Uganda, 2004

On behalf of my

delegation, the people of Uganda, and on my own

behalf, I would like to congratulate you, Mr. Jean Ping,

from the sister African Republic of Gabon, upon your

election to preside over the General Assembly at its

fifty-ninth session. I have every confidence in your

stewardship in steering the session to a successful

conclusion.

I thank the Secretary-General for his excellent

leadership, especially during these trying times for the

United Nations. I note with satisfaction that, after a

year in which the centrality of the United Nations in

the maintenance of international peace and security has

come under serious challenge, there seems to be a

return to the more widely accepted multilateral

approach to resolving global challenges.

Terrorism continues to be one of the biggest

threats to international peace and security. Since

11 September 2001, thousands of innocent people,

including women and children, have been killed or

maimed as a result of indiscriminate terrorist acts. This

year, the world has witnessed many innocent civilians

massacred in cold blood, hostages beheaded in the

most barbaric manner, children mutilated by suicide

bombers and terrorist groups, very often in the name of

extremist and misguided causes and ideologies.

Whether it is the recent appalling attack on school

children in the Russian town of Beslan, or the massacre

of civilians in Balonyo in northern Uganda, the

intention of terrorists is the same: to undermine and

divide our societies, overthrow elected Governments,

and to strike at the heart of international peace and

stability.

The Uganda delegation condemns those terrorist

acts in the strongest terms. We do not accept that any

cause, however genuine, warrants the indiscriminate

destruction of human life or property.

In Uganda, we have been fighting against a

terrorist organization known as the Lord’s Resistance

Army, based in southern Sudan. That organization has

killed, maimed and abducted tens of thousands of

Ugandan children in the northern part of Uganda. The

acts of plunder and destruction by those criminals have

laid to waste entire villages and driven helpless

villagers into camps for internally displaced persons.

The Government of Uganda is sparing no effort, with

the cooperation of the Government of Sudan, to end

that situation and restore peace and stability in this

area. We are confident that soon the remnants of those

terrorists will have been eliminated or captured.

Despite amnesty legislation and a standing offer of

pardon by our President, very few have responded.

However, recently some improvement in reporting has

been observed.

Uganda welcomes the recent restoration of

sovereignty to the Iraqi people. We call upon the

United Nations, in particular, and the international

community as a whole, to do everything possible to

assist the interim Government in the rehabilitation of

Iraq and re-establishment of the physical and political

infrastructure to allow the holding of scheduled

elections in that country.

The conflict between Israel and Palestine, often

driven by rigid positions, continues to pose a serious

threat to peace and stability in the Middle East. Uganda

supports the Quartet-led road map for a comprehensive

peaceful settlement in the Middle East. We support the

establishment of a Palestinian State existing side-by-

side and in peace with Israel within secure and

recognized borders, in accordance with relevant United

Nations Security Council resolutions.

After more than 50 years of violence and

bloodshed, both the Israelis and Palestinians must

rethink their positions. New, creative approaches to a

comprehensive peace should therefore be sought for

the sake of their peoples. Every year we adopt

resolutions which remain mere paper. Resolutions are

not solutions in themselves; it is high time we engaged

constructively in the serious search for a solution, for

the future of humanity and the Middle East.

Turning to the Great Lakes region, we note with

satisfaction the positive developments with regard to

the peace processes in various conflict situations. In

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Burundi, the transitional Government has been

consolidated with almost all the fighting groups

subscribing to the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation

Agreement for Burundi. We call upon the groups still

remaining outside the peace settlement to cease their

military operations and join the peace process. We

congratulate the African peace mission for its

contribution to the peace process and we welcome the

deployment of United Nations peacekeepers to

Burundi. Election dates may change, but the elections

must be held sooner or later. Elections, a new

Government and good proposals relating to the

question of representation — all must work for peace

for Burundi. It is therefore important that the

international community extend the necessary

assistance for the consolidation of peace, stability,

rehabilitation and development of Burundi.

Uganda remains committed to supporting the

peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

(DRC). We urge all parties in the Government of

National Unity in Kinshasa to remain committed to the

Pretoria Peace Agreement and to resist any temptation

to resume hostilities. We also call upon the Security

Council to strengthen the United Nations Organization

Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

(MONUC) under Chapter VII of the Charter to

consolidate its peacekeeping operations. A robust

MONUC force would be critical for the enforcement of

Security Council resolution 1493 (2003) on the arms

embargo against militias, as well as the disarmament,

demobilization, rehabilitation, resettlement and

reintegration of all armed rebel groups and militias

operating on the territory of the DRC. That would also

serve to reduce, and hopefully to eliminate, inter-ethnic

clashes in the eastern Democratic Republic of the

Congo and help to reassure neighbouring countries

about cross-border security. It may also be important to

include other legitimate groups in the Government of

National Unity and Transition in the Democratic

Republic of the Congo in order to enhance peace. We

believe that before democratic elections are held it is

important to create a consensus for peace and security.

Uganda believes that as a result of the positive

achievements in the peace processes in Burundi and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo there is an urgent

need to convene the international conference on the

Great Lakes region under the auspices of the United

Nations and the African Union. The conference, which

is scheduled to take place in Dar es Salaam, United

Republic of Tanzania, in November 2004, will bring

together a core group of the Great Lakes countries and

the neighbouring countries affected by the conflicts or

those that, by infection, contribute to them.

In order to consolidate the peace efforts, we hope

that the Great Lakes regional conference will involve

all stakeholders in the development of a strategic plan

of action on the key issues, including regional peace

and security, development, post-conflict reconstruction

and regional integration in the context of the New

Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). I am

glad to note that countries of the Great Lakes region,

including Uganda, have already embarked on a

preparatory process for the conference involving youth

and women’s groups, non-governmental organizations

and local government officials from all border districts.

We believe that this inclusive process will ensure

national ownership and commitment to the

implementation of the recommendations of the

conference.

The delegation of Uganda welcomes the peace

accords recently signed in Nairobi between the

Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s

Liberation Movement and Liberation Army (SPLM/A).

We hope that those accords will lead to the end of the

long-running conflict, which has caused untold

suffering to the people of the southern Sudan and led to

insecurity in neighbouring countries — particularly my

own, Uganda. With the return of peace and stability in

the southern Sudan, we are confident that we will be

able to bring to an end the Lord’s Resistance Army

attacks against our people in the northern part of

Uganda.

My country is an active participant in the

Intergovernmental Authority on Development initiative

that has brought the various factions in Somalia

together to the negotiating table to end the conflict in

that country. We note with great satisfaction the

progress that has so far been made, and we salute the

people of Somalia for coming together to establish a

Parliament embracing all groups.

In 2005 the United Nations will observe the fifth

anniversary of the Millennium Summit, where we

pledged our political will and commitment to a number

of Millennium Development Goals, including the

reduction of poverty by 50 per cent by 2015. It is,

therefore, of great concern that in many parts of Africa

poverty levels are rising as per capita incomes continue

to decline and that infant and maternal mortality rates

are on the increase, while official development

assistance commitments remain unfulfilled.

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In order to make progress in meeting the

Millennium Development Goals and ensuring the

equitable sharing of the benefits of globalization, the

General Assembly should focus on the following, inter

alia: effective follow-up to and implementation of the

various plans of action, declarations and strategies

relating to the Monterrey Consensus on financing for

development, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation

on sustainable development, the Brussels Declaration

and Programme of Action for the Least Developed

Countries and the Almaty Programme of Action on

landlocked developing countries; restructuring of the

global trading system, especially in agriculture, mode 4

trade in services and increasing value-added export

products from the developing countries; mobilization

of adequate resources to fight malaria, tuberculosis and

the HIV/AIDS pandemic, covering prevention, care

and research and development to ensure the provision

of cheaper and more effective drugs and possibly the

discovery of an HIV/AIDS vaccine; strengthening of

South-South cooperation, including measures by the

more advanced developing countries to open their

markets to products from the least developed countries;

and stronger international support for NEPAD, which

reflects Africa’s priorities to address development,

governance and the security challenges facing the

continent. Critical support areas will include market

access, measures to encourage increased foreign direct

investment in African countries, higher levels of

official development assistance for infrastructure and

human resources development, ensuring sustainable

debt levels, regional integration, enhancement of the

African Union’s capacity to deal with conflict

situations and implementation of the African Peer

Review Mechanism.

As the United Nations approaches its sixtieth

birthday in 2005, the need for revitalization of the

General Assembly and restructuring of the Security

Council has never been greater. The need for reform of

the United Nations is imperative if we want to enhance

the role of the Organization and the effectiveness of

multilateralism to address emerging hard threats such

as terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and

genocide, as well as other challenges, such as

persistent poverty and HIV/AIDS. It is therefore fitting

that the report of the High-level Panel on Threats,

Challenges and Change will be discussed in 2005.

With regard to reform of the Security Council,

the restructuring should reflect the need for

democratization and ensuring a balanced and equitable

geographical representation. We believe that Africa

should be allocated no less than two permanent and

five non-permanent seats in the expanded Security

Council.

In summary, Uganda is calling for stronger

collective action against international terrorism and

support for the post-conflict rehabilitation and

development programme in northern Uganda. We have

noted the positive developments in the Great Lakes

region and stressed the importance of convening the

international conference on the Great Lakes region in

Dar es Salaam in November 2004. We have highlighted

the significance of 2005 — as the both the sixtieth

birthday of the United Nations and the fifth

anniversary of the Millennium Summit — as a key

time to focus on meeting the Millennium Development

Goals and the revitalization and restructuring of the

United Nations to enhance the role of the Organization

and to ensure the effectiveness of collective

multilateral action.