Burkina Faso, 2004

The

current session of the General Assembly is of critical

importance to us, not only because of the urgent

questions on our agenda, but also because of the

distinct honour bestowed upon Africa through your

splendid election to the presidency of our venerable

Assembly. Burkina Faso congratulates you warmly

and, in its capacity as Vice-President of the Assembly,

pledges you its full and complete cooperation so that

you may successfully fulfil your tasks.

I also wish to pay a tribute to your predecessor,

Mr. Julian Hunte, who effectively guided the

deliberations of the fifty-eighth session.

Our Assembly is meeting at a time when the

international community finds itself confronted with

growing poverty in the countries of the South,

terrorism and fratricidal wars. On the African

continent, we can certainly welcome restored peace in

Angola, Liberia and Sierra Leone, but Africa continues

to be riven by many conflicts, particularly in Burundi,

CÙte díIvoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo

and the Sudan. In Iraq, an uncontrollable situation is

gradually plunging that country into chaos, while

dialogue still seems to be impossible among the

protagonists in the Middle East. In the struggle against

terrorism, we must humbly acknowledge that we are

far from having developed an appropriate and effective

strategy to eradicate that scourge. Killing and the

destruction of human life are on the rise in several

regions of the world.

And yet, people of good will and international

associations and organizations remain mobilized to

offer solutions and to restore harmony. That is

exemplified by the peace initiatives of the Southern

Africa Development Community in the Great Lakes

8

region, of the African Union in Darfur, and of the

Accra summit on the crisis in CÙte díIvoire, which,

under the sponsorship of the Secretary-General of the

United Nations, has revived a spark of hope for

national reconciliation in that country. The

Government and the people of Burkina Faso reaffirm

their support for the Linas-Marcoussis and Accra III

Agreements. I wish to reiterate Burkina Fasoís

commitment to joining any initiative aimed at

consolidating peace and stability on the continent.

Peace and security are not the sole safeguards of

order and global political stability. In its ability to

satisfy the basic needs of mankind, human security is

another important aspect thereof. Ever since the 1995

World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen,

the international community has recognized that the

greatest challenge confronting humankind is that of

poverty. Poverty compromises fundamental human

rights, undermines the dignity of individuals and

families, and threatens the political, economic and

social stability of States.

Of what value is globalization if it ignores such

essential concerns of peoples as economic progress,

nutrition, health, education and employment? The

especially alarming situation in Africa must be recalled

in this Assembly: a feeble growth rate, an ongoing

decline in per capita production, a slow increase in the

literacy and education rates, the ravages of hunger and

affliction, endemic underemployment and a disturbing

lag in science and technology.

In the face of such a state of affairs, African

leaders have undertaken to show more leadership in the

formulation of economic and social policies. The

convening of an African Union summit in

Ouagadougou on 8 and 9 September on employment

and poverty alleviation in Africa was an example of

that growing awareness and new vision. In the course

of that meeting, together with our development

partners, we agreed that macroeconomic stability and

sustained growth are necessary, but insufficient to

reduce poverty. We therefore agreed, inter alia, to make

employment the centrepiece of our economic and

social policies and to strengthen cooperation between

the regional economic communities in the areas of

employment, training and health care. The

Ouagadougou conference also decided to establish a

follow-up mechanism for decisions made at the

national, regional and continental levels.

Africa needs the effective assistance of the

international community to enhance the quality of its

economic choices in order to improve the living

conditions of its peoples. From this rostrum, I therefore

call on our development partners to act along three

principal vectors. First, they must respect the

commitments undertaken at various forums to increase

official development assistance and to provide

significant debt relief. Secondly, they must establish

rules to organize international trade on a more just and

equitable basis. Thirdly, they must implement the

recommendations of the report of the World

Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization.

Let us see to it that, in September 2005, as we convene

the United Nations high-level event on the Millennium

Development Goals, relevant consideration and

concrete actions will already have been undertaken to

that end.

For the francophone community, the themes of

solidarity and sustainable development will be

considered at the tenth conference of heads of State

and Government, to be held in November in Burkina

Faso.

We believe that the economic and social well-

being to which our peoples aspire can be achieved

within the framework of the rule of law. For its part,

Burkina Faso has resolutely opted for democracy, and

our determination has been fortified through free and

open electoral consultations for some 12 years now. We

are fully resolved to embed democracy in our

institutions and in our society, convinced as we are that

it represents one path of hope for our country.

The United Nations must serve as a guide in the

management of international affairs. If it is to play that

role successfully and accomplish its task, it needs to be

deeply democratized. In other words, it must listen to

the majority of States and civil society organizations so

as better to serve the common interest.

All signs point to the urgent need to reform the

United Nations reform and to adapt it better than ever

to the legitimate aspirations of nations. Every State,

small or large, must assume its responsibility and be

accountable for decisions taken for the common good.

Today, were the Security Council to grow

democratically and equitably in its representation of

Africa, Latin America and a large portion of Asia and

Europe, it would enjoy greater political and moral

9

resources to meet the challenges of peace and

development throughout the world.

Within the new United Nations that we so

sincerely desire, the situation of the Republic of China

on Taiwan will finally be resolved fairly and

acceptably. Reason dictates that that country, which

cooperates with a large part of the international

community and makes a valuable contribution to

universal civilization, should be rapidly integrated into

the United Nations.

With the valuable assistance of the Secretary-

General, we have laid the foundations of a vast

programme to reform our Organization. This

construction must produce an edifice sufficiently solid

to meet the countless challenges of the twenty-first

century.