Republic of the Congo, 2004

The

election of Mr. Jean Ping to the presidency of the

General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session does honour

to our continent, to our subregion of Central Africa and

to his country, Gabon. I congratulate him sincerely on

behalf of my delegation. We are familiar with Mr.

Ping’s high sense of duty, his selfless dedication to his

work and his great skill, and we have no doubt that —

like his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Julian Hunte

of Saint Lucia — he will spare no effort to meet our

expectations.

To the Secretary-General we say how much we

appreciate his initiatives and his tireless efforts to

make the Organization more effective.

At the Millennium Summit, Member States made

solemn and very important commitments. Today,

despite the fact that some progress has been made in

implementing the Millennium Development Goals, the

situation remains troubling. The assessment of the

implementation of the Goals scheduled for 2005 is thus

of particular importance. Here, we support all

initiatives that would give fresh impetus to

international cooperation to combat poverty and

hunger. I am thinking in particular of the initiative of

His Excellency President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of

the Federative Republic of Brazil, which rightly

focuses on the Millennium Development Goals and on

the Monterrey Consensus. The African Union’s

Extraordinary Summit on Employment and Poverty

Alleviation in Africa, held on 8 and 9 September in

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, was also intended to

address those concerns.

In spite of all the problems that have hobbled the

Doha round of multilateral trade negotiations, the

resumption of negotiations this summer in Geneva

gives us some reason to hope for the establishment of

equitable rules of international trade. We continue to

hope for greater equity and solidarity among poor and

rich nations with a view to achieving globalization that

is fair. We therefore support the recommendations of

the World Commission on the Social Dimension of

Globalization.

To meet the Millennium Development Goals, we

also need peace and security — which, unfortunately,

are lacking in a number of regions. The situation in the

Middle East continues to concern us. Peace, that

fundamental aspiration, remains beyond the grasp of

46

the peoples of the region; it is our joint responsibility

to put in place the conditions for lasting peace.

In Africa, the attention of the international

community remains focused on the too-great number of

crises. To be sure, we can be pleased at recent

developments in the situation in Côte d’Ivoire,

following the Accra III summit, but we must continue

to work to make the process irreversible.

In the Sudan, the Darfur crisis continues to be of

great concern, in both its humanitarian and its political

dimensions. A greater mobilization by the international

community is required to support the efforts of the

African Union. The objective is to avoid a disaster and

to ensure peace for the people of the Sudan.

In our subregion of Central Africa, we were

pleased with the positive outcome on 12 July 2004 of

the national forum held in Sao Tome and Principe,

scheduled under the Memorandum of Understanding,

dated 23 July 2003, and concluded under the auspices

of the Economic Community of Central African States,

the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, the

African Union, the United States of America and

Nigeria.

In the Central African Republic, where there is

still a peacekeeping force of the Central African

Economic and Monetary Community, supported

logistically by France, our hope is to see the

democratic process move forward and proceed to the

general elections which are scheduled for 2005.

We welcome the efforts of the international

community in Burundi — in particular, the South

African mediation — for the results achieved to date.

We call upon the political leaders of that country to

remain focused on the national interests. Unity and

development in Burundi depend on that.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

political life in the eastern part of the country in

particular has recently been marked by a number of

grave events such as the Ituri crisis, the Bukavu

rebellion and the Gatumba massacres. We renew our

support for the global and inclusive agreement, as well

as for the institutions for transition.

We call on the international community to

continue to pay all the attention required to that

country, and we support all initiatives that would

increase troop strength and the means of action of the

United Nations Organization Mission in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is in that context

that we are pleased with today’s signature of the terms

of reference of the joint oversight mechanism between

the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.

That overview of the political situation in our

subregion, which includes a number of countries in

post-conflict situations, fully justifies the request of

Central Africa to have a United Nations office. We are

pleased with the existence of the United Nations

Standing Advisory Committee on Questions of

Security in Central Africa and, in particular, the work

given to that Committee. We wish to continue to have

the input of the Committee in its relations with the

competent bodies of the subregion, in light of what is

at stake.

Similarly, we expect implementation of the

conclusions of the multifaceted mission that was

dispatched to Central Africa in June 2003 by the

Secretary-General. We appreciate those conclusions as

being very relevant, especially those establishing

programmes for disarmament, demobilization and

reintegration to help consolidate the peace processes

taking place; helping to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS;

stopping the circulation of small arms and light

weapons; protecting the environment and creating

conditions for development in Central Africa.

In order to meet all of the challenges and to

establish all the conditions required for stability, we are

placing our hopes on the international conference for

peace, security, democracy and development in the

Great Lakes region, preparations for which are already

under way. That conference will undoubtedly be an

excellent opportunity to search for lasting solutions to

the recurrent crises that cause bloodshed in the region.

I reiterate my country’s willingness to make its

contribution to that process.

As you know, the Republic of the Congo is

among the countries in our subregion which is in a

post-conflict situation. Under the leadership of

President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, Congo is

endeavouring at the same time, to consolidate peace

and to re-establish a comprehensive macroeconomic

equilibrium.

Among our current priorities, the question of

disarmament, demobilization and reintegration

continues to be very important. Our national

programme concerning those issues will, for the 2004-

2006 period, involve more than 40,000 ex-combatants.

47

The efforts of the Government, which are supported —

and we appreciate that support — by the European

Union, the United Nations Development Programme

and the World Bank, will be continued. We would also

appreciate any other contribution that would help the

Congolese Government resolve that thorny issue.

Additionally, Congo, in hoping to benefit from

the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative, is

very sensitive to the decisions taken in Paris on 9 and

14 September 2004, respectively, by the Paris Club and

the donors. Here I reiterate the appreciation of my

Government for those efforts. Congo’s eligibility for

that Initiative will undoubtedly allow us to allocate a

majority of our resources for development and

therefore to follow up with what was contained in our

Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, which we expect

will be validated by the International Monetary Fund

and the World Bank.

That would help us succeed in our efforts, within

our national plan, concerning good governance and

transparency in the management of our national affairs.

Therefore, in following up on those various objectives,

our country has joined the African Peer Review

Mechanism under the New Partnership for Africa’s

Development and we have signed on to the Extractive

Industries Transparency Initiative.

Concerning the environment, we are involved in a

partnership with the international community

concerning the Congo Basin Initiative. Brazzaville will

shortly host a summit that will consider plans to

conserve the forests of this world heritage area. We

therefore welcome the support given to that plan by

France, the United Nations, the European Union, the

United States, Germany, South Africa and a number of

non-governmental organizations.

Congo reiterates its support for multilateralism.

We remain convinced that the United Nations is the

ideal framework for meeting the challenges that face

the world. But the world has changed. New challenges

are before us that require reforms that will allow the

United Nations to adapt itself to current missions and

the global configuration of the twenty-first century.

We therefore welcome the reform process

undertaken by the Secretary-General and are truly

hopeful regarding the recommendations of the high-

level panel which was set up to examine the principle

threats and challenges to collective peace and security

and to make proposals with respect to reform of the

international system.

Among the reforms expected, we firmly support

the idea of enlarging the Security Council in its two

components, namely, permanent and non-permanent

members. We must take into account — among other

things — the diversity of today’s world in order to

highlight the criteria of geographical representation

and of responsibility in the management of worldwide

affairs, without ever sacrificing effectiveness,

cohesion, transparency or credibility.

As was stated by the Secretary-General of the

United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, in his statement to

the General Assembly at the 3rd meeting, on

21 September, “today, more than ever, the world needs

an effective mechanism through which to seek common

solutions to common problems.” In order do this, we

must not only act together in complying with the rules

that we ourselves have implemented, but we must also

comply with the commitments we have made.