Eritrea, 2014

At the outset, Mr. President,

I would like to warmly congratulate you, my brother,

on your assumption of the presidency of the General

Assembly at its sixty-ninth session, with its theme of

“Delivering on and implementing a transformative post-

2015 development agenda”, which is both timely and

appropriate. I would also like to take this opportunity

to express my deep appreciation to your predecessor,

Ambassador John Ashe, for a job well done.

Next year, 2015, marks the seventieth anniversary of

the birth of the United Nations. The world has changed

almost beyond recognition since 1945. Originally

founded by 50 Members, the United Nations has seen

three times that many nations join it in the intervening

years. The demographic, economic, political and cultural

realities of its Member States bear little resemblance to

those of the past. The challenges of the time and the

demands of the age are vastly different from those of

the period following the Second World War, or even

the past few decades. Change, rapid transformative

change, is the order of the day. And yet the United

Nations, the Organization that ostensibly represents

the entire community of nations and the peoples of the

world, remains stuck in the past. It is still thoroughly

dominated by a few countries and has marginalized the

overwhelming majority. Its institutions and structures

are an anachronism in the modern world.

More crucially, the United Nations has fallen

far short of playing the primary role in pursuing the

fundamental objectives for which it was established.

The maintenance of global peace and security was and

remains one of its cardinal goals, and yet conflicts and

wars — even simultaneous and multiple wars — have

become a constant feature of our lives. Many of them

are waged in total disregard for the United Nations and

its mandate. In Africa — from the East to the West

and in the North — in the Middle East and on every

other continent, extremism, terrorism and all forms of

bigotry and intolerance are spreading. The record on

other key principles and aspirations is also far from

satisfactory, whether the issue is ending poverty,

ensuring sustainable development, advancing human

rights, preventing epidemics, respecting sovereignty

and non-interference in the affairs of others, ensuring

justice and equality or protecting the environment.

The world is unquestionably facing a very grave

and dangerous situation. To paraphrase the words

of the Secretary-General, this is a terrible time “for

the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United

Nations” (A/69/PV.6, p. 1).

In order to restore the relevance and credibility

of the United Nations — to turn it into a truly

representative institution of all nations and peoples,

where all nations, no matter how big or small, have

respect for its Charter and for international law, and

where all nations contribute, each according to its

capabilities, to peace and security and to the welfare

of people and the planet — it is imperative that we

fundamentally restructure, democratize and rebuild the

United Nations. The crucial and pressing need for that

has been clear for several decades now, starting in the

height of the Cold War and continuing through the past

25 years, during which time the world has lived through

an unsuccessful attempt to impose a unipolar world.

Consequently, United Nations reform has formally been

on the agenda for close to two decades. No country has

openly disputed the importance of restructuring the

United Nations, and many workable proposals have

been presented and thoroughly discussed. Yet we are no

nearer to change, because of the stubborn and cynical

opposition of the dominant Powers.

Given the determination of those Powers to

maintain their control of the United Nations and its

unrepresentative and undemocratic character, the

chances of genuine change in the next few years are

indeed slender. It is therefore vital that all nations and

peoples — as well as the political and social forces

that stand for peace, independence, international law,

justice, equity and sustainable development — forge

a common front. They must consolidate partnerships

and coordinate their efforts on the basis of a broad

common strategy to stem the threats we face and to

build a better and more equitable world, while at the

same time containing without let-up the campaign to

restructure the United Nations, eradicate poverty,

prevent conflicts, address global warming and fight all

forms of terrorism and extremism.

Eritrea’s perspective on the need for an overhaul of

the United Nations system is informed not only by the

shared experience of the majority of nations, but also

by its own history. The international system and the

dominant Powers have dealt the Eritrean people a raw

deal. First, they were denied the right to decolonization

and independence to satisfy what the then United

States Secretary of State John Foster Dulles in 1952

stated were in “the strategic interests of the United

States in the Red Sea basin”. When the Eritrean people

embarked on a 30-year armed struggle for national

liberation and independence in order to advance their

geopolitical interests in the Horn of Africa and the

Red Sea region, the super-Powers supplied arms and

advisers to their client States to crush Eritrea’s right

to self-determination, and the United Nations ignored

their plight. Even after achieving independence at a

tremendous human and material cost and joining the

community of nations, the Eritrean people are still

victimized. The United Nations once again has failed to

uphold an internationally endorsed, final and binding

arbitration of the border decision. In fact, to add insult

to injury, it has imposed unjust sanctions on their

country.

That travesty of justice has caused harm not only

to Eritrea but to the entire Horn of Africa, which is

now mired in endemic conflicts and instability. Once

again and from this rostrum, Eritrea calls on the

United Nations and the Security Council to redress that

injustice by taking concrete measures to end the illegal

occupation of sovereign Eritrean territory. The unjust

and unfair sanctions, for which everyone now agrees

that there was and continues to be no justification, must

also unconditionally and immediately be lifted. Such

long-overdue measures would contribute positively to

the tireless efforts of the Eritrean people to build their

nation, maintain peace, stability and harmony, improve

their livelihood, lay the foundations of a strong,

equitable national economy, create opportunities

for youth and women, and advance regional and

international engagement and cooperation.