Mozambique, 1993

It is with satisfaction that my

delegation and I would like to congratulate His Excellency

Ambassador Samuel Insanally, on his election as President

of the forty-eighth session of the United Nations General

Assembly. I wish him success in discharging his duties.

My delegation is available and ready to cooperate with him

in the task of ensuring a successful conclusion to this

session’s deliberations.

To His Excellency Stoyan Ganev of Bulgaria we extend

our congratulations on the wonderful work he did as

President of the forty-seventh session of the General

Assembly.

I should like to take this opportunity to address my

special appreciation to His Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros-

Ghali, the Secretary-General of our Organization, for his

unflinching dedication in the search for solutions to the

many problems that affect humankind. I wish to reiterate

our gratitude and appreciation for his personal commitment

and dedication to the cause of peace and stability in my

country.

To the new Member States which have just joined this

great United Nations family we express our congratulations

and our readiness to work with them to fulfil the objectives

enshrined in the Charter of the Organization.

When I last addressed the Assembly, in 1990, I had the

opportunity to say that my Government had begun direct

negotiations with RENAMO with a view to putting an end

to the long war of destruction and destabilization.

For my Government the dialogue had as it main

objective - besides ending the war - to restore peace,

normalize life and promote understanding among all citizens

of Mozambique. These conditions are essential if the

process of national reconstruction is to gain root and prosper.

It is worth indicating here that, for reasons alien to the

Government, the dialogue with RENAMO was complex and

too long. We wish to express our appreciation and thanks

to the international community for its unwavering support,

which helped us to conclude the negotiations successfully

and sign the General Peace Agreement in Rome on 4

October 1992.

For Mozambique the signing of the General Peace

Agreement represents an important step in the life of its

people. With it, hopes for the Mozambicans to rebuild their

country in a peaceful and harmonious environment were

renewed. The fact that almost one year has elapsed without

any major breach of the cease-fire is reason for joy.

We are witnessing the revival of economic and social

activity in the country. The refugees have begun to return.

Displaced people are resettling in their areas of origin or in

other areas of their choice. The reconstruction of roads,

bridges, schools and health centres is under way in spite of

the shortage of financial and material resources with which

the country is confronted.

The flow of people and goods is increasing as the roads

are reopening to traffic. We are witnessing a normal

movement of people all over the country, except in

RENAMO-occupied areas. There is a growing interest on

the part of foreigners in seeking investment opportunities in

Mozambique.

6 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

The challenges ahead of us are enormous. The war of

destabilization that ravaged the country for more than 16

years has caused economic and social damage amounting to

about $20 billion. As a direct consequence of this war, 6

million people were displaced or became refugees in

neighbouring countries; more than 500,000 children became

orphans and an equal number were traumatized. In addition

to this, 3000 primary schools and about 1000 health centres

were destroyed in rural areas. Together with this, power

lines, sugar plants, tea factories - among others - bridges and

mines were destroyed.

Many agricultural and industrial activities of primary

importance were paralysed, thus reducing considerably our

capacity to export. Unemployment was aggravated. These

are the problems we are endeavouring to solve as we

proceed with the implementation of the General Peace

Agreement. The demobilization of forces and their

economic and social reintegration require a tremendous

effort on our part. As can be seen, these challenges cannot

be met successfully without the support of the Assembly.

The Government of Mozambique has approved a

national reconstruction plan the main objective of which is

to reactivate the economic and social life of the population

so that people may go from a situation in which they survive

on emergency aid to one of rehabilitation and sustained

development. Thus, the aim of the plan is to put an end to

the structural poverty of the population by giving it the

means it needs to relaunch productive activity and to become

self-sufficient. We believe that in the medium term this plan

will contribute to a rapid expansion of essential services in

rural areas as well as to that of overall economic and social

activity in the country in general.

On humanitarian assistance, it is worth noting that with

the support of the United Nations we drew up a consolidated

programme for action in the repatriation process,

demobilization of military units, supply of emergency aid,

re-establishment of essential services, and institutional

capacity-building in the country. Humanitarian assistance

will be required for some years to come until the whole

process of resettlement of the population is completed.

In spite of these challenges the Government has

proceeded with the implementation of the economic recovery

programme, with the assistance of the World Bank, the

International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Economic

Community (EEC) and other partners. After a decline in the

gross domestic product last year we expect a slight growth

of about 4 per cent this year thanks to peace and the good

climatic conditions we are enjoying in the country.

We are convinced that the success of present efforts

and of the large national reconstruction plan will, to a great

extent, depend on the creative spirit, determination and hard

work of all Mozambicans. On the other hand, the success

of this same project will also depend on the generous

support of the international community.

We appeal to our partners to provide timely assistance,

inasmuch as the delays we are observing in delivering

assistance already committed have, in many cases, been

partly responsible for the weak performance of the economy,

particularly in the industrial sector.

We would like to take this opportunity to recognize and

express our thanks to the United Nations, and to all those

countries that have contributed funds, resources and

personnel to the United Nations Operation in Mozambique

(UNOMOZ). We equally thank them and the many non-

governmental organizations that have been operating in the

country for their assistance in successfully meeting these

challenges.

We have spoken about encouraging developments in

Mozambique. However, we regret to say that the other face

of the situation in the country is a source of serious concern.

After the international community succeeded in catching

up with the initial delay in setting up the UNOMOZ

operation, RENAMO found new pretexts to further protract

and delay the implementation of the Peace Agreement. In

its dilatory manoeuvres RENAMO is moving from

precondition to precondition, though many of the

preconditions have nothing to do with the General Peace

Agreement or are a blatant breach of it.

From the very inception, RENAMO delayed sending

personnel to fill its positions in the commissions for the

implementation of the General Peace Agreement. At

present, RENAMO is stating reservations concerning

Security Council resolution 863 (1993) on Mozambique, to

which my Government fully subscribes. As members know,

that resolution calls, among other things, for urgent

implementation, without further preconditions, of the process

of assembly and demobilization of forces and of beginning

the training of the new army.

On the consultations for the adoption of the draft

electoral law, RENAMO is raising difficulties that can

hardly be understood, particularly with respect to the

composition of the National Electoral Commission. The

organization and holding of multiparty elections is a

Government responsibility. The Government cannot excuse

Forty-eighth session - 27 September l993 7

itself from that responsibility at a moment when the

Mozambicans and the international community as a whole

are anxiously waiting to see the free and fair multiparty

elections that are to be held not later than October 1994.

We cannot postpone the elections indefinitely. RENAMO

must be made to understand this. The Government will

continue to engage in consultations, and will spare no effort

to make sure that the elections are held at the proper time.

The overview we have just presented compels us to

make some observations on the situation in Angola and

South Africa, given the affinities of the regional situation as

a whole. We are deeply concerned over the resumption of

hostilities in Angola because they not only represent a

serious threat to peace and to the future of the country but

also threaten to perpetuate tension and instability in the

whole region of southern Africa.

We continue to believe that compliance with the

Bicesse Accords, respect for the election results and the

unconditional implementation of the relevant Security

Council resolutions constitute a valid platform in the efforts

towards a lasting peace in Angola. We are hopeful that

dialogue will prevail in the search for the best solutions to

the conflict in Angola.

Within that context, my Government fully subscribes to

Security Council resolution 864 (1993). Strict observance of

the spirit and letter of that resolution by UNITA is a

fundamental condition for an end to the protracted and

devastating war which is responsible for the great suffering

of the Angolan people today. We also believe that

compliance with that resolution will certainly lead to

humanitarian assistance being channelled to the people in

greatest need. I would like to take this opportunity to

reaffirm my Government’s readiness to cooperate with the

United Nations in the implementation of that resolution.

We have followed with great interest the talks within

the framework of the Multiparty Negotiating Forum in South

Africa. We would like to commend the decision taken by

that organ, specifically regarding the creation of the

Transitional Executive Council soon to be established as a

decisive step in preparing for the first multiracial elections

in the country’s history.

The end of the apartheid system and the formation of

a democratically elected Government will greatly contribute

to peace and stability in the region, thus enhancing the

prospects for even more prosperous economic cooperation

within the context of the Southern African Development

Community (SADC). The peoples of southern Africa have

high hopes for that organization of regional economic

integration as a special forum for harmonizing their

economic and social development programmes. The region

possesses enormous economic potential yet to be explored,

and continues to call for investment in order to become a

viable, more competitive economic partner in the

international arena.

On the Middle East, we welcome the signing of the

agreement between the Israeli Government and the Palestine

Liberation Organization in Washington on 13 September

1993. This agreement constitutes a historic and important

landmark on the road to the solution of the issues in the

Middle East conflict.

The question of East Timor, whose people shared with

Mozambique a common colonial history, remains

unresolved. We encourage the ongoing dialogue between

Portugal and Indonesia under the auspices of the Secretary-

General, aimed at finding a solution that will safeguard the

right of the Maubère people to self-determination.

We are also convinced that, through dialogue, the other

conflicts still prevailing in Africa and other continents will

come to satisfactory solutions.

The world economy continues to be characterized by

stagnant growth with an increasing disparity in development

levels. Various factors on the international scene led to this

state of affairs. External debt constitutes one of the main

obstacles to the economic growth of developing countries.

The external debt burden is aggravated by the deteriorating

prices of basic export goods and by weak foreign investment

in productive areas which could have a positive impact on

the balance of payments and on domestic savings. We

believe, therefore, that the international community should

pay special attention to the external debt of the developing

countries and take necessary, adequate measures aimed at

finding a definitive solution to this crisis.

Moreover, we have noted a decline in financial

assistance to the developing countries; such assistance is

being diverted to other countries, in Europe, at the very time

when we are experiencing a reduction in the flow of official

development assistance. This affects the economies of low-

income countries.

Notwithstanding the enormous efforts undertaken in the

structural-adjustment process during the last decade, the

economic and social situation in Africa remains very serious.

The real economic growth rate in African countries remains

far behind the population growth rates. Per capita income

8 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

and other development factors continue to decrease, and

remain among the lowest in the world.

If the alarming economic situation I have described is

not addressed by the international community, and reversed,

the peace dividends resulting from the end of the cold war

and from the progress of the democratic process world wide

will not benefit all the peoples of the world.

It is in this context that we support the efforts to

produce a solid consensus on a development agenda to the

benefit during this session of the General Assembly.

We also believe that a speedy conclusion of the

Uruguay Round of negotiations would contribute to a

solution of the problems relating to international trade that

affect the world economy.

With regard to environment, the Republic of

Mozambique has established a National Commission for

Environment to look after issues in this area. The

implementation of "Agenda 21" in Mozambique has a legal

basis within the Republic’s Constitution, which contains

provisions relating to the management of natural resources

and environment in general. The National Commission for

Environment is at present working on harmonizing measures

aimed at integrating environmental aspects into economic

and social programmes, and it is also producing a National

Plan for Environment Management, whose main objective is

the promotion of the country’s sustained development. In

order to fulfil international obligations in this regard,

Mozambique is making the necessary preparations to adhere

to the main international Conventions and other agreements

on environment.

A brief appreciation of the international situation shows

that the era of bipolarity has given way to the beginning of

an era characterized by dialogue in international cooperation,

particularly in joint efforts to face the problems affecting

peace, international security and economic and social

development.

Solving the problems we face today requires the

promotion of cooperative relations, based on

interdependence, complementarity and mutual benefit

between nations.

In various parts of the world significant steps have been

taken bearing testimony to the prevailing political will for,

and commitment to, political, economic and social

democratization. However, these efforts are faced with

social problems deriving from the institutional and economic

fragility of the States involved. It is therefore imperative

that the international community take cognizance of these

difficulties and adopt measures in support of those efforts.

The new challenges we are facing today lead us to

believe even more in the United Nations as the most

privileged forum for harmonizing the global interests of all

peoples of the world, with the aim of fostering an

international environment in conformity with the noble

principles and objectives enshrined in its Charter.

In conclusion, I should like to highlight the importance

of peace-keeping and humanitarian assistance in the world,

and especially in my own country. In this regard I appeal to

Member States to redirect their efforts and resources in order

to strengthen further the United Nations.

To this end, we should like to appeal to all Member

States to channel material and financial resources to the

United Nations so that its role as the guardian of

international peace and security may continue to be

strengthened.