From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Tue Sep 29 2009 - 18:05:39 EDT
General Debate of the 64th Session (2009)
Eritrea
H.E. Mr. Osman Mohammed Saleh, Minister for Foreign Affairs
Video
http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/ga/64/2009/ga090928am2.rm?start=00
:00:29
<http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/ga/64/2009/ga090928am2.rm?start=0
0:00:29&end=00:11:17> &end=00:11:17
Statement summary
OSMAN MOHAMMED SALEH, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Eritrea, said the
United Nations had been founded to address the challenges of the
post-World War I and II world order and could not realistically cope
with the exigencies of the twenty-first century. The Organization
should have embarked on a process of transformation 20 years ago, when
the cold war ended. The global financial and economic crisis was a mere
symptom of the consequences of inaction, and it was clear the ageing
world order had been hijacked to serve the interests of the few.
He went on to say that financial institutions had been left to operate
unchecked, without restrictions or regulations. Illegitimate military
and coercive blunders had been allowed to fester. A culture of
"politics of fear" and "management by crisis" had been established as a
norm. World peace and security had been imperilled beyond measure.
Moreover, despite the fervent calls for reform by the international
community, the few who controlled the outdated world order were not
attuned to the notion of change; they had regarded the crises and
suffering as ordinary historical imperatives. In the global maelstrom,
none had been more exposed to harm than those of the marginalized in
Africa. The continent had become riddled with crises and conflict.
Special interest groups had rendered the Africans paralysed. When it
came to resolution, Africans found themselves dependent on the goodwill
of others. The role of Africa in the United Nations, as well as in
other international organizations, could be described as
inconsequential.
The need for fundamental change in the Organization and other
international bodies should not be left to the goodwill of the few. He
said the change needed to transform anew the outdated world order should
not only be implemented through reform. The desired change should not
only be limited to increasing the number of seats in the Security
Council. It should, rather, steer the world away from its dangerous
path of descent, where it was controlled by a powerful few, and
redirected towards a path that would ensure the safety of all. The
African continent needed to expend more efforts to achieve that goal, he
said, stressing that fundamental reform required collective commitment.
It would not do justice to dwell on numerous current events, or
consequences spawned by the fundamental flaws of the world order, he
continued. Doing so would only serve to confuse and distort the bigger
picture. He had, therefore, chosen not to address important issues of
the Horn of Africa and Eritrea's specific issue of illegal occupation of
sovereign Eritrean territory, which awaited responsible and urgent
action.
http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/ga/64/2009/ga090928am2.rm?start=00
:00:29
<http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/ga/64/2009/ga090928am2.rm?start=0
0:00:29&end=00:11:17> &end=00:11:17
http://www.un.org/ga/64/generaldebate/ER.shtml
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