We praise the almighty Allah
for making possible yet again this gathering of world
leaders. I would like to congratulate President Ashe
on his election to preside over the General Assembly
at its sixty-eighth session. His impeccable credentials
and extensive experience in multilateralism will
undoubtedly enrich the debates and proceedings of this
session. He has the full support of my delegation. In the
same vein, I wish also to pay tribute to his predecessor,
Mr. Vuk Jeremi., for his sterling leadership during
the sixty-seventh session. Our special thanks go to
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his stewardship
and for the commitment he has manifested to the
welfare of humanity, particularly of the third world.
I take this opportunity also to convey our heartfelt
condolences to the President, the Government and the
people of Kenya, who have suffered one of the most
heinous crimes against humanity. Our hearts go out to
the families of the victims. This is a clear manifestation
of the fact that terrorism in all its forms cannot be
accepted. This also has nothing to do with our noble
religion, Islam.
As we gather for the sixty-eighth session of the
Assembly, we must pause and take stock of our collective
record in responding to the many different global
challenges with which mankind has had to grapple. Our
global body, the United Nations, has indeed adopted
countless resolutions, which, if implemented to the
letter, would have made the world a much better place
for the whole of mankind and, indeed, for all other
creatures on our planet.
Unfortunately, some Member States continue to
disregard resolutions necessary for the maintenance
of world peace and even question or disregard with
impunity resolutions adopted by the Assembly. The
United Nations continues to be incapacitated as a
result. This certainly calls for an assessment of its
strengths and weaknesses, with a view to rendering
it more effective. Civil strife and terrorism caused
by the negative behaviour of some world Powers are
undermining human security and even the viability
of States. Poverty, hunger and disease still decimate
countless communities, while our capacity to respond
to these man-made humanitarian crises remains
discriminatory and inadequate.
This is demonstrated yet again in the case of Syria.
We believe that this Organization was established in
the first place to find lasting solutions for peace and the
protection of human life. Informed and honest decisions
should be made instead of those driven by the interests of
a few self-appointed gods, thereby causing irreparable
damage to the social fabric and economies of countries
in conflict. My Government supports the view that the
regional organizations in the Middle East should take
the lead in the negotiations towards the resolution of
the crisis in Syria. The tragedy unfolding in Syria has
become a scar on our conscience as civilized people,
and that war must be stopped by any means necessary.
All that we hear is the talk about chemical weapons
and the need to ensure that they are not used by anyone.
This does not make any sense as long as this barbaric
war lasts. Whether or not chemical weapons are used,
thousands of people will continue to die in the most
horrific manner. It is the same horrific and senseless
death in both cases, and our duty is not to choose which
form of death is acceptable and which not. Our duty is
to stop the senseless and barbaric killings in Syria. We,
the United Nations, must end that war immediately;
otherwise the people of Syria will continue to perish at
the hands of satanic and sadistic forces. The Security
Council and all the Powers behind the war in Syria
must not only prevent the use of chemical weapons but
must also bring this brutal war to an immediate end
without preconditions. The Syrian war must be stopped
and stopped now.
The 2013 report on Africa’s performance towards
achieving the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) reveals mixed results. Africa’s substantial
progress towards many goals, targets and indicators
is beyond doubt, but serious challenges still remain,
especially in translating economic growth into decent
job opportunities, improving service delivery and
minimizing income, gender and spatial inequalities.
Violent conflicts and economic shocks in some
countries, as well as unprecedented natural disasters
over the decade induced by climate change, have
caused setbacks in the achievement of the MDGs in
many countries.
Despite such challenges, some African countries,
and the Gambia in particular, are making impressive
gains towards some of the established goals. My
Government is on track to achieve the education MDG
target for net enrolment in primary education and
literacy rate among the population aged between 15
and 24 years. My Government has made serious and
informed policy reviews to prioritize basic primary
education, while expanding access to secondary, higher
and tertiary education, with an emphasis on improving
quality in all areas. We are working diligently to ensure
that the gender disparity gap in enrolment is closed by
2014 and to provide free education and an equitable
chance for all to be literate by 2015 and beyond.
We must ensure that the post-2015 development
agenda builds on the important progress of the
MDGs and is expanded to cover broader sustainable
development issues, as agreed in Rio. Therefore, the
choice of the theme for this session, “The post-2015
development agenda: setting the stage”, is indeed apt,
timely and thought-provoking. Clear, time-bound,
targeted and measurable global benchmarks are crucial
if we are to realize our desired objective.
Protecting African livelihoods requires
international, regional and country approaches
that recognize and act on the overlap of conflicts
orchestrated by foreign Powers and severe weather
hazards. The Gambia firmly believes that mitigating
the adverse effects of climate change and putting an
immediate end to the massive looting of African natural
resources by Western multinational companies call for
a timely and decisive global response. It is a challenge
that should unite us, not divide us. The Gambia is of
the firm opinion that Africa should play an active role
in shaping the goals based on its own development
priorities and common interests.
The greatest threats to human existence are basically
three and are a consequence of human behaviours which
are ungodly attributes. They are: excessive greed, and
therefore addiction to accumulating material wealth
by any means, mostly through violent or immoral
schemes; an obsession with world domination by any
means, including the resolve to use nuclear, biological
and chemical weapons to achieve that fanciful dream;
and homosexuality in all its forms and manifestations,
which, though very evil, anti-human and anti-Allah, is
being promoted as a human right by some Powers.
None of the three threats, which are more deadly
than all natural disasters put together, has anything
to do with climate change. The first led not only
to colonization and the plundering of African and
Asian human and material resources but also to two
devastating wars among the Western Powers, which
were unfortunately wrongly termed “world” wars.
Colonialism was maintained by subjugation and
massive looting of resources in the colonies, leading
to the impoverishment and destitution of hundreds of
millions of colonial subjects.
From the thirteenth century until the middle part
of the twentieth century, the notions of human rights,
good governance and democracy were philosophies
forbidden to Africans. Any African under a colonial
Government who advocated for them ended up either
at the gallows, in a mass grave or rotting in colonialist-
built dungeons called prisons. This was during the
colonial era, when the African continent was treated
like an abandoned game park and Africans were treated
worse than animals.
Today, after fighting for our freedom and
liberating our continent, we are being prescribed a
new religion — democracy, human rights and good
governance — by descendants of the same colonial
Powers. Present-day Africans cannot be hoodwinked
by anyone, any more, and we are determined to defend
our independence and dignity, and to take control of
our own natural resources at any cost and by any means
necessary.
In regard to the second threat, the obsession with
world domination, we are seeing the unprecedented
development of deadly nuclear, biological and chemical
weapons, as well as other weapons of mass murder, by
the same Powers. We all agree that all forms of human
tragedy and catastrophe emanate from the West. They
have spent more money on killer technologies than on
medical and agricultural technology up to today. If they
unleash a third world war, God forbid, that would put an
end to human existence on planet Earth, including the
United Nations itself.
As for the third threat, we know for a fact that all
living things need to reproduce for posterity. They
become extinct when they can no longer reproduce.
Therefore, the Assembly will all agree with me that
any person promoting the end of human reproduction
must be promoting human extinction. Could it be called
promoting human rights when one advocates for a
definitive end to human reproduction and procreation?
Those who promote homosexuality want to put an
end to human existence. It is becoming an epidemic,
and we Muslims and Africans will fight against such
behaviour in our countries. We will never accept it. We
want a brighter future for humankind and the continued
existence of humankind on the planet; therefore, we
will never tolerate any agenda that clearly calls for
human extinction.
Peace and security are inextricably linked to
development. The Gambia continues to abide by
and live by that principle, which has warranted
my Government’s relentless commitment to peace
initiatives under the auspices of the African Union and
the Economic Community of West African States, one
of which successfully culminated in a democratically
elected Government in Mali a few weeks ago. I seize
the opportunity, therefore, to congratulate the brotherly
people of Mali for giving peace a chance by electing a
Government through democratic means.
With more concerted efforts through consultations
and dialogue, we shall also soon witness a lasting
solution to the political impasse in Guinea-Bissau. I am
also happy with the work currently being undertaken by
the African Union High-Level Panel for Egypt, which
seeks to achieve an inclusive and peaceful transition
through dialogue, compromise, reconciliation and
tolerance. My Government will continue to use its
membership in the Peace and Security Council of the
African Union to propose peaceful measures that will
facilitate enhanced engagements aimed at achieving the
desired results in our common quest for lasting stability
in the African continent.
However, the present trends across the world cast
serious doubts about the effectiveness of the conflict
-prevention and management mechanisms adopted
by regional organizations and, most importantly,
the United Nations. Instead of acting as an effective
mechanism for conflict prevention and resolution, as
well as advancing global security, the Security Council
has become a barrier to progress, peace and security
in some instances where lopsided decisions can only
be classified as racist and misguided and therefore
unacceptable.
Africa’s legitimate quest for full representation on
the Security Council continues to be a strong warning
that needs to be urgently heeded. International peace
and security are the business of all, and Africa, a
continent whose resources, ranging from material to
human, have helped to bail the West out of poverty to
reach affluence from the thirteenth century up until
today, cannot be expected to continue to play second
fiddle in the Security Council or in any international
organization from now on. The Gambia remains resolute
in its stance that the permanent and non-permanent
membership categories of the Security Council should
be equitably distributed regionally and expanded to
conform to current geopolitical realities. The Gambia
stands by Africa’s demand for two permanent seats as
well as two non-permanent seats, as clearly articulated
in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration.
How long will the international community
continue to ignore the legitimate right and aspirations
of a continent of 53 States, all members of the General
Assembly? The calls have been very loud and very
clear, but some Western Powers continue to ignore
them. That must end, or the Assembly will see a very
dignified, determined and independent Africa assert its
legitimate rights worldwide in its own way.
My delegation strongly condemns the application of
unilateral and degrading coercive measures as a means
of settling disputes. Such measures have an adverse
impact on the lives of innocent people, who lack any
means of defending their legitimate sovereignty in the
face of massive military might. We find the continued
application of such measures against the peace-loving
people of Cuba to be inhumane and unjust and a
blatant violation of the basic human rights tenets of
the Charter of the United Nations, which, ironically,
were promulgated to prevent such behaviour in the first
place.
It is in that spirit that the Gambia shares the
views expressed by the international community in its
continued unequivocal opposition to the United States
of America’s sanctions against Cuba. The embargo
against Cuba contravenes the fundamental principles
of international law, international humanitarian law,
the Charter of the United Nations and the norms and
principles governing peaceful relations among States,
violating the sovereign equality of States and the
principles of non-intervention and non-interference
in the domestic affairs of other Member States. The
embargo has no legitimate or moral justification, given
the fact that it continues to undermine the fundamental
basic rights to economic emancipation and the
development aspirations of the Cuban people. As a
responsible member of the international community,
the Gambia therefore joins other Member States in
calling for the immediate repeal of laws, measures or
policies that impede the free flow of international trade
and navigation against Cuba.
We also reiterate our call for a serious and decisive
reassessment of our policy towards the Republic
of China on Taiwan. The concerns of the 23 million
hard-working and peace-loving people of that great
country continue to be ignored. The Republic of China
on Taiwan has a democratically elected Government,
which is the only legitimate Government that defends
the interests of the people of Taiwan in the conduct of
world affairs and in its many serious interactions with
each and every nation of the world. The Taiwanese
people have the same concerns as all of us with regard
to global problems. Yet they are not a member of the
vital organs of the global body to contribute their share
in the search for solutions to those problems.
The situation in the occupied Palestinian territory
remains pathetic as a result of decades of collective
punishment, fraught with the glaringly degrading
and inhumane treatment of innocent civilians and
the gross denial of access to humanitarian assistance
and basic services, and essential medical supplies and
construction materials, which has become the daily
rule rather than the exception for the Palestinians. The
pattern and frequency of those human rights abuses, as
well as the disproportionate use of force perpetrated by
the occupying Power, continues unabated.
The Gambia is of the conviction that the ongoing
seizure of Palestinian lands and properties to make way
for illegal settlement activity is morally and politically
unacceptable. Such uncalled-for behaviour on the part
of Israel is in blatant disregard for international law
and casts serious doubt on Israel’s intention to seek
genuine and lasting peace with its brothers and sisters,
the Palestinian people. How can the international
community and the United Nations continue to watch
such glaring injustice and protracted human rights
abuses in silence, without feeling an iota of guilt for not
taking bold and appropriate steps to bring them to an
end? How long should we allow such blatant disregard
for international law to continue unpunished?
While we welcome the resumption of peace talks
between Israel and Palestine, we hope that this time
around the brokers will be decent and honest enough
to ensure that both sides are genuinely committed to
a two-State solution that would eventually usher in
permanent peace and security in the Middle East and
beyond.
We live in a world of new and evolving
threats — threats that could not have been anticipated
when the United Nations was founded in 1945. Unilateral
bullying and the criminal invasion of resource-endowed
sovereign States under the pretext of strengthening
democratization, combined with terrorism, organized
crime, poverty and disease, will remain a serious threat
to global peace and security unless appropriate steps
are taken to eradicate them. Meeting such challenges
today calls for sincerity and honesty to mount well-
coordinated and concerted global efforts.
The Gambia firmly believes that socioeconomic
development and respect for the sovereign rights
of countries to control their own natural resources,
especially minerals, should be the collective line
of defence for a collective global security system
that takes the sovereignty of each nation seriously.
Combating poverty will not only save millions of
lives but also strengthen States’ capacities to combat
terrorism, organized crime and intra-State conflict.
We need renewed and genuine global partnerships and
commitments that are binding and based on respect for
the sovereign right of each individual State to choose
a way of life that is based on its religious and cultural
values, as no administrative system is better than the
way prescribed by the almighty Allah.
It is also necessary to increase the credibility and
effectiveness of the Security Council by making sure
that selective justice is abandoned and rejected by
all Members of the United Nations family. From all
indications, there is an imperative need to inject new
ideas and impetus into the Security Council and to
expand its membership to reflect current geopolitical
realities. Moreover, respect for the principle of equal
sovereign rights of peoples and the need to promote and
respect peaceful relations among all States, rich or poor,
black or white, should be the overriding considerations
for the peaceful coexistence of Member States — that
is, if 2015 and beyond is to bequeath a peaceful and
prosperous world to future generations of the human
race.