Ethiopia, 2000

Allow me, from the

outset, to extend warm congratulations to you,

Mr. President, on your election to preside over the

fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly. I would

like also to express our appreciation to your

predecessor, Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab, for the able

manner with which he discharged his responsibilities as

President of the fifty-fourth session of the General

Assembly.

I wish also to take this opportunity to express our

sincere appreciation to our Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi

Annan, for all the efforts he has been making to make

the United Nations equally relevant to all of us. I wish,

in particular, to congratulate him on the success of the

Millennium Summit, which we are hopeful will be a

landmark for more meaningful and enhanced

cooperation among nations.

We have indeed been encouraged by the well-

deserved emphasis that was given to Africa and to

Africa's predicament at the Millennium Summit. It is

our hope that the Summit may have helped create

greater determination for cooperation with the peoples

of Africa so that Africa may make real progress in

addressing the challenges of development, peace and

stability.

The problems of Africa are defined by two very

closely related challenges. Africa's development

continues to be arrested by problems of insecurity,

instability and lack of peace. On the other hand, it

appears unrealistic to expect durable peace in Africa

without hope in the future that could be brought about

only by visible indications of possibilities for progress.

In both areas, Africa has not had the necessary

support commensurate with the complexity of the

challenges it has faced. It might be necessary to hasten

to add here that indeed Africa itself might not always

have taken advantage of available opportunities for

making progress, and that we might sometimes have

squandered real opportunities for breaking out of the

vicious cycle of poverty and lack of peace and stability.

While this may be partly true, the significance of

the missed chances that Africa has allowed to pass

should not be exaggerated. It is far from the truth that

Africa has enjoyed sustained, resolute and all-out

support, either in the area of economic development or

in the sphere of peace and security. On the other hand,

it is precisely this type of cooperation that is required

by many in Africa to be able to embark on sustainable

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economic development and growth. But whether with

respect to debt relief, or to declining terms of trade, or

to all aspects of the challenges of and obstacles to

development, the types of cooperation made available

to our countries have always been limited as well as

entangled with all kinds of conditions which have been

far from helpful.

Like all regions of the world and like all

countries, Africa and African nations should and must

assume primary responsibility for what happens in

Africa in general and in individual African countries.

But at one time or another in their history, most regions

of the world and most countries have had occasions to

rely on international solidarity and cooperation as a

catalyst for creating conditions for development and

stability.

But Africa's fate has been different. For whatever

reason, it has been easier to lose hope with respect to

Africa than to give the continent the benefit of the

doubt; this, even when little has been done to help

Africa address the real challenges it is facing in a

variety of areas.

This is not only in the area of economic

development. We have seen the same thing taking place

with respect to the need for Africa to promote respect

for the rule of law and to create conditions for peace

and stability. Africa is also being marginalized in terms

of the universal applicability of the principles of

international law. It is our hope that Africa will be

judged by the same standard in this regard. Otherwise,

there can be little chance for peace and stability in our

continent.

We say this from experience. There is no

effective substitute, if opportunities are to be created

for the peaceful resolution of situations of crisis in

Africa and for a quick and an appropriate response by

the international community to violations of

international law. Peace can never be promoted through

appeasement of aggression or by creating the

impression that, depending on circumstances, on where

they take place and to whom they happen, some acts of

aggression can be tolerated.

We in Ethiopia have, only a week ago, celebrated

our New Year. We have entered the year 1993 with

confidence that it will be a year of peace and progress.

Our people have made the commitment to resume the

task of economic development with full force, a task

which was rudely interrupted two years ago when our

country became a victim of aggression.

It is also in this spirit that we are proceeding with

full commitment to put behind us the crisis we have

had with Eritrea. Even before the deployment of

peacekeepers, contrary to experience in other places,

the cessation of hostilities has held for months now. We

look forward both to the deployment of the

peacekeepers and to a speedy conclusion of a

comprehensive settlement. All those prepared to

contribute to this effort should rest assured that what

they should expect from Ethiopia, its people and their

Government, is the fullest cooperation. For us,

agreements concluded are made to be respected, not

violated. In any case, what our people wish to be

identified with, fully and with no ambiguity, is

peacemaking, not war-making. We hope that we will

have the opportunity to work for peace and for

economic growth and development.

There are few who need the blessings of peace

more than the people of Ethiopia and of our subregion.

As much as our people refuse to see aggression

rewarded at their expense, they have, on the other

hand, never been wanting in demonstrating full

commitment to peace and legality. Our people will

never jettison this noble tradition.

Ethiopia also takes its responsibility for peace

and stability in our subregion very seriously and in

Africa as a whole. In this regard, we have been

enormously encouraged by the developments with

respect to the peace initiative on Somalia under the

auspices of President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti.

It is Ethiopia's hope that what has already been

achieved in Djibouti will be built upon and that the

momentum for peace and national reconciliation will

be maintained. We are convinced that if the remaining

problems are handled with realism, wisdom and mutual

accommodation, there is little doubt that the people of

Somalia will very soon be able to put behind them the

10-year nightmare they have faced. I would like,

therefore, to take this opportunity to call on all

concerned to make this newly created opportunity for

peace in Somalia, and for the restoration of the Somali

State, irreversible. The process should not be allowed

to be held hostage by those who may not be prepared

for national reconciliation. Nor should it be endangered

by a failure to be sufficiently accommodating and

5

sufficiently patient. This is what the international

community should encourage.

The opportunity now created in Somalia should

not be allowed to slip away. This could easily happen if

all attention is focused on seeking international

legitimacy rather than internal national reconciliation.

It would indeed be a tragedy and a recipe for further

bloodshed in Somalia if efforts are not made to build

on the peace and stability that have already been

achieved by some regions and parts of Somalia. The

issue of Somaliland, for instance, requires great

sensitivity and a sense of enormous responsibility.

Whatever has been achieved in Djibouti is going to be

tested by how well the peace and stability that some

parts of Somalia have achieved is preserved.

For Ethiopia, and for Somalia's neighbours, these

are critical issues. The formal stand we will be taking

with respect to the evolving situation in Somalia will

depend on how these issues are addressed by those who

now have the chance to affect the destiny of the people

of Somalia. While we wish them well and promise

them our full cooperation, we also ask them to use this

historic opportunity with a full sense of responsibility

and wisdom.

Let me take this opportunity to also state that

Ethiopia, along with its Inter-Government Authority on

Development (IGAD) partners, will continue to do the

maximum possible for peace and national

reconciliation in the Sudan. It has always been our firm

conviction that the Declaration of Principles provides a

just and realistic basis for reaching a settlement on the

crisis in southern Sudan. It is also our view that a

broader national reconciliation in the Sudan can easily

be achieved on the basis of democratic principles and

mutual accommodation. Ethiopia will continue to be

committed to peace in the Sudan on this basis and to

cooperate with all those who have the goodwill to

contribute to peace in our subregion.

Let me reiterate: Ethiopia will do the maximum

possible for peace and durable stability in Africa as a

whole, with the full knowledge that without peace we

in Africa will have little chance to ensure a better

future for our peoples.

Before concluding, I would like to say a few

words on how vital it is that the reform of the Security

Council be completed as speedily as possible. The

reform of the Council is critical for the credibility of

the United Nations and for its increased legitimacy. As

matters stand now, it is only too obvious that not many

believe that the work of the Security Council is

conducted with sufficient transparency. In fact, there is

a growing conviction that the Council is being less and

less representative and more and more distant from the

sentiments of the majority.

This situation, we believe, needs to be rectified.

This can be done in two ways. First, by ensuring that

there is equitable representation of all regions of the

world on the Council. Secondly, it is also important

that the work of the Council be made more open and its

decision-making more transparent. The interests of

peace and security will be better served if the Council

is more transparent and more open to the views of

others, most particularly to the views of those directly

affected by its decisions.

It is our earnest hope that the United Nations will

be more relevant to all in the twenty-first century, and

in equal measure, than it has been in the past 55 years.

This is not an unrealistic objective, but it requires the

commitment of all, big and small.