Kenya, 2008

I wish first to congratulate

Mr. D’Escoto Brockmann on his election to the

presidency of the General Assembly.

This session of the General Assembly is taking

place at a time of great global challenges, such as the

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energy crisis, high food prices and instability in the

financial markets. Those are serious problems that

could erode the gains the world economy has made in

the past 10 years. Let me add that our gathering here

also provides a window of opportunity for us to review

the progress we have made, individually and

collectively, in fulfilling the Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs).

Nevertheless, before proceeding with my

remarks, I wish first of all to update the Assembly on

the progress Kenya has made following the challenges

we faced soon after the general elections held in

December 2007.

Kenyans, fellow Africans and the international

community held on to the hope that our country would

obtain a peacefully negotiated outcome to the political

crisis. That hope was realized on 28 February with the

signing of the National Accord and Reconciliation Act.

The Accord paved the way for the establishment of a

grand coalition Government representing all major

political parties and interests in our country.

The Government is making use of that historic

window of opportunity to build a consensus that will

enable us to address the major challenges facing our

nation. We are, for instance, making good progress

towards the implementation of far-reaching legal,

constitutional and policy reforms that will entrench

national cohesion and meet the political, economic and

social aspirations of our people.

I am confident that, over the past few months,

Kenya has regained its glory and redeemed its image as

a peaceful nation, a safe tourist and investment

destination and the regional hub for peace and

humanitarian efforts. I wish to express, on behalf of all

Kenyans, our profound gratitude for the engagement

and support of all our friends. In that connection, I

wish to pay special tribute to the members of the Panel

of Eminent African Personalities, led by former

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the African Union and

the United Nations. I would also like to thank the

Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his personal

and constant support.

As Africa grapples with the challenges of

competitive elections in fragile democracies divided by

regional, racial, religious and ethnic differences, the

time has come for us to reflect on the role of

competitive electoral processes in the building of our

national democratic institutions.

Indeed, the challenge of attaining democratic and

inclusive elected Governments is at the core of the

conflicts and insecurity prevailing in many parts of

Africa. In the Sudan, for example, the Comprehensive

Peace Agreement (CPA) continues to hold three years

after its signing, despite challenges. I welcome the

efforts made by the parties to the CPA in overcoming

some recent difficulties. I urge them to intensify their

efforts to address all outstanding issues in the

implementation of the Accord.

On the other hand, the situation in Somalia

remains fragile. That is mainly because the Transitional

Federal Government of Somalia has still not received

full support from the international community.

While I pay tribute to the Governments of

Uganda and Burundi for providing troops as part of the

African Union Mission in Somalia, I urge the

deployment of the remaining troops to strengthen the

Mission. I also urge the United Nations and the

international community to assume greater

responsibility in Somalia so as to nurture the

emergence of a stable and democratic country.

With regard to the Great Lakes, tremendous

progress has been made in promoting peace while

reducing conflict in the region. The conclusion of the

Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the

Great Lakes Region has given impetus to our efforts.

However, the implementation of the Pact faces

challenges owing to renewed tension and hostilities. I

call upon all those involved to embrace the Pact and to

seek the peaceful resolution of current problems. We

must not derail our goal of achieving economic

development and regional integration in the Great

Lakes. The Special Fund for Reconstruction and

Development, on which we all agreed, is now

operational. I appeal to the international community to

contribute to the Fund. It is a crucial pillar for the

promotion of peace and development in the Great

Lakes region.

I now return to the food crisis, which I mentioned

at the beginning of my speech. Our meeting is taking

place at a time when Africa and many other parts of the

world are facing a severe food shortage. I am therefore

happy to note that the theme of this general debate,

“The impact of the global food crisis on poverty and

hunger in the world as well as the need to democratize

the United Nations”, pays particular attention to that

important subject. Indeed, while food prices have risen

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globally, their impact has been most severe and adverse

for the poorest people living in developing countries.

The continued rise in food prices has national security

implications for most developing nations.

Therefore, in the immediate future, we must, as

Members of the United Nations, find mechanisms to

deliver sufficient quantities of affordable food to poor

people in Africa and other parts of the developing

world. In the medium term, we must also address the

issues of agricultural productivity, particularly in terms

of making available to smaller farmers in Africa better-

yielding seed varieties, modern farming techniques and

cheaper fertilizer. That will require more effective

global partnerships among developed nations,

international institutions and developing nations. In

particular, such partnerships should place food security,

agricultural technology development and transfer, trade

and agricultural credit at the centre of the development

agenda.

Indeed, the most equitable way to lift Africa’s

people out of poverty and underdevelopment is through

the widespread commercialization of agriculture. We

must focus on the manufacture of and trade in value-

added agricultural products, supported by efficient

financial services and markets. In that regard, the

global community should hasten consensus on

agriculture and other contentious issues, so as to enable

the successful conclusion of the Doha Development

Round of the World Trade Organization.

On the issue of escalating global oil prices, I wish

to make a passionate appeal to oil-producing nations to

consider the plight of non-oil-producing nations,

especially those in the developing world. There is need

to address the problem of speculative trading in the oil

futures market, where prices have doubled in the past

year. Indeed, the rapid increase in oil prices is hurting

developing countries the most and does not augur well

for international peace and stability. We should all be

aware that we are one global community and that none

of us is completely isolated from the instability caused

by inflationary pressures resulting from the high oil

prices.

We have, over the years, discussed the need for a

more effective and accountable United Nations that

will enable us to address the emerging and persistent

global challenges such as climate change, international

security, poverty, conflicts and economic disparities.

Towards that end, reform at the Security Council is

imperative. We need to ensure that its composition

reflects equitable geographical representation of the

entire United Nations membership. Africa therefore

deserves permanent representation on the Security

Council.

Reforms are also needed in other areas. We are

convinced that strengthening the Economic and Social

Council will enable that organ to reassert its authority

and its capacity to promote greater coherence and

coordination with the multinational financial

institutions, the World Trade Organization and other

United Nations bodies.

I would like to congratulate the Secretary-

General for his continued focus on the Millennium

Development Goals and, in particular, the

establishment of the MDGs Africa Steering Group,

which has, among other interventions, proposed the

launching of an African green revolution. I also look

forward to the insights and recommendations that will

come out of the High-level Event on MDGs later this

week.

Finally, I wish to note that the challenges facing

us today, such as the global food crisis, attaining the

MDGs and climate change, more than ever before

require coordinated global and multilateral

cooperation. A more effective and accountable United

Nations is therefore needed to meet and overcome

these challenges.