UN General Assembly
2001

must intensify efforts to find solutions to the conflicts. The peaceful resolution of conflicts is a fundamental tenet of Kenya’s foreign policy. It is a matter of record that I have spared no effort throughout my political career in search of peaceful solutions to conflicts in our region and elsewhere. Currently, Kenya is involved in peace negotiations in southern Sudan, Somalia, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We would like more international involvement in peace efforts in Africa. The biggest challenge facing the African continent today is the increasing level of poverty. Poverty has become an obstacle, a roadblock to every effort we are making at improving the overall welfare of our people. Poverty is a fertile breeding ground for conflict and instability, and even terrorism. It is therefore regrettable that very little progress, if any, has been made since the World Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen in 1995. I remind members that the main outcome of that Summit was the resolve to eradicate poverty as an obstacle to human development.