Benin, 1999

In taking the floor

on behalf of the delegation of the Republic of Benin, I

would like first of all to express my heartiest

congratulations to the entire Bureau of the fifty-fourth

session of the General Assembly. I would also like to

express my satisfaction at seeing the Foreign Minister of

Namibia, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, presiding over the

Assembly at this session, the last of the century and of the

closing millennium.

At a time when the United Nations more than ever is

called upon to act in the interest of the peace and well-

being of humankind, Benin takes pride in seeing a

representative of Africa holding that important post. I

would assure him of my delegation’s full cooperation and

support, for it will be under his enlightened presidency that

the Organization will stride forward into the twenty-first

century. We see this felicitous and remarkable coincidence

as a definite assurance of the success of the important

debates we will be holding and a sign of hope that the

decisions to be taken will so direct our actions as to ensure

that the coming century is one of peace, progress and

development, for the African continent in particular.

Allow me at this stage to pay tribute to Mr. Didier

Opertti, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, for the

outstanding work he did in the service of the Organization

throughout the fifty-third session of the General Assembly.

I wish also to pay a highly deserved tribute to our brother,

Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United

Nations, for the unstinting devotion that he has

demonstrated since his election and for the undeniable

successes that he has achieved for the United Nations in

particularly difficult circumstances.

I should like here to reaffirm the full support and

confidence of the Government of Benin as we pursue the

lofty and legitimate goal of giving the United Nations the

means of tackling the challenges that await us on the

threshold of the first century of the new millennium.

I should like also to congratulate and warmly

welcome the three new States Members of the United

Nations — the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of

Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga.

This session of the General Assembly is beginning

at a particularly important moment in the history of

humankind, for, after a century of deeds and events

fraught with all kinds of consequences, the entire

international community is preparing to move forward

into the first century of a new millennium. We who have

been privileged to witness this twofold historical

transition should not ignore the great responsibility that

we have borne throughout the century that is now closing

and the equal responsibility that we will have to shoulder

throughout the one that is about to begin.

The challenges that face us are many and range

across all human areas of activity. It is our conviction that

if we so desire, we can make the next century an era of

peace, security, development, understanding and concord

among peoples. In order to do this, we will have to

promote and strengthen worldwide cooperation, in

particular in tackling the serious problems that the century

that is now ending will have bequeathed to the one that

is now beginning.

Combating poverty should, it seems to me, be one of

our priorities, because poverty is a factor of

destabilization and a source of conflict and war,

particularly in Africa.

The holding of the millennium summit in September

2000 will be a historic opportunity for us to strive to

strengthen peace, security and stability, for which all

peoples of the world yearn.

We could hardly overemphasize the close

relationship among development, peace, security,

democracy and human rights, and we all share the

responsibility of day by day translating these words into

reality. We can overcome poverty.

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The international community is in a position to put an

end to the atrocities and the savagery that have been on the

rise recently in all continents. To this end, it is essential for

the process of revitalization, restructuring and

democratization in the world Organization, begun under the

authority of the Secretary-General, to be continued so as to

enhance its effectiveness in carrying out the urgent tasks

that it will face at the beginning of the third millennium.

Benin is at peace within its borders, with its

neighbours and with the whole of the international

community. But we are seriously disturbed by the appalling

conflicts that continue to devastate and destabilize our

continent.

We are ready to continue to support the efforts of

Africa itself and those of the great Powers in the context of

the prevention, settlement and sustainable management of

conflicts.

Here I wish to pay tribute to the Organization of

African Unity (OAU) and certain subregional organizations

such as the Economic Community of West African States

(ECOWAS) and the Southern African Development

Community for their bold initiatives aimed at bringing

peace and security to Africa.

I have no wish to forget or to minimize the

contribution of other countries, but I wish in particular to

pay tribute here to the tremendous sacrifices made by the

peoples of West Africa and in particular by the people of

Nigeria in the context of the ECOWAS Monitoring Group

(ECOMOG) to help the West African subregion to put an

end to war and insecurity, which hamper development and

economic progress.

I wish also to welcome the bold resolutions adopted

by the Heads of States at the OAU Summit in Algiers, as

well as the initiatives of the subregional organizations in

West Africa and in the Great Lakes region, which attest to

strengthened political resolve to reverse the course of

events in a positive and constructive direction. These

endeavours deserve to be sustained and strengthened by

international solidarity.

The example of Kosovo is there to remind us of the

key importance of prompt and determined action on the

part of the international community in order to restore and

maintain peace. The distressing events in East Timor are

another eloquent example of this.

Allow me in all honesty to state here that human

rights are universal and indivisible. If we wish to build a

united and peaceful international community, let us not

introduce into the defence, protection and promotion of

human rights any conditionalities or preferences, be they

geographical, cultural, geostrategic or others.

In this age of rapid globalization, we must realize

that the risk of marginalizing the weakest economies and

the most vulnerable peoples is very real; it is a mortal

danger. Fortunately, there is still time to avert it. If we

are to succeed, our vision for the twenty-first century and

our prospects for the future must be clarified and

strengthened by the effective implementation of the

various plans and programmes of action adopted since the

beginning of this decade within the framework of the

United Nations system.

In this context, the situation of the developing

countries, the least developed countries in particular,

deserves more attention from the international community,

which should endeavour to create favourable conditions

for those countries to develop. In this respect, we cannot

evade the anguished question of the future of Africa on

the threshold of the third millennium, particularly given

the debt burden and the deterioration in the terms of

trade. These are sad realities which are killing at least as

many people as are dying from AIDS.

Fortunately indeed, Africa can cease to be the

continent of bad news. Today, it has the ability and the

will to make it so. Throughout the decade that is now

drawing to a close, the international community has

repeatedly stated that Africa must be a priority. Mindful

of the need for that continent to achieve economic

progress, the United Nations has worked out appropriate

strategies and embarked on specific development

programmes. But none of those initiatives will have any

impact on the development of the continent if African

countries themselves, supported by their development

partners, do not redouble their efforts to carry out the

necessary reforms and mobilize the necessary resources.

While we clearly reaffirm our own responsibility, we

must also say that for Africa better economic performance

necessarily involves a rapid and lasting solution to the

problems caused by external debt; inputs of the new and

additional financial resources required to meet the

growing need for funding; transfers of new and

appropriate technology; promotion of a genuine, open and

fair system of international trade; and appropriate

incentives for our efforts to diversify and modernize our

31

economies. What we need in this age of globalization is a

genuine solidarity pact.

This new partnership with Africa should set out to

enable all African countries to enjoy the benefits of

globalization. This implies mobilizing and pooling the

efforts of the whole international community, inspired by

the same vision of a common destiny and a new philosophy

of sharing. That vision of development prompted the

Government of Benin to host, in February 1999 in Cotonou,

a conference of United Nations Development Programme

Resident Representatives working in Africa to consider the

problems of development in Africa in the coming

millennium. The conference identified the major problems

that African countries face at the close of the twentieth

century: social and political upheaval; poverty; problems of

access in meeting essential social needs; population

pressure; the debt burden; and economic marginalization,

among others. The conference also highlighted the assets

and potential of the continent: significant natural and human

resources; cultural wealth; a spirit of sharing; and a sense

of solidarity.

Accordingly, the conference recommended another

approach for Africa's development, based on the promotion

of peace and security within and between States; real

integration of Africa into the world economy; and the

creation of an African regional observatory for

globalization. It would be regrettable if these highly lucid

and relevant analyses and findings came to nothing because

the United Nations Development Programme itself is stifled

by a lack of resources.

In keeping with those recommendations, Benin,

together with several other African countries, has

undertaken far-reaching political and economic reforms to

improve the living and working conditions of its people,

particularly those in rural areas. The measures include

action to stabilize public finances, liberalize the economy,

develop the private sector, stimulate economic growth,

combat corruption and preserve social peace and political

stability through the establishment of a State based on the

rule of law that respects democratic principles and

fundamental rights and freedoms.

Against that background we are striving, tirelessly and

resolutely, to ensure that the democratic process takes firm

root in Benin. Our young democracy has just successfully

completed an electoral process culminating in the renewal

of Parliament before the deadline set by the Constitution. In

a few months' time we will be holding local elections to

elect mayors and councillors to help entrench democracy

at the grass-roots level.

However, despite these significant efforts and

sacrifices, we know that our political and economic

structures will continue to be fragile and vulnerable so

long as poverty and disease continue to lay waste to our

towns and countryside, so long as HIV/AIDS is not

conquered or, at least, contained at the same levels as in

Europe and America, and so long as insecurity and

appalling internal and regional conflicts continue to undo

the work of the African peoples and enrich a few arms

manufacturers and traffickers.

I should like to extend the recognition and gratitude

of the people and Government of Benin to all its

development partners, to the Powers which have realized

that today poverty more than ever is a matter for all of

us, wherever it may be found, and that violations of

human rights involve us all wherever they may take

place. I wish once again to express our thanks to all those

who are assisting us in our activities aimed at making

Benin, indeed Africa in general, a haven of peace,

political stability and successful, integrated development.

During its fifty-first session, the General Assembly

accepted Benin's offer to hold the Fourth International

Conference of New or Restored Democracies and

encouraged it to do so, no doubt because of our efforts,

which I have just outlined, to maintain peace, democracy

and the constitutional rule of law. I am convinced that the

fourth International Conference of New or Restored

Democracies — the first that Africa will have the honour

and privilege of hosting, following the conferences held

in the Philippines, Nicaragua and Romania — will be an

opportunity for all the friends of Africa — indeed, all the

friends of democracy — to pool their experience and to

work together to consolidate a political system that,

32

unfortunately, is not yet the most widespread of

phenomena. The Cotonou conference, scheduled for early

December 2000, can have significance and impact only if

all democrats agree to make a sincere contribution; this

would enable democracy all over the world to take a crucial

qualitative leap forward.

For this reason, I fervently appeal to all those of

goodwill, and to all development partners eager that

democracy, the rule of law and good governance should be

solidly established in every one of our States and on all

continents, to lend their material and financial support and

their experience to the preparation, organization and

convening of the Cotonou conference. We earnestly hope

that the Cotonou conference will enable us to build on

existing achievements in the maintenance of international

peace and security.

Peace, security and sustainable human development

are the themes that my delegation would like to see as the

banner of this session of the General Assembly, the last

before the year 2000: peace above all, so that the founding

cry of this Organization, “never again”, may in the new

millennium become a reality for all peoples and for all

individuals.