27 July 1999
Text: Amb. Burleigh on Promoting Peace and Security in Africa
(Refugee problems and political problems closely linked) (1460) The international community must "look at its response to the Kosovo crisis, take inspiration from what has been proved possible, and then work together to ensure that the same positive results are achieved in Africa." Ambassador Peter Burleigh, charge d'affaires a.i. at the U. S. Mission to the United Nations Session on Promoting Peace and Security: Humanitarian Assistance to Refugees in Africa made that point July 26 in New York. In a written statement, Burleigh noted that the United States has been "actively involved" in trying to eliminate conflicts and strife across the continent, but especially in Sierra Leone and Congo, the Great Lakes region, Angola, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. Burleigh stressed that "the path to resolving refugee crises lies in finding solutions to the underlying political problems." "High-level United States representatives have been involved in promoting the peace process for the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Special Envoy Howard Wolpe has been working actively with others to help resolve the situation in Burundi," he said. "In addition," he noted that former National Security Advisor Anthony Lake was in the Horn of Africa the week before to help support the Organization of African Unity's (OAU's) effort to encourage the Ethiopians and Eritreans to negotiate a settlement to their conflict. Following is the text of Burleigh's statement, as prepared for delivery: (begin text) Statement of Ambassador Peter Burleigh, Charge d'Affaires a.i., United States Mission to the United Nations on Promoting Peace and Security: Humanitarian Assistance to Refugees in Africa, July 26, 1999 Mr. President, I would like to welcome, once again, Mrs. Ogata to the Security Council chamber. It is an unfortunate and tragic fact that refugee issues often figure prominently in the complex matters of international stability which daily face the Council. We are, therefore, always grateful to Mrs. Ogata for her briefings on refugee situations. First, I would like to applaud Mrs. Ogata's commitment to refugees around the world, as well as her dedicated efforts to acquire first-hand information about the plight of refugees and international efforts to assist them. Last week, she was in Washington for consultations on current refugee emergencies, notably those across the African continent. Prior to that, as she just informed us, Mrs. Ogata was in Algiers for the OAU Summit, seeking the cooperation of heads of state on such critical issues as humanitarian access. And she also recently completed another fact-finding visit to the Great Lakes region of Africa. Every one of us in this room recognizes that humanitarian needs in Africa are quite substantial and that there are many obstacles to meeting them -- from programming levels to logistical access. We agree with Mrs. Ogata that it is not by criticizing aid to victims in Kosovo that those obstacles in Africa will be overcome. We must instead look at the international community's response to the Kosovo crisis, take inspiration from what has been proved possible, and then work together to ensure that the same positive results are achieved in Africa. Mrs. Ogata has spoken of the opportunity that springs from the peace processes in Sierra Leone and in Congo. My government has been actively involved in facilitating the peace processes in these and other conflicts in Africa. In May, a united effort involving Presidential Envoy Jesse Jackson, ECOWAS chairman President Eyadema of Togo, and SRSG Francis Okelo resulted in a cease-fire agreement for Sierra Leone. High-level United States representatives have been involved in promoting the peace process for the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Special Envoy Howard Wolpe has been working actively with others to help resolve the situation in Burundi. In addition, former National Security Advisor Anthony Lake was in the Horn of Africa just last week to help support the OAU effort to encourage the Ethiopians and Eritreans to negotiate a settlement to their conflict. These are just some of the examples of the extent to which my government shares Mrs. Ogata's conviction that the path to resolving refugee crises lies in finding solutions to the underlying political problems. For nearly a decade, Sierra Leoneans have endured the horrors of a war characterized by unspeakable atrocities. With the July 7 peace agreement, we have an opportunity to support the Sierra Leoneans on their path to national recovery. Indeed, in two days, the "International Contact Group" on Sierra Leone will meet in London to demonstrate support for the implementation of the Lome Agreement. The group will also consider priorities for international assistance in all of the key areas, including humanitarian aid to innocent civilian victims of atrocities; demobilization and reintegration of former soldiers; and reconstruction of the social and economic infrastructure of the country. We expect that most, but not all, of the 450,000 Sierra Leonean refugees residing in Guinea, Liberia, and Cote d'Ivoire will want to return as soon as they believe that Sierra Leone is secure. The United States strongly supports the voluntary repatriation and reintegration of those refugees who want to return home. We applaud the efforts of all those who realize that assistance for the humanitarian effort in Sierra Leone and throughout Africa must come from many sources. The Brookings Group of major donors, including NGOs, U.N. agencies and the World Bank, has selected Sierra Leone as a target country for proposed "partnership initiatives." These initiatives will improve both relief and development planning and program implementation. The U.N. has also decided to make Sierra Leone a pilot case in the Strategic Framework process. We are confident that these efforts can be fully coordinated to help give Sierra Leoneans the peace and recovery that they deserve. Meanwhile, significant conflicts in the Great Lakes have affected some 4.1 million people -- among them 950,000 refugees, an estimated 2.2 million internally displaced persons, 12,200 unaccompanied minors, and 800,000 other conflict victims. In recent days, as Mrs. Ogata has detailed, the refugee numbers have increased dramatically as Congolese from Congo/Brazzaville have fled to Gabon and many from Congo/Kinshasa have fled to the Central African Republic. As I mentioned earlier, the United States has been closely involved in efforts to conclude a cease-fire agreement in the Congo war. Only an end to that war and a cessation of hostilities will provide an opening for recovery and development for the people of that devastated country. Congolese refugees continue to flee to Tanzania and Zambia. Long-term insecurity in eastern Congo prevents sustained delivery of relief assistance, raising fears that the coping mechanisms are being exhausted and that an extensive humanitarian disaster is imminent. We welcome Mrs. Ogata's report on the efforts by leaders in the region to provide humanitarian access to UNHCR and other relief entities. The USG has also been intimately involved, in cooperation with the special envoys of several other nations, in seeking to bring peace to Burundi, where internal and external peace processes are ongoing. It is difficult to predict when a peace agreement will be concluded. Meanwhile, the unfortunate number of Burundi refugees in Tanzania continues to grow. The ongoing tragic wars in Angola, in Somalia, in Sudan, and between Ethiopia and Eritrea are also of great concern to the U.S., as well as to this body. I wish to express my country's grave concern that the lethal nexus of drought and conflict in the Horn, which has produced so many humanitarian crises in the past, could well reappear later this year if a lack of access to food puts desperate people on the move. It is painfully clear that the challenges we face in the refugee area are immense and that both political instability and unforgiving environmental factors only raise the hurdles we must overcome. Yet we must not lose heart nor allow ourselves to be overwhelmed with pessimism. Our experience in Kosovo has shown that the international community, working together with a clear vision and common goal, can indeed make significant strides on the path towards repatriation and humanitarian assistance for refugees. I am happy to inform the Council that, during Mrs. Ogata's visit to Washington last week, the State Department announced an additional mid-year contribution of $11.7 million for UNHCR's General Program. Of that amount, over half -- $6.6 million -- is for Africa. My government looks forward with optimism to joining the rest of our colleagues in applying the positive lessons learned in Kosovo to those areas in Africa and around the world that still cry out for assistance. Mr. President, In closing, let me reiterate our appreciation to Mrs. Ogata for all she has done to help alleviate the plight of refugees throughout the world and to reassure her of my government's continuing support for her efforts. (end text)
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