Mali, 2014

It is my great

pleasure, Mr. President, to convey to you warm

congratulations from the delegation of Mali on your

election as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-

ninth session. The unanimous vote that you received on

11 June is an honour for your country, Uganda, and is

a source of legitimate pride for all of Africa. I assure

you of our fullest support for success in your new

position. At the same time, I wish to congratulate your

predecessor, Ambassador John William Ashe, who so

ably led the Assembly during his tenure as President at

the sixty-eighth session. I should also like to pay tribute

to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his tireless

commitment to resolving the crisis in Mali and for the

laudable efforts he continues to make to promote peace,

security and development throughout the world.

Mr. President, you have established a useful

agenda and opted for continuity in selecting the central

theme of the sixty-ninth session, “Delivering on and

implementing a transformative post-2015 development

agenda”. I commend your choice. Indeed, since the

United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development

in 2012, our Organization has been engaged in various

intergovernmental processes to implement the slogan

“The future we want.”

In Rio de Janeiro, States Members of the United

Nations took up the challenge to provide a better

world for current and future generations. To deliver

on that undertaking, we will require noble, ambitious,

legitimate and strong leadership, strong political will,

constant determination and insight so as to ensure a

balanced integration of the three essential pillars of

sustainable development, namely, social, economic and

environmental. What we have heard over the past few

days leads us to believe that it is feasible.

However, as we prepare to embark on the design

phase of the transformative post-2015 programme, we

must first complete a vital task. My delegation wishes

to emphasize the need to ensure the full implementation

of the substantial prior commitments we undertook.

Accordingly, we want to make a heartfelt plea in favour

of expediting the implementation of the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs). In sum, I would reiterate

that Mali subscribes to the core theme of this session,

which is relevant, thanks to its inclusive, universal,

ambitious and transformative aspects. The theme

not only includes all the essential components of the

outstanding MDGs, but it also focuses on the sustainable

development goals (SDGs), which will be based on a

transparent intergovernmental process.

Like other delegations, African and non-African

alike, that have spoken before me, I remain convinced

that the eradication of poverty by 2030 should be a

priority target of commitments relating to the post-2015

development agenda that we are to adopt. Fortunately,

the contribution of Africa to the current process is

already formalized in the Common African Position on

Post-2015 Development, adopted at the African Union

Summit in Malabo in June. That joint position makes

social, economic and environmental sustainability the

keystone of our continent’s development policy.

But the policy is also built on essential pillars, such

as the transformation of economic structures, inclusive

growth, science, technology, innovation, human-centred

development, environmental sustainability, and natural

resource and natural disaster risk management, as well

as peace and security. Naturally, we strongly support

the African position, the relevance and rightness of

which goes without saying. I also urge the international

community to diligently review the Common African

Position. The concerns of the continent listed in that

position statement were identified through a process

conducted with care and precision.

As we approach the 2015 deadline, Africa is again

faced with a terrible epidemic of the Ebola virus,

which has run rampant, this time in Guinea, Sierra

Leone, Liberia and other countries of West Africa. The

rapid onset and the scale of that new challenge have

sorely tested all the public-health systems already in

place. The individual capacities of our States, which

are fragile and in the process of being strengthened,

will not be sufficient to cope with the crisis. We must

pool our resources and redouble our efforts. We must

attack the new epicentres. Today more than ever, it is

important to adopt a common strategy to deal with this

epidemic, which brings grief to numerous homes every

day.

I want to express our appreciation to Secretary-

General Ban Ki-moon for his efforts, and, in these

times of hardship, to assure our brother countries

of our support and active solidarity. I also wish to

commend and thank various nations, including France,

the United States of America, China and Cuba, which

immediately responded with short-, medium- and long-

term assistance, provided swiftly and in a balanced

manner. The pledges made have laid a foundation that

will be instrumental, if not in completely overcoming

the challenge immediately, at least in mitigating the

panic that has begun to spread in the affected countries.

A year ago from this rostrum (see A/68/PV.15),

I announced that my country, Mali, had rejoined the

community of free and democratic nations, with the

firm determination to write a new page in its history.

I also announced the commencement of the dialogue

process for peace and national reconciliation, which

we initiated in accordance with relevant Security

Council resolutions and the Ouagadougou Preliminary

Agreement, signed on 18 June 2013, between the

Government and armed groups in northern Mali.

Since that date, there have been significant

developments of a political and security nature

relating to the restoration of the authority of the State,

the protection of human rights, the development of

humanitarian action, the execution of the mandate

of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated

Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), and the

coordination of development activities and partnership

with the international community. In that context, the

Government of Mali has undertaken a wide range of

actions, covering decentralization — that is to say, an

even more radical devolution of powers previously held

by the central Government — the promotion of national

reconciliation and peaceful coexistence, development

effectiveness in northern Mali, good governance and

combating corruption and impunity.

The momentum was strengthened by the

Government’s organization of a series of meetings and

opportunities for dialogue, including the Open Forum

on Decentralization and the National Conference

on Northern Mali. Those meetings enabled all the

national stakeholders to come together, in an inclusive

and participatory manner, and to identify structural

weaknesses in our political and institutional systems,

as well as to lay the foundations for new democratic

governance. That will take into account the profound

realities of our society, such as its ethnic and cultural

diversity and the strengths that have enabled the

people of Mali to ensure and maintain, throughout

the centuries and despite all the vagaries of nature

and recurring political uncertainties, their social

cohesion, customary resilience and basic aspiration to

a continuous improvement of their economic and social

conditions.

Today, in Algiers, with the support of the

international community, Algeria is facilitating

a process that weaves the threads of an inclusive

inter-Malian dialogue into a comprehensive and

permanent peace. We thank Algeria for all its efforts

to help Mali. We hope that peace will be sustainable

and lasting and thus respond to the deepest aspirations

of our people. A first round of talks, held in Algiers

from 16 to 24 July, has led to the joint signing of a road

map on the basis of consensus and a declaration of

cessation of hostilities in the northern regions of Mali.

The Government and the armed groups in northern

Mali have since then continued their discussions on

what is called the second phase. Those discussions

should lead to deeper negotiations on a common vision

for the future, to gradually provide lasting solutions to

all the points of disagreement and start the final phase,

before ending with a peace agreement that will finally

be reached by the Malians themselves.

I would like to once again thank the African Union,

the Economic Community of West African States, the

United Nations, the European Union, the Organization

of Islamic Cooperation, Algeria, Burkina Faso,

Mauritania, the Niger, Nigeria, France, Switzerland

and others, which I will not name but which deserve to

be thanked for their tireless efforts for peace in Mali.

There are also other challenges to which we, as the

international community, must collectively respond,

especially in the Sahel region, which includes Mali.

The terrorist attacks carried out in Libya, Nigeria,

Kenya, Uganda, Tunisia and the Middle East, although

geographically spread out, in fact represent the same

serious threat to international peace and security. Here

I would like to pay a special tribute to the memory of

the French hostage, Hervé Gourdel, who was recently

murdered in such a cowardly and brutal manner in

Algeria. The very same day, that same barbarity was

illustrated in Mali, with the discovery of a decapitated

head hung up in a village marketplace. It belonged to a

former Malian soldier whose only crime was loyalty to

Mali and its Government.

We condemn terrorism, particularly when it is

carried out under the banner of religion. Islam has

been present in Mali since the eleventh century, and

it has been a tolerant and moderate Islam that is based

on humanism, the acceptance of others and the right to

differences. That has nothing to do with the Islam we

are seeing today.

We reiterate our profound gratitude to all those

who have worked for a return to peace and stability

in our country. On behalf of the grateful nation of

Mali, we honour the memory of all the brave soldiers

and civilians, from Mali and other friendly countries,

who have sacrificed their lives fighting against

obscurantism, terrorism and violent extremism.

The 2012 political and security crises in Mali

highlighted the complex and multiple challenges

facing all countries of the Sahel in terms of security,

governance, the protection of human rights and

development. Those challenges require concerted and

diligent efforts by the international community. They

should be met with a comprehensive approach and

targeted mechanisms. In that regard, I welcome the

adoption of the United Nations integrated strategy for

the Sahel, which offers a comprehensive and coherent

approach to finding lasting solutions to the threats and

challenges that beset the Sahel.

The first ministerial meeting to establish a platform

for coordinating the United Nations integrated strategy

for the Sahel, held in Bamako on 5 November 2013, is

part of that approach. After the meeting, the Ministers

for Foreign Affairs charged with coordinating the Sahel

countries agreed to hold meetings every six months with

a rotating chairmanship, which has been entrusted, for

the first two years, to my country, Mali. The second

meeting, also held in Bamako, on 16 May 2014, resulted

in the adoption of the Malian chair’s road map, which

focused in particular on coordinating the efforts of

partners and the national and regional ownership of the

various initiatives and strategies for the Sahel.

As a final note on this subject, I thank the bilateral

and multilateral partners and the financial institutions

committed to supporting the implementation of the

targeted projects and programmes within the United

Nations integrated strategy for the Sahel. We also thank

the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the

Sahel, Ms. Hiroute Guebre Selassie, and Mr. Romano

Prodi for his efforts to reconcile the various points of

view and to support Mali at the international level.

Mali remains firmly committed to the ideals of

peace and stability, both within and outside its borders.

I therefore welcome the progress achieved in terms

of reconstruction and national reconciliation in the

brotherly country of Guinea-Bissau. The successful

holding of presidential and parliamentary elections

bolsters the restoration of constitutional order in that

brotherly country.

Regarding the Central African Republic, Mali is

deeply concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian

situation there, and expresses its support for the United

Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization

Mission in the Central African Republic. We hope

its rapid deployment will put an end to the escalating

violence and thus protect civilian populations in that

brotherly country.

With respect to the Middle East, we are following

with great concern the developments in Syria, Lebanon

and Iraq, where the offensives of the terrorist group

called the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant threaten

the sovereignty of that country and the stability of the

entire region. To the Palestinian people, we express

our solidarity in action and continue to work for

the implementation of the relevant United Nations

resolutions.

Mali remains firmly committed to the fight against

the proliferation of small arms and light weapons and

the eradication of the illicit trade in such weapons. To

be effective, that fight must be make use of the relevant

synergies. The consultation and cooperation framework

at the regional and international levels offers such

an opportunity. Similarly, the Government of Mali

deplores the erosion of multilateralism in the area of

disarmament, in particular the prolonged paralysis

in the United Nations Disarmament Commission.

However, we welcome the adoption by the General

Assembly, on 2 April 2013, of the Arms Trade Treaty

(resolution 67/234), as it represents true progress in that

area.

We note that the intergovernmental negotiations on

the reform of the Security Council have been ongoing

for two decades already. The main issues seem to

be the categories of membership, the question of the

veto, regional representation, enlargement of the

membership, the Council’s working methods and its

relations with the General Assembly. It seems to us that

all Member States are now convinced of the need for

a reform of the institutional framework of the United

Nations in order to strengthen its legitimacy and ensure

its effectiveness.

However, no significant progress has been made

in the specific case of the Security Council, despite

repeated calls from this same rostrum and multiple

meetings on the issue. Africa, despite the fact that it

represents 53 of the 193 States Members of the United

Nations today, remains the only continent that does

not have a permanent seat on the Security Council.

This situation is at odds with the values of equality and

justice that are the ideals espoused by our Organization.

Africa came up with and submitted a Common

Position that was agreed on at Ezulwini, reaffirmed in

Sirte and subsequently confirmed during several other

summits. This proposal, a fair and realistic solution,

calls for granting the African continent two permanent

seats with the right of veto and five other non-permanent

seats. It seems to us that the Council, thus reformed,

would better reflect the geopolitical realities of today’s

world, and the historic injustice done to Africa would

be repaired.

In conclusion, I would like recall that we are all

gathered here at the United Nations for the sake of

an ideal and because of a universal desire for peace,

justice and freedom. Millions of people around the

globe expect the United Nations to deliver peace,

security, development and international solidarity. We

have no right to disappoint them. As a community of

nations, we have the duty and the means to succeed

through collective awareness and the preservation of

our common values. That is the price of guaranteeing

future generations a sustainable development that would

protect them from the scourge of war and deprivation.