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Countries emerging from conflict share lessons at UN Summit

Countries emerging from conflict share lessons at UN Summit

As the United Nations Summit in New York entered its final stretch this evening, representatives of several countries emerging from conflict took the floor to offer their perspectives on consolidating peace and ensuring lasting stability.

The Chairman of Liberia's National Transitional Government, Charles Gyude Bryant, said much progress had been achieved in his country in the areas of disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration of former combatants, while people are returning to their communities, government authority has been extended throughout the country, and preparations are under way for elections. He stressed that the net effect of stability in Liberia would be sustainable peace "not only for Liberia, but also for the entire West Africa sub region."

Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, the President of Sierra Leone, said that with the assistance and cooperation of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country (UNAMSIL) and the International Military Advisory and Training Team, the armed forces have assumed their full constitutional responsibility for the security of the State. "We have also made special efforts to consolidate the peace by promoting national cohesion and by addressing the special needs of war victims including the payment of reparations," he said, appealing for contributions from the international community to assist in this effort.

Lebanon's President, Emile Lahoud, stressed that security in his country could be assured by a global system based on pluralism, respect for the principles of international law and the implementation of international resolutions. The Middle East was a prime example of the importance of realizing these goals, he said, voicing gratitude for the UN's support for Lebanon.

Fiji's Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase, hailed the proposal to establish a Peacebuilding Commission and offered to contribute to it his country's experience in recovering from civil unrest in 2000. "While adopting many measures and initiatives to create a culture of peace, we have attached the utmost importance to reconciliation and forgiveness," he said. "Now, we seek to take this forward, by introducing, through legislation, the concept of restorative justice."

Colombia's President, Alvaro Uribe Vélez, said the proposed Peacebuilding Commission must focus on supporting national initiatives for countries emerging from conflict. "The success of the UN will take a clear form when, once it has completed its mission, it withdraws from those countries that asked for its help. Its failure occurs when it remains in place for decades and creates a dependency of the national structures on the international system," he said.

El Salvador's President, Elías Antonio Saca González, also supported the Peacebuilding Commission, saying it would contribute to articulating ways of consolidating peace and its linkages with short, medium and long-term development. All governments have a responsibility to redouble efforts to make good on their stated goals and contribution to improving the lot of the world's people, he added, pledging El Salvador's full commitment in this effort.

Also underscoring the interdependence of today's world, Joseph Urusemal, President of the Federated States of Micronesia, said the recent spate of devastations caused by natural disasters brings into sharper focus the extreme vulnerabilities facing low-lying coastal areas and small island developing States. No amount of engineering advances could fully defend those areas from the perils of surging waters and rising tides caused by climate change. However, global solidarity in implementing international climate change treaties would achieve what no engineering feat could, he added, appealing to all countries to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

The President of Kiribati, Anote Tong, offered sympathies to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. "This recent disaster is a stark reminder of the extreme vulnerability of all mankind, regardless of nationality, to the forces of nature - a vulnerability which is so many times more magnified for low lying small island states like Kiribati," he said, calling for the UN to undertake a risk assessment of the likelihood of similar disasters occurring in small island States and to formulate a response.

The President of the Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, expressed appreciation for the assistance his country received following last year's devastating tsunami. "Much as we believe development is our responsibility, our means of self-reliance are woefully insufficient," he said. "What has made matters worse is the fact that on the basis of economic and social progress attained in recent decades, the Maldives had been graduated from the list of least developed countries (LDCs) a mere six days before the tsunami," he added, calling for a review of the plan for withdrawing LDC benefits.