Addressing UN Assembly, Nigeria's President calls for treaties against small arms, corruption.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly this morning, Nigerian President Olesegun Obasanjo advocated the adoption of international treaties to fight the proliferation of illicit arms and the problem of corruption.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly this morning, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo advocated the adoption of international treaties to fight the proliferation of illicit arms and the problem of corruption.

While acknowledging that many of the conflicts in today's world have their roots in poverty and related factors, in the case of Africa, fighting is often exacerbated by the unabated illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. "We are deeply concerned that manufacturer countries are not doing enough to limit the proliferation of these weapons through appropriate safeguards," he said, calling on the international community to consider elaborating a legally binding international instrument to control the supply of these weapons to non-State actors.

Turning to the "pernicious issue of corruption," he said both rich and poor States are complicit in the practice. "We have always maintained that it takes two to tango, and that the instances of corruption in developing countries have often been supported by encouragement and inducements from the industrialized countries," he said. "Efforts to establish a convention against corruption needs to be expedited so that we can have global action against corruption."

Pakalitha B. Mosisili, the Prime Minister of Lesotho, drew attention to the "devastating" food shortages currently ravaging southern Africa. The Government of Lesotho declared a state of famine in April, when half a million people faced a severe food crisis. Since then, efforts have been made to address the problem. He voiced gratitude to the UN, its specialized agencies, and the donor community for their response to the crisis in Lesotho.

HIV/AIDS also continues to be a grave concern in the country, the Prime Minister said. “Most people who are infected are between the ages of 15 and 45,” he noted. “These are the people who constitute the potential and active workforce in Lesotho.” The epidemic was also ravaging family structure, leaving many orphans and child-headed households. He appealed for international support to stop the disease’s spread in African countries.

Farouk AI-Shara', Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Syria, said Arab countries have condemned the attacks on the United States. "Nonetheless and after a year has elapsed since these attacks, which were officially linked with Al-Qaeda and Taliban, the world is wondering how these accusations are transferred to the Arab countries to threaten some of them who had nothing to do with these attacks," he said. At the same time, Israel, which refuses to implement UN resolutions, continues its occupation of the Golan, the West Bank and Gaza, and parts of the Lebanese territories. The only way to end the crisis is to make Israel abide by Security Council resolutions, he said, questioning why the world should request Iraq to adhere to those texts, "while Israel is allowed to be above international law." Syria would strongly oppose striking Iraq while keeping silent about the Israeli occupation of the Arab territories. Only the Iraqi people could decide their future, he added.

The Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, J.G. de Hoop Scheffer, said African leaders had acknowledged their responsibility for the continent's future, and other countries must add their backing and resources to this effort. Increasing levels of migration – by no means unique to Africa – must also be addressed "regardless of whether we represent countries of origin, countries of transit or of destination." Concerning terrorism, he called for dialogue and attention to the root causes of religious extremism. Likewise, efforts are needed to resolve the various problems in the Middle East. "We expect the Security Council to take its responsibilities to end the Iraqi regime's systematic non-compliance with a range of earlier resolutions," he said. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict could not be dealt with by solely concentrating on the fight against terrorism. "The Palestinian people should ask themselves where this violence got them," he noted. "On the other hand, Israel cannot defer indefinitely answering the question when and how it is to live side by side with a Palestinian neighbour."

Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, Poland's Foreign Minister, said the Security Council "must find enough strength in the nearest future to set the course for the decision-making process of the UN aimed at concrete actions." In order to gear the UN towards "the needs of today and the threats of tomorrow," the UN should consider updating the provisions of its Charter, perhaps through the adoption of a document "that could be considered as 'New Act of the United Nations at the Dawn of the 21st Century' which could give a fresh impetus to the Organization. This text should focus on emerging threats, acute poverty, human rights, and sustainable development. He suggested that the Secretary-General might wish to appoint a "Group of Sages" to draft the document, which would then be assessed and approved by Member States.

Mongolia's Foreign Minister, L. Erdenechuluun, said the terrorist attacks against the US last year had demonstrated the need for a new concept of security. "More weapons, allocation of more resources to military do not necessarily translate into increased security," he said. "Security can no longer be confined to boundaries of a single State, or even a group of States." Instead, the concept of human security must take precedence. "We believe it is high time to engage in an earnest dialogue on an entirely new framework of development cooperation more responsive to the emerging imperatives of global human security," he said. A new development partnership between the North and the South "should be based on justice, not on charity; on equitable sharing of global market opportunities, not on protectionism or aid; on mutual cooperation, not on unilateral conditionality or confrontation."

Also taking part in the debate were Koffi Panou, Togo's Foreign Minister, Shaikh Mohammed Bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa, Bahrain's Foreign Minister, Jean Ping, Gabon's Foreign Minister, Antonio Martins da Cruz, Portugal's Foreign Minister, Vilayat Guliyev, Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister, and Philip Sealy, Chairman of the Delegation of Trinidad and Tobago.