Kenya

I am honoured to address the General Assembly for the first time. On behalf of my delegation and on my own behalf, I convey to you, Mr. President, and to other members of the Bureau our warm congratulations on your election to steer the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session. I am confident that, with your experience and professionalism, you will lead us to the fruitful conclusion of this session. I would also like to pay tribute to His Excellency Mr. Julian Hunte for his outstanding performance as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth session. Kenya is convinced that a vibrant, responsive and representative United Nations system is the desire of all Member States. My delegation welcomes the ongoing efforts to reorganize and revitalize the United Nations to make it more effective and efficient. The revitalization exercise must reaffirm the status of the General Assembly as the pre-eminent policy-making organ of the United Nations, as envisaged in the United Nations Charter. With respect to the Security Council, it should be enlarged, democratized and made more representative to reflect the Organization’s membership in the twenty-first century. We look forward to the findings of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, appointed by the Secretary- General during last year’s session of the General Assembly. I pay tribute to the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, for his commitment and his efforts to ensure the capacity of United Nations offices, in particular the United Nations Office at Nairobi, the only United Nations headquarters in a developing country. We are encouraged to note that, during the fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly, budgetary provisions were made for improving and modernizing conference facilities at the Nairobi Office. Nonetheless, there is still a great deal to be done. We urge the Secretary-General to significantly increase the regular budget component of funding the United Nations Office at Nairobi to bring it in line with the administrative and financial arrangements of similar United Nations Offices at Geneva and Vienna. The production, stockpiling, transfer and use of anti-personnel mines are problems of major proportions that have caused untold suffering to populations throughout the world, with Africa the most mine-affected continent. Kenya has been given the honour to host the First Review Conference of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction — the Ottawa Convention. The Conference — also known as the 2004 Nairobi Summit on a Mine-free World — will be held from 29 November to 3 December 2004. Among the events scheduled will be the pre-Conference ceremonies on 28 November, presided over by the President of the Republic of Kenya, the Honourable Mwai Kibaki, who has extended invitations to world leaders to attend the Conference. I take this opportunity to invite each and every one of those present here to participate at the highest possible level at the Conference. I also encourage them to take advantage of their presence in Nairobi to sample Kenya’s hospitality and particularly its world-famous safaris, as well as the sandy beaches along Kenya’s coast. 27 International peace, security and stability are prerequisites for sustainable development. Kenya recognized early that peace and stability should be the cornerstone of both its national and foreign policies. Consequently, Kenya has taken an active part in the search for peaceful solutions to conflicts in our subregion, in Africa and in the rest of the world. Within the framework of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Kenya is chairing the southern Sudan peace process and the Somali reconciliation process. I am pleased to report that, in the Sudan peace process, milestones have been achieved since the signing of the first protocols in 2002. The Nairobi Declaration on the final phase of the Sudan peace process was signed on 5 June 2004. Although the process has been long and tedious, a final peace agreement is within reach for the two- decade-long conflict. I would like to appeal to the international community to redouble its support and commitment in assisting the people of the Sudan to achieve peace through constructive dialogue. It is also my hope that events in the Darfur region will not subsume the positive developments achieved by the Naivasha process. However, post-conflict reconstruction will require considerable resources. The international community must rise to that challenge. As regards the Somali peace process, I am pleased to report encouraging developments in the past few weeks that indicate a willingness on the part of the people of Somalia to embrace peace after 14 years of turmoil. In mid-August, 275 members of Parliament were elected by representatives of the Somali people, and the Transitional Federal Parliament of the Somali Republic was inaugurated on 29 August in Nairobi. Subsequently, the Parliament elected its Speaker on 15 September 2004. It is expected that the President will be elected next month. The process has been long and costly, but, as a result of our determination and optimism, we hope to witness the installation of a Federal Government of Somalia by the end of this year. The presence of a Government in Mogadishu, however, should be not an end in itself, but the beginning of a long journey towards peace, stability and development. I appeal to the international community, and especially the United Nations, to move with speed and to provide the support necessary for capacity-building, infrastructure and security and other logistical support for the new Government. I would like to express Kenya’s gratitude for the assistance provided by IGAD Partners Forum, the United Nations and the international community as a whole in support of both peace processes. Long-standing conflicts in our subregion have led to the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, which constitute major security concerns to my country and others. For example, Kenya has been at the forefront of regional initiatives to combat this menace. In March 2000, Kenya hosted the First Ministerial Review Conference of the Nairobi Declaration on the Problem of the Proliferation of Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa, which produced the Declaration. In April this year, Kenya hosted the Second Ministerial Review Conference of the Nairobi Declaration, which adopted the Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control and Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons. Those efforts are intended to consolidate a regional framework within which to deal with the problem of proliferation in order to improve security so that the people of the region can redirect their energies and resources towards meaningful economic activities. Kenya therefore welcomes and fully supports the convening of the international conference for the Great Lakes region on conflict and development, scheduled for 17-20 November 2004 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. My delegation applauds the United Nations and the African Union for mobilizing support and resources for the preparation of the conference. The threat of international terrorism remains real. We unreservedly condemn all acts of international terrorism. On behalf of my delegation and the Kenyan people, I extend our sympathy to the Government and people of Russia on the recent barbaric terrorist attack on innocent school children, parents and teachers in Beslan. Kenya has been a victim of terrorist attacks in the recent past. We are therefore more convinced than ever of the need to address this issue collectively. No single country, however resourceful, has the capacity to successfully deal with it on its own. I would like to assure the Assembly that Kenya fully supports international efforts in dealing with this problem. Collective efforts to address the issue must be through international cooperation, information and intelligence sharing, coordinated by the United Nations. In line with the international efforts to ensure that peace and security prevail, we welcome the decision by the African Union to establish a standby African force. 28 Kenya has been honoured to host one of the regional centres, the Eastern Africa Brigade. We are ready to provide the requisite facilities and logistical support to the centre. On the international arena, Kenya has long been a major troop-contributing country in peacekeeping operations and will continue to actively participate with other nations under the aegis of the United Nations. We call upon the international community to assist the African Union in realizing the establishment of the force, which will be one of the key tools for ensuring peace and stability on the continent. Poverty remains a major impediment to sustainable development, particularly for developing countries. Current trends indicate that countries in sub- Saharan Africa will not meet the Millennium Development Goals by the year 2015. We emphasize the importance of the fulfilment of the eighth Millennium Development Goal on a global partnership for development, and especially the realization of the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product as official development assistance from developed countries. We therefore look forward to the outcome of the 2005 high-level plenary of the General Assembly on the review of the implementation of the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields, including the Millennium Declaration. The attainment of the Millennium Development Goals will depend on how effectively we deal with the HIV/AIDS pandemic and other related communicable diseases, among other problems. In sub-Saharan Africa, it has resulted in a reversal of economic and social gains made over the years. Governments need to develop strategic plans that identify key priority response areas, such as prevention and advocacy, treatment, care and support. Also important are the mitigation of the socio-economic impact and research. We are grateful to our development partners and the United Nations Global Fund for their support and provision of resources in fighting these diseases. We look forward to their continued assistance. At the regional level, tremendous progress has been made towards regional economic integration. The East African Community Customs Union Protocol, which was signed on 2 March 2004 by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, is intended to create a single investment and trade area. We hope that this positive development will encourage local and foreign direct investment in the subregion. We welcome the support accorded to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) initiative by the United Nations and the G-8 countries. However, we regret to note that the commitments made to the NEPAD initiative have not been fully realized and call upon our development partners to fulfil their pledges. This year, Kenya is facing a severe famine caused by drought, which has affected a large section of the population. Consequently, Kenya and the United Nations have issued a joint appeal for assistance to contain the famine. We are grateful for the prompt support of the World Food Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and bilateral donors. However, the need for more assistance still exists. To achieve long-term economic stability and development, the Government of Kenya has embarked on an economic recovery strategy for wealth and employment creation, aimed at revitalizing the economy and enhancing the welfare of our people. Other measures have been taken to improve the well- being of the Kenyan people. Those include the improvement and promotion of the welfare of children through free and compulsory primary education and the recognition of the central role played by women in development. In conclusion, I would like to emphasize the important role the United Nations plays in global affairs. It could be greatly enhanced through adherence to the provisions of the Charter and to the rule of law. Member States should respect those instruments in the conduct of their international relations.