Burkina Faso, 2011

The annual general debate of the General Assembly

always serves as an opportunity for the international

community to consider the state of the world through a

series of exchanges and thus combine innovative ideas

to support our desire to create a community that will

ensure a better future for all. Burkina Faso always

participates in this meeting of the world partnership

with great interest.

Before I go any further, please allow me,

Mr. President, to offer you sincere and warm

congratulations from the Government and people of

Burkina Faso on your election to the presidency of the

General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session, for which

you have chosen the theme of strengthening mediation

as a means of preventing and settling conflicts. Burkina

Faso fully supports this choice and is committed to

sharing with the international community its

experience in peace negotiations, particularly with

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regard to the role of mediator for the Economic

Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that

President Blaise Compaoré played in settling the crises

in Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea.

I would also like to commend your predecessor,

Mr. Joseph Deiss, on the efficiency with which he

guided the work of the sixty-fifth session. And I

congratulate Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on his

successful reappointment to the leadership of the

United Nations. I wish him health and every success

for his second term.

I salute the Republic of South Sudan’s

achievement of independence and international

sovereignty, and welcome it to the great family that is

the United Nations. The Government of Burkina Faso

offers its sincere and willing cooperation to the South

Sudanese people and authorities.

Much has happened since our last session to

affect the development of the world and our States.

Some countries have been victims of natural

catastrophe; others have experienced financial,

political and social crises. At the beginning of the year

my country, Burkina Faso, also had to deal with social

demands arising from the difficult national and

economic situation. Fortunately, those demands, which

were followed by social unrest, were resolved, thanks

to a sustained and inclusive dialogue initiated by

President Compaoré. This dialogue, involving all of the

country’s social classes, enabled the Government to

conduct an exchange of views with every element of

our society on their concerns, with the aim of arriving

at suitable solutions.

Furthermore, the Government of Burkina Faso,

within the framework of strengthening the rule of law

and improving and reinforcing our system of political

and institutional governance, established an advisory

council for political reform aimed at continuing with

the political and institutional reforms that began

several years ago. In the economic and social areas, as

part of our accelerated growth and sustainable

development strategy, my Government, despite its

modest budget and many other constraints and

priorities, continued its efforts to build a functioning

economy, with a particular emphasis on strengthening

certain key sectors, including education, health, water,

training and youth employment; on improving

socio-economic infrastructure, especially roads; and on

encouraging the business environment.

Needless to say, this progress was made possible

thanks to the cooperation and support of our bilateral

and multilateral partners. I take this opportunity to

acknowledge and thank them for their continuing

commitment to supporting us and for their backing for

our efforts to meet the Millennium Development

Goals.

At the subregional and continental levels,

Burkina Faso, working within the framework of the

West African Economic and Monetary Union,

ECOWAS and the African Union, will continue to be

constructively involved in strengthening the integration

process. While we proclaim our faith and deep

attachment to the regional integration process taking

place in Africa, we are convinced that regional

integration must be pragmatic and based on concrete

achievements, which represent the only way we can

realize our peoples’ legitimate aspirations. At the

regional level, we recognize the value of all the

initiatives that the African Union has taken to manage

and settle conflicts on our continent. Burkina Faso

reaffirms its continuing readiness to contribute to

maintaining peace, security and stability all over

Africa.

The world is currently experiencing times of

enormous uncertainty and anxiety as a result of

international economic and financial instability,

increased poverty, continuing deterioration of the

environment and a growing number of natural

disasters. In particular, the recent international

financial crises are dangerously compromising the

balance of our economies and putting our social

cohesion to a terrible test. They demand a response,

constant vigilance and firm solidarity on all our parts.

The harmful effects of climate change have

spared no country; natural disasters, in particular, have

compromised and shaken the foundations of

development for many of us, especially the least-

developed countries, which are especially vulnerable

and suffer the most. In tackling this scourge, special

attention and renewed effort on the part of the

international community are more necessary than ever

in regard to climate issues, as well as every other

environmental concern. Among other initiatives,

Burkina Faso commends that of Mrs. Hilary Clinton,

Secretary of State of the United States, for the Global

Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, from which countries

such as Burkina Faso could benefit greatly.

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The High-level Meeting held during this session

on the theme “Addressing desertification, land

degradation and drought in the context of sustainable

development and poverty eradication”, as well as the

signing by various countries, including Burkina Faso,

of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic

Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of

Benefits Arising from Their Utilization to the

Convention on Biological Diversity, are also events

worthy of commendation.

Burkina Faso considers particularly important all

issues connected to the advancement of women and, to

that end, has spared no effort to improve the social and

legal status of women in our country. We therefore

commend the Organization’s establishment of

UN-Women, and hope that this new body, which

should be adequately funded, will be a genuine catalyst

for United Nations activities in defence of women’s

rights. More specifically, we hope it will provide

strengthened support for pro-women policies in

developing countries. We are pleased that during this

session the African Group will be introducing a draft

resolution intended to ban female genital mutilation

worldwide. We hope that it will be supported by the

entire international community.

For more than a decade we have been working on

the process of reforming the United Nations in order to

enable it to be in step with the demands of a world in

constant change. Unfortunately, despite significant

progress, much still remains to be done. Burkina Faso

believes that the reforms must take into account the

interests of all Member States and increase our

Organization’s effectiveness in managing the peace and

security, stability and development of all parties.

At the dawn of the third millennium, our hope

and wish was that this millennium would see us

reconcile with one another and bring peace, security

and stability. Sadly, our planet is still beset by

numerous conflicts, many of which bear the mark of

international terrorism, which, needless to say, Burkina

Faso firmly condemns in all its forms and

manifestations. That is why Burkina Faso, which

fervently advocates for the prevention and settlement

of conflicts through dialogue, commends the adoption

by the General Assembly of resolution 65/283 on

strengthening the role of mediation in peaceful

settlement of disputes and conflict prevention and

resolution. We are pleased that that resolution was

introduced by the Group of Friends of Mediation, of

which Burkina Faso is a member.

As we did in Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and

Darfur, Burkina Faso is fully prepared to contribute

wherever it is called upon for mediation, peacekeeping

and peacebuilding. The organization of free and

transparent elections in Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire came

as a result of the successful facilitation efforts of

Mr. Blaise Compaoré, President of Burkina Faso.

The Ouagadougou Political Agreement allowed

Côte d’Ivoire to emerge from crisis. What it needs now

is peacebuilding and reconciliation. We take this

opportunity to thank the Secretary-General, who

effectively supported the efforts of ECOWAS and the

inter-Ivorian dialogue facilitator. Beyond facilitation,

we are prepared to assist all countries in our subregion

in their quest for peace and stability in post-conflict

situations. We call on the international community to

support peacebuilding efforts, especially in Côte

d’Ivoire and Guinea.

Burkina Faso participates in the African Union-

United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur, with a

force of 800 men. The signing on 14 July 2011 of the

Doha Document for Peace in Darfur between the

Government of the Sudan and the Liberation and

Justice Movement represents significant progress

towards restoring lasting peace.

Thanks to the trust placed in us by the African

Union and the United Nations we were able to support

the peace process, and we call on all parties to the

conflict to sign the Doha Document. We express our

recognition and profound gratitude to the Emir of

Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa

Al-Thani, for his support, which was critical to the

success of the process.

In the framework of the Implementation Follow-

up Committee, my country will continue to contribute

to peacebuilding. We call on the Justice and Equality

Movement, the Sudan Liberation Movement and the

Government of the Sudan to bring hostilities to a

complete halt in Darfur as soon as possible.

In North Africa a will for change has found

expression in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Burkina Faso

expresses its solidarity with those countries in their

quest for freedom and democracy. We reiterate our will

to strengthen fruitful links of cooperation. Burkina

Faso reaffirms its recognition of the Transitional

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National Council in Libya, and we encourage it to

continue to promote democracy, national cohesion,

stability and security for all people living in Libya.

In the Middle East we closely follow the progress

of the Palestinian question, and we support Palestine’s

request to be admitted to the United Nations as a full

Member State. We reiterate our call for a lasting,

comprehensive peace in the region that guarantees the

freedom and right to self-determination of the

Palestinian people and the security of the State of

Israel.

Burkina Faso believes in multilateralism, in

solidarity among peoples and in the virtue of dialogue

among nations. My delegation notes with great

satisfaction the peaceful climate that currently prevails

in the relationship between the Republic of China on

Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China. That will

favour the granting to the Republic of China on Taiwan

the place that it deserves in the concert of nations,

including its genuine participation in the activities of

international organizations such as the International

Civil Aviation Organization and conferences such as

those on the United Nations Climate Change

Convention.

In conclusion, I wish to express the desire that the

virtues of international solidarity and dialogue among

nations will continue to inspire the United Nations,

which is the pre-eminent forum for multilateralism, so

that together we can respond to the challenges that our

world faces.