Uganda, 1998

At the outset, I wish to

convey the apologies of President Yoweri Kaguta

Museveni, who was supposed to address the Assembly. He

is unable to come to New York because of other pressing

State duties.

Allow me, on behalf of my delegation, to convey

our warm congratulations to you, Sir, on your election to

the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-third

session. Let me pay a special tribute to your predecessor,

Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko of Ukraine, for the excellent

manner in which he presided over the work of the fifty-

second session of the General Assembly. I wish also to

thank the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for all the

endeavours he is undertaking in shaping our Organization

to enable it to effectively meet the challenges of the next

millennium.

The United Nations has been at the forefront of

efforts to tackle problems of international peace and

security and social and economic development. It has

helped many communities around the world attain peace,

greater security and higher standards of living. Africa

faces a number of challenges which must be urgently

addressed. It is a volatile region in which a multiplicity of

conflicts have combined to create a very explosive

atmosphere. Refugee populations have multiplied to

provide a further recipe for future instability. The

situation has been further complicated by large numbers

of internally displaced people. Indeed, a large political

and humanitarian tragedy is taking place in the region.

There is therefore an urgent need for the international

community to support Africa?s efforts to address the

fundamental causes of the conflict.

It has been alleged that ethnic differences are the

prime causes of conflict in the region. My delegation does

not share this view. We believe that poor leadership,

poverty and low levels of economic development in the

region are the main underlying causes. The leadership in

our region must correctly define and analyse the root

causes of the problems and establish clear priorities. It is

also imperative that, for a permanent and durable peace

to prevail in the region, a comprehensive programme of

economic recovery and development be implemented in

Africa. Concerted efforts must therefore be made to

reduce and ultimately eradicate poverty in the world.

In this regard, Uganda had the honour of hosting a

leaders? forum in Kampala in January this year at which

the heads of State and Government of countries in the

eastern, southern and central regions of Africa met and

held discussions with the President of the World Bank.

That meeting, which in many ways was unique and

inspiring, opened a new chapter in Africa?s relations with

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the Bank. It ushered in a genuine spirit of partnership

between Africa and the Bank. Two of the significant

outcomes of the meeting were, first, the decision that Africa

would be considered a priority development region by the

World Bank and, secondly, a commitment to depoliticize

foreign aid. It was also agreed at the meeting that African

countries must set their own priorities for development. It

is the hope of my delegation that the agreements reached at

the Kampala leaders? forum will be translated into concrete

action by the international community in the near future.

We believe that similar initiatives could be undertaken

together with other organs of the United Nations system.

For too long, international efforts have been expended

on short-term humanitarian programmes, ignoring the long-

term requirements for sustainable peace and development.

Past experience has shown that this approach cannot ensure

durable peace and development. Indeed, as the Secretary-

General noted in his report on the causes of conflict and the

promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in

Africa,

“Preventing such wars is no longer a matter of

defending States or protecting allies. It is a matter of

defending humanity”. (A/52/871, para. 3)

Conflict prevention, including post-conflict peace-

building, requires a sustained effort to infuse funds into the

region. In this regard, we urge serious consideration and

expeditious implementation of the recommendations

contained in the Secretary-General?s report.

The massive cuts in social spending and public

investments, with the attendant high levels of

unemployment, create new centres of discontent and thus

further fuel the embers of conflict. Attempts to impose

conditionalities which are antithetical to the peace process

and the cutting off of aid from weak Governments making

sincere efforts to pursue reconciliation or implement peace

agreements have been counterproductive. My delegation

would wish to argue for “peace-friendly” structural

adjustment programmes, if durable peace and sustainable

development are to be achieved in Africa and elsewhere.

A number of delegations have expressed their views

on the situation in the Great Lakes region with specific

reference to the ongoing crisis in the Democratic Republic

of the Congo. My country was specifically accused of

involvement in the crisis in the Democratic Republic of the

Congo. The facts of the situation in the Democratic

Republic of the Congo are not clear to some member States

of this Assembly. Since, many speakers have raised this

issue, we would like to make the following clarifications.

Uganda?s interest in the situation in the Great Lakes

region has always been and is still based on the

following: the need to ensure total security in all parts of

Uganda and the protection of the lives and property of the

people of Uganda; and the desire to ensure maximum

stability in the Great Lakes region, because instability in

any neighbouring country directly affects our security and

economy.

These concerns are legitimate. Our position on this

crisis therefore reflects our efforts to pursue those

interests. Before the fall of former President Mobutu, it

was not possible for Uganda to get cooperation from the

then Government in Zaire to ensure that Zairian territory

was not used by terrorist organizations to create insecurity

along the Uganda-Zaire border and inside Uganda.

When President Laurent Kabila came to power it

was mutually agreed between Uganda and the Democratic

Republic of the Congo that our two armies would jointly

operate in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of

the Congo to contain and eventually remove the bandits

who were using the bases they had in the area to

destabilize Uganda. Pursuant to that understanding,

Uganda has since maintained a military presence in the

eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in

accordance with the provision of the bilateral agreement

between our two countries. The situation in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo today necessitates that

Uganda must maintain that military presence, which is

crucial for the security of our country and our people.

Let me make it clear to all and sundry that Uganda

has no territorial designs on the Democratic Republic of

the Congo. It is not the primary responsibility of Uganda

to dictate the political arrangements of the Democratic

Republic of the Congo. However, any internal

arrangement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

which does not take into account the legitimate security

concerns of its neighbours is our concern. We would like

to say that unilateral military intervention by individual

countries or sectional intervention by groups of countries

is unacceptable. These actions are likely to escalate the

problem. If there are good reasons for an intervention, it

should be regional, carried out, for example, through the

Southern African Development Community (SADC), the

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa

(COMESA), the Organization of African Unity (OAU) or

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even the United Nations, and in the context of the peace

initiatives that are already in place.

We would therefore like to stress that there are serious

regional efforts to address the situation in the Democratic

Republic of the Congo. We believe these efforts should be

supported by the entire membership of this Organization

and by all parties that are interested in the conflict and have

a vested interest in peace and security in the Great Lakes

region.

Uganda?s commitment to the full respect for and

universal enjoyment of human rights is well known.

However, we regret that crimes are now being committed

on a daily basis against the people of Uganda by surrogate

forces of the so-called Lord?s Resistance Army (LRA) with

the full knowledge and assistance of their sponsors, who do

not believe in freedom and respect for human rights.

Innocent children are abducted daily, subjected to forced

labour and military service and made victims of other,

similar crimes, with the support of the sponsors of these

terrorist groups. The world awoke to this horrendous crime

at the fifty-fourth session of the United Nations

Commission on Human Rights, when it adopted draft

resolution E/CN.4/1998/L.40, which calls upon the LRA

and its sponsors to release all the abducted children

immediately and unconditionally.

My delegation believes that without external support

the Lord?s Resistance Army would not be in a position to

commit these atrocities and defy international public

opinion on this extremely important matter. We call upon

the international community to intensify pressure on the

countries involved to stop backing these terrorists. On the

other hand, we wish to thank the United Nations bodies,

non-governmental organizations and all others who have

been involved in seeking the freedom of these children. We

hope their efforts will not be in vain.

The United Nations is a vibrant institution for many

reasons, among them its unwavering support for actions

aimed at advancing freedom, peace and security. Today,

terrorism poses a serious threat to these values. Individuals

and organizations whose stock in trade is the violation of

these values roam the globe with impunity. Recent attacks

in East Africa came at a time when we thought the world

had learned the futility of such senseless, wanton murder

and destruction. It is the firm belief of my delegation that

the international community should collectively take action

to deny sanctuary to these savages. Countries known to

harbour such elements should be isolated and punished

severely so that human freedom can be protected. My

delegation further believes that this is an opportune

moment to convene an international conference on

terrorism which must map out strategies to deal with this

escalating problem.

Last year the world had only five declared nuclear

States; today we have seven; next year we may have

more. In essence, such non-proliferation agreements as the

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

(NPT) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

(CTBT) have not deterred the emergence of new nuclear

States.

The philosophy of dependence on nuclear weapons

for security is, in a creeping and disturbing fashion,

becoming universal. This situation is creating new dangers

for the survival of mankind. My delegation believes that

a new universal security doctrine needs to evolve. All

nuclear weapons should be eliminated. In line with this

belief, my delegation calls for the adoption of an action

plan for the elimination of all nuclear weapons within a

time-bound framework. Such an approach should be

universal, and not regional or discriminatory, if it is to

achieve the desired goals.

Since the last session of the General Assembly,

several developments have taken place in the international

arena, some of which have offered hope and

encouragement, while others have led to destruction and

despair.

The issue of Western Sahara is of concern to my

delegation. We are concerned by the slow progress

towards the holding of a United Nations-supervised

referendum on the self-determination of the people of that

territory. We appeal to the parties to overcome their

differences and allow a just and impartial referendum to

take place.

On the Lockerbie incident, Uganda welcomes the

initial moves taken in a bid to solve the problem between

the United States of America and the United Kingdom on

the one hand and Libya on the other. We encourage the

Secretary-General to work out comprehensive and clear

arrangements, acceptable to all concerned parties, so that

the matter can finally be resolved.

Today we live in a globalized world. Globalization

has created new opportunities as well as grave risks and

challenges. Its impact has strengthened the developed

countries and weakened the developing countries. Such a

situation does not augur well for international peace and

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security. There is an urgent need for deliberate policies to

reorient international trade and finance. The crisis in South-

East Asia should serve as a warning to the world of the

catastrophe that inaction will breed. The ever widening gap

between the developed and the developing countries and

among countries in the South could also become a source

of future instability. There should be no delay in addressing

these problems. My delegation calls upon the developed

countries to honour their obligations and increase the

transfer of resources to the developing countries for the

transformation of their economies, so that they may become

equal partners in the global economy.

In the recent past, despite drastic limitations in both

human and financial resources, the United Nations has

responded admirably to the challenges of the era, including

peacekeeping, emergency operations and development. It

has a commendable record which should serve to strengthen

our confidence in the Organization.

As we inch our way into the twenty-first century, we

should translate this confidence into the necessary political

will to strengthen the Organization. We should demonstrate

our faith and dedication to the United Nations and its

component parts by providing it with the resources

necessary to fulfil its immense mandate. Our challenge is

to bequeath to succeeding generations a strong United

Nations, able to guarantee the principles enshrined in the

preamble of its Charter.