CONVENTION TO REPATRIATE AFRICA"S ILLEGALLY TRANSFERRED CAPITAL CALLED FOR BY NIGERIA"S PERSIDENT IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY ADDRESS

Press Release
GA/9603

CONVENTION TO REPATRIATE AFRICA’S ILLEGALLY TRANSFERRED CAPITAL CALLED FOR BY NIGERIA’S PERSIDENT IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY ADDRESS

Assembly Continues Debate; Hears Three Heads of State, Two Foreign Ministers, Monaco’s Crown Prince, President of Palestinian Authority

Drawing attention to the illegal flight of capital from Africa and the developing world and the "chronic debt overhang", the President and Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, this morning called for a concerted effort by the international community -- through an international convention or arrangement -- to repatriate all illegally transferred capital to the countries of rightful ownership.

Addressing the General Assembly at its general debate, he said much of Africa's wealth had been illegally siphoned out by corrupt regimes in collaboration with foreign partners. African countries could pay off large portions of their debts if they could only recover some of that capital. An international convention to that end was legally feasible and morally sustainable. It would compel participating banks to disclose the sources of illegal accounts, repatriate capital to the countries of rightful ownership, and subject the guilty to the full weight of national and international law.

The President of the Palestinian National Authority, Yasser Arafat, addressing the Assembly for the second consecutive year, told the Assembly, "The rights of people do not diminish with the passage of years or with oppression, and our people have proven they deserve life and freedom and an independent State". The right of the Palestinians to establish their independent State, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif, or Jerusalem, as its capital, would provide the definitive guarantee for permanent peace in the Middle East and validate the Charter, as well as numerous United Nations resolutions over 51 years.

International sponsorship for the Middle East peace process was the guarantee for its definite success, he continued. The absence of the international role would reverse the fragile situation in the region to zero. The international community must accelerate its push to revitalize the peace process on all tracks. A just and comprehensive permanent peace in the Middle East would endure if guarded by international legitimacy and by efforts to implement the resolutions regarding all its aspects.

Addressing the issue of sanctions, the Foreign Minister of Canada, Lloyd Axworthy, said the human dimension made it imperative that the Council adapt the blunt instrument of sanctions into a targeted tool, so they hurt where they were

General Assembly Plenary - 1a - Press Release GA/9603 10th Meeting (AM) 23 September 1999

supposed to hurt. The Council also needed to show the resolve to implement sanctions once they were in place. Canada’s intention, as chair of the Council’s Angola sanctions committee, was to develop tougher measures to constrain the trade in arms and diamonds, thereby making it more difficult for the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) to wage war. It was time to tackle the new war economy, where there was a direct relationship between certain businesses, mercenaries and warlords, that perpetuated misery, conflict and the victimization of innocent people.

Statements were also made by the Presidents of Albania and Cyprus, the Crown Prince of Monaco, and the Foreign Minister of Egypt.

The Assembly will meet again today at 3 p.m. to continue the fourth day of its general debate.

Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this morning to continue its debate. It was expected to hear statements by the Presidents of Albania, Cyprus, Nigeria, the Crown Prince of Monaco, the Foreign Ministers of Canada and Egypt, as well as the President of the Palestinian National Authority.

Statements

REXHEP MEIDANI, President of Albania, said the new democracy of his country was making tangible progress in harmonizing the political, social and economic areas of life. The three powers of government -- the legislative, executive and judiciary -- were being strengthened and continuous efforts were made to channel foreign investment into private sectors. No State could have either a healthy economy and a secure democracy without the rule of law and Albania had put major effort and resources to strengthen the police and fight crime. With the help of the United Nations, civil society had been disarmed and severe legislative measures had been implemented to fight corruption in the administrative and judicial powers of the Government.

Describing the inhumane conditions resulting from the ethnic cleansing policy against Albanians by Belgrade, he said he could speak only with horror about them, including of the killing of Albanian intellectuals. The regime of President Slobodan Milosevic had flouted the international community, but the atrocity had been ended and many were to be thanked, particularly Kofi Annan for his efforts.

Cooperation with the Tribunal, as called for by the Council, was essential, he said. For peace in Kosovo, the terms of the Rambouillet accord had to be honoured. For its part, Albania had resisted any response to the maneuvers of President Milosovic, which had been intended to create instability in the region. Albanian families had opened their doors to their brothers and peace had been achieved by the United Nations, implementing Security Council resolution 1244. The civil administration in place was creating democracy and rebuilding institutions, while KFOR built peace for the area. Thanks to the efforts of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Bernard Kouchner, peace was being created between Albanians and ethnic minorities in Kosovo.

He said Albania appreciated the international community's desire to end the regional conflict in the Balkans and to turn the area into one of peace and stability. "We will not let the chance slip away", he added, stating that the country was working to overcome the mentality of chauvinism that had sown discord in the past, because of the realization that those attitudes destabilized the region and delayed economic development. Countries in the region had common goals. While the objectives would not easily be attained, all countries in the region should coordinate their efforts. The Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe was the key to strengthening the region's security. It was recognized that in the entire former Yugoslav Republic, the freedom of movement for ideas, people and culture was the precondition for development.

Cultural exchanges would end the conflicts that had shaken the Balkans until today, and democratization would be pursued with intensity, he concluded. The peace process was welcome all over the world, including in the Middle East. The East Timor referendum had Albania's strongest support, as did the United Nations itself, including the democratization of the Security Council to reflect modern realities and simplify the process of bringing the role of the United Nations to areas in need of it.

GLAFCOS CLERIDES, President of Cyprus, reiterated his support for a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement in the Middle East, since his country was a neighboring State with close relations to the parties involved. Regarding the recent devastating earthquake that struck Turkey, he reiterated his sympathy for the losses suffered and urged the international community to lend a helping hand for the reconstruction of the devastated areas. He also congratulated all the countries that had rushed to save Turkish lives, in particular Greece, and congratulated Turkey for reciprocating in the same manner after the subsequent earthquake in Greece.

With regard to the Cyprus problem, his Government “was currently waiting for the United Nations Secretary-General to issue invitations to both sides to take part in negotiations” in the most ambitious effort ever to find a comprehensive solution. He was aware that the international community was working to persuade Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktash, to participate in talks without any preconditions. He hoped the Turkish Cypriot leader would not insist on the recognition of the so-called “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” and would not demand that negotiations be conducted between two States, instead of two communities.

Unfortunately, he continued, in a recent statement, Turkey’s Prime Minister not only insisted on those two preconditions, but had asked that the economic embargo against the Turkish Cypriots be lifted. The Prime Minister knew that the embargo was a decision of the European Court and would not be lifted, because the European Union did not recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The Prime Minister should be aware that there was a category of reciprocal measures that needed to be resolved, commensurate with progress towards a solution, and the embargo fell in that category.

His Government was ready to respond positively to the invitation made by the Secretary-General to attend talks and to negotiate a solution within the parameters established by the international community through Security Council resolutions. “Cyprus must be a bi-communal, bi-zonal Federal Republic with a single sovereignty and international personality and a single citizenship”, he emphasized. Negotiations needed to exclude union, in whole or in part, with any other country or any form of partition or secession. The Cyprus problem required a partnership of two communities that would constitutionally provide for a maximum degree of internal self-administration to two constituent cantons, provinces or States.

In addition, he said, the principle of equal political status of the constituent parts would provide them with the same rights, powers and functions regarding their respective separate internal self-administration. Furthermore, the constitution needed to provide effective participation of the constituent parts in the federal government. Such federation, becoming a member of the European Union, would be supervised by an international force authorized by the Security Council, which would have the right to intervene if necessary. The parameters for the solution of the Cyprus problem, which were included in relevant United Nations resolutions, were already in place. The Greek Cypriot side stood ready to negotiate in good faith so that a bi-communal, bi-zonal Federal Republic of Cyprus would finally become a reality.

OLUSEGUN OBASANJO, President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, said his country had successfully managed the transition to democracy after a decade and a half of military rule. Democratic institutions were now operating effectively within the systems of checks and balances enshrined in the constitution. His administration had also initiated policies aimed at revitalizing the economy, in order to create an enabling environment for investment and economic growth. Appropriate legal frameworks had been put in place for the protection of foreign investment and the repatriation of legitimate profits.

However, he said, grim statistics indicated that the well-known marginalization of the African continent had turned into a de-linkage from the global scene. Since 1992, Africa's exports and imports, as a share of world trade, had declined from 4 per cent to 2 per cent. The continent's development was presently strait jacketed by a debt burden of approximately $300 billion. In addition, the vast majority of developing countries had so far been unable to reap the benefits arising from their membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Africa's trade prospects were hampered by the non-implementation of the special differential provisions that favoured developing countries, and the increasingly protectionist measures that were being imposed against their export products

He said the biggest monetary and financial obstacle confronting developing countries was the chronic debt overhang. Today in sub-Saharan Africa, every man, woman and child owed $357. In that part of the world, millions of people earned approximately $100 a year or 27 cents a day. Some African countries now spent as much as four times on servicing debt as they did on education and health care. Debt relief for developing countries was not a plea for charity, but an urgent matter for social and economic justice. Nigerians expected democracy to yield perceptible dividends in their lives. His administration would, however, find the task of meeting that expectation virtually impossible without substantial reduction of the debt burden.

He said Nigeria and many other African countries would be able to pay off large portions of their debts if only they could recover some of the capital illegally stashed abroad. In that regard, he called for a concerted effort by the international community, through an international convention, for the repatriation to Africa and the developing world of all the capital illegally transferred from those countries. Such an international convention or agreement was legally feasible and morally sustainable. It would compel participating banks to disclose the source of the illegal accounts they held, repatriate the capital to the countries of rightful ownership, and subject the guilty parties to the full weight of national and international law.

Turning to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, he said Africa was bearing the brunt of that terrible disease, which now killed around 2 million Africans annually, thus officially overtaking malaria as the continent's number one primary health care problem. Global cooperation was imperative to deal with it. In addition, he said today as many 19 sub-Saharan countries were engaged in armed conflicts. While African leaders at the recent Summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAW) in Algiers had declared next year as the Year of Peace, Security and Stability in Africa, the time had come for the Security Council to assume full responsibility for Sierra Leone and other African flashpoints. Furthermore, he asked, how could the United Nations justify a situation where Africa was the only continent without a permanent seat on the Council? To promote reform and democratization of that body, Africa should be allocated at least two permanent seats.

Crown Prince ALBERT of Monaco, said that since the last General Assembly session, many painful events had taken place, such as the conflict in Kosovo. The role of the United Nations was crucial in resolving that situation, as well as that in East Timor. Internal conflicts had become more numerous than conflicts between States. He endorsed unreservedly the principles called for by Security Council resolution 1265 adopted just last week, which called for an end to impunity for those involved in genocide and related violations of international humanitarian law.

He reviewed the numerous advances made at the United Nations during the past year, in such areas as promoting the rights of women and protecting those of children in civil conflicts. Also, he added, economic and financial issues -- not least the external debt burden borne by many States -- required the urgent attention of the United Nations. Economic policies needed to be reviewed to ensure that inequalities were addressed and not exacerbated. Good governance should be correlated with economic advantage. Finance Ministers of the intergovernmental agency for French speaking States, meeting at Monaco this past spring, in emphasizing that correlation, had called on the global financial community to maintain public - and private - sector support for development.

Also requiring attention were the issues of escalating nuclear weapons and arms, as well as terrorism, he said. "We condemn all forms of terrorism, an act that strikes too many innocents.” To be singled out for special commendation was the United Nations staff in East Timor, especially those who had stayed in place while under attack. "We stand shoulder to shoulder with that staff", he said. The Secretary-General was to be congratulated for managing the Organization well, while coping with serious crises.

LLOYD AXWORTHY, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, asked how the handiwork of the United Nations to date would be judged in the face of: brutal ethnic cleansing in Kosovo; the slaughter and maiming of innocents in Sierra Leone, Angola, both Congos and Sudan; the cruel suppression of the independence agreement in East Timor; the darker side of globalization, with international commerce bringing new but poorly distributed wealth; helpless children being recruited into armies or sold on the Internet for exploitative purposes; and environmental degradation inflicting a large cost on the smallest countries that could least afford it.

On the eve of the millennium, the world was increasingly shaped by those and other direct threats to people, he said. Yet, another perspective gave a glimmer of hope. Eighty-six nations had ratified the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and Their Destruction (Ottawa Convention) ushering in a new legal regime and a plan of action that would save thousands of lives. Working together last year, 120 nations had voted in favour of an International Criminal Court (ICC) that would establish individual accountability for crimes against humanity. In the field of conflict, the United Nations was now attempting to rebuild Kosovo after an unprecedented humanitarian intervention. And peacekeepers were bringing order to East Timor.

He said that the Secretary-General’s report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict captured many of today’s challenges. The heaviest burden fell on the Security Council. The protection of people must be central to the Council’s work. Legitimate questions about the purposes, limits and standards for humanitarian engagement by the Council also raised difficult contradictions regarding the principle of non-interference. Clear and consistent criteria were needed against which the necessity of humanitarian intervention -- including enforcement -- could be judged and applied. Those tests must be very demanding, based on fundamental breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law.

The human dimension made it imperative that the Council adapt the blunt instrument of sanctions into a targeted tool, so they hurt where they were supposed to hurt, he said. The Council also needed to show the resolve to implement sanctions once they were in place. Canada’s intention, as chair of the Council’s Angola sanctions committee, was to develop tougher measures to constrain the trade in arms and diamonds, thereby making it more difficult for the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) to wage war. It was time to tackle the new war economy, where there was a direct relationship between certain businesses,

mercenaries and warlords, that perpetuated misery, conflict and the victimization of innocent people.

He said that strengthened standards and priorities were needed for the negotiation of the strongest possible optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. Canada would also be seeking an additional protocol to the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel. It would provide legal protection to all personnel working in situations of armed conflict, including a broader range of locally employed personnel and those of non-governmental organizations.

AMRE MOUSSA, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt, said the outgoing century had become a "catalogue of contradictions,” some of which bore testimony to mankind's genius and others to its sins and immoralities. Civilization had produced its share of tyrants, as well as great leaders and advocates of peace. The legacies of the crimes of genocide and ethnic cleansing, the evils of organized crime and drug trafficking, poverty and underdevelopment were some of the challenges that would follow the international community into the twenty-first century. But, the future was his real concern. It brought new challenges, such as the conduct of relations among peoples and societies, economic matters and politics and security. The new century made it necessary to agree on a forward- looking agenda.

On many current continuing conflicts, there was progress, he continued. Though the regions in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa -- and Africa as a whole -- continued to suffer from armed and ethnic conflicts and the disruption of development efforts, a serious African policy was now in place to put an end to those conflicts. On the Asian continent, the situation in the Korean peninsula, the question of Kashmir and the continued instability and aggressive nature of Afghanistan were all sources of concern. But, the Asian economies were showing signs of recovery and preparing to make up ground lost during the financial crisis of 1997. Positive steps had also been made in Cyprus, the Middle East and Northern Ireland.

In the Middle East, he said, the peace process, which was of central importance for the restoration of stability and the establishment of a comprehensive peace throughout the region, was now heading towards a new and positive stage. He hoped that would lead to a comprehensive peaceful settlement, which would establish the Palestinian State, put an end to the occupation of the Syrian and Lebanese territories and ensure security for all. He maintained, as always, that a comprehensive peace meant Israel’s withdrawal from all Arab territories occupied in 1967, the establishment of the State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its captial, the achievement of security for all, and the establishment of normal relations between the Arab States and Israel. He had hoped that the Arab-Israeli conflict would come to an end before the end of the twentieth century. That hope was still alive.

He said that Arab-Israeli conflict was not the only problem in that vast region. There were other problems such as the Western Sahara in North Africa, and the question of Sudan, which was high on Egypt’s list of diplomatic priorities. Also, the situation of Iraq raised numerous questions, which did not have a bearing on the Government alone, but rather on the plight of its people and the suffering of its children. An objective and positive review of the situation of that important brotherly country had become necessary. That review should proceed from the premise that there were no everlasting sanctions and that people had a right to move on from the mistakes of the past. Indeed, Iraq made a grave mistake when it invaded Kuwait. A mistake, however, could not be corrected by a policy that would lead to the collapse of an entire society. Thus, he was following closely the efforts aimed at the suspension of sanctions, which should be a first step towards the lifting of sanctions.

Certain major issues should be given top priority on the world agenda, he said. Those were: international peace and security; the question of the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons; the eradication of poverty and the integration of developing countries into the world economy on an equitable basis; the dialogue and complementarity of civilizations; and the question of terrorism. Agreed solutions to those questions must be the result of collective thinking and collective action. Of those questions, he gave particular notice to international peace and security and the plight of developing nations. In closing, he addressed the debilitating financial crisis of the United Nations, saying that the failure of some members to fulfil their obligations and resulted in a halt in the reimbursement to the countries contributing troops and equipment to peacekeeping operations, among them Egypt.

YASSER ARAFAT, President of the Palestinian National Authority, called on the United Nations to continue its role in eliminating all forms of occupation and strengthening the foundations of peace throughout the world. The coming Millennium Summit should represent a decisive deadline for achieving peace in the Middle East. He looked forward to Palestine's participation as a Member State of the United Nations and looked forward to welcoming all to the Bethlehem 2000 celebrations as the Palestinians marched toward peace with their new partners in the region.

International sponsorship for the Middle East peace process was the guarantee for its definite success, he continued, extending thanks to the European, Middle Eastern, United States and United Nations envoys. The absence of the international role would reverse the fragile situation in the region to zero. The international community must accelerate its push to revitalize the peace process on all tracks. A just and comprehensive permanent peace in the Middle East would endure if guarded by international legitimacy and by the implementation of resolutions concerning all its aspects.

The catastrophe that had uprooted the Palestinian people from their home 51 years ago had been one of the greatest tragedies of the century, he said. The question of Palestine refugees was the oldest refugee question in the contemporary world. Four million Palestinian refugees lived in exile and refugee camps, deprived of their legitimate right to return to their land. The right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif, or Jerusalem, as its capital, would provide the definitive guarantee for permanent peace in the Middle East. It would also validate the Charter of the United Nations and its numerous resolutions over 51 years, beginning with resolution 181, which had called for two States to be established in Palestine, one Jewish, which was Israel, and the other Arab, which was Palestine. "The rights of people do not diminish with the passage of years or with oppression, and our people have proven they deserve life and freedom and an independent state.”

He said there were two requirements for peace to be complete. One was to reach a final settlement on all tracks and the other was to gain international support for achieving a better economic situation toward prosperity in the region. The Palestinian economy needed to be lifted out of the miserable situation in which it had lain during the years of occupation.

Further, he added, those stepped-up efforts to achieve development during the coming new millennium were needed all over the world to boost reassuring positive developments. There was tangible progress on the great African continent in conflict resolution, economic and social development. International attention had been given to the Balkans and the statute of the International Criminal Court had been adopted. Nevertheless, the prevailing problem remained, that of extreme poverty and the widening gap between the haves and have-nots, at individual, country and regional levels. "We must seek creative means beyond hasty and temporary remedies", he said, calling for a new North-South partnership in which the people of the South strove to achieve those remedies while those of the North accepted partnership and a realistic, just willingness to share. There should be one set of criteria and one standard for all cases and all places. That would lead to a credible system, he concluded, wherein the incentive to commit wrongs was lessened and the collective capability to prevent those wrongs enhanced.

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