Central African Republic, 2010

The Central African Republic would like,

through me, to commend Mr. Joseph Deiss on his

election to the presidency of the General Assembly at

its sixty-fifth session. We congratulate him and offer

him our support in fulfilling his great responsibility.

His predecessor, Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki of the

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, also deserves our heartfelt

commendation and gratitude for the outstanding

contribution he made during his term of office in

revitalizing the General Assembly. Lastly, on behalf of

His Excellency Army General François Bozizé,

President and Head of State of our country, allow me to

convey our sincere congratulations to Secretary-

General Ban Ki-moon, who has been tireless in

carrying out his extremely important role to promote

the ideals of the Organization.

The sixty-fifth session is taking place at a time

when the world faces many challenges. In addition to

the armed conflicts that affect almost every continent,

there are also the food, energy and financial crises,

which have made the lives of the most vulnerable

people increasingly precarious. There are also

challenges when it comes to respect for human rights,

the rule of law and good governance, which are the

foundations of lasting peace and security and a healthy

environment. Today, we are aware that systematic

violations of human rights and the glaring absence of

the rule of law are often the root causes of conflicts

and other social crises. States and non-State actors

confront each other. Warlords, terrorists and criminal

gangs dictate their own rules. Civilians, rather than

soldiers, become the first targets. Security policy can

no longer be confined to the traditional framework of

the State; it must be focused first and foremost on the

security of individuals.

As the President rightly said in his opening

speech to this session of the General Assembly by way

of referring to the special theme for the sixty-fifth

session, “we must reinstate the United Nations and the

General Assembly at the centre of global governance.

The challenges we face today have acquired a global

dimension and require global solutions.” (A/65/PV.1)

The Central African Republic continues to

believe that preventing and peacefully resolving

conflicts are the best way to maintain international

peace and security. Many other challenges also require

the attention of the international community. We

should provide responses tailored to those challenges

in order that together we can build a better world,

starting with the issue of climate change.

Today more than ever before, the survival of the

planet is threatened by changes to the climate that have

a serious impact on living conditions in developing

countries — owing mainly to desertification, the silting

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up of rivers, ecosystem deterioration, shortened winters

and floods. Faced with that danger, it is not a matter of

raising questions about respective responsibilities; we

must rather, first and foremost, put in place suitable

emergency measures to confront the challenge.

In that connection, the outcomes of the Bali

Conference are as relevant as ever and they should be

implemented. Although, unfortunately, the Copenhagen

summit was the scene of selfishness and inconsistency

on the part of States vis-à-vis international cooperation

and climate policy, we hope that the upcoming meeting

at Cancún, Mexico, will find appropriate answers to

those worrying issues.

The HIV/AIDS and malaria pandemics are

another challenge to which we must give particular

attention, as they pose a serious threat to the survival

of humankind, in particular on the African continent.

With regard to HIV/AIDS, we must truly redouble our

efforts and determination to implement the 2001

Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the

outcomes of the high-level meetings on AIDS. Child

and maternal mortality rates in Africa, whose increase

is yet another cause for concern, should also enjoy the

same attention as the other issues. All of those

meetings have emphasized the gravity of the situation,

underscoring the importance of acting and the need to

mobilize resources accordingly to fight those health

threats.

Achieving Millennium Development Goal 1 on

time — namely, reducing by half the number of people

who suffer from hunger by 2015 — compels us to put

in place a new approach and policy towards

international cooperation that is based on support for

agriculture, rather than on providing food assistance,

which should only be provided in exceptional

circumstances, and then in a timely manner.

Developing agriculture in Africa so that it

provides for lasting food security also necessarily

entails controlling water, the availability of equipment,

access to raw materials for producers and proper

organization of the means of producing, storing,

transforming and marketing agricultural products. The

Central African Republic, a country endowed with

abundant natural resources, would easily be able to

take its place as an agricultural country, were it not for

the handicaps it faces owing to its landlocked status

and the scarcity of means at its disposal.

Agriculture in my country is essentially a

subsistence affair that performs poorly despite the

country’s enormous potential. That includes 15 million

arable hectares, of which only 600,000 are cultivated

annually, as well as 16 million hectares of range land

for a herd of 2 million animals. We also have at our

disposal a vast network of rivers and streams, as well

as abundant rainfall amounting to 1,200 to 1,800

millimetres per year. Agriculture employs more than 75

per cent of working people in our country, contributing

about 53 per cent of our gross domestic product.

In the Central African Republic, about 72 per cent

of the poor and hungry live in rural areas, where

agriculture plays a crucial role, feeding communities

but providing employment that offers only meagre

incomes. Nevertheless, in spite of the enormity of the

need and the growing food insecurity, assistance to

agriculture continues to decrease, having dropped

significantly in the past 20 years.

The Central African Republic has maintained the

strengthening of human capital as one of its priorities

under the fourth pillar of its national poverty-reduction

strategy. Under that pillar, education, health and

employment are considered priority sectors, in line

with the Millennium Development Goals. Assessments

of the programmes that have been launched seem to

reveal shortcomings in the results. For instance, adult

literacy rates are poor, at 57 per cent, while the overall

primary school attendance rate is also low, at 55 per

cent.

The Central African Republic is among the

countries of the world most affected by the HIV/AIDS

pandemic, even though we are continuing efforts to

bring its prevalence under control.

Given those outcomes, it is clear that, if our

country is to pursue the implementation of the

priorities of our development plan, we need significant

support from our development partners.

With regard to nuclear disarmament, the

proliferation crisis we are experiencing constitutes the

greatest threat to international peace and security

today. Nuclear disarmament and nuclear proliferation

in all their aspects should be at the centre of our

debate. We should resolve to prioritize the use of

nuclear energy for peaceful civilian purposes.

Today more than ever before, the

interconnectedness of the crises faced by the

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international community underscores the need to inject

new impetus into efforts to achieve international peace

and security, including collective efforts at the

international level.

With regard to reforming the United Nations

system, the Central African Republic shares the view

that the current system no longer reflects the ambitions

of the founders. Our country therefore once again calls

for full representation for Africa in the system’s

decision-making bodies, in particular the Security

Council. Whatever the outcome of the ongoing

negotiations on this matter, my delegation continues to

believe that any viable reform of the Security Council

must take into account Africa’s numerical and political

significance in the General Assembly, especially given

the two types of situations considered by the Council.

The Central African Republic held elections in

2005, which were heralded by the international

community for having met all the necessary standards.

It should be pointed out that those held in 2010

experienced various difficulties that need to be

examined. Therefore, on the basis of a political

consensus, the National Assembly adopted a law based

on a constitutional court opinion. This constitutional

arrangement extends the term of office of our country’s

President, as well as those of members of the

Assembly, until the holding of elections, now set for

23 January 2011.

In another area, the programme for the

disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of

former combatants has made considerable progress in

the central and north-western parts of our country.

Nevertheless, the Central African Republic continues

to face security problems in the north-east of the

country, as a result of the consequences of the conflict

in Darfur, as well as in the south-east, owing to the

raging Ugandan rebellion by the Lord’s Resistance

Army (LRA).

This alarming situation has resulted in a growing

number of refugees and internally displaced persons

from various areas, who have fled to the cities from the

fighting. Having been pushed out of Uganda, LRA

rebels have regrouped in the south-east of our country,

where they carry out all sorts of violence and spread

terror among the people. It is important to point out

that the Central African Republic does not have any

borders with Uganda.

The Central African Republic therefore welcomes

the decision by the United States Government with

regard to disarming the LRA. Nevertheless, we hope

that the United States Administration will focus in

particular on the case of the Central African Republic,

which is a post-conflict country that still needs United

States assistance, given the danger posed by the LRA

on the ground in our country and the disastrous social

consequences it has already had.

The United Nations Mission in the Central

African Republic and Chad, whose mandate will expire

on 31 December 2010, requires particular attention.

The Central African Republic’s defence and security

forces will take over from international forces in order

to ensure the continuity of operations. However, they

are in desperate need of military equipment and

supplies. The Government of the Central African

Republic therefore appeals to the international

community for assistance in strengthening the

operational capacities of our armed forces.

I cannot conclude without once again thanking all

those whose commitment, courage and determination

continue to be of assistance in helping my country to

emerge from crisis to lasting peace and development.