Madagascar, 2002

The Madagascar delegation, which I have the honour

of leading for the first time at this session of the

General Assembly, is delighted to congratulate Mr. Jan

Kavan on his well-deserved election to the presidency

of this session, and we wish him every success.

To his predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-soo, we

express our most sincere appreciation for having led

the fifty-sixth session to a successful conclusion

through dedication and skilful leadership.

The dedication of our Secretary-General,

Mr. Kofi Annan, to the attainment of the objectives of

the United Nations deserves our full appreciation and

gratitude.

The admission of the Swiss Confederation as a

new Member of the United Nations is for Madagascar a

source of profound satisfaction. This friendly country

is a living example of a peaceful and multicultural

society based on values of democracy and freedom.

Here today, in the framework of the

commemoration of the tragic events of 11 September

2001, we wish to express our solidarity with the people

and the Government of the United States. We reiterate

our condemnation of such terrorist acts, whose

consequences are incalculable. A global phenomenon

without borders, terrorism is considered to be the most

dangerous enemy of the new millennium. It can be

eradicated only through harmonious international

cooperation.

In this regard, we wish to pay tribute here to the

efforts of the United Nations, acting through the

Counter-Terrorism Committee created by the Security

Council, for the implementation of Council resolution

1373 (2001), and we commend all other regional

initiatives adopted to combat this plague. To fight

terrorism, countries such as ours will need special

technical assistance in order to implement this

resolution of the United Nations, as well as other

international treaties.

The persistence of areas of tension and conflict

around the world, especially the Middle East, demands

the reinvigoration of the United Nations to make it

more effective in responding to the needs of the

international community, particularly in maintaining

international peace and security. To pursue this critical

objective, we must now more than ever strengthen our

efforts to make the Security Council more democratic,

more representative and more transparent.

There is no doubt that the United Nations

provides us with the ideal framework for creating

conditions that encourage States and peoples to choose

peace over war. In this regard, Madagascar wishes to

congratulate Timor-Leste on its independence after a

valiant and heroic struggle by the people of that

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country and successful efforts by the United Nations to

re-establish peace there.

Furthermore, Madagascar encourages the

mediation efforts undertaken by the United Nations for

the settlement of conflicts in a number of countries

throughout Africa. In this context, I wish to reiterate

the profound gratitude of the Malagasy people for the

role the United Nations agreed to play in resolving the

post-election dispute that threatened Madagascar. This

crisis is now over and Madagascar is now experiencing

a new era full of hope.

We are convinced that sustainable development

requires the consolidation of the rule of law and the

establishment of good governance. Towards this end,

the new Government is taking all appropriate measures

for the sound and rational management of public

finances and of international assistance. Madagascar

has given the fight against corruption the very highest

priority. We have also taken the initiative to insure that

an effective policy is developed and applied in order to

tackle this evil on all fronts. Madagascar supports

General Assembly resolution 55/61, through which our

General Assembly decided to create an ad hoc

committee entrusted with negotiating a future legal

instrument against corruption. Our country is awaiting

the conclusion of such an instrument in the near future,

in order to fill the gaps in its own legal system. We

look forward with considerable interest to the high-

level Conference in Mexico in 2003 for signing a

convention against corruption.

The rapid and sustainable development of

Madagascar is the major and fundamental objective of

the present Government, in order to extract the country

from the scourge of poverty, a source of instability that

erodes democratic values. In this context, Madagascar

is committed to a pro-active policy aimed at recovery

for rapid and sustainable growth of its economy, in

which the private sector will be the driving force.

As we see it, the key to development is

partnership between the public sector and the private

sector, in which the Government works together with

private companies and non-governmental organizations

solely for the benefit of the people. We invite private

businesses to invest in Madagascar. The returns on

those investments will be beneficial both to them and

to the Malagasy people.

As an essential component of development and of

peace, education is our priority of priorities. Malagasy

children will live fully in the world of the twenty-first

century, which is characterized by advanced

technology of information and communications. Thus,

Madagascar welcomes the adoption of Assembly

resolution 56/258 calling for a World Summit on the

Information Society to be held in 2003 and in 2005.

The world community will then have a unique

opportunity to discuss information and develop the

opportunities offered by digital technologies, in

particular in Africa and in the least developed

countries.

The Republic of Madagascar is ready to do

everything in its power to put the country back on the

path of development. This will be done with the

support of the international community in the

framework of mutually advantageous cooperation.

I take this opportunity to express our gratitude

and our appreciation to all of Madagascar's

development partners, bilateral, regional and multi-

lateral, for their valuable contribution to the re-

launching of economic activity in our country.

Faced with multiple challenges in our era, a time

dominated by poverty and underdevelopment,

international cooperation is no longer a choice; it is an

absolute necessity for the survival of humanity. Those

factors that diminish us as human beings: poverty,

HIV/AIDS, famine and illiteracy, cannot be eliminated

without a true spirit of solidarity, guaranteeing a better

future for all people. Let us not forget that the

preamble of our Charter announces a new humanity

with peoples and human beings living in dignity and

security. Towards that end, they must have access to

fundamental human rights, the right to health care, the

right to education and to culture, and the right to a

decent income. Our mission, to reduce poverty

everywhere in the world, has become today more

important and more urgent than ever before.

The slowdown in economic activity, on a global

scale, following the attacks of 11 September 2001, has

worsened impoverishment and plunged millions of

individuals into a state of dire need. In this grim

context, globalization could play a vital role in the

fight against poverty, as long as the countries of the

north and the south are offered the same opportunities

of development.

In order for globalization to truly benefit

humankind, it must take into consideration the interests

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of all countries the world over, in an international

economy of sharing.

Global interdependence and better international

economic cooperation must be entirely accepted, if we

are to obtain the objectives of the Millennium

Declaration. A collective awareness to develop a real

partnership for development is indispensable in order

to make a reality of that objective. In this spirit,

Madagascar welcomes the consensus reached at the

International Conference On Financing For

Development, which was held in Monterrey.

In the same context, Madagascar urges the

international community to give firm and concrete

support to the New Partnership for Africa's

Development (NEPAD), and to give that support both

bilaterally and multilaterally. With the objective of

giving an important role to the private sector in

development, Madagascar fully and without reserve

supports the principles and objectives underlying

NEPAD. In the coming months, I intend to make

Madagascar one of the leading countries of NEPAD,

because I am sincerely committed to good governance,

the development of infrastructures and energy,

education, new technologies, access to the markets of

developed countries and the protection of the

environment.

The alarming conclusions of a United Nations

Environment Programme report entitled Africa

Environment Outlook', as well as the recent weather-

related disasters in Central Europe and Asia, require

the international community to develop a new code of

ethics for the conservation and effective protection of

the environment. Our Government will make the

protection of our precious environment one of our main

priorities. Furthermore, Madagascar hopes that the

Summit on Sustainable Development held in

Johannesburg a few days ago will give new impetus to

our collective determination to offer all countries an

opportunity to develop in a way that benefits their

inhabitants, their environment and our shared heritage,

the Earth.

By some standards, Madagascar is a poor country.

However, it is rich in unique natural resources and in

educated human resources. Above all, its population is

attached to democracy, family values and belief in

God.

We would like today to express our desire to

cooperate with the United Nations as a partner for the

reconstruction of Madagascar. By working in

partnership, we will ensure for our country a future of

hope. The entire world will come to know us by our

strengths, not our weaknesses.

Working together with the United Nations family,

Madagascar is ready to make its own contribution to

building a global village in which all countries receive

equal treatment and have equal opportunities for full

development - an indispensable condition for the

establishment of lasting peace.