Burkina Faso, 1999

Your brilliant election, Mr. President, to the presidency of

the General Assembly at this session pays tribute to your

personal merits and your eminent qualities as a diplomat,

and to your country, Namibia, a country that is to us a

symbol of the struggle against oppression. First of all, allow

me to address our most sincere and warm congratulations

to you. Your country and Burkina Faso share the same

ideals and values, and a similar vision of the future of

Africa and the world. Suffice it to say that we extend to

you in advance our willingness and cooperation for the

success of your mission.

We must also pay tribute to your predecessor, Mr.

Didier Opertti, who so brilliantly discharged his important

responsibilities during this particularly trying year. I pay

tribute as well to our Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan,

whose work at the helm of the United Nations deserves

our appreciation and our fullest support.

Finally, I would like to congratulate the three new

Members that have joined the great family of the United

Nations — Tonga, Nauru and Kiribati.

This session of the General Assembly — the last of

the century — is beginning at a time when recurring and

persistent inter-State and inter-ethnic conflict and hostility

are characteristic of the international scene.

The globalization of the international economy and

the liberalization of world trade appear to have worsened

the economic and social differences between peoples. The

lofty objectives of our Organization — the promotion of

peace, security, justice and equality — seem to be

receding into the distance.

We are faced with increasing challenges, which is

making the task of the United Nations more difficult. And

yet we sense that the coming millennium will be a time

of growth for our peoples, in particular those of the

developing countries.

The waning century threw down every possible

challenge, but it also gave rise to great hopes. It has been

one of the most productive as regards legal instruments

aimed at enhancing the protection and promotion of

human rights. Nevertheless, grave dangers emerged during

this period that came close to jeopardizing humankind's

very existence. The memory of the two great wars

remains very much alive.

It must be underscored that the United Nations —

born of the general upheaval of the post-war period and

charged with working towards peace and a genuine

collective security for our world — has accomplished a

great deal, with the assistance of regional or subregional

organizations such as the Organization of African Unity

(OAU), the Organization of American States, the

Association of South-East Asian Nations, the North

Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and so on.

But despite all these efforts, the quest for peace

remains an immense and difficult undertaking. On the

international scene, wars, conflicts and confrontations of

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all stripes continue to rage, wiping out any progress made

in the field of development.

In the Middle East, the level of tension between the

parties remains very high, even though recent political

changes have given rise to hopes of a comprehensive

solution to the Palestinian question, particularly since the

signing of the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum on 4

September last.

In an international situation so fraught with conflict,

we can only rejoice at seeing the spectre of war, which had

seemed inevitable, recede from East Timor thanks to the

wisdom and realism of the parties to this painful conflict.

I cannot fail to mention the military intervention of the

NATO countries in Yugoslavia and more specifically in

Kosovo, an operation whose legitimacy was supposedly

based on the right of humanitarian intervention. But my

country, Burkina Faso, is among those that believe that

such an intervention should take place only on the basis of

a clear and precise mandate and under the supervision of

the United Nations.

Though the objective of this type of intervention —

protecting a victimized minority — may seem defensible,

the manner in which it was carried out is a cause for

concern because it represents a challenge to the United

Nations and to the basic norms of international law.

Burkina Faso is gratified that the United Nations has taken

up its proper role in the resolution of this conflict.

But Africa is undoubtedly the continent that has

suffered the most from these crises. Though peace has been

restored in Guinea-Bissau, and in Sierra Leone the Lomé

Agreement, signed on 7 July 1999 with the active

participation of Burkina Faso, has put an end to the gunfire,

we must continue tirelessly to strive to resolve the situation

in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the Horn of

Africa and in Angola.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a solution

can be found if security issues, which remain the essential

concerns of the various States involved in the conflict, are

taken into consideration. Accordingly, Burkina Faso

considers that the Lusaka agreements must be accepted by

all of the parties if indeed they wish to give peace a

chance.

Turning to the dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea,

President Blaise Compaoré, during his tenure as the head of

the high-level OAU delegation and in close cooperation

with the United Nations, made every effort to promote a

peaceful settlement of this conflict, in conformity with the

mandate he was entrusted with at Ouagadougou by the

thirty-fourth Summit of Heads of State or Government, in

June 1998.

Our efforts led to the acceptance by both parties of

the Ouagadougou framework agreement, and, at the

thirty-fifth OAU Summit, held in Algiers, of the

modalities for the implementation of that agreement. We

are convinced that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the

current Chairman of the OAU, to whom we have passed

the torch, will strive to ensure a successful outcome to

this delicate situation. In doing so he will enjoy the

continuing and vigorous support of the OAU Secretary

General, Mr. Salim Ahmed Salim, and the cooperation of

the United Nations and all of the States that have played

a very positive and discreet role in finding a pacific

solution to the conflict between these two brotherly

countries. To this end, he will require the cooperation of

both parties and the support of all, particularly the United

Nations.

The fratricidal conflict in Angola has lasted more

than two decades, despite all of the sanctions and

measures taken against Mr. Jonas Savimbi and his

movement, UNITA. Burkina Faso is convinced that, as in

other cases — particularly in Sierra Leone and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo — it is only through

a dialogue between the parties that a just and lasting

solution can be found.

It is clear that, because of their increasingly complex

and interrelated nature, the various conflicts I have

mentioned cannot be resolved in a just and lasting way

unless the efforts of all are conjoined. This includes not

only the parties to the conflict and the international

community — meaning the United Nations — but also

the regional and subregional organizations.

In this respect, we noted, throughout our mandate as

Chairman of the OAU, the determination and commitment

of this Organization fully to discharge its responsibilities,

as evidenced by the various initiatives it has undertaken.

We stand convinced that Africa has resolutely

considered the serious consequences these multiple

conflicts entail for the economic and human development

of its population. Accordingly, at the thirty-fifth OAU

Summit in Algiers, it took the courageous and historic

decision of declaring that the year 2000 would be a year

of peace and security throughout the continent.

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Of course, we know full well that in order for that

objective to be attained, the support of the international

community is crucial, not only at the political level, where

its backing will be needed for the implementation of our

decisions and resolutions, but also at the equally important

level of logistics and material support, technical assistance

and humanitarian considerations.

But any peace is fragile that is not backed by genuine

disarmament. That is why we support all international

initiatives in this field, in particular the Treaty on the Non-

Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

My country has joined in the fight against anti-

personnel mines by signing and ratifying the relevant

Convention. Burkina Faso is gratified at the growing

support of the international community for the initiative of

the Economic Community of West African States relating

to a moratorium on the production and transfer of light

weapons. Together with other members of the international

community, my country is also participating in

peacekeeping operations, in particular in the United Nations

Mission in the Central African Republic.

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, it is

distressing to note that the world economy is still

dominated and controlled by a minority of States that

manipulate its rules and the way it operates in their own

interests and to the detriment of the interests of the great

majority — the countries that make up the South.

With regard to social development, poverty has

continued to increase in developing countries, where about

1.5 billion people — one quarter of the world's population

— are living on less than $1 per capita per day. Food

security is far from guaranteed in those countries, while in

the affluent countries food is destroyed on a huge scale in

order to stabilize prices. The scarcity of drinking water

supplies and medical services condemns a third of humanity

to a life expectancy of no more than 40 years. Illiteracy

greatly limits the access of the poorest to knowledge and,

by extension, to information about how their countries are

run. The most disadvantaged and vulnerable strata —

women, children and elderly people — do not fully enjoy

the benefits of a legal protection system.

At a more general level, there are unacceptable

disparities in international economic relations between the

industrialized and the developing countries. The latter are

becoming increasingly vulnerable because of the chronic

structural imbalance in trade with the developed countries.

Despite the decisions taken by the ministerial conferences

of the World Trade Organization, the integration of the

less advanced countries into the multilateral trading

system is still an issue, particularly with regard to the

special and differentiated treatment that should be granted

to those countries. The greatest challenge in the twenty-

first century will undoubtedly be the struggle against the

marginalization of the countries of the South.

The burden of debt remains a constant concern, too,

despite the initiative of the Heavily Indebted Poor

Countries Debt Initiative and the important decisions

taken by the Group of Seven Summit in Cologne, which

I welcome.

In order to promote the genuine and lasting human

development to which all developing countries aspire, we

must work for greater justice and equity in international

trade, through the implementation of various measures,

including price stabilization and export guarantees for the

products of developing countries through the revaluation

of raw materials and the stabilization of export earnings;

index-linking of the prices of raw materials to those of

industrial products; free access for the products the South

to northern markets through the elimination of

protectionist measures; reform of the Bretton Woods

institutions to bring them into line with the needs and

preoccupations of the developing countries; and the

promotion of a genuine North-South dialogue. In this

respect, Burkina Faso welcomes with interest and

satisfaction the European initiative to hold an economic

summit next year for the European Union countries and

their African partners.

As everyone knows, we can make many plans, have

many ambitious dreams and imagine all sorts of

transformations for our world. But if we do not place

justice, equity and solidarity at the heart of all our

projects, they will remain fantasies. Justice demands, for

example, that we not starve a population through the use

of international sanctions in order to punish its

Government. Since I am touching upon that subject, I

would like to reaffirm our full solidarity with the Libyan

Arab Jamahiriya, and I hope that, as a result of the

concessions made by that country with regard to the

Lockerbie affair, the unfair sanctions against the brotherly

Libyan people will be lifted for good. Since the historic

decision at Ouagadougou, this requirement has become

imperative, in our view.

In this context, the issue of the Republic of China on

Taiwan also deserves attention. In the interests of equity

and of the principle of universality, Burkina Faso believes

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that it is unfair virtually to ostracize 22 million Chinese

people. That is why we firmly support the initiative to

create a study group to examine the particular and

exceptional situation of the Republic of China on Taiwan

so as to determine how that entity could be represented in

the United Nations.

In that connection, in the interests of justice within

international relations, we must restructure the Organization

so that we can better respond to the demands of our time

and the expectations of humanity. If the United Nations is

to be more democratic and more just, such reform must go

to the heart of its main body, the Security Council, whose

composition and operating methods must be reviewed and

corrected. The operational capacities of the Organization —

the structures and activities linked to the promotion of

economic and social development — must also be

strengthened.

Burkina Faso believes the human being to be the

supreme measure of all things. That is why human rights

and the dignity of humankind are at the centre of our

concerns. In fact, since 1991, my country has been

steadfastly undertaking an irreversible process of

democratization that has led to several rounds of municipal,

legislative and presidential elections under conditions

recognized by international observers as being calm and

unbiased. The process is being consolidated and the culture

of democracy and citizenship in a republican system is well

under way. The stability and security of our country in the

current turbulent environment bear witness to that fact.

We believe that no price can be placed on democracy

and freedom. That is why we will spare no effort to

strengthen and extend those values. Burkina Faso intends to

make a modest contribution to building a more human

world of greater justice and solidarity, because we are

convinced that the new international order to which we all

aspire requires that political, economic and social forces

throughout the world join hands and become catalysts of

progress for the benefit of humanity.