The Gambia, 2002

Let me first congratulate

Mr. Kavan on his election as President of the General

Assembly at its fifty-seventh session and for the

excellent manner in which he has been presiding over

our deliberations since the beginning of the session.

With the calibre of leadership he has displayed, added

to his vast experience and wisdom, I have no doubt that

our deliberations will be easily guided to a successful

outcome.

Let me also express my delegation's thanks and

appreciation to his predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-soo, for

his efficiency and effectiveness in conducting the

business of the fifty-sixth session of the General

Assembly.

I would be remiss if I did not pay homage to our

Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for another year of

fine stewardship of our Organization and of humanity

at large. Thanks to his leadership, our Organization has

been able to cross a number of important frontiers in

the year since we last met.

Lastly, my delegation warmly congratulates East

Timor on its full transition to democracy, its successful

conduct of democratic elections, its recent accession to

independence and its subsequent admission into our

United Nations family. Our congratulations also go to

the Government and people of Switzerland on acceding

to full membership of the United Nations as the 190th

and newest Member State.

Our session is being convened at a time when the

anniversary of the dastardly 11 September attack on the

United States is being observed. We join the rest of the

world, including the families of the victims, in

remembering those who lost their lives and we pray

that almighty God grant them eternal rest. Gambians

were among the thousands from many nations of the

world who were victims of the attack. This only goes to

show that terrorism knows no national boundaries. In

commemorating 11 September, President Jammeh

declared a public holiday for people to stay home and

pray. We must therefore harness all our efforts and

cooperate effectively to address this wicked

phenomenon and its root causes.

Let me take this opportunity to commend the

Counter-Terrorism Committee established pursuant to

Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) for the good

work that it is doing in enhancing cooperation in the

field of counter-terrorism. In the course of this year,

the Gambia was able to accede to all the major treaties

relating to terrorism and we are currently in the process

of implementing resolution 1373 (2001).

The year 2002 has been a busy one for us all.

First, we came here for the special session on children.

Then, we went off to Monterrey for the International

Conference on Financing for Development, and we just

recently concluded our deliberations on sustainable

development in Johannesburg, South Africa. At each of

these important forums, we were offered the

opportunity of rededicating ourselves to the noble

objectives of our Organization, especially those that

were so strongly evinced at the Millennium Summit

and enshrined in the millennium development goals,

which we all espoused.

Through our deliberations at these meetings in

the course of this year, we have recommitted ourselves

to striving in a more purposeful and determined manner

to spread and deepen democracy throughout the world;

do better in protecting human rights, fundamental

human freedoms and the rule of law; strengthen our

17

cooperation in the fight against hunger, poverty and

disease; do more to protect the weak and vulnerable in

our respective societies, particularly children, the aged

and the handicapped; and redouble our efforts to

sanitize and preserve the physical and human ecology

and environment. These are some of the important

pillars on which world peace and security are built and

which we must consciously work to strengthen and

preserve from crumbling. That is the only sure way that

global security and development, which are at the core

of our Organization's mandate, can be assured.

We in the Gambia have been doing all we can to

stay the course in the uphill task of nation-building

under the inspired and dynamic leadership of President

Al Hadji Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh. In the area of good

governance, I am pleased to inform this body that, with

special reference to the democratization process,

following the much-acclaimed presidential elections

held last October, National Assembly elections were

held on 17 January and local Government elections on

25 April 2002. Mindful of the need to cultivate the

culture of democracy and good governance, the

Government of the Gambia has since developed and

adopted a national governance policy and programme.

The main components of the policy framework

are constitutional review and reform of electoral

processes; enhancing parliamentary structures and

processes; civic education; reform of legal and judicial

processes and constitutional review; public sector

management and administrative reform; and

decentralization and reform of local Government

systems. Clearly, governance constitutes an important

component of our poverty reduction strategy.

Halfway through the United Nations Decade for

the Eradication of Poverty, and in spite of all the

commitments we have made over the years to reduce

poverty and to accelerate the pace of social and

economic development throughout the world, the gap

between the rich and the poor is widening and the

absolute number of poor people, especially in the

developing world, is increasing. The scourge of

poverty is insidious. It contains within itself all the

elements that militate against its victim's ability to rise

above his or her condition.

Therefore, fighting poverty calls for conscious,

deliberate interventions that only the strong can

provide to help the weak. These interventions come,

for the most part, in the form of resource flows.

Unfortunately, these have been dwindling over the

years and, in spite of the recent commitments made by

the G8 countries in Kananaskis in support of the new

African initiative — the New Partnership for Africa's

Development (NEPAD), for which we are grateful —

overall, the shortfalls in the fight against poverty are

still huge and growing.

The international community should not lead

African countries to disenchantment. The Heavily

Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative is, for the most

part, still good only on paper, largely speaking.

Protectionist policies and heavy subsidies continue to

frustrate our efforts to earn a decent living through

production and trade. And the promises of increased

official development assistance and other forms of

assistance over four United Nations Development

Decades have remained largely unfulfilled. In fact, this

session of the General Assembly will look into the

implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for

the Development of Africa in the 1990s, and the main

conclusion will be that, by and large, the commitments

made by Africa's development partners have not been

met. We missed another opportunity for the multilateral

system to work towards poverty eradication and social

and economic development.

With special reference to the plight of least

developed countries, I would like to add the Gambia's

voice to those of previous speakers in calling for a

renewed commitment to implementing the programme

of action for the least developed countries for the

decade 2001-2010. In that connection, we commend

the General Assembly for the decision taken to

establish the Office of the High Representative for the

Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing

Countries and Small Island Developing States. We look

forward to working closely with the High

Representative.

The recently held ministerial meeting of least

developed countries in Cotonou was indeed timely, and

we call on the rest of the international community to

lend its full support to the least developed countries so

that we implement fully the decisions taken. We

cannot, however, discuss the issue of poverty

alleviation without mentioning the problem of women

and children. With regard to our women folk, we need

to focus more on the 12 critical areas of concern laid

out in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action,

18

including gender inequalities. As for the issues

concerning children, we hope that the follow-up

summit held here in New York recently will strengthen

us in our resolve to achieve the noble goals that we

have set for ourselves to give our children a brighter

future.

For our part, in the Gambia we have evolved a

strong and focused policy on poverty, which we have

articulated in a programme of action for poverty

alleviation. The strategy is anchored on my

Government's commitment to eradicate poverty in the

long term, by increasing income through economic

growth and empowering the population with the

capacity for sustainable development. Our fight against

poverty stands on five pillars: the creation of an

enabling environment for economic growth and

development, enhancing the productive capacity and

social protection of the poor, improving coverage of

basic services, political empowerment of civil society,

and strengthened partnerships with development

stakeholders. My Government is committed to

relentlessly pursuing those objectives in line with the

objectives of the Millennium Development Goals. In

that, we shall be counting on the wholehearted support

of the international community.

At this juncture, I would like to express my

Government's most profound gratitude to our principal

partners in development and to the donor community at

large for their active participation at the sixth

Roundtable Donors Conference for the Gambia, held in

Geneva on 18 and 19 September 2002. We are

confident that all the pledges made will be honoured so

that together, in the true spirit of international

solidarity, we will implement smoothly and

successfully our national programme of action for

poverty alleviation.

That is all the more urgent considering the fact

that, during the rainy season this year, we experienced

a long dry spell initially, resulting in the poor

performance of both crops and livestock.

It is our hope that all nations of the world will

redouble their efforts to live up to the commitments

they made in Rio and, just recently, reaffirmed in

Johannesburg. Even as we search for ways of taking

our people out of poverty, we should also be mindful of

the need to conserve our natural environment.

Of particular concern to my delegation are the

destructive fishing practices in the South Atlantic.

Despite the adoption of numerous international

instruments to regulate fishing with a view to

conserving fish stocks, unsustainable and often illegal

fishing continues unabated in our coastal waters. The

unbridled pursuit of profit without due regard to

sustainability and long-term food security is the only

reason for that undesirable situation. My delegation

therefore calls on all Member States to cooperate with

us to address this serious state of affairs and to provide

us with technical and other forms of assistance to

enable all affected countries to better police their

waters in order to arrest those unsustainable and

harmful fishing practices.

The momentum generated in Johannesburg must

not be allowed to wither away. It must be recognized,

however, that there can be no meaningful development

without peace and stability. That is why we attach great

importance to the issue of peacekeeping.

In the field of peacekeeping, our Organization

continues to score remarkable successes. We appreciate

the efforts of the Security Council to put in place a

rapid response mechanism through which a

multinational force could quickly be deployed to any

part of the world. However, there is need to ensure that

adequate resources are made available so that no

peacekeeping operation is disrupted on account of lack

of funds, thereby plunging the countries concerned

back into a vortex of violence. Funding availability is

also important to bridge the gap between peacekeeping

and national reconstruction.

The determination with which we have dealt with

threats to peace has paid handsome dividends in the

period since we last met. That is why we welcome the

great efforts made to distinguish the existing conflicts

in Africa, especially in Sierra Leone, the Democratic

Republic of the Congo and Angola.

With regard to the Sudan, my Government

applauds the signing of the Machacos Protocol between

the Government and the Sudanese People's Liberation

Army (SPLA). We hope and pray that the process now

started will finally bring that protracted conflict to an

end.

While we may rightly commend ourselves on

those achievements, we must not rest on our oars.

There are still some significant areas of uncertainty and

volatility in our own West African subregion that we

need to address. That requires a relentless effort.

19

In our capacity as coordinator of the Group of

friends of Guinea-Bissau, here at the United Nations,

we are calling on the rest of the international

community to provide more assistance to that sister

country. In that way, the democratization process will

be consolidated and the country's economic

performance enhanced.

We must bear in mind that ending hostilities is

one thing and getting the system on the right path to

social and economic development of the type that

would eliminate the causes of conflict is quite another.

In like manner, a successful transition into a

democratic dispensation does not necessarily, in and of

itself, usher in peace and security. In many of the

countries where conflicts have ended, political stability

remains fragile, and uncertainty and instability prevail.

In those countries, there is need to go beyond the

immediate political requirements for consolidating

peace, to address governance in its broadest sense,

including its economic and financial aspects, as well as

the capacities required for strengthening it. That is the

emerging challenge for the international community.

We must devise mechanisms for follow-through into

peace-building and be ready to provide the resources to

progressively restore confidence and strength among

those at the frontline.

President Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh, the Government

and people of the Gambia are fully committed to the

search for peace and the resolution of conflicts

everywhere, particularly in our immediate subregion.

That is why we not only open our doors to our

neighbours in distress, hosting many refugees, but we

also work actively with them as well as with other

members of the international community, including the

Secretary-General and his able team to remove

misunderstandings that could easily lead to a flare up

of conflict.

The situation in the Middle East remains a matter

of grave concern to my delegation. The Security

Council must show more leadership in the efforts of the

international community to contain and resolve the

serious tensions between Israel and Palestine, which

pose a grave threat to the stability of the nations in the

region and the peace of the whole world. It is

unacceptable for the world to stand back and watch as

helpless civilians are attacked in refugee camps or are

killed or maimed by suicide bombers. The suffering of

innocent people in the Middle East must be brought to

an end immediately.

My delegation strongly urges, therefore, that all

the relevant United Nations resolutions on Palestine

and the Middle East, notably Security Council

resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), be complied

with without further delay. We also fully support those

who have called for the recognition of the State of

Israel by all nations, as well as the creation and the

recognition by all of a State of Palestine.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, there are still some

unresolved issues. The situation between Iraq and

Kuwait has still not been fully resolved, and we are

still seeking a satisfactory resolution of the question of

the Kuwaiti prisoners of war and missing persons, as

well as the return of the Kuwaiti national archives.

Within Iraq itself, we in the Gambia have always

called for the alleviation of the suffering of the

innocent Iraqi people. With regard to the other

unfinished business of weapons inspections, my

delegation applauds the decision of the Government of

Iraq to invite the United Nations weapons inspectors to

return to Iraq to resume their work. We have always

upheld the view that parties to any dispute should

allow the United Nations to assume its responsibility

unhindered in our common quest for amicable closure

to conflict situations. We therefore note with

satisfaction the important statement made by President

Bush recognizing the central role of the United Nations

and calling on the latter to assume its responsibility.

But let us also remember that we, all of us — nations

big and small, rich and poor — constitute the United

Nations. It can be only what we the Member States

want it to be. The choice is ours.

In South Asia, we cannot be indifferent to the

prevailing situation between India and Pakistan. Those

are two great countries with which the Gambia has

always enjoyed excellent relations. We are therefore

calling on them, out of that friendship, to exercise

restraint at all times and to withdraw their troops from

their respective borders.

After years of hard work and tough negotiations,

we finally succeeded in establishing the International

Criminal Court (ICC), with the entry into force of the

Rome Statute. We salute the tireless efforts of all those

who contributed in one way or another to that huge

success. It is our fervent hope that the Court, with the

active collaboration of all like-minded States, will act

as an effective instrument in the fight against

20

international crimes of all sorts and, by extension,

extinguish the culture of impunity.

Turning now to the issue of sanctions, my

delegation firmly believes that the time has now come

for us to review the procedure being used to impose

sanctions on countries and individuals. The permanent

members of the Security Council, who determine who

should be placed on a sanctions or travel ban list, do

not usually provide evidence, either to the individual

concerned or to his Government, to justify their

decision. We have come to see that in many cases, such

decisions are based on speculation and conjecture and

that the individuals in question really did not deserve to

be punished and humiliated. Thus far, most

Governments have been very cooperative and, while

repeatedly requesting to no avail that evidence of

wrong-doing be made known to them, have nonetheless

gone along with the rest of the international community

in respecting the decision taken by the Council. Some

of those Governments, mine included, are reaching the

point of exasperation and have resolved that, unless the

evidence being requested of the Security Council is

provided, they will refuse to comply with any ban or

sanctions imposed on their nationals. We sometimes

wonder whether someone out there does not have a

hidden agenda. As sovereign nations, we demand more

transparency before acquiescing to our nationals being

punished for wrongdoings that we have not been shown

they have committed. The United Nations Security

Council must not be a bully.

In like manner, the multifaceted sanctions

imposed on Cuba are still in place despite numerous

resolutions calling for their removal. A window of

opportunity now exists for them to be finally set aside.

It is in nobody's interest to continue to pursue policies

against Cuba that have lost their appeal.

Sabres are rattling on one side of the Taiwan

Strait in the face of 23 million souls, for their merely

having claimed their God-given right to be recognized

as a political, economic and social entity. The Republic

of China on Taiwan is today the only country on earth

that is not represented in the United Nations, contrary

to the main guiding principle of the United Nations: the

principle of universality. Article four of the Charter

invites “all ... peace-loving States” to become Members

of the Organization. The people of Taiwan have

demonstrated over the years not only that they are

peace-loving but also that they can contribute to all the

objectives of the United Nations in the fields of global

security, financial stability, culture, industrial and

technological growth and sustainable development.

Taiwan is not an insignificant player in the world

production and trade arena. It is the world's sixteenth

largest economy. It is equally highly developed in the

field of scientific and medical research.

In recognition of its importance as a trading

nation, it was recently admitted into the World Trade

Organization. Logic demands that, for the very same

reason, it should also be admitted into the World

Health Organization in recognition of its importance as

a country of highly sophisticated and developed health

services; into the United Nations Educational,

Scientific and Cultural Organization because of its

exceptionally high standing in the fields of science and

culture; into the United Nations Industrial

Development Organization because of its most

advanced industrial and technological development;

into the United Nations Children's Fund because of its

highly developed child development policies and

programmes; into the Food and Agriculture

Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural

Development and the World Food Programme because

of its extremely well developed agriculture and its

importance as a food producer; and into the United

Nations Development Programme because of its huge

official development assistance to developing countries

for capacity-building and poverty alleviation. In short,

it should be admitted into all branches of the United

Nations family because of the tremendous

contributions it could make to the ideals and

programmes of the United Nations.

Taiwan is a vibrant democracy with high ratings

on human rights, press freedom and the observance of

the rights of the individual. It could contribute

immensely to global security and the fight against

terrorism. It is therefore baffling that this highly

developed, friendly and peace-loving nation has been

barred from membership in the United Nations for

purely political reasons. My Government will not rest

until this injustice is undone and the Republic of China

on Taiwan is granted its rightful place among the

comity of nations.

Still in the same region, with regard to the Korean

Peninsula, my delegation would like to reiterate once

again our unflinching support for all the efforts geared

towards peaceful unification.

21

Finally, my delegation believes that the General

Assembly needs to be strengthened so that it could play

an even greater role in our quest for a just and

equitable world order. We welcome the moves being

made to reform this important organ of the United

Nations in ways that would render it more effective in

discharging its mandate.

This is particularly true of the Security Council.

We in the Gambia will continue to add our voice to the

clamour for the Security Council to be reformed in

order to make it more democratic and more in tune

with the realities of and requirements for global

security in the twenty-first century. The credibility and

relevance of the Security Council now depend on the

reforms that we all have been calling for. The

developing countries must be allowed a much more

effective participation in this powerful organ of the

United Nations. Africa should have a minimum of two

permanent seats.

In conclusion, we urge all nations, great and

small, to work relentlessly towards preserving the

ideals for which the Organization was set up. We

should all eschew behaviours that undermine the

objectives of the United Nations and that frustrate its

efforts. Multilateralism is the only hope left to mankind

for the peaceful resolution of conflicts and the

maintenance of international peace and security. Let us

cherish and nurture it. Multilateralism will thrive only

if there is trust and confidence among all the actors.

But a system that repeatedly frustrates and lets down

one portion of its membership will malfunction and

eventually become ineffective and irrelevant. We must

therefore all do more to ensure that such a fate does not

befall our Organization.