Benin, 1996

Like

the speakers who have preceded me at this rostrum, I wish

to extend to you, Sir, the warm and sincere congratulations

of the delegation of Benin to the President on his

unanimous selection to preside over the work of the

General Assembly at its fifty-first session. This choice

constitutes clear recognition of his exceptional personal

qualities and his wealth of experience as a seasoned

diplomat, and it is a collective tribute to his beautiful

country, Malaysia, whose dynamism and outstanding

economic success over the past few years I salute. From the

rostrum of this Assembly, I should like to make a

contribution to this important session by expressing a

message of peace, solidarity, faith and hope from the

people and the Government of Benin.

A year ago, in this very Hall, in commemoration of its

fiftieth anniversary, the United Nations hosted the greatest

gathering of Heads of State in history. In this setting they

carried out a critical, objective and unsparing assessment of

the 50 years of the Organization’s existence, a period

during which international cooperation made it possible to

achieve significant progress on each of the principles

enshrined in the Charter. In the Declaration they adopted,

the Heads of State and Government solemnly reaffirmed

their dedication to the great ideals of peace, development

and democracy inscribed in the founding texts of the

Organization.

Given this commitment by world leaders on the

threshold of a new millennium, the imperative of peace

must, more than ever, remain the ultimate goal of the

international community as a whole. This is all the more

urgent because, despite the end of the cold war, the peace

and security of nations seem far from being fully assured.

Indeed, in many respects, on the political and security

level the international situation remains worrying,

especially on the African continent, where the course of

history too often bears the imprint of tragic events to

which the international community cannot remain

indifferent.

The resurgence of conflicts which, for the most part,

no longer take place between States but within nations, is

a challenge for which the Organization must adopt new

methods and machinery for intervention and settlement.

This means, therefore, that to be able to promote

harmonious relations among the peoples of the world and

to guarantee a lasting peace, our shared Organization

must strengthen its capabilities and its means in conflict

prevention, peacekeeping and the consolidation of peace.

It cannot be stressed enough that, despite the difficulties,

inadequacies and gaps that reduce or restrict the scope

and effectiveness of its actions, the United Nations

represents, embodies and remains — today and, doubtless,

for a long time to come — the body that can best express

and bring to a successful conclusion the will of Member

States to work for the consolidation of peace and the

pursuit of economic and social progress.

Despite the new international situation that promotes

less aggressive, less suspicious and less tense relations

between States, the political instability that continues to

exist in certain parts of Africa, and the conflicts that

develop there, have become significant barriers to the

economic recovery and social cohesion of the continent.

In this context, I wish to refer to the very worrying

situation in Burundi, where the unjust system of socio-

ethnic relations, military intransigence and political

intolerance pointlessly prolong the suffering and division

of a people. It is deplorable that on 25 July 1996 a

13

military coup ended, by force, Burundi’s constitutional,

democratic and legal institutions.

My country, Benin, welcomes the strong and

courageous reaction of the countries of the subregion and

encourages their efforts for a peaceful, just and lasting

settlement of the crisis in Burundi.

Benin supports the efforts of the Heads of State of

countries of the Great Lakes region and of the Organization

of African Unity to make the new authorities in Burundi

quickly embark on negotiations and abide by decisions

which should result from constructive and sound concerted

action on the part of the healthy forces of this battered

people. The various protagonists must understand that only

a new political agreement, based on ordinary common

sense, with respect for the intangible principles of

democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms, will

contribute to an acceptable solution to all.

Regarding the situation in Liberia, the summit meeting

of the Committee of Nine on Liberia of the Economic

Community of West African States (ECOWAS), held on 17

August 1996, took important decisions to extend the Abuja

Agreements of 1995, which are rightly considered to be the

appropriate legal framework for a definitive settlement of

the conflict. This last Abuja summit also drew up a new

timetable for the implementation of the peace process, and

defined the modalities and stages to lead to democratic

elections. Benin urgently demands that the Liberian factions

take advantage of this last opportunity and strictly abide by

the Abuja decisions, in order to speed up the return of their

country to normality.

My country also invites the international community

to support the efforts of ECOWAS by stepping up its

financial and logistical assistance for the successful

implementation of the Abuja decisions.

The most important thing for a nation in crisis is the

search for compromise to settle internal contradictions, no

matter how serious they are. This truth has been tried and

tested elsewhere, in Mozambique for example, and

recently in Angola, the results of which we note with

satisfaction. Hence the appeal which I am renewing here,

before this Assembly, for sincere dialogue in Rwanda,

Somalia, the Sudan, Sierra Leone, the Middle East — in

a word, wherever passions continue at the end of the

twentieth century to cloud reason and block the genuine

struggle for development and democracy.

Everyone agrees that peace, if it is to be genuine and

lasting, must be based on general and complete

disarmament under international control. Here, I should

like to say how gratified Benin is at the signature of the

Pelindaba Treaty for the establishment of an African

nuclear-weapon-free zone.

The Review and Extension Conference of the Parties

to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear

Weapons (NPT), held from 17 April to 12 May 1995,

decided to renew the Treaty indefinitely, thus opening the

way to better prospects in the area of nuclear

disarmament. Benin, which has worked for this, believes

in the strengthening of the provisions of the Treaty, in

particular regarding the verification regime, in order to

make it a genuine international instrument for effective

nuclear disarmament and a solid basis for more fruitful

international cooperation in the area of the use of nuclear

technology for peaceful purposes.

While the commitment to non-proliferation and

disarmament has been gaining ground throughout the

globe, the resumption or continuation of nuclear tests

painfully reminded us of the dangers and horrors which

haunted the collective psyche of nations during the cold-

war period. This is why Benin can only welcome the

positive decision taken by France and recently by the

People’s Republic of China to put an end to their nuclear

testing programmes.

The signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban

Treaty during the present session will most certainly mark

a major stage in the achievement of an objective which is

decisive, even vital, for the international community: that

of disarmament and non-proliferation.

As we can read in the Declaration on the Occasion

of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations,

14

“action to ensure peace, security and stability in the

world will be futile unless the economic and social

needs of people are addressed.” (resolution 50/6, para.

1)

This means that peace comes to nothing if the imperative

of development is not guaranteed. Here, it is important to

emphasize that many countries in Africa have made

considerable progress in the key areas of protecting mothers

and their children, of health, of nutrition and of education,

but, from one end of the continent to the other, gains

continue to be drastically limited as a result of endemic

poverty and economic regression.

Recent developments in the global economy and the

serious obstacles encountered by the efforts of the

developing countries, particularly the least-developed

countries, are a cause of profound concern for us as

Africans.

The accelerated globalization of the rules and practices

of the system of market economies has led to the

emergence of a new economic order within which Africa,

for the most part, remains marginalized. The agreements of

the Uruguay Round concluded in 1994, the rapid

redefinition of economic groupings in the developed

countries, and the ever more important role of private

capital in the world economy, have created a new

international environment in which the interests of Africa

do not seem to have been taken into account, or in which

they are even threatened or compromised.

While it is true that socio-economic development in

Africa is first of all the responsibility of the peoples and

Governments of the African countries themselves, it none

the less remains true that the international community, in

particular its most developed and industrialized members,

must do their part, a part commensurate with their true

means, in the development process of a continent involved

in a dual economic and political transition.

At a time when one has reason to fear the resurgence

of national selfishness, the temptations of protectionism and

of isolationism, the international community should provide

a clear response, a concrete solution that can be rapidly

applied to the problems experienced by the developing

world, in particular Africa. These well-known problems

include the burden of foreign debt, the alarming reduction

in capital flows, the trend toward a decline in official

development assistance, the weak rate of investment, the

continued imbalance in the terms of trade — despite the

devaluation of the CFA Franc in January 1994 —

protectionism on export markets, continued weak

commodities prices, and so on.

We have every right to be pleased that over the last

five years, the struggle to eradicate poverty has been a

prominent issue in negotiations and the drafting of

declarations and programmes of action adopted by

summits and conferences organized under the auspices of

the United Nations.

As we approach the end of the International Year for

the Eradication of Poverty and the beginning next year,

1997, of the United Nations Decade for the Eradication of

Poverty, new national and international efforts must be

made to mobilize the vast resources needed to eliminate

poverty.

In addition, as the decisions and recommendations of

the Second United Nations Conference on Human

Settlements (Habitat II) are implemented, they will be

tangible assets for present and future generations in the

process of building a more human and better society

through exercise of the right to adequate housing for all.

Environmental protection is essential if we are to

promote sustainable development. Faced with the threat

to mankind posed by the rise in sea levels, global

warming, creeping desertification and the disappearance

of biological diversity, Benin attaches the utmost

importance to implementation of all the agreements

reached in Rio and, here, renews its commitment to doing

all it can to ensure the success of the special session of

the General Assembly planned for June 1997 to

strengthen implementation of the decisions and

recommendations of the Earth Summit contained in

Agenda 21. In accordance with the commitments made at

the United Nations Conference on Environment and

Development in June 1992 in Rio, by the end of the year

Benin will have adopted its own national Agenda 21 and,

at the same time, will begin drawing up local

Agendas 21.

In the context of the effective implementation of the

provisions of the United Nations Convention to Control

Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious

Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa, the

Government of Benin held a national forum from 20 to

22 August 1996 which was the starting point for the

process of drawing up its national programme of action to

combat desertification through a partnership of

Government, local populations, non-governmental

15

organizations, development associations, the private sector

and development partners.

I should like to take this opportunity to thank the

interim secretariat of the Convention and, above all, the

Government of Germany and the United Nations

Development Programme, whose technical and financial

support proved decisive in the holding of this successful

forum.

It is regrettable that five years after it was launched,

the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of

Africa in the 1990s has not had the expected impact on the

development of Africa even though the priorities our States

opted for were largely in line with its objectives, including

in the area of democratic and macroeconomic reforms.

This is why Benin welcomes the launching by the

Secretary-General on 15 March 1996 of the United Nations

System-wide Special Initiative on Africa, an initiative that

complements the New Agenda and provides it with new

impetus. I should like here to reaffirm Benin’s adherence to

this Initiative whose objectives fit perfectly with those of

our national development plans. Implementation of the

priority actions of the Initiative require the mobilization of

Africans themselves, bodies of the United Nations system

and Africa’s development partners to ensure ambitious,

concerted and coordinated action designed to lead to

tangible results in Africa.

We applaud the initiatives of the United Nations

system which has long been working for the development

of Africa, as well as the actions of all partners for the

development of Africa, including France and Japan, which

have made the development and economic recovery of

Africa a priority.

We appeal to all Member States diligently to

implement the results of the mid-term review of United

Nations New Agenda in order to accelerate the process of

strengthening the effective integration of Africa into the

international trading system, help Africa diversify its

economy and encourage direct foreign investment.

Along the same lines, The Agenda for Development,

which Benin actively helped to draft, should be effectively

implemented to achieve the development objectives of

developing countries, the least-developed countries in

particular.

Massive and persistent human rights violations are

today both source and consequence of ethnic, racial and

religious tensions which continue to persist in certain

parts of the globe, particularly on our continent, Africa.

The Government of Benin considers that all States,

whatever their political system, their economic level and

their culture, have a duty to promote, protect and respect

human rights and fundamental freedoms. In this regard,

Benin reaffirms its deep commitment to respect for

human rights and fundamental freedoms, whose

promotion and protection are a legitimate concern of the

international community.

For our part, we in Benin have continued to strive to

consolidate our new democratic experience which has

been in place since the historic National Conference of

Active Forces of the Nation in February 1990.

I know that all members have been following with

interest, and are well informed about, the deep-seated

qualitative changes in the political life of Benin and I

wish to take advantage of this opportunity to thank

everyone for the genuine interest with which they have

followed our major political event: the recent presidential

election in March 1996, in which we could see a peaceful

and orderly democratic transfer of power, without

violence or bloodshed, which was totally in keeping with

the rule of constitutional law in force since December

1990. The generally correct and normal conduct of the

ballot, the peaceful behaviour of the vast majority of our

political classes, the courageous and responsible attitude

of the people of Benin and the unwavering stance taken

continually by the Constitutional Court are all signs which

demonstrate genuine political maturity and an irrevocable

commitment to building a truly democratic society in the

Republic of Benin.

To complete its programme of building a State based

on the rule of law and a prosperous nation in which all

citizens of Benin would enjoy a certain minimum

standard of living, the Government of Benin wishes to

benefit further from the support and assistance of the

entire international community. We are well aware of the

fact that merely going through the motions of an election

is not enough to install and guarantee lasting democracy

in a country.

For democracy to have real meaning and for a

people to fully enjoy the freedom and salvation it brings,

it must be expressed both on the national and

international levels. This means that democracy must

also underlie and govern the organization and conduct of

international relations. The world, so long divided by

East-West antagonism and by North-South imbalances,

16

can and must conceive and implement new, democratic

relations among States. Here it is no exaggeration to say

that the renewal of the United Nations begun thanks to the

courageous, tenacious and fruitful actions of Mr. Boutros

Boutros-Ghali must be resolutely sustained and developed

to guarantee the conditions necessary for the harmonious

pursuit of the process of democratization in international

society on the eve of the twenty-first century. The

delegation of Benin is convinced that our present

deliberations on all issues of reform of the Organization

will be guided by our shared determination to take

concerted, specific and realistic measures which, better than

in the past, respond to the great stakes and challenges

emerging on the horizon of the twenty-first century.