Iraq itself, the conflict has brought untold suffering to the civilian population especially women and children. Furthermore, the alarming rate of civilian deaths cannot be justified. Also, the resultant large volume of refugee outflows has now placed unbearable pressure on the economies of, in particular, the neighbouring countries. While we recognize, of course, the potential of refugees to make positive contributions to the economies and societies of their host countries, refugee outflows of the magnitude that we are seeing in Iraq can only pose a threat to social and political security. We therefore strongly urge that as a matter of urgency, alternatives be found in order to resolve the conflict in that country. A new approach to the situation in Afghanistan is also long overdue. The country needs more political dialogue than military engagement. We also wish to see leaders in the region engage each other in meaningful dialogue and, of course, renew their commitment to good-neighbourliness as well. The unresolved question of the self-determination of the Palestinian people remains the most important political and moral question of our time. A few years ago, we all placed our faith in the so-called Road Map for peace and hoped that the Quartet would bring about the eagerly awaited two-state solution. My delegation now very much welcomes the new initiative being led by the United States of America and very much looks forward to the convening of a conference that would once and for all settle this festering imbroglio. We urge all concerned to come to the table in good faith and with a strong will to make a positive contribution to the search for a lasting solution to the problems of peace and security in the Middle East and, indeed, in the peace process throughout the world. Allow me to highlight some issues relating to international justice. The illegal, outrageous and protracted embargo imposed on the friendly Republic of Cuba has no basis. It is devoid of political and commercial sense, and those who impose the embargo should join our ranks in the international community in rejecting the embargo as a colossal error of judgement that should never have happened in the first place. We hope to see a repeal of all laws, measures and policies in that direction. The Gambian delegation sincerely hopes as well that the international community will reflect deeply on the dangers posed by the increasing and unprovoked militarization of the Taiwan Strait. Regional and, ultimately, international stability are under threat from the build-up of thousands of military warheads for use in attacks on Taiwan. The problem of the Taiwan Strait is one that is very serious indeed, and which calls for urgent action by the international community. The United Nations should not wait until it is too late to address the situation of the Strait and its growing militarization. We, the Members of the United Nations, have at this juncture abdicated our responsibilities towards Taiwan by refusing it full membership in the Organization. The legitimate aspirations of the people of that dynamic, technologically developed, advanced economic powerhouse ought to be fulfilled by States Members of the United Nations. Let me seize this opportunity to assure the Assembly that my delegation is not acting against the interest of any Member State. Rather, we speak out in the interest of peace across the Taiwan Strait, peace throughout the Asia-Pacific region and, indeed, peace in the whole world. It is in that spirit that my delegation will continue to call on the General Assembly to address this threat to international peace and security. Mr. Beck (Palau), Vice-President, took the Chair. Let me conclude by putting on record the Gambia’s frustration with the stalled reform of the United Nations. As former Secretary-General Kofi Annan said when the proposals were first made, two years ago, no reform of the United Nations can be complete without reform of the Security Council. For us in Africa, it is just unacceptable that a body that decides on life and death issues for millions of Africans includes no African country at all as a permanent member. That is why the Gambia continues to strongly endorse the Ezulwini Consensus, which represents Africa’s common position on reform of the Security Council. At a time when we are all committed to good governance at the national level, we surely cannot ignore good governance at the international level. The proposed reform of the United Nations, especially as regards the Security Council, must be seen within that context. I wish us all a very successful session.