Ethiopia, 2001

At the outset, allow me to

express my sincere congratulations to the President on

his election to lead the fifty-sixth session of the

General Assembly. I am fully confident that under his

presidency, we will have productive discussions and

reach a fruitful conclusion. I would also like to convey

my appreciation to the outgoing President for his

conduct of the work of the last session.

Let me also take this opportunity to once again

convey my Government’s warmest congratulations to

our Secretary-General on his appointment to lead our

Organization for a second term. Indeed, his re-election

is well deserved. We are also delighted that the United

Nations and the Secretary-General were awarded the

Nobel Peace Prize for this year. It is a testimony to and

a recognition of the important work the United Nations

has been doing.

It is now over two months since the terrible

events of 11 September. What happened on that day

touched not only the people of the United States but

also the whole world. Not only because scores of

countries lost nationals, but also because New York,

the seat of the United Nations, is in many ways the

capital of the world. The terrorists might have

succeeded in committing this unimaginable and

barbaric crime, but we have no doubt that they have

failed to extinguish the hope and vitality that New York

symbolizes and embodies.

Terrorism is not new to Ethiopia. For the past 10

years, we have been victims of terrorist attacks, and we

have combated it. That is why we remain committed to

doing our utmost to enhance the international effort to

root out terrorism.

23

Over the long term, terrorism will be defeated

when the ideological cover it is wearing is removed

and shown to be empty. But this can be achieved only

when those who are capable of perpetrating heinous

crimes are not only denied safe havens, but also

deprived of any alibi. This is where, among other

things, the fight against poverty becomes all the more

critical.

The fight against poverty is not as elusive as the

fight against terrorism. For the former, we know the

causes, and we know how to fight it and which tools to

use. What we lack is the global political will to act.

The grimness of conditions in Africa in this regard is

obvious. There is no need for me to go into detail

regarding the statistics on the situation in Africa.

African leaders have taken the conclusions of the

Millennium Assembly a step further and have come up

with the New African Initiative, now called the New

Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). They

have drawn a broad plan on how to bring peace,

security and development to a continent that has been

plagued by conflict, overwhelmed with insecurity and

mired in underdevelopment. The main thrust of the

initiative is that we in Africa have duly acknowledged

the responsibility for our continent’s fate. Hence, we

fully accept that peace, security, democracy, good

governance and sound economic management are

essential conditions for economic growth and

sustainable development. At the same time, we are

fully aware that Africa at present lacks the required

resources and capacity to implement this initiative.

This new African initiative thus calls for a

complementary obligation on the part of the

international community.

I would like to point out the importance of this

mutual obligation. Without it, we cannot look forward

to the future with confidence; without it, the

consequences are bound to be grave. This is the

challenge that we face in Africa. The international

community must confront it with renewed vigour and

dedication.

On the subject of our national effort to seize the

opportunity presented by the prevailing peace in my

country, I have the pleasure to inform the Assembly

that we are now back on track in terms of playing our

proper role for peace and investing all our energy and

resources in fighting poverty at the national level. This

is a war, and we count on our partners to stand with us

in waging it. Our strategy in fighting poverty touches

on everything we do — in politics, diplomacy and the

economic domain.

We want to succeed in the fight against the HIV/

AIDS pandemic affecting our country. This major

scourge must be defeated. We are determined to fight

against corruption, and our record is unambiguous in

this area. We are committed to pursuing this without

any let-up.

I would now like to turn to the political and

security situation in our subregion, which, for obvious

reasons, is critical for us, as it should be a source of

concern for the international community.

The problem in Somalia needs to be resolved as

speedily as possible. There is no reason why the

situation should be allowed to continue festering, to the

detriment of the people of Somalia and of the

subregion in general. The parties to the conflict have to

sit down without preconditions to establish a broad-

based Government. That is what was called for by the

Intergovernmental Authority on Development at the

meeting at the summit level in November 2000. This

has to be implemented. This is the most viable

alternative. To do less would amount to abandoning

Somalia for international terrorists to wreak havoc

there and in the subregion. The establishment of a

broad-based Government in Somalia that includes all

the major political forces in the country is a crucial

step towards peace-making in Somalia, for which there

is no substitute. Ethiopia intends, along with other

members of the IGAD subcommittee on Somalia, to

play a more proactive role for the realization of this

objective.

We are also prepared to do our level best to assist

in the process of national reconciliation in Sudan. We

plan to be more active in this undertaking as well. We

believe that to bring the peace process forward, the will

and determination of the parties is critical. But they

need to be assisted, and assist we will, in good faith

and with all the necessary responsibility.

With regard to the situation between Ethiopia and

Eritrea and the implementation of the Algiers Peace

Agreement, it is neither prudent nor proper for me to

conceal from the international community both our

disappointment and, more importantly, our growing

concern. But let me, right from the outset, lest I be

misunderstood, make one important point absolutely

clear. Ethiopia is committed to the peace process and to

24

the scrupulous implementation of the Algiers

Agreement. This is how we intend to continue in the

future. We want the United Nations Mission in

Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) to succeed.

However, success in this or in any other conflict

situation cannot be achieved by the efforts of one of the

parties alone. This describes the situation we are facing

in the peace process between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Prudence dictates that we call a spade a spade. Eritrea

is not complying with the Algiers Agreement, an

agreement which we believe is fair and in the interest

of both parties to protect.

The Temporary Security Zone established by the

Algiers Agreement is required to be a demilitarized

zone separating the two forces. This is the most critical

provision of the Algiers Agreement, whose violation

would logically unravel the whole peace process.

Eritrea has continued to refuse to maintain the integrity

of the Temporary Security Zone as a demilitarized

buffer area between the two forces. Regrettably, this

violation is taking place under UNMEE’s nose. We

have continued to complain, but in vain.

UNMEE might have felt that Eritrea’s compliance

would eventually be secured through appeasement and

by ignoring Ethiopia’s legitimate concern. But our

experience has made it unmistakably clear that

appeasement has never worked with Eritrea. And it is

not working now. What we have started witnessing

lately is an ever-increasing mobilization of troops by

Eritrea along the common border. Under these

circumstances, lack of vigilance on the part of UNMEE

and its policy of appeasement appears to be making

another round of fighting close to inevitable. The

Eritrean authorities might have felt that tension along

the common border is useful in the light of domestic

political necessities. It might serve a purpose for

diverting popular attention from the domestic front, but

it is manifestly reckless and dangerous. Under the

circumstances, we call on the United Nations, as a co-

guarantor of the Algiers Peace Agreement, to shoulder

its full responsibility to ensure that the Agreement is

scrupulously followed. The Security Council should

send an unambiguous message to Eritrea to

immediately desist from all actions that endanger the

peace process.

UNMEE needs to wake up and take Ethiopia’s

real concern seriously. Let there be no doubt about

Ethiopia’s continuing commitment to the scrupulous

observance of the Algiers Agreement and to the peace

process. Ethiopia will continue to do this faithfully.

Ethiopia is also equally determined to respond to real

threats, and reserves its right to act in self-defence.

There should be no doubt about Ethiopia’s

commitment to peace and stability and to carrying out

its responsibilities to the best of its abilities on matters

that affect the international community as a whole ─

first of all in its own subregion and in Africa. Its

commitment to the United Nations endures. Ethiopia is

a country that has always been true to principles of

international law and to their scrupulous observance.

We are proud of this tradition and we cherish it. This is

a tradition we will continue to be guided by.