Djibouti, 2011

Allow me

to warmly congratulate the President on his accession

to the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-

sixth session. With his experience and expertise we are

indeed assured of the successful conduct and outcome

of our deliberations. I express my gratitude to his

predecessor, Mr. Joseph Deiss, for his efficiency and

the excellent manner in which he guided our work

throughout the sixty-fifth session. We wish him well in

his future endeavours.

I also extend my warmest congratulations to

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on his reappointment.

That is a token of the esteem that all States have for his

outstanding leadership, especially in these turbulent

times and the difficult international political situation.

We appreciate his tireless efforts and commitment to

serve the international community, and we pledge our

full support in carrying out and promoting the

fundamental values of the Charter.

Lastly, we are delighted at the long-awaited

creation of the United Nations Entity for Gender

Equality and the Empowerment of Women, which

17 11-51185

announces the remarkable progress that has been made

during the past century in the quest for gender equality

and empowerment of women. Clearly, despite the great

strides made in legal matters, it is still true that such

progress is not always translated into reality. My

Government has made strengthening women’s rights

and improving their lives absolute priorities, and I am

committed to ensuring that our laws conform to

international standards.

We are gathered here today in a global economic

context that is more than worrying. This difficult world

economic environment is indeed reflected in weak

economies, declining growth, crippling debts and

deficits and rising unemployment. The least developed

countries are more severely affected by these crises.

The Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least

Developed Countries, held recently in Turkey, gave

new impetus to global efforts to improve the fate of the

most vulnerable nations. From this perspective I invite

the international community to pay special attention to

the unique situation of least developed countries and to

provide more support in alleviating the growing burden

of debt by assisting them to improve their production

capacity and facilitating access to world markets on

more favourable terms.

Coupled with the economic malaise, we are

witnessing throughout the world increasing climatic

disparities that range from one extreme to another. It is

now very common for countries to be hit by floods

followed by droughts, and by earthquakes, devastating

hurricanes or tsunamis. The catastrophe that recently

hit our Japanese friends testifies to nature’s ferocity.

The recurrence of these climate plagues shows us that

we must better prepare ourselves and set up appropriate

mitigation and adaptation measures.

In the Horn of Africa the uncertainties of the

climate have long been a fact of life, as evidenced by

the recurrent cycles of drought. The current crisis

affecting my country is not sudden. We had already

sounded the alarm in 2010, when the first warning

signs appeared. Faced with this terrible scourge, the

resilience of the region is strained, and emergency

measures alone cannot meet the challenges now

confronting us. Indeed, the situation we face today is

the result of several years of drought that have

decimated the herds of nomadic peoples and destroyed

their meagre crops. People in rural areas are obviously

the most affected, and we are doing our best to help

them.

Our needs are immediate and urgent, and we are

grateful to the friendly countries and international

organizations that have assisted us in our efforts.

However, given the endemic nature of the drought in

our region, we need to go beyond reactive management

and focus more on managing long-term preventative

measures. In this context my country has established

several infrastructure projects in agriculture, including

the exploitation of arable lands in the neighbouring

friendly countries of Ethiopia and the Sudan, and the

River Awash water catchment project on the border

with Ethiopia for times of floods.

The country most affected by this crisis remains

Somalia, because the precarious security situation does

not allow access to certain populations. Indeed, over

the past two decades, Somalia has been a victim of the

worst evils. It has been the victim of endless

bloodshed, insecurity, instability and destruction. Until

recently Al-Shabaab militia continued fighting in the

capital, which made it all the more difficult to help the

affected population. Today, thanks to the diligence and

sacrifices of the Somali security forces and their

colleagues from the African Union Mission in Somalia,

Al-Shabaab militia have been pushed out of the capital,

and that has facilitated the delivery of humanitarian aid

to drought victims.

As I was able to see for myself during my visit to

Mogadishu last month, the guns have fallen silent, life

has resumed its course and this year, for the first time

since the armed conflict began in 1991, Somalis were

able to celebrate Eid in peace. Numerous high-level

officials have since visited the Somali capital, which

had long been considered too dangerous.

This still-fragile but auspicious peace is an

opportunity for the Somali people to rebuild their

country. Thanks to the security situation, which is now

under control in the capital, the Somali people and

their leaders have before them an unprecedented

opportunity to revive a lasting peace, to stop the

interminable transition process and to move the

country to a permanent governance by next year.

Efforts have been made in this direction by the

Transitional Government as well as by regional and

international organizations. These have helped parties

to reach an agreement that reflects the new political

reality in Somalia, especially after the month of August

2011.

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All these efforts should be applauded as a sign of

the determination of the Somalis and of the

international community to end the endless infighting

and fruitless discussions within the Transitional

Federal Institutions. In this regard the agreed road map

represents a solemn commitment by the leaders of the

Transitional Federal Institutions to the people of

Somalia, the regional bodies and the international

community as a whole.

The international community, for its part, must

not lose sight of the obvious weaknesses of the

Transitional Government and should endeavour to

provide the necessary resources to build capacity. The

Somali Government should take this opportunity to

show determination, courage and leadership.

Beyond the rigours of the climate and problems

they generate, the Horn of Africa is often associated

with fratricidal wars. Indeed, at one point in its history

each of our neighbours has been in a conflict situation.

While Djibouti has spared no effort to maintain peace,

in spite of ourselves we were unfortunately dragged

into a border conflict with Eritrea in June 2008.

Since then, despite the best efforts of regional

and international organizations and the adoption of

Security Council resolutions 1862 (2009) and 1907

(2009), Eritrea refuses to answer us about the fate of

19 prisoners of war or even to acknowledge their

existence. This remains a serious concern and a source

of great sadness for my people and myself.

However, despite Eritrea’s failure to comply with

the clear requirements set forth in those resolutions,

my Government and I remain convinced that mediation

is the only way that will allow us to achieve a lasting

peace. With this conviction in mind, my Government

has accepted the efforts and goodwill of His Highness

the Emir of Qatar. That led to the stationing of Qatari

troops on the border between Djibouti and Eritrea and

the withdrawal of Eritrean troops from the Djibouti

territory they had illegally occupied. For our part, we

remain willing to cooperate fully with the sincere

efforts of His Highness the Emir of Qatar, and we

remain confident of the peaceful outcome of this

mediation.

We will never stop believing in the virtues of

dialogue and mediation, the only virtues that can

enable our region to consolidate the gains of peace.

The most recent example of such success is

undoubtedly the birth of the new nation of South

Sudan, once again demonstrating the ability of our

peers to find a peaceful solution to a decades-old

fratricidal conflict. Today, as the people of South

Sudan take their first steps in the comity of nations, we

want to assure them of our fraternal support. I am

confident that they will resolve the outstanding issues

peacefully.

Of course, we can only rejoice that a new

Member has joined the Organization, but I could not

mention the independence of South Sudan without

recalling the situation that has prevailed in Palestine

since 1947.

The very foundation of the United Nations

consisted in fighting injustice and giving nations their

sovereignty. Many countries here today, including

mine, have at some point in their history found

themselves here in search of independence. South

Sudan became the 193rd Member State on 13 July.

Palestine, for its part, continues to this day to live

under occupation, which in this day and age is morally

wrong and politically unsustainable.

We Africans know better than anyone the

conditions in which colonized populations live. The

fate experienced by the Palestinians for more than

60 years we have known, we have fought and we have

overcome by obtaining the recognition of our peers.

More than any other institution, for colonized peoples

the United Nations represented hope: the hope for a

better future, freed from the colonial yoke; the hope to

live in one’s own country, enjoying freedom and one’s

rights; the hope, above all, to regain dignity.

The time has come for us to give hope to our

Palestinian brothers and sisters by recognizing their

right to become a full-fledged State. It is time to end

the siege, the poverty and the despair. History will

remember, I hope, that on this day we decided to end

the injustice and made the choice to finally give to

Palestine a full place in the international community.

History will especially remember that we have chosen

not to disappoint the hopes of the fraternal people of

Palestine.