YouSaid · the spoken record

Momodou Lamin Sedat Jobe

lines on the record: 69
first: 1998-09-24
most recent: 2000-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
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

“Whilst acknowledging the great lengths that all parties have gone to in order to ensure that justice is meted out — and this at the earliest possible opportunity — my country firmly believes that Libya should have a greater input into the final arrangements regarding the hand-over of the two Lockerbie suspects and, most important, that the appropriate guarantees for a just and fair dispensation of justice should prevail. This would be in the spirit of the decision taken in Ouagadougou by the heads of State of the Organization of African Unity at their last summit. My Government would like to see justice done and the real culprits in the Lockerbie bombing identified and brought to trial very quickly.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Following a review, therefore, of the latest correspondence on the matter between the Governments of the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the Secretary-General, and the agreement concluded between those two countries and the Government of the Netherlands relating to arrangements for the transfer of the suspects to the Netherlands and their trial there, the Government of the Gambia is of the view that the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya must be given the opportunity to make an assessment of those documents in order to ensure that its views and concerns are fully taken into consideration with regard to the final arrangements.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“In the light of the recent developments, in the quest to alleviate the immense suffering caused by the economic sanctions imposed on the Libyan nation by Security Council resolutions 748 (1992) and 883 (1993), and to avert any further tightening of sanctions on the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, the Government of the Gambia is desirous of the urgent finalization of the arrangements for a lasting solution to this long-drawn-out problem.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“In accordance with the position taken by the Organization of African Unity, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the League of Arab States and other regional organizations, the Government of the Gambia welcomes the concurrence of the Governments of the United Kingdom and of the United States of America to the proposal to have the two Lockerbie suspects tried in a neutral country, the Netherlands. Consequently, the Government of the Gambia reaffirms its full support for the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in its bid to secure a fair and just trial for the two suspects.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The international community, in responding to these conflict situations, must address these issues and the root causes of the conflicts, including in particular the troubling issues of children in armed conflict and the flow of small arms. In this context, my delegation welcomes the actions taken by the Security Council to address these issues following the report of the Secretary-General on Africa. We hope that there will be a United Nations-wide approach to tackle these important issues. 25 The Lockerbie issue has dragged on for too long. It is about time that a settlement was reached so that the people of the great Libyan Arab Jamahiriya can be relieved of the bite of the excruciating sanctions imposed against them.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the resurgence of conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the impasse in the peace process in Angola, the continued violence by the rebels in Sierra Leone, and the complex humanitarian emergencies in Guinea-Bissau, Somalia and Sudan, among other problems, cause grave concern to us. In addition to what I have just said, we are also concerned at the difficulties attendant upon the present conflict situations in Africa, in particular human rights abuses, refugee outflows and the humanitarian needs of innocent persons affected by such conflicts, in particular women and children.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“In this regard, my delegation welcomed the holding of the Special Conference on Sierra Leone that was held here in New York at the initiative of the Secretary-General and which we hope will contribute to the process of national reconciliation. In neighbouring Guinea-Bissau, we hope that the joint peace initiative of ECOWAS and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries will bear fruit, leading to a final settlement of the dispute. In this context, we recognize the need to respect the ceasefire agreed upon in Praia, Cape Verde, on 26 August 1998, which we consider to be an important step in enhancing peace and security in the West African subregion. The Government of the Gambia is concerned over the number, intensity and interrelationship among conflicts in Africa, and especially at the emergence of new conflicts during the past year.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“My delegation would like to take this opportunity to commend the members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and its Military Observer Group (ECOMOG) and other regional and subregional arrangements in Africa and beyond for the good work they continue to do in their bid to ensure peace and security. My delegation is particularly thankful to ECOWAS for the restoration on 10 March 1998 of the legitimate and constitutionally elected Government of Sierra Leone. We are still concerned that the rebels have up to this moment refused to lay down their arms. We urge the international community to assist the Government of Sierra Leone in its effort to restore control over all its territory and to concentrate its energies on national reconciliation, reconstruction and economic development.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The establishment of the International Criminal Court will ensure that henceforth humanity’s response to crimes against humanity will be swift and will be just. Henceforth, no army, no ruler, no junta anywhere can abuse human rights with impunity. The people and the Government of the Gambia look forward to the coming into effect of the statute of the International Criminal Court. One of the most cherished aspirations of our Organization is to ensure that all men live in peace. The attainment of international peace and security therefore remains one of the most vital preoccupations of our noble Organization. It is for these reasons that my delegation joins the rest of the international community in supporting the efforts of the United Nations to ensure peace and the resolution of conflicts around the world.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Unfortunately, women and children suffer the most from these conflicts. We cannot continue to allow this to go on. The time has come when people have to take individual responsibility for crimes they have committed against humankind. Ethnic violence and human rights abuses, a common feature of present day conflicts, cannot be countenanced and cannot be committed with impunity. My delegation supports fully the resolve of the international community to deal with the problem, and in this context welcomes the establishment of the International Criminal Court. We share the philosophy of Benjamin B. Ferencz, a former Nuremberg prosecutor, that “there can be no peace without justice, no justice without law, and no meaningful law without a court to decide what is just and lawful under any given circumstances”.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“We hope that the declaration of the ministers of least developed countries at this year’s session will encourage our development partners to come forward and work with us in a genuine partnership. Poverty, deprivation and environmental degradation are the greatest evils facing developing countries today. 24 We agree with the analysis of the Secretary-General in his report on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa, in particular with regard to the interrelationship between development and peace. Today, the world is besieged with conflicts, both interand intra-State. From the Balkans to the Great Lakes region, human beings continue to prey on one another with guns and knives, machetes and all other sorts of weapons.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“We would also encourage any refinements of the initiative to reduce the structural adjustment period to three years, to increase the debt reduction level to 90 per cent and to ease the terms for reduction of multilateral debt. The least developed countries have always received the attention and support of the international community, particularly with the adoption of the Paris Declaration and Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the 1990s. The realization of the primary objectives of the Programme — to arrest and reverse the deterioration in the socio-economic conditions in the least developed countries — so far remains elusive. The lack of progress in this regard is attributable in the main to the failure of the international community to fulfil its commitments.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Globalization and liberalization must be managed through concerted international effort in order to avoid the further marginalization of developing countries. The overwhelming burden of external debt today poses one of the most challenging and daunting problems for developing countries. Much has been said about this, and very little has been done to alleviate the problem. We believe that there is a dire need for new financial flows to debtor developing countries, in addition to debt relief measures that include cancellation and concessional financial assistance to enable developing countries to reduce their debt overhang. In this context, we welcome the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative and encourage early and urgent application of its measures.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“We are concerned at this growing marginalization of the least developed countries in world trade. The volume of our total exports continues to be under 0.4 per cent of global exports. Increased globalization is further worsening the situation. This negative trend merits coordinated action to alleviate the situation. In this context, we welcome the General Assembly’s decision to hold the first high-level dialogue for two days earlier this month on the theme of the social and economic impact of globalization and interdependence and their policy implications. We hope that this meeting will have brought about active engagement of both developed and developing countries, in a spirit of genuine partnership, with a view to reaching a meaningful and successful conclusion and strengthening international economic cooperation for development.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“I cannot think of a better way of cooperation between States for mutual economic development in a world in which the gap between the rich and the poor continues to expand. Now, whilst we are concerned with bridging this gap, we are overwhelmed by another hurricane-like phenomenon, called globalization and liberalization. Globalization and liberalization were recognized by many to hold many attractions. They were perceived to be the gateway to the integration of developing countries into the global economy. We however observe that while they are yielding ample benefits for developed countries, they have further widened the gap between developed and developing countries, as well as the inequality gap between rich and poor. Their impact on employment and socioeconomic development in general has been largely negative.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“In this way, an impressive number of schools have been built around the country, and now we can boast of providing schools for all communities in the Gambia. Health facilities are within reach of all Gambians and are also affordable. May I at this juncture, on behalf of my Government, express our most sincere gratitude to the Governments of those friendly States — in particular, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Cuba, Egypt and the Republic of China on Taiwan — for the medical assistance they continue to give us during these times of need. This is a meaningful SouthSouth cooperation worthy of emulation. I am only attempting to share our perception of what inter-State relations should be: caring, sharing, consulting and cooperating for the mutual benefit of all.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Since we renewed our new democratic tradition, every effort is being made to consolidate this process in an orderly way, mindful of the fact that better and lasting results will be achieved only through a systematic approach. Moreover, cultivating democracy in the midst of poverty is not an easy task because democracy is, after all, about participation. If the basic needs of the people are not satisfied, they are simply not interested in any political process. Conscious of this hard reality, the Government of President Jammeh quickly put in place a programme of socio-economic development to empower the people and their families, placing great emphasis on social sectors such as health, education and agriculture.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“His impressive contributions in the field of preventive diplomacy, as amply demonstrated on numerous occasions, are worthy of praise. Likewise, in the delicate business of reforms he is equal to the task, for no sooner did he assume office than he embarked on the reform of the United Nations. His success is our success, and therefore we will lend him our full support in our common endeavour to revitalize the Organization and make it more relevant to the realities of these changing times. We in the Gambia have also been busy with the transformation of our own society under the dynamic and enlightened leadership of President Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh, whose ideal it is to serve the youth and people of Africa by endeavouring to help them to realize their 23 aspirations for peace, stability and justice and progress in socio-economic development.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“My delegation would like first of all to congratulate the President on his assumption of the presidency for this session. We know full well that the tasks that lie ahead are indeed challenging, but we are confident that with his vast experience and wisdom he will discharge his responsibilities successfully. Whilst we wish him luck, let me also reassure him of the full cooperation of our delegation at all times. In the same vein, we would also like to congratulate his predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, for the admirable manner in which he conducted the activities of the Assembly during the fifty-second session. My delegation is very proud of Mr. Kofi Annan, our able Secretary-General, for the efficient manner in which he has been running the affairs of our Organization.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)