Senegal

Pending further news, I also wish to share in the sadness we all feel on the announcement of an aeroplane crash in Queens. Through me, Senegal has the pleasure of addressing its warm congratulations to Mr. Han Seung- soo on his brilliant election to the presidency of the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly. His election clearly is a tribute to his outstanding qualities as a diplomat and statesman and it also expresses the unanimous recognition of the Member States of our Organization of his country, the Republic of Korea, for its steadfast commitment to the service of universal peace and international cooperation. I wish to express to his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Harri Holkeri of Finland, our deep gratitude for the competence, commitment and spirit of openness with which he discharged his mandate during a particularly heavy year. Finally, I am happy to reiterate Senegal’s deep appreciation to the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, and at the same time to reiterate to him our wholehearted compliments on his historic re- election, the dazzling consecration of outstanding qualities of a man of good will, conviction and vision, who has devoted his life to the noble causes of the United Nations. I also congratulate him on the brilliant recognition he and the United Nations have just received as the Nobel Peace Prize laureates. He deserves our full support in the pursuit and the achievement of the outstanding work in the area of reform in which he, along with his colleagues, is fully invested to bring our Organization closer to the realities of the twenty-first century. The terrorist attempts of 11 September, which tragically struck New York, the Headquarters of our Organization, Washington and Pennsylvania, have radically changed our vision of the world and of international relations. My country, Senegal, once again conveys its sympathy to the people of the United States and reiterates its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. Let us say it unambiguously: there is no moral, religious or political cause noble enough to justify 17 terrorism or its always barbarous manifestations — which all of us without exception must condemn with unwavering unity and with the utmost force. Senegal is a secular democratic country whose population is more than 90 per cent Muslim; we reject all forms of confrontation between religions, cultures or civilizations. Senegal believes that Islam, like other revealed religions, is a faith of peace and tolerance, and vigorously condemns any equation of Islam with terrorism and any attempt to invoke or use religion for criminal purposes. The massacre of pregnant women and the destruction of buildings occupied by innocent civilians — God’s creatures every one — are acts that have no justification in any religion, least of all Islam, whose banner of peace and harmony among men and women, peoples, cultures and civilizations we proudly bear. Beyond simply condemning terrorism in all its forms, methods and manifestations, the international community must act firmly to eradicate terrorism, its sources of financing and its bases of action throughout the world. Senegal is committed to that course, which is why His Excellency President Abdoulaye Wade took the well known initiative of convening on 17 October at Dakar an African conference against terrorism, in which 27 countries participated. President Wade submitted to that forum a draft African pact against terrorism as a needed complement to the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism. The conference ended with the adoption of the Dakar Declaration against Terrorism, which firmly condemned terrorism in all its forms; reaffirmed our solidarity with all victims of terrorist acts, in particular the thousands of innocent civilian citizens of countries throughout the world who died on 11 September; and invited the OAU promptly to convene an extraordinary session on terrorism to consider, inter alia, the draft African pact against terrorism submitted by Senegal with the support of other countries. Let me make it clear that those who argue that Africa has priorities other than terrorism are surely forgetting that tragedy resulting from acts of blind slaughter struck first in Africa: in Kenya and Tanzania. With bald lack of consideration and respect for African lives, bombers in Nairobi killed 12 United States nationals and 212 Kenyans and wounded more than 3,000 of our Kenyan brothers and sisters. They have never expressed any regret, much less remorse, for their obvious contempt for us. Fighting international terrorism means saying loud and clear that Africans, like Europeans, Americans and all the other peoples of the world, have an equal right to safety, security, stability and peace. That is the powerful message that His Excellency President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal wants to echo throughout the world. Let us remember his initiative for a genuine security policy in Africa, along with his initiative to review African debt and his Omega Plan — a genuine African globalization strategy which has now been merged with the Millennium Partnership for African Recovery to form the New African Initiative. There are years that the long march of history cannot conceal or obliterate, and the past 12-month period is undoubtedly among these; it was extraordinarily rich in events of great importance both for the United Nations and for Africa, the seat of humankind. Thus, within the framework of the fifty- fifth session, the Millennium Summit brought together in this Hall heads of State or Government to, in the felicitous words of the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, identify and work to solve the world’s major problems. In an extraordinary convergence of views, world leaders reaffirmed their faith in the United Nations and its irreplaceable mission to protect international peace and security, to fight poverty, to promote economic and social development, to strengthen democracy and the rule of law and to ensure justice and equity among citizens, peoples, cultures and civilizations. In view of the universality which is the hallmark of the United Nations and which was reaffirmed at the Millennium Summit, Senegal firmly supports the legitimate request of the Republic of China on Taiwan to resume its seat in the Organization and in its specialized agencies. That request is not directed against any State Member of the United Nations; meeting it would be a key contribution to consolidating the ideal of the universality of the United Nations and to the advent of an era of peace and stability in that sensitive part of the world. Africa remains the region where some conflicts seem to exist in tragic eternity; it is where nearly half of the world’s refugees and displaced persons are to be 18 found; it is the site of 33 of the world’s 48 least developed countries. Africa is also the region whose inhabitants are the most appallingly affected by the HIV/AIDS and malaria pandemics. Unquestionably, that enormously disturbing situation calls out to the entire international community and, in particular, to Africans. That is why it is important to implement the outcome of the twenty-sixth special session of the General Assembly, which was devoted to the fight against HIV/AIDS. Last July, the African Union was christened at the historic Lusaka summit of the OAU. By that historic act, Africa committed itself, in a proactive and unified spirit, to find African solutions to the many challenges before it, by establishing a modern, viable, open institutional framework that can respond to Africa’s emergencies and needs in the new century. Here, I renew my congratulations to my friend and brother Amara Essy, to whom African heads of State or Government have entrusted the task of following Salim Ahmed Salim in shouldering the high responsibilities of the post of Secretary-General of the OAU and of putting in place the new structures of the African Union. The second major event of the Lusaka summit is part of the same pan-African dynamic: the adoption of a plan for the economic and social development of Africa, known as the New African Initiative — the new partnership for the development of Africa, to which I earlier referred. This has the quality of having been conceived by Africans for Africa on the basis of the merger of two novel projects: the Omega Plan of President Abdoulaye Wade; and the programme for an African renaissance of Presidents Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Abelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria. That joint initiative should help create the synergy needed to eradicate poverty in Africa and to lay the foundations for sustainable economic and social development, which is a prerequisite for integrating the continent into the ongoing process of globalization. For the first time in the history of plans for the renewal of Africa, an international conference on the financing of the New African Initiative is planned for January 2002 at Dakar. That forum will truly be an African Davos and should make it possible to hold a fruitful dialogue among all development partners that have understood the renewal heralded by the new plan, which sums up our experiences and symbolizes the hopes of all of us who unconditionally love Africa. There has been impressive progress in Africa this year with respect to the urgent need to tackle the root causes of the many conflicts that shake the continent and to work peacefully towards their lasting resolution. On the crises in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Burundi and in Sierra Leone, we are pleased to say that significant milestones have been reached by all actors in the implementation of peace agreements already concluded. From that standpoint, there is true cause for encouragement in the beginning of an inter-Congolese dialogue in Gaborone, Botswana, and the recent formation, with the help of the incomparable Nelson Mandela, of the transitional government of Burundi for national reconciliation. It is now up to the Security Council to perform all of its responsibilities under Chapter VII of the Charter. These efforts deserve to be intensified and given diplomatic support by the international community through concrete actions to finance strategies for post-conflict peace-building. In the same spirit, it is important to support the efforts of Angola and the Organization of African Unity for the rapid settlement of the conflict in that country. In light of the debt crisis aggravated by the exponential drop in official development assistance, the international community must explore new ways and means to develop the third world, especially Africa, through, inter alia, an increase in direct foreign investment. It is this break with the past — this “epistemological” departure — that our President proposes to Africa and its partners. He argues that the aid/credit couplet, which has been the principal way to finance development in Africa and has led to the impasse we all know, should be abandoned and replaced by an approach that makes Africa attractive and competitive, leading to a massive inflow of private investment, both domestic and international. The cycle of debt followed by ever greater debt — a cycle that has been described by our President as a scourge similar to the slavery that devastated Africa — should give way to an approach that brings in massive investment in an adequate fiscal and legal environment — investment capable of filling the gaps in priority sectors such as infrastructure, education, health, agriculture, new technologies and access to the markets of developed countries. This 19 approach, of course, would be part of a strategy of good political and economic governance and unqualified respect for the rule of law, democracy and human rights. Africa is relying greatly on the results of the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization that just opened in Doha; the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, scheduled for March 2002; and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, planned for September, to provide innovative solutions to the challenges besetting Africa at the beginning of this millennium. Looking sadly toward the Middle East, Senegal is following recent developments with great concern and feels solidarity with the Palestinian people in light of the new tragedy. Horrified by the scope of this tragedy, Senegal condemns the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and the intensification of acts of violence against innocent civilians. Senegal addresses an earnest appeal to all the parties, the co-sponsors of the peace process, the European Union, the Security Council and the international community, for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied Palestinian areas; for the immediate cessation of all acts of violence and provocation; for respect for the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and the relevant United Nations resolutions; for the resumption of peace negotiations in accordance with the agreed timetable; and for the conclusion of an overall settlement agreement that is just, durable and in conformity with resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) of the Security Council. Peace cannot prosper nor can the development of the region be ensured so long as Israelis and Palestinians fail in their efforts to forge bonds of confidence, as sovereign States within internationally recognized and guaranteed borders. I am happy to note that the European Union and the United States have recently affirmed this, inasmuch as Israel and the future State of Palestine each have the right to exist, to live in peace and to develop in security and dignity. I wish to conclude by saying that the consolidation of the rule of law and the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms remain one of the major focal points of our national and foreign policy. The special importance that our President attaches to these matters has been eloquently expressed in the appointment of a woman to the post of High Commissioner for Human Rights. The World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance was held, despite all obstacles, and dealt with its agenda despite the complexity of the issues and the particularly difficult conditions under which the negotiations took place. My country, which had the honour to preside over the work of the Preparatory Committee, once again addresses a solemn appeal to all actors in international life to translate the Declaration and Plan of Action adopted at Durban into action. Thus, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the world can be definitively freed of the scourge of racism, which represents a grave infringement of human dignity and a flagrant violation of human rights. Speaking of human rights, we also naturally think of the rights of women and children. The twenty- seventh special session of the General Assembly, planned for 8-10 May 2002, will adopt a new agenda for the international community aimed at better ensuring, safeguarding and defending the rights of the child and promoting the Convention on that subject. The commitments to which our Governments will subscribe must be implemented, as must the conclusions of the Fourth World Youth Forum of the United Nations system, held in Senegal in August this year. It is imperative that we face the challenges of peace and development. We have no other choice but to do so through multilateralism and universalism. Thus the world needs the United Nations, an organization that is universal and unique. This is the conviction of Senegal, which proclaims that a United Nations that is well restructured and more representative would be better equipped to face the challenges that humanity confronts today. Those challenges seem as immovable as mountains, but everything is possible in a world of solidarity, brotherhood, security and respect for the sacred character of human life, dignity and the inalienable right of all peoples to happiness and liberty.