YouSaid · the spoken record

Seyoum MESFIN

lines on the record: 255
first: 1994-09-24
most recent: 2010-09-24
sittings or episodes: 14
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“It is we Member States that have not sufficiently seized the opportunity opened up by the end of the cold-war division of the world and the international tension engendered by that state of affairs. Not only within the United Nations but in general, both in the bilateral and the multilateral areas, the international cooperation being made available to the developing world today is not commensurate with the challenges faced by those countries, nor does it do justice to the tremendous effort made by those countries, including many in Africa, to make their economies business-friendly.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“However, despite good intentions, their practical implementation has always been half-hearted and, at best, less than satisfactory and therefore a source of disappointment. This applies to the United Nations Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the 1990s, to the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s (UN-NADAF) and to other initiatives. It is our hope that the United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa will not meet a similar fate. This should not be regarded as criticism aimed at the United Nations. The Organization has no life and no activity of its own independent of Member States.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“With respect to the question of the Nile waters, which affects Ethiopia directly and regarding which there has been no effective cooperation among the riparians, we wish to call on those involved to commit themselves to real and genuine regional cooperation which is based on a win-win perspective, ensuring outcomes that are fair, equitable and just. A status quo which is unjust cannot endure; nor can it serve as a basis for building genuine cooperation. 13 We are fully aware that at the level of the United Nations, there have been a number of initiatives designed to help address the economic and social problems faced by developing countries and to mitigate the effects of poverty and the impact of those conditions hindering the realization of sustainable economic development.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“We in Ethiopia have made important progress over the last few years in building the basis for food security for our peoples. But, as should be obvious, no guarantee can be secured on food security as long as production is totally dependent, as is the case in Ethiopia, on rain-fed agriculture and when for a variety of reasons the available water is not utilized for irrigation purposes. It is in this connection that the equitable utilization of transboundary rivers becomes an issue that should be accorded the utmost urgency. Regional cooperation on international rivers will remain impossible if calculations based on a zero-sum outcome favouring one side or another govern the attitude of parties that could otherwise objectively benefit from even-handed cooperation.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“It would suffice just to look at the situation of poverty in the world today and the lukewarm effort to combat and to eradicate it internationally. The prediction that the level of poverty will continue to grow in Africa is a challenge to the international community, as it is a reflection of the dire condition of the continent. The need to ensure food security for all should by no means be an impossible task to achieve for the world we live in. Here as well, individual countries facing this problem have to assume their responsibility in the first instance, but the international community should also have a role to play, including in the fight against corruption — a disease which, as we all realize, has an international aspect in its grand dimension, and is therefore not amenable to solutions taken at the national level alone.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“But it is critically important that the international economic environment evolve towards providing an even and level playing field, most particularly for those who, for various reasons — whether on account of their own mistakes or because of complex historical reasons, some of which are not of their own making — have stayed behind and have failed to put their countries on a track of sustainable development. In this regard, we cannot but admit that not enough is being done, although much is said and promised. The old divisions might have been consigned irrevocably to the past, but we cannot pretend that, though we continue to talk about our common humanity and the common village we occupy, the other divisions in the world are being addressed, let alone bridged.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“We call on the States concerned to cooperate with Ethiopia and to take appropriate measures, in accordance with international humanitarian law, to ensure that those who are responsible for crimes against humanity are brought to justice. International cooperation and the benefits that are drawn from it, whether through bilateral or multilateral means, cannot be a substitute for what individual countries must do to ensure that sustainable development is achieved and economic growth is realized. The responsibility to extricate our countries from the miseries of poverty, in the case of those of us to whom this applies, lies with us. Aid alone, whatever its nature or quantity, would not do, even if it were to be made available.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“I wish to take this opportunity to bring to the attention of this Assembly the fact that leading members of the repressive military regime that ruled Ethiopia in the 1970s and 1980s are being tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity. These public trials are the biggest since Nuremberg. However, Ethiopian courts have been denied the opportunity to bring to justice all the perpetrators of these crimes because many of those who should be tried in Ethiopia are given safe haven in other countries, in contravention of the provisions of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“There is no more appropriate time than now, when we are preparing to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to renew our commitment and to rededicate ourselves to the realization of full respect of human rights in all their dimensions — civil, political, economic and social rights, including the right to development and to be free from the shackles of poverty. For Ethiopia, the eradication of poverty and the promotion of human rights are the cornerstones of the country’s development strategies and democratic reforms. In the immediate human rights programme, the Federal Parliament plans to establish, as stipulated in the Ethiopian Federal Constitution, a national human rights commission and an ombudsman early next year.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“There should therefore be far greater opportunity today for effective international cooperation in many spheres, and especially for real and tangible steps towards the realization of genuine partnership in the fight against poverty and to enable those determined to remove the obstacles to their development to achieve their goals and fulfil the dreams and the hopes of their peoples. Peace and security can hardly be made durable and sustainable when conditions faced by the majority of 12 peoples in the developing countries generate hopelessness and when deprivations suffered today are made all the more painful because existing trends, instead of providing consolation, promise more of the same, or worse.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“The African position on the issue was articulated at the thirty-third Summit of the Heads of State or Government of the member States of the Organization of African Unity, held in Harare in June this year. Ethiopia fully supports the African position. This annual occasion affords us the opportunity to reiterate our commitment to the United Nations, to what it represents and to all efforts designed to address our common challenges. For obvious reasons, some of the common dangers we have faced have receded. The cold war, which by common consensus represented a threat to the very survival of humanity, is more or less behind us.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“In his report (A/51/950) to the Assembly entitled “Renewing the United Nations: A Programme for Reform”, the Secretary-General has proposed measures that Member States may take to democratize the United Nations and to enhance its effectiveness as an instrument with which to deal with the challenges facing us as we enter the twenty- first century. I wish to assure the Secretary-General of Ethiopia’s full support for his initiative. Ethiopia strongly believes that the reform and expansion of the Security Council, which is long overdue, is at the heart of the United Nations reform process. Broad consensus has been established that the reform and expansion of the Council must reflect the realities of the world we live in today.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“I wish first of all to congratulate you, Sir, on your unanimous election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-second session. There is no doubt that your election to this high position is an acknowledgment of your personal competence and of the commitment of your country, Ukraine, to the United Nations and to the principles enshrined in its Charter. I also wish to pay tribute to your predecessor, Ambassador Razali, who discharged his responsibilities with great wisdom and dedication. Our appreciation also goes to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for the great efforts he is making to ensure the revitalization of the United Nations.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Ethiopia is confident that the United Nations will play an increasingly dynamic role, so that all the nations and peoples of the world will have an equal stake in the preservation of global civilization and in enriching human society.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“We hope that the Special Initiative will be implemented as planned and that it will not, like previous initiatives, remain unfulfilled and be another source of frustration and an empty promise. We believe that the United Nations can do more to promote effectively the purposes and principles enshrined in its Charter and to galvanize international cooperation to achieve peace and development. Our world cannot afford to see the international community divided in two, with one half remaining poor and becoming even poorer. The imperatives of interdependence dictate that this trend be reversed, especially when all that those who are lagging behind demand is the removal of the obstacles to development and an opportunity to address their economic problems on the basis of their own efforts.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“No doubt, much work needs to be done in this area, and we are confident that the mechanism for consultation already in place between the two organizations will be utilized more effectively and with a far greater sense of purpose and consistency. I wish to take this opportunity to express my Government’s appreciation to the Secretary-General for his very useful and timely initiative on the United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa. The Special Initiative is complementary to the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s, and, through the reallocation of existing resources and the mobilization of additional ones, will contribute to the development of Africa.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“We believe that it represents an important step towards the attainment of the larger objectives of nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament. As a founding Member of the United Nations, Ethiopia attaches the highest importance to the work of the United Nations and wishes to see the Organization revitalized and strengthened. In this context, Ethiopia, like 12 many other countries, is convinced that the future of the United Nations lies in its democratization and in the creation of conditions under which all Member States, big or small, will feel that the Organization belongs equally to all of them. With respect to developments in Africa, in the area of conflict prevention and in other areas, my Government is keen to see more effective cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“Ethiopia is striving to enhance its capacity to become a useful and effective partner in international economic cooperation. We intend to make our country an attractive place for investment; all the necessary foundations have already been laid by my Government to this end. We are determined to make trade and investment the major pillars of our economic cooperation with others. Ethiopia has also endeavoured to contribute its share to regional and international peace and stability over the past few years. That is a policy that we intend to expand further with a view to fulfilling our regional and international commitments, no matter how small our contribution might be. Ethiopia welcomes the recent adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty by the fiftieth session of the General Assembly.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“I wish also to express appreciation to all those who have continued to support the Mwanza process and the initiative that was taken by the countries of the region on 31 July 1996. My country, which emerged from a very difficult period of conflicts and severe economic hardships only five years ago, has made major strides on all fronts during this brief period of time. We draw immense satisfaction from the fact that our people have finally achieved durable peace and stability. Moreover, our economic reform programmes have started to bear fruit; we are encouraged by the results achieved, particularly in agricultural production, over the past few years. That Ethiopia now has the capacity not only to feed itself, but also to be an exporter of food grains, is increasingly becoming a reality.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“Others with a much more complex societal mix have managed to put in place democratic mechanisms to reconcile the right of the majority to govern with sufficient guarantees for the security and dignity of the minority. This is what ex-President Mwalimu Nyerere has been striving to assist the Burundi parties to achieve through the Mwanza peace process, a process which enjoys the full support of the United Nations and of the international community. I wish to take this opportunity to express appreciation for the resolve and unity that the countries of the region have demonstrated in an effort to see to it that disaster is averted in Burundi and that the country achieves national reconciliation.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“The spread of terrorism is not a danger merely to our region, but to the international community as a whole. Ethiopia’s conscience is clear in this regard because it has done its level best to fulfil its responsibilities in the fight against terrorism, and it will always remain committed to combating this evil. At present, the most worrying conflict, with the potential for a level of human slaughter which we all dread to see, is the one in Burundi. The parties to the conflict in Burundi have the responsibility to save their society from decimation through accommodation based on principles that suit the specific conditions of their country.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“The situation in Somalia has not been an exception to this. The absence of central authority for an extended period of time in that country has been seen to provide opportunity for extra-regional elements bent on exporting terror and on experimenting with plans designed to create instability and chaos in our region. It is therefore in my country’s direct national interest that peace be established and national reconciliation achieved in Somalia as speedily as possible. This is also in the interest of our region in general. Our region, which has had a prolonged period of instability and which has also recently experienced State-sponsored terrorism, cannot afford and should not be expected to tolerate the proliferation and the establishment of centres of international terrorism by multinational elements in our midst.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“In all these efforts, the role of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) has been vital; whether it is in Liberia, Burundi, Somalia or other conflict situations in Africa, the important contribution that the OAU Secretary-General has been making is a source of great satisfaction to us. The Organization of African Unity has indeed upgraded its capacity for conflict resolution in our continent since the establishment in 1993 of the OAU Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution. I wish to seize this opportunity to express appreciation to all those who have continued to help ensure that the OAU’s role in this area is strengthened and enhanced. Conflict situations, whether in Africa or elsewhere, have negative consequences not only for the countries directly affected but also for their neighbours and their regions.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“This is the vicious circle we find ourselves in, which makes it difficult to find speedy resolution of the very many conflict situations that have led to unspeakable human suffering, and on some occasions to genocide, in Africa. In Somalia, where peace and national reconciliation have eluded the people for close to six years, we are still far from making any headway in reversing the situation. Efforts are, however, still continuing to help bring about national reconciliation in Somalia, and my own Prime Minister has continued to attach the highest importance to this endeavour.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“In this context, we are encouraged by the recent Lyon summit of the Group of Seven, which we were hopeful would go beyond the Naples terms in easing the debt overhang for countries such as Ethiopia. We also hope that some progress will be made during the upcoming annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in connection with multilateral debt. For countries like my own, this is very crucial indeed. While durable solutions to conflicts and to the lack of peace and stability in Africa or anywhere else can hardly be achieved within the context of economic dislocation and economic decline, it is also equally true that development requires peace and stability.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“But, whatever the constellation of factors immediately responsible for specific conflict situations in Africa, the fact remains that in most instances civil strife and conflicts in the continent have emerged within the context of deteriorating economic situations. In this context, the only durable solution for the political crisis in Africa can be found in the economic regeneration and development of the continent. Development is therefore the only reliable preventive means to ensure and maintain peace and stability in Africa. The development of Africa will continue to be a distant dream unless the known obstacles are removed, among which the debt burden continues to be the major impediment.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“Thus, Africa’s genuine fear is that the opportunity created by the end of the cold war will disappear and that a historic chance will be squandered forever. It is by no means accidental that, of all the regions of the world, Africa is the most affected by conflicts and lack of stability. Conflicts in our continent have not only been greater in number, but have also proved to be more intractable and, more often than not, more deadly and more destructive, in terms of both human lives and property. It may not always be plausible to suggest that all conflicts in Africa have their roots in economic difficulties only.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“That positive development — the end of the cold war — also encouraged many in the developing world, especially those of us in Africa, to undertake far-reaching political and economic reform measures, with a view to laying the foundation for democratic transformation and meaningful economic growth and development. Despite all these manifested hopes and courageous moves towards economic reform and democracy, the situation on the African continent remains a source of great concern. At present, Africa is the only continent where the level of poverty is increasing dramatically. Needless to say, this trend could lead to unimaginable consequences unless it is arrested and reversed as speedily as possible.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“There are probably no greater challenges before the international community in this regard than those of development and of peace and stability — two concerns that define the very essence of the United Nations and that constitute the core purposes and objectives of the Organization. It is not yet a distant memory that we all rejoiced at the end of the cold war, believing that it would open up new vistas of opportunity for addressing the vital issues of international concern that had been overshadowed for decades by the arms race, East-West rivalry and other manifestations of the cold-war era.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“That occasion also afforded us the opportunity to take stock of United Nations achievements and of its yet-unfinished business, as well as of the continuing challenges faced by both the Organization and the international community at large. That stock-taking exercise could not have led us to underestimate, let alone belittle, what has been achieved by the United Nations. In any case, in so far as the United Nations is our universal Organization, its failings can only be our failings, as its successes are also ours. None the less, last year’s stock-taking of the performance of the 50-year- old United Nations must have underlined more than anything else how complex and daunting the challenges faced by the Organization and by the international community are becoming.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“First of all, I should like to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the fifty-first session of the General Assembly. I wish to assure you the full cooperation of my delegation in the discharge of this heavy responsibility entrusted to you. I 10 should like also to take this opportunity to pay tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Freitas do Amaral, for the able manner in which he fulfilled his responsibilities. Last year we celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations and reiterated our dedication to the purposes and principles of the Organization, for the promotion of which it was established.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“In this context, the democratization of the United Nations at all levels, and greater transparency in the operation of the organs of the Organization, including that of the Security Council and of the Secretariat, are some of the required steps which will guarantee that the United Nations can play to the fullest its potential appropriate role as the foremost multilateral organization with the full confidence of peoples in the North as well as in the South. For our part, we will continue to do our share, and do all that is necessary to assist the United Nations in achieving its noble objectives and goals.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“None the less, even in the economic sector we have made some notable gains, and our cooperation with the international financial institutions has so far been very encouraging. But the challenges ahead of us are immense, and we will continue to count on the support of the international community to help us put our country firmly on the path of sustainable growth and development. One of the major positive outcomes of the demise of the cold war has been the new confidence placed in multilateral approaches to solving the major problems faced by our interdependent world. The United Nations, as the finest expression of multilateralism, has thus been given a new opportunity to make a difference in the world and to spearhead the efforts of the international community for peace and development.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The fledgling democratic process in a country with no democratic traditions will continue to be a major challenge. But the political will to solidify grass-roots democracy will always be there, among other things because the survival of countries as diverse as Ethiopia can be ensured only on the basis of democratic governance. However, the linchpin of the success of democracy in Ethiopia, as is also true for all similarly situated countries, is sustainable economic growth and development. Citizens who see no future for themselves or for their offspring can hardly be counted on - and for understandable reasons - to be a bedrock for stable Governments, without which democracy will have little chance of flourishing.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“In the course of the last three years, we in Ethiopia have benefited immensely from the generous assistance of the international community, for which we are very grateful. This assistance was again demonstrated during the recent drought, which affected over 7 million people. Thanks to the assistance of the international community, to the role the Ethiopian people themselves played and to the timely, effective measures taken by the Government, the effects of a drought that could have caused massive loss of life, dislocation and displacement commensurate with those of the 1984-1985 drought were successfully contained. Even though Ethiopia has now started to stand on its own feet, we cannot pretend that we have even remotely begun to address the major challenges still facing us.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“As we approach the end of the period of transition in Ethiopia, we can say with full confidence that we have, by and large, achieved all the major objectives set for that period. Until three years ago Ethiopia’s name was associated with political instability and civil war. Today Ethiopia has not only achieved peace but also become a factor for peace in its own subregion and beyond, as is vividly demonstrated by the Ethiopian peace-keeping contingent in Rwanda. Moreover, we have been gratified by the recent successful elections for a Constituent Assembly, which will be convened very soon to prepare a constitution on the basis of which a general election will be held to install the first-ever democratically elected Government in the country.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“In a country known for its excessive centralization of power - something that was pushed to absurdity by the previous Government: the major reason for the absence of peace in Ethiopia for so long - the new relationship between the centre and the regions is becoming a promising arrangement for genuine and meaningful participation of the people, at the grass-roots level, in the political process of their country. We believe that once democracy becomes relevant to the average person and at the grass roots, it will prove to be durable because the struggle between autocracy and democratic forms of governance 23 will not then be between very narrow, elite groups, whether from the military or from other sectors of society.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Over the past three years the Transitional Government has focused its attention on three broad concerns - the restoration of peace and stability; the democratization of the political process, including the creation of conditions for enforcing the rule of law and setting up democratic institutions; and the liberalization of the economy and the freeing of the economic sector from the strait-jacket of the command economy imposed on our peoples by the military Government. One of the unique aspects of the democratization process in Ethiopia has been the very extensive devolution of power to all regions of the country.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The major consideration here has been the conviction of the Heads of State that a persisting crisis in the Sudan would be not only a cause of continuing bloodshed in that country but also a major source of instability and lack of peace in the subregion. In this regard, the importance of the international community’s input towards breaking the logjam in the IGADD peace initiative in the Sudan can hardly be underestimated. A solution to the problem can come only through the continued efforts of the countries of the region and the international community’s support for those efforts. We in Ethiopia have had more than our share of the tragedies associated with conflicts. It is three years since peace was restored to the country following three decades of civil war and internal strife.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Thus, the IGADD peace process is at a crossroads in that the positions of the parties have hardened, and the mediators are left to choose between abandoning their efforts and developing alternative strategies in response to the crisis. Faced with this situation, the Ministerial Committee was compelled ultimately to refer the matter back to the IGADD Committee of Heads of State, which met recently in Nairobi. The Heads of State, while recognizing the logjam that has been created in the process of negotiation, have none the less unanimously decided that there is no alternative to continuing with the peace effort.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“In the course of the negotiations, the IGADD Committee’s major goal was to help the parties to identify and address the central issues that have been the sources of the conflict in the Sudan - a country characterized by religious, ethnic and racial diversity. Pursuant to instructions from our Heads of State, the IGADD Committee of Foreign Ministers attempted, in a series of rounds of negotiation, to help the parties to narrow their differences over the root causes of the conflict and to arrive at a formula for overcoming the deep crisis affecting their countries. Because the IGADD process induced the parties to focus on the critical issues in the conflict, positions have become well defined. The degree of polarity reflected in these positions reveals the gravity of the root causes and explains why the talks have come to deadlock.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“It would indeed be ironic if the international community were to choose to ignore Somalia precisely when the situation is changing for the better. The efforts of the countries of the Horn of Africa in the search for solutions to situations of conflicts have not been limited to Somalia. It is little more than a year since we in the subregion deployed the initiative of the Inter- Governmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD) with a view to assisting in the resolution of the long-standing conflict in the Sudan - a conflict which has created a deep rift in Sudanese society, and whose implications for peace and security, as well as for the social and economic development of our region, are very great indeed.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“From his station in Mogadishu, President Meles’s envoy has been maintaining very close contact with the various Somali factions. Our general assessment is that the trends in Somalia are encouraging and that the Somalis are taking the first hesitant steps to sort out their problems. Although there is no guarantee of success, the general thrust of developments in Somalia is worthy of the support of the international community. At this time last year UNOSOM was engaged in heavy combat with some Somali factions, and its presence in Somalia did not enjoy universal acceptance there. Today, the situation has changed so dramatically that there is consensus in the country that UNOSOM should stay, one way or another, until national reconciliation is achieved.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“No one can pretend to have a ready-made solution to the problem of power-sharing in Somalia, which has been one of the major hurdles preventing national reconciliation. The OAU and the countries of the subregion have continued to do everything possible to assist the Somalis to meet this challenge, firmly convinced that the agenda for peace and national reconciliation in the country should be set by Somalis themselves and that the role of extra-Somali parties, including that of UNOSOM, is to assist in the process. We believe that this has been a very fruitful approach. It is the one that has been adopted from the very beginning by President Meles Zenawi, whose OAU colleagues have 22 given him the responsibility of following developments in Somalia.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The international community’s frustration at the slow pace of the national- reconciliation process and at the lack of sufficient commitment by all sides in Somalia to their responsibility to sort out their own problems as speedily as possible is also understandable, and this is also our concern. But the feeling that conditions in the country have become hopeless and that the general trend in Somalia holds no promise is not born of what has been taking place there since late last year. That the situation in Somalia today, from the point of view both of the level of armed clashes and of dialogue between Somalis of all factions, is far better than it was a year ago, or indeed a few months ago, cannot seriously be doubted.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The validity of this is most clearly to be seen in the prevailing situation in Somalia. More than a few still view the situation in Somalia as having shown no improvement and believe that conditions in that country have in fact deteriorated. That view is probably the major reason for the increasing calls for the speedy withdrawal of the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM) from Somalia. That view is also certainly behind the latest Security Council resolution on Somalia. The situation in Somalia, and most particularly in some parts of that country, is clearly still far from normal, and there is no question that the overall situation in the country is very fluid.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The bottom line is that no African country can categorically be said to be immune from the political and social consequences of the immense level of economic decline, which can be arrested only with the requisite level of international economic cooperation and development partnership. This, incidentally, could also be a way to arrest and contain all varieties of extremism. It seems to us that it is only with the foregoing in mind and with the full appreciation of the very complex nature of some of the conflict situations in Africa that the United Nations can be an effective factor for peace in Africa. This approach would also allow the international community to appreciate fully actual movement, no matter how small, in the right direction towards the resolution of specific conflict situations in Africa.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“This is an important step that requires the effective assistance of the international community, and we are appreciative of the support already being given to the OAU by some countries. But we have no illusions: even if the OAU had the capacity required to carry out its mandate in preventive diplomacy, it would not necessarily be able to make substantial inroads in ensuring durable peace in the continent. Nor can the United Nations and the international community do any better unless the challenges faced in connection with preventive measures in the economic and social areas are taken up in the most serious manner and unless the economic and social decline of Africa is reversed.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“It seems therefore overdue for the United Nations, when it comes to addressing conflict situations such as those in Africa, to think and to act with the clear assumption that traditional notions of preventive diplomacy, peace-keeping and peace-making, although important, are not enough to maintain the peace and to make it durable. "An Agenda for Peace" will be far from sufficient if it doe not go side by side with, and made an integral part of, "An Agenda for Development". In our part of the world, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) took up a huge challenge when it decided to increase its capacity by setting up a mechanism for the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The economic history of Africa over the last two decades is 21 one of precipitate decline. The 1980s was a lost decade, but the first half of the present one is proving to be no better. Each African conflict may have its own unique local as well as extra-local features, but all of them, in one way or another, grow out of the humanly impossible economic and social situations that provide societies with neither hope nor a future. From Liberia to Somalia and from Rwanda to Burundi, what Africa has been witnessing in recent years is the virtual collapse, under the weight of unbearable economic and social difficulties, not only of State structures but also of traditional values and norms of social organization.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)