21st
December 2019 Abuja, Federal Republic Of Nigeria
Mr.
Chairman, Authority of Heads of State and Government,
Your
Excellencies, Presidents of the Community,
Your
Excellency, the Representative of the United Nations in The Sahel,
Distinguished
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Allow
me to begin by commending the Chair of the Authority of Heads of State and
Government of ECOWAS, His Excellency, Muhammad Issoufou, for moderating this 56th
Ordinary Session. My gratitude also
goes to President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Mahamadou
Buhari, for hosting us here, in Abuja.
Excellencies,
In
spite of the progress made towards sustainable regional integration, our Community
continues to face threats to peace and security within the sub-region.
Issues
of social discrimination, irregular migration, terrorist attacks, land
conflicts and environmental concerns, for example, pose a big challenge to
us.
Recently,
scores of Gambian youths lost their lives at sea due to irregular migration. In
this regard, we are thankful to His Excellency, President Muhamed Ould
Ghazouani, his Government and the people of Mauritania for rescuing some of
those migrants and recovering and burying the bodies of the dead. This incident
highlights irregular migration as a major concern to address.
Your
Excellency, I join my colleagues to condemn all the recent terrorist attacks in
the region- Ouagadougou, Mali and Niger.
I extend my condolences to the countries affected for the loss of lives
and the unfortunate destruction of property. The Gambia stands by your side in
your resolve to fight terrorism.
Terrorism
destabilizes communities and states; thus, The Gambia wishes to acknowledge the
various consultations initiated. We
commend all the concerted efforts, and call upon member states and partners to
support the Plan and make available the resources required.
We
are conscious that our economic and human resource constraints continue to undermine
socio-economic growth. However, The urgency of the situation calls for
intensifying our commitment and strategies for sustainable peace, stability and
democracy.
Excellencies
My
Government’s reform agenda is beginning to yield positive results in promoting
good governance, human rights and the rule of law. In fact, we are now acting
on the recommendations of the Commission Report on the financial dealings of
the former Head of State and his associates.
Consultations
on a Draft Constitution are ongoing, and hearings at the Truth, Reconciliation
and Reparation Commission are in progress.
Excellencies,
My
Government has progressed with the security sector reform programme, aligning
it with the ECOWAS Framework. Also, we have a Security Sector Policy supported
by a Security Sector Reform Strategy and a National Security Strategy.
All
these are outcomes of the strategic support of ECOWAS and other partners for
our transitional programme. We appreciate this, and will continue to partner
with you for the full realisation of the programme.
The
implementation stage, which follows, includes capacity building and right
sizing the armed forces.
Meanwhile,
the Independent Electoral Commission is undertaking a reform programme to
prepare for the 2021 General Elections that will usher in the Third
Republic.
All
these activities require a peaceful and stable environment. To this end, I
thank our partners sincerely for supporting and sustaining the ECOMIG mission
in The Gambia. It is contributing immensely to the stability in the country and
the protection of our fragile democracy.
Although
our Community outreach programme and Institutional framework are being
implemented, there is need for a robust environment to pursue the reforms to
the end.
Distinguished
Colleagues, given our unique situation, I re-echo the plea to this august body
to extend the ECOMIG mission in The Gambia to 2021, when the transition process
would have given way for the Third Republic to contribute effectively to our
regional commitments.
Chairperson,
Excellencies,
To
conclude, I renew my Government’s commitment to making The Gambia a regional
model of a peacefully transformed nation from a dictatorship into a true
democracy.
Once
again, I convey profound gratitude to the Chairman, H.E Mahamadou Issoufou, the
ECOWAS Commission and all those who have made this summit a success.
I
thank you for your attention.
