Uganda, 1999

On behalf of the delegation

of Uganda, I should like to congratulate His Excellency Mr.

Theo-Ben Gurirab and all the Vice-Presidents on their

election to guide the deliberations of the General Assembly

at its last session of this century. I also thank the President

of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session for the

effective manner in which he discharged his responsibilities.

Allow me also to pay a well-deserved tribute to the Secretary-

General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his tireless efforts on behalf

of the United Nations, especially in the area of the

maintenance of international peace and security.

Uganda is pleased to welcome to membership of the

United Nation the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of

Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga.

At the end of this turbulent century and on the eve of

what my delegation hopes will be a more peaceful and

prosperous new century, the United Nations stands out as

the best hope for the future of humankind, international

cooperation and solidarity. Uganda believes that a strong

and effective United Nations is the best guarantor of

world peace and the most effective instrument to prevent

another world war. My Government is therefore

determined to play a constructive role in ensuring that the

United Nations of the twenty-first century will be

increasingly dedicated to the noble principles and

purposes enshrined in the Charter. Those principles and

purposes, which have stood the test of time, must

continue to serve the peoples of the world and guide this

world Organization.

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the

economic situation in Africa and the living conditions of

the vast majority of Africans are a cause of concern for

my delegation. By virtually any standard, the African

continent remains marginalized. The statistics for the

continent are dismal. With slightly over 10 per cent of the

world's population, sub-Saharan Africa accounts for a

meagre 1.5 per cent of world trade. The region receives

less than 0.6 per cent of total foreign direct investment.

Coupled with this is the fact that Africa's export earnings

have been on the decline due to a significant decrease in

the demand for primary commodities; Africa's terms of

trade have not improved; a crushing debt burden and a

serious lack of capacity to generate domestic savings have

worsened the economic situation. These negative trends

have increased the dependence of most sub-Saharan

African countries on official development assistance, but

official development assistance itself has also been on the

decline, falling from 0.33 per cent of the combined gross

national product of donors members of the Organization

for Economic Cooperation and Development in 1992 to

0.22 per cent in 1998. This is a far cry from the 0.7 per

cent target agreed upon by the international community in

the early 1970s.

The current state of economic globalization indicates

that Africa remains the least integrated continent and the

most marginalized economically. Africa has effectively

been locked out of the benefits accruing from

globalization. The challenge before the international

community is to adopt and implement, as a matter of

urgency, concrete measures to mitigate the negative

consequences of globalization on African economies. The

United Nations must take the lead in efforts to restructure

the international monetary system to make it more

responsive to the plight of African and other developing

countries. Uganda believes that fundamental restructuring

of the present international economic system is essential

to transform the world from a mere constellation of

wealthy cities surrounded by a galaxy of abject poverty

into a truly global village.

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The pivotal role played by transnational corporations

in this inequitable economic system demands that the

United Nations play a more active role in our collective

efforts to regulate the activities of these powerful non-state

actors. My delegation would like to propose the revival of

the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations

and the United Nations Commission on Transnational

Corporations for that purpose. The increasing control and

dominance exercised by global corporations over the world

economy has serious consequences for many of us. It is

time Governments, and not multinational corporations, set

the international agenda for economic cooperation and

development.

I would like to underscore Uganda's commitment to

uphold the tenets of human rights and fundamental

freedoms. We believe in the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights and all other international human rights

instruments. At the national level, Uganda has incorporated

the universal principles of human rights into the basic law

of the country, and we are committed to the principles of

good governance, transparency and accountability.

The world is aware of the great debate taking place in

Uganda about the process of our democratization. In

accordance with our Constitution, the people of Uganda

will exercise a free choice to determine their system of

governance in a referendum next year. I take this

opportunity to invite observers and others who may wish to

witness the referendum to do so when the time comes.

With regard to internal conflicts, Uganda has granted

a blanket amnesty to all who lay down their arms and

become part of civil society. An amnesty Bill is before our

Parliament, and in a very short time will be passed into

law.

I would be remiss if I did not emphasize Uganda's

commitment to the observance, in the region, of human

rights and fundamental freedoms. In 1994 the world was

witness to genocide in Rwanda in which an estimated 1

million people were massacred. A similar act was about to

be perpetrated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in

the course of 1997 and 1998. Apart from our legitimate

concerns about our national security and territorial integrity,

Uganda finds it unacceptable that gross violations of the

right to life should again be carried out in its

neighbourhood or anywhere else in the world.

It is vital for all of us to recognize the sanctity of the

right to life. We are glad to note that the evolution of

international law on human rights no longer condones

genocide under the guise of non-interference in a

country's internal affairs. The principle of non-interference

in the internal affairs of States has been so fundamentally

eroded that the international community should now

openly adopt a definitive convention which will permit

instant intervention in cases of massive threats to the right

to life.

In July 1998 the United Nations Conference of

Plenipotentiaries overwhelmingly adopted the Statute for

the establishment of an International Criminal Court.

Uganda has consistently identified itself with the entire

process which culminated in the adoption of the Court's

Statute. It was to many a triumphant moment for those

hitherto yearning for a world in which individual persons,

regardless of their socio-economic or political attributes,

would be held personally accountable for acts or

omissions resulting in genocide, war crimes and crimes

against humanity. At present work is under way in the

Preparatory Commission for the Court to define

aggression as a core crime. Once the Statute comes into

force, it holds humanity's best hope for a new world legal

order under which nobody, however high or low, can

engage in horrendous crimes with impunity.

We urge the international community to support our

efforts in the Great Lakes region focused on stopping,

averting and reversing progression towards further chaos

and restoring peace. Such support must include real

improvement of the socioeconomic wellbeing of our

peoples through debt cancellations, promotion of

democratic governance, adherence to sustainable human

rights standards and, above all, strengthening our regional

conflict- resolution mechanisms, peacemaking and peace-

building initiatives.

Throughout this year world attention has been

repeatedly drawn to the fact that citizens of the world are

about to enter a new millennium. I would like to share

with the Assembly Uganda's expectations for the new

century and millennium with regard to the role of the

United Nations.

We in Uganda recognize that the United Nations

played a pivotal role in the decolonization of Africa and

other parts of the world. The United Nations played an

equally vital role in the eradication of institutionalized

racial discrimination in southern Africa. For all these

efforts we are grateful.

The question arises as to what should be the vision

and goals of the United Nations through the next century.

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It is the view and expectation of the people of Uganda that

the focus of the United Nations should be the elimination

of poverty in Africa and the rest of the underdeveloped

world. The factors underlying underdevelopment have been

mentioned several times. However, implementation of

solutions has fallen short of expectations.

We urge the United Nations to adopt concrete

measures to deal with problems of the external debt burden,

illiteracy, disease and famine. We expect the United

Nations, through the World Trade Organization, to create a

more favourable international trading regime which can

promote fair competition and permit the ascendancy of

primary commodity producers from abject poverty to

reasonable wealth.

Uganda supports the heroic struggle of the Sahraoui

people for self-determination, and we look forward to the

holding of a referendum by the United Nations to enable

the people of that territory to freely determine their destiny.

My delegation would like to express deep appreciation to

the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and former United

States Secretary of State, Mr. James Baker, for their tireless

efforts in this regard. We appeal to the Government of the

Kingdom of Morocco to respect the verdict of the Sahraoui

people and to facilitate the implementation of whatever

decision they make.

The situation in the Great Lakes region, and

particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has

been cause for serious concern, not only to the countries in

the region, but also to the international community. On its

part, Uganda continues to view issues of peace and stability

in the region with the utmost seriousness, which they

deserve.

Uganda's desire for peace and stability is born out of

its conviction that without regional peace and security there

can be no meaningful economic development and social

well-being of its people. Uganda is hopeful that the

conflicts that today beset many countries in the region will

give way to peace and eventual socio-economic

transformation. We are also hopeful that, with the region's

resolve, we shall be able to surmount the challenges and

exploit the opportunities of the new millennium. Indeed,

sustained efforts are being made to put an end to the crisis

and contribute to the search for peaceful solutions to the

problems facing the region. And whereas efforts and

contributions towards peace in the region have traversed a

long and difficult road, there is optimism for the future.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the

countries in the region, with the support of the

international community, have been working tirelessly

towards promoting a peaceful solution to the crisis. We

acknowledge the regional efforts, under the leadership of

President Frederick Chiluba of Zambia, which culminated

in the signing of the ceasefire Agreement. I pay tribute to

all the parties concerned for this achievement and to all

well-wishers for their continued support for the peace

process. The Agreement was thoroughly negotiated to the

satisfaction of all the parties.

Uganda appeals to the international community to

assist in efforts to operationalize the Joint Military

Commission and the Political Committee, which are

organs of the Lusaka Agreement and the key to the

success of this Agreement and, therefore, to peace in the

subregion.

Uganda is committed to the implementation of the

Lusaka Agreement and believes that all the signatories to

the Agreement are committed to its success. Against this

background, it was unnecessary for this matter to be

included on the agenda of the current session of the

General Assembly. The Ceasefire Agreement essentially

covers the two primary causes of the conflict in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, namely, the external

and internal dimensions. Regarding the external

dimension, a mechanism was established to handle the

security concerns of the Democratic Republic of the

Congo and its neighbouring countries, including Uganda.

In particular, the Security Council was requested, in

collaboration with the Organization of African Unity, to

constitute, facilitate and deploy an appropriate

peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the

Congo to ensure implementation of the Agreement,

including the tracking down, disarming and documenting

of all renegade forces in the Democratic Republic of the

Congo.

Regarding the internal dimension, the Congolese

parties agreed to undertake political negotiations as a

result of which the parties are expected to conclude an

agreement leading to a new political dispensation in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the restructuring

and rebuilding of a new national army in the Democratic

Republic of the Congo and to the establishment and

strengthening of State administration over the entire

territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is

Uganda's hope that the inter-Congolese negotiations will

provide an opportunity for the Congolese parties to

address issues of good governance. Our desire for the

35

Congolese people to reach mutual understanding derives

from the fact that political instability in any neighbouring

country directly impinges on our own security and

economic development. We will look forward, therefore, to

the early beginning and success of the inter-Congolese

negotiations.

Regarding the conflict in the Sudan, Uganda supports

the ongoing peace initiative launched under the auspices of

the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD)

and with the facilitation of President Daniel arap Moi of

Kenya. As a neighbour and a member of IGAD, Uganda

has been working closely with the other countries in the

region in efforts aimed at a peaceful resolution of the

conflict. However, peace in that country remains elusive.

Uganda is convinced that the fundamental issue in the

Sudanese crisis is the link between state and religion. In a

multireligious and multicultural society such as the Sudan,

the only way to achieve good governance is to guarantee

freedom of worship, equality and respect for all.

At the bilateral level, we are concerned at the

increasing hostility towards Uganda from the Sudan, as

manifested in the consistent violation of Uganda's territorial

integrity and in active support for rebel groups that are

destabilizing us. Uganda has embraced and will continue to

embrace all initiatives aimed at reconciliation with the

Sudan, despite the fact that all previous initiatives have

failed. I would like to single out initiatives by former

President Rafsanjani of Iran, President Bakili Muluzi of

Malawi, President Qadhafi of Libya, former President

Mandela of South Africa and others — all these efforts

have come to naught.

The three East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania

and Uganda are very conscious of the fact that political

stability is a prerequisite for economic development and

have taken the necessary measures to achieve this objective.

The three countries, together with their partners in the

region, are engaged in regional peace efforts for Burundi,

the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

through organizations such as IGAD and the Southern

African Development Community. The three countries have

invested in peace in order to ensure regional stability

because of the recognition that peace and political stability

are vital if the region is to attract investments.

Today, our region has created a favourable

environment for foreign investment. There exists a very

strong political will to move the region towards closer

cooperation. We have harmonized many of our economic

policies, and a number of joint activities in support of

regional economic integration are being undertaken. The

three countries are now in an advanced stage of

cementing the relationship by signing a treaty that would

establish the East African Community before the end of

the year. We thank our development partners who have

been supporting our efforts towards regional economic

integration and look forward to continued cooperation,

especially in the area of infrastructure development and in

the field of capacity-building for the private sector, which

have been identified as the key areas.

In conclusion, I would like to state that Uganda

shares the vision of an African renaissance in which

African peoples participate fully in their systems of

governance and in the process of determining their

destiny. We believe that this is a recipe for rapid

economic development and therefore for the eradication

of poverty in Africa.