Sierra Leone, 1993

Last year, my Head of

State, Captain Valentine E. M. Strasser, acquainted this body

with the devastation visited on Sierra Leone as the result of

the civil war in Liberia. He described to this Assembly the

pain and agony that Sierra Leoneans have had to endure as

a result of that conflict, and the ramifications it portended

for regional peace and security.

Regrettably, I am constrained to inform this body, not

only that the war in Sierra Leone has persisted, but that the

lives of many innocent Sierra Leoneans have continued to be

lost. What we are witnessing today is the internal

40 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

displacement of more than 400,000 Sierra Leoneans and

more than 250,000 others who have had to seek refugee

status in neighbouring countries, not to mention the

devastation caused to the national economy.

Thus, with our territory devastated and our economy

nearly destroyed, it is understandable that my country is so

anxious that peace should return to Liberia. Without peace,

Sierra Leoneans cannot embark on the economic

reconstruction of their country. Sierra Leoneans are also

hopeful that if peace should return, we can start picking up

the pieces of what is left of our country and get on with our

lives, and that the massive diversion of our resources to

prosecute a rebel war will no longer be necessary. It is also

our hope that with the conflict behind us, the Government of

the National Provisional Ruling Council will be able to give

its undivided attention to the essential task of nation-

building. We therefore renew our appeal, from this rostrum,

for timely humanitarian assistance for the hundreds of

thousands of our fellow citizens who have been displaced

and made refugees, for it is only with such help that they

can start their lives anew.

The socio-economic assistance of this Organization will

also be necessary for our post-war reconstruction and

rehabilitation efforts. Our cri du coeur is for the

international community to provide the requisite support and

assistance for a country desperately in need, through no fault

of its own; a country that has acted as its brother’s keeper,

in the true meaning of that expression, and on behalf of the

international community to bring an end to bloodshed and

help restore law and order in Liberia.

It is, therefore, our hope that the latest Cotonou

Agreement on that conflict will continue to pave the path to

peace in Liberia. It was my Government’s expectation that

by now, with the assistance of the Security Council, there

would have been a rapid establishment and deployment of

the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL)

and also meaningful support for the Trust Fund established

by the Secretary-General for the continued engagement of

the Economic Community of West African States

(ECOWAS) Military Observer Group (ECOMOG) in

Liberia.

Part of that peace plan calls for the establishment of a

buffer zone along our borders to prevent the infiltration into

our territory of men and matériel from Liberia. In the name

of regional peace and security, we call on this Organization

to give its full support to our request. International help for

ECOMOG is particularly necessary when one considers that

for the past two years, West African countries have been

shouldering the burden of maintaining peace in Liberia

without much outside help, in spite of the enormous

problems facing them individually and collectively. In a

region which contains 10 of the least developed and poorest

nations, it is obvious that sooner, rather than later, the West

African subregion will not be able to continue with the

ECOMOG burden without such outside help.

I would like to issue a note of warning here: the

Cotonou Agreement, in our view, offers the last chance to

bring peace to Liberia. If it should fail, we fear that that

country might become another Somalia. Hence, the support

of the United Nations remains indispensable. We therefore

hope that Member States will contribute, and contribute

generously, to the Trust Fund. Doing so would save lives.

Before continuing with my line of thought, on behalf of

the Sierra Leone delegation and on my own behalf, I should

like to convey warm greetings to Ambassador Insanally on

his unanimous election to preside over our deliberations

during the forty-eighth session of the General Assembly.

It is also fitting that I express my delegation’s sincere

appreciation to His Excellency Mr. Stoyan Ganev, his

predecessor, for the able manner in which he executed his

task and for his personal exertions in the advancement of the

noble objectives of our Organization.

Our distinguished Secretary-General has, stoically and

with dedication and determination, continued his yeoman’s

service on behalf of us all. We congratulate him warmly on

his latest report.

I should also like to extend the best wishes of the

Government and the people of Sierra Leone to the friendly

Governments and peoples of those countries that have joined

us in this Assembly as full Member States. We have no

doubt that their admission has not only enhanced the goal of

universality; with their new energies they will effectively

contribute to our quest for a more peaceful world.

We believe that our Organization is at a crossroad, that

what we say and commit ourselves to during this session

will have serious implications on the shape of things to

come, and that the rebirth of this Organization will require

learning from the lessons of the recent past and adjusting our

vision for the future.

Sierra Leone had sincerely hoped that the end of the

cold war era would usher in a golden millennium of peace

and prosperity for all. Unfortunately, however, we have

witnessed a series of situations all over the world that have

Forty-eighth session - 28 September l993 41

given rise to a more violent and insecure international

environment. We are faced with conflicts and misery that

have adversely influenced the lives of vast sectors of

humanity, and we now feel an even deeper sense of

helplessness and despair that makes us almost nostalgic for

the order and logic of bygone days. But nostalgia has no

purpose if it serves only to pander to escapism, without

using the lessons of the past to guide our future courses of

action.

Let me now turn to an issue that continues to deeply

concern us all, namely, peace-keeping. The principle and

efficiency of peace-keeping are not in question, but already

expenditures for peace-keeping have several times over

outstripped the Organization’s regular budget. More

troubling is the prospect that such expenditures will soon

exceed resources committed to development since the

establishment of the United Nations. We sincerely believe

that the time has come when more attention should be given

to conflict prevention and resolution.It would serve our

purpose much better and cost this Organization much less if

conflicts were contained and resolved before reaching the

point of open hostilities, when situations are more difficult

to control. We can catalogue a series of lost opportunities

of which one glaring example is the Liberian conflict. Let

us, from this point forward, give more attention to the

prevention of conflict rather than having to field troops in

various theatres of war at exorbitant cost. Recent events

have proved that we cannot afford to risk the lives of our

men in the field in situations that could have been prevented.

Let me reiterate Sierra Leone’s firm conviction and

commitment to the peace-keeping operations that are now

taking place throughout the world. We deplore the acts of

those who have made peace-keepers objects of their

violence, and we salute the gallant men and women who are

acting on behalf of us all.

However, our perseverance in the pursuit of global

peace and in peace-keeping will not reap the desired harvest

if the present proliferation of arms and ammunition to

theatres of conflict continues. As we all are aware, many

third world countries where military conflicts are raging

today do not manufacture arms. On the other hand, they

continue to be the recipients of some of the deadliest

weapons. Such weapons, when supplied to the contending

factions, be they rebels or others, have as their main victims

innocent civilians. Today, we are witnessing carnage and

loss of human life, as a result of the use of weapons

acquired by various rebel movements in Africa from arms

manufacturers over the years.

It therefore becomes obvious that, if we are to put a

stop to such blood-letting and human carnage, further

stringent measures must be imposed on the sale and

proliferation of arms and ammunition. In our view, into this

category falls the proliferation and ever-increasing use of

mines and other explosive devices in the third world which

have taken a heavy toll in human life, especially innocent

civilians. Many civilians continue to die because of the

indiscriminate manner in which these mines have been

planted and used by rebel forces ever since they were

acquired from unknown sources. We therefore welcome the

initiative taken by the European Community to inscribe an

item on the agenda of this session of the Assembly to

address such issues. We believe that the support of the

international community is indispensable to dealing with the

disastrous consequences of the presence of such mines.

While still on the issue of conflicts, we wish to reiterate

our support for the recently concluded International

Conference for the Protection of War Victims and its

recommendations. We are firmly convinced that

humanitarian law must be made completely universal, widely

known and fully respected, and must be extended to fully

cover non-international conflicts.

My delegation continues to watch with interest the

political developments gaining momentum in South Africa.

Yet, much as the ongoing negotiations offer hope for a

resolution of this problem, we are deeply saddened that the

continuing violence, directed especially against innocent

people - the majority of whom are blacks - goes on

undiminished. Violence, in whatever form, is an abhorrence,

but its pursuit by unscrupulous groups and individuals to

reap political capital, at a time when patience, courage,

commitment and tolerance are required, can only give us all

cause for concern.

We therefore wish to appeal to all, regardless of

affiliation, to exercise forbearance and to renounce the use

of violence. But, more so, we call on all Governments and

political leaders to use their influence with their supporters

to prevail upon them not to threaten the democratization

process and to work constructively for a better South Africa.

This appeal goes also to all emerging democracies.

Now that the goal of majority rule is in sight, it is time

for blacks, who have for long suffered under the odious

system of apartheid, to close their ranks in solid unity so

that, together, they may be able to let the new South Africa

create an impact on the international scene, for their own

benefit and the benefit of all South Africans.

42 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

We appeal to black South Africans to forge greater

unity and to be conscious of their responsibility to disprove

the assertion of the apologists for apartheid that blacks are

incapable of ruling themselves. For it is only when they act

in unison and stop the violence that they will be able to

enjoy the fruits of their freedom struggle, which they have

endured for so long and are, at last, about to win.

Sierra Leone has for many years supported a

comprehensive solution to the Middle East conflict, based on

Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973).

We see the recent mutual recognition of the Palestine

Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel as an extremely

positive step towards the full restoration of peace in the

Middle East.

We also encourage all the parties to the ongoing

negotiations concerning other facets of the Middle East

problem to demonstrate the same spirit of accommodation in

the interests of their own people, who for decades have

known nothing but strife, conflict, suffering and hatred, and

in the interests of peace and of mankind as a whole.

Sierra Leone supports the territorial integrity of Kuwait.

I would now like to turn to another important matter in

this Organization: that is the functioning of the Security

Council.

Undoubtedly, just as a growing number of nations

continue to encourage greater participation by their citizens

in the attainment of the ends of the State, so must this

national awareness of the need for political harmony and

justice be a paradigm instructive to the Security Council,

which, as the primary organ responsible for the maintenance

of international peace and security, should be perceived as

legitimate in its decision-making process and, thus, should

embrace the views of a wider section of the international

community.

It is necessary at this juncture to express our concerns -

concerns that are shared by many small States Members of

this Organization - regarding the willingness of the

international community, but more so its major players, to

ensure respect for the principles enshrined in our Charter.

It is clear that the time has come to articulate the normative

values that are to be pursued in guaranteeing the security of

those who are not in a position to undertake their own

defence and to reassure them that their reliance on the

United Nations as the guarantor of their sovereignty against

violations by stronger nations has not been misplaced.

The failure to halt aggression in some recent cases has

seriously undermined the foundations of the common

security arrangement that the end of the cold-war presaged.

The repeated indecision with which aggression in different

parts of the world has been confronted has set a dangerous

precedent by undermining the confidence of small nations in

the Organization’s protective capacity and by encouraging

automatic resort to self-defence, with a concomitant increase

in arms build-up. It also goes some way to assuaging the

residual fears that perpetrators of massive violations of

human rights, even genocide, may have had that their

despicable actions will somehow be met with purpose and

resolve by the international community.

In the coming days, there must be a firm, unequivocal,

timely and balanced response from the international

community to threats to and breaches of international peace

and security if the Bosnian experience is not to become a

feature of relations between States. It is undesirable to allow

the view to prevail that the international community is more

disposed to act forcefully in certain instances than in others.

It is in this vein that we must express our concern over the

apparent deterioration of the security situation in Somalia.

We express the belief that, despite the provocation, a

distinction must continue to be made between the Somali

people, the warlords and gunmen. We firmly reject those

who want to impose tyranny on the Somali people, and we

express our heartfelt condolences to the families of those

gallant peace-keepers who have fallen while on duty in

Somalia.

The World Conference on Human Rights held in

Vienna in June this year was a landmark event which was

able to overcome the numerous challenges that it faced.

That Conference addressed, inter alia, such fundamental

human rights as the rights of women and children and

reaffirmed the universality of human rights and the

legitimate role of the international community in protecting

these rights worldwide. It also reaffirmed the importance of

economic, social and cultural rights and the right to

development, and it adopted several practical steps to

promote and protect human rights in both private and public

life. The challenge now facing us is to implement the

recommendations of that Conference.

We would not like to reopen the debate regarding

human rights standards. The United Nations established

those standards more than 40 years ago. What is important

is that human rights should remain universal and

non-selective. Human beings all over the world, irrespective

of their race, religion, gender or class, must enjoy equal

rights and protection.

Forty-eighth session - 28 September l993 43

We see the re-emergence of racism and ethnic conflict

at its genocidal worst today in various parts of the world.

The United Nations must assume a much stronger role in

trying to prevent and minimize the suffering caused to

people who are subjected to the pain and intimidation of this

dark display of man’s inhumanity to man. Regrettably, in

many lands today, on every continent and among peoples of

every race, colour, language and religion, conflicts erupt in

unspeakable violence. As has been observed, ethnic tensions

have become the racial fault line in widely diverse societies

all over the globe - the advanced, the developing, the

relatively stable and the unstable alike. We must redouble

our efforts and guard against such dangers.

Sierra Leone continues to be concerned by the problem

of refugees and displaced persons, particularly as we

ourselves have become victims of such a phenomenon.

Apart from the effort to prevent and avert the flow of

refugees, if our people are to be able to return to their

communities, remain there and rebuild their lives they must

have what the United Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees calls "emergency development funds" to meet their

basic needs in the areas of health care, education and

employment. While acknowledging the generosity that the

international community has shown in the past in respect of

refugees worldwide, we appeal to that community in general,

and to the major donors in particular, not to give in to "aid

fatigue" but to meet the urgent and felt needs of their

brethren and sisters, many of whom have found themselves

refugees overnight through no fault of their own.

Sierra Leone therefore urges the international

community to look at these ever-present challenges: how to

assist uprooted people, particularly in the context of conflict

and grinding poverty; how to enable the displaced to return

home in safety and dignity and rebuild their lives; and how

to prevent and solve refugee problems.

However, while providing help and assistance to

mitigate the refugee problem, we remain convinced that

unless and until the international community can overcome

the scourge of poverty, that problem will remain insoluble

and be constantly with us. It is therefore our fervent hope

that, even at this late hour, renewed impetus will once again

be found to prevent and eradicate this condition of human

misery.

The necessity of guaranteeing the foundation of a

common security evidently goes beyond the reduction or

elimination of military conflicts and embraces human

security as a whole. Indeed, the fortunes of many a society

will hinge on this, as in many developing countries the root

cause of political and social upheaval or military conflict

remains grinding poverty. Without the eradication of this

scourge, the prospect for human development will remain

bleak. Regrettably, for many of our countries in Africa,

especially the least developed among us, two years after the

adoption of the New Agenda for the Development of Africa

in the 1990s our experience has been one of disappointment

and frustration. Even though most African countries have

carried out the structural adjustment programmes and put in

place democratic structures, the development partnership

promised by the New Agenda has not been forthcoming.

With few exceptions, the resources necessary to get the New

Agenda implemented have not been made available.

Today poverty and underdevelopment continue to

plague countries like mine in sub-Saharan Africa despite the

commendable efforts of this Organization to solve some of

these palpable problems. It is a matter of regret that the

new world order seems to have relegated the economic and

developmental needs and problems of Africa to the lower

rungs on its list of priorities. The New Agenda for the

Development of Africa in the 1990s is failing because of a

lack of funding and support from the international

community. The implementation of this New Agenda

requires the full participation of the international community,

especially donor Governments and organizations and

programmes of the United Nations system. It is therefore of

the utmost importance and urgency that economic, technical

and development assistance be provided to Africa by the

international community, which unfortunately has not

responded sufficiently to our needs. We therefore call on

our partners in development to give us all the support

necessary to make the reforms that we have carried out

successful and the sacrifices we have made not a mere waste

of time.

Our present situation also underscores an urgent need

for support for the effective functioning of the proposed

African Economic Community, which is designed to enhance

economic integration and cooperation in Africa. Financial

and technical assistance must be provided to African

regional and subregional organizations for them to be able

to overcome the socio-economic challenges facing them.

We fully accept that responsibility for Africa’s development

rests with us Africans, but it is obvious that for us to be able

to achieve and sustain the goal of development, particularly

in the face of all the obstacles against us, including highly

unfavourable terms of trade, we must receive much stronger

support from the international community. With such

support, the vast potential of the continent will be properly

utilized so that we do not miss yet again an opportunity to

provide a catalyst for Africa’s meaningful contribution to the

44 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

growing global economy from which we all must benefit.

It is for this reason that we look forward to the forthcoming

Tokyo International Conference on African Development,

which should provide yet another opportunity for committed

international support for Africa’s development efforts. We

also look forward to a balanced and successful outcome of

the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations and an

expansion of world trade, improved commodity pricing,

greater market access and non-restrictive trade practices that

will work for the benefit of all countries, especially those in

the process of development.

The trauma that many African societies are

experiencing daily in the fight against poverty, malnutrition

and disease must not be allowed to become a way of life.

The improvement of our people’s lot is as much to be

realized through aid flows as it is to be guaranteed by

long-term measures aimed at addressing the heavy debt

burden, discriminatory trade practices and depressed

commodity prices from which so many of us suffer. We in

Africa would dearly love to be able to lift ourselves by our

own bootstraps but we cannot do so when our bootstraps are

firmly in the hands of others.

We face a most painful dilemma, wherein we find

ourselves in a position from which we presently seem unable

to influence the forces that shape our destinies. But the

problems we encounter as developing countries should not

deter us from forging ahead to find new ways to

development and prosperity. The experience gained by such

countries as Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and

other South-East Asian countries clearly shows that success

can be gained in the long run where there is sacrifice,

determination and hard work.

This notwithstanding, Africa’s underdevelopment

remains unique, and unless the international community

applies creative and effective comprehensive measures, such

as debt-for-development swaps and other debt relief

measures, the solution to Africa’s economic crisis,

particularly for countries in the least developed category,

will continue to be illusory. In a world where the gap

between the rich and the poor countries is growing wider

every day, the need for economic and technical cooperation

between developing countries cannot be overstated.

With regard to the United Nations Conference on

Environment and Development (UNCED), we welcome the

establishment of the Commission on Sustainable

Development as a functional Commission of the Economic

and Social Council. What now remains to be put in place is

the practical implementation of the Commission’s mandate

to ensure the effective follow-up of UNCED. Sierra Leone

welcomes the decision to convene a Global Conference on

the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing

States in April 1994.

At the recent United Nations Conference on Straddling

Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, the plight of

many coastal States, including mine, was highlighted

regarding the lack of an effective monitoring, control and

surveillance system that can be maintained on a sustained

basis in the face of the continuing indiscriminate advance of

certain distant-water fishing nations, some of which not only

fish the straddling stocks outside the jurisdiction area, but

enter and violate the territorial rights of our countries. Even

the fleets of those nations which obtain relevant licenses to

fish do not declare the correct catches for reliable data

records. Consequently, the true state of exploitation of the

stocks within the national jurisdiction of most of our

countries is not accurately known, and so Sierra Leone,

despite its location in one of the most fertile areas in terms

of marine living resources, realizes only a miniscule amount

from these resources as a result of the activities of the

distant-water fleets.

This present state of affairs is certainly untenable and

should not remain unchecked. The exploitation of our

meagre resources by larger nations and bodies taking

advantage of our technological weaknesses can only worsen

our economic situation. These wanton fishing practices also

threaten to deplete the fishing grounds of our nations and to

become great environmental hazards. I therefore wish to

reiterate the support expressed by the Sierra Leone

delegation for the conclusions of that Conference, which we

hope will bring about a radical change in the present

exploitation of our marine resources. I hope our experts will

soon be able to sit down with experts of the United Nations

to work out modalities that will ensure the equitable and

judicious exploitation of our marine resources.

Looking back at the progress accomplished by mankind

over the past few decades of its quest for peace, security and

social progress, we have to admit that the results achieved

have been mixed.

A few years ago, for example, the world watched with

hope and expectation as nations and societies were infused

with a new energy which held out the promise of a new,

dynamic era in which our societies would at last realize the

potential for peace and the global environment would be

transformed for the better. Then, many of us were

convinced that, if history had taught us anything, it had

impressed on us that this journey’s success could not endure

Forty-eighth session - 28 September l993 45

unless we divested ourselves of the old flawed and

discredited formulae in which the age behind us had been

embedded. It was our hope that, phoenix-like, we would

rise from the ashes of unfulfilled dreams and start on a

journey towards the fulfilment of our aspirations to a golden

age.

Today, some way into that journey, we have begun to

wonder whether that dream was not a mirage, whether the

new reality on which so much depends will be shaped with

the good will and cooperation of all nations, big and small

alike.

In the past, many of us called for the emerging order to

be nurtured and shaped by the joint will of the international

community as a whole, mindful as we were of the need to

anchor this new direction on principles we all believed in

and subscribed to. We are still of that view. Yet, though

the recent months have witnessed a process of revitalization

in the Organization’s responsibilities for crisis management

and its larger engagement with the maintenance of

international peace and security, we are increasingly

concerned about emerging trends that may not augur well for

the global political and socio-economic transformation we all

anticipate.

The assurance of international security cannot succeed

for long unless we are able, as an Organization, to forge

international consensus among all Members on measures that

are of primary importance to us all. New energy should

impel us to find the source of today’s problems, so as to

mitigate the disastrous conditions under which a large

segment of mankind continues to live. New impetus should

be given to breaking the constraints that for so long kept us

from gaining access to those in need and finding solutions

to their problems.

It is our fervent hope that all of us, with new vision and

commitment, will accomplish these goals so that we may

attain the new world order that was conceived within the

parameters of the ideals of this Organization.