Cape Verde, 2005

I would like to express

congratulations and support to the President of the

General Assembly for having chosen as the theme of

our debate, “For a stronger and more effective United

Nations: follow-up to and implementation of decisions

made in the High-level Plenary Meeting of September

2005”.

Ten years before the target date, we are still faced

with doubts and questions about the actual

achievement of the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs), particularly in Africa. There are two

interconnected elements at the heart of this matter:

States’ development policies; and the effective

fulfilment of the commitments entered into by the

international community. I have no intention of

evaluating national policies, but it is clear that the

achievement of the MDGs will require far-reaching

adjustments in our national policies and increased

efforts to reorganize and manage our budgets.

Furthermore, the emergence of a new African

leadership, which is bringing us together again in our

commitment to promoting development, democracy,

peace and political stability, is an opportunity for the

international community to provide more consistent

support for the achievement of the Millennium

Development Goals.

Unfortunately, despite a great deal of discussion

about the MDGs, we are still falling short with regard

to the commitments undertaken, to the clear distress of

the populations afflicted by pandemics such as malaria,

tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, which is spreading at an

alarming rate.

As the head of State of Cape Verde said when

addressing the Assembly during the High-level Plenary

Meeting last week (see A/60/PV.5), achieving the

Millennium Goals and building a freer world based on

higher levels of well-being, tolerance, peace and

security are within reach for humankind.

In order to achieve our goal, we need political

will, not just statements about political will or pious

expressions of hope for development. It is the

responsibility of the General Assembly at this session

to ensure that the summit outcome (resolution 60/1) is

effectively implemented. However, there can be no

doubt that the implementation of the outcome will be a

test of the policies that have been set out, as well as of

the negotiating skills of Member States, as we strive to

achieve a better balance on international relations,

further the democratization of international governance

and strengthen peace and security at the regional and

national levels. We must redouble our efforts this year.

In the context of the reforms proposed by the

Secretary-General, Cape Verde has been chosen to host

the joint office initiative, with the participation of

United Nations programmes and agencies in the field.

May I once again reiterate my Government’s support

for this initiative, while at the same time emphasizing

the absolute need for there to be adequate preparation

for this experiment, as well as internal adjustments

consistent with the option of joint representation. We

are convinced that the joint office initiative will make

it possible to concentrate resources more effectively on

priority challenges and the substantive aspects of

development.

On 5 July 2005, the Republic of Cape Verde

celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of its independence;

these 30 years have been marked by considerable

sacrifice and effort in a country without natural

resources. Throughout this period, fortunately, all the

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development indicators have shown upward movement.

Under a resolution adopted by the General Assembly in

December 2004, Cape Verde has made sufficient

progress to be no longer included in the list of least

developed countries. This “graduation” is an explicit

recognition of the work done by the people of Cape

Verde; and, undoubtedly, it is also the result of the

international aid provided by various partners.

Therefore, I should like to take this opportunity to

express to all of Cape Verde’s development partners,

both present and absent in this Hall, our profound

gratitude for the solidarity thus extended to us.

At the risk of repeating myself, I should like to

recall the following points. The “graduation” of Cape

Verde is a result of the fact that the country satisfied

two of the three established criteria. I am referring to

the per capita income per inhabitant and the human

development index. The failure to identify the third

criterion, that of economic vulnerability, which is by

far the most important one, illustrates the kind of

fragile situations that can be experienced by a small

island country that is permanently afflicted by drought

and external shocks, of which the increase in oil prices

is a very illustrative example.

For success to be meaningful over the medium

and long term, “graduation” should be accompanied by

the appropriate measures needed to ensure continuity

of the development process. It is of fundamental

importance to define the goals, their duration and the

practical modalities for this transition, and it should be

done as quickly as possible. What has been achieved

by Cape Verde, thanks to the judicious management of

foreign aid, cannot obscure major structural

vulnerabilities. Parenthetically, I would like to reiterate

once again an appeal to the international community to

give particular attention to the specific problems of

development in small island States.

We are convinced that, when Cape Verde leaves

the group of least developed countries in January 2008,

we will have agreed upon a common frame of

reference, together with our development partners, one

that is based on General Assembly resolution 59/209

and is in step with the spirit of smooth transition,

where emphasis will be placed on questions of trade,

financing for development, including modalities and

more effective and innovative instruments that fit the

needs for accelerated economic growth of a

“graduated” but vulnerable country.

We continue to be convinced that the

development target we share with our partners must not

lead to our being penalized for good governance and a

positive development dynamic. For our part, we will

continue to rely on the solidarity of our partners,

including the United Nations.

Regarding financing for development and the

urgent need to adjust the practices and instruments of

aid to the requirements of achieving the MDGs, I

should like to comment on the decision taken by the

Group of 8 to eliminate external debt. The Government

of Cape Verde is delighted at the Gleneagles decision

to forgive the external debt of 18 countries, mostly

African ones. This is a shot of oxygen for the

development process of the recipient countries.

That having been said, however, the Government

of Cape Verde believes that we will need to analyse the

problem further in order to ensure that solutions are

integrated effectively into the international agenda. On

the one hand, the situation of poor countries, which are

deeply indebted, requires an increase in solidarity. On

the other hand, we also believe that some gesture

should be made towards the medium-income countries,

particularly those that are bereft of natural resources

and only slightly indebted and who, at the same time,

honour their debt servicing in a structural framework

that is marked by budgetary constraints. Otherwise, the

message underlying the decision to pardon the debt

will be extremely ambiguous and could lend itself to

various interpretations.

I would like to end with what one normally starts

with, and that is by congratulating the President on his

election to lead the sixtieth session of the General

Assembly. My congratulations are equally extended to

Sweden, his country, which has always given

invaluable assistance promoting the self-determination

of peoples, world peace and development. I would also

like to express my gratitude to his predecessor,

Minister of State Jean Ping, for the competent and wise

discharge of his functions during a period of intense

and difficult negotiations.

May I finally address our gratitude,

encouragement and confidence to the Secretary-

General, Mr. Kofi Annan. His vision of the future of

the world and of the United Nations deserves to be

supported by us all, so that our Organization, which

belongs to all of us, can respond to the growing and

complex challenges of the current world.