Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2008

I wish at the outset to discharge the

pleasant duty of conveying to you, Sir, the message of

His Excellency, Mr. Joseph Kabila Kabange, President

of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who is

unable to attend and therefore asked me to convey to

you his sincerest congratulations on your election to

the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-

third session. He has no doubt that your great

experience, enriched by your skills and knowledge,

will allow you to fulfil the heavy responsibility that has

been entrusted to you, to the satisfaction of all.

I should also like to pay tribute to your

predecessor, Mr. Srgjan Kerim, and congratulate him

on the dedication and skill with which he fulfilled his

mandate. Finally, I should like to pay due homage to

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, whose reforming

efforts, commitment and energy have enhanced the role

of the United Nations and made it more credible to

Member States and to international public opinion.

This session is opening at a particularly difficult

moment for humanity. The international financial

crisis, the sharp rises in the cost of food, energy and

fuel, and the effects of climate change are weakening

economies throughout the world, particularly those of

the developing countries. They are a threat to

international peace and stability and therefore represent

a major challenge to which the community of nations

must respond in a concerted, decisive and tangible way.

With regard in particular to the global food crisis

and the sharp rise in food prices, the Democratic

Republic of Congo calls for new, innovative and urgent

action to be taken beyond the recommendations made

at the Rome Summit. We also endorse the appeal for

the mobilization of the resources necessary for the

World Food Programme to implement its strategic plan

and achieve its priority mission. We are firmly

convinced that human intelligence, which makes all

scientific progress possible, should also allow us to

eliminate hunger throughout the world, provided that

we do so at the global level and that all States

demonstrate the necessary political will. It is on the

basis of that belief that the member countries of the

Economic Community of Central African States held a

regional meeting in Kinshasa in July in order to rise to

the challenge posed to our subregion by the food crisis

and the sharp rise in food costs. We made a frank

diagnosis, and concrete and urgent measures were

taken. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is

determined to make an active contribution towards

implementing those measures.

Similarly, the United Nations environmental

conventions that the Democratic Republic of the Congo

ratified include the United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations

Convention to Combat Desertification, the United

Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the

Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the

Ozone Layer.

Home to 60 per cent of the forests of the Congo

basin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is aware

of the crucial role that it can play in controlling the

global climate. It intends to assume that role in a fully

responsible way, provided that the international

community provides in exchange fair remuneration for

the environmental goods and services that are provided

by the forests of Congo to all humankind.

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The fact that the different crises are affecting —

though perhaps in different ways — all countries

throughout the world without exception clearly

demonstrates the futility of any claim to protective

isolation. On the other hand, it demonstrates the

common destiny of all humans and the justification for

the dialogue of religions, cultures and civilizations,

each of which must be protected and respected as an

integral and irreplaceable part of the human heritage.

We therefore commend the maturity of those States that

have apologized or expressed regrets, and even offered

compensation for the harm caused to others by slavery,

colonization, aggressive behaviour or violations of

fundamental human rights and the rights of peoples.

That will leave in the collective universal memory an

indelible testimony to those who, in the name of a

transitory supremacy that scorned the true basic nature

of the world, claimed eternal superiority and at one

point in history claimed to have a lasting moral right

over weaker people.

With the promise of a great future but weakened

by years of bad government and war, the Democratic

Republic of the Congo, thanks to the confidence of its

people and the sustained support of the international

community, has risen again as a State, a republic and a

democracy. Indeed, following the success of our

reunification and pacification efforts, and after

exemplary presidential, legislative and provincial

elections, the legitimate new authorities of our country

launched a programme of reconstruction and are now

ready to organize urban, municipal and local elections

in order to allow the people to choose their own local

representatives responsible for everyday affairs.

The improvement, however, needs to be shored

up urgently, because two territories in North Kivu, out

of the 142 that make up the Republic, are still the scene

of a dangerous security situation that could undermine

all the investments that have been made towards the

rebirth of the country. In fact, because of one of the

national armed groups, the Congrès national pour la

défense du peuple (CNDP), it has not yet been possible

to enjoy the full benefits of the AMANI Forum —

“Amani” means peace in Swahili — to implement the

act of engagement signed at the Conference on Peace,

Security and Development for the provinces of North

and South Kivu, held in Goma from 6 to 25 January

2008 at the initiative of the Head of State. On the

contrary, fighting has broken out again, which has

created a massive displacement of populations and led

to renewed violations of human rights.

With regard to the Nairobi communiqué, which

was the basis for resolving the problem of the harmful

presence in the same region of the country of armed

elements from the Forces démocratiques de libération

du Rwanda (FDLR). That group continues to sow death

and destruction despite the progress that has been made

elsewhere. That progress includes, first, the

organization of information and awareness-raising

programmes for armed Rwandan groups in order to

ensure their voluntary participation in disarmament

followed by their return to Rwanda, their country of

origin, if they so wish, or to relocate them far from the

border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo

and Rwanda, or outside Congolese territory; secondly,

the cantonment, disarmament and voluntary

repatriation to Rwanda of several dozen FDLR

elements and their dependants; and, finally, the

deployment of special brigades of the Forces armíes de

la Republique démocratique du Congo, who will work

with the United Nations Organization Mission in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) to

compel, if necessary, reluctant FDLR elements to

accept the disarmament, demobilization, reintegration

and resettlement or repatriation programme and to

curtail their movements.

In the face of a resurgence in violence, the Head

of State has taken the initiative once again by

reasserting the Government’s support for the Goma act

of engagement and the AMANI Forum as the best way

to put an end to the presence of armed groups in North

and South Kivu and for the Nairobi communiqué to

resolve the problem of the FDLR. Under his initiatives,

a disengagement plan drawn up by MONUC has been

adopted and a verification and monitoring mechanism

is being developed. Accepted by the Government and

the armed groups, with the exception of the CNDP, the

plan will come into force on 1 October and end 45 days

later.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo calls

upon the Security Council to support the plan and

provide MONUC with a clear mandate and adequate

resources in order, if necessary, to impose peace and

security in that part of the Congolese territory. The

credibility of the United Nations and its peacekeeping

missions — of which that in the Congo is by far the

largest — are at stake.

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The human conscience cannot tolerate and the

people of Congo cannot understand how, despite

having leaders legitimately elected by the people and

who enjoy international recognition, a small group

should be allowed to maintain a perpetual rebellion,

entailing the rape of women and the loss of human life

on a massive scale. In the face of the tragedy in the

eastern Congo, MONUC should be authorized to act

and be able to act convincingly. It is our firm belief

that there could be no more legitimate use of force or

timely exercise of the United Nations moral authority.

In addition to the efforts made to eliminate

insecurity in the East of our country, the Democratic

Republic of the Congo is seeking to strengthen the rule

of law, consolidate democracy and ensure good

governance. Justice is therefore one of the pillars of

our policy. For approximately 10 years now, our

country has witnessed millions of deaths, the direct or

indirect victims of armed conflicts. Entire families

have been wiped out, mass graves abound, and

violence against women has reached unprecedented

levels. The country is trying to remedy the situation.

For that reason, we supported Security Council

resolution 1820 (2008) on women and peace and

security, and we thank the Secretary-General for

having placed the suffering of the women and girls of

the Congo high on his agenda and for the support he

has given us in that regard.

What we need most of all, however, and what the

people of the Congo ardently desire and which we are

duty-bound to guarantee to them is the right to justice.

That means neither more nor less than putting an end

to impunity. How can we prevent recidivism and

copycat offences if, thanks to political horse-trading,

criminals are not prosecuted? How can we put an end

to the rape of women and girls and other massive

violations of human rights if the warlords are exempt

from legal prosecution because of their military

strength or capacity for doing great harm? The logic of

civilized society is specifically intended to counter the

law of force with the force of the law.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we

have experienced the unique role that justice plays as a

factor for national harmony and reconciliation, peace,

security and stability. It is thanks to justice that we

have been able to bring lasting peace to Ituri and North

Katanga. It is with the support of justice that we intend

to restore peace throughout our country. It will be

national justice preferably, international justice if

necessary, but justice in any case is a fundamental

requirement. It is in that context that we must place

efforts to rehabilitate the national judicial system, and

it is in the same framework that we are cooperating

with the International Criminal Court.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is also

doing its very best to meet the fundamental needs of its

people in the areas of healthcare, education, self-

sufficiency in food, basic infrastructure, electricity,

drinking water for all and, of course, efforts to

counteract HIV/AIDS, malaria and, above all poverty.

Five pillars have been established to that end. They

involve infrastructure, employment, housing, education

and health, and water and electricity. The complexity

of those areas in a country as large as ours justifies the

scope of the contributions we seek. The Democratic

Republic of the Congo is therefore open to any partner

that can help us meet the challenges of reconstruction

and development.

All peoples of the world aspire to peace; hence

the need for international and regional mechanisms and

instruments for peacekeeping and conflict prevention

and settlement. Therefore, the Democratic Republic of

the Congo welcomes the fact that the Secretary-

General has accepted our request to establish a United

Nations Peacebuilding Office for Central Africa. We

are convinced that the Office will promote greater

closeness and coordination between the United Nations

and the countries of the region. The issues of peace,

security, humanitarian aid and development will be

considered expeditiously and treated with the urgency

that they merit.

In more global terms, we continue to support the

efforts of the Organization in its various efforts to

promote peace, security, human rights, gender equality

and development. In that context, we call for

accelerated reform of the United Nations and the

Security Council, because achieving our dreams in the

face of current and future challenges depends on it. The

United Nations must change and adapt itself to meeting

the new challenges of armed conflict, globalization, the

lack of financial resources adequate to the breadth of

its missions, pandemics, terrorism, and the need to

buttress the system of collective security, particularly

by enlarging the number of decision-makers in terms of

international peace and security and by ensuring a

more balanced and fair representation of the world in

the Security Council. That is an indispensable

democratic requirement for the proper and effective

47 08-53141

functioning of the United Nations system. In that

regard, the African continent should be represented as a

permanent member of the Security Council.

Furthermore, the need for Security Council

reform should not obscure the need to review other

bodies of the United Nations system, particularly the

Economic and Social Council and the Secretariat. The

same applies to the working methods of the other

councils and the International Court of Justice, which

need to be revised, while their interaction with bodies

yet to be created must be better identified and

delineated. Similarly, efforts to revitalize the work of

the General Assembly should continue and its authority

strengthened in order to allow its President to play a

key role in finding solutions to international problems.

It is said that nature only poses threats to

humankind that its creativity is capable of addressing.

Despite our differences, the time has come to put our

individual imaginations together to ensure that the keys

of the global economy are not left to out-and-out

capitalism. We should instead use the universal values

of justice, solidarity and altruism to promote peace and

international security. We believe that, together, we can

provide a better future for humanity so long as we

work every day to achieve the ideals of our universal

organization.

I wish every success to this sixty-third session of

the General Assembly.