Mozambique, 1992

On behalf of my Government, I should like

to congratulate Mr. Ganev upon his unanimous election to preside over the

deliberations of the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session. I am

confident that his diplomatic skills and statesmanship will bring additional

impetus to our work and contribute to the success of our current deliberations.

I should also like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation

for the manner in which his predecessor. His Excellency Ambassador Shihabi of

Saudi Arabia, stewarded the last session of the General Assembly.

My Government wishes to pay special tribute to the Secretary-General of

the United Nations, His Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for his

commitment and tireless dedication to the ideals of the Organization. Though

he has been in office less than one year, he has demonstrated great political

ability and diplomatic skills in dealing with a wide range of delicate tasks

around the globe. The Secretary-General's superior judgement and his ability

to understand better the fragile nature of the emerging problems of today's

world have won him high respect, confidence and admiration in the

international arena. We pledge to him our continued full support.

May I also avail myself of this opportunity to extend our most fraternal

felicitations to the newly admitted Members of the United Nations. Their

presence among us today reinforces our common objective to make the United

Nations a universal instrument of peace, understanding and cooperation among

nations.

The current session of the General Assembly takes place against a

backdrop of continued and ever-growing changes in international relations. We

are witnessing a new political reality where the super-Powers' confrontation

and rivalry, in their numerous manifestations, have ceased to threaten our

fragile world, a world in which an arms race between two competing blocs is no

longer the main concern in the daily life of nations. A new political reality

in which the problems resulting from the division of the world into spheres of

influence, which had characterized international relations since the birth of

this Organization, has now given rise to new hope in the search for conflict

resolution.

However, this new political reality brings new challenges. Although the

danger of nuclear war has diminished drastically, the gap between rich and

poor nations continues to widen. Uncertainty about the future continues to

worry many nations and peoples; the proliferation of regional conflicts

continues unabated and shows the fragility of the new political landscape.

Moreover, the international economic environment remains extremely

unfavourable to developing countries. We are still faced with the

incommensurable problems of debt burden, deterioration of commodity prices,

insufficient flow of financial resources and inadequate transfer of

technology. The Uruguay Round negotiations are deadlocked, thus further

exacerbating economic uncertainty worldwide.

As a result, today more and more nations see the United Nations as the

primary instrument for the promotion of international peace and security and

of development and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. This is

illustrated by the growing number of countries that have turned to the United

Nations and received assistance in their quest for democratization and their

desire to strengthen respect for human rights in their respective territories.

We strongly believe that the end of the cold war and of rivalry and

bipolarity should serve as a catalyst for the promotion of international

political, economic and social stability.

The tremendous resources, both human and material, that for over 40 years

have been devoted to the purposes of self-destruction can and must now be used

for peaceful purposes and economic development. History has proved that it is

much easier and less costly to work for peace than it is for war. The

problems ahead are still considerable, but they can be tackled and dealt with

provided that there is commitment to the purposes and principles of the United

Nations Charter at the highest political level.

In these endeavours, the United Nations should be entrusted with renewed

responsibilities in redirecting the use of available resources, in building

confidence and trust among nations and in allocating further resources for

peace-keeping, peacemaking and peace-building.

It is high time for the international community to redouble its joint

efforts in order to tackle with determination existing long-term problems and

make the world safer for all.

We live in a world full of diversity but also of similarity among

peoples. While in the North man has made significant progress in mastering

seemingly intractable natural phenomena and advanced sciences, such as genetic

engineering, biochemistry and physics, in the South man still remains the

victim of illiteracy and backwardness and depends on the will of mother

nature. There are further examples which reveal our common identity as human

beings - the inability to control our instincts and to manage and exercise

power in a responsible manner.

It is within this context that we are assembled here today as

representatives of our peoples and nations in order to reflect on how to

reverse the events that made it possible to devote more than $20 trillion

during the past 30 years to military expenditures, to the detriment of the

fundamental concerns of all mankind. In our view the root causes of the

enormous problems we face today lie essentially in the utilization of the

destructive capacity of man and not in the positive use of his extraordinary

creativity.

As has been well documented, we are currently living in a world where

more than 1 billion people, or nearly one fifth of the world's population, are

estimated to live in poverty. More than half of these people are believed to

live below internationally accepted minimum living standards. This state of

affairs has made the situation in developing countries, particularly in

Africa, even more dramatic.

We hope that the ending of the cold war and the confrontation between

conflicting political systems will allow the international community to work

together in the search for common solutions to the international problems

facing us today.

We come from southern Africa, a region struggling to build and reaffirm

its political, economic and social identity. For many years now the peoples

of the region have made tremendous sacrifices and gone through tremendous

hardships in order to address the difficult problems facing the region,

problems of self-determination, decolonization, destabilization and war. We

have made tangible progress in this regard. Nevertheless, much more remains

to be done and additional sacrifice will be required.

In this connection my delegation is particularly concerned about the

recurrence of violence in South Africa. The recent waves of violence in South

Africa, in particular the massacres of innocent civilians in Boipatong last

June and in Ciskei early this month, constitute a serious setback to the

ongoing efforts aimed at creating a climate conducive to a negotiated

settlement.

We trust that with the support of the international community the people

of South Africa can find common ground for a solution to the problems

originating from the policies of institutionalized racial segregation. My

Government welcomes the current efforts aimed at bringing about a resumption

of talks leading towards a political settlement of the conflict in that

country.

We pay special tribute to the manner in which the international community

as a whole, and the United Nations in particular, has promptly responded to

the issue of violence in South Africa. We welcome the recent adoption of

Security Council resolution 765 (1992). We wish to encourage the

Secretary-General to continue to work towards the implementation of that

resolution and to help avert the current deadlock in the negotiating process.

We also urge all peace-loving forces in South Africa to join ranks and

work together in order to find a political settlement to the problems that

have resulted from nearly 50 years of apartheid, so as to ensure a smooth

transition to a democratic, non-racial and united South Africa.

We congratulate the Angolan people on their success in maintaining the

cease-fire and in creating conditions for the holding of the first multiparty

elections. It is our hope that the international community will continue to

assist Angola and ensure that the elections on 29 and 30 September are held in

a climate of tranquillity so that the Angolan people can freely choose their

representatives.

The southern African region has been stricken by an unprecedented drought

with no parallel in living memory. This dramatic situation has already

resulted in the destruction of this year's crops and in the devastation of the

fauna and flora in large areas of the region. Important rivers have been

reduced to almost a trickle of water, or even to large areas of dry sand. As

a result about 20 million human lives are seriously affected; the entire

region is threatened with the spectre of famine and deprivation. Last June a

joint emergency appeal for relief and other emergency assistance was launched

by the United Nations and the Southern African Development Co-ordination

Conference (SADCC). We seize this occasion to thank the international

community for its prompt response to the appeal, without which the human

consequences of this natural calamity would have been dramatic today. We

reiterate our appeal for increased and urgent assistance in order fully to

meet the needs of the joint emergency appeal.

In spite of the number of difficulties facing our peoples in southern

Africa, joint efforts are under way with a view to revitalizing the economic

and social fabric of the region. It was within this framework and with the

aim of strengthening regional cooperation that we decided to establish the

Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). The newly born Community is a

result of 12 years of experience of fruitful cooperation within the Southern

African Development Co-ordination Conference. The new Community bears

testimony to the common willingness of the States of the region to have a

gradual and balanced economic integration, based on the utilization of

regional resources without, however, neglecting necessary external cooperation

as a complementary factor in the prosecution of our objectives. We therefore

call upon the international community to continue to extend its support in

order to help the peoples of the southern African region to address the

combined effects of man-made disasters and natural calamities, especially the

prolonged drought.

In this respect, the case of Mozambique is particularly grave as war has

been ravaging the country for 16 years. The economic cost of this horrendous

war, which has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and resulted in the

destruction of property and the economic and social infrastructure, has been

estimated to be about $20 billion.

The Assembly will recall that in order to find a political settlement to

the conflict in Mozambique, and taking into consideration the highest

interests of the nation, direct negotiations between the Government and RENAMO

have been under way for two years now under the mediation of the Italian

Government, the Santo Egidio Community and the Catholic Church of Mozambique.

Since last June the United Nations, France, Portugal, the United Kingdom and

the United States of America have been participating as observers in the peace

process. We believe their contribution, together with that of other

Participants in the peace process, has brought new impetus to the process as

illustrated inter alia by the signing of the Declaration on the guiding

principles to facilitate the distribution of humanitarian aid in the country.

The ongoing peace process in Rome has been complemented by other

important high-level initiatives at the regional level. These initiatives

culminated in the convening of a high-level meeting on 7 August in Rome

between His Excellency President Chissano and the RENAMO leader. The

high-level meeting resulted in the signing of a Joint Declaration. The

document contains the solemn commitment by the Government of Mozambique and

RENAMO to work for the completion and approval by 1 October 1992 of all

outstanding issues in order to make possible the signing of the general peace

agreement and to bring about an immediate cessation of hostilities by that

date.

The Joint Declaration outlines general principles and specific guarantees

pertaining to the attainment of peace, democracy and national unity based on

the overall goal of national reconciliation. It binds both sides to

guaranteeing conditions allowing complete political freedom in accordance with

internationally recognized democratic principles, as well as personal security

for all citizens of Mozambique and all members of political parties.

The Joint Declaration further stresses the need to honour the principles

contained in Protocol No. I, calling upon the Government of Mozambique

"not to act in a way that is contrary to the terms of the Protocols that

are established, not to adopt laws or measures and not to apply current

laws that may eventually be contrary to these Protocols".

(S/24406. annex, p. 4. para, (iv))

The Declaration also requires that

"RENAMO undertakes not to combat by force of arms after the entry into

force of a cease-fire, but to conduct its political struggle observing

current laws, within the framework of the existing State institutions,

and respecting the conditions and the guarantees laid down in the General

Peace Agreement" (ibid.)

The Joint Declaration underlines the role of the international community,

in particular the United Nations, in monitoring the implementation of the

General Peace Agreement and the cease-fire and the conduct of the electoral

process.

My Government has solemnly declared its readiness to abide by the

provisions of the Joint Declaration and to work towards peace and tranquillity

in our country. Even as I address the General Assembly, the Assembly of the

Republic, the parliament of Mozambique, is in session in order to legislate on

all the issues pertaining to the implementation of the Declaration.

More recently, on 18 September, the Head of State of Mozambique and the

RENAMO leader met once again in Gaborone, Botswana, in order to address the

issues on the agenda of the Rome negotiations which caused a deadlock. The

meeting reaffirmed 1 October as the deadline for the signing of the General

Peace Agreement in Mozambique and an agreed solution was found to those issues.

Never before in the history of this conflict have peace and conciliation

amongst all Mozambicans been so close. We therefore believe that RENAMO must

share the historical responsibility in order to respond to the hopes of our

people and turn 1 October into a historic landmark in the annals of Mozambican

history.

The Government of Mozambique is fully prepared to open a new chapter in

our history, a chapter characterized by an atmosphere of tolerance,

reconciliation and understanding among all Mozambicans. My Government long

ago stated that there was no justification whatsoever for the continuation of

war in Mozambique. In this connection, it should be recalled that since the

coming into force of the new Constitution, in November 1990, more than 10

political parties have emerged and have been performing freely and peacefully

their political activities in Mozambique. We continue to believe that all

political forces inside the country should pursue their political objectives

through democratically accepted norms of conduct, without resorting to

violence.

From this rostrum, I wish to commend the Secretary-General's personal

commitment to peace in my country. We are particularly gratified to note that

the United Nations stands ready to assist my country in this time of need. We

also commend the Secretary-General for his recent initiative to dispatch a

technical team of civilian and military experts in order to assess the needs

of the country during the implementation of the General Peace Agreement, in

particular the monitoring of the cease-fire and electoral process. We look

forward to seeing the United Nations further involved in the peace efforts in

Mozambique in the days to come.

Following the signing of the General Peace Agreement, the people of

Mozambique will need massive international assistance in addressing vital

issues, such as the implementation and monitoring of the cease-fire, the

organization and supervision of the electoral process, demobilization of both

armies and the reintegration of former soldiers into civilian life, creation

of the new national army, the repatriation and resettlement of refugees from

neighbouring countries and assistance to displaced persons.

Most important, however, it will be crucial to assist Mozambique in its

national reconstruction efforts and ensure the non-recurrence of violence and

destruction in the country. Such assistance will call for the creation,

expansion and strengthening of democratic institutions and the maintenance of

law and order, so as to deal with the growing challenges facing the nation

under conditions of multi-party democracy.

In Rome the Government delegation and RENAMO agreed that in order

comprehensively to address the political, economic and social situation in

Mozambique the convening of a donor conference immediately after cease-fire

appeared to be the most viable way to complement our efforts in the important

task ahead of the Mozambican nation. The United Nations and the entire

international community are therefore once again called upon to extend their

solidarity to the people of Mozambique at this moment, the most critical of

its history since national independence.

As for elections, which will take place one year after the signature of

the General Peace Agreement, many efforts are being made, and there is a

national political will to turn the elections into a real success, as the

international community expects. However, because of the difficulties that

the electoral process will encounter, we shall appreciate and acknowledge

every possible material and financial assistance from the United Nations and

the international community, so that the process may be conducted without

major bottlenecks and be truly just, free and fair.

The end of the cold war has offered good new prospects for the

strengthening of North-South cooperation. The year 1992 already stands as an

important landmark for the United Nations and for the future of

multilateralism and international cooperation for development.

In Cartagena de Indias the eighth session of the United Nations

Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) brought about a new partnership

for development based on the recognition of sovereign equality, mutual

interest and shared responsibilities for the goals of sustained growth of the

world economy and the reactivation of development in the developing

countries. My delegation welcomes the Conference's decision to redirect

UNCTAD activities and to strengthen its mandate in accordance with the demands

of the post-cold-war period. We wish to reaffirm our support for the

Cartagena Commitment, and in this context we call for the intensification of

UNCTAD assistance to the least developed countries.

The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro constituted a historic and universal

gathering which set in motion a long-term process of international cooperation

aimed at saving the planet and future generations from environmental

destruction. It led to important and unprecedented policy agreements, a broad

programme of action and two Conventions. The outcome of the Summit embodies

the highest level of political commitment to sustainable development policies

and practices calling for the integration of environment and development.

The critical question now is the implementation of the Rio commitments

and their effective follow-up and review, especially with regard to

Agenda 21. In this connection, my delegation stands ready to participate in

the forthcoming discussions on the establishment of the commission on

sustainable development. In our view, that commission should serve as an

effective mechanism at a global level for the follow-up of the United Nations

Conference on Environment and Development and for promoting dialogue and

common approaches on environment and development matters, while giving

adequate attention to the diversity of situations and experiences of Member

States and regions of the world. In this regard, it is our firm conviction

that the composition of the commission should take into account the principle

of equitable geographical distribution and provide for close working links

with all agencies of the United Nations system, especially with the United

Nations regional commissions and other international development

institutions. Bearing in mind the follow-up of the Earth Summit, the

commission should give the utmost priority to the question of the means of

implementation of Agenda 21, namely, financial resources, capacity-building

and technology transfer.

During the past months the process of reform in the economic and social

sectors of the United Nations system has evolved to the present critical

stage. My delegation is encouraged by the growing consensus on, and renewed

efforts to revitalize, the Economic and Social Council as a central and

credible forum for dialogue and formulation of international strategies as

veil as for a more effective coordination and harmonization of actions of the

united Nations system. I should like to underline the great importance of the

current reform exercise, which should ultimately lead to enhancing the

effectiveness and efficient functioning of the United Nations system, in order

to be more responsive to the current needs of international economic

cooperation and to promote the development of developing countries.

Likewise, we attach great importance to the reform measures aimed at

improving the capacity of the United Nations to coordinate and deliver in a

timely manner humanitarian assistance to refugees and displaced persons, in

situations both of conflict and of natural disasters.

The evolving world situation has opened a new window of fresh

opportunities and challenges to the whole international community and to the

United Nations in particular. In this regard, my delegation has carefully

studied the Secretary-General's report on the work of the Organization

(A/47/1), as well as his report entitled "An Agenda for Peace" (A/47/277).

We think that the Secretary-General's assessment is very timely and

pertinent in the current United Nations history. We have learned from our own

experience that both an agenda for peace and an agenda for development

constitute important and inseparable issues in today's world. We therefore

strongly believe in the role of the United Nations as the most appropriate

forum for the harmonization of the global interests of all nations and for the

promotion of an appropriate political atmosphere of understanding, consensus

and international cooperation among the peoples and nations of the world.

May I invite, from this floor, all Member States jointly to rededicate

and commit ourselves to the strengthening of the role of the United Nations,

giving it the necessary thrust, so as to enable it to fulfil with zeal and

confidence its tasks as the guardian of international peace and security, as

prescribed in the Charter.