Guinea, 1996

It is with real pleasure and great interest that I stand before

the Assembly to convey the warm greetings of the people

of Guinea and of its President, General Lansana Conte. I

join with the many preceding speakers in warmly

congratulating Ambassador Razali on his election to the

presidency of the fifty-first session of the General

Assembly. His election is testimony to the international

community’s high regard for Malaysia, his country, with

which the Republic of Guinea is honoured to have special

ties of friendship and cooperation. I am convinced that

under his skilful guidance our work will enjoy every

success. I assure him of the support and cooperation of the

delegation of Guinea in this task.

My congratulations also go to his predecessor,

Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral of Portugal who, with skill

and clearsightedness, enabled the Assembly to address the

concerns of the international community during the

fiftieth session.

My country, the Republic of Guinea, takes this

opportunity to greet and stress our tribute to the

Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, whose

courage, intelligence and tireless efforts have contributed

significantly to the attainment of the Organization’s noble

purposes of peace, justice and progress. This is why my

delegation reiterates its support for his candidacy for a

second term of office, in accordance with the decision of

the most recent Summit Meeting of the Organization of

African Unity, held at Yaounde from 8 to 10 July 1996.

A host of challenges are now threatening to upset

the balance of the United Nations as we approach the end

of the millennium. Despite encouraging results in terms

of maintaining international peace and security, many

conflicts incompatible with people’s aspirations of

economic and social progress persist.

In addition to the tensions and conflicts which are

tearing peoples apart, of equal concern are the poverty,

unemployment, malnutrition and environmental

degradation that continue to threaten the existence and

future of many populations of the world. Today more

than ever there is an urgent need radically to restructure

our common institution, the United Nations, so that it can

adapt better to current changes, respond appropriately to

the expectations of our populations on the major questions

which challenge humankind and make the outlook for the

future one filled with hope.

The need to prevent and settle conflicts, to support

the efforts of States to ensure sustainable development, to

provide easier access to suitable housing and to guarantee

sufficient food for all are now becoming elements of the

promotion of human rights. The same holds true for how

we deal with the implications of the globalization of the

international economy through reliable mechanisms.

The Republic of Guinea welcomes and strongly

encourages the initiative of Japan, our great friend, to

design and implement, with our countries, a new

development strategy. In this respect, it supports the

organization in 1997 in Tokyo of the second International

Conference on African Development in which it

undertakes to play an active role from the preparatory

phase to the end of its work. We are convinced that there

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is an urgent need and obligation to support firmly a new

form of world partnership involving all nations, large and

small.

The Republic of Guinea, aware of the fresh challenges

facing developing countries on the eve of the third

millennium, has decided that its diplomacy should be based

on development. This role of diplomatic linchpin in the area

of economic advancement will not only strengthen our

commitment to subregional and regional integration, but

will also increase significantly our participation in

international trade.

Questions of international peace and security must

remain at the forefront of our concerns. In this respect, my

delegation considers that the main role of the United

Nations is to continue and intensify the search for ways and

means to increase the effectiveness of its action in the areas

of the maintenance of peace and of preventive diplomacy.

My delegation welcomes the adoption of the

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which I have just

signed on behalf of the Government of Guinea. We see this

as an important step towards total disarmament. If the

Treaty is to attain all of its objectives, the main one being

to spare humanity from chaos, it must be signed and

respected by all States of the world. To do this, we must

calmly and jointly seek to give the assurances of the

international community to countries that hesitate to take

the decisive step towards the salvation of humanity, so that

in the near future the accession of all Member States of the

United Nations will enshrine the universality of this

important Treaty.

Along the same lines, my delegation calls on the

international community to implement global measures to

prohibit the illegal traffic of fissile materials, the

transborder trafficking in conventional small arms and the

production, stockpiling and use of anti-personnel landmines.

More than 110 million mines are now scattered around the

world, ready to explode at any time, indiscriminately

striking down innocent civilian populations.

The Republic of Guinea welcomes the adoption of the

text of Protocol II to the Convention on Prohibitions or

Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons

Which May be Deemed to Be excessively Injurious or to

Have Indiscriminate Effects, on Mines, Booby-Traps and

Other Such Devices during the Review Conference on the

implementation of that Convention.

Other threats weigh heavily on international peace

and security. Our Organization must react vigorously to

the threats of terrorism, organized crime and drug

trafficking.

Apart from their many disastrous consequences,

these threats, because they are transborder threats, must

be considered as real dangers to the health, security and

stability both of our populations and of our States.

My delegation, while welcoming the decisions of the

Group of Seven and Russia on combatting terrorism and

transnational threats, believes that a more complete use of

the potential of the United Nations as an instrument for

developing joint international strategies and cooperation

among all States in the area of fighting crime would

allow for more effective coordination of the actions of the

international community.

We greatly appreciate the United Nations efforts in

other areas as dangerous as terrorism: money-laundering,

trafficking in children and all related crimes. Fighting

these scourges of our time is everyone’s business.

In Africa, tangible progress has been made in the

area of peace and democracy. The Republic of Guinea,

however, remains concerned by the conflicts which

continue to rage on the continent. In the West African

subregion, the situations in Liberia and Sierra Leone have

tangibly improved, despite some obstacles, which we are

striving to overcome within the context of the Economic

Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and its

peace force, the ECOWAS Monitoring Group

(ECOMOG).

The conflict in Liberia has lasted for seven long

years. It has caused the death of tens of thousands of

people and has led to a mass exodus of hundreds of

thousands of refugees to neighbouring States, including

my country, the Republic of Guinea, on whose territory

are hundreds of thousands of refugees, to whom it offers

assistance and protection while at the same time

espousing total neutrality in relation to other States

members of ECOWAS in the search for a political

solution to end this conflict.

The joint efforts of that subregional organization

with such major forums as the Organization of African

Unity (OAU) and the United Nations led to the signing of

the most recent peace agreements at Abuja, Nigeria. The

Republic of Guinea, true to its policy of good-

neighbourliness and neutrality, firmly supports these

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agreements, which provide for free and transparent elections

in May 1997, and will ensure their strict implementation.

An end to this conflict is of interest to the Republic of

Guinea, my country, mainly because of the presence on our

territory of more than 650,000 refugees compared with a

population of 7 million Guineans: one refugee for every 10

inhabitants. This is a situation with rare precedents.

Similarly, our participation in the peace effort places a

heavy burden on our economy and compromises many of

our development projects.

I would like to make an urgent appeal to all the parties

concerned with this conflict to implement the Abuja

Agreement in full, and in a timely manner, to the benefit of

stability in the subregion. The promises of assistance from

friendly countries and by the international community

could, if kept within the timetable, effectively lead the final

settlement plan to success. The initiatives under way in this

regard are very encouraging. We welcome the action of the

United States of America to assist ECOWAS peace efforts

and thank the United States warmly for its latest

contribution to the financing of the activities of ECOMOG.

The deterioration of the socio-political climate in

Burundi stirs fears today of a repetition of the threats

experienced in neighbouring Rwanda, a country with which

it shares many social, historical and cultural similarities.

The continuation of this crisis also poses a serious threat to

stability in the region and to peace. This is why the United

Nations, together with neighbouring countries, must be

further involved in the search for a final solution to this

crisis. We lend our full support to the recent decision taken

by the OAU and by the conference of Heads of State of the

Great Lakes region, held at Arusha, against the Government

stemming from the coup d’état. We urge all the sons of

Burundi and all those of good-will worldwide to support

OAU efforts towards the peaceful settlement of the crises

in Burundi and in Rwanda through dialogue, tolerance and

reconciliation among the various communities.

As regards Western Sahara, my Government supports

the international community’s efforts for a peaceful solution

to this question, in accordance with the United Nations

settlement plan.

With respect to Angola, my delegation strongly

encourages the Angolan Government and União Nacional

para a Independência Total de Angola (UNITA) to

persevere along the path to peace and national

reconciliation on the basis of the implementation of and

respect for the Lusaka Protocol.

Regarding the situation in Somalia, we must say that

leaving Somalians to their fate would be contrary to the

United Nations ideal of solidarity. Despite the difficulties,

the United Nations must continue to be involved actively

in the process of restoring peace to that country, through

a continuous search for mechanisms to promote national

reconciliation, peace, security and stability in Somalia.

On the Middle East, my Government remains greatly

concerned by the latest developments in Jerusalem, in

Gaza and in the West Bank. The seriousness of these

events could jeopardize the peace process. We are

convinced that rapid approach of Palestinian autonomy in

the Gaza Strip, in Jericho and in the West Bank, and the

necessary continuation of the peace process are the

responsibility of the entire international community. This

is why my delegation solemnly calls upon all the parties

involved with the Middle East conflict, especially Israel

and its Arab neighbours, to continue courageously on the

path of peace, through the pursuit of negotiations, in

accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions

and the Peace Agreements.

The Republic of Guinea, convinced that dialogue,

the creation of a climate of mutual trust and a greater

mutual understanding constitute the only path towards a

lasting solution on the Korean peninsula, will continue to

encourage the two Korean States to persevere in their

efforts towards independent and peaceful reunification.

The signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement in 1995

has opened up fresh prospects for the restoration and

consolidation of peace in the Balkans. With the recent

elections in Bosnia, developments in the situation

strengthen the aspirations to peace, stability and security

of the region’s peoples. We must however remain

vigilant. In this respect, my delegation welcomes and

supports the efforts of the United Nations, of the

Implementation Force (IFOR) and of the international

criminal tribunal, aimed at consolidating peace and

prosecuting those responsible for crimes against humanity.

We invite the international community to display firmness

in dealing with this question, in order to extinguish any

re-emergence of the practices of “ethnic cleansing”. The

Organization of the Islamic Conference must be involved

more closely in the process begun in this country.

The situation in Jammu and Kashmir continues to

deteriorate. At its various summits and ministerial

conferences, the Organization of the Islamic Conference

has appealed to the international community to urge the

protagonists to abide by the relevant Security Council

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resolutions and thus enable the Kashmiri people to exercise

freely its right to self-determination. We repeat this appeal,

and invite them to begin a constructive dialogue.

The Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir of the

Organization of the Islamic Conference, which is chaired by

the Republic of Guinea, requests the United Nations and the

Security Council to shoulder all their responsibilities by

becoming decisively involved in the search for peace in the

Indian sub-continent. Security Council resolutions 47

(1948), 91 (1951) and 122 (1957) on Jammu and Kashmir,

which remain unimplemented after five decades, should not

remain among the forgotten resolutions of our system. The

Republic of Guinea therefore gives its full support to efforts

by the Government of Pakistan aimed at finding a peaceful

solution to the problem of Jammu and Kashmir through the

opening of talks with India.

My country follows the development of the situation

in Afghanistan with the greatest attention. It urges all the

parties concerned to work fraternally for the restoration of

peace and for national reconciliation.

In the context of its actions within the Organization of

the Islamic Conference, of which it is a founding member

and current Chairman of its Council of Ministers for

Foreign Affairs, the Republic of Guinea — a secular

country with a strong Muslim majority — is dedicated to

promoting understanding and tolerance among civilizations,

cultures and religions and to contributing to the rise of the

forces of progress, justice and democracy in Muslim

regions and in the world beyond.

At a time when the world is experiencing profound

changes of unequalled complexity and scope, it is essential

to promote and consolidate an international environment

that will foster peace, growth and development. It is

regrettable that Africa does not play a greater role in major

international negotiations. We must not continue to be

spectators while the rest of the world carries out

negotiations which involve us directly or indirectly. We are

convinced that Africa has a role to play in this area.

In the new configuration of today’s world, a country

such as the Republic of Guinea — through its policy of

peace and because its interests do not diverge from those of

other regions of the world; through the nature of its

sometimes exceptional relations with the parties in latent or

overt conflicts in various regions; through its membership

in several geo-political groups, several cultural zones and

several continental and non-African organizations — could,

where desirable, play a useful role in international

negotiations.

The permanence and fairness of development will be

illusory so long as modalities that preserve and perpetuate

present inequalities continue to govern international

relations. Economic and social development, whose

correlation with international peace and security is clear,

requires of States and of the international institutions that

are our development partners a pragmatic and coherent

approach which takes into account the specific socio-

economic needs and realities of our States.

My delegation is pleased with the efforts that have

already been made in the area of debt relief for

developing countries and appeals to the solidarity of the

international community for a real increase in

development assistance, whose current tendency to

decrease is a real source of concern for us in the face of

our pressing development needs. In this regard, we

welcome the decisions of the last summit of the Group of

Seven, held at Lyon.

Although the conclusion of the Uruguay Round

opens up new prospects for the stimulation of

international trade, it is essential to introduce new,

energetic measures to save Africa from marginalization

and impoverishment. It is a human, social, political and

economic imperative for the international community and

for all the actors and partners in development, in their

own specific actions, to work responsibly for a more just

and equitable framework for international trade, favouring

a free and democratic economic partnership.

We therefore congratulate the Secretary-General,

Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali for his praiseworthy efforts

which have made it possible to develop the United

Nations System-wide Special Initiative for Africa. My

country would like to express the hope that this will not

suffer from the same lethargy which the United Nations

Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery

and Development suffered from. Such a failure would be

highly prejudicial and damaging to the credibility of the

United Nations. In this regard, my delegation seeks the

urgent implementation of this ambitious Initiative, for it

is undeniable that it is one of the best ways of giving

development a chance and new hope for future

generations.

We would also like to express our satisfaction at the

convening of the second United Nations Conference on

Human Settlements and to support the important

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resolutions arising from that Conference promoting access

to suitable housing for all.

Along these lines, my delegation would like to take

this opportunity to welcome the holding of the World Food

Summit, which will take place from 13 to 17 November

1996 at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture

Organization of the United Nations.

My Government believes that the enhancement of our

Organization’s effectiveness lies above all in the

redefinition of some of its objectives, especially in adapting

the functioning of its organs to reflect better the new face

of international relations. With regard to the Security

Council, my Government fully supports the review and

expansion of its current composition on the basis of

equitable geographical representation so that the southern

hemisphere — which since 1945 has been the theatre of

many conflicts — can participate in its activities which are

fundamental to the maintenance of international peace and

security.

My wish, therefore, is for the United Nations to carry

out its restructuring. Whether with regard to revitalizing the

General Assembly and its organs, to expanding or

strengthening the Security Council, to rationalizing

activities and procedures, to redefining programmes and

mandates or to consolidating the financial and material

bases of the Organization, all Member States must work

with courage, clarity and a high sense of responsibility for

the proper implementation of these reforms in order to give

the United Nations reliable and effective institutions worthy

of the vision and aspirations of our peoples.

That is why my delegation, while expressing its

satisfaction at the evident willingness and efforts of our

Organization to adapt to the world’s changes, is in favour

of strengthening its potential and improving the interaction

among the various organizations of the United Nations

system and other development partners.

In conclusion, the Republic of Guinea would like to

express the hope that courageous and realistic decisions will

come out of the work of this session, and it remains

convinced that — apart from divergences and differences

in approach in the search for ways and means to achieve

solutions to the problems facing our States — the United

Nations community which we constitute will continue to

work successfully for peace, security and the well-being of

all, in the spirit of active solidarity, as the founding fathers

of this Organization dreamed.