Sudan, 2005

I should

like to begin my statement with a quotation from the

Koran:

"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: for thy

Lord knoweth best" (The Holy Koran,

XVI:125).

Last year, I declared from this rostrum that

peace - the continuing strategic objective of the

Government of Sudan - was at hand. Today, from the

same rostrum, I would like to note that peace has

become a reality with the signing of the

Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the adoption of

the new Constitution. We have started to implement the

Agreement in accordance with a fixed timetable.

Unfortunately, as soon as we started to implement

the Agreement with our partners in the Sudan Peopleís

Liberation Movement (SPLM), we were faced with a

great tragedy: the death of John Garang, the first Vice

President of the Republic. With his passing, the

country has lost an invaluable partner and participant

in the peace process. It was not just a loss for the

Sudan, but a great loss for Africa and all peace-loving

people. Such tragedies are the true tests of our will,

and our brethren in the SPLM have responsibly come

through that crisis and difficult test, putting aside their

bitter shock and continuing to build a durable peace.

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement was not

limited solely to issues between the north and the

south. It set up a comprehensive framework for

resolving justly all the problems of our country. It has

established rules for a political regime that considers

citizenship to involve rights, duties and obligations -

a regime that is based on democracy, the rule of law,

good governance, respect for human rights and the

equitable division of wealth and power based on fair

standards that will ensure comprehensive peace.

We are fully committed to the letter and the spirit

of the Peace Agreement, and we accept and understand

the magnitude of our responsibility to fulfil it. We are

fully confident that bringing peace to the Sudan will

have a positive impact on regional stability and allow

the Sudan to continue to play its proper role within the

international community.

As we have begun to implement the Peace

Agreement, we call upon the international community

immediately to lift all commercial and economic

sanctions and restrictions, to cancel all of the Sudanís

external debt and to fulfil the pledges it made at the

Oslo conference. Such actions will provide support for

the Agreement and promote reconstruction and

development in the Sudan. In that context, we express

appreciation and gratitude to the United Nations for the

important role it has played in the implementation of

the Agreement, particularly the work of the Special

Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Jan

Pronk.

The people of Darfur are still not able to live in

conditions of peace. We will make every effort to

implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and

the Declaration of Principles adopted at Abuja, with a

view to bringing about that objective. We will continue

to cooperate with the international community in

improving the humanitarian and security situation,

which has already improved greatly. But that is not

enough. We hope to ensure complete stability in

Darfur. The Governmentís commitment to agreements

and arrangements entered into relating to the

achievement of a ceasefire and the improvement of the

security situation should be matched by a similar

commitment from the armed movements, which should

end their violations and agree to an immediate

ceasefire. The international community should

continue to put pressure on them to negotiate seriously

in order to achieve a peaceful solution to the problem.

My Government underlines the importance of

achieving definitive peace in Darfur as quickly as

possible. We have a three-track plan aimed at returning

Darfur to its proper situation. The first is the political

track, which is designed to resolve the root causes of

the dispute and to reach an agreement. The second

relates to the implementation of the voluntary

repatriation programmes. The third relates to the

disarmament, demobilization and reintegration

programmes. In the framework of those commitments,

the Government has encouraged reconciliation among

tribe and community leaders, which would help to

provide a solution to the root causes of the conflict.

In order to improve the security situation and

achieve a peaceful resolution of the conflict, the

Government is making every effort, with the

participation of the international community, to deal

with the urgent humanitarian problem and the problem

of internally displaced persons and refugees. We have

undertaken a number of development plans to deal with

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the dispute about resources, which represents one of

the main problems. In that context, the Government is

looking forward to entering into an effective

international partnership with a view to bringing about

those ambitious plans and establishing a special fund

for development and rehabilitation in Darfur similar to

that agreed to at the Oslo conference for the south.

In expressing its appreciation for the efforts of

the international community, the Sudan would like to

pay tribute to the active role of the African Union. We

call on the international community to continue to

assist and support that role.

The Sudan adopted a transitional Constitution in

July 2005, and the President and Vice-President will

exercise their mandate in conformity with its

provisions. We have established a Government of

National Unity, which will continue the transitional

process. We have begun this phase by conducting a

responsible dialogue with all members of the political

opposition, who continue to operate freely. The

transitional Constitution includes human rights

provisions ensuring respect for the rights, obligations

and fundamental freedoms of all Sudanese citizens. We

will continue to work with international organizations

in order to develop and promote human rights in the

country.

This is the last occasion on which I will speak to

the Assembly as Minister for Foreign Affairs of the

Sudan, because yesterday a new Minister for Foreign

Affairs, my brother Mr. Lam Akol, was appointed by

the Popular Movement. I extend to the General

Assembly my gratitude and appreciation for its

cooperation during my work as Foreign Minister of the

Sudan in the past several years.

Tragically, the Palestinian people are still under

Israeli occupation. The international community is

called upon to force Israel to halt its illegal practices in

the occupied Palestinian territories, to dismantle the

separation wall, to withdraw from all the Arab

territories that it occupied in 1967 and to allow the

Palestinian people to realize their legitimate rights,

including their right to an independent State, with

Al-Quds as its capital. The international community

should take action to bring about a comprehensive,

peaceful settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, in

accordance with the resolutions of international

legitimacy, the road map, the principle of land for

peace and the Madrid terms of reference.

The Sudan has participated in agreements aimed

at putting an end to nuclear proliferation. The conflict-

ridden Middle East should be a zone free from nuclear

weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

International justice and laws should apply in that

region, with no exceptions for any State, with a view to

ensuring stability and peace, emphasizing the rights of

peoples to use nuclear power for peaceful purposes,

particularly in scientific research. The Sudan supports

the right of all countries, including Iran, to use nuclear

power for peaceful purposes, in accordance with

International Atomic Energy Agency regulations.

The situation in Iraq is very unstable. The Iraqi

people, who are suffering greatly, need the

international community to help them to overcome the

crisis there. In this respect, we would like to

underscore once again our principled position that we

must preserve the sovereignty, unity and territorial

integrity of Iraq and ensure non-interference in its

internal affairs, with a view to bringing about stability

and peace and restoring normal living conditions there.

We call upon the international community to

contribute, as soon as possible, to the rebuilding of Iraq

and to support the transitional Government so as to

allow the Iraqi people to live in dignity on their land.

The African Union has set up policies and

mechanisms aimed at dealing effectively with the

dispute resolution and the establishment of stability on

that continent, which is rich in resources, including

human resources. Africa is continuing to use those

resources for development purposes, within the

framework of the New Partnership for Africaís

Development.

The first meeting of the International Conference

on the Great Lakes Region restored hope that peace,

stability and development can return to the region. We

hope that the second such summit will be held within

the next few months, and that it will result in a united

stance that will lead to peace, security and

development in the region. We were encouraged by the

meeting that was held on the sidelines of the High-

level Plenary Meeting with a view to preparing for a

second International Conference on the Great Lakes

Region.

In this context, I would like to refer to

Somalia - a very important African country, which is

trying to move beyond the bitterness of war and

conflict and to re-establish itself as a State. Somalia

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should receive the cooperation and support that it

needs from the international community, and from the

United Nations in particular.

Since the Millennium Summit in 2000, some

achievements have been made with a view to meeting

the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). But the

Goals have not been adequately achieved in Africa,

which still has to deal with poverty, disease,

underdevelopment and debt. As we meet here five

years after the first summit, we must pause and

consider what we have achieved and what we aspire to

achieve. We live in a world in which people have

varied standards of living and wealth. The rich have

become richer, and the poor have become poorer. The

gap between them is great, and there are enormous

paradoxes. There are very rich countries whose citizens

spend millions of dollars on weight loss, and there are

other poor countries that seek just a small fraction of

that amount to keep barely alive.

We take this opportunity to reaffirm, as agreed in

the framework of the Millennium Declaration, that we

must achieve the Millennium Development Goals in

order to create a better life for all humanity. Here, we

must point out that the Sudan has worked hard to attain

the goals and has made significant progress in reducing

poverty and increasing basic education levels, despite

the unjust siege and the long conflict in the southern

part of the country. All those efforts are reflected in

Sudanís 2004 MDG report.

In that context, we should stress the importance

of the total cancellation of debt. Debt is a great

hindrance to achieving the Development Goals in

Africa and in the least developed countries. Attaching

conditions to debt cancellation will only impede

development. Here, we must remind developed

countries of their commitments to financing for

development, in accordance with the Monterrey

Consensus.

An international partnership to achieve the MDGs

as envisaged in Goal 8, is essential. Unfortunately, the

main difficulty in achieving the Goals is the

establishment of such a partnership, which will not be

possible without allowing developing, and least

developed countries in particular, to integrate fully into

the international economy. Imposing unilateral

economic sanctions against developing countries

hinders free trade and investment. Financing and the

transfer of technology are among the other issues

encountered in efforts to achieve sustainable

development.

We live in a world of many challenges and

threats. The international community has recognized

that development, peace and security are closely

interconnected. The main challenges faced by the

international community today are maintaining

international peace and security and achieving

economic growth and development. Meeting those

challenges will be possible only in a collective world

led by an effective and capable United Nations.

The Sudan has actively participated in the

consultations on creating a framework for collective

action and on United Nations reform. We support

reform that is in accordance with the purposes and

principles of the Charter and the relevant provisions of

international law. We have emphasized the

establishment of a new human rights mechanism to

address the shortcomings - including politicization,

selectivity and double standards - that have prevented

the Commission on Human Rights from carrying out

its responsibilities. The Sudan believes that we should

consider establishing a new mechanism that deals with

the negative policies of the past and is committed to

the principles of equality among States and respect for

equitable geographical representation, in accordance

with the relevant provisions of the Charter. On the

basis of what the United Nations has successfully

achieved in the security, economic and social areas, we

should aspire to achieve the objectives of the High-

level Plenary Meeting and thus to create a peaceful and

safe world in which all of us will shoulder our

responsibilities.

Clearly, we all reject terrorism in all its forms and

manifestations and we stand together with others to

eliminate it; indeed, a counter-terrorism conference is

now being held in Khartoum to combat terrorism in

East Africa. What we reject are attempts to confuse

terrorism with the struggle of peoples for liberation and

independence and attempts to link terrorism to a

specific religion or culture. Terrorism is an

international scourge that is not limited to a specific

religion or culture, and we believe that any attempt to

confuse the issue could cause problems and weaken

our collective resolve to develop a comprehensive

strategy to combat it.

The Sudan will continue to be a messenger to

States, calling for a dialogue among cultures and

24

civilizations aimed at attaining humanityís objectives.

The international fight against terrorism must be based

on the Charter of the United Nations and the relevant

provisions of international law. In that context, the

Sudan calls for the holding of an international

conference to arrive at an agreed definition of terrorism

and stresses that the rejection of terrorism does not

mean that we should ignore the reasons behind it. We

must deal with the root causes of the problem if we are

to be successful in eradicating it.

In conclusion, the Sudan reaffirms its belief in

the purposes and principles of the Charter. We stress

our resolve to continue to work with the international

community to strengthen the Organization so that it can

efficiently carry out its role and mandate.