The Gambia, 1998

My delegation would like first

of all to congratulate the President on his assumption of

the presidency for this session. We know full well that

the tasks that lie ahead are indeed challenging, but we are

confident that with his vast experience and wisdom he

will discharge his responsibilities successfully. Whilst we

wish him luck, let me also reassure him of the full

cooperation of our delegation at all times.

In the same vein, we would also like to congratulate

his predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, for the

admirable manner in which he conducted the activities of

the Assembly during the fifty-second session.

My delegation is very proud of Mr. Kofi Annan, our

able Secretary-General, for the efficient manner in which

he has been running the affairs of our Organization. His

impressive contributions in the field of preventive

diplomacy, as amply demonstrated on numerous

occasions, are worthy of praise. Likewise, in the delicate

business of reforms he is equal to the task, for no sooner

did he assume office than he embarked on the reform of

the United Nations. His success is our success, and

therefore we will lend him our full support in our

common endeavour to revitalize the Organization and

make it more relevant to the realities of these changing

times.

We in the Gambia have also been busy with the

transformation of our own society under the dynamic and

enlightened leadership of President Yahya A. J. J.

Jammeh, whose ideal it is to serve the youth and people

of Africa by endeavouring to help them to realize their

23

aspirations for peace, stability and justice and progress in

socio-economic development. Since we renewed our new

democratic tradition, every effort is being made to

consolidate this process in an orderly way, mindful of the

fact that better and lasting results will be achieved only

through a systematic approach.

Moreover, cultivating democracy in the midst of

poverty is not an easy task because democracy is, after all,

about participation. If the basic needs of the people are not

satisfied, they are simply not interested in any political

process. Conscious of this hard reality, the Government of

President Jammeh quickly put in place a programme of

socio-economic development to empower the people and

their families, placing great emphasis on social sectors such

as health, education and agriculture. In this way, an

impressive number of schools have been built around the

country, and now we can boast of providing schools for all

communities in the Gambia. Health facilities are within

reach of all Gambians and are also affordable.

May I at this juncture, on behalf of my Government,

express our most sincere gratitude to the Governments of

those friendly States — in particular, the Federal Republic

of Nigeria, Cuba, Egypt and the Republic of China on

Taiwan — for the medical assistance they continue to give

us during these times of need. This is a meaningful SouthSouth cooperation worthy of emulation.

I am only attempting to share our perception of what

inter-State relations should be: caring, sharing, consulting

and cooperating for the mutual benefit of all. I cannot think

of a better way of cooperation between States for mutual

economic development in a world in which the gap between

the rich and the poor continues to expand. Now, whilst we

are concerned with bridging this gap, we are overwhelmed

by another hurricane-like phenomenon, called globalization

and liberalization.

Globalization and liberalization were recognized by

many to hold many attractions. They were perceived to be

the gateway to the integration of developing countries into

the global economy. We however observe that while they

are yielding ample benefits for developed countries, they

have further widened the gap between developed and

developing countries, as well as the inequality gap between

rich and poor. Their impact on employment and socioeconomic development in general has been largely negative.

We are concerned at this growing marginalization of

the least developed countries in world trade. The volume of

our total exports continues to be under 0.4 per cent of

global exports. Increased globalization is further

worsening the situation. This negative trend merits

coordinated action to alleviate the situation. In this

context, we welcome the General Assembly’s decision to

hold the first high-level dialogue for two days earlier this

month on the theme of the social and economic impact of

globalization and interdependence and their policy

implications. We hope that this meeting will have brought

about active engagement of both developed and

developing countries, in a spirit of genuine partnership,

with a view to reaching a meaningful and successful

conclusion and strengthening international economic

cooperation for development. Globalization and

liberalization must be managed through concerted

international effort in order to avoid the further

marginalization of developing countries.

The overwhelming burden of external debt today

poses one of the most challenging and daunting problems

for developing countries. Much has been said about this,

and very little has been done to alleviate the problem. We

believe that there is a dire need for new financial flows to

debtor developing countries, in addition to debt relief

measures that include cancellation and concessional

financial assistance to enable developing countries to

reduce their debt overhang.

In this context, we welcome the Heavily Indebted

Poor Countries Initiative and encourage early and urgent

application of its measures. We would also encourage any

refinements of the initiative to reduce the structural

adjustment period to three years, to increase the debt

reduction level to 90 per cent and to ease the terms for

reduction of multilateral debt.

The least developed countries have always received

the attention and support of the international community,

particularly with the adoption of the Paris Declaration and

Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries

for the 1990s. The realization of the primary objectives of

the Programme — to arrest and reverse the deterioration

in the socio-economic conditions in the least developed

countries — so far remains elusive. The lack of progress

in this regard is attributable in the main to the failure of

the international community to fulfil its commitments. We

hope that the declaration of the ministers of least

developed countries at this year’s session will encourage

our development partners to come forward and work with

us in a genuine partnership.

Poverty, deprivation and environmental degradation

are the greatest evils facing developing countries today.

24

We agree with the analysis of the Secretary-General in his

report on the causes of conflict and the promotion of

durable peace and sustainable development in Africa, in

particular with regard to the interrelationship between

development and peace.

Today, the world is besieged with conflicts, both interand intra-State. From the Balkans to the Great Lakes

region, human beings continue to prey on one another with

guns and knives, machetes and all other sorts of weapons.

Unfortunately, women and children suffer the most from

these conflicts. We cannot continue to allow this to go on.

The time has come when people have to take individual

responsibility for crimes they have committed against

humankind. Ethnic violence and human rights abuses, a

common feature of present day conflicts, cannot be

countenanced and cannot be committed with impunity.

My delegation supports fully the resolve of the

international community to deal with the problem, and in

this context welcomes the establishment of the International

Criminal Court. We share the philosophy of Benjamin B.

Ferencz, a former Nuremberg prosecutor, that

“there can be no peace without justice, no justice

without law, and no meaningful law without a court to

decide what is just and lawful under any given

circumstances”.

The establishment of the International Criminal Court

will ensure that henceforth humanity’s response to crimes

against humanity will be swift and will be just. Henceforth,

no army, no ruler, no junta anywhere can abuse human

rights with impunity. The people and the Government of

the Gambia look forward to the coming into effect of the

statute of the International Criminal Court.

One of the most cherished aspirations of our

Organization is to ensure that all men live in peace. The

attainment of international peace and security therefore

remains one of the most vital preoccupations of our noble

Organization. It is for these reasons that my delegation

joins the rest of the international community in supporting

the efforts of the United Nations to ensure peace and the

resolution of conflicts around the world.

My delegation would like to take this opportunity to

commend the members of the Economic Community of

West African States (ECOWAS) and its Military Observer

Group (ECOMOG) and other regional and subregional

arrangements in Africa and beyond for the good work they

continue to do in their bid to ensure peace and security. My

delegation is particularly thankful to ECOWAS for the

restoration on 10 March 1998 of the legitimate and

constitutionally elected Government of Sierra Leone. We

are still concerned that the rebels have up to this moment

refused to lay down their arms. We urge the international

community to assist the Government of Sierra Leone in

its effort to restore control over all its territory and to

concentrate its energies on national reconciliation,

reconstruction and economic development. In this regard,

my delegation welcomed the holding of the Special

Conference on Sierra Leone that was held here in New

York at the initiative of the Secretary-General and which

we hope will contribute to the process of national

reconciliation.

In neighbouring Guinea-Bissau, we hope that the

joint peace initiative of ECOWAS and the Community of

Portuguese Language Countries will bear fruit, leading to

a final settlement of the dispute. In this context, we

recognize the need to respect the ceasefire agreed upon in

Praia, Cape Verde, on 26 August 1998, which we

consider to be an important step in enhancing peace and

security in the West African subregion.

The Government of the Gambia is concerned over

the number, intensity and interrelationship among

conflicts in Africa, and especially at the emergence of

new conflicts during the past year. The border conflict

between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the resurgence of conflict

in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the impasse in

the peace process in Angola, the continued violence by

the rebels in Sierra Leone, and the complex humanitarian

emergencies in Guinea-Bissau, Somalia and Sudan,

among other problems, cause grave concern to us.

In addition to what I have just said, we are also

concerned at the difficulties attendant upon the present

conflict situations in Africa, in particular human rights

abuses, refugee outflows and the humanitarian needs of

innocent persons affected by such conflicts, in particular

women and children. The international community, in

responding to these conflict situations, must address these

issues and the root causes of the conflicts, including in

particular the troubling issues of children in armed

conflict and the flow of small arms. In this context, my

delegation welcomes the actions taken by the Security

Council to address these issues following the report of the

Secretary-General on Africa. We hope that there will be

a United Nations-wide approach to tackle these important

issues.

25

The Lockerbie issue has dragged on for too long. It is

about time that a settlement was reached so that the people

of the great Libyan Arab Jamahiriya can be relieved of the

bite of the excruciating sanctions imposed against them. In

accordance with the position taken by the Organization of

African Unity, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries,

the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the League of

Arab States and other regional organizations, the

Government of the Gambia welcomes the concurrence of

the Governments of the United Kingdom and of the United

States of America to the proposal to have the two

Lockerbie suspects tried in a neutral country, the

Netherlands. Consequently, the Government of the Gambia

reaffirms its full support for the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in

its bid to secure a fair and just trial for the two suspects.

In the light of the recent developments, in the quest to

alleviate the immense suffering caused by the economic

sanctions imposed on the Libyan nation by Security Council

resolutions 748 (1992) and 883 (1993), and to avert any

further tightening of sanctions on the Libyan Arab

Jamahiriya, the Government of the Gambia is desirous of

the urgent finalization of the arrangements for a lasting

solution to this long-drawn-out problem.

Following a review, therefore, of the latest

correspondence on the matter between the Governments of

the United Kingdom and the United States of America and

the Secretary-General, and the agreement concluded

between those two countries and the Government of the

Netherlands relating to arrangements for the transfer of the

suspects to the Netherlands and their trial there, the

Government of the Gambia is of the view that the Libyan

Arab Jamahiriya must be given the opportunity to make an

assessment of those documents in order to ensure that its

views and concerns are fully taken into consideration with

regard to the final arrangements.

Whilst acknowledging the great lengths that all parties

have gone to in order to ensure that justice is meted out —

and this at the earliest possible opportunity — my country

firmly believes that Libya should have a greater input into

the final arrangements regarding the hand-over of the two

Lockerbie suspects and, most important, that the appropriate

guarantees for a just and fair dispensation of justice should

prevail. This would be in the spirit of the decision taken in

Ouagadougou by the heads of State of the Organization of

African Unity at their last summit.

My Government would like to see justice done and the

real culprits in the Lockerbie bombing identified and

brought to trial very quickly. However, whilst we persist in

urging that Libya be associated fully in the quest for

mutually acceptable conditions of transfer of the two

suspects to the Netherlands and trial there, we will also

insist on the need to have all the proof of their direct

involvement in this tragic affair being provided to us in

the first place. As soon as a reasonable and acceptable

terrain d’entente is reached, the sanctions must be lifted

immediately and unconditionally.

The Gambia’s foreign policy is directed by its

national interest and that of the continent, as well as by

the quest for peace and justice in the world. As members

of the Security Council, we are obliged to ask some

pertinent questions when certain actions and initiatives

have a devastating impact on the lives of human beings.

One such issue for which we would want straightforward

and clear answers relates to the recent bombing by the

Government of the United States of a pharmaceutical

complex in Khartoum.

What my Government seeks to know in this respect

is whether, assuming in good faith that the complex was

indeed involved in the production of deadly and

prohibited substances, the Government of the United

States fully weighed the consequences of such a terrible

strike on the innocent people of the Sudan before

sanctioning the bombings. In other words, in the view of

the United States Government, did the satisfaction derived

from the destruction of the complex in the Sudan

outweigh the value and premium placed on the lives of

innocent men, women and children on the scales of their

moral values? This matter has to be investigated so that

the international community’s conscience may be at

peace.

About the Middle East, we are disappointed that the

peace process, which gave so much hope, has virtually

collapsed. This undesirable state of affairs does not

diminish our faith in the peace process. We recognize the

right of all peoples to self-determination. We therefore

respect the rights of the Palestinian people to emerge fully

as an independent sovereign State. In this context, we

welcome the adoption by the General Assembly of

resolution 52/250 on the participation of Palestine in the

work of the United Nations. We look forward to the day

when Palestine joins the ranks of other States as a fully

fledged Member of the United Nations.

It is the wholehearted belief of my delegation that

every people has a right to self-determination. This belief

inspires the Gambia’s strong support for the aspirations of

the 21.3 million people of the Republic of China on

26

Taiwan to exercise their right to share and participate in the

activities of the United Nations. The legitimacy of their

aspirations, both legal and moral, has been reinforced by

similar actions and measures taken by the United Nations

on the issue of parallel representation, which now stands as

a useful reminder.

We believe, in the same vein, that the people of Cuba

have an inalienable right to determine their destiny. The

practice of unilateral imposition of sanctions by one

Member State against another should end with the demise

of the cold war. As we enter the new millennium, all States

should be committed to shaping a better world, a world

wherein all States, big or small, are equal, a world in which

relations between States are based on mutual respect and

strict observance of international law.

The situation between Iraq and Kuwait continues to be

one of the most important issues before the United Nations.

We would wish to stress the need to have this matter

resolved expeditiously. We hope that those who have

influence on Iraq will be able to secure its compliance with

its international obligations and that it will resume

cooperation with the United Nations and its bodies.

In this respect, we urge the release of all prisoners of

war, including missing Kuwaiti nationals and third country

nationals. We encourage sincere cooperation with the

International Committee of the Red Cross for that purpose.

We also call for the return of the properties of the

Government of Kuwait, including official documents

removed from their national archives.

My delegation is also concerned about the

humanitarian situation in Iraq and the dire plight of the

Iraqi people. We encourage Iraq to cooperate fully with the

United Nations, which would end the present logjam and

pave the way for a comprehensive review of the sanctions.

All of us remain concerned about the ongoing conflict

in Afghanistan. We believe that there is no military solution

to the conflict there. We urge all Afghan factions to find a

political settlement to the conflict, under the auspices of the

United Nations, which addresses all the interests and

concerns of all the people of Afghanistan.

Let me at this juncture reiterate my Government’s

condemnation of the killing of Iranian diplomats in

Afghanistan. We hope that the perpetrators of this heinous

crime will be pursued and brought to justice.

As we approach the new millennium, we are

confronted with long-drawn-out conflicts and new ones

that are emerging. Our world is thus far from being a

peaceful and quiet place. At this stage in our history, we

must all strive to enter the twenty-first century as a

united, peaceful family that can proudly bequeath to

future generations a developed, secure world where

democracy, justice and equality are guaranteed to

everyone, irrespective of origin, race, religion or political

persuasion. We hope that the Proclamation of the year

2000 as the International Year for the Culture of Peace,

which was first suggested by the Gambia during the 1997

session, will bear fruitful results.

Apart from the numerous conflicts, old and new, my

delegation is also concerned about the drug menace,

which threatens the very fabric of our societies. This

problem has now assumed monumental proportions,

leaving no society safe from its lethal and tenacious

tentacles.

We believe that all of us have a stake in this

problem — big and small States alike. We must therefore

join forces as a common front in our battle against this

evil. The Government of the Gambia is committed to

curbing the problem of drugs in its territory and will

continue to cooperate with all countries in that regard.

The Government of the Gambia welcomed the

twentieth special session of the General Assembly on the

world drug problem held in New York from 8 to 10 June

1998. We also fully support the Political Declaration, the

Declaration of the Guiding Principles of Drug Demand

Reduction and the action plans adopted at the special

session.

We wish to reiterate our concern for the growing

and dangerous links between terrorist groups, drugtraffickers and their paramilitary gangs, which have

resorted to all types of violence, thereby undermining the

democratic institutions of States and violating human

rights.

In addition to the drug menace, the international

community is faced with another challenge: international

terrorism. The Government of the Gambia condemns

terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. While we

again extend our sympathy to the injured and to the

families bereaved as a result of the recent bombings in

Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, we call on all

countries to work together to fight against the scourge of

terrorism.

27

The issue of anti-personnel landmines and its attendant

consequences is of concern. My delegation welcomes the

coming into force of the Ottawa treaty banning antipersonnel landmines.

With the end of the cold war, nuclear disarmament

should be given priority in our efforts to ensure the safety

of humankind. In this context, my delegation is encouraged

by what India and Pakistan said about signing the

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. We join those

who call for a negotiated and phased programme for the

complete elimination, by all countries, of nuclear weapons.

In order for us all to enter into the new millennium

with our collective vision for a better world, we will

obviously need to reform and revitalize our Organization to

make it more relevant and more responsive to the

challenges of contemporary times. This idea has indeed

taken hold, leading to the consideration of reform measures

proposed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his report

“Renewing the United Nations: A programme for reform”.

May I take this opportunity to pay tribute to our able

Secretary-General for his unswerving commitment to the

reform of our Organization and his cooperation in this

regard. It is our fervent hope that the success of any reform

programme for the United Nations will be judged by the

ability of the Organization to make a significant impact on

the lives of all people, in particular those of the developing

countries, as well as by real improvements in its

functioning.

In this context, we feel very strongly that reform

measures should focus mainly on strengthening the role of

the Organization in the promotion of peace and

development. Any such reform programme should address

the need to enable the Organization to meet the challenges

of modern times and preserve the sanctity and centrality of

the principles of the Charter.

The last session witnessed a lot of debate on this

issue. It is sad to note, however, that no substantial progress

has been made. As we pursue this important task, we hope

that the Assembly will defeat the hostile offensive which

seeks to portray it as a “house of words”. Any concrete and

workable decisions that may evolve out of our deliberations

on this issue will serve as the litmus test of the political

will of the membership to forge ahead with genuine

renewal and revitalization of the Organization.

No reform of the United Nations would be complete

without the reform of the Security Council — the main

organ responsible for the maintenance of international

peace and security. While some consensus has emerged

on a number of issues on the question of equitable

representation and increase in the membership of the

Security Council, important differences still exist on many

other issues. We urge Member States to continue to

negotiate constructively on the outstanding issues with a

view to arriving at a compromise that is agreeable, if not

satisfactory, to all.

Finally, as we continue to grapple with the reform of

the United Nations and its organs after 50 years of

operation, so must we also continue to address the

weaknesses, inequalities and inadequacies that plague the

international economic and social system, global trade,

finance, investment, international development, and so on.

We must continue to do this so as to achieve more

meaningful cooperation and partnership geared towards

the promotion of socio-economic development and the

preservation of human rights and fundamental freedoms

for all.

It therefore bears recalling that the important issues

of women in development and the rights of the child

should continue to be at the top of the international

agenda. In this endeavour, development must be given the

priority it deserves. Africa, Asia and Latin America must

be given the opportunity to emerge from their devastating

past into a future which guarantees for them all the

benefits of democracy and peace, respect for human

rights, development and the restoration of the dignity of

all their peoples.

This objective is realizable if we all work together,

drawing inspiration from the Charter of the United

Nations. North and South, rich and poor, together we can

do it — if we believe in it.

The United Nations provides the forum and the

necessary framework to achieve the objectives that we set

for ourselves on this small planet that we share. Before

the United Nations was founded, the world experienced

bitterly two devastating wars. When the United Nations

was founded half a century ago, it helped to avoid another

global war despite the cold war that ensued. Today, in

this post-cold-war era in which we are confronted with

localized ethnic and internal political strife, we need the

United Nations more than ever before.

This world body has withstood the test of time and

history. There is no alternative to the United Nations;

countries big and small, rich or poor, all have a vital

28

stake in strengthening the United Nations rather than

weakening it. The United Nations is more relevant today

than it has ever been, and we all should strive for its

vitality and the respect of its decisions. We can do this only

when it is clear in the minds of all that it is the common

house of all the States of the world and that it should be

perceived as being just and fair to all, in particular in the

resolutions adopted by its Security Council. These

resolutions should always be in the spirit of fraternal

cooperation and understanding that prevail here in this

General Assembly Hall.

We in the Gambia remain very optimistic, and we

know we share this optimism because the General

Assembly is the asylum of humanity at large against the

cruelty and pain of the outer world.