Central African Republic, 2009

May I begin by congratulating Mr. Treki on

his unanimous election to preside over the work of the

General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. His

election to that position is an honour to the entire

African continent and a worthy tribute to the Great

Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, whose

devotion to the African cause goes without saying.

Furthermore and on behalf of His Excellency

General François Bozizé, President of the Republic,

who wishes him every success in his work, I assure

him of the support of the Central African delegation in

achieving the full success of his lofty task this year.

His demonstrated knowledge of the United Nations and

of world problems will ensure the success of the

present session. I also wish to congratulate Mr. Miguel

d’Escoto Brockmann of Nicaragua on his excellent

contribution to the previous session in his capacity as

President.

However, before delivering my assessment the

state of the world in the face of the new challenges of

the twenty-first century and my country’s perspective

on the main issues to be addressed at this session, I

should also like to commend the tireless work of the

Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, who spares no

effort in promoting the principles and purposes of the

United Nations. To him, I once again express the deep

gratitude of the people of the Central African Republic

for his notable contributions with regard to the

situation in the Central African Republic and his

support within the framework of the Peacebuilding

Commission.

In fact, in March this year, pursuant to my

Government’s request, a country configuration of the

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Peacebuilding Commission was established under the

Belgian presidency. The Commission is working

together with Central African authorities to strengthen

the achievements of peace and make it possible to

implement the recommendations resulting from the

inclusive political dialogue held from 8 to

20 December 2008, regarding in particular the

disarmament, demobilization and reintegration

programme, security sector reform and the process

leading up to the 2010 general elections.

My country welcomes this session because of the

items on our agenda, which are true matters of global

concern. Indeed, it should be recalled that we have

several challenges to meet: development, peace and

security, climate change and its effects, terrorism and

necessary United Nations reform. The choice of theme

for this debate — “Effective responses to global crises,

strengthening multilateralism and dialogue among

civilizations for international peace, security and

development” — is inspired. In fact, the changes in the

world’s configuration have given rise to new

challenges that can be addressed only through

international cooperation. Thus, multilateralism now

appears to be the only way to resolve the world’s

problems.

In this era of globalization and technological

advances, forums for cooperation — even the most

firmly established ones — must address new demands

calling for appropriate and united responses.

I am grateful for the honour shown to the Central

African Republic, and I should like to stress the

correlation among some of the issues raised since the

beginning of this general debate. With regard to the

world situation, this session is being held in a

particularly worrisome context. This is a critical time

for addressing global political issues at all levels — a

time that requires us, as nations, to seek solutions in a

spirit of dialogue, cooperation and openness. The

current world scene poses major challenges in the areas

of peace and security, economic development and

social progress, and human rights and the rule of law.

As far as crucial development issues are

concerned, the world economic and financial crisis

remains an unprecedented event in terms of its impact

and the upheavals in the world’s economic and

financial systems. It requires a reorganization leading

to a new world order in this area. Besides that option,

however, other ways to emerge from the present crisis

could be to develop production capacity, to strengthen

trade capacity for the benefit of developing countries

and to implement strategic partnerships among the

various regions to which the Organization’s Members

belong.

The food crisis, which was caused by rising

prices and whose harmful effects continue to keep a

large part of the world in conditions of famine and

abject poverty, requires that we promote the

agricultural sector, industry and the utilization of

mining resources. The rise in food prices has caused a

significant deterioration in the terms of trade among

countries in the most affected regions, including the

African continent generally and, in particular, the

Central African Republic. That situation could lead to

greater inflationary pressure and a deteriorating

balance of payments. The impact is being felt both at

the macroeconomic level and in terms of household

income and food security.

The contributions of regional economic

communities and United Nations agencies such as the

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United

Nations, the World Food Programme, the International

Fund for Agricultural Development and the World

Bank, will be invaluable in the quest for a coordinated

solution to this crisis. Agricultural development should

be encouraged with a view to ensuring sustainable

growth and improvements in people’s means of

subsistence, based on the sound management of

environmental and natural resources.

Programmes and activities to promote long-term

growth should, of course, be carried out in accordance

with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In

2000, when we committed ourselves to achieving the

Goals by 2015, we aroused legitimate hopes

throughout the developing world. We do not have the

right to dash those hopes, which would worsen the

North-South fracture and further deepen the divisions

within our own societies, with incalculable risks for the

governance and stability of States.

A little more than nine years after the Millennium

Summit, it is indisputable that significant progress has

been made, but we must acknowledge that, in many

countries in Africa and elsewhere, a large majority of

the population lives in abject poverty. The Millennium

Development Goals are the surest way to speed the

progress of African peoples towards well-being. The

development projects in the MDG sectors need stable,

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sufficient and predictable long-term funding. We thus

regard this session of the General Assembly as an

opportunity to raise the awareness of all international

development financing institutions, without exception,

and lead them to effectively pledge to mobilize and

transfer the financial resources necessary to achieve

the Millennium Development Goals.

Likewise, the Programme of Action for the Least

Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010, aimed

at significantly improving the living conditions of the

more than 600 million people living in those countries,

is concluding and thus should be reviewed in order to

address the marginalization and the new

socio-economic challenges facing least developed

countries.

Climate change joins the challenges confronting

our world, because the economy, the environment and

the way of life of every nation represented here are

threatened.

At the United Nations Climate Change

Conference held in Bali, Indonesia, in 2007, world

leaders decided to negotiate a new agreement on

climate change to succeed the Kyoto Protocol in 2012.

In the Bali Road Map, States defined spheres of action

and agreed to take them into account during the post-

Kyoto negotiations. The working meeting of the heads

of State of the G8+5 in L’Aquila on 9 July 2009

examined the issue of reducing greenhouse gas

emissions.

My country is committed to the global fight

against climate change, as demonstrated by its

ratification of several international instruments on

climate issues. I am referring to the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change and the

Kyoto Protocol.

For the Central African Republic, the challenge

of climate change relates to not only mitigation,

namely reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, but

also to adaptation to the harmful effects of that change.

However, for vulnerable States, with a weak economy

like ours, the cost of adaptation, calculated at several

tens of billions of dollars a year, puts a still greater

strain on our limited resources and increases poverty.

This is an opportunity for me to express the wish that

assistance in combating climate change not replace

official development assistance.

We have not come to this sixty-fourth session of

the General Assembly to point an accusing finger at the

States responsible for global warming, but rather, like

the brother countries of Africa, to convey a message to

the leaders of the world. Africa will continue its efforts

to preserve its forest ecosystems, but the rich countries

must assume their responsibilities to reach concrete

proposals for post-Kyoto.

We support France’s proposal at the summit on

climate change, held on 22 September 2009, for the

establishment of a world environment organization, the

implementation of the Bali Road Map through

technology transfers to developing countries, and the

financing of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas

emissions. However, we strongly hope that, in

Copenhagen next December, the common position of

the countries of Central Africa, which share the forests

of the Congo basin, will be taken into account.

Allow me here to recall that the countries of

Central Africa, members of the Commission for the

Forests of Central Africa (COMIFAC), signed a

declaration in Bangui on 11 September 2008 in which

they call on the institutions of the United Nations

system, the European Union, the International

Organization of la Francophonie, the Secretariat of the

New Partnership for Africa’s Development and the

high-level panel of experts to support them in their

effort, inter alia, to include issues relating to the

management of tropical forests in the post-Kyoto

arrangements.

The forests of the Congo basin, the second largest

forest system in the world, play a key role in regulating

the global climate. The efforts to conserve and

sustainably manage the forests of that natural space

agreed to by the member countries of COMIFAC

should be encouraged as part of the process of reducing

emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in

developing countries. In Copenhagen, we must reach a

fair agreement, based on win-win partnerships that

enable developing countries to reconcile the

preservation of natural resources with economic

development.

The Central African Republic fully supports the

statement made by the Chairperson of the African

Union Commission at its recent special session on the

consideration and resolution of conflicts in Africa, held

in Tripoli, Libya, on 31 August 2009. It shares the

conviction that economic growth and sustainable

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development are intertwined with the status of and

trends in world peace and security.

In view of the proliferation of arms of all kinds,

disarmament is a pressing issue. The United Nations

Disarmament Commission must promote resolutions

that encourage multilateralism in the area of

disarmament and non-proliferation, the reduction of

military budgets and respect for environmental

standards in the drawing up and implementation of

disarmament agreements. An effort is also needed to

overcome the current impasse and to achieve nuclear

disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation in all their

forms. The strategic doctrine adopted by nuclear-

weapon States that justifies the use of or threat of the

use of atomic weapons is as dangerous as uranium

enrichment for weapons purposes and should simply be

discarded.

On the other hand, a national security concept

based on the promotion and development of military

alliances and nuclear deterrence policies seems better

suited to the ideals that we pursue. The Central African

Republic welcomes the initiative of United States

President Obama in convening a meeting of the

Security Council on nuclear non-proliferation and

nuclear disarmament.

Terrorism is the most flagrant violation of

international law. It prevents people from enjoying

their basic freedoms and destabilizes legitimately

established Governments. For those reasons, it must

not be tolerated by or associated with any religion,

civilization, ethnic group or claim, however legitimate

it may seem. My country resolutely condemns terrorist

acts and aligns itself with the fight against terrorism

being carried out by the committees established by the

United Nations Security Council.

The issue of the control of conventional weapons

at the regional level is all the more relevant in view of

the fact that it is the most effective way to tackle the

illegal proliferation of armed groups and transnational

crime. The peace and security of Central Africa are

hampered by that recurrent problem. Armed groups

threaten the stability of the national institutions of

some of our States. Along those lines, the

comprehensive peace agreement signed at Libreville in

neighbouring Gabon on 21 June 2008 enabled the

Central African Republic to thwart an ill-intentioned

plot to seize power.

However, its concern, like that of other States of

Africa’s Great Lakes region, such as the Sudan, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, is with

the criminal activities of the uprising of the so-called

Lord’s Resistance Army, which has become a

transnational criminal organization, causing death and

destruction as far as the Central African Republic. Its

destructive capacity goes beyond the territory of the

Republic of Uganda and is becoming a regional

problem, for which an agreed solution is essential. The

affected States are striving to achieve that with the

limited resources that they have.

I am convinced that the Charter of the United

Nations and international law continue to be essential

instruments and the pillars of the preservation and

maintenance of international peace and security.

Representing nearly the entire international

community, the United Nations has well-established

international legitimacy and is the best forum for

finding a lasting solution to problems of that kind.

The United Nations remains the primary and

fundamental forum for addressing world issues and

seeking consensus. That is why we Member States

attach great importance to strengthening its role and

believe that reform is necessary in order to develop its

full potential. The reform must be comprehensive and

cover all areas, while respecting its political nature and

its intergovernmental and universal character.

However, adjustments to two organs of our

Organization seem to be a priority in that reform: the

Security Council and the General Assembly. The

General Assembly must be invigorated by giving

greater weight to its role and to its authority as the

main deliberative and representative organ of the

Member States. The General Assembly’s prerogatives

as the chief oversight body of the United Nations, even

in the area of peacekeeping, must be respected.

As for reform of the Security Council, it must be

directed at achieving transparency and balance within

that body. Its enlargement will enable better

representation of all regions in order to allow us to

debate new approaches to the maintenance of

international peace and security. This is an African

position that has been advocated during this general

debate by the Leader of the Great Socialist People’s

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (see ), and it is one

that the Central African Republic supports. My country

hopes that reform of the United Nations system will

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have a positive impact on the development of

multilateral cooperation in our ever-changing world.