The Gambia, 2010

It is indeed a great

honour and privilege for me to stand here and speak on

behalf of the Gambia and the President of the Republic

of the Gambia, His Excellency Al Hadji Yahya A. J. J.

Jammeh.

First of all, I thank Allah, may He be glorified

and exalted, for the opportunity of this moment, as we

gather here to deliberate on ways to foster peaceful

cooperation and development across the world. On

behalf of my delegation and the Government and the

people of the Gambia, I wish to thank the General

Assembly for the warm welcome my delegation and I

have received since our arrival. I also wish to offer

deep congratulations to His Excellency Mr. Ali

Abdussalam Treki of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, for

his courage and for the outstanding and efficient

leadership he demonstrated during the sixty-fourth

session of the General Assembly. We welcome His

Excellency Mr. Joseph Deiss of Switzerland as

Mr. Treki’s successor as the President of the General

Assembly at its sixty-fifth session. We would assure

Mr. Deiss of the Gambia’s support for his presidency.

My delegation would also like to thank the Secretary-

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General for his tireless efforts in leading and managing

the affairs of this highly complex Organization.

Finally, I convey to all participants the good wishes of

the Government and the people of the Republic of the

Gambia.

It is clear that the recent upheavals and crises in

the global arena have put into sharp focus what the

United Nations can and must do as the springboard for

coordinating global responses and solutions to global

issues. For this reason, the theme that the President has

chosen for the sixty-fifth session of the General

Assembly, namely, “Reaffirming the central role of the

United Nations in global governance”, is very apt and

timely. Any reaffirmation of the pivotal role of the

United Nations must start with respect for the purposes

and principles of its Charter. In the same vein, the

Organization must continue to implement the set of

reforms that were introduced at the 2005 World

Summit and other related United Nations summits and

conferences. Without reform, the United Nations

cannot be of relevance in the twenty-first century.

One of the major reforms that we all agreed on is

that the size, composition and working methods of the

Security Council should be improved. In the absence of

action to implement the reform, the legitimacy of the

actions of that body will be open to question. Africa’s

demand for greater representation in all categories of

Council membership is rooted in the need for justice

and for an end to its marginalization. It is therefore

high time to stop consigning Africa to the fate of

second-class membership within the United Nations

through its perpetual exclusion from the important

decision-making that takes place in the Security

Council.

For many years, I have called for a greater voice

for developing countries in international and financial

economic matters, and today I renew that call with a

deep sense of urgency. As developing countries, we

believe that the Economic and Social Council should

be the leading platform for the discussion and

formulation of global policies in the economic and

social fields.

The achievement of the Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs) remains a major priority of my

Government. Through various interventions, policies

and programmes, we are poised to achieve and even

surpass some of the Goals. However, as we run the last

stretch before 2015, the critical need for greater

international solidarity and partnership cannot be

overemphasized. I am confident that the Gambia will

attain all the Goals by 2015, as we are already on

course to do so.

We should remind ourselves that the United

Nations was created to unify the world, and not to

divide it. The Organization should be seen to provide

the most potent avenue for allaying fears and restoring

hopes and aspirations, fighting for the rights of

oppressed and desperate people the world over, and,

above all, restraining bullies who seek to skew

international politics, growth and development, most

often using might and tyranny as weapons.

International criminal law and its institutions

have a crucial role to play in global governance and

hence the need to avoid selective prosecution and the

politicization of court processes. In the world today,

there is ample evidence to suggest the existence of the

widespread abuse of power, oppression and violation of

human rights through illegitimate wars and other forms

of excessive intervention. There are times when strong

nations attack and trample upon the sovereignty of the

weak, while the United Nations and the world watch

helplessly, doing nothing, except for a few who raise

their voices in isolation.

This will not deter us or discourage us from

highlighting the injustices that the International

Criminal Court is supposed to set right. If that

institution gives way to undue pressure or demonstrates

weakness, its cracks may undermine the credibility of

the international judicial system.

We know that there are leaders, past and present,

who deserve to be dragged into the International

Criminal Court for prosecution but they go about their

business as if they were above the law. I ask whether

this is acceptable.

As a consequence of all this, global governance,

from the perspective of the United Nations, has to go

beyond political systems aimed at exposing and

neutralizing the strategies employed to subdue fragile

States. Good governance, as the West prefers to refer to

it, needs to permeate the finance structures — of the

World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, for

example — in order to render them more effective in

offsetting the imbalances created through exploitation,

control and protectionism. Indeed, these international

financial powerhouses should be transformed into

41 10-55128

conduits for mitigating the effects of

underdevelopment and poverty the world over.

It is lamentable that the assessment criteria for

providing assistance to needy people or nations in

distress are tied to political affiliations cloaked in

inexplicable, good governance issues.

The Security Council has contributed to the

unfair imposition of sanctions that have direct

consequences for the lives of civilians. Such measures,

often taken to bring down Governments, continue to

expose this Organization and the ploys it subtly

executes at the behest of powerful nations. We

condemn such sanctions and recommend that thorough

consultations and sounder procedures precede any

sanctions that may have direct, negative impact on

innocent lives.

Similarly, we condemn indiscriminate use of

banned weapons with impunity while the Security

Council does nothing to punish the culprits.

Combatants should legitimately engage enemy

combatants, and reckless attacks on defenceless people

must not be condoned.

There are regional structures in almost every

corner of the globe. The United Nations must recognize

those structures and work closely with them to quell

unrest wherever it erupts. To illustrate this point, let me

observe that the Economic Community of West African

States and the African Union (AU) have demonstrated

ability, if adequately supported, to handle unrest on the

African continent. I wish to call on the United Nations

to intensify its collaboration with those groupings in

crucial State and inter-State interventions.

The African Union and the subregional

organizations in Africa have opened up many avenues

for cooperation with the United Nations, especially in

the area of preventive diplomacy. We would like to see

greater support for the activities of the United Nations

Office for West Africa.

It is an open secret that West Africa is suffering

an onslaught of drug traffickers. We are committed to

the fight against illegal narcotics, not only in the

Gambia, but also in the whole of Africa, as illegal

narcotics traffickers are holding some West African

States hostage.

The dangers of narcotics transcend boundaries, as

they provide a lot of money to dangerous criminals,

including terrorists, who have no regard for human life.

Given the enormous challenges that lie ahead of us in

this battle, our security forces are alert and ready to

cooperate with our neighbours and all those who share

our concerns. We are determined more than ever to turn

West Africa into a living hell for terrorists, drug

traffickers as well as organized criminal gangs and

human traffickers. This is a battle we must win, and

win right.

Let me turn to the phenomenon of Islamophobia.

It is important to note that the message of Islam is

universal peace and progress, love for humanity and

total submission to the will of Allah. History teaches us

that Islamic civilization, which has flourished for 1,400

years, has always exhibited its unique capacity for

peaceful coexistence, tolerance and compassion among

global religions, manifested in the vast expanse of its

dominions, cutting across parts of Europe, Africa, Asia

and Eastern Europe, among other regions.

Islamic teachings condemn terrorism in all its

manifestations and view such acts as not only savage

but also criminal. Islam regards human life as sacred

and condemns the killing of innocents. The world, and

in particular the West, should therefore be wary of the

actions of a small few, including those who abuse the

Holy Koran and even threaten to burn it, thereby

fuelling tensions and insecurity. Their actions

constitute manipulations to judge Islam and its

followers in the wrong way. We must not allow bigots,

racists and evil entities in the West that are

masquerading as nationalists and far right elements to

spread a global war of religion. If this were to happen,

the entire human race would suffer. Therefore, Western

Governments should do more to stop these real

terrorists who are on the rampage.

We maintain that the United Nations should play

a lead role in combating terrorism through means

approved by the General Assembly. Noting that

terrorism is a global challenge, no unilateral action

based on any form of doctrine should be taken by any

nation against another, nor must the United Nations

succumb to external pressure from any single nation in

pursuit of national gains or interests. Conversely, we

support the use of multilateral diplomacy and

cooperation to complement internal measures where a

particular nation is the target of terrorism.

My delegation’s position on the issues raised in

this statement is to see to it that the United Nations

reviews its governance structures in order to become

10-55128 42

more democratic. This would require that the

representation quotas for various regions, particularly

Africa and Asia, be redefined on the basis of the

principles of fair play and justice, and not on the basis

of sheer economic or military might.

We recommend that the laws and procedures

governing the issue of arrest warrants, prosecution

procedures and legal representation at the International

Criminal Court also be reviewed objectively, in order

to avoid politicization and the selective targeting of

individuals.

We also urge that all sovereign States that have a

legitimate Government based on the will and consent

of their people be admitted to the United Nations, and

this applies in particular to the Republic of China on

Taiwan. We commend the countries on both sides of

the Strait for their continuous progress in pursuing

peace and shelving disputes over the past two years.

While both States deserve special recognition and more

encouragement, the United Nations also needs to be

cognizant of the efforts by Taiwan in this peaceful

process. It is important to note that Taiwan’s invitation

to participate in the World Health Assembly as an

observer in 2009 and 2010 not only enhanced

international health and medical care networks, but

also set a positive example for Taiwan’s participation.

We therefore urge all Member States to ensure that

other specialized agencies are opened up to Taiwan’s

meaningful participation in the work of the United

Nations.

Taiwan is contributing immensely to the

international community through trade, investment, air

transport, finance, telecommunications technology and

environmental protection in the spirit of international

cooperation. Therefore, we call upon the United

Nations to find a proper way to accept Taiwan’s

participation in all its specialized agencies, notably the

International Civil Aviation Organization and the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change.

The international community needs to recognize

that Taiwan has adopted and pursued a pragmatic,

moderate and steady foreign policy, and we therefore

encourage United Nations specialized agencies to be

open-minded with regard to Taiwan’s participation in

their activities. It is our collective responsibility to

enable the 23 million people of Taiwan to participate

more visibly and make them able to function within the

international system.

The United States embargo against Cuba is one of

the longest running political disputes that this

Assembly has needed to address for almost two

decades. It is embarrassing that such a cruel and

outmoded form of settling scores in international

relations is still in place. The embargo has no

legitimacy or appeal, and it is time for those that

imposed it to show genuine leadership by ending it.

It is worth noting that the development of the

African Union has shown that African leadership on

African issues is the key to finding solutions to the

problems that continue to plague the continent. From

climate change to the undemocratic change of

Governments, from peacekeeping to peacemaking,

from development to regional integration, Africa has

shown that it is ready to chart its destiny with dignity.

That is what we are committed to, and all we ask of the

international community is fulfilment of the pledges

made to Africa. We are willing to cooperate with those

that are willing to do so respecting the dignity of our

countries, without humiliating conditionalities.

The Gambia’s commitment to peace and stability

across Africa has been manifested not only in troop

contributions, but also in our readiness at all times to

find peaceful solutions to conflicts plaguing the

African continent. We call on the international

community to lend its full support to the efforts of the

African Union and the United Nations to consolidate

peace and stability across the Sudan.

As for Somalia, we recognize the need to

empower the Government of Somalia, so that it can

assert its authority over its territory, achieve lasting

peace and, thus, address the problem of piracy.

Supporting one faction against another is not a worthy

solution to the Somali problem.

A major development in the evolution of the

United Nations this year has been the creation of

UN Women. As a firm believer in gender equality and

women’s empowerment, my Government will do all in

its power to support that entity. We wish the new board

well and urge them to assign centre stage to gender

issues and policies without politics.

Finally, we believe that there is no substitute for

the United Nations, a body whose role in global

governance we consider critical. The missing link has

43 10-55128

been the absence of a global governance framework to

embrace universality and representation.