Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2004

At this time,

when I have the honour to take the floor before this

august Assembly, above all I would like to express to

you, on behalf of the Congolese people as well as on

my own behalf, my warm congratulations to Mr. Jean

Ping on his election to the presidency of the General

Assembly as well as the election of the members of his

Bureau.

I also take this occasion to congratulate and give

my continued support to Mr. Julian Hunte, the

President of the previous General Assembly, for the

significant quality of the work he accomplished during

a difficult international situation.

This debate provides me the opportunity to bring

the message of my country to the world — a message

of peace and national reconciliation — and to express

our vision concerning the violent events taking place in

the world and the most appropriate way to find lasting

solutions to those events.

In that respect, looking back at world

developments, we can only note and deplore the rise in

international terrorism in all its forms with its long line

of victims, distress and desolation. This appears to me

to be the appropriate time to announce that my

country’s commitment to the ratification of all

international legal instruments on terrorism is moving

into its final phase of adoption. Our aim is to combat

that scourge which — I repeat — spares no one.

Apart from terrorism, the international

community is confronted with the resurgence of other

disasters which are just as murderous and devastating

and which require us to strengthen our collective

efforts. In particular I am thinking of HIV/AIDS,

malaria, tuberculosis and other endemic diseases.

That list of forgotten diseases should not obscure

the immense poverty and the natural disasters that we

see throughout the world. Moreover, we must not

forget the areas of tension, civil wars and other armed

conflicts which increase the misery and hopelessness

of humanity and which thus sorely test international

peace and security.

During the intersessional period, the situation in

the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been

characterized by a process of political transition. In the

long term, we plan to organize elections which will

enable the Congolese people to freely choose their

leaders. In that respect, I would like to point out that

that process reached its midway point on 30 June 2004.

It has thus entered a decisive phase which requires

from all institutions of the transition a redoubling of

effort in order to meet the electoral deadlines as laid

out in the global agreement.

Today we can congratulate ourselves on the

following significant progress: the reunification of

national territory through the setting up of a land

commission under central authority; national

reconciliation, symbolized by the presence in the

Government of former enemies; and the beginning of

the process of integration of the army and the

establishment of the national police force.

Nevertheless, much remains to be done, including

the complete restoration of the authority of the State

throughout the country and the establishment of the

necessary internal and external conditions for the

holding of the aforementioned elections.

Thus, taking into account the desire for peace of

all of the Congolese people, and the determination

expressed many times by the transitional Government

to respect the deadlines, it is important that we

reinforce, in terms of quality and quantity, the United

Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic

Republic of the Congo (MONUC), whose support of

the forces of order will help us put an end to the

30

activism of the militias which continue to sow death

and desolation in the eastern part of the country. In

addition, given the results obtained by the political

players in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the

fulfilment of their obligations under the global

agreement, we launch an urgent appeal to the

international community and ask it to respect its

promises and commitments in bringing about the

objectives of the transition.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a

peace-loving country, resolutely committed to

developing, maintaining and promoting excellent

relations with all countries dedicated to peace and

justice and particularly, with its neighbours.

Also the principle of good neighbourliness, far

from being a simple slogan, is for us a living and daily

reality. That is why I am happy to see the signature of

the terms of reference, establishing a joint verification

mechanism on the eastern border of our national

territory. This will enable us to rebuild trust in relations

in the region, a process which will culminate in the

international conference on peace, security and

development, scheduled to take place shortly.

The other major task in the Great Lakes region

remains preventing a recurrence of unfortunate events,

such as the massacres of the people in Bukuvu, Ituri

and those recently committed in Gatumba, Burundi,

during which 160 of our fellow citizens tragically lost

their lives. This assassination of Congolese refugees on

Burundian soil is the work of the enemies of peace and

of peaceful cohabitation in our subregion. The people

of Congo are waiting impatiently for the report of the

inquiry being prepared under United Nations auspices

on this very subject.

I solemnly express the Congolese people’s faith

in the United Nations, which has stood at our side at

the cost of many sacrifices. We firmly believe in its

ability to take even more responsibility on its

shoulders, with a view to the ideas and principles

contained in the Charter, particularly with regard to its

process of revitalization and the adaptation of its

structures so that it is able to rethink its working

methods in order that we will see peace, security and

peaceful cohabitation come about among peoples

throughout the world.

I would like to conclude my statement by

assuring the Assembly of our will to bring to a

successful conclusion, with the help of the whole of the

international community, the process of transition

within the set deadlines so that the sons and daughters

of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are able to

live again in peace and dignity so long denied them

and to which they legitimately have the right.