Republic of the Congo, 1996

The delegation of the Republic of the Congo

wishes to express to the President its warmest

congratulations on his election to lead the fifty-first session

of the General Assembly.

My country is particularly pleased by this choice, as

it attests to the international community’s recognition of the

constant and active commitment of his country to ensuring

the triumph of the ideals of peace sought by the United

Nations. I have no doubt that under his guidance this

session will help humankind take new strides towards peace

and progress.

To his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Diogo Freitas

do Amaral, I would like to express our great appreciation

for all he did in spite of the trying international conditions,

which were continually complicated by human actions.

Finally, from this rostrum, my delegation wishes to

welcome the tremendous efforts of the Secretary-General,

Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali over the past five years. All his

work has contributed greatly to the specific efforts of

Member States to ensure that our universal institution is

better able to meet the many challenges of our times and

more likely to avail itself of the many opportunities of the

coming century to ensure that humanity will prosper.

The idea of humankind prospering leads me to wonder

whether such a phenomenon can become universal at a time

when, despite the efforts of the United Nations there are so

many differences between nations around the world, so

many contradictions and conflicting interests between rich

and poor countries and, in Africa in particular, between

those who wield political power and those who seek it,

frequently using armed force.

However, it must be emphasized that far from being

the by-product of a sombre period in the history of

humankind, the United Nations remains after more than half

a century, the best instrument for achieving and

consolidating peace, for the progress of humankind and for

preserving diversity around the globe. It also remains a

place of legal equality between nations and a crucible of

the ideals of humanism in which the interests and the

destinies of all continents and all peoples should be fused

but not confused.

This being said, the vision of the founding fathers of

the United Nations is yet to become a reality. This is

possible only if Member States are truly committed to

striving for such ideals. Is it Utopian for the increasingly

fragile nations to do this when they are trying to find

their own equilibrium? Unfortunately, it is very tempting

to say yes, as our world is increasingly divided between

those who have knowledge and wealth and those who are

sinking in ignorance, disease, war and poverty.

In saying this to this Assembly, I, who come from

a continent on the brink of oblivion, am not telling

anyone anything new. I beg the Assembly’s indulgence to

repeat the same prayer, the same cry of distress, already

voiced here, now and in the past, by our eminent

predecessors.

They have said many times, more eloquently than I

can, that Africa, 51 years later, is an ailing continent at

whose bedside the commonly held notion of international

solidarity should be translated into resolutions and quickly

followed by actions. The wealthiest countries will then

have helped thousands of human beings to join the

modern era through scientific and technological progress.

This is a major challenge that calls for foresight,

humanism and the mobilization of the richest countries if

our world is to be in a better position to deal peacefully

with the stakes of the future in the North and the South.

In this connection, the process of the democratization

and economic integration of Africa should be further

encouraged and supported by the international community.

This is the basis for liberating all the creative African

forces that used to be held in check by dictatorial regimes

that were not well disposed to fostering intellectual

development.

The end of dictatorial regimes in certain African

countries and the spread of the democratization process in

Africa does not automatically mean the establishment of

truly democratic institutions, as the democrats in countries

with democratic systems may have wished.

Caught between seeking its future and reconciling

the present with its past, Africa must, with universal

support, find modern institutional means of curbing the

political tension that frequently results from tribalistic or

13

clannish view of power, which in turn results in the civil

wars that so hamper the continent in its march towards

peace.

Seen in this way, democratic pluralism should be a

measure of our march towards progress and, at this stage,

make peace the stabilizing and constant factor of

democratic institutions. It should also, and above all, ensure

that peace is a decisive factor in human development in

Africa.

Our continent can no longer take democracy to mean

the mechanical imposition of some model of democratic

institutions while forgetting our historical baggage or giving

in to the temptation to undo with the stroke of a pen the

bases of our social and cultural values.

It was by seeking a true balance between peace and

democratic institutions that the President of the Republic of

the Congo was able to restore peace in our country after

two years of civil war, following the democratic elections

that brought him to power. By this same philosophy, having

integrated members of the major opposing political party

into the Government of the Republic, Mr. Pascal Lissouba

supports the idea of a necessary period of democratic

transition. This period is one of adapting the various

political actors to the needs of the democratic regime,

particularly to the principle of political change-over with

the preservation of our values based upon sharing, solidarity

and respect for authority.

We are convinced that an approach based on the

concept of participatory democracy will make it possible to

reduce the sources of conflict between those who have been

elected by the people and those who have lost in

democratic elections without affecting in the least the rules

of the democratic regime, particularly the principles of

equality, liberty and the right of the people to choose their

main leaders.

We think that African democracy, freed from the

dangers of political individualism, the temptations of power

for oneself and the torments of tribalism, even with the

legacy of political systems of the past, can become a factor

for pacification, a fairer distribution of the fruits of

collective efforts and social and economic progress.

In this vision, the present weakness of our political

systems can be regarded as a phase in the democratic

transition to a modern developed Africa only if the

international community fully realizes that democracy

cannot prosper in poor countries, where politics were for so

long the road to social success, without exposing our

citizens to the political games of those for whom the

advent of democracy and its attendant competitive

elections mean the end of the eminent position they enjoy

in society thanks to the exercise of political power. The

various civil wars that repeatedly cast a shadow over our

continent are sad testimony to this reality.

Therefore, assistance to promote economic

development in African countries that are committed to

the democratization of their institutions will result in the

emergence of new political classes that are protected from

need and that will be more likely to regard politics as a

means of governing a community of men and women

who are bound by a territory and a common destiny than

as the only means to get ahead in an economically poor

environment.

As the Assembly can imagine, the economic

development of Africa is a decisive factor for stability,

development, pacification and democratization. The

current world economic situation is clear evidence that

globalization is inevitable. However, globalization could

also have serious drawbacks if measures are not adopted

to rectify fundamental imbalances. Increased competition

means poor countries, particularly those in the sub-

Saharan region, will risk losing more market shares and

will be increasingly marginalized.

If it is first and foremost up to the African countries

to demonstrate that their marginalization is determined

only by fate and that their current situation is merely one

of those tragic aftermaths with which history has

frequently sprinkled the course of human events, then it

is also up to the international community as a whole, in

active solidarity, to make a special commitment to

supporting the efforts of the African countries to deal

with the challenges before them.

This is why I must emphasize the role of

international cooperation and, particularly, the importance

of official development assistance for our countries. This

assistance, important in principle, should be enhanced

with action, in accordance with commitments that were

entered into, in order to meet the needs of the poorest

populations and to make Governments better able to meet

their obligations. Unfortunately, the decrease in such aid

runs counter to this view.

My country is pleased to note the Secretary-

General’s Special Initiative to help Africa, which

reinforces the United Nations New Agenda for the

14

Development of Africa in the 1990s. The mid-term review

falls far short of our expectations, however. The Congo

supports the recommendations emerging from that

assessment and hopes that the international community will

do its utmost to respect its commitments towards Africa.

Earlier I mentioned the tragedies of the African

peoples caused by civil war. My country, the Congo, which

since March 1995 has presided over the Standing Advisory

Committee of the United Nations on Security Questions in

Central Africa, would like to say how pleased it is to note

that in Angola, as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the

parties are endeavouring to implement the peace agreements

and are thus enjoying the support of the international

community. We must welcome the efforts of the Economic

Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to settle the

Liberian conflict, and we are pleased to note the signing of

the new peace Agreement, which, in the light of current

political developments in that country, gives us reasons for

hope.

However, we are deeply concerned by the situation in

some other parts of the world. The recent, spiralling acts of

violence in the Middle East and the number of civilian

casualties have weighed heavily on the peace process. The

Republic of the Congo emphasizes the importance of an

early resumption of dialogue, with a view to continuing the

peace process in the Middle East.

The Republic of the Congo welcomes progress in

nuclear disarmament, particularly the opening for signature

last 24 September of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban

Treaty (CTBT). This historic act strengthens the extension

of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

(NPT) and will promote international relations based upon

peaceful coexistence and trust between States. This is the

course of action chosen by African countries in the

Pelindaba Treaty, which makes Africa a nuclear-free zone.

We must express our deep concern over the situations

in Africa in which peace is threatened daily, both within

national borders and between States. By establishing the

United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security

Questions in Central Africa, the General Assembly has

established a cooperative framework that will enable

11 States from Central Africa to engage in dialogue in

order to build confidence among themselves and establish

their own machinery to facilitate the prevention,

management and settlement of conflicts in the subregion.

The first summit of the Heads of State and Government,

held on 8 July 1996 in Yaoundé, Cameroon, led to the

signing of a non-aggression pact.

We want to express our sincere thanks to the

countries, particularly Japan, that have contributed to the

special trust fund to implement the Committee’s

programme. That fund made it possible to hold in

Yaoundé, under the auspices of the United Nations, a

seminar for training specialized units of peace operations.

I would also like to express the Committee’s thanks

to President Julius Nyerere for his role in finding a

peaceful solution to the Burundi crisis. The Government

of the Congo calls upon all parties to the conflict in

Burundi, a fraternal country and a member of the

Advisory Committee, to regain control of the situation

and to create through dialogue conditions for a return to

peace and national reconciliation.

Before concluding, I would like to mention some

recent developments in the economic and political

situation in my country. Since the National Forum for the

Culture of Peace organized with the support of United

Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO) in Brazzaville in December 1995 and the

signing of a peace pact among the various political

parties, we are more than ever determined to address the

most crucial issues before our country, namely,

consolidating peace and combating poverty.

At the initiative of His Excellency President Pascal

Lissouba, all the Congolese political forces have signed

a framework agreement on census-taking with a view to

prepare the second presidential election of our democratic

era. The recently appointed Government is endeavouring

to organize these elections in transparency, peace and

respect for deadlines. In order to meet its commitments

the Government of Congo will be able to count on the

United Nations, friendly countries and all those who

promote the consolidation of democracy in Africa.

The signing on 20 June of a strengthened structural

adjustment mechanism with the International Monetary

Fund ensures that our people will support an economic

and social recovery programme despite the many

sacrifices it will entail. These efforts will be pursued with

the same commitment in the hope that our country will

receive the support of the international community at the

round table of donor countries to be held at Geneva in

November.

Congo, freed from the burdens that have delayed its

development for so long and mortgaged its future, will

finally be able to offer its people the peace and progress

for which they have been waiting so long.