Sudan, 1999

Allow me at

the outset to extend to Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab the sincere

congratulations of my delegation on his election to the

presidency of this session. We are confident that his well-

known experience and abilities will lead this session to a

successful conclusion. We assure him of the full

cooperation of our delegation to achieve that objective.

We also wish to express our appreciation to his

predecessor for his valuable efforts, which led to the

success of the previous session. By the same token, our

appreciation also goes to Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary-

General of the United Nations, for his efforts at the helm

of the Organization.

I also wish to welcome our newest Members — the

Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru and the

Kingdom of Tonga.

Mr. President, heeding your appeal to be very brief,

I will not touch on all the points detailed in my statement

before the Assembly, and I ask that the edited version be

placed on record.

Since I last spoke before the Assembly one year ago,

the Sudan has witnessed numerous developments in the

political, economic and social fields. A permanent

constitution was endorsed by an overwhelming majority

of the people in a popular and free referendum. This

constitution guarantees for the Sudanese people all

political and civil freedoms and rights, including the right

27

to form political parties and social and cultural

organizations.

Despite the difficulties faced by Sudan, as a result of

both the war and natural disasters, it has been able, through

its own efforts, to restructure its economy to meet the

requirements of the free market. All this took place in the

near-total absence of foreign aid. The Sudan has also

started to exploit its natural resources, both agricultural and

mineral, in particular oil, which we started exporting on 30

August last. Oil revenues will contribute to strengthening

national efforts for socio-economic development.

In the economic field, these endeavours have

contributed to reversing a number of the short-term

negative effects of the economic liberalization policies.

These reform measures have so far helped to achieve an 8

per cent total growth rate and to reduce the rate of inflation

to 13 per cent, and have led the International Monetary

Fund to commend this remarkable achievement. In order to

alleviate the economic burdens resulting from economic

reform policies, our Government has adopted a number of

measures to assist the more vulnerable groups and low-

income citizens through social assistance funds, the

provision of “soft” loans and the establishment of small

productive projects for youth and women.

In the search for peace in southern Sudan, the

Government accepted the Declaration of Principles as a

basis for its negotiations with the rebels within the

framework of the Intergovernmental Authority on

Development (IGAD). It also declared a partial ceasefire,

as it had repeatedly done, in order to ensure the delivery of

relief assistance to its citizens affected by the war.

Subsequently, we came to the conclusion that the most

effective way to show our seriousness about arriving at a

genuine and lasting solution to this humanitarian tragedy

was to ensure the cessation of all hostilities. The

Government therefore took its recent initiative to establish

a general and comprehensive ceasefire while continuing the

negotiations through IGAD, with the assistance of our

IGAD partners. However, those efforts by my Government

were met by prevarication and were not taken seriously by

the other side. The failure of the rebel movement to accept

a comprehensive ceasefire is proof of its lack of interest

and seriousness in searching for a solution to the problem,

which has enriched its leaders at the expense of the

Sudanese people in general and of our southern citizens in

particular.

The Sudan looks forward to a more effective role by

IGAD, the partners of IGAD and the Egyptian and Libyan

conciliation initiative, in support of the peace efforts. The

call for a comprehensive ceasefire has also been endorsed

by the United Nations and the international community.

We are grateful for and appreciate that support. Yet the

process needs to be given further impetus and support if

an environment conducive to the establishment of peace

is to be created and all the obstacles in its way are to be

removed.

In this context, we call upon the international

community to take punitive measures against the rebel

Garang similar to those taken against Savimbi in Angola,

in order to persuade him to join the peace effort. We also

call for continued support for the Government initiative

aimed at achieving a comprehensive ceasefire, through

bringing pressure to bear on the rebel movement to accept

that initiative and to show some seriousness in the

negotiations in order to find a solution to the problem.

Furthermore, demands must continue to be made for the

handing over of the remains of the four relief workers

murdered by the movement last April.

With regard to the practices of the rebel movement,

I should like to speak about developments in the

humanitarian situation, which continues to deteriorate in

the south of the country despite relative improvements in

Bahr el-Ghazal and other areas. From this rostrum, I

would like to express our thanks and appreciation to the

countries and organizations that continue to provide relief

and humanitarian assistance to those affected in the

Sudan, whether directly or through Operation Lifeline

Sudan. We believe that there is a need for the gradual

transition from relief to development in the areas that

enjoy stability, security and peace now that the Khartoum

peace agreement and the Fashoda accord have been

signed.

We call upon the donor countries and organizations

to make contributions to the consolidated appeal for the

Sudan for 1999, in view of the noticeable decline in its

resources, which last June amounted to only 31 per cent

of requirements. We also emphasize that it is important

not to allow political posturing to get in the way of

humanitarian and relief work. There is also a need to

avoid selectivity in dealing with humanitarian issues,

which affect the lives of peoples and individuals.

The Sudan would like to inform the Assembly of its

full commitment to a general and comprehensive ceasefire

throughout southern Sudan for humanitarian reasons and

as a means of paving the way for peace negotiations. We

hope that the other party will respond positively so that

28

we can begin to take practical steps to disengage the forces

and monitor the ceasefire. The Government will allocate a

large part of its oil revenues for humanitarian and

development needs in the south. It will also allocate part of

this year's grain harvest for distribution by United Nations

agencies to the needy population in the south. The war has

continued for a long time, and we appreciate the role

played by the international community in extending

humanitarian assistance. That situation cannot go on

forever; the one and only solution to the crisis is a peaceful

one.

The conflicts in Africa have brought untold suffering

and hardships, to the peoples of the continent. One of the

greatest problems is that of the more than 8 million

refugees who live under extremely difficult circumstances.

In its search to put an end to the suffering of the refugees

and to find radical solutions to the problem, the

Organization of African Unity (OAU) decided to convene

the first ministerial meeting of the committee on refugees

and internally displaced persons. That important meeting

was held last December in Khartoum with the active

participation of the sisterly African States, the relevant

United Nations bodies, the regional organizations

concerned, the International Committee of the Red Cross

and other non-governmental organizations. The meeting

adopted the Khartoum Declaration, which contained an

assessment of the problems facing refugees and displaced

persons with a view to addressing the underlying causes of

these problems and to establishing favourable conditions for

the restoration of peace and stability in order to encourage

the voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced

persons to their homes in safety and dignity. From this

rostrum, we appeal to the international community and the

relevant organizations to continue to provide support for the

States affected by these problems so as to ensure the

prompt and effective implementation of the Khartoum

Declaration and its recommendations with regard to

refugees and internally displaced persons.

We call for the renunciation of selectivity in dealing

with the question of humanitarian assistance, human rights

and democracy at the international level. We also appeal to

States to avoid politicizing these questions and using them

as a pretext for interference in the internal affairs of others.

We are eager to see those lofty principles applied

effectively while preserving the principle of the sovereignty,

security and territorial integrity of States. In this context,

we should like to draw attention to the cooperation of the

Government of the Sudan with the United Nations in the

delivery of relief assistance to the affected population in the

south, as well as to the recent visit of the United Nations

mission to the Nuba Mountain region to assess the

humanitarian needs there.

In his report on the work of the Organization and his

opening statement before this session, the

Secretary-General reflected the international concern

about the expansion and intensification of civil wars and

other conflicts in various regions and the human tragedies

and physical and economic destruction that result from

such wars. We share the Secretary-General's concern on

this matter. We reaffirm the importance of maximizing

collective efforts to eliminate the causes of conflicts

before they erupt and of using all available means to put

an end to them.

We believe, however, that any actions taken or

means used must have the consent and agreement of the

State concerned and must be within the framework of

international laws and standards, particularly those of the

United Nations Charter. In the absence of a transparent,

democratic and just international order, moving outside

that framework and calling for interference in the internal

affairs of States will only lead to chaos and the hegemony

of the powerful over the weak.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the current Chairman

of the OAU, summed up the fears and concerns of the

small and weak States in this regard by saying that we

remain very sensitive to any encroachment on our

sovereignty, not only because it constitutes our last line

of defence against the laws of an unjust world but

because we do not participate effectively in the

decision-making process in the Security Council or in the

monitoring of the implementation of these decisions.

Modern history is full of examples of such unjust

interpretation and application of laws and resolutions. I

would like to highlight just one example: the unjust and

unjustified attack by the United States on the al-Shifa

pharmaceutical factory and the inability of the Security

Council to take a decision on Sudan's request to send a

mission to investigate the American allegations

concerning the factory.

The ideas put forward by the Secretary-General in

his report require further consultations and consideration

by the General Assembly and other United Nations

bodies, with the participation of all Member States and

within the framework of the Charter and international

laws and norms.

29

Undoubtedly, the continued imbalance in international

relations has strengthened the trend towards unilateral

supremacy and double standards. This imbalance has had

negative effects on international peace, security and

stability. It has also created an unhealthy atmosphere which

promotes the interests of certain States while ignoring,

indeed belittling, the interests and rights of the weaker

members of the international community. Hence, the Sudan

has always supported the call for the establishment of a

balanced and diverse international order, an order that

respects the specific religious, historical and cultural

characteristics of peoples and that protects their natural

right to choose their own social, economic and political

systems in harmony with their cultural attributes.

The fact that the Sudan is being targeted by the United

States Administration is not open to question. Indeed, the

United States Administration itself does not deny this. It

has taken many measures aimed at destabilizing Sudan and

its security, and has pursued a declared policy of isolating

the Sudan through the provision of military assistance to

some of its neighbours. It has consistently voted against the

Sudan in the international financial institutions and has

sponsored resolutions condemning and denouncing the

Sudan at the United Nations and its specialized agencies. It

has also attempted to smear the Sudan’s image in the

international arena. It has made baseless accusations against

the Sudan, charging it with involvement in international

terrorism and placing its name on its list of what it calls

States sponsoring terrorism. Furthermore, the United States

Administration imposed unilateral economic sanctions on

the Sudan despite the international community’s clear and

declared position on such coercive economic measures. All

these actions have been taken by the United States on the

basis of totally false and unfounded allegations and

accusations. The United States Administration has never

been able to produce a single piece of evidence to prove its

allegations.

The unjust United States actions and accusations

against the Sudan culminated last year in the bombing and

destruction of the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in

Khartoum. A whole year has elapsed since I addressed the

General Assembly from this rostrum about the flagrant

aggression by the United States of America against that

factory, which was privately owned and financed by the

bank of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern

Africa (COMESA). Has any action been taken since the

Sudan explained to the international community the

enormity of the mistake perpetrated by the United States

against the Sudanese people, depriving them of a main

source of medication for their innocent children and for the

many refugees and displaced persons that are given

shelter by the Sudan? The Sudan continues to demand

and to expect justice and redress from the Security

Council as the organ with the primary responsibility for

the maintenance of international peace and security.

Immediately after the bombing of the factory last August,

Sudan requested the Security Council to send a mission

to ascertain the facts regarding the factory’s ownership

and output, and to verify the allegations invoked by the

United States to attempt to justify its aggression. The

non-aligned countries, the Arab Group, the African Group

and the members of the Organization of the Islamic

Conference all wrote letters to the Security Council

supporting the Sudan’s request. Most regrettably, the

Council remained unable to act. The United States

prevented the Council from discharging its most basic

duty in this regard, namely to investigate the allegations

that the United States used to try to justify its armed

aggression.

Since I addressed the Assembly last year, dozens of

articles and reports have been published in major United

States newspapers. Numerous statements have been made

by United States congressional officials and former

Central Intelligence Agency experts, along with a number

of academic studies by specialized institutes in the United

States and other countries, all of which affirm that the Al-

Shifa factory was a pharmaceutical factory producing

human and veterinary medicines. They also affirm that

the United States made a terrible mistake by destroying

that factory, which had links to the United Nations: the

Security Council had authorized the factory to export

medicines to Iraq within the framework of the oil-for-food

programme. The Sudan referred all these studies, articles

and declarations to the Security Council. This year, the

owner of the factory hired some of the best known United

States experts in the field of chemical weapons to

examine the factory and ascertain the truth about its

output. The experts took samples, which were examined

in the most sophisticated and advanced laboratories in

Europe and the United States. The conclusion was that the

factory produced nothing other than medications for

human and veterinary use. The Sudan also formed its own

specialized scientific committee composed of university

professors in the Sudan to examine the factory. The

committee issued a report affirming once again that the

United States allegations about the factory had no logical

or scientific basis.

A most important development then followed: a

decision by the United States Departments of Justice and

of the Treasury to unfreeze the assets of the owner of the

30

factory in the United States. That reaffirms that the

justifications put forward by the United States for the

bombing of the Al-Shifa factory were baseless. There is no

physical evidence to prove them. Rather, they were based

on misleading intelligence information. The United States

allegations that the factory is owned by terrorist groups are

also baseless and lack any supporting evidence or proof.

The United States decision to unfreeze the assets of the

factory’s owner came after the United States Administration

ascertained that he had no connection with terrorism. This

in itself is clear and irrefutable proof of what Sudan has

been saying before the international community all along.

When the matter was put before the Security Council

last year and when the Sudan requested the dispatch of a

fact-finding mission, the United States objected on the

pretext that it would settle the question bilaterally with the

Sudan. A whole year has elapsed and all we have received

is more procrastination. This led me last August to send

another letter to the President of the Security Council

asking him again to dispatch a fact-finding mission. We

appeal to the United Nations, as it represents all countries,

big and small, to prove its impartiality and objectivity; we

appeal to the Security Council to send a mission to uncover

the facts about the destruction of the Al-Shifa

pharmaceutical factory. The United Nations should request

the United States not to object to the dispatch of such

mission if it is confident of the information and the causes

that led it to bomb the factory.

The bombing of the pharmaceutical factory took the

lives of a number of Sudanese. It deprived hundreds of

workers of their livelihood. It also deprived the Sudanese

people and the refugees from neighbouring countries of

their main source of medication and vaccines. All this

makes the international community wonder about the

sincerity of the United States commitment to human rights.

In their 1998 and 1999 ministerial declarations, the Group

of 77 and China called for applying justice in this case in

accordance with the United Nations Charter and

international law. This act of aggression was a unilateral act

unacceptable to the international community. The

Movement of Non-Aligned Countries condemned this act at

its Durban Summit and at subsequent ministerial meetings.

Persisting in targeting the Sudan, the United States

Administration recently appointed a special envoy for the

Sudan with specific objectives and terms of reference.

Sudan was not party to the choice of that envoy or to the

definition of the objectives and terms of reference of his

mission.

Clearly, the way in which the United States

Administration chose this envoy reflects a condescending

attitude and is an act of cultural arrogance inconsistent

with the spirit of the United Nations Charter, which

governs relations between States. At the time when the

United States claims to be concerned with the problems

of the Sudan, we find that it has blocked, to a large

degree, all channels of bilateral contact. When announcing

the appointment of the special envoy, the United States

spokesman affirmed that his mandate would not include

the bilateral aspect of relations between the two countries.

Here we would like to pose a question: how could a State

appoint an envoy to another State without having his task

include their bilateral relations? This is indeed bizarre,

since the basic disagreements between us and the United

States are of a bilateral nature. Such disagreements led

the United States to use force to destroy a pharmaceutical

factory, and then it refused international arbitration in the

matter. It is also bizarre that the United States

Administration has given its envoy to the Sudan the task

of dealing with the questions of relief, human rights and

peace in the southern Sudan. I say this is bizarre because

these questions are dealt with either in the United Nations

or at the regional level. The first question, relief, and the

second, human rights, are dealt with in the relevant

organs of the United Nations, respectively, the Office for

the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the

Commission on Human Rights. The issue of peace in the

southern Sudan is being dealt with at the regional level by

the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD),

with the support of the Organization of African Unity, the

United Nations and the group of IGAD partners, of which

the United States is a member. The Sudan will continue

to follow closely the steps taken by the United States

Administration and will take the necessary measures to

protect its national interests. Here I would like to reaffirm

that the Government of the Sudan is willing to settle its

differences with the United States of America through

dialogue and the initiatives already taken in this regard,

with a view to breaking the stalemate. This interest

continues even after the cruel American aggression

against the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory. Yet this

interest of ours must be met with an objective response

by the other party. Hence, we call upon the United

Nations and peace-loving countries to urge the United

States Administration to take positive steps towards the

normalization of relations with the Sudan and to desist

from interference in its internal affairs, which only results

in prolonging the civil war and death and suffering for the

Sudanese people.

31

The Sudan believes that the United States, as a great

Power concerned with world and regional peace, could play

an important role in the settlement of the Sudan’s problems.

But for the United States to play that role, we demand that

it show neutrality and desist from injustice and aggression.

The delegation of the Sudan is of the view that the

Millennium Assembly, in which all world leaders will

participate, is an important occasion for the United Nations

to enhance its role and its neutrality. In this regard, we

propose that the Millennium Summit declaration contain the

following: a reaffirmation of the importance of peaceful

coexistence; respect for plurality and diversity and the

promotion of dialogue between various cultures and

religions; a reaffirmation of the need to achieve security

and stability by resorting to the United Nations for the

settlement of conflicts between States; a reaffirmation of

the need to coordinate international efforts for the

achievement of development and the eradication of poverty;

and a reaffirmation of the resolve of the international

community to combat terrorism in all its forms and

manifestations. In this regard, we would like to state our

understanding that the adoption of a declaration by the

Millennium Summit will not detract from the United

Nations Charter, which embodies lofty and noble principles

valid for all time.

In conclusion, most of the people of the Sudan are

adherents of Islam and Christianity. Thus, the Sudan has a

rich legacy of tolerance and coexistence between religions

and cultures. Christianity, the religion of Jesus Christ —

peace be upon him — teaches fraternity, tolerance and

succour for the weak. Islam, the last of the revealed

religions, has brought an integrated way of life that upholds

the value of freedom and thought. It also consecrates the

principle of coexistence between religions and cultures. The

Holy Koran states,

“Invite (all) to the Way

Of thy Lord with wisdom

And beautiful preaching;

And argue with them

In ways that are best

And most gracious.”

(The Holy Koran, XVI:125).