Gabon, 2002

Gabon is

pleased to see Mr. Kavan presiding over the work of

the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly,

which is being held at a time when the need to

strengthen international cooperation to resolve the

world's problems is indeed vital. His election is a

recognition by the international community of the role

that his country, the Czech Republic, plays in the

promotion of freedom and peace.

To his predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-soo, we

express our satisfaction at the excellent job he did as

President of the General Assembly at the previous

session.

To Secretary-General Kofi Annan, we convey our

gratitude and support for his forceful work on behalf of

international peace and security.

Gabon welcomes the admission of the Swiss

Confederation and the imminent accession of the

Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to membership of

the United Nations. They swell the ranks of our

illustrious United Nations family, confirming its

universality.

I should like to pursue my statement by evoking

the metaphor of the river. Each wave lapping the banks

has its own character, but they all call from the same

river. They express multiplicity in consistency. The

same can be said of our annual sessions. This session is

a new wave in the mighty river of the United Nations, a

new cycle in the global rhythm of the world. Today,

many of us feel hope tinged with scepticism.

Two years ago, in September 2000, we held the

Millennium Summit in this very Hall. It was certainly

the point of departure of a new global movement

towards more peace, prosperity, justice and humanism.

At the very moment when we imagined ourselves to

have taken a great step forward towards the building of

a better world for all, we were stunned on 11

September 2001 by the ghastly terrorist attacks

perpetrated here on American soil. Those attacks of

violence, which we all condemned, eclipsed our

dreams and reminded us of the beast lurking within

each of us.

Gabon was one of the very first nations to commit

itself to implementing the provisions of Security

Council resolution 1373 (2001) by taking legal action

to prevent and combat terrorism. Although significant,

progress made since then under the auspices of the

Security Council in the campaign against international

terrorism needs to be strengthened. That is why

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negotiations on a draft general convention on

international terrorism must go on with a view to its

speedy adoption. In the same spirit, the conclusion of

ongoing discussions on a convention on the

suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism will

supplement the international anti-terrorism legal

framework.

The cloud of uncertainty looming over our

collective security is darkened by the Israel-Palestinian

crisis. It is regrettable to note that renewed violence in

the Middle East is calling all previous efforts into

question. The international community must mobilize

to rekindle the flame of peace in that region, which has

been beset by ceaseless violence for decades. Gabon

encourages both sides to resume dialogue and

negotiation with a view to implementing the relevant

resolutions of the Security Council, in particular

resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), which stress the

need for the coexistence of the Palestinian State with

the State of Israel, with respect for secure and

internationally recognized borders.

Similarly, Gabon hopes that the current talks

between the two Koreas will help allay tensions

between the two countries.

Positive developments in the overall situation in

Africa attest to the continent's gradual return to the

path of peace, stability and unity. Fratricidal conflicts

are increasingly giving way to the emergence of an

African awareness marked by the determination to see

the ideals of peace prevail and to devote ourselves to

development. This wave of hope has been justified by

recent developments, particularly in the Great Lakes

region. We are convinced that this progress will give

impetus to the peace process in that region.

Accordingly, we believe that it is time to convene an

international conference on the region in order to

consolidate peace there.

However, the progress that has been made in

resolving conflicts in Africa should not blind us to the

situations in Angola, Liberia, the Central African

Republic and Guinea-Bissau, which, having been

destabilized by years of conflict, are now facing

enormous difficulties, particularly in the humanitarian

area, in restoring domestic peace and security. The

international community must lend its support to the

economic and social recovery efforts of those countries

so as to prevent them from being caught up yet again in

the spiral of violence.

The world's economic and social situation is

disquieting. The commitments that we undertook at the

Millennium Summit, and which were reiterated at the

Monterrey International Conference on Financing for

Development, have yet to bear fruit. Globalization,

which we thought would permit the harmonious

integration of all countries into the international

community through the process of trade liberalization,

has not yet attained the hoped-for results. On the

contrary, we see that there has been an increase in

social inequality and a widening gap between

industrialized and developing countries.

Efforts by developing countries, particularly in

the areas of consolidating democracy, the rule of law,

good governance, the fight against poverty and the

rational protection and management of the

environment, are still not being matched by the

developed countries, as attested to by the continued

diminution of external resources for development and

the drop in foreign investment. One must add to that

the growth of conditionalities and other barriers that

could keep those countries in a state of permanent

economic and social stagnation.

Among the elements contributing to that state of

affairs is the heavy burden of debt. In fact, several

developing countries, including Gabon, devote almost

half of their budgetary resources to repayment of debt,

while at the same time they must find solutions to the

many problems that inhibit their development. We have

the firm conviction that, by reducing the indebtedness

of our countries to a sustainable level, we can allocate

more resources to priorities such as universal education

and health, housing, poverty reduction and

environmental management. We hope that the promise

made by the World Bank and the International

Monetary Fund to extend the current debt relief

mechanisms to other developing countries — including

those with intermediate incomes, such as Gabon —

will quickly become reality.

In order to respond to those concerns, Africa has

established the New Partnership for Africa's

Development (NEPAD). NEPAD is a true development

programme based on good governance, respect for

human rights and the strengthening of democracy,

peace and security, which are preconditions for the

economic recovery of the continent. That programme

calls on the international community for effective

support. Members can easily understand why the

African countries place much hope in the debate that

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the General Assembly will devote to NEPAD

tomorrow, 16 September, in which the President of

Gabon will take part.

Malaria and, above all, HIV/AIDS are major

obstacles to Africa's development that could ultimately

deprive the continent of much of its human potential.

We are pleased that the First Ladies of Africa have

understood the gravity of this problem by creating, in

partnership with the Joint United Nations Programme

on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), an organization to combat

malaria and the HIV/AIDS pandemic, called the

Organization of the First Ladies of Africa against HIV/

AIDS. We are convinced that this new

structure — headed by the First Lady of Gabon,

Ms. Edith Lucie Bongo, whose self-sacrifice and

dynamism are well known — will complement the

efforts of African States in combating this scourge. We

also expect strong action from the international

community to accompany our efforts in the fight

against the pandemic.

The preservation of global ecosystems is another

subject of concern for the world. Only a few weeks

ago, heads of State or Government met at

Johannesburg, South Africa, for the World Summit on

Sustainable Development. Despite the momentum it

generated, the Summit did not reduce the risks that

weigh on our environment. We think that, in view of

the lack of progress in implementing the

recommendations of environmental conferences

organized over the past decade, it is becoming

increasingly urgent that States implement Agenda 21

and the other relevant international instruments.

Gabon, for its part, has just created a zone of

national parks that covers 10 per cent of our national

territory. Those protected areas are proof of our

contribution to the process of preserving global

ecological balance in general and to the management

and conservation of Africa's massive tropical forest in

particular. That is why we welcome the launching in

Johannesburg, by United States Secretary of State

Colin Powell, of the initiative to preserve the flora and

fauna of the countries of the Congo river basin.

Positive trends in the world can be guaranteed

only in an institutional environment bearing the seal of

universality. The United Nations, in our view,

embodies such an environment, where there must be

true multilateral cooperation, based on justice, equality,

solidarity and the participation of all. It is evident that,

in order to be a global centre for interaction and debate,

the United Nations needs reforms. Those reforms, for

which we have been calling for several years, are

unavoidable if we wish to see the continued existence

of the United Nations, whose membership has

increased constantly since its creation in 1945. Reform

of the Organization must be based on a reaffirmation of

the purposes and principles of the Charter, primary

among which are international peace and security.

The International Court of Justice, in a 1949

advisory opinion concerning certain expenditures of

the United Nations, stated that it was natural to give

top priority to international peace and security, because

the other purposes could not be attained unless that

fundamental condition were met. International peace

and security are the preconditions for development,

which in turn is a way to create the stability and well-

being that are necessary to guarantee peaceful and

friendly relations among nations.

The United Nations is the property of humanity. It

was born out of awareness of the horrors of the Second

World War, in which all peoples participated, including

Africans. We wish to see Africa play a more important

role in the Organization, particularly in the Security

Council, by being given at least one permanent seat

with the same privileges as the other members with the

same status. Furthermore, Africa has been recognized

by the United Nations as a top priority, and we are

convinced that the creation of a Secretariat office

concerned exclusively with African issues would

remedy the shortcomings we have seen in the

implementation of previous programmes devoted to

Africa, such as the United Nations Programme for the

Economic Redressing and Development of Africa and

the United Nations New Agenda for the Development

of Africa in the 1990s.

Our collective action for development will not be

truly effective unless we use dialogue and cooperation

as tools for global solidarity based on the promotion of

partnerships. Today or never, we must reaffirm that we

all belong to the one and only human race and define

the new contours of our collective destiny. We can thus

draw from our shared river, the United Nations, the

resources that will enable us to build, with hope and

confidence, a better world for everyone.