Algeria, 2012

I would

like to take this opportunity to warmly congratulate

President Vuk Jeremić on his election to the presidency

of the Assembly at its sixty-seventh session. I also

pay tribute to his predecessor, Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz

Al-Nasser, for his efforts during his tenure. I would

also like to commend the continuing commitment and

efforts of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Today our world faces a complex turning point in

its history, replete with challenges and opportunities.

The deep geopolitical upheavals in our region and the

serious problems resulting from the economic and

financial crisis attest to that.

We believe that our collective faith in multilateralism

will help us to unite our efforts to find solutions and

overcome the persistent uncertainty that has resulted

from those changes. The unprecedented extent of our

problems may risk worsening the existing imbalances

in relations among nations. All of us, without exception,

bear a responsibility for the future of our planet, which

we would like to be more just and more united.

No country has been spared the consequences

of the global crisis, and their management cannot be

considered by only a small number of States acting to the exclusion of the rest. Quite the contrary, we all

have the right to participate in finding solutions. The

slowdown in the world’s economy negatively affects

many countries, including those of the developed

world, which are facing a sovereign debt crisis and

increasing unemployment. Therefore, further efforts

are called for to prevent such situations from spilling

over to other regions of the world, in particular to

Africa. The response to the challenges of the crisis rests

with our capacity to find alternatives to the theories

and practices of the past, because the new realities of

our times require urgent implementation of appropriate

and more effective approaches and mechanisms for

addressing the crisis.

As in previous years, we continue to suffer from

the effects of the multidimensional crisis, whether in

economic governance or in political coordination. In

fact, the return of trust and growth should lead us to

step up our efforts to coordinate between the United

Nations and multilateral institutions in the economic

and financial fields. The United Nations and the Bretton

Woods institutions should complement each other and

act in complete political and economic coordination

and harmony.

As far as we are concerned, Algeria has shouldered

its share of responsibility. It has made enormous

sacrifices and continues to rigorously control and

manage its expenditures. The fiscal surplus that we

have achieved has allowed us to adopt a revived social

policy under our five-year plan 2010-2014 that involves

redistributing wealth while maintaining investments

for economic growth.

Algeria has always called for combating the

causes and not just the consequences of instability. We

have insisted on the important fact that development

and peace and security are interrelated, and that the

strategies of the United Nations and, in particular, the

Security Council, for lasting peace must be thought of

in harmony with socioeconomic development policies.

In that regard, at the regional level, Algeria is

contributing to the process of democratization and

the promotion of the rule of law and socioeconomic

development. The fight against hunger and poverty,

the protection of food security, agriculture, growth,

infrastructure, energy and renewable energy are areas

in which we cooperate with countries of the Maghreb

and the Sahel. Along the same lines, Algeria is sharing

with African and Arab countries and with its other

partners its experience in the area of fighting terrorism and the interrelated scourges of organized crime and

illicit trafficking in drugs and weapons, which are

widespread our region.

Algeria welcomes the recent changes in some

countries of North Africa and the Middle East that

reflected the will of their peoples, who are searching

for a democratic ideal, justice and dignity. Those are, in

fact, the founding principles of the Algerian revolution.

Committed to the principle of self-determination of

peoples and mutual respect among nations, Algeria

condemns all forms of violence and repression,

wherever they arise. We will continue to believe that

dialogue and negotiation are the best means for settling

disputes.

Algeria hopes that the people of Western Sahara

will exercise their right to self-determination. We

urge Morocco and the Frente Polisario to act in good

faith and initiate formal talks, under the auspices of

the United Nations, with a view to reaching a just and

lasting solution, pursuant to the norms and provisions

of international law.

The search for peace, security and development is

a priority for us all. That commitment was formally

reaffirmed by the countries of the Non-Aligned

Movement, including Algeria, at the Movement’s

sixteenth summit, held in Tehran last August.

We support the commitment of the United Nations

to conflict prevention through its unf lagging diplomatic

efforts, and we appreciate our Organization’s role in

promoting appropriate solutions to major crises within

the context of its tireless and comprehensive efforts to

bring about development.

Algeria is a member of the special joint committee

of the United Nations and the League of Arab States

to monitor the Syrian crisis. We supported Mr. Kofi

Annan and we will do the same with his successor,

Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, with a view to reaching a

political solution to the acute crisis that is unfolding

within that fraternal country.

In our region today, we are facing new risks and

threats that point to a return of terrorism in its more

violent manifestations, along with its interrelated

scourges of organized crime and trafficking in drugs

and weapons. It is in that context that we have to

consider the complex situation in brotherly Mali. That

crisis seriously threatens the security of the countries of

the Sahel. In fact the deep, root causes of the situation

can be attributed to the ills of severe underdevelopment and abject poverty. Algeria acts in concert with the

African Union, the Economic Community of West

African States and other regional actors concerned with

a view to reaching a peaceful and lasting settlement of

the crisis in Mali.

The roles played by the General Assembly and

the Security Council are essential for the preservation

and building of peace throughout the world and for

the realization of the principles and purposes of the

United Nations Charter in the areas of international

cooperation and development. Moreover, the missions

of those two principal and complementary organs are

based on legitimacy, contrary to the deadlock in the

reform process that began years ago. We must therefore

do everything possible to ensure that the General

Assembly, the most representative organ of the United

Nations, reclaims all its competence in that context.

The working methods and membership of the Security

Council must be revised to ensure its democratization in

terms of new permanent and non-permanent members

from the developing world, in particular from Africa,

the cradle of civilization.

Algeria is proud to celebrate this year the fiftieth

anniversary of its independence and of its membership

of the United Nations. Faithful to its principles,

Algeria has made a wise contribution to the complete

decolonization of Africa. Today it enjoys peace with

its neighbours with a view to completing the process

of regional integration. Algeria would like to become

a member of the Human Rights Council, for which

it is a candidate for the period 2014-2016, in order to

continue defending the values on which its history and

its determination to overcome adversity is based.

Everyone knows that the road of human rights

is littered with many pitfalls and obstacles, such as

authoritarianism, xenophobia, poverty, discrimination

and unilateral economic sanctions. In that regard, the

embargo on Cuba, which has lasted for more than half a

century and has created deprivation, is both unfair and

anachronistic.

Furthermore, attacks on Islam and Muslims are

a violation of human rights and a threat to peaceful

coexistence among peoples. We should all fight against

the phenomenon of Islamophobia, which is based on a

xenophobic ideology that erroneously likens Islam to

terrorism. That phenomenon must be fought. In that

context, the tragic events engendered by the infamous

video concerning Islam and its Prophet are reprehensible

in many respects. Similary, Algeria condemns acts of violence perpetrated against diplomatic officers and

missions, which are vehicles for friendly relations

and cooperation among peoples. Algeria proposes an

initiative under the auspices of the United Nations to

identify the ways and means to organize a response

that puts an end to such hateful events, which threaten

international peace and security. In that regard, we

cannot forget that the appropriate and responsible use

of freedom of expression should also endow our world

with a more human and brotherly face through the

promotion of dialogue among religions and cultures.

At the sixty-seventh session of the General

Assembly, Algeria would like to welcome the State

of Palestine as a new Member of the United Nations

family, recognized within its 1967 borders, with

Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. We believe that the

time has come for Palestine to be fully represented at

the centre of this irreplaceable international forum, the

United Nations. Recognition of the legitimate rights

of the Palestinian people to sovereignty and self-

determination is an inalienable right and a necessary

precondition for a just and lasting peace in the Middle

East, which is currently being prevented by the Israeli

policy of occupation.

In addition, the creation of a zone free of weapons

of mass destruction in the Middle East is an important

confidence-building measure. In that regard, we support

the efforts of the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign

Affairs of Finland, Jaakko Laajava, as facilitator for

the conference on the establishment of a Middle East

zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of

mass destruction, to be held before the end of this year

in Helsinki.

Algeria is committed to a global and ambitious

agreement to protect the environment and promote

sustainable development. In that regard, we are grateful

to the Group of 77 and China, which we have the honour

to preside over this year, for its constant support and

cooperation, which has made it possible to achieve the

results of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable

Development, the strengthening of the Nairobi

Work Programme and the preparations for the next

conferences on climate change and biodiversity. Algeria

urges Member States to shoulder their responsibilities

in implementing the commitments entered into under

the concept of common but differentiated responsibility,

that is, namely, the financing of the transfer of know-

how, technology and capacity-building in the area of

sustainable development. The President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelaziz

Boutef lika, has given new impetus to the programme of

reforms aimed at strengthening the democratic process,

the rule of law and the advancement of women. The

legislative elections of 10 May 2012 yielded a significant

increase in women’s representation, with 146 women

Members of Parliament, representing one third of the

Lower Chamber.

Our country has made tangible progress in the

political, economic and social areas, and we continue

our efforts to establish and consolidate our democratic

freedoms based on the principle of equal opportunity

embodied in our Constitution. Those steps have enabled

our country to achieve in general the Millennium

Development Goals prior to 2015. That led to Algeria

being chosen as one of the 50 countries selected by the

United Nations for consultations on the Millennium

Development Goals and the post-2015 development

agenda.

In conclusion, I thank members for their attention

and wish them every success in the work of our session.