Tanzania, 1998

On

behalf of the delegation of the United Republic of

Tanzania, and on my own behalf, allow me to extend to

Mr. Didier Opertti our sincere congratulations on his

unanimous election as President of the General Assembly

at its fifty-third session. To his predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy

Udovenko, I should like to convey our deep appreciation

for the exemplary manner in which he presided over the

last session.

My delegation also wishes to take this opportunity to

commend the Secretary-General for the dedication he has

demonstrated in guiding our Organization through one of its

most challenging periods, as we seek to reform and

revitalize it and to restore its focus on the economic, social

and development agenda — the very heart of its mission.

The reform of the United Nations is a course we have

set for ourselves. Indeed, the reform we desire cannot be an

end in itself; rather, it is a means to better enable our

Organization to carry out its mission efficiently and more

effectively. Therefore, our efforts must be directed not only

at placing the development problems we face on the global

agenda, but also at strengthening the concrete contribution

of the United Nations in the development field and resisting

any attempts at withdrawal in this area. For it is in the area

of development that the challenge to the United Nations is

most critical, and it is for this reason that we believe the

Organization should continue to be involved, and its role be

strengthened.

My delegation strongly shares the general desire of

Member States to strengthen the role of the Security

Council, as well as to review its composition. We also

share disappointment about the degree of progress we have

been able to achieve so far. However, progress on this

matter can only be made after we reach agreement on the

fundamental principles involved and how we can move

together in the direction of implementing that agreement.

Tanzania, and indeed Africa, has made its position

clear: that we desire an expanded, representative and

democratized Security Council in which each Member is

given a rightful role to play. Africa, as the largest group,

demands and deserves no fewer than two permanent seats

in an appropriately expanded Council. At the moment, we

must place the emphasis on reaching agreement on the

principle and extent of expanding the Council, and not

elsewhere.

An effective United Nations is a matter of as much

great concern to my country as it is to all Member States.

The effectiveness of our Organization depends, to a

considerable extent, on its being financially stable. It is

sad that the financial situation of our Organization has

become increasingly precarious. Cash balances continue

to be dangerously low, the timing and amount of inflows

continue to be unpredictable, and the Organization is

unable to meet its commitments on time. In other words,

a bad financial situation has persisted and become

increasingly rigid. We are all aware of the fact that this

difficult financial situation has been brought about and is

being exacerbated by the non-payment of outstanding

assessed contributions on the part of some Member

States, especially the major contributor, for reasons of

political expediency. We urge them to pay on time, in full

and without qualification.

On 7 August this year, the American embassy in my

country was the target of a terrorist bombing deliberately

planned and callously executed to cause maximum

damage. The attack in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, claimed

the lives of 10 innocent and unsuspecting Tanzanians,

injured over 70 people and caused extensive damage to

property. A similar and almost simultaneous bombing of

the American embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, brought about

far greater loss of life and destruction of property.

In the wake of the attack, many friends here sent us

messages of condolence and solidarity. Some of them

extended financial and material support to help us meet

the requirements of treating the victims of the bombing,

as well as to help with the investigations. I would like to

reiterate the gratitude of the people and Government of

Tanzania to all those Governments, organizations and

individuals who have expressed solidarity with us or

extended material support following that tragic terrorist

bombing. Of particular mention here are the people and

Government of the United States of America, who

extended medical support and assisted in the

investigations through the Federal Bureau of Investigation

(FBI).

Terrorism is a heinous crime against humanity. It is

cruel, indiscriminate and, above all, wanton and senseless.

Whatever cause may have prompted the perpetrators to

resort to it, we do not believe that it is any way

justifiable. It is the most rational way neither of

4

expressing one’s indignation, nor of dealing with one’s socalled enemy. Instead, from the moral and political

standpoint, acts of terrorism lead to the alienation of the

perpetrators, incite hatred and so, deservedly, earn them

outrage and condemnation. Invariably, terrorism reduces the

number of sympathizers and adds to the list of opponents.

It is a worthless recourse — indeed, a misadventure which

common sense demands to be abandoned now.

The bombings brought home a number of realities,

namely, that terrorism is a global problem and that no

country is safe from its menace. It also reminded us that,

just as terrorism has a global reach, so must the fight

against it be concerted and global. The world must

therefore make it quite clear to the perpetrators of these

heinous crimes that terrorism will be answered with swift

and decisive action to bring those responsible to justice and

that they will find no solace or refuge anywhere.

Thanks to international cooperation and partnership,

the investigations into those terrorist bombings are on

course and arrests have been made. In fact, two people

have already appeared in court in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania,

charged with committing acts of terrorism and murder,

thanks to cooperation between Tanzanian investigators, the

FBI and several other countries and organizations. We need

to strengthen that cooperation in order to bring all of those

responsible to justice and ensure that terrorism is

comprehensively dealt with. In this regard, we should

strengthen international legal regimes against terrorism.

Three months ago in June, world leaders met here in

New York and addressed the world drug problem, another

international criminal question which deserves global

action. The objective was to commit themselves to fighting

the demand for illicit drugs, the manufacture of

psychotropic substances and the diversion of precursors

within precise time-frames. The Political Declaration and

the Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Drug Demand

Reduction that world leaders adopted at the end of the

special session were the first agreements ever aimed

exclusively at examining individual and collective problems

arising from drug abuse. Just like terrorism, drugs are an

international menace which must be dealt with through

global cooperation and partnership.

On 12 December this year, we shall be celebrating the

fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human

Rights, which was adopted by the General Assembly on 10

December 1948. The celebration of the fiftieth anniversary

is a fitting occasion for all of us to look critically at our

record in the protection and promotion of human rights.

This is the time for us to ask ourselves whether our

adherence to human rights agreements has made any

difference to the way we observe human rights. This is

the time for us to renew our commitment to all

international instruments to which we are party by

implementing the provisions of those agreements.

I wish I could preface my remarks on the Great

Lakes region on a more positive note than I did last year.

The situation in Burundi remains precarious,

notwithstanding the holding of the negotiating process

within the framework of the Arusha peace talks. We

continue to receive refugees from Burundi, as the security

situation inside the country has not improved appreciably.

Yet, we are encouraged that the parties to the conflict

continue to demonstrate the disposition to a pacific

settlement and persist in dialogue. In a couple of weeks,

a further round of negotiations will convene in Arusha,

under the facilitation of Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere, to

thrash out the details of a settlement and strengthen the

undertakings already entered into during the last round of

talks.

We will continue to urge the parties to the conflict

in Burundi along the path of dialogue in the full

knowledge that Tanzania and, indeed, the region can only

help. The onus of delivering peace and sustaining it rests

squarely and solely on the people that country.

The situation in the Democratic Republic of the

Congo is very worrisome indeed. The conflict there, in

both its internal and external contexts, threatens to throw

that country and the region into prolonged anarchy and

war unless it is arrested now. The region, particularly

within the framework of the Southern African

Development Community (SADC) and the Organization

of African Unity (OAU), has expended efforts aimed at

securing a ceasefire in order to initiate a political process

to bring the conflict to a peaceful end. This was the spirit

of the Victoria Falls and Pretoria summits, as well as of

the SADC summit in Mauritius only a couple of weeks

ago. We are also appreciative of the efforts deployed by

Secretary-General Kofi Annan during the Non-Aligned

summit in Durban, South Africa, in the search for a

speedy end to the hostilities and the beginning of a

process of dialogue and negotiation.

My Government believes that anarchy and war in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo are not inevitable.

They can be avoided provided all the parties demonstrate

a sense of realism and a willingness to work on a

comprehensive settlement based on scrupulous respect for

5

the sovereignty and territorial integrity of that country; the

principle of a peaceful settlement of the conflict; full

respect for the rights of all the citizens of that country; and

the consideration of the legitimate security concerns of the

neighbouring countries.

My country will therefore continue, within this

framework and in the context of the mandate given to it by

the SADC summit meeting which took place in Mauritius

recently, to urge all the parties involved to bring an

immediate end to the hostilities and to facilitate the

commencement of negotiations aimed at securing an

understanding on the ceasefire and its monitoring, troop

withdrawals and the internal dialogue, which is so critical

to the long-term security, peace, stability and unity of that

country. I urge the international community to support the

regional efforts now under way to avert catastrophe in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo.

My delegation is equally concerned about the EritreaEthiopia border conflict, which has brought these two sister

republics and fraternal peoples into a war which has already

claimed many lives and huge damage to property. We

continue to urge the two countries to exercise restraint and

consider initiatives, particularly those of the OAU, aimed at

diffusing tension and finding a peaceful solution to the

border conflict.

These two countries, which have endured decades of

conflict, know the destruction and pain which war can

engender, and they owe it to themselves and to peace in

Africa to ensure that nothing is done to aggravate the

situation and reignite military confrontation. We also urge

them to give mediation a chance. After all, it is in dialogue

that both sides of the argument can be heard, and it is in

dialogue that mechanisms for enduring peace can be

negotiated and put in place.

The instability in the Great Lakes area continues to be

the source of refugees in the region. Tanzania has hosted

thousands of them, and it seems we will continue to do so

because of the deterioration of the political situation in

some countries. The exercise to repatriate refugees from the

Democratic Republic of the Congo began in October last

year and was proceeding well. By June this year, 48,658

Congolese refugees had been repatriated. There were

47,857 remaining, but the repatriation programme was

going well.

However, with the outbreak of civil strife in the

Congo, the exercise has stalled and new refugees are once

again streaming into Tanzania. In the two months of the

new conflict in that country, we have already received

about 10,000 new refugees. As part of the international

community and a responsible member of the United

Nations, Tanzania will continue to meet its international

obligation of hosting these refugees, and about 200,000

refugees more from Burundi. But we must confess that

because of various circumstances, our perseverance is

wearing out and our hospitality should not be considered

open-ended.

While appealing for increased support and assistance

for our country for hosting refugees, we call upon the

international community to exert great efforts to deal with

the root cause of the refugee problem. Many times before

in this Assembly and other forums, the international

community has spoken of and committed itself to helping

the refugee-producing countries address the root cause of

the displacements. I regret that this has remained an

unfulfilled intention. I always wonder why there has been

so much talk about it and little is being achieved.

Today, we see latent reluctance to engage those

countries in sustained political dialogue requiring them to

take responsibility for their refugee-generating policies.

We see greater preparedness to rationalize their actions in

the name of humanitarianism. At times the host country

has been the object of undue pressure to make more

concessions or even of unjustified blame and accusations.

It is very frustrating indeed. This is not the way to assist

refugee-producing countries to come to terms with their

internal problems and spare others the unending burden of

hosting refugees. We need to emphasize the closure of

those factories which produce refugees, as we do meeting

the needs of those innocent refugees who are the

products.

It is in this light that I ask the Assembly and the

international community to encourage the countries of the

Great Lakes to resolve the underlying political conflicts

of the region and to call for mechanisms for greater

burden-sharing in a way that will ease strain on the

resources of the countries which have borne the brunt of

hosting refugees.

The peace process in Angola is, to our utmost regret,

moving dangerously towards collapse. While the Lusaka

Protocol may still be salvaged, we strongly condemn

UNITA for its blatant violations of both the agreement

and relevant Security Council resolutions. The people of

Angola need and deserve the peace they have been

waiting for for so long. The international community must

hold UNITA and its leadership responsible for their

6

failure to fully implement their obligations under the Peace

Accords, thus frustrating the successful outcome of the

peace process. Tanzania will support any efforts by this

Assembly which will ensure that peace obtains in Angola.

The search for a peaceful settlement in Somalia has

not borne fruit yet. The country remains divided into

sectors, each held by a warlord. We support the efforts of

the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD),

within the terms of the Sodore agreement, as well as those

of the OAU Chairman and Secretary-General, in searching

for a solution in Somalia. We support the efforts to hold a

consultative meeting to bring together various groups of

people, including individuals, businessmen and community

groups, in order to get views and proposals in addition to

those of political parties.

Another long-standing issue is the question of Western

Sahara. We hope that the referendum will go ahead as

planned on 7 December of this year. Tanzania calls on the

United Nations to ensure that the preparations are well

executed so that justice will prevail, especially in deciding

who should vote in the referendum.

We regret that the situation in the Middle East

continues to be characterized by tension and continued

denial to the Palestinian people of their right to full selfdetermination and to a homeland of their own, due to the

refusal by Israel to honour its obligations towards the peace

process. The Israeli policy of territorial expansion, in utter

violation of the letter and spirit of those commitments,

stands to undermine the prospects for the permanent status

negotiations leading to agreement for peace in the area. We

call upon the Israeli Government to abandon its

obstructionist policies and to resume dialogue. In this

regard, my Government is encouraged by the high-level

consultations which are currently taking place between the

leaders of Palestine and Israel. We hope they will lead to

overcoming the present impasse in the peace process.

My delegation has welcomed the recent breakthrough

in the long-standing conflict between the Libyan Arab

Jamahiriya on the one hand, and the United States and the

United Kingdom on the other, over the Lockerbie incident,

which culminated in the adoption of Security Council

resolution 1192 (1998). It remains our fervent hope that

agreement will be reached soon on the trial arrangements so

that the sanctions imposed upon Libya can be quickly

lifted.

The Korean Peninsula remains an area of tension and

unpredictability. We continue to believe that durable peace

and eventual unification can be attained only through

dialogue. We therefore urge the parties and the

international community to support this course.

We welcome the agreement reached between the

Governments of Portugal and Indonesia to address the

question of East Timor. We urge the two Governments to

expand the dialogue they have initiated so that the wishes

of the East Timorese people can be fulfilled.

Africa is faced by a number of devastating conflicts.

It accepts the primary responsibility for bringing them to

an end and for elaborating mechanisms for enduring

peace in the continent. It is in fulfilment of that

responsibility that the OAU has taken a leading role in

searching for solutions. This the organization has done in

partnership with its subregional groups of countries and

organizations, as was the case with Liberia, Sierra Leone

and now in Burundi, Somalia, the Comoros and Lesotho,

among others. My Government continues to believe in the

centrality of the OAU in the search for solutions to

African problems. At the same time, we also believe that

where necessary, the OAU and the African continent

deserve the support of the international community and of

the United Nations in particular.

In this regard, once again wish to pay tribute to the

Security Council for the initiative it took a year ago in

having a regular ministerial debate on Africa, the result of

which was the report of the Secretary-General on the

causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and

sustainable development in Africa. We applauded the

Secretary-General for that report and we do so again

today. We could not agree more with his observation that

“it is the persistence of poverty that is impeding the

full promise of peace for all of Africa’s peoples. The

alleviation of poverty must be the first aim of our

efforts. Only then — only when prosperity and

opportunity become real — will every citizen, young

or old, man or woman, have a genuine and lasting

stake in a peaceful future for Africa — politically,

economically and socially.”

Indeed, our illustrious Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi

Annan, has underscored two important facts here. One,

that a poor man, a hungry man, has no peace. Two, only

when prosperity and opportunity become real will Africa

take its rightful place in the global economy. Africans,

more than anyone else, recognize that they bear the

responsibility to move towards that noble objective. They

need the support of the international community.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda,

which my country is privileged to host, has been working

under challenging circumstances. During the past 12 months

it has made commendable progress. Regrettably, more

attention has been attracted by the difficulties it has had to

confront than what it has achieved. My Government

remains strongly committed to supporting the Tribunal. We

are also keenly aware that, just as we have to play our part,

the international community must also lend its firm support

to the Tribunal to enable it to discharge its mandate and

assist, as quickly as it should, in the healing process in

Rwanda. The recent judgements by the Tribunal constitute

a milestone towards that end. They are a landmark we

should welcome and build on.

The adoption in Rome of the Statute for the

International Criminal Court is a welcome step towards

bridging a critical gap in both international criminal law

and international humanitarian and human rights law. My

delegation believes that the establishment of the Court will

be a concrete assurance of our profound concern about

respect for and protection of the humanity we all share. It

represents an important assurance that individuals, whether

as leaders or otherwise, will be accountable and therefore

that impunity will not go unpunished. Indeed, the

establishment of the Court will be a legacy of our

commitment to the pursuit of justice, and could well go

down as one of the most momentous decisions of the

twentieth century.

It is in the context of the pursuit of justice that we

must, however, mention what in our view is the most

serious failure of the Rome Conference. At a time when

some financial institutions are making, albeit belatedly,

some form of reparation to the victims of the Nazi

Holocaust, it is to be regretted that the attribution of some

form of criminal responsibility to legal persons is a notion

conspicuously absent from the Statute. To the extent that

this was driven by considerations of corporate interest, it

speaks about our lack of real commitment to justice,

notwithstanding any measure of concern and grief we may

pretend to extend to victims.

Disarmament continues to be an important issue for

my country. The Treaty of Pelindaba establishing a nuclearweapon-free zone in Africa is testament to the resolve of

Africa to pursue the cause of nuclear disarmament. While

it is easy to take exception to the recent events in South

Asia, we are keenly aware that international responses

remain the sole alternative in determining a preferable

course of action. We remain convinced that the Treaty on

the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is a

valuable international instrument for nuclear disarmament.

In the end, the only viable alternative for international

peace continues to be a commitment by all States to a

total and comprehensive nuclear disarmament.

The Assembly is meeting against the background of

a deteriorating international economic situation brought

about by the persistence of old problems and the

emergence of new ones. The situation has been

compounded by the challenges of adjusting to a rapidly

liberalizing and globalizing world economy.

The majority of humankind resides in developing

countries, and Africa is the least developed of the

continents. It is in this regard that my delegation is

concerned that after a three-year period of positive

economic growth, Africa’s economic performance

slackened last year, thus demonstrating once again the

fragility of the recovery process in our region. A

combination of factors, including unpredictable weather

conditions, lack of financial resources and poor

infrastructure and technology, continue to adversely affect

production performances and therefore pose a major

constraint on efforts towards recovery, growth and

sustainable development.

Trade plays a crucial role in the economic

development of any country. Despite the slowdown in

production by African countries, the volume of their

exports has increased over time. In 1997, for example,

Africa’s volume of trade increased by 8 per cent, thereby

raising the continent’s total revenue from trade by 5.9 per

cent. However, it is sad to point out that despite all its

efforts, Africa’s contribution to world trade remains very

small and is actually decreasing. Limited access to

markets, high tariffs, low commodity prices and low

output deny African countries the benefits of the twin

process of globalization and trade liberalization. This is

unjust, because many of these countries are painfully

undertaking major reforms aimed at diversifying their

economies. There is therefore an urgent need to address

this problem if African countries are to be assisted to

increase their participation in global trade. Failure to do

so would mean that Africa will continue to be

marginalized and will stand to benefit little from the

recent years’ economic growth and global integration.

Tanzania calls for the establishment of an equitable,

secure, non-discriminatory and predictable multilateral

trading system that would enhance the trade development

8

possibilities of African countries, and especially of the least

developed among us.

The question of sustainable development of African

countries also continues to be seriously affected by the

heavy debt burden these countries endure. Tanzania is

among such affected countries, and is currently spending

almost one third of its revenue to pay its external debt,

which has now reached a disproportionate rate. My country

is currently implementing various debt management

programmes to reduce the effects of the debt on

Government operations. Despite the resource constraint, my

Government has set as a top priority the repayment of its

foreign debt, while continuing to negotiate with our

creditors on the possibility of rescheduling and/or cancelling

some of its debt.

Tanzania believes that the establishment by the World

Bank and the International Monetary Fund of the Heavily

Indebted Poor Countries Initiative is a step in the right

direction in this endeavour. However, as we have had

occasion to state in the past, we are concerned about the

conditionalities associated with this initiative. A way out

has to be found to ensure that the criteria are made more

objective so that as many least developed countries as

possible benefit from this otherwise important initiative.

What could be a more objective criterion for eligibility

under the Initiative than poverty itself? In the same manner,

we support the call for the holding of an international

conference on money and finance.

On the eve of the new millennium, Tanzania notes

with regret that poverty levels remain very high, despite the

observance of the International Year for the Eradication of

Poverty two years ago. This is unacceptable, and it is not

sustainable in the long run.

While those who have more can decide to turn a blind

eye or ignore our calls to look for a solution to this human

tragedy, it cannot be overemphasized that poverty is the

root cause of many problems that cut across the boundaries

between rich and poor. The interconnectedness of the world

leaves no country insulated from the problems of others.

Indeed, even if not in the same sense, the recent financial

crisis in Asia and its global ramifications serves to illustrate

this fact.

It has been argued that foreign direct investment is

more effective in bringing about development than official

development assistance. This could be so, but my

delegation is concerned that private capital flows are going

only to a few selected countries. This leaves the majority of

the poor developing countries little hope of extricating

themselves from the poverty trap.

Official development assistance is still an important

factor in assisting developing countries in their efforts to

upgrade infrastructure, which is necessary to attract direct

foreign investment. It is unrealistic, therefore, to expect

this enormous cost to be met by private capital or

domestic savings alone. We therefore urge the developed

countries to arrest the trend of diminishing official

development assistance and fulfil the official development

assistance target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product.

We would like to thank those partners that have reached

the official development assistance target of 0.7 per cent

of gross national product. Others should emulate the

example they have set.

Tanzania attaches great importance to South-South

cooperation as a means of attaining collective self-reliance

and complementing international development

cooperation. In this regard, my country will continue to

work very closely with other developing countries for the

realization of this goal, for we believe that this is the best

way for countries of the South to integrate themselves

into the global economy.

My delegation urges the international donor

community to extend its support to the South-South

cooperation arrangements initiated by the developing

countries. In particular, countries of the South wish to be

assisted in developing capacities in science and

technology that are suitable for local conditions.

We call on the United Nations system to continue

assisting countries of the South, and in particular the least

developed ones, to mobilize the necessary resources to

enable them to enter the twenty-first century of science

and technology with confidence.

Before concluding my statement, I would like to

extend our condolences and sympathy to the Government

and people of the many Caribbean island nations, as well

as the United States, who have been and continue to be

devastated by Hurricane Georges. Our hearts go out

particularly to the people of Cuba, the Dominican

Republic, Haiti and Puerto Rico, who have suffered the

most devastation.

In conclusion, I wish to reiterate our strong belief in

and commitment to the United Nations and its aspirations

and the principles of the Charter. However, we are

conscious of the fact that the strength, or otherwise, of the

9

United Nations will stem from the moral and material

support rendered by its Members. This is the challenge we

all have to pursue ceaselessly in the interests of

international peace and security and for the equitable

development of humanity.