Uganda, 1997

Permit me, on behalf of the

Uganda delegation, to express our pleasure at seeing Mr.

Udovenko preside over the General Assembly at its fifty-

second session. Allow me also to pay a special tribute to

his predecessor, Ambassador Razali Ismail of Malaysia, for

the outstanding manner in which he discharged his onerous

tasks while presiding over the work of the General

Assembly at its fifty-first session. I also salute and

congratulate Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the

United Nations, for the commitment and dedication he has

demonstrated since he assumed this office.

We note the initiative announced by the Secretary-

General on 16 July 1997, entitled “Renewing the United

Nations: A Programme for Reform”. We will participate

actively in the deliberations on these bold and far-

reaching proposals. The discussions we shall have on the

issues contained in the Secretary-General’s proposal will

determine the kind of United Nations that can best serve

us in the twenty-first century.

The issue of the reform of the United Nations is not

new. Reform of this Organization has always been a

continuous process in which we all have an interest. We

all want to see the United Nations revitalized,

strengthened and well managed. The United Nations is

unique. The reform of the Organization must be

approached from the viewpoint of its purposes.

In reforming the United Nations, due consideration

must be given to its unequal and diverse membership,

encompassing different cultures and value systems as well

as great economic and social inequalities, which lead to

differences of opinion on the different aspects of the work

of the Organization and how they might be strengthened.

Indeed, most views expressed in the past on reform

have come against the background of widespread

scepticism. These views see the United Nations as

excessively costly, mismanaged, inefficient, bureaucratic,

corrupt and overstaffed with low- quality staff. The

United Nations, therefore, finds itself at a critical

crossroads: neglected in some critical aspects and

deliberately eroded in others. Contradictory assessments

of its performance and usefulness and divergent views

concerning its future role have given rise to political

controversy.

The important issues of reform must therefore not be

viewed merely as a question of cutting costs; rather,

reform should aim at the enhancement of the efficiency

and effectiveness of the United Nations in the delivery of

programmes and services, particularly those addressing

the pressing needs of developing countries. In elaborating

and implementing the reform package, it is necessary that

the programmes that benefit the least developed countries

and Africa emerge stronger and better equipped to

discharge their onerous responsibilities.

The Chairman of the Organization of African Unity

(OAU) has already eloquently espoused the African

position on the reform of the Security Council. We

support this and the Non-Aligned Movement positions.

The Security Council should be expanded in both

categories on the principle of equitable geographical

representation. Africa has already proposed that it be

granted two permanent seats with full veto powers. At the

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same time, the exercise of the power must conform to

democratic principles.

If the United Nations is to be reformed and made

effective, then adequate financing is a matter of top

priority. We therefore appeal to all Member States to pay

their dues in full, on time and without conditions. Without

this commitment, reforms will only be a smoke screen to

hide our reluctance to implement the commitments we

collectively agreed upon at the celebration to mark the

fiftieth anniversary of this Organization two years ago.

Related to this is the question of the scale of

assessments. Uganda supports the principle of capacity to

pay as the fundamental criterion for the apportionment of

the expenses of the United Nations. This is critical in order

to redress the unfair burden that developing countries in

general and the least developed countries in particular

continue to shoulder as a result of imperfections inherent in

the present scale methodology, which are to their

disadvantage. This principle has been consistently

reaffirmed by the General Assembly in various resolutions.

In this connection, we would like to caution that attempts

to impose self-interested positions will not yield any

satisfactory outcome.

Uganda welcomes the result of the recently concluded

agreement in the area of anti-personnel landmines in Oslo.

We are particularly satisfied with the progress thus far

made on these weapons. On our part, even before the

conclusion of the Oslo agreement on these weapons, which

cause untold and indiscriminate destruction, we in Uganda

had already stopped and dismantled our facilities for their

manufacture. We no longer manufacture, import or use

these weapons. We call on all peace-loving nations, those

that care for the innocent who lose their limbs every minute

to landmines, to follow our example. It is our sincere hope

that when the agreement on anti-personnel landmines will

be opened in Ottawa, Canada, for signature, even those

Member States that were reluctant to join in the consensus

on the agreement will sign it. We hope that the Oslo

process will lead to progress in disarmament negotiations,

leading to the complete elimination of nuclear weapons and

subsequently of all weapons of mass destruction.

The political and economic situation in African

remains a matter of grave concern to us. We believe that

Africa must continue to search for and to find the most

suitable political arrangements that will guarantee peace and

stability. African society, since time immemorial, has

always emphasized harmony and decision-making by

consensus rather than competition and confrontation. Our

societies emphasized the good of the whole rather than

the untamed pursuit of selfish interests. In short,

egalitarianism and equal participation were the hallmarks

of societal and political organization. However, as we all

know, Africa was exposed to other cultures and systems

that introduced new forms of governance and politics. It

is not surprising, therefore, that, upon independence, these

powerful and pervasive influences, like multiparty politics

and fierce competition, tore our societies apart. The

conflicts that proliferated in the wake of independence

must be understood against this background.

We can state boldly today that, this notwithstanding,

conflict and chaos in Africa is on the retreat. We have

witnessed the end of conflict in Liberia and elections have

taken place. Military dictators are now roundly

condemned and isolated. The actions that are being

undertaken by the Economic Community of West African

States (ECOWAS) against the military junta in Sierra

Leone — actions that we all support — speak loud.

In our own region, the Great Lakes region, we

witnessed the rout of the Mobutu dictatorship, a heinous

regime that plundered one of the richest countries in

Africa almost into oblivion. We refused to accept the

military coup of Pierre Buyoya in Burundi and have set

out tough sanctions and conditions for the restoration of

democratic governance. This position was recently

renewed in Dar-es-Salaam.

The efforts that we are undertaking, deserve support,

be they in the context of the OAU Mechanism for

Conflict Prevention, Resolution and Management or of

regional initiatives such as those involving the Great

Lakes, the Economic Community of West African States

(ECOWAS) or those of the Intergovernmental Authority

on Development on the Sudan conflict. At the same time,

countries that have emerged from conflicts need to be

given a modicum of moral and material support to allow

them get back on their feet. We are all agreed on the

need for post-conflict peace-building and the need to

establish a continuum from relief to rehabilitation and

development. We are also agreed that democracy, good

governance and accountability represent the best form of

leadership.

However, nations that are struggling to reconstruct

cannot wait for a full restoration of democratic order

before they address urgent humanitarian and relief

requirements. Quite often the very transition to the rule of

law and to democratic governance is contingent upon

significant progress on the humanitarian and economic

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fronts. It is with these kind of considerations that we would

like to see tangible assistance extended to the Democratic

Republic of the Congo without delay or preconditions. We

must put behind us the chaos that afflicted that country and

the sad chapter in the history of the Congo that was brought

about by Mobutu’s mismanagement. The survival of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo is paramount and should

be of concern to all of us.

The experience of the United Nations in Somalia and

Rwanda has demonstrated the need for improvement in the

Organization’s ability to anticipate crisis situations and put

in place effective mechanisms to avert such situations,

including in the area of early warning. In this connection,

we note with satisfaction the strengthening of the United

Nations capacity for post-conflict peace-building with the

designation of the Department of Political Affairs as focal

point for this purpose.

We are seized of the grave situation in Congo

(Brazzaville) and the Central African Republic. The

unsteady progress on a negotiated settlement of the conflicts

in Angola, Somalia, southern Sudan and the Western

Sahara continue be of concern to us. We call on all the

parties to the conflicts to engage in constructive dialogue in

order to establish lasting peace. We should all support them

in this process.

In Uganda, we continue to search for solutions to our

economic difficulties. We have therefore continued to

implement far-reaching economic reforms that emphasize

liberalization, privatization, investment promotion and cost-

effectiveness in management. The results are promising,

and we have recorded gross domestic product growth rates

of more than 6 per cent per annum. Now we are grappling

with the need to ensure that economic progress benefits the

people, particularly the poorest. This we will address in the

framework of a poverty eradication strategy, the pillars of

which will include: first, the improvement of physical

infrastructure, such as roads and telecommunications;

secondly, the universalizing of primary education and the

increasing encouragement of private education at the

secondary and tertiary levels to unlock the creative power

of our population; thirdly, the modernization and

diversification of agriculture; and fourthly, the promotion of

micro- and small-scale enterprise through improved access

to credit for the rural poor.

This is a tall order, and we call upon our development

partners to support us in this process in the context of the

already formulated national action plans and the agreed

framework for international development cooperation.

The issue of the world’s freshwater resources

remains of the utmost concern to my delegation. Water

shortages in the next century are likely to restrain

economic and social development. A large part of Uganda

is covered by fresh water. In Uganda, we attach

importance to the economic value of water, and that is

why we recognize the importance of its equitable and

reasonable use. Unfortunately, our water resources are

being choked by the rapid growth and spread of the water

hyacinth on Lake Victoria and on other lakes and rivers

in the Nile Valley. As we have done in the past, we

urgently appeal once again to the international community

to extend its support to enable us to address the problem

of the water hyacinth.

Let me reiterate our confidence in the mission of the

United Nations in coordinating and delivering targeted

assistance to developing countries in all areas of human

endeavour, in partnership with Governments. It is

important, therefore, to ensure that the focus of the

Organization is sharpened to enhance the relevance and

effectiveness of its programmes, be it in the area of

governance, poverty eradication, capacity-building or

humanitarian assistance.

We need a United Nations that will act as an agent

of progress and change and that will be equipped to play

an effective and leading role in improving the economic

and social conditions of all the world’s nations — not just

a few. We also want a reformed United Nations that will

deal effectively with the growing number of complex

international challenges, including development, peace

and security. Furthermore, we need a reformed United

Nations that must provide global leadership and vision in

the twenty-first century.