Ivory Coast, 2011

In taking

the floor for the first time before this Assembly, I offer

my heartfelt thanks to the international community and

all the friendly countries that had faith in our struggle

for democracy, and whose support never failed us

during the painful and trying post-electoral crisis in

Côte d’Ivoire.

Please also allow me, Mr. President, to

congratulate you warmly, as other speakers before me

have done, on your outstanding election to the

presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth

session, which attests to the recognition of your

remarkable contribution to expanding the influence of

the Organization and promoting its ideals. We assure

you of my delegation’s full support in carrying out

your mandate. I would also like to convey to your

predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Joseph Deiss, my full

appreciation and that of my delegation for his

remarkable work and encouraging results during his

presidency.

I would further like to make a special mention

here of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his

determined commitment and tireless efforts on behalf

of world peace, earning him deserved reappointment to

a second term at the head of the United Nations. In

reiterating my warm congratulations upon your

re-election, I would also like to reaffirm, on behalf of

the Ivorian people and Government, as well as

personally, our profound gratitude and thanks for the

crucial role the United Nations and you personally

played in resolving the Ivorian crisis.

I note with satisfaction that, for the first time in

history, a woman — Ms. Dilma Rousseff,

democratically elected in 2010 to lead Brazil —

opened our general debate. I celebrate this fact.

The theme chosen for this session — “The role of

mediation in the settlement of disputes by peaceful

means” — demonstrates our will to place our

Organization at the heart of international crisis

resolution. It also focuses the attention of our

Assembly on one of the main missions entrusted to the

United Nations — the use and promotion of

negotiations in the resolutions of conflicts, whose

proliferation and gravity have posed an unrelenting

threat to the balance and progress of humankind in

recent years. The implementation of such an approach

in international relations calls for resolute involvement

and solidarity on the part of Member States in seeking

negotiated solutions to current and potential disputes at

the international, regional and subregional levels. In

this regard, I welcome the independence of South

Sudan and its admission as the 193rd State Member of

the United Nations.

The recent history of peoples underscores the

virtues of dialogue and negotiation for resolving even

the most complex conflicts, as proven by the

dismantling of apartheid and the progress, albeit

modest, in the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian

crisis.

This is a theme close to our hearts, as the father

of the Ivorian nation, President Félix Houphouët-

Boigny, left his mark on the history of Côte d’Ivoire

and the entire African continent as a result of his

pragmatic approach to resolving conflicts through

dialogue. The UNESCO Félix Houphouët-Boigny

Peace Prize attests to and represents the international

community’s recognition of his efforts to promote

peace. I am therefore honoured and proud to make a

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commitment to follow in the footsteps of the approach

promoted by that apostle disciple of dialogue and

peace. In this context, my country is fully ready, as in

the past, to tirelessly promote the option of negotiation

to resolve and prevent conflicts and safeguard peace —

a prerequisite for all social and economic development

in the world.

The much sought prize of peace, even through the

appropriate routes of consultation and dialogue, cannot

be achieved without more balanced and fairer

economic development in our world. In this regard, the

economic and financial crisis that has shaken the world

for three years and whose consequences are still being

felt, especially in developing countries, demands

action, even as growth becomes more apparent in some

regions. This trend has been growing since 2010, due

in part to the economic performance of emerging and

developing countries, must absolutely be consolidated

if we want to sustainably prevent the relapse of such a

crisis.

Nevertheless, strong economic growth is not

enough to guarantee security and stability in our world.

It must necessarily be accompanied by transparent and

equitable access to employment, especially for young

people, security and justice if we truly want to break

the cycles of political and criminal violence. We must

therefore urgently adopt a new model for development

based on environmental constraints that ensures that

the needs of the population for employment, security

and justice are met. Such a challenge can be overcome

only through solidarity.

The food, energy and environmental crises and

natural disasters, which have become ever more

frequent and serious due to the effects of climate

change, demonstrate that the balance of human life,

despite the immense progress achieved in a great

number of areas, remains fragile. They also underscore

how closely the fates of the peoples of the world are

linked, as no geographic, racial or religious division

can withstand either the occurrence or the negative

effects of these phenomena. Aware of our

responsibilities to our people and, above all, to

humankind as a whole, we must therefore join forces

through the multilateral framework to seek innovative

and effective solutions to these crises and other

catastrophes, which pose a real threat to international

peace and security.

In this regard, I would like to reiterate the

compassion of the people and Government of Côte

d’Ivoire to the victims of natural disasters, especially

in Japan, the Caribbean and the United States. I extend

special and brotherly sympathy to the peoples of the

Horn of Africa, who are suffering the grave effects of

famine as a result of an extended drought.

Faced with these humanitarian tragedies, the

political commitment of all States Members of the

United Nations is indispensable. My delegation

therefore welcomes the initiatives undertaken by the

international community — especially the French

presidency of the Group of 20, and the specialized

institutions of the United Nations and the African

Union — to meet the immediate needs of the affected

populations.

International peace and security remain a cause of

major concern for our Organization, given the

proliferation of armed conflicts, nuclear threats,

terrorist activity, transnational crime, human

trafficking, drug trafficking and pandemics. All of

these hamper the world’s harmonious development,

especially in Africa, which, riven by many areas of

tension, struggles to ensure its economic and social

development despite its enormous potential.

The United Nations has a role to play in

strengthening the international solidarity that is

indispensable as we seek effective and appropriate

solutions to these crises. This requires the mobilization

of adequate resources to fund research and

development in the areas of food crop production,

renewable energy and sustainable development. To that

end, a substantial reduction in military spending is

required, allowing such resources to be found. Such a

sacrifice would be very useful towards the survival of

mankind.

Aware of these crises, since taking office I have

sought to enhance the security of my country.

Discussions are nearing completion on tripartite

agreements with our neighbours, particularly

Liberia — with which one has already been signed —

Ghana and Guinea, with the support of the High

Commissioner for Refugees and United Nations

peacekeepers present in the region. These agreements

seek to ensure the voluntary and rapid return of Ivorian

refugees from those brotherly countries and to protect

our eastern and western borders from the movement of

11 11-50865

armed groups, drug trafficking and traffic in precious

metals.

Negotiations are also under way with our Western

partners to ensure that Côte d’Ivoire becomes a

bulwark of regional defence and security in the fight

against terrorism. The recent ratification of the

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of

the Child on the involvement of children in armed

conflict reinforces our firm resolve to use all legal

means to combat violence and to protect the security of

our most vulnerable people, particularly women and

children.

The outcome of the social and political conflict

that began in Côte d’Ivoire in 2002 marks the return of

democracy to our country, based on the promise of the

rule of law and a society that shares the common ideals

of peace and respect for human rights. For that reason,

coexistence is the cornerstone of my Government’s

programme. As soon as I took office, I established

national reconciliation as one of our priorities by

creating a Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation

Commission designed to create conditions conducive

to dialogue among all levels of society in order to heal

the wounds of the crisis, re-knit the social fabric,

restore national cohesion and promote peace and

justice.

Furthermore, the Government, which is

responsible for making those principles the basis for its

activities, is working tirelessly to ensure social and

economic recovery towards the reconstruction Côte

d’Ivoire. Thus, the President’s emergency programme

launched in March, while I was at the Golf Hotel, has

already had favourable results for the people of Côte

d’Ivoire, particularly those of Abidjan, who suffered

pillage and property destruction. The programme is

focused in particular on improving basic social

services, especially the provision of drinking water,

health care, education, electricity and public sanitation,

which are major challenges that must be met as we

attempt to achieve our Millennium Development

Goals.

The organization of parliamentary elections

before the end of this year will allow us to enhance

democracy and social justice in Côte d’Ivoire, with the

support and assistance of the United Nations through

Security Council resolution 2000 (2011) of 27 July

2011, which demonstrates again the Organization’s

determination to support Côte d’Ivoire until the end of

the crisis as provided by the Ouagadougou Political

Agreement.

The socio-political crisis in Côte d’Ivoire over

the past 10 years has undermined the economic and

social development of my country. It is my ambition,

as we approach 2020, to make Côte d’Ivoire an

emerging nation, reconciled with itself and with other

nations and united by republican values; a modern

State that respects the independence of the judiciary

and will combat impunity and ensure the promotion of

merit and competence.

In closing on this note of hope for my country, I

call for the determined and ongoing involvement of all

States Members of the United Nations in the pursuit,

through dialogue and cooperation, of collective,

effective and lasting solutions that will create a better

world based on more harmonious and secure forms of

development.

Côte d’Ivoire, which in the past was often called

on to help in the quest for peaceful solutions to

conflicts, intends to take up this vocation once again.

This is a natural mission for us in many respects,

because Côte d’Ivoire, as Félix Houphouët-Boigny

said, is the friend of all and the enemy of none.