Kenya, 2003

I am pleased to take this

opportunity to address the General Assembly. In the

past year both Kenya and the United Nations have been

struck by terrorism. On behalf of my delegation, I wish

to convey to the Secretary-General, through you,

Mr. President, our profound condolences following the

heartless and senseless attack on United Nations

premises in Baghdad last August. Several United

Nations personnel, including Mr. Sergio Vieira de

Mello, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative

in Iraq, lost their lives during this attack. Mr. Vieira de

Mello — an elegant, highly intelligent man — was a

calm voice of reason in a sea of troubles. As an

assembly of nations, we may have lost his voice, but

we should not lose sight of his vision and hopes.

Terrorism has become a disturbing trend. We who

live in Kenya know this all too well, as we do not have

the option of ignoring the threat of terror. The people

of Kenya have been targeted by terrorists on two

recent, separate occasions — in 1998 and in 2002.

After the 2002 attacks in Mombasa, Kenya’s economy

was almost brought to its knees because of the various

unhelpful measures from without that discouraged

travel to our country. As a result, we have been doubly

victimized. Against this backdrop, Kenya is totally

committed to the fight against terrorism, as we have

been subjected to the loss of innocent lives, untold

human suffering, loss of property and social and

economic hardship. We empathize with others,

including the residents of this city and, indeed, the

American people, who bore the brunt of unprecedented

terror in the September 2001 attack.

We are convinced that this fight can be won only

by collective action by the community of nations. We

should all address terrorism under the rubric of the

United Nations and develop measured, long-term

strategies to eliminate terrorism once and for all. Self-

interest and unilateral action do not provide a firm

basis for a global alliance against terrorism. Only

principled international solidarity will defeat terrorism.

My delegation wishes to commend the Secretary-

General for the efforts made in enhancing the

utilization of the United Nations Office at Nairobi. I

note with satisfaction that construction of additional

administration and social facilities at the United

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Nations Complex at Gigiri has commenced. Further,

following the elevation of the United Nations Centre

for Human Settlements (UN-Habitat) to a fully fledged

United Nations programme, in accordance with

General Assembly resolution 56/206, it is the desire of

the Government of Kenya to see maximum utilization

of those facilities through the hosting of additional

meetings and conferences in Nairobi. This will be a

clear demonstration of our support for the relevant

General Assembly resolutions on this issue.

The proliferation of small arms and light weapons

has contributed to the conflicts raging in many parts of

Africa. Kenya has been actively involved in efforts to

address this issue and hosts the Nairobi Secretariat on

Small Arms and Light Weapons, a regional initiative

involving 10 countries of the Great Lakes region and

the Horn of Africa. In addition, at the Biennial Meeting

of States on small arms and light weapons, held in New

York in July 2003, Kenya presented a report on the

activities of the Nairobi Secretariat as well as on the

measures undertaken by the Government of Kenya at

the national level to curb that menace. In this regard,

we call upon the international community to provide

the requisite resources in our joint effort to fight the

proliferation of such arms.

Wars and conflicts continue, and peace, stability

and socio-economic development remain elusive,

particularly in Africa. Kenya therefore continues to

give priority to the prevention, management and

peaceful resolution of conflicts. We have spearheaded

the Inter-Government Authority on Development

(IGAD) peace processes on the conflicts in southern

Sudan and in Somalia. Negotiations on a peaceful

solution are ongoing in both Naivasha and Nairobi,

respectively.

It is with profound satisfaction that we recall the

historic event that occurred on 22 September of this

year, when the warring parties in the Sudan signed a

truly landmark agreement in Naivasha, Kenya. That

agreement, which addresses transitional security

arrangements, will no doubt provide the basis for a

bright and prosperous future for the people of the

Sudan. The parties will reconvene in the next two

weeks to discuss power sharing, wealth sharing and the

status of the three disputed regions of the Sudan.

Indeed, the peace process in the Sudan has become

irreversible.

I therefore wish to pay tribute to the Government

of the Sudan, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement

(SPLM), the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army

(SPLA), IGAD and the international Partners Forum

for their concerted efforts and dedication to the peace

process. This historic event is a concrete example of

multilateralism at work. It is indeed a beacon of hope

and a manifestation of the fact that, with goodwill and

political will, peace is achievable. I am happy to say

that not all news emanating from Africa is all about

doom and gloom.

However, in order to consolidate and guarantee a

long-lasting peace, it is vital for the international

community to play a greater role in the process. In this

connection, I would like to urge the United Nations to

play a leadership role in the post-conflict

reconstruction of the Sudan and to request Member

States to support that reconstruction.

On the Somali peace process, I am happy to note

that there is encouraging progress in the negotiations,

and we are hopeful that there will be a fruitful

outcome. Just two weeks ago, representatives adopted

the charter, and elections will soon be held. Kenya

therefore encourages the parties concerned to

consolidate and take advantage of the gains made so

far. We emphasize that the peace process should be all-

inclusive, and we call upon the President of the

Transitional National Government, Mr. Abdikassim, to

return to the negotiating table in Nairobi and on the

other faction leaders to accept his participation. By the

same token, we call upon our partners and the

international community to continue supporting both

peace processes.

We commend the efforts made by the Economic

Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to

restore normalcy in Liberia. While appreciating the

important role the United Nations plays in

consolidating peace and stability in the world, Kenya

advocates greater United Nations participation in

African initiatives, such as the peace processes led by

IGAD and ECOWAS.

We are concerned at the continuing deterioration

of the situation in the Middle East. Kenya notes with

regret that a lasting solution to the question of

Palestine remains elusive despite the various initiatives

undertaken and efforts made to address the problem.

We should not lose sight of the objective of

establishing a viable Palestinian State, as envisaged in

United Nations resolutions. Similarly, it should be

recalled that, in order to ensure a durable solution to

the conflict, it is important to take full account of the

right of Israel to exist within safe and secure borders.

We therefore reiterate our call to the parties to the

conflict, as well as to the other players involved, to

exercise restraint and to give priority to dialogue.

Another area of concern in the Middle East is

Iraq. The people of that country have yet to find peace

and stability, without which any hope of national

reconstruction will be in vain. It is, however,

encouraging to observe that the international

community now shares the common view that the

United Nations should play a greater role in rebuilding

that country. It is our hope that that consensus will be

translated into action soon.

For peace and stability to flourish, good

governance is a necessity. This challenge is one that

Kenya has been able to meet. In December 2002,

Kenya saw a historic moment, when we held general

elections which were universally recognized as free,

fair and, indeed, democratic. Every citizen of Kenya

was provided an opportunity to have a voice in

determining his or her Government, successful and

strong evidence that Africans can and will embrace

democracy and that we, the proud descendants of the

oldest civilizations in history, are ready to determine

our destiny. I would like to recall the words of a great

son of Africa, the late Patrice Lumumba:

“History will one day have its say ... Africa will

write its own history, and it will be to the north

and to the south of the Sahara, a history of glory

and dignity”.

We are prepared as a country, under the

leadership of President Mwai Kibaki, to play our part

in promoting development and democracy.

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development

(NEPAD) commands the support of all of us and, if

implemented in a holistic manner, it will guarantee

sustainable development for the African continent.

NEPAD is a symbol of renewed commitment by the

region’s States, and should thus be accorded the

necessary support by the international community. We

appreciate the warm reception accorded to NEPAD by

both the United Nations and our development partners.

We are committed to the successful implementation of

this arrangement. For its part, Kenya, which is a

member of the Steering Committee, has established a

National NEPAD Secretariat and will host a regional

summit on NEPAD for East Africa, the Great Lakes

and the Horn of Africa next month to take stock of its

implementation.

The United Nations conferences and summits of

the 1990s, particularly the Rio Summit, the Millennium

Summit, the special session of the General Assembly

on HIV/AIDS, the Monterrey Conference and, finally,

the Johannesburg Summit, have equipped us with

numerous ideas and commitments to tackle the

problems facing the world today. Despite this wealth of

ideas and commitments, we have continued to slip

backwards in the fight against poverty, disease,

illiteracy, environmental degradation and hunger.

My message to all of us today is that we must

recommit ourselves; let us implement what we have

agreed on to make the world a better place for all. We

welcome the adoption by the Assembly of resolution

57/270 B on the integrated and coordinated follow-up

to the implementation of United Nations conferences

and summits in the economic and social fields. We urge

all stakeholders identified in this resolution to play

their part to ensure its full and speedy implementation.

The majority of African countries are among the

poorest in the world. The situation has been

compounded by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which has

ravaged the continent and reversed the socio-economic

gains made since independence. To counter the ravages

of the pandemic, the Kenya Government has put in

place various measures to curb further spread of HIV/

AIDS. As a result of these efforts, prevalence rates

have been significantly reduced in the last four years.

However, much still needs to be done in this area.

Last month, Kenya hosted the thirteenth

International Conference on AIDS and Sexually-

Transmitted Diseases. This forum brought together

over 6,000 delegates from all over the world to discuss

urgent measures that we all must take to combat the

pandemic. We call upon the international community to

intensify its efforts in fighting the scourge by, among

others things, the provision of adequate financial

resources, as well as enhanced access to antiretroviral

drugs, for those infected.

We welcome the recent agreement arrived at in

the World Trade Organization (WTO) enabling

developing countries to import HIV/AIDS generic

drugs. We urge developed countries and drug

manufacturers to respect the decision of the WTO and

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to cooperate with developing countries to facilitate

accessibility of antiretroviral drugs to all HIV/AIDS

sufferers.

Kenya regrets the collapse of the WTO

Ministerial Conference in Cancún last month.

However, we in the developing world are ready to

continue with negotiations as long as our partners are

prepared to work with us as equal players.

In conclusion, I wish to extend to Assembly

President Mr. Julian Hunte, on behalf of my delegation,

congratulations on his unanimous election as President

of the fifty-eighth regular session of the General

Assembly.

The challenges that I have addressed today have

no respect for boundaries or sovereignty or, indeed,

historical realities. They represent a collective problem

for this Assembly and one that we must face together

as an international organization. It is my hope that the

fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly will

address with courage the issues before the international

community. I wish to assure the Assembly President of

the full support of the Kenyan delegation.