Republic of the Congo, 2006

Madam,

your election to the presidency of the General

Assembly at its sixty-first session is the sign of a

favourable turn of events in the world. I congratulate

you and I welcome you not only as an experienced

diplomat, with established skills and qualifications, but

also as a great advocate of human rights. I wish also to

commend, through you, your country, the State of

Bahrain, for its tremendous contribution to the

promotion of the values of peace, freedom and

equality.

I should like also to express our deepest gratitude

to Mr. Jan Eliasson for the wisdom and competence

with which he guided the previous session. He

deserves plaudits for having led to a successful

outcome the difficult negotiations on the establishment

of the Human Rights Council and of the Peacebuilding

Commission. I would also like to congratulate a great

son of Africa, a friend and brother, Mr. Kofi Annan, for

his work as Secretary-General. His outstanding work

was recognized at the seventh session of the

Conference of the African Union held last July at

Banjul and was given a moving and memorable tribute

that I would like to reiterate here. Mr. Secretary-

General, the world is grateful to you; Africa is proud of

you. Furthermore, I would like to welcome

Montenegro as a Member State, whose admission

reinforces the universal character of our Organization.

We wish that country a warm welcome.

This session opens at a time when the overall

situation in the world is becoming more and more

complex with reasons for concern and reasons for

hope. It is our responsibility to ensure through

multilateralism that hope overcomes fear and that the

world becomes safer for future generations. We must

reaffirm our faith in multilateralism, because the many

challenges of our time must be confronted collectively;

no State can deal with them alone. The same is true for

the environment, terrorism, drug trafficking etc. Since

its creation, the United Nations has never slackened in

the search for ways and means to assume its

responsibilities.

But today more than ever, it is necessary to

encourage the search for collective solutions for the

many sorts of phenomena that weaken global peace.

Today more than ever, we must join our energies to

build a world in which human beings can live where

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they wish in dignity, safe from need and fear. That is

the purpose of our joint activities.

In order to eradicate armed violence, we must

work for peace through the prevention and settlement

of conflicts. The situation in the Middle East continues

to be a serious threat to international peace and

security. It is urgent that a just, lasting and

comprehensive solution be found to this conflict that is

ravaging this region. We need a solution based on the

agreed proposals, such as the Road Map and the

relevant resolutions of our Organization. The role of

the Quartet in this respect is crucial. The cessation of

hostilities, after one month of pointless violence in

Lebanon, must be consolidated in order to achieve a

lasting ceasefire.

As for Africa, positive advances have been made

in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the

holding of general elections. Every effort must be

made to ensure the successful conclusion of the

electoral process, namely the second round of the

presidential elections. The fact that we are now

speaking of peacebuilding in Burundi, Liberia and

Sierra Leone is not only a reason for satisfaction but

also a reason for hope for other countries still in a state

of conflict. At the same time, in many other situations,

such as those in Côte d’Ivoire, the Sudan or in

Somalia, the search for the way to solve those conflicts

is still on the agenda. We wish to develop a natural

partnership between our regional organization, the

African Union, and the United Nations in managing

these crises in accordance with the provisions of

Chapter VII of the Charter. This is the case in Côte

d’Ivoire with the creation of an international working

group.

By deciding to hold the meeting of its Peace and

Security Council on Darfur here in New York City, the

African Union has reiterated its willingness to consider

all constructive proposals regarding this conflict. The

African Union’s unflagging efforts to ensure peace in

Darfur has never been in question. The seriousness of

the situation in this region of the Sudan calls for more

energetic and more effective action. We solemnly call

on the Government of the Sudan to make a full

assessment of the tragedy that is taking place before

our eyes.

In the case of Somalia, we appeal to the

international community to provide its support to

efforts to re-establish peace and reconciliation in

Somalia. The international community must not lose

patience faced with the meagre results in the search for

peace in several of the African conflicts. The

international community must provide strong support

for the efforts undertaken at many levels with, of

course, the agreement of the countries concerned. As

the current chair of the African Union, we promise to

work fully to promote peace and security on the

continent.

I do not wish to end my statement on this subject

without recognizing the courage of peacekeepers

throughout the world, especially in Africa. Our

gratitude also goes out to the civil society and

humanitarian organizations that work courageously and

with dedication to relieve the suffering of people.

One of the major challenges that I mentioned

earlier is that of development. The international

community dealt especially with this question during

the Millennium Summit by establishing the

Millennium Development Goals to be achieved before

2015. The assessment that we conducted last year

revealed serious weaknesses. It was clearly apparent

that resources were lacking and that it was essential to

look for new sources of financing.

Also, we must give due credit to the initial

responses to the appeal launched here a few months

ago during the High-Level meeting held on eradicating

HIV/AIDS, within the framework of our commitment

to achieve universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention,

treatment and care by 2010.

We welcome the International Drug Purchase

Facility (UNITAID) initiative launched by the French

Government to mobilize resources derived from the

taxation of airplane tickets. Congo, among other

countries, has joined this initiative. This effort is in

line with the Abuja Declaration and Framework for

Action for the Fight Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis

and Other Related Infectious Diseases. It is also in line

with the Brazzaville Commitment, which presents the

common African position. The African Union summit

also declared a state of emergency in Africa with

regard to those diseases.

In discussing the issue of migration and

development a few days ago in this Hall, the United

Nations took a look at an area of involvement that has

not been sufficiently studied, specifically that of

individuals and other entities — business and

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economic institutions — in bringing people together

and sharing the common goods of our planet.

The African Union, meeting in Banjul, took this

opportunity to declare a common position that

emphasized the positive nature of the role that should

be played by migration if it is correctly integrated into

an approach to profitable development for the

receiving countries, as it is for the countries of origin

of the migrants.

Our Organization has launched a vast reform

programme, of which some results are already tangible.

A few moments ago, I talked about the establishment

of the Human Rights Council, as well as the

Peacebuilding Commission. Organizational reform

seeks to adapt our Organization to changes that have

occurred throughout the world over the past 60 years.

The African Union has made the reform of the

Security Council and the reinvigoration of the General

Assembly a major issue of concern. We must improve

the representative nature of the Security Council,

which is the true lynchpin of the entire institutional

architecture of the United Nations.

The African proposal for an equitable

enlargement of the membership of the Council

constitutes a fundamental pursuit, which cannot be

replaced by simple palliative measures. We also

believe that the Security Council must improve its

procedures and its working methods to lay the basis for

consensual work. On subjects as serious as counter-

terrorism or nuclear non-proliferation, seeking a

consensus must continually be pursued through

cooperation and dialogue. Between those who give

priority to compliance with the Treaty on the

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and those who,

rightly or wrongly, call for effective, concomitant

disarmament and the recognition of a universal right of

access to technologies in all areas, there is no doubt

much to be discussed, but this must be done in good

faith.

We must refrain from radicalizing our attitudes

by turning the discussion into a conflict of values or

civilizations, because, most often, the problem is really

only due to a lack of dialogue and communication.

All these problems and challenges prove, if even

there was a need to do so, the importance of the United

Nations. The United Nations is necessary because it is

the instrument of international relations; it is the

enzyme that can give us global peace and security; it

is, really, the conscience of mankind. The world would

not be what it is, without the United Nations.

Still, our Organization has not succeeded, in spite

of this confident affirmation of its role, in changing

with times to fulfil the deepest aspirations of nations

and peoples. We know that the United Nations can

achieve that goal if the nations that created it, nations

throughout the world, from the most powerful to the

most humble, were to give to the United Nations,

without hindrance or hypocrisy, the means that it needs

to serve humanity.

Africa, I can assure you, is prepared to do its part

in this highly anticipated debate.