Nigeria, 2002

On behalf of the

Government and people of Nigeria, I join other

delegations in congratulating Mr. Kavan on his election

as president of the fifty-seventh session of the United

Nations General Assembly. I have no doubt that, under

his able leadership, the work of this session will be

guided to a successful conclusion. Let me also

acknowledge the work done by his predecessor, who

guided the affairs of the fifty-sixth session with great

skill and commitment.

The tireless efforts of our Secretary-General,

Mr. Kofi Annan, on behalf of our Organization must

not go unnoticed. He deserves our profuse

appreciation.

I welcome the newest member of our

organization, Switzerland. I have no doubt that this

nation will bring unique perspectives to the work of the

United Nations, which will enhance the attainment of

its objectives.

It is regrettable that international terrorism

continues to pose a threat to international peace and

security. There is a need for reviewed and concerted

efforts on our part to confront the menace until the

threat is halted. The various international instruments

aimed at combating terrorism deserve our full support.

Nigeria remains deeply committed to the fight against

terrorism. We are committed to the early elaboration of

a comprehensive convention on international terrorism.

Despite the best intentions and efforts of the

international community, a scourge of a different nature

continues to threaten many parts of the world. I refer

here to the numerous theatres of conflict around the

world. People continue to expend valuable energies and

resources in fighting each other, often for causes that

are unproductive. The international community has a

responsibility, not only to design appropriate strategies

for a measured and early response to snuff out these

conflicts, but also to find ways and means of

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addressing their root causes, and managing them to a

peaceful conclusion. Only then will true peace and

stability reign in the world.

While it is true that many of these conflicts have

their root causes in poverty, ignorance, real and

perceived injustice and the absence of basic freedoms,

it is equally evident that they are often exacerbated,

especially in the case of African conflicts, by the influx

of small arms into the continent. Illicit trade in small

arms and light weapons has continued unabated, with

disastrous consequences for many developing

countries. We are deeply concerned that manufacturing

countries are not doing enough to limit the

proliferation of these weapons through appropriate

safeguards. We, therefore, call on the international

community to consider elaborating a legally binding

international instrument to control the supply of these

weapons to non-State actors.

The United Nations peacekeeping role is an

invaluable one in the global effort to help contain and

resolve conflicts around the world. It deserves to be

sustained and strengthened. Nigeria is proud to be an

active participant in this peacekeeping and

peacemaking effort. We remain committed to this

responsibility in the conviction that we are our

brother's keeper and in the knowledge that there can be

no development without peace and stability.

The situation in the Middle East continues to pose

a serious threat to international peace and security. We

reaffirm our commitment to the right of the Palestinian

people to their own independence, as well as the right

of the State of Israel to exist within safe and secure

international borders, consistent with Security Council

resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). We therefore

welcome the vision and the engagement of the Quartet,

as well as other sponsors of the Middle East peace

process. I urge the parties in the Middle East conflict to

cooperate with the international community and give

the ongoing peace process a chance. That becomes

imperative because we cannot afford a situation of

protracted conflict in the subregion.

Nigeria notes with concern the threat that the

situation in Iraq poses to international peace and

security. We hold the view that any further escalation

of tension would lead to very serious consequences.

Nigeria, therefore, urges the parties concerned to

exercise caution and restraint and that the matter be

resolved in accordance with the provisions of the

Charter of the United Nations.

There is no shortage of international good will

and commitment to development. Various declarations

and programmes eloquently address the need for rapid,

durable and sustainable development, as well as the

desire for the equitable distribution of the world's

wealth. In spite of this good will and good intentions

on the part of the international community, more than

half of humanity lives in abject poverty and ignorance.

For many countries in Africa, hunger and disease

remain pervasive and deeply rooted. Human

development indices for some of the poorest countries

are, indeed, unflattering for a world that is so rich but

with resources so unevenly distributed.

It is our conviction that urgent, concrete action is

required, if the lofty goals we have set for ourselves in

the Millennium Declaration to make the world a better

place are to be realized. Many developing countries

require assistance from the international community in

the form of increased official development assistance

and foreign direct investment flows and efforts to

alleviate their excruciating debt burden and enable

them to develop their human and material resource

base.

Africa remains committed to the attainment of the

goals of the Millennium Declaration. In that regard, I

am pleased to state that Africa is seeking to lift itself

by its own bootstraps, through the New Partnership for

Africa's Development (NEPAD). As members are

aware, NEPAD is designed to address, in a sustained

and coordinated way, many of the developmental

problems associated with Africa's underdevelopment.

We are encouraged by the support that NEPAD

has so far received from the international community.

The latest evidence of this support is the outcome of

the recent meeting of the Group of 8 in Kananaskis,

Canada, towards the implementation of the Action

Plan. It is hoped that the United Nations high-level

segment on NEPAD would record greater successes in

the much expected endorsement of that initiative by the

international community.

This and other programmes designed to improve

the living conditions of the majority of humanity may

not yield the desired results if one of the greatest

dangers facing humanity today is not addressed with

the commitment and urgency it deserves. I am speaking

here of the HIV/AIDS pandemic that continues to bring

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havoc, misery and hopelessness on humanity,

especially in Africa where the pandemic is threatening

to wipe out entire generations. For example, it is

estimated that out of the 36 million people living with

HIV/AIDS worldwide, 75 per cent of them are in sub-

Saharan Africa. The consequent toll on the human and

material resources of one of the most impoverished

regions of the world cannot be overemphasized. Not

only is the productive population of Africa being

systematically decimated by HIV/AIDS, but efforts to

combat this and other diseases, such as malaria,

tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, are also

diverting scarce resources away from development

programmes and projects. Massive assistance is

therefore required from the international community to

complement the efforts of individual countries.

Nigeria will spare no effort to combat these

scourges. While we are fully aware of the insidious

nature of all of these pestilences, the spread of HIV/

AIDS constitutes by far our greatest source of concern.

For that reason, Nigeria is active in contribution to and

management of the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS.

We have also established a national agency for

the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS to coordinate

the Government's multisectoral approach to the

prevention, control and management of the pandemic.

We pledge to continue to do our best in this human

struggle against this powerful, destructive force,

especially by generating awareness in the country

about its prevention and spread. We continue, however,

to count on the international community to find cures

for these diseases, as well as to give assistance to many

of our countries in these efforts. The leadership of the

United Nations is critical to the success of these

efforts.

I wish once again to draw the Assembly's

attention to the pernicious issue of corruption and its

manifestation at the international level. We have

always maintained that it takes two to tango and that

the instances of corruption in developing countries

have often been supported by encouragement, and

inducements and the provision of safe havens by the

industrialized countries. Thus, we are strongly

advocating that efforts to establish a convention against

corruption need to be expedited, so that we can have

global action against corruption.

There is no doubt that the United Nations has

served humanity well. It has come a long way since its

humble beginnings in 1945. It remains the only

organization to which all nations, in varying degrees

and ways, are associated and committed. Humanity is

the better for the existence of the United Nations. The

Organization provides the basis for our collective

security, international cooperation and solidarity, which

are essential for human coexistence. We must therefore

continue to fine-tune its implementations to make it

more responsive to the needs of the times and to

prepare it for the challenges of the future, some of

which could not have been envisaged by the founding

Members.

I am pleased to note that there is general

agreement among us on the need to reform the

Organization so as to make it more democratic in

structure, more efficient in management and more

manageable in size. Nigeria is a major proponent of the

envisaged reforms, especially those regarding the

structure and working methods of the Security Council.

Nigeria envisages a new Security Council in which it

will play the role destined by its geopolitical

circumstances and the challenges of the twenty-first

century. In this regard, we are willing to contribute to

efforts and stand ready to support others of like mind

and circumstances in this endeavour.