Sudan, 2014

At the outset,

on behalf of the Republic of the Sudan, I would like to

convey to Mr. Sam Kutesa our sincerest congratulations

on his election as President of the General Assembly

at its sixty-ninth session. I also extend thanks and

appreciation to his predecessor, Mr. John Ashe, for

his wise and patient conduct of the deliberations of

the previous session. We hope that this session will

culminate in concrete results on important, universal

issues, in particular the achievement of the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) and the implementation

of the post-2015 development agenda, which is a major

topic of discussion at this session.

Today, I address the Assembly at a time when the

Sudan is on the threshold of an important new phase of

comprehensive political participation that excludes no

party, faction or group. On 27 January, His Excellency

the President of the Republic of the Sudan, President

Omer Al-Bashir, launched an initiative for an inclusive

national dialogue, calling on the representatives of

the Sudanese people to sit at the same table to discuss

six major priorities: unity and peace, the economy,

fundamental freedoms and rights, their identity,

foreign relations and the issues of governance and

the implementation of the outcomes of the national

dialogue.

The President’s appeal enjoyed an unprecedented

response on the part of all political forces in the Sudan

and the international community in view of the fact that

both the Government and the opposition were convinced

that dialogue was the only option at that time, as agreed

by the people of the Sudan. There followed a succession

of organizational and procedural consultations in order

to translate the statement of His Excellency the President

into concrete steps. The initiative even found a positive

response among the armed groups that still existed. I

would like to affirm the State’s intention to move the

dialogue forward in the hope of achieving a national

consensus on the political future of the country.

In that regard, we greatly appreciate the ongoing

efforts of the African Union and the African Union

High-level Implementation Panel on the three major

political, security and economic tracks. We call on

the international community to promote a positive and

constructive role in support of the Sudanese economy,

in particular by lifting the unilateral sanctions, and by

cancelling the Sudan’s accumulated debt, in line with

the aspirations for broader political participation.

The Sudan has continued to play an effective

and positive role at the regional level on the African

continent, with a view to establishing peace and

stability in neighbouring States. When a conflict

broke out in the Republic of South Sudan, the Sudan

adhered to the principle of non-interference in the

internal affairs of that country. The Sudan was the first

State to provide humanitarian aid to those affected in

South Sudan, and continues to do so. The Sudan is

participating effectively with the Intergovernmental

Authority on Development so as to put an end to the war

and to conclude a reconciliation agreement between the

two parties to the conflict in South Sudan. My country

has received more than 100,000 internally displaced

persons from South Sudan.

In that context, we recall the Sudan’s constructive

efforts for the restoration of peace and stability in the

Central African Republic, thereby complementing other

international and regional efforts. The Sudan is also

actively working with Libya’s neighbours in assisting

the Libyan parties to reach an agreement on a solution

to the Libyan crisis. Internationally, I underscore the

trilateral cooperation among the Sudan, Ethiopia and

the Arab Republic of Egypt in order to ensure the

common enjoyment of the waters of the Blue Nile and

to avert any negative repercussions in that country.

In that regard, we also stress the efforts of the

Sudan in the area of border control and demarcation

with neighbouring States in order to strengthen the

border posts and border monitoring and security

and to prevent transnational crime, including illegal

immigration and the illegal transfer of small arms

and light weapons. In that context, we appreciate the

experience of the joint border forces of the Sudan and

Chad, the Sudan and the Central African Republic, and

the Sudan and Libya as models of successful regional

security cooperation between neighbouring States in

the interests of peace and stability. In that connection, I

would like to recall that in mid-October 2014, the Sudan

will host a conference, in partnership with Italy, the

European Union and the African Union, on preventing

illegal immigration, smuggling and human trafficking.

Concerning the situation in the Middle East, the

question of Palestine has continued to present a real

challenge for the international community for decades.

It has now reached a stage that requires the exceptional

and prompt action of the international community in

order to contain the situation and to move it forward

towards sustainable peace in the Middle East, through

the achievement of the legitimate and urgent demands

of the Palestinian people, in particular the protection

and reconstruction of what the Israeli war machine has

destroyed. The entire world’s ongoing disregard for the

genocidal war in Palestine and its failure to intervene to

protect the Palestinians and their rights fuel extremism

in the region and throughout the world. As long as

the Palestinian people opt for a peaceful solution, it is

imperative to support that direction in order to prevent

despair from spreading and the pursuit of destructive

solutions.

We fully accept and support the theme of the

post-2015 development agenda as a major topic for

discussion at this session. However, there remain only

a few months until the end of 2014 and we still have not

achieved all the MDGs. We nevertheless remain very

hopeful that we can overcome the obstacles that have

impeded us from achieving those Goals and that the

deliberations will culminate in a thorough preparation

for the development of viable post-2015 sustainable

development goals.

In the United Nations Millennium Declaration

(resolution 55/2), adopted in 2000, the Heads of State

and Government unanimously agreed a set of principles

and goals that laid the foundation for an international

partnership to put an end to people’s suffering and

poverty. The year 2015 was designated as the deadline

for eradicating poverty and for ensuring well-being.

However, the achievements reached on the eve of the

end of 2014 are still short of our aspirations, since

poverty, suffering, need, environmental deterioration

and unemployment persist.

The agreement of the world’s leaders with regard

to mitigating poverty requires that the obstacles to

achieving such development be overcome. However, the

development partners that drafted the Declaration have

adopted actions that run counter to its provisions and

to human rights. Such coercive measures as unilateral

sanctions outside the framework of international

legitimacy have flagrantly damaged the content of

the Millennium Declaration. That has had an adverse

impact on the noble principles and purposes of the

Declaration.

Indications of the current situation in human

development are that the Sudan has achieved concrete

progress in several fields, especially in peace, health

care, education and the standard of living. While

acknowledging uneven degrees of progress between

rural and urban areas, the Sudan has implemented a

federal system to promote the role of local communities.

However, such progress has been greatly damaged as a

result of coercive and unilateral measures illegally and

unjustifiably imposed against the Sudan, which have

aggravated and delayed initiatives, thereby negating

the Sudan’s role, and which continue to shackle the

country’s economy. In that regard, I recall that the

international consensus, achieved after the referendum

in South Sudan that led to the separation of South Sudan,

had been to cancel the Sudan’s debts. A number of

States were assigned to do so in order to promote peace

and development after the end of the war. However, that

agreement has not been implemented so far.

In the Sudan, in the context of our established

commitment to the MDGs, we have formulated the

required policies, which have gone a long way towards

promoting several poverty-eradication projects and

initiatives, such as the establishment of a funding

portfolio for small families and those with limited

income; programmes to recruit graduates and young

people in capital projects; the promotion of the role

of women in governance and management; and the

strenghtening of the role of the zakat fund in promoting

quick and short-term funds and other projects, which

have resulted in helping thousands of families to play

a productive role in paying the zakat. That is now

under consideration by the Organization of Islamic

Cooperation, so that it can be applied throughout the

Islamic States.

However, we must affirm from this rostrum

the importance of the commitment to a common

responsibility in achieving development objectives,

because the international community must support

and assist developing countries, especially the least

developed, which represent the segment more in need

of support and capacity-building. That is why, in the

light of declining development assistance, we hope that

deliberations at this session culminate in our taking

practical steps in financing development for developing

countries, especially those emerging from conflict. On

the basis of those measures and in order to guarantee

serving the objectives of development, my delegation

feels it important to include the following requirements

in the post-2015 development agenda.

First, we should consider debt cancellation, providing

the necessary funding and renouncing discrimination

and exclusionary political considerations. Secondly,

we should facilitate the transfer of development-

related technology and information through advanced

communications technology. Thirdly, we should

suspend coercive measures, sanctions and all kinds of

illegal measures imposed unilaterally by States outside

the framework of international legitimacy. Fourthly,

we should launch feasible initiatives in North-South

relations, such as funding food-security projects,

where my country can play a pioneering and effective

role in their success. Fifthly, we should help the United

Nations and its various organs to play an effective role

in achieving their desired development objectives by

providing the mechanisms enabling them to do so.

This year’s general debate coincides with the

United Nations Climate Summit, the outcomes of which

we hope will provide a strong impetus for the current

efforts to address climate change and to turn the grave

challenge facing humankind into an opportunity for

joint action in order to achieve a binding international

commitment to supplement the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change, take

practical steps towards a green economy, and reduce the

carbon emissions that threaten the safety of our planet.

In that regard, the Sudan, a State affected by the climate

change phenomenon, accords special importance to

the environment issue. We recall that the drought and

desertification that have hobbled Africa north of the

equator are the living examples of the effcts of climate

change, which have led to tribal conflicts over sources

of water and pasture. The Sudan’s involvement in the

United Nations Environment Programme over the past

40 years has been consistent with our concern in that

regard.

The Sudan remains in an effective global

partnership in the fight against terrorism at the national

level. We have come a long way in harmonizing our

laws with international legislation and in working with

international law and instruments relevant to fighting

terrorism. We commit ourselves to those international

laws and reaffirm our commitment against all forms

and manifestations of terrorism. At the same time, we

condemn any attempt to identify terrorism with any

religion, race or culture and call for the redoubling of

efforts to enhance international and regional cooperation

to stand up to terrorism. The phenomenon of terrorism

can be addressed and overcome only through a balanced

international system based on equality and respect

for the established principles of international law and

the Charter of the United Nations. In that context, we

feel that any unilateral action based on politicizing

terrorism will not eliminate but exacerbate it. There are

numerous instances supporting that conclusion.

In conclusion, the Sudan affirms that international

and regional security is an integrated, interconnected

system and that the Organization has invested enormous

efforts and resources in peacekeeping operations. It is

now time to do so, and we have significant experience

in that regard. It is time for the Organization to invest

in peacemaking and peacebuilding by supporting

developing countries and building the capacities of least

developed countries so that they can achieve the MDGs

and peace and development can supplement each other.