The Gambia, 2003

Please allow me to convey

my delegation’s warmest congratulations to

Mr. Julian Hunte on his election to the high office of

President of the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth

session. I am sure that his vast experience on the

international scene will be brought to bear on the work

of this session, and help direct it with ease to a

successful conclusion. The fifty-eighth session

promises to be rich in substance, and may also prove to

be a watershed in our bid to make the United Nations

responsive to the needs of the peoples of the world in

the new millennium. I wish to assure the President of

my delegation’s fullest cooperation in the discharge of

his onerous responsibilities.

In the same vein, let me also congratulate the out-

going President, Mr. Jan Kavan, for his laudable efforts

during the fifty-seventh session. The dynamic

Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, also deserves

commendation for another productive year of service to

the Organization, a year that was fraught with

difficulties and incredible challenges. Thanks to his

leadership, we have, by and large, been able to weather

the storm.

We were all devastated, however, by the bombing

of the offices of the United Nations in Baghdad, which

claimed the lives of so many people. May it never

recur — please God — but it shows that we must

remain united in our resolve to fight terrorism. Let me

seize this opportunity to express once again to

Mr. Kofi Annan and his staff, as well as to the relatives

of the victims, the heartfelt condolences of the

people of The Gambia. We pay homage to

Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello and his colleagues, who lost

their lives, and we mourn the tragic loss of a highly-

acclaimed international civil servant at the hands of

terrorists. In wishing the injured a speedy recovery, we

pray that the souls of all those who died rest in perfect

peace. My delegation strongly urges that that cowardly

act should in no way weaken the resolve of the United

Nations in fulfilling its obligations to the people of

Iraq.

Resolution 1373 (2001) was adopted unanimously

by the Security Council following the attacks of

11 September, and the majority of Member States,

including my own, have embarked on implementing its

salient provisions. We have ratified the major

international instruments on terrorism and,

furthermore, have enacted domestic legislation to

implement them. Let me state that, in spite of our

modest achievements in that regard, international

cooperation and technical assistance remain critical to

the success of our future implementation efforts.

The Counter-Terrorism Committee’s assistance

unit must strengthen the coordination of its technical

assistance portfolio in order to have greater impact. In

that regard, we welcome the commitment of the G-8 to

provide capacity-building and technical assistance to

priority countries. The translation of declarations of

commitment into concrete action is the only guarantee

of making meaningful headway to counter terrorism.

Apart from the recent terrorist attacks against the

United Nations in Baghdad, other such incidents in

Indonesia, Kenya, the Russian Federation, Morocco

and Saudi Arabia, coming in the wake of the attacks of

11 September, are reminders of the enormity of the

tasks ahead.

The fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly

has been convened at a time when our approaches to

the management of global issues have come under

sharp scrutiny. Those issues are the unfinished business

of the preceding millennium. The United Nations —

the premier, overarching venue for multilateralism —

cannot but be the only vehicle through which the

world’s peace and security problems can be solved.

The recent events in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere

only serve to underscore the need for the nations of the

world to strengthen, not weaken, multilateralism. We

shall never achieve global peace, security and

prosperity without working together in a forum such as

the one provided by the United Nations, a forum that is

all-inclusive and which permits each and every

nation — big or small, rich or poor — to expound on

matters of concern to them. The ideals and principles

that were the basis of the founding of the Organization

are as relevant today as they were 58 years ago. Let us

therefore demonstrate our commitment to

multilateralism by always turning to the United

33

Nations. My delegation therefore urges all Member

States to maintain confidence in the United Nations

and to have recourse to the Organization for the

peaceful resolution of conflicts and the settlement of

disputes.

While terrorism poses a real threat to

international peace and security, other violent conflicts

continue to rage around the world, leaving death,

destruction and desolation in their wake. The situation

in the Mano River Union region remains volatile as I

speak. Even though former President Charles Taylor of

Liberia has left the scene, as was required of him, and

there appears to be some laudable progress towards

reinvigorating the democratic process in that country,

we should be under no illusion as to the extreme

fragility of the situation in Liberia, and indeed within

the West African subregion. We commend all the

parties that recently signed the Peace Agreement in

Accra, Ghana, for their determination and patience, and

urge them to do all in their power to stay the course.

That would also have a salutary effect on the situation

in neighbouring Sierra Leone, where we note with

satisfaction the consolidation of the peace process.

However, the problem of conflicts in West Africa

continues to be compounded by the illicit flow of small

arms and light weapons, as well as by roving bands of

mercenaries. International efforts could serve the

region best by developing comprehensive disarmament,

demobilization and rehabilitation programmes that

target militias and that are region-specific rather than

country-specific. We must endeavour to address the

issue of the illicit trade in small arms and light

weapons with greater determination. An arrangement

similar to the Kimberley Process in blood diamonds is

what is urgently required to effectively stem the illicit

flow of small arms and light weapons. My Government

strongly supports any measure that would treat as

accomplices to war crimes and crimes against

humanity illegal brokers who knowingly supply arms

and weapons to militias and other insurgents in West

Africa. Conflict zones elsewhere in Africa that tell a

similar story should also be assisted in that manner.

We warmly congratulate our brothers in Sudan on

the recent signing of the Naivasha peace accord, which

promises to bring the long-drawn fratricidal conflict in

that country to an end.

Meanwhile, my Government continues to play its

part in the search for solutions to the problems of peace

and security in Africa. We participate actively within

the context of the initiatives of the Economic

Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to

contribute to the subregion’s collective efforts in that

area. My Government, under the wise leadership of

President Jammeh, has in the past contributed, and will

contribute in the future, to subregional efforts to keep

the peace in West Africa. We have continuously

participated in the United Nations Mission in Sierra

Leone (UNAMSIL) since its inception. We stand ready

to contribute our own modest share to any other United

Nations peacekeeping operations designed for the

West Africa subregion, as we are doing now under the

ECOWAS Military Mission in Liberia (ECOMIL). In

that regard, we welcome the adoption of Security

Council resolution 1509 (2003), establishing the United

Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).

I just made mention of the unfinished business of

the preceding millennium. Those are thematic issues of

political exclusion, disenfranchisement, economic

exclusion and abject poverty. All affect the greater

majority of humankind. They also give rise to all the

urgent situations that the world is faced with today —

situations of conflict and civil strife; in short, of the

absence of peace.

A peculiar situation of exclusion was created by

General Assembly resolution 2758 (XXVI) on

25 October 1971, which relates, through its direct

effects, to Taiwan. From 1949 to 1971, the Republic of

China (Taiwan) was a bona fide member of the United

Nations, recognized by the comity of nations. If the

Republic of China (Taiwan) could be a member of the

United Nations then, why could it not be a member

now? The General Assembly adopted resolution 2758

(XXVI), which addressed only the question of the

representation of the People’s Republic of China at the

United Nations and related organizations. It did not

decide that Taiwan was, or should be, a part of the

People’s Republic of China. Nor did it confer on the

People’s Republic of China the right to represent the

Republic of China (Taiwan) or the 23 million

Taiwanese people in the United Nations and related

organizations. Resolution 2758 (XXVI) has since been

misused to justify the exclusion of Taiwan from the

United Nations. That runs counter to the claim by the

Government of the People’s Republic of China that it

represents the interests of all Chinese, not to mention

those Taiwanese who are in the Republic of China

(Taiwan). If we are to comprehensively deal with the

34

problems engendered by exclusion in whatever form it

takes, I call on the international community to revisit

that issue urgently.

My Government appreciates the special attention

that Guinea-Bissau has received from the Security

Council, especially through the Council’s Ad Hoc

Working Group on Conflict Prevention and Resolution

in Africa. We also commend the remarkable efforts of

the Economic and Social Council’s Ad Hoc Advisory

Group on Guinea-Bissau. As Chairperson of the Group

of Friends of Guinea-Bissau, my Government

acknowledges the groundswell of support and good

will that Guinea-Bissau enjoys from the Organization.

Unfortunately, that has not yet been adequately

translated into material and financial forms of

assistance, which the people of that country so

desperately need. The recent developments in Guinea-

Bissau should be seen not so much as a constraint, but

rather as an opportunity to re-engage the international

community, in partnership with the people of Guinea-

Bissau, in the resolution of their problems of

governance and development. Now that concerted

efforts are being made by all the major actors to agree

on transitional arrangements for the preparation of

parliamentary and presidential elections in the not-too-

distant future, we call on the rest of the international

community to provide the support necessary to

stabilize the situation and keep the process on course to

a successful outcome.

Problems of security and peace in my part of the

world have not in any way diminished our concerns

over similar problems elsewhere. The people of Iraq

and Afghanistan need urgent international assistance to

shore up security, re-establish the rule of law and

embark on an effective programme of reconstruction.

My Government welcomes the adoption of resolution

1500 (2003), in the hope that the establishment of the

Governing Council of Iraq will lead towards a real

political transition for the Iraqi people. While a speedy

end to the occupation of Iraq is both desirable and

urgent, as clearly underscored in resolution 1472

(2003), outstanding issues emanating from Iraq’s

occupation of Kuwait should be comprehensively dealt

with once and for all.

We continue to follow closely the situation in the

Middle East, and we deplore yet again the recent spate

of vicious attacks and counter-attacks between Israelis

and Palestinians, thus negating hope for an early

settlement within the framework of the road map. Trust

and confidence-building measures must be reinforced

and made to attend to every stage of the

implementation of the road map, if the peace process is

to endure. Suicide bombings that target innocent

civilians must be stopped. The occupation of Arab

lands must come to an end. In reiterating our position

on the Arab-Israeli conflict, we call for the creation of

an independent Palestinian State living in peace

alongside the State of Israel.

My Government firmly supports the initiatives

being taken to reduce tensions between India and

Pakistan, two great friends of The Gambia. We urge

them both to reduce the arms build-up on their

respective sides of the border and to strive harder to

reach a mutually acceptable solution to their

differences, in particular with regard to the issue of

Kashmir. Similarly, we reiterate our support for a

peaceful reunification on the Korean peninsula.

Human security is not threatened by conflicts

alone. The scourge of HIV/AIDS continues to be

elusive, and now poses a serious threat to the viability

of some societies in Africa. The HIV/AIDS pandemic

has slowly evolved from a health and humanitarian

issue to a development and security problem. The

pandemic has compounded the problems African

countries face in the fight against other scourges, such

as malaria and tuberculosis. It is gratifying to note

however, that the international community is sensitized

to that fact and that initiatives such as the Global Fund

to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria have been put

in place. Consequently, more money, resources and

attention must be given to research and development.

Contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,

Tuberculosis and Malaria have slackened, and

developing countries are paying a colossal price in

human and material terms. The initiative of the Global

Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization equally

requires adequate funding.

The pursuit of justice and the international rule of

law have never been as pressing as it is today. My

Government strongly supports the International

Criminal Court as it embarks on its crucial mandate of

delivering justice. We hail its progress so far, and I

would like to seize this opportunity to call on all to

cooperate with the Court in order that, together all

around the world, we can say no to the culture of

impunity.

35

While still on the subject of justice, let me

reiterate my Government’s view that the sanctions

being imposed on Cuba should now be lifted. They are

counter-productive anyway. Cuba is a peace-loving

member of the international community whose people

do not deserve the punishment that has been meted out

to them for almost four decades now.

Let me now turn to development issues. In

Africa, our efforts to achieve sustainable development

continue to be seriously undermined by a variety of

factors, prominent among which are conflicts,

structural weaknesses, natural disasters and disease.

For the international system to successfully address

those factors of underdevelopment, more serious

attention must be paid to the implementation of the

Brussels Programme of Action for the Least Developed

Countries for the Decade 2001-2010, and more

attention must be focused on the attainment of the

Millennium Development Goals. We must also give

effect to the commitments made at Doha, Monterrey

and Johannesburg.

There is no shortage of blueprints for

development. What is in short supply, and what needs

to be urgently mobilized, are resources. So far, there is

still a big gap between commitment and action.

Africa’s development partners must make good on their

pledges to support Africa’s development. My

delegation welcomes the Africa Action Plan of the G-8,

the African Growth and Opportunity Act of the United

States of America and the “Everything But Arms”

initiative of the European Union, all of which commit

their sponsors to well-defined forms of support for

Africa’s development.

There are, however, many barriers to the

implementation of those initiatives, which are caused

by certain protectionist policies pursued by our

partners, as well as other policy and structural

constraints. The problem of farm subsidies just will not

go away. Agricultural economies in our part of the

world must be allowed to compete if the global trading

system is to function in favour of the eradication of

poverty. The debt issue is far from being resolved and

the procedures for accessing the benefits of the Highly

Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative (HIPC) are too

cumbersome for many poor countries to follow. The

only realistic approach to the debt problem as a major

impediment to development is to cancel it

unconditionally for HIPC countries and for low-income

countries under stress.

We have just ended at Cancún another attempt at

negotiations on world trade. My delegation deeply

regrets the failure of the talks, as well as the fact that

the developed world could not see eye to eye with the

Group of 21 on the issue of subsidies. It is in our

collective interest to dismantle global trade barriers and

allow markets to expand, for incomes to rise in the

developing world and poverty to be reduced. Stronger

earning power in the developing world would stimulate

world trade in ways that would be most beneficial to

rich countries. My delegation calls on all concerned to

ensure that we return to the negotiating table as soon as

possible, and with greater determination on both sides,

to reach a just and fair agreement on all the issues

involved.

Official development assistance (ODA) still falls

short of the internationally agreed target of 0.7 per cent

of gross domestic product. We commend the countries

whose ODA has risen to that level, in particular

Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden.

My delegation urges all of Africa’s development

partners to address those issues with sincerity and

commitment, with a view to meaningfully assisting in

kick-starting the sustainable human development

process in African countries.

It is gratifying to note that the Human

Development Report 2003 is devoted to the Millennium

Development Goals. In that way, the fight against

poverty is kept high on the international community’s

agenda, because we still have a very long way to go.

For instance, as stated in the report,

“Regionally, at the current pace Sub-Saharan

Africa would not reach the Goals for poverty

until 2147 and for child mortality until 2165. And

for HIV/AIDS and hunger, trends in the region

are heading up — not down.” (Human

Development Report 2003, p. 2)

It is indeed true that sub-Saharan Africa is being

left behind. That state of affairs is alarming and, as the

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has

rightly stated, the Millennium Development Goals will

not be realized with a business-as-usual approach. The

paradox, in our view, is the fact that, while the means

to attain the Goals are available, it would appear that

the political will to do so is lacking. Let me again

quote from the Human Development Report 2003.

36

“Today’s world has greater resources and

know-how than ever before to tackle the

challenges of infectious disease, low productivity,

lack of clean energy and transport and lack of

basic services such as clean water, sanitation,

schools and health care. The issue is how best to

apply these resources and know-how to benefit

the poorest people.” (ibid, p. 3)

In The Gambia, my Government’s focus is on the

attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. The

strategy we have designed to that end is detailed in our

poverty reduction strategy paper. In a resource-

strapped economy such as The Gambia’s, getting all

the relevant indicators to perform well towards poverty

reduction is a daunting challenge. It is, however, a

challenge my Government is prepared to take up. Our

special focus is on the empowerment of our people, and

we seek to do so by giving priority to our education,

health and agricultural sectors, as well as by building

capacity among our women, who are the architects of

stable and strong nations. That strategy has so far

yielded dividends, as evidenced by my country’s

showing on UNDP’s Human Development Report

2003.

In the education sector our goal is to achieve full

enrolment well before the Millennium Declaration’s

target year of 2015. As of now, we have taken the gross

enrolment rate from 44 per cent, eight years ago, to

over 90 per cent today. We have, at the same time,

increased non-formal, adult and distance education

programmes throughout the country. The net result has

been a dramatic drop in illiteracy nationwide.

Transition rates from primary to secondary levels have

been significantly improved, from 12 per cent, 15 years

ago, to over 77 per cent today. Six years ago there were

hardly any tertiary level institutions to speak of. Today

they abound, and include the new University of The

Gambia. That has been made possible by the visionary

leadership provided by Al Hadji Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh,

President of the Republic of Gambia.

Recognizing the important role women play in

the family, in the community and in the nation, my

Government has sought to pay special attention to the

empowerment of our women through education,

training and special income-generating projects. In

order to increase opportunities for the girl child in the

educational system, we have created a trust fund,

entitled “The President’s Empowerment of Girls

Education Project”, to provide full scholarships to girls

who would otherwise not be able to go to school for

lack of resources. That and other measures geared

towards assisting women have helped to close the

gender gap in education in Gambia.

Empowering the rural dweller is another priority

of my Government. We seek to do so through measures

that lead to an increase in access to resources,

infrastructure and services, as well as to knowledge

and skills. Most villages now have a primary school,

and clusters of villages share secondary education

facilities.

Our efforts have also been geared towards the

improvement of the health of our people. Significantly

improved child health care, especially through an

extensive and comprehensive immunization

programme, has contributed immensely towards a

considerable reduction in infant mortality in the last

few years. Infant mortality rates have been reduced by

one third. Primary health care programmes have been

strengthened across the board. Overall, access to health

facilities and services have equally been greatly

improved, with the construction of hospitals, health

centres, clinics and dispensaries throughout the

country.

For all these achievements, however, we are

humbled by the challenges that still remain. The

prevalence of diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria

and a host of respiratory illnesses, is part of an

unfinished agenda. Malaria, in particular, remains a

major problem. It is the leading cause of mortality and

a major cause of morbidity among pregnant women,

contributing to anaemia and low birth weight. Today,

with the cooperation of a Cuban medical and health

team, The Gambia is number one in Africa as far as its

malaria control programme is concerned, according to

the World Health Organization.

In the area of agriculture, our objective is to

achieve a total transformation of the sector. Our

priority is to reduce the drudgery of production and

increase productivity through a systematic programme

of mechanization. Added to this is our bid to reduce

our dependence on rain-fed methods of production, in

favour of greater irrigation, using the abundant water

resources that the Gambia River and its tributaries

provide. A third plank of our programme of

empowerment in the agriculture sector is to diversify

activities away from the traditional crops by placing

greater emphasis on food production as well as on

37

other non-traditional crops for export. Finally, with all

of these objectives already well on the road to success,

we are beginning to increase market access, both

locally and abroad, for our producers.

Attaining the Millennium Development Goals

will depend to a large extent on how well poor

countries perform in the areas I have just referred to. It

would also depend on how far they themselves are

empowered, and made capable of performing, through

the requisite support measures from the international

community. The United Nations system as a whole can

be mobilized further to broker such support for poor

countries, and especially for those among them that

show promise and positive signs of progress.

My Government has been increasing its efforts to

deepen democracy and strengthening good governance

in The Gambia. To that end, our intent is to

continuously bring improvements to the performance

of all arms of government. Our multiparty democratic

system forms the backbone of our political

dispensation. We continue to conduct free and fair

elections at all levels of popular representation. Our

courts operate independently. We have encouraged the

mass media to grow and expand, with increasingly

higher levels of private participation. The international

community must have been satisfied with our efforts

and achievements in this domain, since the World

Economic Forum, meeting in South Africa, decided to

classify The Gambia third in Africa, for its

performance on good governance. We are indeed

honoured by this recognition, and feel encouraged in

our resolve to do even better.

Advances in information and communication

technology have come to make our world a truly global

village. This is indeed remarkable. However, we must

not lose sight of the fact that even in this area there is a

great deal of catching up to be done by the developing

world. Global initiatives geared towards bridging the

digital divide between the developed and developing

worlds should be pursued with unrelenting vigour.

Scientific and technological research must be

conducted in support of the essence of life. In the

course of this year, we have heard several claims as to

the successful cloning of human embryos. These

claims, whether genuine or not, are indeed a wake-up

call for all of humanity. The international community

must close ranks to address them in a manner that

ensures that no one is allowed, for whatever reason, to

tinker with science and technology in ways that may

upset or threaten nature’s fragile balance.

The phenomenon of illegal, unregulated and

unreported fishing remains a challenge to coastal

African States such as The Gambia. It has generated

enormous concern at the international level, as is

evident from the adoption of various international

instruments to combat it. My delegation would like to

express its gratitude to the Governments of Japan and

Luxembourg and the Food and Agriculture

Organization for the assistance that they provide to our

fisheries sector, and to fully endorse the Secretary-

General’s recommendation that technical and financial

assistance to developing countries for the conservation

and management of fisheries resources should be

provided in a comprehensive manner. We call for

greater assistance and cooperation in our efforts to

promote sustainable practices in the fisheries sector of

our economies.

On the crucial topic of United Nations reform, my

delegation welcomes the efforts aimed at the

revitalization of the General Assembly and the reform

of the Security Council. After more than a decade, little

progress has been made in our attempts to reform the

Security Council so that it is truly reflective of the

realities of the international system in the twenty-first

century. My Government reiterates its stance — indeed

the stance of the entire African region — that the

composition of the Security Council has to be

revamped and democratized. Membership of the

Council must be expanded, with Africa occupying at

least two permanent seats and five non-permanent

seats. We therefore wholeheartedly support the timely

proposal of the Secretary-General to establish a high-

level panel of eminent personalities to make concrete

recommendations, inter alia, on the reforms of the

Organization.

As we move into the business of the fifty-eighth

session of the General Assembly, my delegation prays

that the Almighty Allah crowns our endeavours with

success. We pray that this session proves to be the

turning point in our efforts to render the United

Nations more relevant, more effective and truly all-

inclusive. We pray that at this session, any doubts as to

the utility of the United Nations to each and every one

of us be put to rest once and for all. We pray that by the

close of this session, we shall all have emerged secure

in our conviction that only through fuller recourse to

the United Nations can we expect to have our global

38

problems of conflict, peace and security and, indeed,

development, frontally addressed, fully contained and

completely resolved.