Burkina Faso, 2003

The

serious events currently threatening international peace

and security armed conflict, terrorism, poverty,

disease and unfair trading practices call urgently

and firmly to mankind's conscience and, above all, to

that of the world's leaders. Guided by this

consideration, I come before this Assembly to share

our common concerns with the other leaders of the

world and to seek appropriate answers that will restore

confidence and hope to humankind.

Given the importance of this gathering, the

election of Mr. Hunte to the presidency of the General

Assembly at its fifty-eighth session in every way

represents a tribute and a symbol of the honour being

paid to a young and small nation, Saint Lucia. That

honour is ours as well the honour of small States,

which see this consecration as a demonstration of the

United Nations awareness of the concept of the

sovereign equality of States.

We extend the same sentiments to Mr. Hunte's

predecessor, Mr. Jan Kavan.

We must recognize, however, that all of our

expectations of this session will be chimerical if we do

not fully support the activities of the Secretary-

General. I therefore wish solemnly to congratulate Mr.

Kofi Annan on his active commitment to the cause of

peace and justice and to reaffirm our complete trust in

him and our sincere encouragement. That is particularly

true this year because our Organization was brutally

tested and unfairly harmed by the heinous attack of 19

August on the United Nations office in Baghdad, which

took the lives of a number of staff members, including

that of the Special Representative of the Secretary-

General for Iraq, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello. Burkina

Faso once again pays tribute to their memory.

The convulsions of our times reflected in the

increased hotbeds of crisis, the radicalization of

international terrorism and organized crime, growing

poverty and the proliferation of disease convince us

fully that international solidarity must remain active if

we are to guarantee our world the stability and security it

so desires. Indeed, despite the undeniable involvement

and efforts of the United Nations; regional organizations,

such as the African Union; and subregional

organizations, such as the Economic Community of

West African States, the Southern Africa Development

Community, the Economic and Monetary Community

of Central Africa and the Community of Sahel and

Saharan States, to name but a few, in the management

and settlement of many conflicts; and despite a certain

number of success stories, such as the restoration of

peace in Angola, Sierra Leone and more generally in

the Great Lakes region, the rolling wave of armed

conflict, tension and instability threatens to become an

ongoing phenomenon.

In Iraq, given the tragic turn of events, we feel

that the Organization must once again be placed at the

heart of the key responsibilities both in order to define

a transitional political process free of any taint of

colonialism and to rebuild the country.

In the Middle East, where the escalation of

violence and the intransigence of the belligerents make

us fear the worst every day, we believe that the road

map offers an opportunity to emerge from this crisis.

However, without an international body on the ground

to follow up and monitor events, no agreement on this

major conflict can work.

We cannot fail to mention the situations in the

CÙte d'Ivoire, Burundi, Sudan and the Horn of Africa.

The very least that can be said about these conflicts is

that they remain of concern, despite all the efforts that

have been made to settle them. Clearly, given its

history and geography, the political crisis in the CÙte

d'Ivoire is a major source of anxiety to us, particularly

since the events of 19 September 2002. Above and

beyond its incalculable consequences in terms of

human lives lost, human rights violations and economic

and financial damage, that serious crisis has

demonstrated the extent to which we are so heavily

interdependent in our subregion. This is yet another

reason to hasten integration. We therefore deeply hope

that the CÙte d'Ivoire will return to lasting peace as

soon as possible through the implementation of the

Linas-Marcoussis Agreement.

Just as worrisome is the tenacity with which

terrorism harries and defies the international

community, while using its own protean manifestations

to evade the most impressive and sophisticated arsenals

set up to contain it. Given the complexity of the

phenomenon and the enormous obstacles to be

overcome, the only valid activity is to make a

collective response to what has become a threat to

everyone. In this titanic struggle, it goes without saying

that Burkina Faso is on the side of civilization against

barbarism. It is pledged to this position, subscribing

without hesitation to the anti-terror measures of the

United Nations, particularly the relevant resolutions of

the Security Council.

However, while anathematizing terrorists of all

stripes, we must recognize that one of the sources of

such tragedy is the despair of certain peoples, the

victims of intolerable frustration and injustice that are

not being addressed quickly enough. That is why we

must welcome the rejection by most countries in

Cancun of the unfair trading practices that subsidize

thousands of farmers of the North while preparing the

certain deaths of millions of peasants of the South. It is

also why our claims on behalf of African cotton

growers will intensify as the market becomes ever

more distorted. Considering that cotton production,

which represents a tiny fraction of the economic

activity of the industrialized countries, is a key element

of the poverty reduction policies and a basic factor of

the political and social stability of the States of

Western and Central Africa, it is easy to take the full

measure of the bias to which we are subject. What is

true for cotton is just as true for most of the

agricultural products of the developing countries. We

must therefore work to redress such injustices.

The duty of solidarity in favour of development is

a moral duty for the countries of the North. Such

solidarity is an urgently-needed response to the

destitution of our populations, especially since it

addresses peoples more than Governments. This

implies in no way that developing countries should be

taken in charge, but that they should be helped to

assume responsibility for their own futures. As for

Africa, it has come to see that its salvation lies in

endogenous development and has therefore decided to

take its own destiny in hand. That is the raison d''tre

of the New Partnership for Africa's Development, to

which the General Assembly is to devote a high-level

debate in the near future.

It will be noted that I have a personal stake in the

problems of development. I deeply believe that

development through expanded job opportunities and

the progressive elimination of poverty is a sine qua non

of peace and thus of the very survival of humankind.

This conviction led me to propose that, together with

the International Labour Organization, the

Organization of African Unity and later the African

Union begin considering the issue of employment

and the fight against poverty in Africa. A ministerial

meeting was held in Ouagadougou in April 2002 on the

issue in its many manifestations with respect to job

growth as a means of defeating poverty in Africa.

Convinced that such thinking must be carried out

at the highest level, the African Union at its Maputo

summit decided to convene in Ouagadougou next year

in 2004 a special summit of heads of State and

Government on that very theme. For African leaders

this will mean turning into specific and realistic

programmes and strategies their commitments to create

employment as a good way to combat poverty in

Africa.

That meeting will be preceded by a civil society

forum, through which employers and employees, non-

governmental organizations, the African diaspora,

institutions and development partners will make their

contributions to our collective thinking.

Progress, independence and peace are intrinsic

values of democracy. All nations and peoples are

12

working to meet that undeniable need. For more than a

decade, Burkina Faso has been firmly rooted in the rule

of law, oriented by political pluralism, good

governance and the strength of institutions that

guarantee human rights. We are pursuing this anchor of

democracy, convinced that there is nothing more

important at stake. This requirement should be true for

everyone peoples, nations and international

organizations.

Thus, the long-sought reform of the United

Nations, with the democratization of the institution, its

structures and operations, the main goal, is becoming

an imperative. It must give greater and better

responsibilities to all nations, small and large, and

avoid exclusion, such as those that have been against

the Republic of China on Taiwan for 30 years. Nothing

justifies keeping that country of 23 million inhabitants

sidelined at the United Nations.

We are fully aware of the immensity and the

complexity of the trials that disturb international life,

but they are not insurmountable. Who could doubt that,

despite such trials and pitfalls, the world could renew

itself, if we were to agree to order our ambitions and

efforts under the auspices of the United Nations? In

that connection, Burkina Faso, a Sahelian country,

aware of the continuing deterioration of the world

ecological situation and its devastating affect on

development, supports the idea of creating a

specialized United Nations body for the environment

presented by President Jacques Chirac at the fifty-

eighth session of the General Assembly.

In conclusion, the clear awareness of what is at

stake for the international community and, above all,

the commitment we have undertaken to protect future

generations from the scourge of war, hunger and

illiteracy, are also factors that auger a more peaceful

and equitable society. We believe that, in that sign of

hope and perseverance, we should always and

everywhere direct our action.