Sudan

It gives me great pleasure at the outset to convey to Mr. Harri Holkeri on behalf of my delegation our congratulations on his election as President for this session. Aware of his well-known diplomatic experience and skill, we are confident that he will lead the work of this session to success. I should also like to express our appreciation and admiration for the role played by his predecessor, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, Foreign Minister of Namibia, during his presidency of the previous session, and for his co-chairmanship of the Millennium Summit. In this respect, I commend the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his remarkable efforts in preparing for the Millennium Summit and the Millennium Assembly. On behalf of my delegation, I also welcome the State of Tuvalu as a new Member of our Organization. Last week, the Millennium Summit endorsed a historical declaration that laid out a strategy for meeting the challenges of the twenty-first century. Today I should like to stress that it is our duty to concentrate, during this Millennium Assembly and through its different forums, on translating that vision into decisions and resolutions to achieve and 23 consolidate international peace and security, total disarmament of weapons of mass destruction, resolution of environmental problems, combating international terrorism and organized international crime, prevention of conflicts before they erupt and resolution of the problems of poverty and socio- economic backwardness. If we succeed during this session, we can then say that we have contributed to creating circumstances conducive to the achievement of human security and have liberated mankind from fear and want. On the other hand, we believe that this Millennium Assembly should give equal importance to the reform of the institutions of the United Nations, as they represent the mechanisms through which the international community coordinates the implementation of plans for achieving international peace and security, comprehensive sustainable development and prosperity for mankind. At the apex of these institutions stands the Security Council. All countries continue to call for its reform by expanding its permanent and non-permanent membership, in order to make it more representative of the current membership of the United Nations. They also call for reform of the Council's working methods and decision-making mechanisms, in order to render it more democratic and transparent. We share the Secretary-General's view, expressed in his report to the Millennium Summit, that the main challenge we face today is how to transform globalization into a positive power that benefits all the peoples of the world. The great scientific and technological achievements of the last millennium constitute the common heritage of mankind. We call on the international community to work out the necessary guarantees to prevent these achievements from being turned into a monopoly of knowledge or cultural and intellectual domination or from being used as a means to achieve political and economic hegemony or widen the scientific and technological gap between countries of the North and countries of the South. While we welcome protection of these scientific and technological achievements as elements of intellectual property, we call upon our development partners to make this great wealth available to all humanity and to enable the developing countries to use such innovations in overcoming the chronic problems of production, food, health, education and the environment. The right to development is a basic human right. In order to guarantee that right it is imperative that we establish a democratic, just and transparent world economic order that ensures fair terms of trade between poor and rich countries, increases the level of official development assistance to poor countries and alleviates the debt burden crushing those countries. This is the only viable means to enable the developing countries to benefit from the aspects and opportunities that globalization and the revolution in information technology offer — benefits that are still monopolized by a very small minority of the population of our globe. In this regard, Sudan looks forward to the United Nations financing for development event and the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, which are scheduled to take place next year. We sincerely hope that their results will receive the effective implementation they deserve by all United Nations agencies. This year the General Assembly convened two special sessions to follow up the results of the Beijing World Conference on Women and the Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development. Despite the remarkable achievements realized by national Governments and the international community in implementation of the commitments contained in the documents resulting from those gatherings, the majority of those commitments were not realized, for several reasons, foremost being the failure to fulfil the financial commitments undertaken in Beijing and Copenhagen and the excessive debt burden and debt service commitments of the developing and least developed countries. We also call for more support for efforts made by developing countries to eradicate ever-increasing poverty and all pandemic and epidemic diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS, especially in Africa. Sudan looks forward to participating effectively in the World Conference against Racism to be held next year in South Africa. We believe that this important conference will help us tackle crucial issues very dear to the human race. My country also intends to participate in the special session of the General Assembly to review the results and achievement of the goals of the World Summit for Children. Recently, the President of the Republic of Sudan established an advisory body, attached to his office, in 24 charge of women's and children's affairs. This step is yet further proof of the special importance that the President attaches to the issues of women and children and his incessant work to strengthen achievements in this field. We view with great interest the report (A/55/305) of the Panel of Experts prepared by Mr. Brahimi on peacekeeping operations, because of its importance and the new ideas and proposals it contains on the containment and prevention of conflicts and on peacekeeping operations. Our delegation will certainly participate in the discussion of this report in the General Assembly and relevant Committees. In this connection, we emphasize the need to set clear mandates for peacekeeping operations, ensuring the consent of the country receiving peacekeeping operations and providing the necessary resources for such operations in order to ensure their success and to avoid any possible dangers and setbacks. My delegation expresses its deep concern about the difficulties facing the peace process in the Middle East. In this respect, we reiterate the importance of total Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories in accordance with United Nations resolutions, in order to enable the Palestinian people to restore full sovereignty to their territories, to establish their independent State with Holy Jerusalem as its capital and to enable the Syrian Arab Republic to reinstate sovereignty over the Golan Heights. We are convinced that without implementation of these resolutions, stability in this important region will never be realized and will remain a mere dream. In this context, we commend the resistance and heroic struggle of the people of Lebanon in the liberation of their territories. The call to reform the international sanctions regime is gaining more momentum within the Security Council and other United Nations bodies, because the negative effects of sanctions have compounded the suffering of the peoples of the countries subjected to them, in particular vulnerable groups such as children, women and the elderly. The most horrible and dreadful aspects of the negative impacts of sanctions are seen among the Iraqi people. We add our voice to ongoing efforts to lift these sanctions. Sudan also reaffirms the importance of maintaining the unity and territorial integrity of Iraq, and rejects any measures taken outside the scope of United Nations resolutions and international legitimacy. At the same time, Sudan reaffirms the need to respect and comply with all United Nations resolutions and to respect the sovereignty of Kuwait, and calls for a just and urgent solution to the issue of Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti prisoners, through cooperation and understanding between the parties concerned. We believe that it is high time to lift all sanctions imposed on the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, since it has complied with and fulfilled all its obligations regarding the Lockerbie incident. We view with satisfaction the recent positive developments in the Horn of Africa, namely, the ceasefire agreement reached between our two sisterly neighbours, Eritrea and Ethiopia. We hope this agreement will culminate in a lasting peace between the two parties, and we should like to commend the efforts deployed by President Bouteflika of Algeria towards that end. We should also like to hail and commend the efforts of Djibouti and its President Ismail Omar Guelleh to achieve national reconciliation and restore stability to the Republic of Somalia. The Sudan, represented by President Omer Hassan Ahmed Al-Bashir, participated in the inauguration ceremony of Abdihassim Salad Hassan as President of the Republic of Somalia. We call on the United Nations and the international community to support efforts to restore peace, stability and security to Somalia under its elected leadership. While we fully understand the concerns of the international community about the ongoing conflict in the southern Sudan, we should like to recall that the Sudan is waging a war imposed by a rebel movement seeking to undermine its territorial integrity and the safety and security of its people. We should also like to recall that it was the Government of the Sudan that initially invited the United Nations to undertake the task of coordinating international humanitarian assistance for citizens affected by this conflict. Ten years have elapsed since the implementation of the Agreement known as Operation Lifeline Sudan. However, it has had to be reviewed because of repeated violations of its terms by the rebel movement and some other organizations participating in this process. In this regard, it is my honour to express our deep appreciation and gratitude to Secretary-General Kofi Annan and to his Special Envoy, Ambassador Tom 25 Vraalsen, as well as to the personnel of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for the understanding they have shown regarding the Government's demands for ensuring impartiality and transparency, as well as for determining the obligations of all parties to the agreement and ensuring the fair allocation of humanitarian assistance among citizens affected by the conflict on both sides. It is on the basis of this understanding that the Government has committed itself to ensure the safety and protection of all relief agency personnel operating in the southern Sudan. We believe it is our duty to brief the Assembly on the current humanitarian situation in the Bahr el Ghazal area in the southern Sudan, where the rebel movement has recently increased its violations of the partial ceasefire. This has created obstacles and security complications that impeded the delivery of humanitarian relief to affected citizens in that area. We therefore urge the Assembly to bring pressure to bear on the rebel movement to stop using civilian populations and locations, such as hospitals and schools, as human shields and to fulfil its obligations by halting all military operations in order to ensure unhindered relief operations to all affected populations and to avert a humanitarian tragedy similar to the one endured by Bahr el Ghazal in the first quarter of 1998. The Government of the Sudan has reaffirmed its commitment to reach a just and lasting political solution to the conflict in the southern Sudan based on the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) initiative and to respond to other initiatives intended to solve other problems. Nonetheless, these peace efforts have not succeeded because of the intransigence of the rebel movement, which continues to renege on its obligations, undermining any agreement reached. This is clearly reflected in the position of the rebel movement regarding the ceasefire, which it continues to violate, as well as its continued rejection of the call by the Government for a lasting, comprehensive ceasefire — a call that has received wide support from the international community, the IGAD partners and several other United Nations agencies, as well as regional and international groupings. President Omer Hassan Ahmed Al-Bashir reaffirmed in his address to the Millennium Summit the commitment of the Government of the Sudan to a just and lasting political solution based on the following. First, there should be an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire in order to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the needy and to create a conducive atmosphere and confidence-building measures for the success of the peace efforts. Secondly, there should be direct negotiations on the basis of current peace initiatives, specifically, the IGAD process, which provides a negotiating forum for the Government and the rebel movement, as well as the joint Egyptian/Libyan initiative, which is aimed at achieving a comprehensive resolution to all of the Sudan's problems with the participation of the Government, the rebel movement and the opposition in and outside the Sudan. Thirdly, a comprehensive peaceful settlement should be reached in order to lay the foundation for a fair distribution of power and wealth, establish rights and duties based on citizenship and guarantee total adherence to international standards and instruments of democracy and human rights. In addition to efforts being deployed to solve the military conflict in the southern Sudan, the Government continues to make efforts towards national reconciliation through direct and indirect contacts with opposition groups. Agreement has been reached to hold a comprehensive national conference in which all political and social denominations and factions will take part in order to discuss national unity, freedom, democracy and the system of government. The conference is expected to agree on a national charter that will provide the basis for a system of government characterized by pluralism, freedoms and peaceful transfer of power. The Government has taken the initiative of organizing a preparatory meeting for this conference in Khartoum, and a national preparatory committee has been formed. This will be followed by another preparatory meeting to be held in Cairo to determine the agenda, date and venue of the inclusive national conference. It is my pleasure to commend the efforts of the Governments of Egypt and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in this regard. While efforts for peace and reconciliation are being pursued, the Government is undertaking the necessary legal and administrative measures to establish a democratic, pluralistic system that provides all the necessary freedoms. The Government is also preparing to hold parliamentary and presidential 26 elections, and has invited and welcomed the participation of international and regional organizations to supervise these elections. In the economic field, the Government continues to implement programmes of reform and liberalization of the economy and is encouraging local and foreign investment. In this context, it is my pleasure to inform the Assembly that the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund decided at its meeting last August in Washington to resume full cooperation with the Sudan. The Sudan has also managed to normalize its relations with other international and regional financial institutions, and hopes that the flow of foreign aid and foreign direct investment to the Sudan will enable it to overcome its economic difficulties and relieve its debt burden. We have also started preparations to draw up a development strategy for the coming decade, which will concentrate on poverty alleviation and on providing basic health services, education and rural development. Revenues from the export of petroleum will be earmarked for socio-economic development programmes. It has now been two years since the United States military aggression on the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in the Sudan, which resulted in the total destruction of an important medical facility that used to produce more than half of the Sudan's needs for basic and life-saving medicines. The debris of that factory and the effects of the missile attack by the United States still bear witness to what happens when the military might of a super-Power is used irresponsibly. It is ironic that the same super-Power that claims to be a pioneer in protecting and safeguarding international peace and security and the principles of international law should resort to such an action. This gathering will recall that immediately after that aggression, the Sudan called on the Security Council to send a fact-finding mission to verify United States allegations concerning the factory and its financing. Yet despite the fact that the whole world, and indeed several media organizations inside the United States, have cast doubts on United States allegations about the Al-Shifa factory, the United States Administration continues to maintain its position, contrary to all facts, thus insisting on justifying a wrong that has deprived the people of the Sudan, especially the vulnerable and children, of a source of medicine at affordable prices — less than half of what those medicines cost on the international market. Convinced that rights do not die, we shall continue our efforts to urge the international community, the Security Council and the General Assembly to send a mission to verify United States allegations, and we trust that our just cause has the support of all peace-loving countries that guard these noble principles. We wish here to call on the United States Administration not to use its position in the Security Council to block the sending of a fact-finding mission that will show the world the truth and expose the unwarranted aggression against a basic health facility. The peaceful settlement of disputes is a principal objective and cardinal role of the United Nations. The Sudan adheres to this objective and seeks to realize it in the conduct of its foreign relations at all levels. Based on this position, and in order to realize this noble objective, the Sudan has continuously committed itself to respect for the norms of international law as the only way to settle disputes and to maintain international peace and security. The Sudan is today one of only 62 States that have fully accepted the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. Furthermore, the Sudan, during the Millennium Summit, signed the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and deposited its instrument of ratification for the 1997 International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings. By ratifying this treaty, the Sudan has become one of a few countries that have completed the process of ratification and adherence to all international conventions to combat international terrorism. This is indeed a source of pride to us. We believe the Assembly will agree that this record qualifies the Sudan to make all possible contributions to maintaining peace and security through the highest specialized institutions. Since it became a Member of the United Nations following its independence in 1956, the Sudan has continued to work in collaboration with the other Member States in order to develop and sustain international cooperation to realize the objectives of the Charter in all fields. The Sudan looks forward to pursuing this role in another important forum as a non- permanent member of the Security Council for the period 2001-2002, for the first time in 28 years. 27 The candidature of Sudan has been endorsed and supported by the African continent, represented in the African Group in New York, as well as by the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) at the OAU summit in Togo last July. The Sudan looks forward with confidence and optimism to obtaining the support and endorsement of all United Nations Members for its candidature in the elections that will take place in the General Assembly in the coming weeks.