UN General Assembly
1999

of the Government and people of the Gambia, I thank President Chiluba of Zambia and all other leaders in Africa who contributed to finding a political settlement to this complex conflict. We note that the Security Council has deployed military liaison officers to the relevant States to lay the groundwork for the deployment of military observers. We appreciate this move by the United Nations. We must, however, sound a note of caution: the situation is extremely volatile. We must therefore move swiftly, before there is a relapse into fighting. We must not let this opportunity slip away. Likewise, in the Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict, we welcome the calm that has prevailed for a while. Most importantly, we welcome the agreement of the parties to the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Framework Agreement. We commend the leadership role of the OAU in its efforts to resolve this fratricidal conflict. We must, however, say that we are yet to see a ceasefire agreement. The parties must therefore be encouraged to translate their pronouncements into action by signing a ceasefire