Sudan, 2001

Allow me

to extend, on behalf of the people and Government of

the Sudan, our heartfelt condolences to the Government

and people of the Dominican Republic and to the

families of the victims of the tragic American Airlines

crash that took place earlier this week.

We would also like to express our condolences to

the brotherly people of Algeria, who recently suffered

sweeping floods in their country.

At the outset, I would like to express to you,

Mr. President, our warm congratulations on your

election as President of the fifty-sixth session of the

General Assembly. We are pleased to assure you of our

confidence in your ability to lead our work to success.

We would also like to express our gratitude to

Mr. Harri Holkeri for the able and efficient way in

which he discharged the presidency during the last

session.

I would also like to salute Mr. Kofi Annan,

Secretary-General of the United Nations, and extend to

him our warm congratulations on his re-election to

head the Organization for a second term. I am pleased

to congratulate him once again on winning the Nobel

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Peace Prize. We are confident that he will continue in

his untiring efforts to lead the Organization towards its

noble objectives of achieving a better tomorrow for

humanity.

This session is being held at a time of extremely

complex developments in the wake of the tragic

terrorist acts that took place in New York and

Washington, D.C. From this podium, I would like to

reaffirm Sudan’s condemnation and denunciation of

terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We would

like to express once again our sincere condolences to

the Government of the United States and to the families

of the victims.

The Sudan calls upon the Organization to rise to

the onerous challenges, heavy burdens and subsequent

repercussions of these events. This will require a

coordinated and collective international effort to

combat terrorism and uproot its causes and sources

under the authority of international legitimacy. In this

context, we must differentiate between good and

evil — we must avoid putting both in one basket. We

should not confuse the issues, because if we do, good

might be transformed into evil.

I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize

Sudan’s readiness to continue to participate in and

contribute to this effort. Sudan has ranked first among

Member States that have ratified or acceded to

international conventions on terrorism. At the regional

level, Sudan was among the first countries to ratify the

Arab Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism. It

has also ratified the Convention of the Organization of

the Islamic Conference on Combating International

Terrorism. We are in the process of ratifying the

Convention of the Organization of African Unity on the

Prevention and Combating of Terrorism. At the

national level, we have adopted a law to fight

terrorism. Through these measures, my country is

helping to build a proper and sound foundation for

combating and uprooting international terrorism in

accordance with international legitimacy.

I would like to join those who preceded me by

saying that terrorism does not belong to a particular

religion, nationality, or ethnic group. It is an

international phenomenon. Therefore, we must

coordinate our efforts internationally to uproot it. We

deplore efforts in some circles to link terrorism with

Islam in cheap attempt to sow discord among the

followers of divine religions and to portray the issue as

a clash between cultures and civilizations. Islam is a

religion of peace and tolerance, and as such is far from

having any connection to terrorism.

The proceedings of this session could not have

come at a more opportune moment for us in the Sudan.

We reaped the benefit of our common efforts supported

by our brothers and friends to lift the sanctions that

have been imposed on the Sudan by the Security

Council since 1996. This will contribute to Sudan’s

further cooperation with the international community.

In this context, the Sudan calls upon the Security

Council to pursue this objective policy and review the

sanctions it has imposed on a number of countries,

including Libya and Iraq.

The Sudan also calls upon the Security Council to

dispatch a fact-finding mission in connection with the

Alshifa pharmaceutical factory in the Sudan, which

was destroyed by American missiles in August 1998.

We believe that the bombardment of this factory was a

flagrant mistake committed by the former American

administration. It is a mistake that should be

recognized and corrected, which would allow Member

States and peoples of the world to regain confidence in

the Organization and help remove a source of

grievance and injustice. Thus the people of the world

could live together in a world of justice, equality,

security and peace.

The delegation of the Sudan believes that now is

the time to end the unilateral coercive economic

measures imposed on certain countries, including the

Sudan, which have negative effects on many sectors of

our population, particularly women and children.

We in the Sudan look forward to a new era in our

relations with the Organization following the lifting of

the sanctions imposed on our country. We are pleased

to confirm that we will endeavour to make every

possible moral and intellectual effort to support the

activities of the Organization that promote the well-

being of humanity. We also anticipate that the

Organization will play an effective role and make a

new contribution towards assisting the Sudan in the

implementation of its national development

programmes, including the eradication of poverty and

the rehabilitation of areas destroyed by war.

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The Sudan, as the current Chair of two African

regional organizations, the Intergovernmental

Authority on Development and the Community of

Sahelo-Saharan States, would like once again to recall

the historic Declaration adopted by the Millennium

Summit so as to confront the challenges faced at all

levels by the international community in the twenty-

first century. The Sudan hopes this Declaration will be

translated into real and tangible action aimed at

achieving justice and equality and the full participation

of all Member States in the creation of a better

tomorrow where human beings will be liberated from

fear, poverty and destitution.

For us to realize our aspirations, this session

should give special attention to reforming the

Organization’s organs, since they are the mechanisms

through which the international community coordinates

plans to realize international peace and security,

comprehensive development and prosperity for all

humanity. The Security Council tops the list of these

organs. Member States have been calling for an

expansion of its membership in the permanent and non-

permanent categories, so that it will be more

representative of the current United Nations

membership. They have also called for improvement in

its working methods and decision-making process,

which should be more democratic and transparent.

The General Assembly should be enabled to carry

out its role as enshrined in the United Nations Charter

with respect to maintaining international peace and

security, and should also exercise its duty to hold other

organs of the Organization accountable.

We should like to emphasize the need to

revitalize the role of the Economic and Social Council,

considering that it is the forum that sets out

international development policies. Its resolutions

should be linked more to economic and social aspects

than to political ones. The Council should be guided by

the decisions adopted at the Vienna Conference, which

considered the right to development an inalienable

human right.

All countries that participated in the World

Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination,

Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, held in Durban,

South Africa, unanimously confirmed their utmost

determination to eradicate all forms of racism and

xenophobia and to address their root causes in order to

achieve justice and fairness for all peoples who have

suffered and continue to suffer from the scourge of

these heinous practices. The Sudan supported the

implementation of recommendations from the Durban

Conference, including those of the Group of eminent

persons.

With regard to the deteriorating situation in the

Middle East, the Sudan expresses its deep concern at

the stalemate in the peace process and reaffirms the

need for total Israeli withdrawal from the occupied

Arab territories in accordance with United Nations

resolutions. This will enable the Palestinian people to

regain its sovereignty over its territories and establish

its independent State with holy Jerusalem as its capital,

and allow sisterly Syria and Lebanon to restore their

sovereignty over all their occupied territories.

The Sudan also reiterates its deep concern for the

negative humanitarian impacts of the current military

operations in Afghanistan on the civilian population.

We welcome and support the mission of the Secretary-

General’s representative, Lakhdar Brahimi, to bring

peace and stability to Afghanistan.

With regard to Somalia, where the tragedies of

the long-standing war spread negative effects to the

whole region of the Horn of Africa, the Sudan

delegation calls upon all Somali parties to respond to

the voice of reason and complete national

reconciliation in Somalia, allowing Somalia to fulfil its

regional and international role.

By the decision adopted at the eighth

Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)

Summit in Khartoum last November, the Sudan was

mandated, together with neighbouring countries, to

complete the national reconciliation efforts in

coordination with Somalia’s Transitional Government.

In conformity with this mandate to restore stability in

Somalia, the President of the Republic of the Sudan,

Omer Hassan Ahmed Al-Bashir, current Chairman of

IGAD, has appointed a special envoy for peace in that

sisterly country. The special envoy is engaged in

intensive contacts with the countries of the subregion,

the Transitional Government in Somalia, the different

Somali factions and the IGAD secretariat. From this

podium, the delegation of the Sudan calls upon the

United Nations and the international community to

support the efforts to restore security, stability and

infrastructure in Somalia, so that the Government will

be able to fulfil its commitments and establish peace

and stability in the country.

27

We understand the concern of the international

community over the continuation of the war in the

southern Sudan. I would like to bring to the

Assembly’s attention the position of the Government of

the Sudan with a view to ending the war and achieving

peace through the following steps: an immediate,

supervised and total ceasefire; regular access to

humanitarian assistance for the population in need;

negotiations on a political solution to the problem; and

the reconstruction of the areas affected by the war.

The ninth IGAD Summit is to be held in

Khartoum in January of next year. We hope that the

questions of the Sudan and Somalia will be given the

importance they deserve so that leaders will come away

with a clear vision of how to end the war and restore

peace in this sensitive region of the world.

In this context, I would like to refer to the

statement of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of

human rights in the Sudan before the Third Committee

last week. He stated that the war in the Sudan is not a

religious war, as is repeatedly alleged by some circles

wishing to distort the truth.

I would like to take this opportunity to commend

the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Libyan Arab

Jamahiriya for their joint initiative for peace and

reconciliation in the Sudan. I would also like to pay

tribute to IGAD member States for their initiative to

stop the war in the Sudan and the genuine efforts to

restore peace in my country. The Government of the

Sudan will continue its commitment to cooperating

with the United Nations, donor countries and

humanitarian organizations in order to facilitate the

delivery of humanitarian assistance to the victims of

the war.

With regard to economics, the Government has

maintained and enhanced reform and liberalization

programmes and has introduced measures and

incentives to promote local and foreign private

investment. The Sudan has now succeeded in

normalizing its relations with regional and

international financial institutions. A positive sign of

this is an increase in local investments and steady

flows of foreign investment to the Sudan.

We are mindful of the accelerated pace of

globalization in the domain of international law,

especially in the field of criminal liability and bringing

before international criminal authorities individuals

charged with committing heinous crimes prohibited by

international law.

In this connection, we believe it is imperative that

all States and individuals should stand as equals before

international law. The avoidance of double standards is

a true safeguard against the distortion of international

justice and ensures that it stays on the right path. We

have made considerable effort in the past few years, in

coordination with many countries of the world, to

guarantee the faithful application of these standards

and noble principles. To this end, the Sudan chose to

follow words with deeds by quickly signing the Rome

Statute establishing the International Criminal Court.

International cooperation on disarmament should

be based on commitment and adherence to

international law and the purposes and principles of the

United Nations Charter, including the sovereign

equality of States, territorial integrity, the peaceful

settlement of disputes, non-interference in the internal

affairs of other States and the legitimate right of States

to self-defence.

In conclusion, I would like to invite the Assembly

to reaffirm the political will required to achieve

international peace and security. I call upon all to adopt

concrete measures ensuring that globalization becomes

a positive engine of progress; that its advantages and

benefits are shared by humanity at large, not restricted

to a minority; and that globalization does not lead to

cultural and intellectual hegemony and is not used as a

means of political and economic pressure. If that

happened, it would undoubtedly result in widening the

development gap and the clash between the different

cultures of the North and the South.

Let us all join together in a new era of

international relations based on the rejection of

conflicts and confrontation, on mutual respect and non-

interference in the internal affairs of others. To this

end, I would like to reaffirm the Sudan’s commitment

and pledge to cooperate with the international

community to move forward in realizing the common

aspirations of all humanity.