Kenya, 2001

I congratulate you,

Sir, on your unanimous election as President of the

fifty-sixth session of the United Nations General

Assembly. I would also like to extend my sincere

congratulations to Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary-

General, for his re-election to a second term in office

and for the richly deserved Nobel Peace Prize awarded

to him and the United Nations Organization. This is an

acknowledgement of his tireless efforts in the service

of mankind and, as the Secretary-General has said, of a

challenge to do better and, I hope, faster. I would like

to assure the Secretary-General of my Government’s

cooperation and firm commitment in that regard.

The achievements of the United Nations

Organization are many and varied, while its increasing

relevance in an ever more complex international

environment is clear to us. Its objectives are still as

valid and noble today as they were 56 years ago and, I

believe, can only be achieved by our continued

commitment, careful vigilance and firm action.

I would now like to turn my attention to an issue

that is uppermost in my mind and that has changed the

way we live and do business, maybe forever. I am

referring to the terrorist attacks on the United States of

America, an important, worthy and respected Member

of the United Nations Organization and a long-standing

and trusted friend of Kenya.

Terrorism poses a real threat to international

peace and security and must be condemned by people

of good will throughout the world. Terrorism cannot be

justified in any form whatsoever. No philosophy,

religion or creed can allow the taking away of innocent

lives and the destruction of valuable property. The

people of Kenya experienced first-hand the devastating

effects of terrorism in August 1998. The attack on

Kenya, a country faced with challenges of poverty and

underdevelopment, was especially severe and continues

to affect us. Kenya understands well the pain of those

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affected by the recent attacks in the United States of

America and fully supports the efforts being led by the

President of the United States of America, Mr. George

W. Bush, and his administration to fight terrorism in all

its forms.

In order to carry out one of its fundamental

objectives, that of the maintenance of international

peace and security, the United Nations, and in

particular its membership, must intensify efforts to

resolve all outstanding and persistent conflicts raging

in many parts of the world. We the Member States of

the United Nations must work very closely to ensure

that we completely disable the terrorist machinery. We

must particularly support the coalition against

terrorism.

As an Organization, we must address the issue of

conflicts seriously. Conflict situations impede

development, provide an atmosphere for the illegal

exploitation of resources, the abuse of children, the

influx of refugees, the spread of dangerous weapons

and the deepening of poverty, to mention just a few

aspects. Conflicts steal the dreams, hopes, aspirations

and opportunities of many, many people, especially

children. We must intensify our efforts in the search for

the peaceful and speedy resolution of conflicts.

The conflicts in Africa continue to destabilize our

continent. The United Nations and its membership

must intensify efforts to find solutions to the conflicts.

The peaceful resolution of conflicts is a

fundamental tenet of Kenya’s foreign policy. It is a

matter of record that I have spared no effort throughout

my political career in search of peaceful solutions to

conflicts in our region and elsewhere. Currently, Kenya

is involved in peace negotiations in southern Sudan,

Somalia, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the

Congo. We would like more international involvement

in peace efforts in Africa.

The biggest challenge facing the African

continent today is the increasing level of poverty.

Poverty has become an obstacle, a roadblock to every

effort we are making at improving the overall welfare

of our people.

Poverty is a fertile breeding ground for conflict

and instability, and even terrorism. It is therefore

regrettable that very little progress, if any, has been

made since the World Summit for Social Development,

held in Copenhagen in 1995. I remind members that the

main outcome of that Summit was the resolve to

eradicate poverty as an obstacle to human

development.

We cannot succeed in improving the lives of our

people without the wholehearted engagement of the

international community. The global target of reducing

poverty by half by the year 2015 cannot be achieved

without tangible availability of resources.

Our efforts at attacking poverty are further

undermined by the scourge of HIV/AIDS and other

treatable diseases like malaria and tuberculosis, which

have the potential of reversing all the socio-economic

gains we have worked so hard to achieve.

I applaud the Secretary-General for organizing a

special session on HIV/AIDS earlier this year. The

establishment of the Global AIDS Fund is a very

welcome development. I look forward to its

contribution and active participation in our daily

struggle against HIV/AIDS. Kenya calls on the

international community to lend its full support to the

fund.

The effect of marginalization on developing

countries posed by the accelerated process of

globalization must be addressed as a matter of priority.

It is my hope that the Fourth World Trade Organization

Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, will address the

issue of the imbalance in international trade more

effectively. The issue of meaningful market access,

particularly for agricultural products, must be resolved

quickly. Protectionist policies are in no country's

interest and definitely contradict the principles of free

trade and the process of liberalization. In addition,

resources must be made available to the World Trade

Organization by our partners to enable it to provide

technical assistance and capacity-building to

developing countries.

Solutions in the form of better terms of trade and

market access must go hand-in-hand with the flow of

foreign direct investment to developing countries.

Many African countries have taken bold initiatives to

provide a conducive environment for investors. These

efforts need to be supported by clear policies of

developed countries to encourage private sector

investment in Africa.

We urgently need to be freed from the burdens

that are diverting vital resources from our economic

development. Debt relief is necessary. It is in our

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common interest that our economies be restored to

health in a meaningful time frame.

My concluding remarks relate to the desire for

equity, fair play and justice for all. This is one of the

cardinal objectives of the United Nations. I welcome

the efforts that the Organization has made in the pursuit

of these objectives.

We welcome these efforts. Yet it is a matter of

concern that commitments in the programmes of action

agreed upon have not been fully complied with. This

situation must be reversed. My challenge to the

Organization is that these commitments be honoured so

that humanity can feel that the United Nations is truly

an organization of hope for many nations and peoples

throughout the world. We cannot continue doing what

has so far failed. We need to work on new ways of

addressing our common problems. My Government

stands ready to do its part, and I challenge other

Governments to do theirs. Together we shall succeed in

meeting our commitments to have poverty reduced by

half by 2015.