The Gambia, 2001

On behalf of my

delegation, I should like to present our heartfelt

condolences to the grieving families following the

tragic plane accident yesterday.

Let me at the outset congratulate Mr. Han Seung-

soo on his unanimous election to preside over the fifty-

sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly.

With his wealth of experience and wisdom we have no

doubt that our deliberations will always be crowned

with success. He may rest assured that in carrying out

the important mandate entrusted to him, he will not

find the cooperation of the Gambian delegation

wanting. On behalf of my delegation I should also like

to pay a special tribute to his predecessor for a job well

done.

As for our indefatigable Secretary-General, I add

my voice to those of previous speakers in

congratulating him, and the United Nations, on

winning the Nobel Peace Prize. In addition to that, my

delegation commends him for his effective and

inspiring leadership, in turning the United Nations

around in such a way that much of the hope that was

lost has since been restored. Mr. Secretary-General,

you deserve our respect and admiration.

The circumstances in which we are meeting this

time are far different from previous sessions for

reasons well known to all of us. The terrorist attacks on

New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania on 11

September took the whole world by surprise because of

their cataclysmic proportions. Nothing can ever justify

such barbaric acts. Unfortunately, like so many

countries present here today, we too were bereaved

following the attack on the World Trade Center. I

should like at this juncture to express profound

gratitude to President George W. Bush for his kind

remarks. The Government and people of the Gambia,

as well as the families concerned, are deeply moved by

the President’s thoughtfulness. All of this shows that

terrorism has no boundaries and, worse still, it has no

respect for the sanctity of life. It is incumbent upon all

of us therefore not to offer sanctuary to any terrorists

or their sponsors.

In the Gambia, His Excellency the President

Alhaji Dr. Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh, declared three days

of national mourning and requested all mosques and

churches to pray for the deceased in solidarity with the

friendly people of the United States and their

Government. While we continue to pray and mourn,

individually and collectively, we in the Gambia

subscribe unreservedly to Security Council resolutions

1368 (2001) and 1373 (2001), of 12 and 28 September

2001, respectively. Similarly, we welcome the adoption

of the Dakar Declaration on terrorism by the

Conference of African Heads of State and Government,

held in Dakar, Senegal, on 17 October 2001.

Having said that, I would, however, hasten to

point out that it is one thing to adopt resolutions and

declarations but it is quite another to implement them

fully. It goes without saying that the fight against

international terrorism is neither easy nor the business

of a select group of countries alone. Certainly not. This

international scourge can only be dealt with effectively

through concerted international effort. However, it will

serve no useful purpose to request Member States to

report on measures taken in the fight against terrorism

when the requisite means to do so are not available.

This will be a long and difficult engagement, but at the

same time it is not an impossible task. In the process,

no country should be excluded. Consequently, as a first

step, the Security Council should inquire of Member

States what they need, at the national level, to equip

them in the fight against terrorism, especially in terms

of training and logistics. In our view, that is the priority

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of priorities, because no category of countries can be

considered safe unless and until all categories of

countries are seen to be safe.

Let me mention en passant one very important

point. The Gambia, where I come from, is

predominantly Muslim, but we do not at all subscribe

to the misleading concept that the struggle against

terrorism is one between Islam and Christianity. For

that reason we in the Gambia are committed to signing

and ratifying all the relevant United Nations

conventions against terrorism.

Allow me now to dwell a little on some domestic

issues. As was widely reported all over the world, the

presidential elections that were held in the Gambia on

18 October 2001 received the unanimous endorsement

of the entire international community as free, fair and

transparent. All international observers present in the

country expressed the same views. The 1996 elections

were also free, fair and transparent, but we were given

a mere pass. In the 2001 elections we passed with

flying colours. As of right, therefore, we expect our

principal partners in development, who were still

sceptical in 1996, now to show the way forward by

embracing the Government and people of the Gambia

in a new spirit of solidarity geared towards a fresh and

reinvigorated partnership. We have kept our part of the

bargain as a nation. We have delivered what was

expected of us — in fact, we did more and better than

expected. What happened immediately after the

election results were announced is ample

demonstration of political maturity. Let me give a

graphic illustration of what I am talking about by

borrowing a paragraph or two from His Excellency

President Jammeh’s victory statement.

“Fellow Gambians, [...] I would want to

enjoin you all after the celebrations to put the

campaign and all the euphoria and the differences

and misunderstandings of politics behind us and

come together as one people to work with my

Government, supporters and non-supporters alike,

to further develop this country.”

President Jammeh then went on to thank the principal

leaders of the opposition for their courage and maturity

displayed in extending their congratulations to him in a

telephone conversation. The President then said:

“The gesture was indeed most welcome and I

would want to restate my expectation that with

the elections now behind us, we would put our

differences of political ideology aside and work

together as members of the same family to pursue

the development agenda we in this country have

set for ourselves, in the best interest of our

beloved people.”

That indeed was the icing on the cake. It can now

be proclaimed without any fear of contradiction that

the Gambia, despite all the odds, is consolidating its

position among the leading democracies in Africa, and

indeed in the whole world.

Elsewhere on the African continent, while we

cannot claim that the same pattern of free and fair

elections and the rule of law prevail, we can note with

satisfaction that the signs are encouraging, although a

lot more remains to be done. In neighbouring Sierra

Leone we commend the United Nations Mission in

Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) for what has been achieved

so far. As elections are fast approaching it becomes

even more urgent to accelerate the process of

disarmament, demobilization and reintegration.

The importance of a regional approach to conflict

resolution cannot be overemphasized. We will have to

sound our own trumpet by commending the Economic

Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for the

preponderant role that it has played in the quest for a

lasting solution to the problems in the Mano River

area. With regard to another neighbouring country,

Guinea-Bissau, the Gambia, in its capacity as

coordinator of the Group of Friends of Guinea-Bissau,

would like to launch an appeal to the donor community

to cooperate closely with the Group with a view to

convening the long overdue round-table donors’

conference. As stated in the Fall report following a

mission to West Africa some time ago, certain

countries in transition, such as Guinea-Bissau, need

special and urgent attention. I am referring to the

important report by Assistant Secretary-General

Ibrahima Fall. We are not done with that report yet, for

it raises such serious issues as the regional approach to

conflict resolution.

We are also following very closely the situation

in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is

gratifying to note that the Security Council adopted

resolution 1376 (2001) by which it gave the green light

for the launching of phase III of the deployment of the

United Nations Organization Mission in the

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Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC). My

delegation also encourages the parties concerned to

pursue the inter-Congolese dialogue with renewed

vigour and to cooperate with the Facilitator. We are

saddened, however, by the illegal exploitation of

natural resources and other forms of wealth in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo. There is obviously

a direct link between such practices and the

prolongation of the conflict. Still, in the Great Lakes

region, we pay a special tribute to former President

Mandela for his laudable efforts to bring peace to

Burundi. Concerning the situation in Angola, my

delegation continues to believe that UNITA’s ability to

wage war must be further reduced through tighter

sanctions. In this context we note with satisfaction the

extension of the mandate of the Monitoring

Mechanism.

Turning to other parts of the continent, my

delegation welcomes the decision of the Security

Council to terminate the sanctions that were imposed

on the Sudan. We are also calling on the Council to

make a bold move and lift the sanctions imposed on

Libya. The international community demanded that the

Libyan authorities hand over the Lockerbie suspects for

trial in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. The

international community must now honour its

obligations and stop moving the goal-posts.

Outside Africa we also continue to express

concern about a number of conflict situations.

Seemingly, the most intractable of the lot is the

situation in the Middle East, and, notably, the

Palestinian problem. There can be no lasting peace in

the Middle East without resolving the Palestinian

question. We in the Gambia have always held the view

that, while recognizing the right of Israel to exist

within secure borders, we also believe that the relevant

United Nations resolutions on the Arab-Israeli conflict

should be implemented, culminating in the creation of

an independent Palestinian state.

In the situation between Kuwait and Iraq, we in

the Gambia have always maintained that the

international community should, as a matter of

urgency, find ways of alleviating the suffering of the

Iraqi people. But at the same time, the Iraqi leadership

must be accountable for the Kuwaiti prisoners of war

and missing persons. The families of the prisoners of

war and missing persons have also been suffering for

too long and, therefore, we call upon the Iraqi

Government to respect and comply with the relevant

Security Council resolutions in order to achieve peace

and stability in the Gulf region.

It is an irony that long after the end of the cold

war, the situation in the Korean peninsula remains

basically the same. We in the Gambia were, however,

very much encouraged by the visit to North Korea of

President Kim Dae Jung of South Korea in June last

year. It is only through dialogue and the exchange of

such high-level visits that the peaceful unification of

the Korean peninsula will be achieved.

Similarly, it is our fervent hope that one day the

Republic of China on Taiwan and the People’s

Republic of China will unite but, as the saying goes, let

us put first things first. As clearly stated by my

delegation during the meeting of the General

Committee, the Government of the Gambia would like

to reiterate that the exceptional situation of the

Republic of China on Taiwan needs to be reconsidered

by this body. Only a few days ago, the Republic of

China on Taiwan was admitted to the World Trade

Organization (WTO). That is no mean achievement

and, therefore, my delegation would like to take this

opportunity to congratulate the Government and the 23

million people of the Republic of China on Taiwan. We

in the Gambia have no doubt that they will make

constructive contributions to the work of the WTO. It

will be recalled that the Republic of China on Taiwan

is now the world’s seventeenth largest economy in

terms of gross national product (GNP) and the fifteenth

most important trading nation. Considering that the

Republic of China on Taiwan possesses the world’s

third largest foreign reserves, in addition to its strategic

position as the sixteenth largest foreign direct investor,

it does not make much sense to continue to exclude it

from the United Nations. Politics aside, the Republic of

China on Taiwan has a lot to offer the international

community. For instance, in the crucial area of

information and communication technologies (ICT),

the real revolution of our times, the Republic of China

on Taiwan is in the vanguard. We all know that the

issue of ICT is among the top priorities of the United

Nations and we therefore look forward to the special

event on Tuesday, 20 November, when the Secretary-

General will launch the United Nations Information

and Communication Technologies (ICT) Task Force.

How will we be able to benefit from the expertise of

the Republic of China on Taiwan when it is excluded

from the work of the United Nations?

16

The Republic of China on Taiwan is active in

other important areas as well, especially development

cooperation, by providing experts and through

international financial institutions, and, likewise, in the

humanitarian field by providing disaster relief to

countries in need. The case of the Republic of China on

Taiwan is unique. It is exceptional and should be

treated as such, quite apart from observing the

principle of universality.

Another country which has much to offer the

international community is Cuba, ranging from

medicine to sports. After more than three decades, the

sanctions imposed on Cuba should now be lifted. These

sanctions can no longer be justified; in fact, they are

counterproductive.

Prior to the tragic events of 11 September, we had

already identified a number of areas for increased

international cooperation within the framework of the

Millennium Declaration. Foremost among these is the

eradication of poverty. It is made a priority of priorities

in the Millennium Declaration, if not the priority. In the

World Development Report 2000-2001 entitled

“Attacking poverty”, the President of the World Bank

in his foreword stated that “Poverty amid plenty is the

world’s greatest challenge.” We are also of the view

that poverty constitutes a serious threat to international

peace and security, knowing that 1.2 billion people live

on less than $1 a day. That is why our leaders

undertook to cut by half the proportion of people living

in extreme poverty by the year 2015. Of the 1.2 billion

who live on less than $1 a day, 300 million are in

Africa. Under these circumstances the New African

Initiative is indeed a timely response. We only hope

that unlike previous blueprints for Africa’s socio-

economic development, the New Initiative will not be

left to gather dust. It would appear for the first time,

that we, the Africans, are in the driver’s seat. That is a

clear demonstration of ownership and commitment.

Our principal partners in development should also

complement our efforts by providing the necessary

resources as a matter of urgency. The Economic

Commission for Africa should work closely with the

various regional economic groupings to ensure proper

and effective coordination. We are confident that the

momentum generated by the adoption of the New

African Initiative will be intensified with the

convening of the International Conference on

Financing for Development at the summit level in

Monterrey, Mexico, next year. That Conference will

provide a unique opportunity for the international

community to translate into reality the global solidarity

spelled out in the Millennium Declaration, especially in

such vital areas as official development assistance

(ODA), foreign direct investment (FDI) and debt

reduction, or outright cancellation in some cases, and

market access — to mention only a few.

Similarly, the World Summit on Sustainable

Development (Rio+10), to be held in South Africa next

year, will also provide a golden opportunity for

stocktaking, notably for a comprehensive review of the

implementation of Agenda 21.

All efforts geared towards the eradication of

poverty would be incomplete without addressing the

issue of food security. My delegation therefore looks

forward to the convening of the World Food Summit in

June next year. A related issue is health. We in West

Africa, particularly we in the Gambia, would like to

eradicate malaria as a matter of urgency and, as a first

step, our leaders have adopted the Rollback Malaria

Programme. We will need the support and solidarity of

the entire international community in this endeavour,

especially within the context of the Global Alliance for

Vaccines and Immunization.

With special reference to the least developed

countries, it will be recalled that the Third United

Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries,

held recently, adopted yet another Programme of

Action for the decade 2001-2010 aimed essentially at

the eradication of poverty. We hope that the rest of the

donor community will support that Programme fully by

making available the resources necessary for its

implementation. In any poverty eradication

programme, the most vulnerable groups, that is, women

and children, should be given special attention. That is

why the Government of the Gambia remains committed

to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action,

including the further actions and initiatives that

emanated from the Beijing+5 Conference held last

June. The same applies to the Nairobi forward-looking

strategies for the advancement of women and all other

initiatives that promote the advancement of women and

the girl child. In fact, His Excellency President Yahya

Jammeh has now decided that all girls in the Gambia

from grades 1 to 12, in virtually all parts of the

country, will no longer pay school fees.

Finally, experience has shown that our collective

security can only be guaranteed if and when all

17

members of the comity of nations are equally

guaranteed freedom from want and freedom from fear.

That can be achieved only through genuine

international solidarity. The tendency to look the other

way when another needs a helping hand should be a

thing of the past. Each time in our history when we are

faced with major difficulties, we suddenly realize how

much we need one another. We close our ranks and

take up the challenges together. We are again at a

crossroads. That is why we are all here to renew faith

in multilateralism. There is no alternative to the United

Nations. We are now strengthened in our conviction

that our Organization is nowhere near being a “sunset”

Organization. It is a “sunrise” Organization. But it

should shine even brighter once the Security Council is

reformed to reflect the realities of the twenty-first

century. Unless that is done, the Security Council runs

the serious risk of becoming irrelevant because it is

anchored in the past. We do not want that to happen. It

is too vital an organ to be sidelined, but it must adapt

and adjust. It is time to move on. Let us be forward-

looking. Whatever the outcome may be, Africa must be

adequately represented.