I would like to begin by
extending my warmest congratulations to the President
on his election to the presidency of the General
Assembly at its current session. I also take this
opportunity to place on record our sincere appreciation
of Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann for his efforts
and leadership during the sixty-third session. I wish as
well to commend the Secretary-General for his
comprehensive report on the work of the Organization
and for his tireless efforts and dedication in the cause
of international peace and security.
The current financial and economic crisis
affecting many countries around the globe, particularly
in the West, has reached the shores of Africa.
Originating in the West, the uncontrolled banking and
mortgage crisis, arising from over-leveraged subprime
lending schemes, burst into the open, destroying the
liquidity and survivability of many institutions in the
developed countries.
It was thought that, since Africa was not a player
in this sector, its financial institutions and its
economies would escape more or less unscathed. Such
was not to be; African difficulties have been
compounded. This crisis follows on the heels of the
food and energy crises and the challenges posed by the
impacts of climate change. The severity of the crisis on
poor countries cannot be underestimated. Poor
countries have no choice but to work hard to restore
strong growth and recover lost ground in order to move
towards internationally agreed development goals. In
this respect, it must be emphasized that the global
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crisis cannot be an excuse to avoid fulfilling existing
international aid commitments. In addition to timely
delivery, flexibility of resources and predictability, it is
critical that the aid be effective. Developing countries
need access to new funding, including credit and
liquidity facilities, infrastructure investment and
support for domestic financial systems.
Members of the General Assembly are by now
aware of the tense standoff that prevails in the northern
part of my country, following the unwarranted and
deliberately provocative incursion and occupation by
Eritrean forces of Djibouti’s sovereign territory at the
beginning of last year, 2008. This wholly reckless
action by Eritrea, a neighbour, provoked a mutual
military build-up, leading to serious clashes between
the two forces. In particular, the clashes of 10 to
12 June 2008 resulted in many deaths, countless
wounded and prisoners taken on both sides, and this
merits a special note.
My country embarked upon a calm and prudent
policy that deliberately allowed sufficient time for the
possibility of comprehensive bilateral contacts at every
level in order to resolve hostilities amicably and
peacefully. Our efforts fell consistently on deaf ears,
accompanied by rebuffs, blatant denials, and
dismissive and condescending utterances. Regional
organizations, heads of State and Government, and the
United Nations have all attempted to initiate dialogue;
these efforts have gone for naught with Eritrea, which,
in its usual brazen manner, has gone so far as to deny
even the existence of any tension in the area, despite
the clear, far-reaching and unmistakable conclusions of
the United Nations fact-finding mission. Indeed, the
mission’s report represents a damning indictment of the
regime’s deceptive and erratic behaviour.
The Security Council has consistently condemned
Eritrea’s forceful occupation of my country’s territory,
namely, Ras Doumeira and Doumeira Island, and in
resolution 1862 (2009) of 14 January 2009, demanded,
inter alia, that Eritrea withdraw its forces and all their
military hardware to the status quo ante; acknowledge
its border dispute with Djibouti; engage actively in
dialogue to defuse the tension and in diplomatic efforts
leading to a mutually acceptable settlement; and to
abide by its obligations as a Member of the United
Nations.
The resolution required Eritrea to comply
immediately, and, in any case no later than five weeks
after the resolution’s adoption date of 14 January.
Eritrea, however, rejected the resolution the next day.
There the matter has essentially remained, in the light
of the series of requests made by the Secretariat for
more time to pursue contacts, particularly with the
Eritrean authorities. As everyone now realizes, it is a
futile exercise to seek a credible response from Eritrea,
whose intentions have always been to procrastinate on
various pretexts while firmly entrenching itself in the
occupied territory.
As Djibouti has repeatedly stated, the occupied
areas of Ras Doumeira hill, which overlooks the
Bab-El-Mandeb strait, and Doumeira Island, which is
in the same Red Sea area, are situated in one of the
busiest shipping lanes in the world. The militarization
of this key strategic maritime route does not augur well
for peace in the region or for international shipping and
investment.
The dispute between Eritrea and Djibouti must
not be allowed to fester any longer. It must be resolved
along the lines of Security Council resolution 1862
(2009) without further equivocation, confusion or
deliberate procrastination. Inaction sets a dangerous
precedent that others will surely follow in the future:
deny and refuse to cooperate. The Council must not
appear to be appeasing Eritrea indefinitely. It is a
dangerous and an unpredictable regime that so far has
not shown any respect for international norms and
behaviour. The Council must act now, using all means
at its disposal.
Once again, the situation in Somalia is tense,
tenuous and unpredictable. Somalia’s plight is
sickening, hopeless and disgusting, to say the least.
Here we have a transitional Government that enjoys the
full backing of the international community. Yet
paradoxically, that same entity is woefully lacking the
money and manpower that would enable it to confront
the deadly insurrection that has paralysed the whole
country. Mogadishu, the capital, is essentially a war
zone. Most of its civilian population has been
displaced, having fled the never-ending anarchy,
abuses, impunity and other egregious crimes against
humanity. The collateral damage to the civilian
population is horrendous — in short, unquantifiable.
Coupled with that, the Somali people are facing an
extreme drought that threatens a widespread food
shortage and starvation, which would necessitate major
international emergency food aid.
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The presence of African Union peacekeepers has
been a major factor in keeping the transitional
Government in power, but they are continuously under
attack, and the need for more troops, as well as for the
training and equipping of sufficient Somali forces,
cannot be overemphasized. Indeed, there is tremendous
goodwill towards the current Transitional Federal
Government, in particular towards Sheikh Sharif
Sheikh Ahmed, the current President, who enjoys both
trust and international credibility. Unfortunately, that
has not been matched by a commensurate support in
terms of resource flows consistent with the promises
and pledges made to the Government. Resources make
the difference in the outcome of hostilities.
All the same, life in Somalia goes on, and with
resources that country would be able to start addressing
the critical urgent problems and issues of security,
governance and job creation. Addressing the terrible
drought now battering the country and crippling its
already low food stock is a top priority. We must all
fulfil our obligations to enable the Government to
function. No doubt that is a tall order, but that is what
it takes and that is the challenge that we all have to
confront.
We are well aware of the flow of arms, resources
and foreign fighters into Somalia and of the threat that
Al-Qaida might establish a beachhead there. One can
say that the time has come for all well-meaning
Somalis, as well as peoples and Governments of
goodwill everywhere, to step forward in order to create
a lasting and stable environment for the people of
Somalia. We owe that to the people of Somalia.
The stage appears set for dramatic developments
in the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories,
which is by far the longest occupation in modern times.
As we all know, the United Nations Fact-Finding
Mission investigating last winter’s three-week war in
Gaza has issued its report. While both the Israelis and
the Palestinians were strongly criticized, the
condemnation of Israel by a United Nations body was
unprecedented, stating that the result was
“a deliberately disproportionate attack designed
to punish, humiliate and terrorize a civilian
population, radically diminish its local economic
capacity both to work and provide for itself, and
to force upon it an ever increasing sense of
dependency and vulnerability”. (A/HRC/12/48,
para. 1893)
The peace process is frozen and there is no hope
in sight of jump-starting it soon, as the new Israeli
Government is intent on pursuing its business-as-usual
policy of more settlements and refusal to engage in a
process that addresses the final status issues.
My country is keen to have peace and security
soon restored in the northern part of the sisterly nation
of Yemen, within the framework of its territorial
integrity, sovereignty and unity.
One cannot fail to notice the number of countries
that have raised the issue of the representation on and
composition of the Security Council. It is undeniable
that we are in a different world from that which existed
in the aftermath of the Second World War. Given the
critical need to have a global body capable of
addressing, in some manner, the challenges of an
evolving international landscape, the issue is of
concern to many countries. For the United Nations to
retain its credibility and authority, it must continue to
be relevant. New norms have risen, while whole
continents lack permanent representation, let alone the
power of the veto.
Once again, it must be said that Africa, the
continent with the largest number of countries, needs to
have a permanent voice in the conduct of world affairs.
We see no reason to change our position, which we
noted in 2007, that Africa seeks no fewer than two
permanent seats, with all the prerogatives and
privileges of a permanent member, including the right
of the veto, in addition to five non-permanent seats. Of
late, things have been changing for the better in much
of Africa, but the current disastrous international
economic crisis was not of our making, as is true for
the fallout from global warming. They and other crises
underscore the urgency of our meaningful involvement
in the United Nations and in world affairs. Permanent
seats and increased membership on the Security
Council would be in keeping with those growing
international demands.
Time and space do not allow us to consider in any
depth a number of other critical issues confronting
developing countries. There should be some mention,
however, of the harm to countries’ trade and
development stemming from the protective tariffs of
the industrialized West. The effort to provide subsidies
for a few large farming operations, blocking
competition from farmers of the developing world,
only hurts the latter. Perhaps cotton is a good example.
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There is also the stalemate in the Doha Round
trade talks. Those discussions must reopen in earnest,
with the commitment to reach a satisfactory
conclusion. Lastly, we need to highlight the concern
regarding the Millennium Development Goals and the
likelihood that they will not be achieved by 2015 in
most countries. In sum, that is tragic for so many lives.
Efforts must therefore increase towards mitigating that
trend.
In conclusion, I wish, on behalf of my
Government and the people of Djibouti, to express our
heartfelt sorrow and profound condolences to the
bereaved families and to the Government and the
people of the Philippines for the torrential rains and
heavy flooding that caused havoc and unprecedented
disruption of lives and destroyed infrastructure.