Ethiopia, 2009

It is indeed a great

pleasure for me to extend my warmest congratulations

to Mr. Ali Treki on his election to preside over the

General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session.

Permit me also to express my appreciation to the

outgoing President for his effective leadership during

the course of the previous session of the General

Assembly.

We are grateful to our Secretary-General, Mr. Ban

Ki-moon, for the tireless efforts that he exerts to ensure

that the United Nations fulfils its purpose during this

complex and crucial period in our collective history. I

wish to thank him, in particular, for the initiative he

took to convene the special Summit on Climate Change

this past week.

It has now been 18 years since we, Ethiopians,

managed to remove a military dictatorship of

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unprecedented cruelty. The consequences of lack of

democracy within the context of great diversity are all

too apparent. Ethiopia’s diversity leaves no room for

autocracy, dictatorship, military — of whatever

variety — cannot mix with the sociological make-up of

the country. That was the explanation why Ethiopia

was at the edge of the cliff during the last years of the

military Government.

The last 18 years have not been easy for

Ethiopians. We had to begin again in every aspect of

our lives, without exception. There was hardly any

economic development throughout the entire 17 years

of military dictatorship. Even prior to military rule,

Ethiopia faced not just the lack of democracy, but also

a stagnant economy and lack of development.

However, the challenges of the last 18 years have

not been limited to the weight of the past, to our

legacy, in both the political and economic areas. We

also had to face other challenges which have not been

inconsequential in terms of affecting the tempo of our

democratization and development. These challenges,

however daunting they are, do not undermine our

achievements, over the last 18 years, to democratize

our country and lay the basis for rapid economic

development.

In both areas, the historic trajectory of the

country has shifted. No matter what detractors might

say, Ethiopia is now a country with a future and great

hope. During the entire long history of the country, we

have never witnessed two-digit economic growth, yet

we are slated to register that rate of growth this year.

That would constitute our sixth consecutive year of

such a level of achievement, and it has been attained

despite pressures coming from the global economic

crisis.

In democratic governance, the new Ethiopia has

irrevocably split from the old Ethiopia in terms of both

individual and group rights. With respect to the latter

category of rights, Ethiopia, as has so emphatically

been asserted in our Constitution, is no longer a prison

of nations and nationalities. In terms of respect for

individual political and human rights, if hard facts —

and not an extraneous political agenda — are the

measure, Ethiopia is now, all things considered, not at

the tail end of countries, but in the vanguard, for its

commitment to this value as well as in practice.

However, over the last 18 years we have had

many challenges whose negative effects cannot be

overlooked. I would like to say a few words about each

of the challenges that we have had, and continue, to

face.

The first is in the area of peace and security.

Obviously, Ethiopia is part of the Horn of Africa. As a

neighbour sharing a longer border with Somalia than

any other country and with a large population of

Ethiopian Somalis, we have been affected by what goes

on in that sisterly country; indeed, it would be a

miracle if that were not the case.

Now, speaking of Somalia, it is time that we

abandon the fiction that the war there is just among

Somalis. It is not. Somalia is being hijacked by foreign

fighters who uninhibitedly proclaim that their agenda

has nothing to do with Somalia. Theirs is an ambition

that goes well beyond Somalia, and they say that loud

and clear. Those who advise them not to be so blunt

have not succeeded.

The Somali crisis has been with us as long as the

new Ethiopian Government has been around. It is not

just that we lost a partner because of the absence of a

functioning Government in Mogadishu. We have also

been directly affected by the crisis — a crisis, let us

not forget, that is assisted and abetted by others,

including by States whose authorities move with ease

in and rub shoulders with members of civilized circles.

It is not only rogue States, but also States that are

ostensibly decent that continue to fuel extremism in

Somalia and to fund its activities.

Let us call a spade a spade. Today in Somalia,

there is greater coordination and cooperation among

those who assist the extremists than among those who

profess support for the Transitional Federal

Government (TFG) of Somalia. The consequences are

obvious. As the latest horrific suicide attack on the

African Union Mission in Somalia has shown, those

destroying Somalia are being emboldened and their

supporters rewarded.

Conversely, the TFG authorities continue to lose

confidence, as pledged support continues to dwindle in

practice. The international community is being stingy

even with the symbolic steps of showing resolve

against extremists and spoilers in Somalia. The

countries of the Intergovernmental Authority on

Development (IGAD) spoke with one voice and

appealed to the United Nations Security Council.

African heads of State and Government endorsed

unanimously the IGAD call for the Security Council to

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stand up and be counted in support of the fight against

extremism in Somalia. However, it appears that the

Council does not consider Somalia to be a priority.

In the meantime, those supporting extremism

have made Somalia a priority. It is critical that the

international community wake up before the hijacking

of Somalia by extremism is fully consummated. It is

therefore unlikely that the Horn of Africa will soon rid

itself of the crisis in Somalia, and there will be

consequences for the work we have to do in our

country in terms of development, fighting poverty and

speeding up the process of democratization.

That is why the peace process in the Sudan, and

in particular the effective implementation of the

Comprehensive Peace Agreement, is so critical for us.

The Horn of Africa cannot afford the consequences of

failure in the Sudan peace process. We are very close

to both parties in the Sudan, and that is an asset that we

want to use wisely.

It would be naïve to believe that the conditions of

peace and stability in our region have no influence over

our domestic agenda. They do. Open societies are

manifestly vulnerable to the kind of situation

prevailing in the Horn of Africa. The mix of extremist

forces and rogue States is not conducive to the growth

of democracy in close proximity.

We have other challenges as well. One has to do

with climate change. It is gratifying to us Ethiopians

that this challenge is drawing the attention of the world

more than ever before. I wish to reiterate our

appreciation of the effort deployed by the Secretary-

General in this regard. We look forward to the

international community’s taking resolute action in

Copenhagen on the basis of the principle of common

but differentiated responsibilities.

We in Ethiopia have been affected by climate

change in the most difficult and complex ways. The

effect on our agriculture and on our plan for food

security has been enormous. It is no longer every

decade or so that we face drought, but rather every

three to four years. If not drought, then we face floods.

Either way, the consequences have been enormously

damaging to our plan to ensure food security.

Let me take this opportunity to thank all those

partners who have stood with us to address and

mitigate the adverse effects of climate change on our

agricultural activities. I wish to thank in particular

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for organizing a

meeting on partnering for food security on this very

day.

As for the Copenhagen climate change summit, it

is indeed gratifying that we in Africa have decided to

be innovative with respect to our representation and in

connection with our approach to negotiation. Africa

has decided to be represented by a single team of

delegates which will negotiate on the basis of a

common African position. It is an honour for Ethiopia,

in the person of its Prime Minister, to lead the African

negotiating team. We expect much from Copenhagen.

We have had yet another challenge to our

development and to the effort we have been making to

deepen the progress of democratization in our country

over the past 18 years. This has to do with the less-

than-conducive international economic — and, I might

add, political — environment within which we have to

operate. What we have faced on both scores, economic

and political, has been a lack of tolerance for diversity,

policy-space experimentation and independent

thinking. Unjustified conditionalities have abounded,

both for economic and political reasons — on the one

hand because of strategies derived from market

fundamentalism and on the other because we dared

defend ourselves against unjustified aggression.

Ethiopia’s first real attempt at economic development

coincided with the period when market orthodoxy

made the role of the State anathema. Perhaps times

have changed.

We could have achieved more over the past

18 years, but what we have indeed achieved in the

democratization of our society and in economic and

social development is not insignificant. In fact, as I

have already stated, what we have witnessed in

Ethiopia over the past decade and a half is no less than

a change in the trajectory of the country’s

development. Moreover, we have also continued to

discharge our multilateral responsibilities in our own

subregion, on our continent as members of the African

Union, and in the world beyond in connection with our

obligations to the United Nations.

In our own region, along with other members of

the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, we

have done whatever is necessary and within the limits

of our capacity to help Somalia achieve peace and to

shield it from the onslaught of extremist forces. As part

of the African Union, we continue to discharge our

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responsibilities to maintain the pan-Africanist

tradition, to contribute to the peace and security of the

continent, and to accelerate the integration process of

the continent brick by brick.

The United Nations is an Organization which we

cannot live without. We benefit from the Organization

in more ways than one. We also take our obligation to

it very seriously. It is in that spirit that we continue to

strengthen our contribution to the United Nations

peacekeeping efforts. In this we shall continue without

fail. It is for that reason that I wish to conclude by

reiterating Ethiopia’s commitment to the United

Nations and by affirming our commitment to all efforts

at reforming the Organization, including the Security

Council.