Guinea, 1992

Exactly 34 years

ago today Guinea attained independence. On this anniversary I am very happy

to convey to you. Sir, the warm greetings of the people of Guinea, its

Government and its President, General Lansana Conte.

Beyond its being simply a matter of tradition, I find it a very pleasant

duty to congratulate the President on his election. I am convinced that our

work will produce tangible -results, thanks to his personal experience and the

international prestige of his country.

I also wish to express to our President's predecessor, Mr. Samir Shihabi

of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with whom my delegation had the good fortune

to cooperate within the Bureau of the forty-sixth session, our appreciation

for the competence and dedication with which he conducted the work of that

session.

Mr. Perez de Cuellar also earned the high esteem of my Government for

having marked his two consecutive terms of office with effectiveness and

consensus.

Similarly, I pay tribute to our Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros-Ghali, for

his dynamism and the many initiatives he has taken since assuming office. His

report "An Agenda for Peace" is a source of valuable inspiration in the

maintenance and strengthening of international peace. The preventive

diplomacy he advocates in it should have the support of the international

community.

The Guinean Government warmly welcomes the admission of new Member

States, confirming once again the universality of our Organization's

principles.

Many events have occurred since our last session. Mankind is living

through an age of hope, but also one of uncertainty.

True, many promises are being made, but there does not appear to be a

sufficient awareness of dangers. Indeed, the new world architecture is taking

shape against a backdrop of persistent poverty and misery in the South, in

contrast to the general well-being in the North.

The international landscape still contains dark zones of actual and

potential conflict. The transition towards the emerging order is creating for

the countries of Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and South America problems whose

solution will require sacrifice, farsightedness and solidarity from the

international community.

Along with the political stakes, which are of crucial importance, there

are no-less-important economic and social challenges. Clearly, poverty is

undermining the fabric of States, creating profound imbalances in the

developing countries and threatening the very foundation of human rights. And

the first human right, the one on which all the others depend, is the right to

development.

Nor can there be development without a guarantee of sources of income

derived from basic commodities, prices for which, unfortunately, are not

within the control of developing countries. This disturbing situation

represents a real threat to the North as well, for it is already one of the

causes of the strong wave of migration from the South in search of prosperity.

This is compounded by the external indebtedness of the third world

countries. Payments for debt servicing, which increase exponentially, are in

the final analysis an unbearable burden on economies already severely tried by

the imbalances in the world economic order and by natural disasters.

Many solutions have been advanced, but the international community must

finally give priority to the growth and development of the poor countries

must, in other words, build on the ruins of the old East-West order a new

order based on more dynamic and more innovative North-South relations. Such

a

system could take into account, inter alia, free access for export products

from the South to markets in the North and a growth in public aid to

development and investments.

It has been recognized that improving the situation in Africa necessarily

involves economic reforms, the sound management of public affairs and popular

participation in development. In this connection, most of the countries of

Africa have undertaken deep political, economic and social reforms. But the

efforts undertaken on the national, subregional and regional levels have not,

unfortunately, enjoyed the expected international support. The United Nations

Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development 1986-1990,

which gave rise to so much hope, has not produced the desired results.

Capital flows from North to South have been negative in relation to the flow

of resources from South to North.

Nevertheless, my delegation welcomes the adoption by the United Nations

of the New Agenda for African Development in the 1990s, which will, I hope,

enhance the impact of United Nations action in the economic and social

development of the continent.

For Africa, one thing is clear: recovery and the diversification of

economic activities require subregional and regional integration. In this

connection, the establishment of the African Economic Community will enable

the continent to benefit from the complementarity of its human, natural and

financial resources and offer at the same time the best opportunities to take

advantage of major international markets.

I must stress that Africa is determined to fulfil its part of the

contract in order to meet all the development targets set forth within the

framework of the Community. To that end, it needs the constant support of the

international community.

Another of our concerns is the situation in South Africa, which has been

included in our agenda for 46 years. While the international community was

attempting to derive satisfaction from some of the progress achieved in

negotiations, the events at Biopatong, along with the deliberate massacres at

Ciskei on 7 September 1992, have strengthened our belief that the end of

apartheid was proclaimed much too prematurely.

My delegation believes that the South african Government must put an end

to the escalation of violence, free political prisoners and rescind the

Homelands Law and other discriminatory laws. Similarly, our country

appreciates the recommendations made by the Secretary-General's Special

Representative and also welcomes the sending of United Nations observers to

assist in strengthening the structures established by the peace agreement.

Negotiation is the only viable solution. The international community must

encourage the resumption of the talks within the purview of the Convention for

a Democratic South Africa.

The situation in many other African countries continues to concern us. I

am thinking first of Liberia, a fraternal country and neighbour battered by

destructive internal war. At any early stage the countries of West Africa

members of the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) united in

solidarity to seek a negotiated settlement. A peace plan was drawn up with

the constant participation of all the parties to the conflict. The recent

summit meeting of ECOWAS Heads of State, at Dakar, took new steps to make

the peace plan fully effective. My Government appeals to the world

Organization, and especially to the Security Council, to give unreserved

support to the implementation of that plan.

In addition, hundreds of millions of individuals have fled Liberia to

seek refuge in Guinea, Cote d'lvoire and Sierra Leone. In Guinea alone there

are nearly 600,000 refugees, two thirds of whom are children. The suffering

endured by these human beings calls for additional efforts within the

framework of the greatly appreciated assistance of the Office of the High

Commissioner for Refugees.

What can we say about Somalia, now in flames and so sorely tried by

famine and drought? My Government believes that peace can return to that

country only if all the fighting factions display political will and agree to

dialogue. Only the establishment of an immediate and definite cease-fire will

enable the Somalians to engage in serious negotiations on the future of their

country. Indeed, there is no point in turning to international forums for

some futile recognition or confirmation. Our brothers in Somalia must agree

to bury the hatchet of war and allow the international community to help them

to help themselves.

In addition to the political stakes, the tragedy in Somalia raises thorny

humanitarian problems, for whose solution emergency measures have been

effectively implemented through the joint efforts of the United Nations, the

Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Organization of African Unity and

many countries and non-governmental organizations.

As for Angola, the cessation of hostilities and the dialogue opened

between the parties to the conflict have made it possible to hold pluralistic

elections.

Not far away, in Mozambique, the Rome peace negotiations and the recent

agreement reached in Botswana between RENAMO and the Maputo Government

represent a decisive step towards settling that long and painful conflict.

The crisis in Rwanda is the subject of joint discussions to restore

stability and security among the countries of the subregion. Direct

negotiations between the Government and the Rwanda Patriotic Front have

emitted a glimmer of hope that an end may be put to a deadly conflict and that

the bases of national unity may be strengthened.

For many years, the crisis in the Middle East has occupied an important

place in our discussions here in the Organization; it is still one of the

greatest threats to international peace and security. The Palestinian

question is at the heart of this formidable crisis. Only the return of all

their rights to the Palestinian people under the auspices of the Palestine

Liberation Organization, their sole and legitimate representative, can lead to

a just, comprehensive and lasting solution. The Government of Guinea urges

the parties to pursue the peace negotiations. By the same token, we support

any other initiative directed towards breaking the log-jam in this situation

quickly.

With regard to Cambodia, the establishment of a Supreme National Council

in Cambodia headed by Prince Norodom Sihanouk is putting an end to a very

difficult war and heralds the dawn of a new period which will, we hope, be

characterized by a climate of tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

Despite the efforts of the international community, engagements of a rare

violence are tearing apart the republics of the former Yugoslavia. Every day

the peoples of these lands are seeing their historic legacy, which it took

them centuries to build, reduced to ruins.

International pressure must continue to be brought to bear in order to

assert international legality and human rights and to ensure they are

respected. We welcome the peace efforts of the London Conference and the

recent summit conference of the non-aligned countries.

With regard to the question of Korea, my delegation supports the

reunification process on the peninsula, from which nuclear weapons should be

precluded. My Government appreciates all the efforts towards reconciliation,

non-aggression, exchanges and cooperation between the two Koreas with a view

to their peaceful reunification.

The spectacular and most often rapid transformations taking place in the

world today should have beneficial effects for disarmament and arms control.

Even if on the bilateral level we are seeing agreements with regard to

reducing or destroying certain types of weapons, at the multilateral level

negotiations are marking time.

The disappearance of the bipolar world is tending to make the senseless

arms race incomprehensible. However, in this new context, the risk of war has

not yet been ruled out, because of the existence of arsenals of weapons of

mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons. This is why the Republic of

Guinea will continue to appeal urgently for general and complete disarmament.

My delegation welcomes the appreciable results achieved in the

negotiations on the signing of a convention on chemical weapons. However, the

principal issues that are the cornerstone of disarmament, namely, the

prohibition of nuclear tests and the arms race and the prevention of a nuclear

war, have not experienced the same positive development.

Moreover, the close interconnection established in 1987 by the

International Conference on the Relationship between Disarmament and

Development is still just as important: a reduction in military expenditures

and budgets could boost economic and industrial activity in the have-not

countries while strengthening the economic and social development efforts of

developing countries.

In recent years, relations between States have expanded and diversified.

Multilateralism is strengthened as a result. The large number of States

Members of the universal Organization increasingly reflects their desire to

engage in integrated and coordinated action at the international level in

order to take up the various challenges: the challenge of peace, the

challenge of economic and social development and the challenge of the

environment.

Here is where multilateral relations must play an important role in

mapping out the new order, which mankind hopes will be democratic and will

generate prosperity for all. This is the path of multilateralism that the

non-aligned countries recently embarked upon in Djakarta. Our Organization

should take this duly into account in future international relations.

The United Nations is in the process of carrying out positive work on

various fronts; this is work which gives it undeniable authority, particularly

in the area of the settlement of conflicts. Never before has there been such

a strong consensus regarding the profound significance of peace.

The aspiration of peoples to justice, security and greater prosperity has

everywhere initiated an enormous process of social transformation, which is

perceived as the obvious sign of democratic change. In the Republic of

Guinea, the democratic transition is taking place peacefully. The

constitutional institutions, governed by the principle of the separation of

powers, are being established. Some 40 parties are engaged in the guest for

political power. A supreme court, in which is invested the judicial power,

will ensure that elections take place in a regular way. The legislative

elections are scheduled for December 1992, followed immediately by

presidential elections in 1993.

The Government is pursuing a coherent policy of transition on the basis

of dialogue and transparency. In any case, the form of democracy must be

adjusted to suit the historical, economic, social and cultural realities of

each country.

The Government of Guinea, resolutely committed to building a State of

law, supports the actions of the international community to promote and

develop human rights. In this respect, Guinea welcomes the convening of the

World Conference on Human Rights in June 1993 and the international conference

on the African child scheduled for November 1992 in Dakar. Here I wish to

appeal urgently to the international community as a whole, and particular to

the donors, to finance the various national programmes of action prepared in

the context of the decade for children.

Two important international events are to be commemorated in a few days'

time by this Assembly, which will devote plenary meetings to them: the end of

the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons and the tenth anniversary of the

adoption of the International Plan of Action on Ageing. My Government, which

is always sensitive to the fate of these two social categories and their

sufferings, is devoting a major part of its efforts under its national

development programmes to them, and endorses the measures adopted as part of

the Decade of Disabled Persons as well as those taken under the International

Plan of Action on Ageing.

For development strategies and programmes to be viable, they must pay

particular attention to the problem of the environment. That is why my

delegation requests the countries of the North to participate fully in

financing Agenda 21, as defined and adopted in Rio, for the protection of the

environment and lasting development.

Another major source of concern is the production and consumption of

drugs and the illicit traffic in them. To get rid of this scourge once and

for all, police pressure, the destruction of plantations and the prohibition

of money laundering must be backed up with the parallel development and

promotion of substitute crops.

The revitalization of the United Nations system is now a categorical

imperative. This revitalization should in particular include enlarging the

Security Council with a view to ensuring that a larger number of countries

participate as permanent members. That reform could also make that vital

body, responsible as it is for maintaining international peace and security,

more efficient and effective. Expanding the Council is, in our opinion, one

of the fundamental aspects of the democratization of international relations

that is now needed.

The Government of the Republic of Guinea attaches the utmost importance

to the strengthening of the role of the United Nations and to respect for the

principles of its Charter, which is a prerequisite for the advent of a new

order based on justice for all and on peace, prosperity and international

solidarity.