Foreign Minister Seyoum’s speech at the UN General Assembly
Foreign Minister Seyoum addressed the UN General Assembly on Wednesday this week [29th Sep]. In a wide-ranging speech, he began by reviewing the main aspects of Ethiopia’s political and economic transformation, and in particular the process of democratization, now in its second decade. It had been a bumpy process and one “fraught with difficulties” but perseverance in encouraging the institutions of democracy, good governance and the rule of law to build a stable political system based on devolution of power to the people, had paid off. Minister Seyoum reiterated the government’s belief that democracy was not an option but a means of survival. The process was irreversible and had put out “deep roots” both in the state and in society. It was, of course, also the means to improve the life of the people. Ethiopia had built a national consensus within a framework of democracy and development, registering an annual average of double-digit economic growth for the last seven years.
This has provided the basis for the formulation of the next five year Growth and Transformation Plan (2010-2015), an ambitious plan designed to create and strengthen a stable democratic developmental state and remove any bottlenecks to the full achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The plan, in fact, will help to make “poverty history” in Ethiopia and bring an end to the era of food insecurity and dependency on food aid. Ethiopia had made substantial progress towards the MDGs, taking charge of its destiny, devising its own strategy and maximizing its own resources as well as making the best use of available international assistance. Minister Seyoum noted that progress towards the MGDs in Sub-Saharan Africa had been encouraging. Nevertheless Africa still lagged behind other regions of the world. The High-Level Plenary Meeting last week had been most timely and the action agenda designed to achieve the MDGs required responsibility and accountability of all stakeholders. “We in Africa know what we can do; we want to know what the rest of the world will do to help us achieve our goals.”
Minister Seyoum emphasized the critical challenge of climate change. Copenhagen, he said, had reached agreement on the political commitment necessary, but the upcoming Cancun meeting must come up with a legally binding commitment coupled with the political will to provide resources for adaptation and mitigation for the most vulnerable states. He noted that access to energy was key to fighting poverty, and stressed Ethiopia’s commitment to the development of renewable energy. Ethiopia is committed to zero carbon emissions by 2025, and since 2008 had been planting over 1 billion trees annually. By the end of the Growth Plan Ethiopia will have developed 10,000 MWs of hydroelectric power together with parallel development of geothermal, bio-fuel, wind and solar power potential. We aim to provide 75% rural electrification by 2015.
Turning to the issues of international peace and security, Minister Seyoum noted that Ethiopia has always been an active participant in peacekeeping operations since the early 1950s. It was among the major troop-contributing countries for UN peacekeeping mission. He emphasized the dangers of terrorism and stressed the importance of unreserved international cooperation to combat it. He said the threat of extremism continued in Somalia, pointing out that the IGAD Heads of State and Government had identified the conflict in Somalia as between the people of Somalia and international terrorists. IGAD’s Council of Ministers in New York, supported by the Secretary-General’s Mini-Summit on Somalia last week, had called on the TFG leadership to strengthen their cohesion. The IGAD Council had reaffirmed the Djibouti Process as the sole basis for peace and reconciliation in Somalia, urged the UN to engage within the region and with IGAD, and expressed regret over the continuing role of Eritrea, in continued violation of UN Security Council resolutions, as a “spoiler” and the main provider of arms to terrorist groups in Somalia. IGAD had called upon the UN to mobilize the necessary resources for AMISOM to sustain an enlarged deployment of forces pending its transformation into a UN peacekeeping force.
With regard to the situation in Sudan, Minister Seyoum said success in Sudan would be a significant success for Africa; failure would entail a serious catastrophe. This was why the activities of the AU’s High-Level Implementation Panel should be strengthened and parallel initiatives avoided. The referendum on Abyei, popular consultation in Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan, border demarcation and post-referendum issues were all organically linked to the CPA. Minister Seyoum said there was clearly a need to change the mode of operation in discussions on CPA implementation. Business as usual isn’t going to work. In the final analysis both parties must carry out their obligations without putting forward preconditions. The referenda should certainly be held strictly in conformity with the terms of the CPA. Irrespective of the outcome, the parties should also recognize there are several commonalities between north and south, and it was of paramount importance that negotiations on post-referendum matters should be conducted with a seriousness of purpose.
In terms of security in the Horn of Africa and the Southern Red Sea, Minister Seyoum emphasized that members of IGAD had warned the international community and the UN time and again that Eritrea was the principal destabilizing force. The Security Council had recognized this when it imposed sanctions in December last year. It was, however, regrettable that it had not yet taken the necessary steps to compel Eritrea to respond to the requirements of Resolution 1907. Eritrea was still training, arming and nurturing extremist elements such as Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam. This had been standard behaviour, in the sub-region and more widely. Consistent with this have been the acts of aggression committed against nearly all its neighbours since its independence only 17 years ago. “The time, therefore, is long overdue for the Security Council to take resolute action and see to it that its decisions are complied with”. Minister Seyoum said this was a necessity if the integrity of the decisions of the UN were to be maintained.
Minister Seyoum emphasized the importance of the United Nations as the principal global player on the international scene. He underscored the importance of the ongoing reform of the UN to ensure its continued vitality. Of particular importance was cooperation between the UN and the African Union, and ongoing cooperation between the Security Council and the AU’s Peace and Security Council: “We should continue with this cooperation”. Ethiopia, he added, would do whatever was necessary to support this.