Sierra Leone, 1996

On behalf of my country and on

my own behalf, I extend to you, Sir, our warmest

congratulations on your unanimous election as President of

the fifty-first session of the Assembly. Your election is

indeed a deserving tribute to you personally and to your

great country, Malaysia, which, over the years, has been

unflagging in its commitment to the principles and ideals of

this Organization — the attainment of international peace

and justice. I am confident that your rich diplomatic

experience, coupled with your fine human qualities, will

enable you to guide the deliberations of this session of the

Assembly to a successful conclusion. Permit me, Sir, to

also take this opportunity to extend my delegation’s

gratitude to your predecessor for having so ably steered the

Assembly’s fiftieth session up to this momentous occasion.

I should like at this point to convey our appreciation

and gratitude to the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros

Boutros-Ghali, for the dedicated and able manner in which

he has guided the work of the Organization. In this regard,

we reaffirm our support for the Organization of African

Unity’s (OAU) declaration on the Secretary-General’s re-

election. Permit me, Mr. Secretary-General, to convey,

through you, to the entire staff of the United Nations our

admiration for their loyalty and commitment to the

Organization.

I bring also the greetings and good will of the

people of Sierra Leone. They have requested me to

convey our sincere gratitude to the international

community for its support in restoring democracy to our

country in March this year. I stand here today as a

testimony to the right of that people, who in March of

this year elected their Government and chose their

destiny. As their leader, I am determined to live up to

their high aspirations and expectations. Allow me on this

occasion also to pay tribute to our gallant citizens, many

of whom lost their lives in the process of restoring

democracy and constitutional rule to our country.

Despite this great achievement, my country is still

haunted and tormented by the spectre of ongoing civil

conflict in our country. The rebel war inflicted severe

pain and suffering on my people, who had never before

imagined that such a terrible thing could happen to us.

Thousands of innocent civilians — men, women and

children — lost their lives; others were traumatized, as

well as physically or psychologically crippled for life; still

others continue to languish as refugees or displaced

persons in inhospitable camps.

The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has no

political agenda and no respect for the democratic

process. It consistently ignored an invitation to participate

in the recent internationally supervised elections in spite

of numerous appeals and offers of assistance by the

United Nations and other intergovernmental organizations.

Instead, it set out to disrupt those elections by unleashing

violence against the electorates, killing many and

maiming many more. Thanks to our determination to

restore democracy in our country, this RUF attempt

failed, as did its effort to collude with the military junta

and share power in defiance of the democratic process.

The RUF draws its support from abducted villagers

and rural schoolchildren, including girls aged seven and

older, and maintains their “loyalty” with the use of drugs

and terror.

This notwithstanding, my Government entered into

peace negotiations in the spirit of reconciliation, and I am

pleased to report that the talks have advanced

considerably. In March 1996, just after my assumption of

office, a ceasefire was agreed upon. In spite of some

incidents, it is still generally holding.

On behalf of the people and Government of the

Republic of Sierra Leone, I should like to take this

opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the Secretary-

4

General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for the continuing

support he has afforded us to in promoting the cause of

democratization and the restoration of peace in my country

and, in particular, for his assignment of a Special Envoy,

whose constructive and enduring role has helped to advance

the peace process. I should also like to express gratitude to

President Henri Konan-Bédié and the Government and

people of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire for the selfless and

painstaking efforts they have deployed in hosting and

mediating the talks between the Government of Sierra

Leone and the RUF.

After protracted and painstaking negotiations that

involved extensive Government concessions, including a

general amnesty for all RUF members; an undertaking to

help set up a trust fund for the RUF to assist it in

transforming itself into a political party; the offer of jobs to

the RUF leader and his followers, including their absorption

into the army, the police and other government institutions,

the RUF leader finally indicated his readiness to sign a

peace agreement drafted by the host Government, Côte

d’Ivoire.

However, the RUF leader now seems to be unwilling

to honour his commitment to sign the agreement,

manufacturing various excuses to justify his prevarication.

We are concerned that continued intransigence and

prevarication by the RUF could precipitate a full-scale

resumption of hostilities, given the increasing level of

distrust between the two sides. It is therefore time for the

international community to act to forestall this potential

catastrophe by demanding that the RUF sign the peace

agreement without further delay. Failing this, the imposition

of sanctions against it should be considered, including the

denial of access to the facilities and territories of third

countries, and the prospect of its arraignment before a war

crimes tribunal for the serious crimes being perpetrated

against innocent civilians.

While we persevere in our efforts to bring this conflict

to a peaceful end, I owe it to our people to emphasize the

need for the continued support of the international

community to help us in the task of rehabilitation and

reconstruction. We are encouraged by the outcome of the

recent round-table conference on Sierra Leone held in

Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP). We take this

opportunity to express our sincere thanks to those countries

that have pledged generously to assist in our post-conflict

rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. We, for our part,

are determined to rebuild our country with all the energy

and resources we can muster from within our borders. We

have already embarked on this process, and we are

determined to see it through, no matter what sacrifice is

necessary.

Two decades ago, the prevailing perception in this

body was that the end of the cold war would dramatically

reduce the incidence of regional conflicts and thus

enhance international peace and security. Today, however,

those conflicts appear to have been replaced by civil wars

and ethnic strife, which now pose the greatest challenge

to the peacekeeping and peacemaking capacities of the

United Nations.

We have witnessed mass horrors in Rwanda and

Burundi, and intense internal strife in Somalia, Liberia

and, to a lesser extent, in my own country. Bosnia and

Herzegovina, Chechnya and the occupied Palestinian

territories all have continued to engage the attention of

the international community. We call upon the leaders and

actors in those conflicts to renounce violence and to

embark on sincere and serious negotiations with a view to

finding peaceful solutions. Agreements reached should be

honoured and respected. The innocent, who are all too

often the victims of such conflicts, cry out for peaceful

resolution.

As regards the question of the peaceful resolution of

conflicts, of particular concern to my country is the

situation in Liberia. Consensus has once again emerged

from the political dialogue between the various factions,

giving rise to renewed hopes of a durable peace for that

devastated country and its people. Full implementation of

the conditions embodied in the new implementation plan

of the Abuja Agreement, concluded at the recent

Economic Community of West African States Committee

of Nine summit held in Abuja, Federal Republic of

Nigeria, would provide real hope for Liberia. We remain

confident that this time around, those responsible for the

Liberians’ pain and suffering will find the courage and

patriotism to spare their fellow citizens further violence

and bloodshed. Enough is enough. The defenceless people

of Liberia, especially innocent children, men and women,

have a right to freedom from violence; they have a right

to life.

The situation in the Great Lakes region of Africa is

also cause for serious concern. As we watch the cautious

return of Rwandan refugees, we hope and pray that the

wounds inflicted by ethnic strife will heal on the platform

of national reconciliation. The ongoing crisis in Burundi

also poses a challenge to the international community. In

5

the light of my own country’s recent history, we cannot

condone the seizure of power by the military from a

constitutionally elected Government. We call on all

concerned not to relent in their search for a long-term

solution to the horrendous crisis. Looking at the broader

picture of tackling such difficulties, we hope that others

will support the efforts of the Organization of African

Unity to strengthen its Mechanism for the prevention and

resolution of conflicts.

Closely linked to the issue of peace is that of the

protection of human rights. We reaffirm our faith in justice

and in the dignity and worth of the human person. That is

why Sierra Leone fully supports the work of the

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

We commend the work of the Preparatory Committee for

its current efforts aimed at preparing the text of a statute

for an international criminal court, which will have an

important role in the area of massive human rights

violations, which, notwithstanding the sad lessons of

history, continue today in several parts of the world.

While political, regional and ethnic conflicts, civil

wars and the menace of armaments — both nuclear and

conventional — are a major concern, Sierra Leone believes

that the greatest threat to international peace and security

today lies in poverty and in economic and social

deprivation. The nature and complexity of the economic

and social problems that beset Africa are all too familiar to

us. The majority of African countries, including Sierra

Leone, continue to face a myriad of economic and

structural challenges. Africa has the largest number of least

developed countries and the lowest average per capita

income in the developing world. In fact, Africa’s overall

living standards and socio-economic conditions have

deteriorated considerably since the beginning of this decade.

Most African countries have encountered numerous

difficulties over the years in their effort to mobilize and

deploy financial and human resources for economic

development. The levels of investment have not been

encouraging; nor have the levels of agricultural and mineral

outputs, due in large part to drought, economic

disincentives, political manipulation and an unfavourable

international environment. In many cases, aided and abetted

by ruthless arms merchants, many of us continue to engage

in senseless fratricidal conflicts and the wanton destruction

of the development infrastructure.

We are also obliged to note that budgetary constraints

faced by various developed countries, clarification of

foreign aid objectives, revised conditions governing the

granting of assistance, and the heightened competition

among various regions for aid packages constitute a

serious challenge for developing countries such as mine.

The ubiquitous debt burden and the debt- servicing levels

in no way help the situation, as they continue to be a

major stumbling block on the path of African economic

recovery and sustainable growth. Overseas development

assistance and resource flows have dwindled to a level

that gives us cause for concern. The downward trend in

export commodity prices and the agricultural policies of

some of the industrialized nations have had a negative

impact on Africa’s trade in these commodities, the main

source of income for socio-economic development. In this

connection, the debt burden that continues to hang over us

has conspired to frustrate our efforts at economic recovery

and development.

Sierra Leone strongly believes that the urgent

implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for

the Development of Africa in the 1990s, adopted by the

Assembly on 18 December 1991, is the best hope yet for

setting Africa on the road to positive sustainable

economic development. We appreciate the fact that the

basic tenets of the New Agenda are grounded on the

principles of shared responsibility and global partnership

between Africa and the rest of the international

community.

Virtually all Member States of the first and second

worlds represented in the Assembly have experienced, at

one time or another, the same or similar problems in their

struggle for national unity and economic prosperity; we

read about them in the cold pages of history.

Unfortunately for us Africans, our economic and other

problems — teething problems, if I may say so — are

transmitted live, instantly, by satellite to television sets

across the globe.

Looking at current economic, social and political

conditions on our continent, including the atrocities meted

out to our own kith and kin, one is inclined to lose hope

in the ability of Africa to achieve sustainable

development.

But the thrust of my message today is simple: I

appeal to the international community not to abandon

Africa. Even though we may be on our knees in anguish,

I firmly believe that there is hope for Africa, that Africa

and its people have the ability and capacity to overcome

natural and self-inflicted constraints and to achieve

political stability as well as reasonable economic

prosperity. We have recently witnessed many changes on

the continent that lend credence to Africa’s genuine

6

commitment to the New Agenda for Africa and to other

plans for economic and political stability. Hence, there is

still hope for Africa. My presence here is symbolic of that

hope. In spite of a rebel war that still hangs over my

country, and in spite of attempts to frustrate the will of the

people to choose their destiny freely and in a democratic

manner, Sierra Leoneans opted for democracy. We are

determined to achieve genuine peace as well as the

objectives we have set for ourselves, which are

commensurate with the enormous sacrifices our people have

made.

I am confident, therefore, that the political dialogue to

ensure the advent of good governance, which has begun in

earnest in most countries throughout the continent, will

continue. Given the proper chance to grow, our new and

emerging democracies will gradually bear fruit, and our

distressed nations will once again be guided by lofty

democratic ideals in an environment of peace, security and

stability. African democracy will eventually be the order of

the day. For these gains to be fully realized, it is therefore

imperative that the international community continue to

play a catalytic role in Africa’s development.

In virtually every policy statement, every address and

every current discussion about the United Nations there is

some reference to reform in our Organization. We are

encouraged by the work of various intergovernmental

bodies to develop constructive ideas for reform. However,

reform should not be seen only in terms of the so-called

bloated bureaucracy of the Secretariat, to be used as a

scapegoat for not meeting our obligations towards the

Organization.

In the view of the Government of Sierra Leone, we

need a systemic reform; a reform of the political decision-

making process in the Organization; a reform of some of

the archaic methods and practices in the institutions that

compose the United Nations system. Let us begin by

transforming, indeed transferring, the principles and

concepts of democratic governance, empowerment, power-

sharing, decentralization and pluralism that we espouse for

nation States to the international community at large. In this

regard, Africa should be entitled to play its role in the

Security Council, the primary decision-making organ of this

Organization, particularly in relation to international peace

and stability.

In pursuit of this objective, we would like to recall

and support the position expressed by the Non-Aligned

Movement, that is, if there is no agreement on other

categories of membership, expansion should take place, for

the time being, only in the non-permanent category. I

should like to note in this regard that the proposal of

Italy, among others, deserves careful consideration, as it

aims at increasing the participation of all Member States

in the Council, in particular medium-sized and small

countries, and it would improve its representative and

democratic character.

For our part, we affirm our faith in the United

Nations, which, in spite of its defects, remains the

greatest hope for the maintenance of international peace

and security, and for the promotion of the economic and

social advancement of all peoples in our interdependent

world.

Who needs the United Nations? First, it is an

important institution. Furthermore, it is an effective

international mechanism when used properly. Some of us

represented in the Assembly may need it more than

others, but we all do, in one way or another.

Let us therefore rededicate ourselves to its principles

and objectives, and, in the words of the Charter, make it

at least

“a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in

the attainment of these common ends”.