Kenya, 2002

Allow me to extend to

Mr. Kavan, on behalf of my delegation, sincere

congratulations on his election as the President of the

General Assembly at its fifty-seventh regular session.

May I also thank his predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-

soo, whose tenure of office coincided with one of the

most trying periods in modern history following the 11

September terrorist attacks in the United States. We

appreciate the excellent manner in which he handled

the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly. May I

also commend the efforts, courage and vision of the

Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, who has continued

to be a beacon of strength and hope. We salute him. In

addition, we also wish to welcome Switzerland to the

United Nations and look forward to the admission of

East Timor.

Coming from a continent plagued with many

obstacles, we believe that the fifty-seventh session of

the General Assembly affords us yet another

opportunity to critically revisit the promises

enumerated in the Millennium Declaration and to take

stock of progress made so far. Two years down the line,

we should give an account of our commitment to the

Declaration. In many instances, I am afraid, we shall be

found wanting. We have not lived up to our promises

and, as a result, many in the world are more desperate

today than they were two years ago. They had placed

their hope in our vision, our sincerity, our commitment

and our sense of urgency and purpose.

Various United Nations conferences and meetings

have been held since the 1990s to address the

challenges confronting developing countries. It is

therefore regrettable that there has been insufficient

political will to implement the decisions arising

therefrom. Meagre resources have been committed to

debt reduction, improving market access, human

resource development and tackling the HIV/AIDS

pandemic and other diseases.

The current global financial framework has

demonstrated its inadequacy in dealing with the

problems facing developing countries. The decline in

official development assistance flows and foreign

direct investment is an issue of concern. Despite efforts

made to achieve sustained economic growth and

sustainable development, conditions in the

international arena have not been adequately

supportive. For a start, my delegation calls for greater

emphasis to be placed on concessionary lending and

greater use of grants.

Moreover, global trade arrangements have tended

to benefit industrialized countries. Africa's present

share of global trade is less than 2 per cent. While

industrialized countries continue to provide substantial

subsidies for their agricultural sector, developing

countries have been forced to cease similar support.

This, combined with tariff and non-tariff barriers to

trade, has meant that our products stand no chance of

competing with the products from the North. We must

therefore build on the momentum achieved at Doha as

well as encourage initiatives, such as the African

Growth and Opportunity Act and the European Union/

African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States trade

arrangements, to enable our countries take advantage

of the opportunities in international trade.

Many developing countries, including Kenya, are

experiencing a net outflow of resources, mainly due to

debt service obligations. As a result, there are fewer

resources targeted towards basic social services, thus

compounding the poverty situation. We therefore call

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for an overhaul of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries

Debt Initiative eligibility criteria so that countries

facing high levels of poverty and debt burden qualify

for debt relief.

The launching of the African Union and the New

Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) have

rekindled great hopes in the African continent. These

initiatives have made it clear that the primary

responsibility for the development of Africa lies in the

hands of the Africans themselves. The decision by the

United Nations General Assembly to hold a high-level

plenary meeting on NEPAD on 16 September 2002

recognizes the importance of that initiative, which

emphasizes the twin principles of ownership and

partnership.

Kenya calls for genuine partnership in the

implementation of resolutions, commitments and,

especially, the Millennium Development Goals, the

Monterrey Consensus and the Outcome of the just

concluded World Summit on Sustainable Development.

The special session of the General Assembly on

children, held in May 2002, provided the international

community with an opportunity to renew its

commitment to the rights-based approach to children's

programmes and activities. The Government of Kenya

has made continued efforts to improve the welfare of

children. Kenya has ratified the Convention on the

Rights of the Child and has signed the Optional

Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and

child pornography. Kenya has also ratified instruments

prohibiting the involvement of children in armed

conflict. A comprehensive Children's Statute was

enacted in parliament and became operational on 1

March 2002. Kenya also has in place an early

childhood development policy, safeguarding children

from birth until the age of six.

My delegation notes with concern that the

reduction in funding to the United Nations Population

Fund (UNFPA) by a major contributor will have a

negative impact on ongoing programmes in many

developing countries. The UNFPA continues to play

a critical role in assisting the most vulnerable in

society — namely, women and adolescents. It is our

hope that voluntary contributions to the organization

will be restored to their former level and further

increased as a matter of urgency.

With regard to the United Nations Centre in

Nairobi, my delegation welcomes the improvement in

the level of utilization of the conference facilities. We

encourage the Secretary-General to take the necessary

measures to ensure that all meetings and activities on

environment and matters related to human settlements

are held at the United Nations Office at Nairobi

(UNON) so as to utilize the excellent facilities there

and to further strengthen the role of the Organization in

all matters charged to it in conformity with the

headquarters rule.

My delegation would like to commend the fifty-

sixth session of the General Assembly for elevating the

Commission on Human Settlements to a fully fledged

programme now known as the Governing Council of

the United Nations Human Settlements Programme

(UN-Habitat), and the United Nations Centre for

Human Settlements (Habitat) to be its secretariat. We

have no doubt that the upgrading will facilitate the

implementation of the Habitat Agenda and the

Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements in

the New Millennium.

The Secretary-General's programme budget for

the biennium 2002-2003 shows that the activities

undertaken by the United Nations Environment

Programme (UNEP) and UN-Habitat continue to

depend heavily on extrabudgetary resources. This has

severely constrained the ability of both organizations to

play their roles effectively due to an unpredictable

financial resource base and under-provision. We urge

the Secretary-General to ensure stability and

predictability in funding UNEP and UN-Habitat

through the United Nations regular budget.

My delegation would like to congratulate the

newly appointed High Commissioner for Human

Rights, His Excellency Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello. We

would like to assure him of our full cooperation, and

we look forward to working very closely with him. At

the same time, we wish to pay tribute to the outgoing

High Commissioner, Her Excellency Mrs. Mary

Robinson, for her able leadership.

Kenya wishes to underscore the importance of

treating human rights issues in a balanced manner. This

very Assembly has consistently reaffirmed:

“that all human rights are universal, indivisible,

interdependent and interrelated and that the

international community must treat human rights

globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same

27

footing and with the same emphasis”. (resolution

56/165, seventh preambular paragraph)

I am afraid that this has not always been so.

There is a genuine concern that too much

emphasis has been given to political rights at the

expense of economic and social rights, such as the right

to development. These are vital issues that the

international community can no longer afford to take

lightly as it endeavours to eliminate hunger and

poverty and ensure a just standard of living for all

people.

Kenya holds the view that the General Assembly

should play a leading role in spearheading development

initiatives, as envisaged in the Charter. We welcome

the progress already made in the reorganization and

revitalization of the General Assembly. This organ

should now reclaim its leadership role in focusing and

shaping debate on issues of global interest.

On issues of world security, Kenya has a long

record of participation in peacekeeping operations.

Today, Kenya is the sixth largest troop contributor to

United Nations peacekeeping operations in different

parts of the world. We are particularly happy to be

associated with the success of United Nations

peacekeeping operations in East Timor, Sierra Leone,

and on the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Greater emphasis should be put on the

deployment of adequate force levels to missions in

Africa. In particular, we would like to see greater

support in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Africa is a continent ravaged by conflicts and

instability. However, the recent progress in the

resolution of some of these conflicts is very

encouraging. In particular, the signing of a protocol

between the Government of the Sudan and the Sudan

People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in

Machakos, Kenya on 20 July 2002 was a very welcome

development. Other positive developments towards

lasting peace in Africa include the signing of an

agreement between the Democratic Republic of Congo

and the Rwandese Republic, the holding of peaceful

elections in Sierra Leone after years of bitter civil war,

and continuing efforts towards reconciliation of the

warring factions in Somalia. We also welcome the

recent positive developments in Angola. Kenya will

continue with its mediation efforts in the region and in

the continent as a whole.

On the important question of reform of the

Security Council, Kenya calls for the speedy

conclusion of negotiations aimed at equitable

representation and an increase in membership in the

Security Council. With the establishment of the Peace

and Security Council as an important organ of the new

African Union, Africa must now play its rightful role in

matters of international peace and security. It is time

Africa was accorded the elevated status it deserves in

the Security Council.

Kenya believes in the rule of law and will support

all genuine efforts to this end. We subscribe to peaceful

settlement of disputes through regional efforts, the

International Tribunals and the International Court of

Justice. Kenya fully supports the historic milestone of

the adoption of the Rome Statute in 1998 and its entry

into force on 1 July 2002. Impunity for serious war

crimes is indeed a denial of justice, which must be

brought to an end.

In 2001, we witnessed the most devastating form

of international terrorism in the multiple terrorist

attacks of 11 September. As a country that faced a

similar attack in 1998, Kenya strongly believes that

terrorism can never be justified under any

circumstances. We fully support the implementation of

Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) and have

already ratified the 12 anti-terrorism conventions. The

process of domesticating them is already under way.

In conclusion, Kenya looks forward to greater

commitment to build a secure and more prosperous

world for all. The destiny of mankind is inextricably

intertwined in spite of national boundaries. Events in

the global arena have clearly demonstrated that the

effects of ignorance, poverty, disease and insecurity in

one region or another country can impact negatively on

the well-being of the rest of the world. Let us get

together and build a world where all can live in peace

and prosperity.