Guinea-Bissau, 2000

I wish at the

outset to convey my warm congratulations to Mr. Harri

Holkeri of Finland on his election to the presidency of

the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session and to

reaffirm our confidence in his ability to guide our work

at this session. The delegation of Guinea-Bissau, which

it is my privilege to head, assures the President of its

full cooperation. Our congratulations go also to his

predecessor, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, who fulfilled his

mandate in a constructive manner, thus making an

important contribution to the work of the General

Assembly.

We wish also to express our trust and

appreciation to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan,

and to thank him for the important steps that have been

taken on his initiative towards substantive reform of

the United Nations and towards bolstering the

Organization's international credibility.

The universality of the United Nations gains

whenever a new Member State is admitted. By joining

the United Nations, Tuvalu has affirmed to the

international community that it will shoulder

responsibility for the full exercise of its sovereignty. Its

accession to membership has reinforced the

representative nature of this world forum.

In the third millennium, with our eyes focused on

a new century, we are passing through a historic period

in which new and significant events give rise to new

hopes on the international scene.

This diagnosis, however, encompasses both hope

and scepticism, for it shows that the transitional period

we are living through involves factors of both

integration and disaggregation.

If, on the one hand, the end of bipolarism that

dominated international relations diminished

ideological antagonisms, this new and unprecedented

process, by undoing old political and strategic

balances, is promoting democratic impulses, freeing

the energy of States and creating space for a new

international order more in line with our times.

On the other hand, the rise of nationalist

aspirations, supported by the yearning for the right to

free evolution, has had the effect of triggering old

conflicts, some of them forgotten in time. This

phenomenon has led to an exponential growth of

conflicts that menaces the internal cohesion of States as

well as international peace and security.

It was predicted, and legitimately so, that the

international economy would be able to take advantage

of the peace dividend resulting from the end of the

arms race. It had been expected that those resources

would be invested in the poorest countries and, thus,

would have contributed to the acceleration of global

economic growth and development. Our perception,

however, is that, due to the present state of

international economic relations, those optimistic

expectations have not come to fruition.

As the international balance of power has

changed, the relative position that placed different

countries in the international, political and economic

pecking order has also changed. The very nature of

relations among States has also been transformed.

However, the rules and practices giving structure to a

new international order are yet to be defined. Our

perception is that this is the main unresolved issue.

This calls for the community of nations, through our

common institutions, to work determinedly together in

order to bring the present transition to a successful end.

To do so, it will be essential to empower the

system of collective security embodied in the United

Nations. In particular, we attach great importance to

the revitalization of the General Assembly and the

rationalization of its agenda. We also feel there is a

need to reform the Security Council so that that organ,

which has special responsibilities, will be able to fulfil

its original mission and be reborn as the main political

instrument for action in the United Nations.

Expectations without precedent devolve upon the

United Nations. We should all strive to find a solution

to the present structural and financial crises faced by

the Organization. It will be necessary to reactivate its

dynamism in order to implement the 'Agenda for

Peace' and to make the 'Agenda for Development' a

reality.

It is widely known that Guinea-Bissau has just

overcome the gravest crisis the country has

experienced in its recent history. We are still

convalescing from the terrible effects of an absurd and

disastrous war. In addition to irreparable loss of life,

Guinea-Bissau society was deeply traumatized by a

conflict that almost destroyed the entire existing

infrastructure. Guinea-Bissau was made more

impoverished and more vulnerable. Its reconstruction,

the foundations of which are fragile, will be very

difficult, because even simple tasks have assumed

urgent priority. The urgency and the sheer volume of

the effort needed to rebuild the country go far beyond

the limited possibilities of a Government that is near

exhaustion. In order to succeed, that effort will need to

be supplemented by the effective participation of every

partner of Guinea-Bissau.

In this new period of the restoration of

democratic legality, the people of Guinea-Bissau have

elected their new Government within the framework of

a pluralist democracy. The new National People's

Assembly has approved a general programme of action,

prepared by the Government, which defines a strategy

for sustainable development aimed at implementing the

priorities identified, in cooperation with Guinea-

Bissau's partners. This programme of action and the

project of building a new society, required by the

evolution of the situation in Guinea-Bissau, have been

set out by Guinea-Bissau's new President, who was

freely elected by the people. Aware of the sacred

responsibility incumbent upon him, President Kumba

Yal· has committed himself to upholding the

programme of action.

As on past occasions when we were beneficiaries

of timely and precious solidarity extended by the

international community, we are hopeful that the

political, economic and social progress of Guinea-

Bissau will be further supported and maintained.

Amilcar Cabral, the founder of our nation,

considered himself and the other Guinea-Bissau

freedom fighters to be combatants for the noble causes

upheld by the United Nations. Today, after the heroic

struggle that led to our independence, and thanks also

to the support received from the international

community and the United Nations, Guinea-Bissau is

participating in the highest world diplomatic forums

with serenity and determination, embarking on an

unrelenting search to improve on the heritage of our

forebears.

Therefore, acting with responsibility and

specificity, Guinea-Bissau has undertaken its own

initiatives, as well as presenting proposals aimed at the

defence of its interests and at contributing to the

advancement of the causes of peace and international

cooperation. We recognize that in today's international

situation, rife with conflicts and contradictions, the

United Nations remains, without a doubt, the necessary

forum for the development of the activities undertaken

by our Government to affirm the international presence

of Guinea-Bissau.

The five African Portuguese-speaking countries,

joined with Brazil, Portugal and Timor Lorosae the

latter still being an observer to form the Community

of Portuguese-Speaking Countries. This Lusophone

Community is characterized by solidarity and

tolerance, based upon shared sentiments and

perceptions rooted in a melding of cultures that

expresses the experience of our respective peoples.

We would like to salute the development in the

processes of democratization of Government structures

that is now occurring in Sao Tome and Principe,

Mozambique and Cape Verde, similar to what

happened in Guinea-Bissau. This will allow our

Governments to better respond to the legitimate

aspirations of our peoples.

We wish to express our solidarity with the

Angolan Government and people, which have

experienced the nightmare of almost 40 years of war.

We support the efforts in search of peace and national

reconciliation. We strongly favour the implementation

by the United Nations of the Lusaka Protocol and the

full implementation of the sanctions established by the

Security Council.

In our West African subregion, Guinea-Bissau has

tried, and to a certain extent has attained, in terms of its

will for integration, a political commitment aimed at

improving our relations with neighbouring countries so

as to promote the cause of peace. In this spirit, we

recognize that in its essence the conflict of Casamance

is an internal issue of Senegal. As such, we also

perceive its negative consequences on the neighbouring

States. Our country is ready to work in the search for a

just solution to and peaceful resolution of that conflict.

40

We feel, however, that we are neither a part of the

problem nor its source of origin. The constructive

actions undertaken by Presidents Kumba Yal· of

Guinea-Bissau and Wade of Senegal, with the support

of President Jammeh of the Gambia, allow us to look

with optimism to the future evolution of that issue.

We deeply deplore the tragedy that has befallen

Sierra Leone, a country of our subregion. The

increased violence in that country has resulted in a

humanitarian disaster. We urge the belligerent factions

and the Government of Sierra Leone to cooperate with

the international community in order to find a

definitive solution to that fratricidal conflict.

The situation in the Democratic Republic of the

Congo and in the Great Lakes region continues to be a

source of concern to Guinea-Bissau. It is necessary to

summon the political will of the countries of the region

to diminish the tension and to continue to search for a

just solution.

The Lusaka accords are the result of the

perseverance of the parties involved and should be

implemented rapidly and comprehensively. They are

the essential framework for the resolution of the

conflict. We are convinced that the implementation of

Security Council resolution 1291 (2000), which

established the United Nations Organization Mission in

the Democratic Republic of the Congo, represents the

road to peace.

In the Horn of Africa, Guinea-Bissau welcomes

the acceptance by Ethiopia and Eritrea of the peace

plan put forward by the Organization of African Unity.

We encourage both parties to persist on the path of

dialog and negotiation and to continue to cooperate

with our continental organization.

In the immediate vicinity of our continent, the

Middle East peace process is entering a decisive

period. This process and the quest for equanimity

should be accelerated in order to ensure a lasting and

just peace that respects the inalienable right of the

Palestinian people to an independent State of its own,

as well as the right of all States of the region, including

Israel, to national independence.

Far from the African continent, Guinea-Bissau

continues to pay special attention to the issue of East

Timor. We are linked to that territory by special

historic and cultural bonds and we are therefore closely

following the work of the United Nations Transitional

Administration in East Timor and the recent

establishment of a transitional Government. We hope

that the process will culminate in the full independence

of Timor Lorosae and with its admission as a full

Member of the United Nations.

Finally, we believe that the situations created by

the imposition of embargoes against certain countries,

in which sanctions affect the poorer sectors of the

populations, particularly women and children, should

be addressed through dialogue and negotiation with a

view to finding a definitive solution.

In the age of globalization, we should not lose

sight of the human being and its vital needs. If it is

legitimate that all parties have the right to expect profit

from progress, it is also correct that we should seek

economic growth with social equity. Mankind faces

many challenges, among which achieving

comprehensive development is without doubt the most

important, because the lack of development is the main

source of the conflicts that lead to the crises afflicting

our planet. Therefore, if we wish globalization to live

up to its promise, we should learn better to work and to

act together in order to correct its negative effects.

It is urgently necessary to give momentum to the

North-South dialogue on the basis of equality and to

develop a wide network of South-South cooperation

with a view to minimizing the risks of globalization.

That effort must be fully supported by the international

community with a view to a true partnership for

development. Such partnership, in our view, should

enable us to find the modalities of a coherent

international action to ensure sustainable economic

growth in the context of true development.

The structural adjustment policies adopted by the

majority of African countries are, per se, clear proof of

their willingness to improve the management of their

national economies. Nevertheless, in most cases, the

response of our development partners has not been in

line with the sacrifices demanded and the urgency of

the problems identified. From our point of view, it is

necessary to identify the mechanisms needed to

promote a true social adjustment, keeping the human

individual as its central point of reference.

In this context, the collective challenge we face is

to stress a dynamic image of international solidarity,

which may be translated into effective action for social

and economic cooperation in favour of developing

countries.

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Our gathering here at the General Assembly

represents the best opportunity to correct the

imbalances that destabilize the global process. We need

to muster the determination of all our countries in order

to raise relations among States to the high level of

dignity required by our shared future.