Guinea-Bissau, 2008

It is with great

pleasure that I extend my warmest congratulations to

Mr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann on his election as

President of the General Assembly at its sixty-third

session. In electing him amidst this rather complex

global scenario, the international community places

confidence in his qualities as a statesman, a spiritual

leader and a defender of the most disenfranchised.

For my part, I am convinced that the experience

that Mr. d’Escoto Brockmann gained at a historic time

and in the particular circumstances in the lives of the

friendly people of Nicaragua will serve him well in

analysing and better understanding the challenges we

face in this, the first decade of the twenty-first century.

I count on his wisdom and balance, in the conviction

that spiritual force will always inspire him and help

him preside over our deliberations with success. He

can count on my personal support and on the

cooperation of the delegation of my country, Guinea-

Bissau.

Allow me also to thank his predecessor for the

results achieved at the last session. I would also like to

express our appreciation to Secretary-General Ban

Ki-moon for his dedication and for the spirit of

innovation he has shown in fulfilling his duties. His

report on the international situation (A/63/1)

emphasizes the gravity of the major challenges the

world is facing as well as the complexity of the

reforms that are needed to improve the functioning and

efficiency of the Organization and the working

conditions for its staff.

We agree with him that in order to more

efficiently solve the numerous problems of our planet,

we need an organization which is less bureaucratic,

capable of adopting new technologies and possessing

sufficient financial means and competent and highly

motivated staff. We support the efforts of the

Secretary-General with a view to increasing the

Organization’s capacity to maintain peace and to

address global issues. We also support his proposal to

introduce, in the Secretariat in particular, new working

methods based not only on the recognition of

individual skills, but also on an emphasis on teamwork.

The present international situation demands

serious reflection about the cause of the present crisis

which greatly affects our countries. The three main

elements of the crisis — energy, food and international

finances, to which we would add the disastrous

consequences of climate change — call for a better

coordination of our efforts in the pursuit of innovative,

courageous and adequate solutions leading to the

establishment of a new world order, one which is more

just and equitable and which is capable of responding

to the realities of an interdependent and globalized

world.

The increase in oil prices has destabilizing effects

on our economies. The cost of producing electrical

energy in particular has become an unsustainable

burden for the poor countries and a major obstacle to

the achievement of the Millennium Development

Goals.

In my country, Guinea-Bissau, for example, the

lack of energy seriously compromises all socio-

economic activities, particularly hospital care and the

distribution of drinking water, which is essential for

guaranteeing hygiene and public health. How can a

poor country like ours face the unjustified increase in

the price of oil? What means do we have at our

disposal to face the adverse consequences of a system

which has been poorly based on speculation and which

has nothing to do with the law of supply and demand?

Is it not the right time for us to think about creating a

world fund to mitigate the effects that are jeopardizing

our ability to reach the Millennium Development

Goals? How can we invest in and improve our

infrastructure in such vital areas as health, education

and agriculture if we are continuously compelled to

spend enormous resources from our already limited

funding to purchase fuel?

Moreover, the tremendous increase in food prices

on the international market and the hunger and

malnutrition which could affect many countries, in

Africa in particular, are also matters of great concern

and impel us to take action and implement appropriate

agricultural policies with sufficient financial means so

that we can invest in the creation of modern and

affordable means of production.

Saying that agriculture is a priority should not be

a mere slogan. We need to be reminded that the right to

food is a fundamental right and is enshrined in the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, whose sixtieth

anniversary we are celebrating this year. Every country

should be able to guarantee food autonomy. We

therefore need to examine and reformulate conditions

for obtaining agricultural credits in particular.

5 08-51851

A food shortage can pose a serious threat to the

peace and security of a country. At the international

level, we need to seriously discuss how to improve our

capacity to respond effectively to the food crisis by

putting into practice new scientific knowledge and by

applying technologies suited to the climate conditions

of the various regions of our planet and to the social

and economic realities of our respective peoples.

In an interdependent and globalized world, we

have to strive to establish and ensure respect for rules

capable of regulating the international, financial and

trading system without impeding the free flow of

capital. But the international financial system, which is

already affected by serious distortions, cannot be based

only on a quest for speculative profit and on unlawful

behaviour, which can have enormous consequences, as

is the case now in many countries, where thousands of

families have financial difficulties, particularly in the

area of housing credits. Unfortunately, the

consequences of these poor practices are not limited to

a few countries.

The international community must react to all of

these challenges. But how can we succeed without

close cooperation among all countries of the world? We

need cooperation in order to face climate change and to

mitigate the effects of natural disasters such as the

terrible hurricanes which have caused so much

destruction in countries in the Caribbean, such as Cuba

and Haiti, and also in Houston, Texas.

Our main goal should be to foster dialogue in all

circumstances — dialogue among the countries,

peoples, cultures, religions and civilizations of the

world. It is only through dialogue that we will be able

to identify our differences and find solutions in our

common interest.

We need dialogue and negotiation at the

international level to prevent and solve conflicts, such

as the conflict in the Middle East, and to preserve the

lives of human beings in danger, in Darfur and in

Somalia, for example. We need dialogue and

negotiation to defend and protect the most vulnerable,

in particular women and children, by promoting and

ensuring respect for human rights, the principle of

democracy and the rule of law.

At the national level, we need dialogue aimed at

creating appropriate conditions for the consolidation of

democracy through free, transparent and credible

elections, as we intend to do in Guinea-Bissau on

16 November.

Finally, we should further dialogue and

negotiations with the view to promoting a policy of

inclusion that guarantees the active participation of all

stakeholders, above all women and youth, and civil

society in general, in building peace and political

stability and in creating the necessary conditions for

development.

Although confronted with complex international

situations, the international community has ways of

facing those challenges. However, real political will is

needed from us all. The United Nations can play an

even more decisive role in preventing and resolving

conflicts, in protecting our planet and in creating better

living conditions for millions of people. Thus we need

a United Nations that is better organized, less

bureaucratic and better suited to confronting those

many challenges.

We reiterate our full support for the Secretary-

General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, in the implementation of

much-needed reforms for the greater efficiency,

capacity to respond and credibility of the United

Nations. We equally support the reform process

undertaken by the Member States of our Organization

in order to democratize the United Nations system, in

particular the Security Council, the enlargement of

which remains a priority for us all, considering the new

economical and political reality of today’s world and

above all the need to address the historic injustice done

to the continent of Africa for more than 60 years.