Djibouti, 2009

I would like to begin by

extending my warmest congratulations to the President

on his election to the presidency of the General

Assembly at its current session. I also take this

opportunity to place on record our sincere appreciation

of Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann for his efforts

and leadership during the sixty-third session. I wish as

well to commend the Secretary-General for his

comprehensive report on the work of the Organization

and for his tireless efforts and dedication in the cause

of international peace and security.

The current financial and economic crisis

affecting many countries around the globe, particularly

in the West, has reached the shores of Africa.

Originating in the West, the uncontrolled banking and

mortgage crisis, arising from over-leveraged subprime

lending schemes, burst into the open, destroying the

liquidity and survivability of many institutions in the

developed countries.

It was thought that, since Africa was not a player

in this sector, its financial institutions and its

economies would escape more or less unscathed. Such

was not to be; African difficulties have been

compounded. This crisis follows on the heels of the

food and energy crises and the challenges posed by the

impacts of climate change. The severity of the crisis on

poor countries cannot be underestimated. Poor

countries have no choice but to work hard to restore

strong growth and recover lost ground in order to move

towards internationally agreed development goals. In

this respect, it must be emphasized that the global

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crisis cannot be an excuse to avoid fulfilling existing

international aid commitments. In addition to timely

delivery, flexibility of resources and predictability, it is

critical that the aid be effective. Developing countries

need access to new funding, including credit and

liquidity facilities, infrastructure investment and

support for domestic financial systems.

Members of the General Assembly are by now

aware of the tense standoff that prevails in the northern

part of my country, following the unwarranted and

deliberately provocative incursion and occupation by

Eritrean forces of Djibouti’s sovereign territory at the

beginning of last year, 2008. This wholly reckless

action by Eritrea, a neighbour, provoked a mutual

military build-up, leading to serious clashes between

the two forces. In particular, the clashes of 10 to

12 June 2008 resulted in many deaths, countless

wounded and prisoners taken on both sides, and this

merits a special note.

My country embarked upon a calm and prudent

policy that deliberately allowed sufficient time for the

possibility of comprehensive bilateral contacts at every

level in order to resolve hostilities amicably and

peacefully. Our efforts fell consistently on deaf ears,

accompanied by rebuffs, blatant denials, and

dismissive and condescending utterances. Regional

organizations, heads of State and Government, and the

United Nations have all attempted to initiate dialogue;

these efforts have gone for naught with Eritrea, which,

in its usual brazen manner, has gone so far as to deny

even the existence of any tension in the area, despite

the clear, far-reaching and unmistakable conclusions of

the United Nations fact-finding mission. Indeed, the

mission’s report represents a damning indictment of the

regime’s deceptive and erratic behaviour.

The Security Council has consistently condemned

Eritrea’s forceful occupation of my country’s territory,

namely, Ras Doumeira and Doumeira Island, and in

resolution 1862 (2009) of 14 January 2009, demanded,

inter alia, that Eritrea withdraw its forces and all their

military hardware to the status quo ante; acknowledge

its border dispute with Djibouti; engage actively in

dialogue to defuse the tension and in diplomatic efforts

leading to a mutually acceptable settlement; and to

abide by its obligations as a Member of the United

Nations.

The resolution required Eritrea to comply

immediately, and, in any case no later than five weeks

after the resolution’s adoption date of 14 January.

Eritrea, however, rejected the resolution the next day.

There the matter has essentially remained, in the light

of the series of requests made by the Secretariat for

more time to pursue contacts, particularly with the

Eritrean authorities. As everyone now realizes, it is a

futile exercise to seek a credible response from Eritrea,

whose intentions have always been to procrastinate on

various pretexts while firmly entrenching itself in the

occupied territory.

As Djibouti has repeatedly stated, the occupied

areas of Ras Doumeira hill, which overlooks the

Bab-El-Mandeb strait, and Doumeira Island, which is

in the same Red Sea area, are situated in one of the

busiest shipping lanes in the world. The militarization

of this key strategic maritime route does not augur well

for peace in the region or for international shipping and

investment.

The dispute between Eritrea and Djibouti must

not be allowed to fester any longer. It must be resolved

along the lines of Security Council resolution 1862

(2009) without further equivocation, confusion or

deliberate procrastination. Inaction sets a dangerous

precedent that others will surely follow in the future:

deny and refuse to cooperate. The Council must not

appear to be appeasing Eritrea indefinitely. It is a

dangerous and an unpredictable regime that so far has

not shown any respect for international norms and

behaviour. The Council must act now, using all means

at its disposal.

Once again, the situation in Somalia is tense,

tenuous and unpredictable. Somalia’s plight is

sickening, hopeless and disgusting, to say the least.

Here we have a transitional Government that enjoys the

full backing of the international community. Yet

paradoxically, that same entity is woefully lacking the

money and manpower that would enable it to confront

the deadly insurrection that has paralysed the whole

country. Mogadishu, the capital, is essentially a war

zone. Most of its civilian population has been

displaced, having fled the never-ending anarchy,

abuses, impunity and other egregious crimes against

humanity. The collateral damage to the civilian

population is horrendous — in short, unquantifiable.

Coupled with that, the Somali people are facing an

extreme drought that threatens a widespread food

shortage and starvation, which would necessitate major

international emergency food aid.

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The presence of African Union peacekeepers has

been a major factor in keeping the transitional

Government in power, but they are continuously under

attack, and the need for more troops, as well as for the

training and equipping of sufficient Somali forces,

cannot be overemphasized. Indeed, there is tremendous

goodwill towards the current Transitional Federal

Government, in particular towards Sheikh Sharif

Sheikh Ahmed, the current President, who enjoys both

trust and international credibility. Unfortunately, that

has not been matched by a commensurate support in

terms of resource flows consistent with the promises

and pledges made to the Government. Resources make

the difference in the outcome of hostilities.

All the same, life in Somalia goes on, and with

resources that country would be able to start addressing

the critical urgent problems and issues of security,

governance and job creation. Addressing the terrible

drought now battering the country and crippling its

already low food stock is a top priority. We must all

fulfil our obligations to enable the Government to

function. No doubt that is a tall order, but that is what

it takes and that is the challenge that we all have to

confront.

We are well aware of the flow of arms, resources

and foreign fighters into Somalia and of the threat that

Al-Qaida might establish a beachhead there. One can

say that the time has come for all well-meaning

Somalis, as well as peoples and Governments of

goodwill everywhere, to step forward in order to create

a lasting and stable environment for the people of

Somalia. We owe that to the people of Somalia.

The stage appears set for dramatic developments

in the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories,

which is by far the longest occupation in modern times.

As we all know, the United Nations Fact-Finding

Mission investigating last winter’s three-week war in

Gaza has issued its report. While both the Israelis and

the Palestinians were strongly criticized, the

condemnation of Israel by a United Nations body was

unprecedented, stating that the result was

“a deliberately disproportionate attack designed

to punish, humiliate and terrorize a civilian

population, radically diminish its local economic

capacity both to work and provide for itself, and

to force upon it an ever increasing sense of

dependency and vulnerability”. (A/HRC/12/48,

para. 1893)

The peace process is frozen and there is no hope

in sight of jump-starting it soon, as the new Israeli

Government is intent on pursuing its business-as-usual

policy of more settlements and refusal to engage in a

process that addresses the final status issues.

My country is keen to have peace and security

soon restored in the northern part of the sisterly nation

of Yemen, within the framework of its territorial

integrity, sovereignty and unity.

One cannot fail to notice the number of countries

that have raised the issue of the representation on and

composition of the Security Council. It is undeniable

that we are in a different world from that which existed

in the aftermath of the Second World War. Given the

critical need to have a global body capable of

addressing, in some manner, the challenges of an

evolving international landscape, the issue is of

concern to many countries. For the United Nations to

retain its credibility and authority, it must continue to

be relevant. New norms have risen, while whole

continents lack permanent representation, let alone the

power of the veto.

Once again, it must be said that Africa, the

continent with the largest number of countries, needs to

have a permanent voice in the conduct of world affairs.

We see no reason to change our position, which we

noted in 2007, that Africa seeks no fewer than two

permanent seats, with all the prerogatives and

privileges of a permanent member, including the right

of the veto, in addition to five non-permanent seats. Of

late, things have been changing for the better in much

of Africa, but the current disastrous international

economic crisis was not of our making, as is true for

the fallout from global warming. They and other crises

underscore the urgency of our meaningful involvement

in the United Nations and in world affairs. Permanent

seats and increased membership on the Security

Council would be in keeping with those growing

international demands.

Time and space do not allow us to consider in any

depth a number of other critical issues confronting

developing countries. There should be some mention,

however, of the harm to countries’ trade and

development stemming from the protective tariffs of

the industrialized West. The effort to provide subsidies

for a few large farming operations, blocking

competition from farmers of the developing world,

only hurts the latter. Perhaps cotton is a good example.

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There is also the stalemate in the Doha Round

trade talks. Those discussions must reopen in earnest,

with the commitment to reach a satisfactory

conclusion. Lastly, we need to highlight the concern

regarding the Millennium Development Goals and the

likelihood that they will not be achieved by 2015 in

most countries. In sum, that is tragic for so many lives.

Efforts must therefore increase towards mitigating that

trend.

In conclusion, I wish, on behalf of my

Government and the people of Djibouti, to express our

heartfelt sorrow and profound condolences to the

bereaved families and to the Government and the

people of the Philippines for the torrential rains and

heavy flooding that caused havoc and unprecedented

disruption of lives and destroyed infrastructure.