Kenya, 2005

It gives me great pleasure to

address the General Assembly on the occasion of my

first visit to the United Nations as head of State. First, I

congratulate you, Sir, on your election to preside over

the sixtieth session of the General Assembly.

I would also like to pay tribute to the Secretary-

General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his able stewardship of

our Organization and the reform proposals he has put

forward for our consideration. Since his appointment,

the Secretary-General has steered the United Nations

with tact and patience. His skill as a builder of

consensus has indeed been exemplary. We share his

vision for the United Nations in the twenty-first

century as outlined in his epic report entitled ìIn larger

freedomî (A/59/2005). I am confident that Member

States will seize this historic opportunity and deliver

on the promise of a better world for posterity.

The shift in the global distribution of power,

accompanied by the emergence of new threats and

challenges, has dramatically changed the context

within which the United Nations operates. The United

Nations of the future must still, however, remain true

to the universal values that inspired its creation. Our

peoples expect the United Nations to act as an agent of

progress. They look to the Organization to play an

effective and leading role in improving their economic

and social well-being.

Kenya embraces the principles of the Charter,

which serve as a basic reference point for the reform of

the United Nations. Those principles are the core of its

inner strength. We believe that the principle of

democracy is as central to this Organization and its

future health as it is to the prosperity of our own

nations. Kenya deeply cherishes that principle and

seeks its generous spread around the world and in this

institution.

Global problems require global solutions. The

United Nations is the only vehicle that can help us

attain those solutions and give legitimacy to our

actions. The United Nations remains indispensable in

the maintenance of international peace and security. It

is pivotal to the attainment of sustainable development

and the advancement of human rights. Let us work to

strengthen the United Nations to meet contemporary

challenges.

Important proposals for United Nations reform

are already on the table. My Government embraces the

holistic definition of collective security, which strongly

affirms the connections between peace, development,

human rights and the rule of law. Those goals cannot

be realized in isolation. As the Secretary-General

observed, ìwe will not enjoy development without

security, we will not enjoy security without

development, and we will not enjoy either without

respect for human rightsî (A/59/2005, para. 17). I am

sure we all acknowledge those plain truths.

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Kenya firmly believes that reform of the United

Nations is a process, not an event. In view of the

integrated nature of the issues, we need to adopt a

comprehensive policy approach to United Nations

reforms. We must maintain a broad vision driven by

collective effort for the ultimate benefit of the

international system.

I am happy to note that although some of the

proposals have been adopted, we should now move

quickly to implement them. I refer especially to the

proposals that do not require amendment of the

Charter. They include the adoption of a robust counter-

terrorism strategy, strengthening peacekeeping,

creating a Peacebuilding Commission and Fund and the

reform of the human rights system.

I am also pleased to note the consensus on the

strengthening of the General Assembly, the Economic

and Social Council and a strong relationship between

the United Nations and regional and subregional

organizations.

Environmental protection is a threat that is a

major challenge in the attainment of the Millennium

Development Goals. This places the environment, more

than ever, at the core of sustainable development.

International environmental governance is an integral

part of realizing sustainable development. Kenya fully

endorses the ongoing process of defining the elements

of international environmental governance. This,

however, should be done within the framework of the

Cartagena decision, which aims at strengthening the

United Nations Environment Programme within its

current mandate through an enhanced financial and

scientific base.

We should also recognize that no truly effective

response can be made unless the international

community fully complies with its commitment to

make the means available as provided for in various

multilateral environmental agreements.

Kenya remains firmly committed to the United

Nations Programme of Action on Small Arms and

Light Weapons and is gratified with the status of its

implementation, at both national and regional levels.

Despite the progress made, small arms and other

conventional weapons continue to end up in the hands

of wrong non-State actors, with attendant adverse

implications on peace and security leading to political

instability in many countries. In order to curb this

trend, Kenya requests the Secretary-General to

undertake a study into the possibility of a legal

instrument to control international transfers of

conventional arms.

Kenya also supports proposals for the

enhancement of peace-support operation capabilities of

the United Nations. Any mandate for peacekeeping

forces should be clear and precise. Adequate resources

must be made available to the commanders in the field

to enable them to execute their mandates effectively.

Intervention in crisis situations must also be timely to

prevent undue loss of life. Kenya welcomes vital

contributions to peace and security made by regional

organizations forging predictable partnerships between

the United Nations and regional organizations.

Furthermore, Kenya endorses the proposal to

establish a strategic military capacity to reinforce

United Nations peacekeeping and the creation of a

standby brigade for rapid deployment of the

Organizationís civilian police in peacekeeping

operations.

We strongly support the Secretary-Generalís

proposal to establish a Peacebuilding Commission and

fund by 31 December 2005. We believe such a

peacebuilding commission will contribute to the

realization of real peace in many regions. However, it

is important that critical questions about form, function

and decision-making authority be resolved.

In our own neighbourhood, the importance of

post-conflict peacebuilding has become a bigger

priority after the recent successes of the Sudan and

Somalia mediation efforts, which Kenya chaired under

the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on

Development.

Kenya commends the international community

for the excellent response during the Oslo pledging

conference towards reconstruction of southern Sudan.

We urge a similar response to support the Transitional

Federal Government of Somalia in setting up and

implementing a national security, stabilization and

economic reconstruction strategy.

We also call upon the Security Council to play a

more positive proactive role in the search for a broad

consensus for peace and thus enhance the capacity of

the Transitional Federal Government to establish basic

institutions.

On the reform of the Security Council, it is

necessary to make it far more equitable and

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representative of the United Nations global

constituency. The procedures and methods of work of

the Council should be changed to secure transparency

and dialogue with the United Nations membership.

Furthermore, the future composition of the

Security Council should proceed on the basis of

sovereign equality of States and equitable geographical

representation.

Kenya welcomes the proposal to develop a

stronger relationship between the United Nations and

regional and subregional organizations. For Africa,

there is abundant political will in our continent to make

the African Union succeed. I believe that external

support, especially from the United Nations and the

international community at large, would make the

African Union work better.

The establishment of an African Union Peace and

Security Council and of the intervention force planned

to be set up by 2009 are measures aimed at advancing

political stability in Africa to underpin economic

development. Already, the African Union has taken the

lead in Burundi and in Darfur, in the Sudan, where

deployments of peacekeeping missions have preceded

international action by the United Nations.

The recent pledges by the Group of Eight (G-8)

countries to double aid to Africa and grant 100-per-

cent debt relief to 18 developing countries were

welcome. We hope they will honour their pledges and

commitments in conformity with the agreement forged

at the 2002 Monterrey International Conference on

Financing for Development. Support by the G-8 will

help African countries achieve the Millennium

Development Goals.

Kenya affirms the centrality of gender equality

and recognizes the critical role that women must play

in development. We also recognize that achievement of

the Millennium Development Goals depends on the

empowerment of women. As part of our effort to fully

attain this objective, my Government has adopted a

national policy on gender development. The aim is to

integrate women in decision-making through legal,

regulatory and institutional reforms.

I am convinced that, if we are to attain our

common objective of revitalizing the United Nations,

we should embrace the vision presented by the

Secretary-General in his package of reforms. This will

require political will and leadership on our part. I

therefore urge Member States to seize this opportunity

and endorse proposals on which there is broad

consensus. As we contemplate strengthening and

renewing our Organization, we should do so for

posterity.