Sudan, 2002

At the

outset, I should like to express my sincere

4

congratulations, Mr. President, on your election to

preside over the fifty-seventh session of the General

Assembly. We are fully confident that your renowned

diplomatic experience will lead to the success of this

important session's deliberations and to the adoption of

resolutions and recommendations that are proportionate

to the current international challenges. I should be

remiss if I failed to express my appreciation to your

predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-soo, for his tireless efforts

to revitalize the role of the General Assembly. I should

also like to express, on behalf of the people and the

Government of the Sudan, sincere congratulations to

the people and the Government of Switzerland on its

accession to the Organization. In addition, I wish to

take this opportunity to congratulate, on behalf of the

people and the Government of the Sudan, the State of

East Timor on its coming admission as a Member of

the United Nations.

A full year has passed since the deplorable

terrorist events of 11 September, which terrified this

city, site of the Organization's Headquarters, where the

flags of all our countries fly and where we meet to

deliberate on peace, security and justice. The

anniversary of the World Trade Center tragedy is an

occasion to strengthen international solidarity and

resolve to combat terrorism, prompting us to reaffirm

our conviction that terrorism is an elusive enemy that

knows no religion, ethnicity or homeland. It is a

challenge that should be met with a collective

international effort. The war on terrorism should be

waged with close national, regional and international

cooperation and coordination, in conformity with the

principles of international law and under the umbrella

of the United Nations.

The Sudan, while reiterating its commitment to,

participation in and support for the international

campaign against terrorism, would like to draw the

attention of the international community to the feelings

of anxiety expressed in various parts of the world at the

derailment of the campaign, whose path and objectives

are no longer on target, and at its manipulation by the

forces of extremism and advocates of confrontation

among civilizations and cultures.

The situation in the Arab and Islamic world in

general, and in the Middle East in particular, reflects

that anxiety and those feelings. Therefore, we in the

Sudan, current Chair of the Organization of the Islamic

Conference, reaffirm our rejection and denunciation of

that derailment and urge that the international

campaign against terrorism comply with the rules of

international law. We strongly support the call of His

Excellency Mr. Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt, for

the convening of an international conference on

terrorism.

The report of the Secretary-General on the work

of the Organization, submitted to the current session,

reflects the desire of the world's countries to strengthen

cooperation, to alleviate poverty, to eliminate the debt

burden and to resolve conflicts in order to create a

world of justice and equality, free of grievances,

injustice, hatred, bigotry, double standards,

conspiracies and politicization, which run counter to

the noble objectives of protecting and enhancing

human rights. Sudan reaffirms its firm conviction that

the United Nations remains the ideal mechanism for

achieving international cooperation. Therefore, Sudan

reaffirms its readiness to cooperate fully in all areas

with United Nations organs. Based on its conviction,

Sudan calls for the revitalization of all United Nations

organs and urges that top priority be accorded the

Security Council and the General Assembly in that

regard.

During the past year, Sudan's relations with the

United Nations made great progress, a progress

crowned by the important and successful visit of

Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Khartoum. The visit

was a good opportunity for him to see our country's

positive development in all fields. The visit

strengthened the cooperation between the Sudan and

the international Organization. This year has also seen

visits to the Sudan by the Directors-General of the

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the

United Nations Industrial Development Organization

(UNIDO), the Organization for the Prohibition of

Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the World Intellectual

Property Organization (WIPO). The Sudan is

maintaining good channels of communication and

coordination with the United Nations and its

specialized agencies through cooperation, on the basis

of the fundamental principles of its foreign policy,

including the principle of openness at the regional and

international levels, and in consonance with its strong

commitment to active participation in all activities

aimed at carrying out the purposes and principles of the

United Nations Charter.

The United Nations Charter calls for the

important peaceful resolution of disputes and

emphasizes the important role of regional organizations

5

therein. The Sudan is currently presiding over two

regional organizations, the Intergovernmental

Authority on Development (IGAD) and the

Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). In some

countries of these two organizations there are conflicts

that are the subject of much thought in the world today.

IGAD is endeavouring to resolve the conflicts in

Somalia and the Sudan. Through the OIC, whose

membership includes Pakistan, Iraq, Palestine and

Bosnia and Herzegovina, among 57 other countries

forming almost one third of the General Assembly, we

are sparing no effort to find solutions to serious

conflicts at the national and regional levels.

Without resolving the root causes of the Arab-

Israeli conflict, by ending the occupation,

implementing lawful international resolutions,

restoring the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people,

including its right to establish an independent state

with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, peace, security

and stability will not be achieved in this volatile region

of the world.

We would like to stress the importance of a

political settlement of the dispute between Iraq and the

United Nations. In this regard, we would like to spare

Iraq and the region the risk of yet another war. As

Chairman of the OIC, the Sudan has initiated contacts

with the United Nations Secretary-General, the Foreign

Ministers of the five permanent Security Council

members and the Foreign Minister of Iraq; these efforts

were crowned with the unconditional acceptance by

Iraq of the return of the inspectors. We commend the

brave decision of the Iraqi leadership to allow the

return of the United Nations inspectors and hope that

this will lead to the lifting of sanctions imposed on Iraq

and the consolidation of its security, sovereignty and

territorial integrity so as to enable it to regain its active

role both regionally and internationally.

The birth of the African Union last year was a

great African event, which renewed the aspirations and

hopes of the continent for total liberation from the

nightmare of conflict, poverty and underdevelopment

in order to achieve solidarity, unity, security and

comprehensive sustainable development there. We look

forward to working closely with the new international

organization, the African Union, through the

mechanisms established, such as its Peace and Security

Council, so that we can coordinate the advancement of

our continent through effective bilateral cooperation

between the countries and effective regional

cooperation with economic groupings and partnerships.

In this connection, the New Partnership for

Africa's Development (NEPAD) has emerged as

testimony to the ability of the continent to initiate and

coordinate initiatives among African countries. It also

reflects the sincere desire of the continent for

cooperation through this initiative, with its clearly

stated socio-economic priorities. The various regions

of the continent have also determined their priorities in

the fields of infrastructure, energy, environment,

communications, education, health and primary care. I

call upon the international community to support

Africa through this new partnership so that it will attain

its aspirations. We also call on Africa to speak with one

voice regarding the follow-up and implementation of

NEPAD through the mechanisms of the African Union,

our collective organization.

With regard to developments in my country, I

have the honour to inform you of the latest endeavours

to resolve the conflict in southern Sudan. I would recall

that my Government has always considered the issue of

peace and ending the war in the southern part of the

country a priority and a strategic objective. This stems

from our conviction that national peace leads to

regional peace, which in turn leads to international

peace, to which we all aspire. My country has spared

no effort to find a solution to the root causes of the

conflict. To that end, we have organized national

conferences and meetings, and we have also responded

positively to the various regional and international

efforts aimed at ending the conflict. Against this

background, and under the auspices of an IGAD

initiative led by Kenya and the efforts of

intermediaries, the Government and the Rebel

Movement have signed on 20 July of this year the

Machakos framework agreement. This agreement was

widely acknowledged as a step towards eventual peace,

supported both inside and outside the country.

However, the rebel movement has set that progress

back with its insistence on military activities and on re-

opening issues already agreed upon during the first

round of talks. This regrettable development forced the

Government to suspend the negotiations.

My Government believes that it is meaningless to

continue military activities after signing the peace

protocol. My Government will continue to fulfil its

responsibility for protecting our territorial integrity and

national security and for seeking solutions to the dire

6

humanitarian situation of our citizens affected by the

military activities of the rebels, as well as its

responsibility to secure peace and stability for all

citizens.

While I am setting out the important political and

constitutional developments in my country, let me

stress my Government's policy of consolidating

democracy and promoting human rights in Sudan,

particularly after the positive steps taken in the areas of

political freedom and freedom of the press. This course

of action opened the door wide for the participation of

all our citizens at the national level.

Sudan's foreign policy with regard to

international and regional organizations has been

guided by a clear vision based on well-defined

principles — namely, openness towards others,

effective participation in all international and regional

forums and constructive dialogue based on objectivity

and transparency. Inspired by these positions of

principle, Sudan looks forward to playing a

constructive role on issues of regional cooperation in

Africa and among its neighbours. Sudan is well

qualified to play such a role because of its unique

geopolitical situation and its human and natural

resources. With this policy, Sudan's relations with its

African and Arab neighbours have witnessed

successful breakthroughs in economic cooperation,

mutual trade and strategic partnerships.

The same applies to our interaction with the

United States, which is now entering its third year. The

American-Sudanese relationship has witnessed some

positive developments and our relations, which were

ruptured, have progressed to the point where the United

States is fully involved in efforts aimed at reaching a

peaceful settlement in the Sudan.

We are fully cognizant of the political and

economic weight of the United States, as well as its

effective role in all regional and international issues.

As such, we are keen to further enhance balanced

relations with the United States. Armed with faith in

our just position with regard to the pending issues

between the two countries, we remain confident that

our relations with the United States will progress in the

near future and will be characterized by cooperation, as

long as both sides continue to remain committed to a

policy of dialogue rather than confrontation.

We are also confident that an in-depth dialogue

will lead us to consolidate trust between the two

countries in a manner that will spare us the bitterness

of the past. The unfortunate case of the Al-Shifa

pharmaceutical plant, which was falsely alleged to

produce chemical weapons, bears witness to the

significance of such a confidence-building process.

The end of the twentieth century witnessed many

wars and conflicts that preoccupied the international

community. The negative impact of globalization

continues to widen the gap between the countries of the

North and the South. Although considerable progress

has been achieved in international cooperation thanks

to qualitative improvements at the United Nations and

the commendable role played by its Secretary-General,

Mr. Kofi Annan, some issues and challenges continue

to preoccupy the conscience of the international

community. For this reason the reform process of the

United Nations, especially as regards the Security

Council, remains imperative.