Central African Republic, 1982

It is a tradition at the United Nations for its

Members to gather at the General Assembly to

reflect upon the manner in which they plan to

shoulder the responsibilities incumbent upon them

in guiding the fate of mankind. However, there is

no doubt that such collective reflection can bear

fruit only if it is pursued in the light of the

goals that have been set. This session, more than

any other, is of great importance for the Central

African Republic in appreciating the efforts the

Organization has made out its mission.

I am also very pleased, Mr. President, to convey

to you and, through you, to the Assembly, the

wishes for complete success from General Andre

Kolingba, President of the Military Committee of

National Reconstruction and head of State, who,

together with the people of the Central African

Republic, has a profound trust and renewed faith

in the Organization. It also gives me great

pleasure to congratulate you, Sir, on behalf of

the delegation it is my honor to head, on your

important election to the presidency of the

thirty-seventh session of the General Assembly.

Your great personal qualities will, I am certain,

lead to the success of our work.

I should like to address my sincere

congratulations to the outgoing President, Mr.

Kittani, for the dynamism, competence aid

efficiency with which he guided the previous

session of the Assembly.

It gives me pleasure to renew my congratulations

to the Secretary-General, Mr. Perez de Cuellar,

and to assure him that the Central African

Republic stands ready to support the efforts he

is undertaking with fervor, conviction and

courage in the daily accomplishment of his tasks.

Lastly, my country wishes to express its

appreciation to the former Secretary-General, Mr.

Kurt Waldheim, for his devotion to the cause of

the United Nations during his term of office.

Although States with different social and

political systems may experience certain problems

in coexisting within the United Nations, it is

none the less true that such diversity clearly

testifies to the vitality of the Organization.

And although some of those problems, by their

very nature, often constitute an outright

challenge, the imperatives of the well-being of

mankind demand from us a concerted search for

ways and means of strengthening the

Organization's capacity to act. To that end, the

United Nation: should not only be an instrument

for making the international political climate

more healthy, it should be, above all, an

instrument for economic and social development.

That twofold wish which, in the view of my

delegation, lies at the core of our concerns and

forms the framework of United Nations doctrine,

has inspired the two themes of the message I have

been entrusted to deliver to the Assembly for its

consideration.

Created at the outset as an instrument for

improving the international political climate, as

it was of the common will of States that cherish

peace and justice, the Organization has

unfortunately been constant prey to the harsh

daily reality of intolerance and violence. In

many parts of the world, particularly in southern

Africa, the Middle East, South-East Asia and

Latin America, the emergence of conflicts creates

hotbeds of tension whose persistence is inimical

to peaceful and fraternal coexistence.

Some people even today, 22 years after the

adoption of General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV)

continue the struggle for their human dignity and

freedom. The distressing situation which prevails

in southern Africa is a clear example of this.

In this connection, my (delegation believes that

the accession to sovereignty of territories still

under colonial and racist domination can only

promote the universality of the Organization.

Therefore, the improvement of the political

climate requires, first, the elimination of all

forms of domination now existing in the world,

which today are considered to be contrary to

international morality. That is why the Central

African Republic believes that Namibia should as

soon as possible-and why should this not be in

1983- accede to independence in accordance with

the spirit and letter of Security Council

resolution 435 (1978).

In Lebanon and the Falkland Islands (Malvinas),

in a period of less than four months this year,

the international community witnessed and

remained powerless in the face of a tragedy most

of whose victims were innocent people. In one

case there was aggression by force in an attempt

to thwart the aspirations of a people, in

flagrant violation of international rules; in the

other case there was an express refusal to have

recourse to the principle of the peaceful

settlement of disputes.

In the case of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas),

my country appeals to the good sense of the

interested parties to begin direct negotiations,

if necessary with the participation and the good

offices of the Secretary-General.

Recent events in the Middle East can be described

by only one word, horror. The massacres at Sabra

and Shatila, despicable acts directed at women,

children and the elderly, constitute nothing less

than the crime of genocide, which no country that

supports the ideals of the United Nations can

tolerate. I wish to reiterate from this rostrum

my country's condemnation of that abject act

which compounds other attempts by the State of

Israel to contain the just struggle of the

Palestinian people, through the PLO, for

self-determination. The life of wandering forced

on that people cannot continue. That is why my

country continues to support Security Council

resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) as the

basis for an acceptable solution to the conflict

in the Middle East.

Because the United Nations has been paralyzed and

unable to act in that region at this critical

stage, it has become more urgent than ever, as

suggested in the report of the Secretary-General

on the work of the Organization, to strengthen

the capacity of the Organization to accomplish

its mission. The Central African Republic

considers that it is necessary to restore to the

Security Council its role as the guarantor of

international peace and security and,

furthermore, to reconsider the mechanics that

govern its operation, because the important

changes that have occurred on the international

scene since the San Francisco Conference, call

for the establishment of a balance in the

decision-making process.

Improvement of the international climate, as I

have said, means, in the final analysis, the

maintenance of world peace and security.

33. The United Nations, through the organ

competent in that area, is frequently called upon

in the case of a threat to peace. The

unsatisfactory results of sessions devoted to

disarmament reduce the chances of consolidating

and preserving peace. States continue to devote

enormous sums to armaments, while two thirds of

the people of the world live in poverty. The

struggle for world supremacy, which is called

hegemonism, is pursued inexorably, leading to the

research into, manufacture, and qualitative and

quantitative stockpiling of weapons of mass

destruction. This phenomenon, added to everything

covered by the key word "deterrence", seriously

compromises peace and security in many regions of

the world. That is why the Central African

Republic encourages all new initiatives designed

to curb the arms race and help to improve the

international climate.

36. Although a sovereign State may freely choose

a given system, certain Powers continue to

interfere in their internal affairs, using the

weapons of blackmail and threat. Are we to infer

from that that the principles which govern

international relations need be observed and

applied only by the weak countries? That is the

question my delegation wishes to put to the

Assembly.

Between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran, in

Western Sahara, in Democratic Kampuchea and in

Afghanistan armed conflicts persist which

threaten peace in those regions of the world.

Nevertheless, the Charter commits nations to

settling their differences by peaceful means. We

firmly believe in the virtues of dialogue and

appeal urgently to the various protagonists in

these conflicts to resort to it.

With regard to the Korean problem, the North- South joint communique

of 1972 advocates direct negotiations between the

two parties, free of all foreign interference.

That historic document, constitutes in the view

of my delegation, a valuable basis on which to

seek a just and lasting solution. The Central

African Republic welcomes the strenuous efforts

made by the parties to the conflict to lay the

basis for the constructive, fruitful dialogue

which is so sincerely desired so that the

question of their simultaneous admission to the

United Nations can be considered again, without

prejudice to the principle of reunification, in

keeping with the wishes of their peoples.

The present international situation gives no

cause for optimism because the world political

order is being challenged by another factor: the

unequal development of the members of the

international community. This is the second part

of my message.

The United Nations should devote itself

increasingly to the economic and social

development of Member States. Indeed, how can we

not be moved by the problems caused by the world

economic crisis, which is seriously affecting

third world countries? These include: increasing

balance-of-payments imbalances, the constant

deterioration in the terms of trade; the

excessive burden of their foreign debts; the

insecurity of their food supplies; and the

disorganization of the present monetary system.

All these factors, which indicate the

interdependence of States, should lead the

"haves" to seek more actively, together with the

"have not", new bases for a restructuring of

international economic relations.

On the contrary, however, we are witnessing a

very marked re-emergence of protectionism, which

seriously penalizes the countries of the South.

The illusion of the concept of the transfer of

technology in turn compounds their

disillusionment. That is why we believe that the

"have" States, in a spirit of solidarity, should

facilitate and support the United Nations in its

efforts to establish a new international economic

order.

These efforts clearly demonstrate the will of the

Organization, which is now engaged in "economic

decolonization". This will is reflected in the

adoption of the Charter of Economic Rights and

Duties of States the International Development

Strategy for the Third United Nations Development

Decade and the Substantial New Programme of

Action for the 1980s for the Least Developed

Countries.

The Central African Republic, which falls within

the category of least developed countries, would

like to see the "have" countries devote more

effort and sacrifice to the implementation of

those measures, in order to establish

co-operation between them and the developing

countries, to the mutual advantage of their

respective peoples.

As the Assembly is aware, there was a change of

regime in the Central African Republic on 1

September 1981. It should be recalled that the

National Army took power following dark years

during which the country was on the verge of ruin

and security and peace were increasingly

threatened. As stated recently by the head of

State, General Andre Kolingba, the Military

Committee of National Reconstruction set for

itself four goals: the creation of conditions of

general mobilization through a resumption of

work; the reorganization of the State finances;

the restoration of a climate of confidence and

guarantees of the security of property and

person; and economic recovery.

The highest priority was given to the correction

of economic and financial imbalances. We

therefore reduced the budget deficit of the State

by almost 30 per cent as compared with that of

previous years. That result was obtained as a

result of very severe limitations on certain

expenditures, a reordering in the area of

earnings, a campaign to combat fraud and the

financial sacrifices of State officials.

The reassurance of investors by restoring a

climate of confidence is one of the policies

guiding the actions of the Military Committee for

National Reconstruction intended to bring about

conditions for the economic recovery of the

Central African Republic.

The plan requires that other demands be met,

including food self-sufficiency and growth

through increased productive investments, both

public and private. However, our present

financial situation does not yet enable us to

tackle by our own efforts alone other vital

tasks, such as the reconstruction of our road

system and the creation of social and educational

structures. The co-operation of the international

community, which we hope will be increased,

remains essential in that regard.

Thus the accomplishment of the mission that the

Military Committee of National Reconstruction has

set for itself has not been easy and continues to

be limited in terms of time and of objectives. To

achieve the necessary results, the Military

Committee of National Reconstruction has only one

weapon: dialogue, based on the concept the

Central African people has of the real democracy

that results from listening to the questions in

the hearts of the people. The Central African

Government has a dynamic view of democracy, which

must take account of the developmental aspects of

the life of a people capable of reconstructing

its national unity, which is a prerequisite for

development.

As a land-locked country, the Central African

Republic has been subjected to serious

constraints. The Convention that has just been

adopted a§ a result of the work of the Third

United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea

could make it possible for us to be provided with

the necessary trade facilities. That is the

fervent hope of my country.

We wish to welcome once again resolutions 35/37

of 5 December 1980 and 36/206 of 17 December

1981, in which the General Assembly calls upon

all Member States, the specialized agencies and

other economic and financial organizations to

contribute generously to the reconstruction,

rehabilitation and development of the Central

African Republic, whose economic situation

remains a matter of concern.

On behalf of the Central African people, the

Military Committee of National Reconstruction and

its President, General Andre Kolingba, I wish to

thank from this rostrum all the States and

institutions which, in spite of their own

difficulties, have shown a generosity which we

very much appreciate- My country is convinced

that this international solidarity, which is

based on human awareness, will continue to

increase.

The Central African Republic hopes, and indeed is

convinced, that the Member States, in spite of

this period of adversity that the world is

experiencing, will make the contributions

necessary to make the Organization an instrument

for the improvement of the international

political environment and of economic and social

development. The Secretary-General's report, with

the spirit of which we fully agree and to whose

author we pay a tribute, is important because it

concurs in that idea. The unity and harmony of

the international community will certainly

benefit from it.