Djibouti

Allow me to warmly congratulate the President on his accession to the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty- sixth session. With his experience and expertise we are indeed assured of the successful conduct and outcome of our deliberations. I express my gratitude to his predecessor, Mr. Joseph Deiss, for his efficiency and the excellent manner in which he guided our work throughout the sixty-fifth session. We wish him well in his future endeavours. I also extend my warmest congratulations to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on his reappointment. That is a token of the esteem that all States have for his outstanding leadership, especially in these turbulent times and the difficult international political situation. We appreciate his tireless efforts and commitment to serve the international community, and we pledge our full support in carrying out and promoting the fundamental values of the Charter. Lastly, we are delighted at the long-awaited creation of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, which 17 11-51185 announces the remarkable progress that has been made during the past century in the quest for gender equality and empowerment of women. Clearly, despite the great strides made in legal matters, it is still true that such progress is not always translated into reality. My Government has made strengthening women’s rights and improving their lives absolute priorities, and I am committed to ensuring that our laws conform to international standards. We are gathered here today in a global economic context that is more than worrying. This difficult world economic environment is indeed reflected in weak economies, declining growth, crippling debts and deficits and rising unemployment. The least developed countries are more severely affected by these crises. The Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, held recently in Turkey, gave new impetus to global efforts to improve the fate of the most vulnerable nations. From this perspective I invite the international community to pay special attention to the unique situation of least developed countries and to provide more support in alleviating the growing burden of debt by assisting them to improve their production capacity and facilitating access to world markets on more favourable terms. Coupled with the economic malaise, we are witnessing throughout the world increasing climatic disparities that range from one extreme to another. It is now very common for countries to be hit by floods followed by droughts, and by earthquakes, devastating hurricanes or tsunamis. The catastrophe that recently hit our Japanese friends testifies to nature’s ferocity. The recurrence of these climate plagues shows us that we must better prepare ourselves and set up appropriate mitigation and adaptation measures. In the Horn of Africa the uncertainties of the climate have long been a fact of life, as evidenced by the recurrent cycles of drought. The current crisis affecting my country is not sudden. We had already sounded the alarm in 2010, when the first warning signs appeared. Faced with this terrible scourge, the resilience of the region is strained, and emergency measures alone cannot meet the challenges now confronting us. Indeed, the situation we face today is the result of several years of drought that have decimated the herds of nomadic peoples and destroyed their meagre crops. People in rural areas are obviously the most affected, and we are doing our best to help them. Our needs are immediate and urgent, and we are grateful to the friendly countries and international organizations that have assisted us in our efforts. However, given the endemic nature of the drought in our region, we need to go beyond reactive management and focus more on managing long-term preventative measures. In this context my country has established several infrastructure projects in agriculture, including the exploitation of arable lands in the neighbouring friendly countries of Ethiopia and the Sudan, and the River Awash water catchment project on the border with Ethiopia for times of floods. The country most affected by this crisis remains Somalia, because the precarious security situation does not allow access to certain populations. Indeed, over the past two decades, Somalia has been a victim of the worst evils. It has been the victim of endless bloodshed, insecurity, instability and destruction. Until recently Al-Shabaab militia continued fighting in the capital, which made it all the more difficult to help the affected population. Today, thanks to the diligence and sacrifices of the Somali security forces and their colleagues from the African Union Mission in Somalia, Al-Shabaab militia have been pushed out of the capital, and that has facilitated the delivery of humanitarian aid to drought victims. As I was able to see for myself during my visit to Mogadishu last month, the guns have fallen silent, life has resumed its course and this year, for the first time since the armed conflict began in 1991, Somalis were able to celebrate Eid in peace. Numerous high-level officials have since visited the Somali capital, which had long been considered too dangerous. This still-fragile but auspicious peace is an opportunity for the Somali people to rebuild their country. Thanks to the security situation, which is now under control in the capital, the Somali people and their leaders have before them an unprecedented opportunity to revive a lasting peace, to stop the interminable transition process and to move the country to a permanent governance by next year. Efforts have been made in this direction by the Transitional Government as well as by regional and international organizations. These have helped parties to reach an agreement that reflects the new political reality in Somalia, especially after the month of August 2011. 11-51185 18 All these efforts should be applauded as a sign of the determination of the Somalis and of the international community to end the endless infighting and fruitless discussions within the Transitional Federal Institutions. In this regard the agreed road map represents a solemn commitment by the leaders of the Transitional Federal Institutions to the people of Somalia, the regional bodies and the international community as a whole. The international community, for its part, must not lose sight of the obvious weaknesses of the Transitional Government and should endeavour to provide the necessary resources to build capacity. The Somali Government should take this opportunity to show determination, courage and leadership. Beyond the rigours of the climate and problems they generate, the Horn of Africa is often associated with fratricidal wars. Indeed, at one point in its history each of our neighbours has been in a conflict situation. While Djibouti has spared no effort to maintain peace, in spite of ourselves we were unfortunately dragged into a border conflict with Eritrea in June 2008. Since then, despite the best efforts of regional and international organizations and the adoption of Security Council resolutions 1862 (2009) and 1907 (2009), Eritrea refuses to answer us about the fate of 19 prisoners of war or even to acknowledge their existence. This remains a serious concern and a source of great sadness for my people and myself. However, despite Eritrea’s failure to comply with the clear requirements set forth in those resolutions, my Government and I remain convinced that mediation is the only way that will allow us to achieve a lasting peace. With this conviction in mind, my Government has accepted the efforts and goodwill of His Highness the Emir of Qatar. That led to the stationing of Qatari troops on the border between Djibouti and Eritrea and the withdrawal of Eritrean troops from the Djibouti territory they had illegally occupied. For our part, we remain willing to cooperate fully with the sincere efforts of His Highness the Emir of Qatar, and we remain confident of the peaceful outcome of this mediation. We will never stop believing in the virtues of dialogue and mediation, the only virtues that can enable our region to consolidate the gains of peace. The most recent example of such success is undoubtedly the birth of the new nation of South Sudan, once again demonstrating the ability of our peers to find a peaceful solution to a decades-old fratricidal conflict. Today, as the people of South Sudan take their first steps in the comity of nations, we want to assure them of our fraternal support. I am confident that they will resolve the outstanding issues peacefully. Of course, we can only rejoice that a new Member has joined the Organization, but I could not mention the independence of South Sudan without recalling the situation that has prevailed in Palestine since 1947. The very foundation of the United Nations consisted in fighting injustice and giving nations their sovereignty. Many countries here today, including mine, have at some point in their history found themselves here in search of independence. South Sudan became the 193rd Member State on 13 July. Palestine, for its part, continues to this day to live under occupation, which in this day and age is morally wrong and politically unsustainable. We Africans know better than anyone the conditions in which colonized populations live. The fate experienced by the Palestinians for more than 60 years we have known, we have fought and we have overcome by obtaining the recognition of our peers. More than any other institution, for colonized peoples the United Nations represented hope: the hope for a better future, freed from the colonial yoke; the hope to live in one’s own country, enjoying freedom and one’s rights; the hope, above all, to regain dignity. The time has come for us to give hope to our Palestinian brothers and sisters by recognizing their right to become a full-fledged State. It is time to end the siege, the poverty and the despair. History will remember, I hope, that on this day we decided to end the injustice and made the choice to finally give to Palestine a full place in the international community. History will especially remember that we have chosen not to disappoint the hopes of the fraternal people of Palestine.