The Gambia, 2011

We praise Almighty

God for making another gathering of world leaders

possible. Allow me to warmly congratulate

Mr. Al-Nasser on his election as President of the

General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session. His proven

leadership and competence will certainly be in great

demand as we collectively confront some of the

daunting challenges of our time. My delegation also

views his election as a demonstration of the strong

commitment of the brotherly State of Qatar to the

fashioning of a stable and just world order. He will

have our full support in the discharge of his mandate.

His predecessor, Mr. Joseph Deiss of Switzerland,

also deserves our praise for the sterling work he did as

President of the General Assembly. We wish him well

in his future pursuits. We also congratulate Secretary-

General Ban Ki-moon on his reappointment and wish

him a fruitful second term. My delegation will render

him all the support he will need as he helps to tackle

the issues that are dear to us, especially the

achievement of the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs) and the resolution of conflicts in Africa,

among others.

The United Nations was founded as a world body

primarily to maintain international peace and security.

For this reason, the theme chosen for this General

Assembly — “The role of mediation in the settlement

of disputes by peaceful means” — is particularly apt.

My delegation is a strong believer in the role of

mediation as a conflict resolution mechanism at both

the national and international levels. We can all agree

that mediation produces results. That is what our

experience in West Africa, my own part of the world,

tells us. At the national level, for example, in the

Gambia we have instituted the alternative dispute

resolution mechanism, among other mechanisms we

have in place, with a view to settling disputes between

and among our peoples and institutions.

For us in Africa, the mediation of conflicts,

particularly with a view to amicably resolving them,

has always been part and parcel of our rich cultural

heritage and customary law. We must revive those

time-honoured dispute-resolution traditions of our

forebears. Experience has also shown that with strong

regional and subregional leadership many of the

intractable civil, political and electoral conflicts that

beset and plague Africa could certainly be resolved

through mediation.

Regional ownership of mediation processes is

also essential. For example, recent conflicts in Guinea

and Guinea-Bissau were all resolved through a

combination of interventions by the Economic

Community of West African States, the African Union

(AU) and the United Nations. We must therefore

always give mediation a chance before resorting to the

use or threat of the use of force. The international

community must give priority to mediation in any

conflict before it threatens military invasion or outright

military intervention without giving mediation a

chance. It costs less to mediate — we all agree — than

to launch a full-scale military intervention, only to

have to come back again and rebuild and reconstruct.

Over the past decade, the leadership of West

Africa, in close collaboration with the international

community, has invested great material and human

resources to bring the conflicts that affected that region

to peaceful ends. Today, the region enjoys relative

peace, but that does not mean that spoilers have given

up attempts to derail the peace. We must be vigilant at

all times. For example, the evils of drug trafficking,

piracy, and the trafficking of illicit goods and arms

have reared their ugly heads across our subregion of

West Africa. The nature and extent of those crimes call

for swift international action to nip them in the bud

before it is too late.

All these crimes feed on each other and sow the

seeds of terror, economic sabotage and indeed the

collapse of social order. We must therefore pool our

resources in the areas of detection, surveillance, law

enforcement and prosecution in order to deny the

culprits safe havens. In order to do that, we must come

together and agree on a framework for cooperation, of

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course with the support of the international community.

We look forward to greater United Nations engagement

with regional and subregional leaders and

organizations in stamping out those menaces.

The Gambia will always be an agent of peace

through mediation and shuttle diplomacy in West

Africa and beyond. As we have done in the past, we

will support all efforts aimed at the peaceful resolution

of conflicts and disputes within our subregion. We will

also continue to contribute to United Nations

peacekeeping missions around the world, as we have

already done.

With strong African leadership, we continue to

witness the amicable resolution of many civil conflicts

that plague the continent. The key lesson in most of

those situations is early intervention by leaders who

mediate between stakeholders. Regional leaders should

always be put at the forefront of mediation efforts.

For that reason, we salute the untiring leadership

of the African Union in bringing about peace in the

Sudan. We equally salute the leadership of the Sudan

for its magnanimity in implementing the

Comprehensive Peace Accord, which led to the

independence of South Sudan. My delegation

encourages both sides to invest in their shared future

through a negotiated settlement of the pending issues.

Let me also take this opportunity to encourage

our brothers in Guinea and Niger, after successful

democratic transitions, to bury the hatchet and move

forward as united peoples. National reconciliation

efforts should be diligently pursued by all stakeholders.

We therefore call on the international community to

render them all the support they need as they try to

bring peace and development to their countries.

As a developing country, like all others we have

our eyes set on the countdown to 2015, a landmark

year for all of us. The Gambia and the entire

international community have only a few more years

before we can tell how many of the MDGs we have

met. What is evident from all the reviews, however, is

that we are surely on track to meet some of the MDGs

but still struggling to meet others. We know for certain,

for example, that the critical element for achieving all

MDGs on the target date will remain international

donor support and collaboration. We have just

embarked upon our new programme for accelerated

growth and employment, which is our blueprint for

development in the Gambia for 2012-2015, which we

earnestly believe will be generously supported by all

our development partners and friends.

It is no secret that the ongoing financial and

economic crisis, worsened by market volatility, is

taking a huge toll on the meagre economic gains of our

fragile economies. In view of our situation as least

developed countries and of the vulnerabilities that we

continue to encounter, it is urgent that we all support

the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of

Action. We must not allow it to suffer the fate of its

predecessor, which suffered from weak

implementation.

It is our hope that our partners from the North

will do all in their power to support the enhancement

of our productive capacities. We also call on the

emerging economies of the South to enhance their

cooperation with us in ways that will render true

meaning to South-South cooperation. My delegation is

ready at all times to forge meaningful partnerships

across the North and South in order to bring food

security to our people, tackle youth unemployment

through education and skill development, and enhance

the quality and coverage of our health-care delivery

systems.

In addition, we have to revisit the various

programmes and strategies adopted by the Food and

Agricultural Organization of the United Nations and

other global forums in order to comprehensively

address the food security needs of developing

countries. The small-scale farmer — including the

female farmer — must be placed at the centre of the

new Green Revolution.

The impact of climate change continues to pose a

formidable challenge to all of us. The solutions to

reversing the negative impacts of climate change

through adaptation and mitigation initiatives are well

known. Our problem today is the refusal of the biggest

polluters to assume their responsibilities in reversing

the negative trends of climate change occasioned by

human activity. We cannot afford to be in denial for

long. The science is solid and there for all to see, and

the solutions are very clear, so let us embrace them by

fulfilling our international obligations.

The 2012 United Nations Conference on

Sustainable Development (Rio+20) should be about the

implementation of commitments and not about

reneging on them. It should also be about the

announcement of workable initiatives and not about the

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repackaging of previous unfulfilled commitments.

Rio+20 should ultimately be about binding

commitments. Let us bequeath to our children, and

their children an Earth that is resilient and a better

world for them.

My delegation would like to congratulate the

delegation of Libya, especially the leadership of the

National Transitional Council, on being steadfast in

their drive to rescue Libya from the brink of the abyss.

We have faith in that leadership and are convinced that

it will institute the necessary reforms that the Libyan

people have so valiantly fought for. As Libya embarks

on the crucial task of reconciliation, reconstruction and

nation building, we — as the first African country to

have officially announced its recognition of and

support for the National Transitional Council — would

like to assure the Libyan leadership of our full

collaboration and solidarity at all times.

The conflicts in the Middle East, both recent and

long-standing, require fresh and honest mediation

efforts with a view to stabilizing the region once and

for all. The disorderly change that is sweeping across

the region is a cause for concern as livelihoods are

shattered and industries like tourism are destroyed,

thereby creating more unemployment and entrenching

endemic poverty. With regard to the Arab Spring, my

delegation fully supports and hereby salutes the

leadership role of the League of Arab States, the

Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Gulf

Cooperation Council in finding peaceful resolution to

those conflicts through mediation, diplomacy and

brotherhood.

In the same vein, we salute the role the AU has

been playing in bringing to an end some of the most

violent conflicts in human history on the African

continent through mediation and in some cases through

military intervention as a last resort. We have used

former Heads of State as mediators in Africa and in

councils of the wise, and some of those efforts have

proven to be very successful.

One of the most intractable conflicts of our time

is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The sad reality is that

numerous United Nations resolutions continue to be

flouted. The daily killing, collective punishment and

humiliation of Palestinians are going on unabated.

Denial of humanitarian assistance, essential medical

supplies and construction materials to Palestinians has

become the norm. For that reason, my delegation not

only supports but recognizes an independent and

sovereign Palestinian State within the confines of the

1967 borders. An independent Palestinian State with

full rights and privileges like any other is long

overdue. That is the only guarantor of lasting peace in

that region.

The Islamic religion, which is synonymous with

peace, is misunderstood and misrepresented in some

quarters. We condemn those who turn themselves into

suicide bombers to kill innocent people or conduct

inhuman behaviour in the name of Islam, as such acts

are contrary to Islamic values and teachings. Muslims,

Christians, Jews and peoples of other faiths must all

join hands, for once, in fighting terrorism of all shades.

We must also be tolerant and indeed respectful of each

other, no matter our beliefs, and live side by side in

peace and harmony as one human race and one human

family.

In the case of Syria, we call on the international

community to encourage and support the Syrian

Government and people to resolve their internal

problems through diplomacy and peaceful means.

Poverty should not be a pretext for violent and

disorderly change of Government in developing

countries.

The need for constructive dialogue in finding

lasting and timely solutions to transboundary problems,

wherever they exist, is more urgent today than ever

before. Let us avoid postponing the search for a

permanent solution to the decades-old conflict in the

Nagorno Karabakh region. It is the responsibility of the

international community to work with a greater sense

of urgency to address the Nagorno Karabakh conflict

without further delay.

The developments in Cuba continue to

demonstrate to the world the inhumanity of

maintaining the decades-old embargo imposed on that

friendly country. The embargo is a manifestation of

intolerance of other people’s right to a political system

of their choice. There is universal agreement that the

embargo needs to come to an end without precondition

and be replaced with good-neighbourliness, tolerance

and respect for the legitimate right of Cubans to have a

political system of their choice. We therefore once

again call on the United States of America to lift the

sanctions and embargo on Cuba now.

The case of Taiwan deserves better scrutiny by

the international community. Taiwan, with a population

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of 23 million people, continues to play an active and

positive role on the international stage. In a highly

integrated and interconnected world, almost all issues

demand the full participation of and cooperation

among all nations. Taiwan’s efforts in promoting peace,

particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, deserve

commendation and further encouragement by the

General Assembly.

For example, over the past three years, Taiwan

has engaged mainland China in dialogue on a wide

range of issues ranging from agriculture and health to

intellectual property rights and economic and

commercial cooperation, among others. Furthermore,

since 2009 Taiwan has been invited by the World

Health Organization to attend the World Health

Assembly (WHA) as an observer. That practice and the

related arrangements have established what has been

termed the WHA model, which sets a useful precedent

for Taiwan’s greater participation in the United Nations

system generally.

Given that Taiwan is today one of the leading

technological and economic powerhouses of the world,

its participation in global affairs is quite relevant,

bearing in mind the numerous issues that we

collectively confront. We must give it the prominence

that it deserves. Issues such as natural disasters,

terrorism, climate change, epidemics, financial

meltdowns and many others require the engagement of

every member of the international community,

including Taiwan. We therefore urge the United

Nations to find a suitable way to allow for Taiwan’s

meaningful participation in the specialized agencies

and mechanisms of the United Nations system,

including the International Civil Aviation Organization

and the United Nations Climate Change Conferences

immediately.

Reform should be a permanent feature on the

agenda of all international organizations. Cosmetic

reforms or the deliberate stalling of overdue reforms

seriously undermine the effective responsiveness of

organizations. In 2005, as we all remember, a draft of

reform measures was introduced by the General

Assembly, which led to reforms in management of the

Secretariat, human resources administration, the

creation of the Human Rights Council, the

Peacebuilding Commission and the elaboration of new

norms.

The then Secretary-General remarked that no

reform of the United Nations is complete without

reform of the Security Council. Let us not delude

ourselves. The Security Council urgently needs

comprehensive reforms. A major element in the reform

of the Council is the glaring underrepresentation of

Africa, for example, in all its categories of

membership. Africa certainly needs to be adequately

and properly represented, and we will not give up on

what is a legitimate demand. What is even more

appalling is that negotiations are progressing at a

snail’s pace. Although we are mindful of other

positions, we are convinced that negotiations must lead

to a just outcome. Security Council reform is long

overdue, and the lack of it is undermining the

credibility of our Organization and the legitimacy of

the Council’s decisions.

In conclusion, my delegation would like to repeat

what we said before. Reform of the United Nations

must recognize the geopolitical realities of the African

continent and its peoples. Africa is no longer the

colony of any country and must be respected and

treated as such. The system of veto power and flawed

representation in the Security Council is not

acceptable, can no longer be tolerated and in fact runs

counter to the spirit and letter of the basic principles of

equality and fair play as enshrined in the United

Nations Charter.