Madagascar, 1994

On behalf of the delegation of Madagascar, may I

congratulate you most sincerely on your election to the

presidency of the General Assembly at its forty-ninth

session. You assumption of this important post brings pride

and hope to Africa, which sees this session as a special

opportunity for drawing the international community’s

attention to the economic and social problems it has been

facing in recent years.

My delegation assures you of its full cooperation and

support, which we also offer to the other members of the

Bureau. To them also I address my congratulations. I also

wish to pay tribute to your distinguished predecessor,

Ambassador Samuel Insanally, who so ably and in so

masterly a fashion presided over the Assembly at its forty-

eighth session.

In this new era in international relations the world

faces two contradictory situations: one, unforgettable

pictures of national reconciliation and faith in the future,

the other, a vision of the horror of peoples and nations

ripping each other apart, even to the extent of annihilating

one another. The international community keeps on

swinging back and forth between pride and dejection and

between great hope and deep despair.

The actual progress made in ways of handling and

settling certain disputes nevertheless strengthens our belief

in the principles and covenants set forth in the Charter of

our Organization. For example, we welcome the

encouraging developments in Mozambique, which is now

about to hold its first multiparty elections. Similarly, the

negotiations in Lusaka between the Angolan Government

and UNITA are beginning to bear fruit. Moreover, the

clear efforts by those involved to smooth out the

difficulties of applying the settlement plan in Western

Sahara give us grounds for some optimism about the

outcome of that dispute.

My delegation would also encourage those who are

involved in the nuclear problem in the Korean peninsula

to continue their talks with a view to arriving at a

negotiated solution, which would help to promote stability

and peace in the region.

With the same end in mind, Madagascar hopes there

will be a peaceful settlement, on the basis of Security

Council resolutions, of the problems between Kuwait and

Iraq, with a view to establishing a mutually beneficial

atmosphere of security and cooperation in the region.

The much-acclaimed return of a united, non-racial

and democratic South Africa to the community of nations

is one of the major events of the last decade of this

century and a subject of enormous pride for us all.

Madagascar welcomes the establishment of a non-racial

regime in that great country and firmly believes that

reorganizing South Africa on a democratic basis opens up

new prospects for cooperation and development

throughout the region.

Thanks to the political courage of the Israeli,

Palestinian and Jordanian leaders, the Middle East has

now begun a process of historic reconciliation that

seemed impossible just a short time ago. The Malagasy

Government is following closely the ups and downs of

the implementation of the Declaration of Principles on

Interim Self-Government Arrangements in Gaza and

Jericho signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation

Organization and the Agreement between Israel and

Jordan on the Common Agenda. The United Nations

should encourage all the parties to use the relevant

resolutions with a view to establishing a comprehensive

and lasting peace in the Middle East region.

With the disappearance of a world balance based on

fear of a nuclear holocaust there came hope for a world

free from the scourge of war and favourable to the

strengthening of international cooperation. Unfortunately,

recent events in the international arena show that the new

international order is indeed precarious.

7

Today we are seeing a reappearance of armed conflict

in almost all parts of the world. Several countries are now

plunged in fratricidal wars resulting in human tragedy and

political chaos. Underlying these tragedies we see, inter

alia, intolerance, xenophobia, the problem of minorities and,

above all, the absence of democratic practices in the

settlement of disputes. Somalia, Liberia, Rwanda and the

former Yugoslavia are tragic and dangerous situations

which threaten not only the equilibrium of their regions but

also international peace and security.

Other situations which are too often ignored could

degenerate into serious crises. The problem of borders in

central and eastern Europe, the disturbing situation in the

Indian subcontinent and the flow of refugees in Africa, Asia

and even in Europe are all situations that show how fragile

international security is.

The efforts on the part of the United Nations to

resolve regional and subregional disputes must be supported

by greater world-wide cooperation in disarmament. In this

connection my delegation attaches high priority to

continuing initiatives and concerted actions by Member

States to put a stop to the uncontrolled movement of arms

and to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

My delegation hopes that the consensus at the last

session on multilateral negotiations on a comprehensive

nuclear-test-ban treaty will lead to the conclusion of a

universal treaty so as to improve the prospects for the 1995

Conference of parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation

of Nuclear Weapons.

Broadening the activities of the United Nations in

regard to peace-keeping and in regard to full achievement

of the development goals calls for greater effectiveness in

the United Nations machinery if the Organization is to live

up to the expectations of the international community.

As for the role of the United Nations in the

maintenance and restoration of peace, recent experience

clearly shows the need for reform with a view to

strengthening the United Nations capacity to prevent

breaches of the peace on the one hand, and on the other

hand to carry out peace-keeping operations on the ground.

Lessons can be learned from the difficulties

encountered in Somalia, the tragedy of Rwanda, and the

sorry experience of the former Yugoslavia. Those United

Nations missions that were to some extent successful

benefitted from the following factors: broad support from

the international community; the consent of the parties to

the dispute; and non-violent and impartial intervention

forces. A peace-keeping operation per se should be

accompanied by diplomatic efforts and economic and

social assistance and should also tackle the underlying

causes of the conflict. In any event, preventive

diplomacy is the best means of averting the eruption of

potential conflicts.

The use of regional machinery for the settlement of

disputes would improve the conduct of peace-keeping

operations and would, for example, avoid delay in

mobilizing humanitarian assistance. After all, who is

better placed than the States of a region to react to a

potential threat there, particularly if the region already has

an adequate structure for the prevention of conflicts?

Examples of this are the system of collective security in

Europe and the mechanism for the prevention,

management and settlement of disputes in Africa. Yet

this Organization should not just unload its problems on

to regional mechanisms; rather, it should offert h o s e

mechanisms the necessary support by providing a clear

and precise mandate and by making adequate financial

and logistic resources available.

Never before have circumstances been so favourable

for realizing the aspiration of the majority of Members of

this Organization to an enlarged Security Council that

provides equitable representation. Many proposals

concerning this topic are now being discussed by the

General Assembly’s Open-Ended Working Group.

Madagascar, which, as is demonstrated by its

Constitution, is deeply committed to democratic

principles, believes that the democracy that is advocated

in many countries should apply in the international system

too. Madagascar is open to any proposal that would not

damage the effectiveness of the Security Council. At the

same time, we emphasize the need for democratic

representation reflecting contemporary realities.

The Government of Madagascar does not

underestimate the special responsibility of States that are

permanent members of the Security Council, especially in

the area of contributions to peace-keeping operations.

However, any reform that is undertaken should win the

support of all Member States so that they will have the

necessary trust in it and be able to participate effectively

and on an equal footing.

The same principles apply to development problems,

in that political stability at the national, regional and

international levels determines whether development

8

objectives can be met. There can be no peace without

development, as can be seen in various parts of the world

where serious conflicts and political troubles have been

caused by economic hardship. Against this backdrop, the

imperative of the universality of peace and development

forcefully tells us to take note of how the world economic

situation is developing.

The crisis that has affected the world economy for

more than a decade is worsening, despite a slow and fragile

recovery in some developed countries. This crisis continues

to make a negative impact on the development process in

third-world countries: erratic fluctuations in rates of

exchange, an increase in interest rates and an unprecedented

deterioration in the terms of trade - to mention only the

most notable effects of the past year.

The gap between North and South grows wider while

the inequalities between the regions become increasingly

striking. Poverty and extreme poverty are daily being

ingrained in the countries that are now referred to as the

fourth world. The situation in Africa has become alarming.

The crisis there is magnified by the negative effects of

natural disasters and civil and ethnic wars.

Problems such as the crushing weight of external debt,

stagnation, if not a reduction, in official development

assistance, financial and trade restraints and a continuing

drop in commodity prices are - today as yesterday -

symptoms of a crisis in development.

Alongside this crisis, a serious change is taking place

at the cost of developing countries, particularly poor

countries. In the present restructuring of the world

economy the interdependence that is preached has

contradictory effects. While the countries of the North

enjoy protectionism in all its forms in their markets,

liberalism is becoming a requirement for developing

countries. Equally, there is talk of the interdependence of

problems but sectoral approaches alone are still used.

Economies in the industrialized countries are becoming

increasingly integrated, while we note increasing

marginalization of the economies of the poor countries.

While the industrialized countries increase their

independence in raw materials through the development of

micro-electronics, the developing countries are suffering the

backlash, and their already-fragile economic position is

being weakened further. These are new challenges that we

have to take up in the international arena.

Faced with these paradoxes and contradictions,

which keep us deadlocked, and with economic stagnation

in third-world countries, we have to ask how we can get

out of this situation. It is clear that only by combining

our efforts at all levels - national, regional and

international - shall we be able to produce a lasting

solution.

As to the national level, I should like to cite the case

of my own country. The Government of Madagascar has

made development the principal objective underlying its

activities at the national and international levels. Thus

diplomacy is put at the service of development and,

without any ideological considerations, is focused on the

establishment of relations with all States on the basis of

respect for the great fundamental principles set forth in

the various international legal instruments.

While continuing to implement its structural-

adjustment programme, Madagascar has made important

political changes in the shape of democratization,

characterized by the blossoming of a multi-party approach

and the creation of the conditions necessary to the

promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms. In

short, we are working towards the advent of a state of

law that responds to the deeply felt aspirations of our

people.

This democratization of our political life is

accompanied by economic reform based on liberalism

designed to promote active participation by our people in

the development of the country. In this context, our

Government is trying to create a climate of trust in our

institutional framework, and we are trying to draw up

clear rules for production and investment in order to

guarantee the necessary political support at the national

and international levels.

The Government of Madagascar would like to thank

the friendly countries and international institutions that

have understood the importance of the changes now under

way and that intend to support them and to increase their

contributions to satisfy our most urgent needs and, in the

long term, help to strengthen our democratic process and

promote real, self-sustaining development.

When we use the term "immediate needs," we are

thinking of a set of relief mechanisms designed to deal

with the precarious situation of our principal social

sectors because of the demands of the structural

adjustment programme.

9

As for the economic recovery and development

programme, I should like to recall that the Government of

the Republic of Madagascar is prepared to conclude

agreements with the Bretton Woods institutions. It is our

ardent hope that, above and beyond their current demands

for adjustments to achieve financial equilibrium and

balanced budgets, those institutions will take new measures

to reorient that programme towards true recovery

accompanied by an economic take-off and sustainable

development.

At the regional level, developing countries have come

up with guidelines and goals and have now buckled down

to implementing them. In the case of Africa, I would recall

the Lagos Plan of Action and Final Act, the African

Alternative Framework for Structural Adjustment

Programmes (AAF-SAP) and the United Nations New

Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. Four

years after the launching of the new Programme of Action,

we have to say that the expected results have not yet been

achieved and that Africa, one of the worlds least-developed

continents, has not received the hoped for assistance and

aid from the rich countries. Because of their own efforts to

implement measures for rehabilitation and recovery, often

involving considerable sacrifices, the African countries

deserve a more positive response from the international

community.

It is crucial to problems of debt, commodity

diversification and the provision of adequate financial

resources if African States are to be assured not only the

conditions required for true economic and social take-off,

but also the success of the structural and political reforms

now under way, free from social upheaval and the danger

of a decline in security and stability.

The United Nations has an important role to play in

finding appropriate solutions to development problems.

The persistent nature of the problems we customarily evoke

here in the Assembly every year shows once again the

inadequacy of the policies and measures adopted so far -

despite the adoption of several international instruments for

cooperation, such as the Declaration of the eighteenth

special session of the General Assembly, the International

Development Strategy for the Fourth United Nations

Development Decade, the Cartegena Commitment of the

eighth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade

and Development (UNCTAD VIII), the Rio Declaration on

Environment and Development and Agenda 21.

The problems we are facing can no longer be dealt

with adequately on an ad hoc basis or constantly subjected

to adjustment measures. What is required is structural

reform of the international economic system, which,

despite profound changes, is still unjust and perpetuates

relations of dependency. In other words, it is very

important to define new strategies and agree on new

parameters and mechanisms that can reverse the inequities

in international economic relations today.

This is a task for the United Nations, which, because

of its universality and its democratic principles, remains

the only forum that can tackle these problems with an

integrated approach, taking into account the political

implications of decisions made by those principally

involved in development, including financial, monetary

and international trade institutions.

The Agenda for Development, the indispensable

corollary to the Agenda for Peace, launched two years

ago by the Secretary-General, should give to the

international community new guidelines as it seeks to

attain development objectives. The elaboration of that

Agenda should be given special attention.

The Agenda’s first objectives should be to eliminate

poverty, meet peoples’ basic needs and improve their

standard of living. It should seek to promote effective

implementation of existing commitments and agreements

and take into account the goals of forthcoming

international conferences in the field of economic and

social development. Instead of talking about requirements

or conditions, it should set forth practical and realistic

ways of meeting the challenges with which we are faced.

In this connection, the attention of the international

community should be focused on questions of debt,

development financing, commodities, international trade,

environment and development.

Support for economic and technical cooperation

between developing countries and the strengthening of

regional and sub-regional integration initiatives should be

an integral part of the new Agenda.

Experience has shown the resumption of

development through renewed international cooperation

cannot succeed without the political will of States,

especially the rich ones. Although such cooperation

depends on many variables, and is affected by many

different circumstances, it can no longer disregard the

principles of justice, equity and equal but differentiated

participation.

10

At this crucial moment in its history, the Organization

must learn from the past so that it can consolidate its

achievements, meet today’s challenges and develop a plan

for the future of the United Nations.

The fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations will be

the time for drawing up a balance sheet, for making the

Organization, the Member States and the people of the

world face up to their respective responsibilities. This

historic moment will make clear the gap between hopes and

reality, between commitments fulfilled and promises

forgotten.

Efforts to restructure the Organization and give it a

second wind will be successful only if there is a true

resolve to arrive at a world consensus for development, in

all its aspects, as the foundation of peace and a source of

hope for all mankind.

For its part, Madagascar is prepared to work with

peace-loving and justice-loving States to build a better

world.