Mali, 1993

At

the outset, I should like, on behalf of the Government and

people of Mali, to convey to the people of India our

profound grief at the heavy loss of life and the massive

material damage caused by the earthquake that has just

struck their country.

I have pleasure in expressing to Mr. Insanally the

heartfelt and cordial congratulations of the delegation of

Mali on his election to the presidency of the General

Assembly at its forty-eighth session. I wish him every

success and assure him of my delegation’s fullest

cooperation.

Let me take this opportunity also to express our

satisfaction at the exemplary manner in which Mr. Stoyan

Ganev presided over the Assembly’s work at the last session.

It is also a pleasure to congratulate the United Nations

Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, on the

constant efforts he has made since he became head of the

Organization.

The United Nations now consists of 184 Member

States. This confirms its universality, gives it further

credibility and explains the renewed interest in seeing it

fulfil its promise. Our warmest congratulations go to all the

new Members. We assure them of our full readiness to

cooperate with them.

The world is most certainly living through times of

great change. Ever since the events of 26 March 1991, Mali

has been resolutely embarked on a process of

democratization. However, this process is unfolding in

especially trying circumstances.

In strictly national terms, the transition to democracy,

which was achieved through the elections of 1992, though

essentially a success, is being prolonged by new

44 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

uncertainties. With regard to social values, one finds a

serious identity crisis and a lack of orientation among the

young, in the workplace and among the traditional players in

the private-sector economy. There is uncertainty also about

the way in which the new political institutions operate, as

these need to go through a period of apprenticeship in a

democratic context, where impatience and violence coexist

with a readiness for dialogue and for solidarity. Uncertainty

is to be found also with regard to the new mission, size,

operation and performance of an administration in transition,

which must be more transparent and accessible to people at

the grass roots. Uncertainty is to found, finally, in economic

development programmes characterized by the urgent need

for in-depth structural adjustment and the need to reallocate

public resources to satisfy priority necessities: a basic

education, public health provision, village water supplies and

maintenance of the infrastructure.

At the subregional level, which for Mali encompasses

both western Africa south of the Sahara and the Arab

Maghreb, we are dealing with such complex and difficult

problems as instability borne of local conflicts, followed by

human tragedy, because the number of refugees in the

subregion has risen from approximately 20,000 in 1989 to

more than 1.2 million in 1993; the slow pace of economic

integration, despite all the very vocal declarations of

goodwill, which is restricting growth in the subregion; and

religious questions which are daily gaining more ground and

subjecting political institutions to new trials that are more

delicate, more difficult to define and cope with and more

terrible.

The Government of Mali believes that to cope

effectively and efficiently with those problems and the many

challenges in the process of democratization, we will have

quickly to restore economic growth and then develop human

resources, the true way to a successful future, achieve

medium-term and long-term stability and thus find the

economic key to development. Finally, we shall have to

guarantee balanced development and comprehensive

financing for development.

In all this, our Government does not forget and, indeed,

it is meeting its international obligations as well.

By the same token, we continue to advocate and to

work internationally for a world of peace and concord where

it should be possible to find a solution to all problems by

dialogue and negotiation.

This courageous political evolution should be strongly

supported because the adverse impact of a disadvantageous

economic situation, along with drastic structural adjustment

measures and problems linked to debt, compounded by

socio-political tension, is having an adverse impact on the

entire democratic process.

The international environment in which this session is

being held is marked by many uncertainties linked to the life

of the Organization and of the international community in

general. The post-war period saw the emergence of new

democracies and the strengthening of protection for human

rights the world over.

Over the past three years the Organization has taken on

a number of commitments. In terms of peace-keeping, the

declaration made on 31 January 1992 at the Summit of the

Heads of State or Government of the member States of the

Security Council, set milestones to be reached in establishing

a new international order.

While remaining committed to the quest for

international peace and security, we believe that any peacekeeping operation must come within a precise framework

defined by the Security Council. Any loss of control may

jeopardize the very credibility of the Organization.

Notwithstanding the Organization’s efforts in the search

for international peace and security, hotbeds of tension, alas,

persist around the world.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina inter-ethnic confrontation

and clashes have reached unimaginable proportions. The

international community seems, paradoxically, to be

watching passively the breakup of a country upon

exclusively ethnic and religious grounds. That is setting

alarming precedents.

In Angola, despite the many efforts by the United

Nations, the situation remains alarming. My delegation

appeals to all the parties to commit themselves more

intensively to seeking a just and lasting resolution of this

conflict.

The situation prevailing in Somalia is a threat to peace

and security in that region. The presence of the United

Nations, through the United Nations Operation in Somalia

(UNOSOM II), should in principle hold out the promise of

bringing peace to the country and a negotiated political

resolution of the crisis. Humanitarian aid has made it

possible to avoid irreparable damage being done, but we

believe that UNOSOM II must attempt to silence the guns

and create a climate favourable to reconciliation among all

Somalis.

Forty-eighth session - 1 October l993 45

Whilst areas of serious tension persist, we would do

well to welcome the positive turn of events in the settlement

of other conflicts.

In Liberia hope has been rekindled, with the recent

signing of the Cotonou Agreement, the entry into force of

the cease-fire and the setting up of the high Council of State.

The expansion of the Economic Community of West

African States (ECOWAS) Military Observer

Group (ECOMOG) and greater involvement by the United

Nations in implementing the agreement might lead to the

rebirth of the Liberian State. This is the time and place to

appeal to the international community immediately to create

support funds and to implement the Cotonou Agreement.

In Mozambique the acceptance of a new timetable to

implement the Peace Agreements will promote the

implementation of the United Nations Operation in

Mozambique (ONUMOZ). We pay tribute to the parties for

respecting the cease-fire.

As to the conflict in Rwanda, we are reassured by the

sense of responsibility being displayed by the Government

and the Rwanda Patriotic Front. The signature in Arusha on

4 August last of an agreement between the two parties

proves that a political settlement of a conflict is always

possible if all sides have the will. We therefore welcome

this determination of the parties concerned and encourage

them to pursue dialogue and strictly and scrupulously to

implement the requirements of the Agreement in observing

the cease-fire. The United Nations and the Organization of

African Unity (OAU) should strive, for their part, to

consolidate this major achievement.

In South Africa the multiracial negotiations will

certainly see the advent of a democratic, non-racial and

united South Africa. The United Nations must pursue its

cooperation with the Organization of African Unity to

support the process. However, the Government in place

must take forceful measures to put an end to the wave of

violence sweeping the country. The insecurity is fertile

ground for anarchy and disorder.

We welcome the turn events have taken in the

referendum process under way in Western Sahara with the

cooperation of all parties. The joint efforts of the United

Nations and the Organization of African Unity to bring about

a negotiated settlement can, we are convinced, succeed if the

parties directly concerned continue their cooperation. It is

therefore necessary for their decision-making bodies to work

closely with the United Nations Identification Commission

to resolve the last remaining obstacles linked to criteria for

identifying electors and establishing proof of identity. My

delegation reaffirms its support for the process.

Mali has been following with keen interest the latest

developments on the question of Palestine. The mutual

recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)

and the State of Israel, followed by the signing of a

declaration of principles on Palestinian autonomy in Gaza

and Jericho, mark a major step towards a just and lasting

settlement of the question of Palestine and the establishment

of relations of trust between the peoples of that region.

My delegation hails the Israeli-Palestinian

rapprochement, fruit of the courage and political realism of

the leaders of both parties and the praiseworthy efforts

around the world to make the negotiations a success. We

invite all the parties concerned to give tangible expression to

this remarkable spirit so as to bring about a definitive peace

in the Middle East in accordance with the relevant United

Nations resolutions.

In Haiti the signing of the Governors Island Agreement

and the New York Pact should soon make it possible for the

legitimate President of that country to return. We hail the

steps taken by the Secretary-General and his Special Envoy,

which have made it possible to attain the results achieved so

far.

Elsewhere - in Cambodia, Afghanistan and El Salvador

- we praise the efforts to bring about progressive

normalization.

With regard to the dispute pitting Libya against certain

other Member States, the Government of Mali reaffirms its

support for implementation of Security Council resolutions

731 (1992) and 748 (1992). We condemn terrorism in all its

forms. In supporting the resolutions adopted in this context

by the Organization of African Unity, the Arab Maghreb

Union and the Organization of the Islamic Conference,

among others, the Government of Mali hopes for continued

negotiation and action from the Secretary-General. A just

and equitable resolution of this crisis and a rapid lifting of

the embargo would contribute to creating a climate of peace

and security in the subregion and to removing a major factor

preventing the economic development of the peoples

concerned.

As to the Korean peninsula, my delegation encourages

the pursuit of the negotiation process set in train and

strongly hopes that it will lead to the peaceful reunification

of the two Koreas.

46 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

I now revert to development issues of particular

importance to the African continent: the situation of the

least developed countries; the problems of children and

women and population issues; and environmental problems -

in particular, desertification.

The adoption in Paris in 1990 of a programme of action

for the least developed countries rightly gave rise to a great

deal of hope. We cannot but note, however, that three years

after its adoption, the economic results have not come up to

expectations. According to a 1992 report of the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations Conference on Trade and

Development (UNCTAD):

"For the least developed countries as a whole, per

capita income declined in 1990 and again in 1991.

There is little hope that 1992 will be better, and the

prospects for 1993 are scarcely promising."

It is therefore important to abide by the commitments made

at the Paris Conference aimed at improving the economic

situation of the least developed countries.

By the same token, so far as the land-locked countries

are concerned, steps must be taken to follow through on the

conclusions and recommendations of the Meeting of

Governmental Experts from Land-Locked Countries and

Transit Developing Countries and Representatives of Donor

Countries and Financial and Development Institutions, held

in New York in May 1993, in implementation of resolution

46/212.

The Declaration and Plan of Action adopted at the

World Summit for Children and the goals spelled out for the

1990s on that occasion have set new targets for improving

the living conditions of children the world over. All

members of the international community are called upon to

contribute to the implementation of commitments made at

that Summit. In this connection, we must also see to the

implementation of the Consensus of Dakar of 1992, which

emerged from the International Conference on Assistance to

African Children.

My delegation has high hopes of international meetings

to be held over the next several years on resolving social

problems, both at the individual State level and

internationally.

The World Summit for Social Development, scheduled

for 1995 in Copenhagen, will be a key event for our

Organization. We expect good results from that Summit and

hope that it will contribute to narrowing the gap between

social groups within a single entity, North and South.

The World Conference on Women, scheduled to be

held in 1995 in Beijing, will also afford us an opportunity to

review the various programmes and initiate further action

aimed at establishing an effective policy to bring women into

the development process.

Another important gathering will be the World

Conference on Population and Development, scheduled for

1994 in Cairo. This Conference will make it possible to

define a new strategy for developing human resources,

having regard to economic and environmental factors.

Environmental problems now occupy an important place

in national, regional and international development

programmes. The United Nations Conference on

Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in

June 1992, laid the groundwork for sound joint management

of development.

Agenda 21, the Convention on Climate Change and the

Convention on Biological Diversity demonstrated the

readiness of the signatories of those historic documents to

move away from current production and consumption

patterns. Implementing commitments made in Rio requires

mobilizing substantial financial resources for developing

countries and strengthening their scientific, technical and

institutional capabilities.

Mali welcomes the creation by the Economic and

Social Council (ECOSOC) of the Commission on

Sustainable Development, in accordance with resolution

47/191. At its first session, held in June 1993, the

Commission dealt with fundamental problems which must be

solved if Agenda 21 is to become a reality.

One of the chief goals is to mobilize financial

resources. Restructuring the Global Environment Facility

(GEF), democratizing its management rules and decisionmaking rules and mobilizing additional resources must

facilitate the execution of the various chapters of Agenda 21.

Fighting drought and desertification is one of the main

goals that African countries have set for themselves. My

country, two thirds of whose surface is desert, and which has

suffered the terrible impact of drought over the last 20 years,

welcomes the setting up of the Intergovernmental

Negotiating Committee for the elaboration of an international

convention to combat drought and desertification. At the

two substantive Committee sessions held respectively in

Forty-eighth session - 1 October l993 47

Nairobi, in June this year, and in Geneva, in September this

year, there was an evaluation of the problem of

desertification. Information was exchanged and data that can

be taken into account in future negotiations were collected.

My delegation hopes that the current negotiations on the

convention to fight drought and desertification will lead to

a real commitment so that the international conference

scheduled for Paris will be a real success.

The issues I have just raised show that the problems of

keeping peace and maintaining international security, as well

as the problems of economic, social and environmental

development, are all major challenges that continue to face

mankind as it approaches the threshold of the third

millennium.

My delegation feels that to meet these challenges we

must, in view of the fundamental changes since the 1960s,

promote greater democratization and a fairer division of

international responsibility. Thus developing countries that

have won international sovereignty, and that represent nearly

two thirds of the population of our planet, rightly call for

representation on the Security Council as permanent

members.

Meeting these challenges also requires close cooperation

and real solidarity amongst all the players on the world

stage. This means that it is more than ever necessary to

reflect deeply on and re-examine, the principles and rules for

international cooperation.

The restructuring exercise to revitalize the economic

and social sectors of the United Nations affords us an

opportunity to make our Organization more dynamic in

development matters and to ensure that it plays a central

role, in keeping with the provisions of its Charter and the

relevant General Assembly resolutions.

My delegation, while welcoming the progress made in

reforming the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and

certain of its subsidiary bodies, believes that our thinking

must go beyond strictly institutional terms. In any event, my

country feels that the imperative of restructuring is to

maintain and indeed strengthen the United Nations capacity

for intervention in development matters.

In implementing this policy we must pay particular

attention to furthering and strengthening South-South

cooperation through socio-economic programmes based upon

the realities within the developing countries. Indeed, the

revival of economic and technical cooperation between

developing countries is an integral part of a strategy aimed

at restoring growth and development worldwide.

Finally, my country supports the efforts of the

Secretary-General to make the administrative machinery of

the United Nations more efficient by avoiding duplication

and minimizing operating costs.

For several years now the world has been going

through major changes. If these profound transformations

are to benefit all mankind, they must be accompanied and

supported by concrete action making it possible to guide

them in the right direction. While these upheavals have

been managed successfully by some States, their extent has

taken others by surprise, and the problems have exceeded

their ability to contain and control them. Lacking the

means, they find aid from the international community

indispensable. It is at this level that many expect

intervention from our Organization, and we can indeed help.

The people and Government of Mali have made

important, clear choices: first, to consolidate the strong suits

of a Malian nation that is united, though diverse in its

cultural and racial composition, as it is carefully and

irreversibly building a progressive democracy; secondly, to

carry out in-depth economic reform in harmony with the

needs of worldwide free trade and with the concerns of our

partners in the international community; thirdly, to

implement a bold policy of involving our people in

managing their own affairs and simplifying legislation and

public programmes; and fourthly, to pursue long-term

sustainable development in a framework of institutions for

subregional and regional economic integration and in

partnership with all our friends across Africa. We believe

that the United Nations and the international community

have everything to gain from supporting our original and

exciting experiment, the hallmark of a new kind of

international relations, at once nobler and more rewarding.