Cameroon, 2014

The President of the Republic of Cameroon, His

Excellency Mr. Paul Biya, has requested me to convey

to members, the Secretary-General and his fellow staff

his warm greetings and to deliver his statement before

the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session.

“Next year, we should adopt the post-2015

development agenda in follow-up to the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs). Throughout the sixty-

eighth session, our representatives actively worked

to develop new goals to pick up the MDG torch.

That important task, since it concerns the raison

d’être of the Organization, is not finished. It will

be incumbent upon the President to see it through.

I am sure that he will succeed. Rest assured of the

full and wholehearted cooperation of my country

in that regard.

“For the post-2015 period, the United Nations

seeks a transformative agenda that gives priority

to the eradication of poverty and hunger, as well

as to sustained and inclusive economic growth.

Cameroon fully shares that vision.

“In Cameroon, since 2010, we have implemented

a strategy for growth and employment whose

primary purpose is indeed the reduction of poverty.

The measures taken in that regard aim in particular

at creating jobs and improving the living conditions

of the population. The recovery of our economy and

our public finances, which has fostered the return

of growth, bodes well for the success of our efforts.

However, such progress, substantial and significant

as it is, has not yet enabled us to eradicate poverty.

In the areas of education, health care, access to

water and electricity, roads, et cetera, there is still

a long way to go in order to meet the needs of our

people.

“Most of the countries targeted by the

MDGs — the developing countries — face similar

situations. That is why, like the President, we

support a transformative post-2015 agenda. That

will clearly require some changes to our approach

to development. It should no longer be seen as an

external process but, rather, as an expression of

the wishes and needs of the target populations.

Moreover, that is the common position of the

African countries.

“Following a review of the MDGs, it will also

be necessary to establish a follow-up mechanism

for the goals of the new system. Finally, we will

inevitably have to change the way in which

development aid is financed in order to improve its

effectiveness.

“Once those conditions are met, we should

work on the most important matter of all, namely,

ensuring security. For it goes without saying that

without security there can be no development.

Take the example of my country, which is proud

of having been a haven of peace and stability for

decades. To the east, since March 2013, the Central

African Republic has seen its security situation

severely deteriorate: massacres and population

displacements have jeopardized any hope of

development, not to mention the flux of tens of

thousands of refugees towards Cameroon. In the

far north, attacks by the Boko Haram group, which

is more concerned about imposing shariah law than

improving the living conditions of populations,

threaten the integrity of our territory. There, too, the

lack of security has caused thousands of displaced

persons to flee to my country. It is estimated that

in recent months Cameroon has hosted more than

200,000 refugees from all kinds of origins. It goes

without saying that my country will continue to

honour its tradition of hospitality. However, if that

situation should continue, there is no guarantee that

we will have the resources to deal with it.

“The time allocated to me does not allow

me to mention the other areas of tension and

conflict, whether in Africa, the Middle East or

Eastern Europe. The causes and issues are varied.

I will therefore limit myself to urging the parties

concerned to negotiate and to seek peaceful

solutions.

“That is the path that Nigeria and Cameroon

chose to settle the dispute between them, some

years ago, over the Bakassi peninsula. It enabled

us to find a solution conforming with international

law and, above all, to seal an unfailing friendship

between our two countries. Moreover it was, I

should stress, in harmony with the ideals of the

Charter of our Organization.”