Mozambique, 1996

On behalf of my

delegation, and on my own behalf, I wish to congratulate

you, Sir, on your unanimous election as President of the

General Assembly at its fifty-first session. I am convinced

that your qualities of a gifted diplomat devoted to the cause

of peace and understanding among peoples will ensure a

successful outcome of our deliberations. I pledge my

delegation’s full support as you discharge your noble

responsibilities.

I would like to seize this opportunity to commend the

brilliant manner in which your predecessor, Mr. Freitas do

Amaral of Portugal, presided over the proceedings of the

fiftieth session of the General Assembly.

Let me also pay a well-deserved tribute to Mr. Boutros

Boutros-Ghali, Secretary-General of the United Nations, for

his continued contribution and personal commitment to the

ideals of international peace and security.

We celebrate today the fourth anniversary of the

establishment of a peaceful Mozambique after a long period

of uncertainty in our history. It has been a period of great

challenges and sacrifices, but also of great excitement for

all Mozambicans. With peace, we are gradually healing the

wounds caused by the war and our young multi-party

democracy is flourishing and consolidating its roots. The

Assembly of the Republic, our Parliament, has been

meeting regularly, symbolizing our collective desire to work

together for the consolidation of peace, national

reconstruction and democracy. Similarly, efforts are being

made to implement the Government’s five-year programme,

in which the reduction of absolute poverty, with emphasis

on education, health, rural development and job creation,

continues to be our major objective.

At the same time, preparations are being made with

a view to beginning next year the holding of municipal

elections, thus complementing the process initiated in

1994 with the holding of the first multi-party general and

presidential elections. In view of financial and other

constraints, the Government anticipates that municipal

elections will take place on a gradual basis. However, the

final decision will be made by the Assembly of the

Republic itself, following the completion of the ongoing

debate on the subject.

What is important in our view is that elections take

place, for they represent an opportunity for the people to

choose their local representatives, identify and solve local

problems and define their own needs and priorities. The

Government is also addressing, as a matter of urgency,

the establishment and strengthening of all the different

tribunals envisaged in the Constitution, with a view to

enabling the normal functioning of the judiciary system as

an important step forward in the efforts to strengthen the

rule of law, democracy and respect for individual rights

and freedoms.

Furthermore, we continue to be fully committed to

ensuring public safety and security. To this end, my

Government has recently submitted to donor countries a

project proposal in order to begin the process of

upgrading the technical capacity of the police, thus

enabling that institution to deal more effectively with

crime prevention, control and other challenges. These

include continuing the search for and destruction of arms

throughout the country and dealing with transnational

crimes, particularly drug trafficking and money

laundering.

Furthermore, demining continues to be one of my

Government’s top priorities. For us, demining is not an

end per se. Rather, it is a process which we regard as an

integral part of the overall national development process.

Where possible, it has been our policy to stimulate the

launching of agricultural production and related activities

once demining is completed. However, given the

magnitude of the land-mine issue in Mozambique,

resulting from many years of conflict, additional resources

are needed effectively to address this problem in the years

ahead, in particular within the framework of strengthening

the national capacity for demining.

From this rostrum, I would like to express my

gratitude to all those countries and organizations which

have contributed to the demining programme in

Mozambique. We look forward to continuing work

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together with a view to eliminating these horrible weapons

not only in Mozambique, but also in all countries affected

by this evil. Accordingly, and in line with my last year’s

statement before this Assembly, my Government reiterate

sits full support to the call for an international agreement

against the production, stockpiling and use of anti-personal

land-mines.

Recently, my Government and the Office of the

United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)

concluded the repatriation and resettlement of Mozambican

citizens who had sought refuge in neighbouring countries

during the armed conflict. This programme, initiated as a

result of a memorandum of understanding signed in March

1993 with UNHCR and subsequent agreements, has been

regarded as one of the biggest and most successful

repatriation programmes ever undertaken by UNHCR.

Thanks to this programme, around 1.7 million

Mozambicans have safely and voluntarily returned to their

places of origin. We are now proud to say that there are no

more Mozambicans living abroad as refugees.

However, the challenges before us are immense. We

are aware of the difficulties facing this segment of our

population and the long road still ahead before we can

declare them economically safe and ready to live on their

own. This is where the assistance of the international

community is most needed and appreciated.

With the end of the repatriation process and the

resettlement of these populations, there has been significant

progress in agricultural production. As a matter of fact,

recorded agricultural output in certain areas of Mozambique

this year is the highest since independence. The main

problem we face now is that of the financial capacity to

buy and store adequately the surplus of this production. We

need support to build warehouses within the framework of

the food security programme.

Like many other developing countries, Mozambique

has been undergoing a structural adjustment programme

since 1987. The core objectives of the programme were,

inter alia, to create and adjust the country’s macroeconomic

policy, ensure a correct legal and regulatory framework for

the development of a strong market economy, provide a

transparent and accountable policy framework aimed at

promoting investment, allocate adequate budgetary

resources for social programmes, create the necessary

conditions for the establishment and consolidation of

democratic institutions and support good governance and

political stability.

After almost 10 years of implementation of this

programme under the most adverse conditions, some

progress has been achieved. Nevertheless, the overall

objectives, including specifically the upgrading of the

living standards of the population, are still far from being

achieved. In some cases living standards of working

people have, in fact, deteriorated in recent years, which

may erode the political support needed for the

continuation of the reforms.

As of next year, Mozambique will have to start

meeting its debt-servicing obligations to multilateral

institutions, as this category of debt has not been eligible

for rescheduling so far. The debt burden, coupled with

very restrictive monetary policies and related measures

pursued in connection with the structural adjustment

programme, will certainly have a serious negative impact

on the performance of the national economy. Unless

measures are taken to address this situation, it will be

very difficult for the country to sustain the envisaged

political, economic and social targets required to uplift the

living standards of the people. The situation of my

country’s indebtedness is a critical one, indeed, as it has

increased by about six per cent during the last two years.

In 1994, debt servicing alone absorbed about 93 per cent

of the country’s total export earnings and represented

about 28.6 per cent of gross domestic product. This

scenario is likely to remain, under the prevailing

circumstances, for the next few years. Therefore, my

Government supports the view that a comprehensive

effort should be made to effectively address the external

indebtedness of developing countries, in particular the

least developed countries undertaking painful structural

adjustment programmes and whose growth prospects

continue to be severely undermined by this burden.

In order to address official bilateral debt problems,

the Naples Terms, adopted by the Paris Club, in favour of

the poorest and most indebted countries should be

expeditiously implemented. At the same time, we believe

non-Paris Club creditors which have not done so should

also consider taking appropriate relief measures to

alleviate the suffering of debtor nations. Measures

announced at the recently held Lyon Summit could not

have been more timely. We look forward to welcoming

their early implementation.

As I speak on this subject, I would like to launch an

emphatic appeal for a closer partnership between debtors

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and creditors. We have recently been pleased to note that,

at the political level, there appears to be a growing

understanding of developing countries’ concerns over the

issue of the external debt crisis. We would therefore be

deeply appreciative if this understanding were translated

into tangible results and if the subsequent technical

discussions held following political consultations were

much more fruitful. Regrettably, this has not always been

the case. A comprehensive approach to assist least

developed countries through a flexible implementation of

existing instruments and through finding new mechanisms,

is necessary. These include improvements in capital and

investment flows and an increase in real terms of the

official development assistance to least developed countries,

particularly in Africa.

To this end, we call upon donor countries,

international financial institutions and United Nations

organs and specialized agencies to effectively participate in

the implementation of the Programme of Action for the

least developed countries for the 1990s, the mid-term

review of which was held in September last year.

Similarly, my delegation welcomes the recently

launched United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on

Africa, for it brings a new impetus to the international

community’s awareness of the necessity to bring about a

meaningful solution to African problems. Additional efforts

should be made to prevent repetition of past experiences

during the implementation of similar important initiatives,

by ensuring a successful implementation of this one. The

recent mid-term review of the United Nations New Agenda

for the Development of Africa has highlighted the positive

changes made in the right direction during the last few

years on the African continent. These trends should be

supported and encouraged by the international community.

In this regard, my Government hopes that the report

being prepared by a group of experts led by Ms. Graça

Machel, in conformity with the General Assembly

resolution 48/157 of 20 December 1993, will contribute

significantly to drawing the international community’s

attention on the fate of children victimized by armed

conflicts in the world, particularly, in Africa.

The current session of the General Assembly offers a

unique opportunity for a collective review of the issue of

conflict resolution in many parts of the world. With respect

to Angola, the recent summit of the Southern African

Development Community (SADC) organ on politics,

defence and security has expressed concern over the slow

progress and apparent stalemate in the implementation of

the Lusaka Protocol. The summit expressed, inter alia,

deep regret over the absence of the União Nacional para

a Independência Total de Angola (UNITA) from the

meeting and made a strong appeal to UNITA to fulfil its

commitment within the deadline established by the

Lusaka Protocol and those of Security Council resolution

864 (1993).

Mozambique, along with other SADC countries, is

making its contribution to the smooth progress of this

delicate process. The settlement of the conflict in Angola

will contribute decisively to the materialization of

strategic goals set forth by SADC and allow our region to

embark on the process of regional integration and to

dedicate our efforts to the well-being of our peoples.

Within the recently created Lusophone Community,

or Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries, we are

also working hard to encourage the peace process in

Angola. In doing so, we aim to consolidate the historic

and cultural ties which unite the seven countries that have

Portuguese as their official language, thus creating the

necessary conditions for a more fruitful cooperation

among them.

We are encouraged by the recent progress in Sierra

Leone and Rwanda and look forward to a positive

outcome of the crises in those countries. However, we

remain concerned at the prevailing volatile situations in

Burundi, Liberia and Somalia. We welcome all initiatives

aimed at finding the needed political settlement of the

crises in these African countries.

The recurrence of such long-lasting conflicts remains

a serious challenge to the international community as a

whole and also to the efforts within the framework of the

recently established Organization of African Unity (OAU)

Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and

Resolution. My delegation wishes to commend all the

countries that have lent their support to the functioning of

the Mechanism, thus enabling Africans to take a much

more active role in searching for solutions to the conflicts

on their continent.

The recent outbreak of violence in the Middle East

is a matter of grave concern to my delegation. This

violence, if not averted urgently, will be a serious setback

to the commendable progress made in the quest for a

political settlement to the long-standing conflict in that

region. We call upon all the parties concerned to exercise

maximum restraint and to display the needed political

maturity in the implementation of the mutually agreed

commitments in the interest of all the peoples of the region.

In this connection, we are encouraged by the dialogue

initiated in the recent summit in Washington between the

Prime Minister of Israel and the President of the Palestinian

Authority with a view to putting an end to violence and

resuming the peace process.

We have also followed the developments regarding the

issue of East Timor. In making an assessment of the

progress made so far, one cannot fail to register

disappointment over the slow pace of talks between

Indonesia and Portugal. Nevertheless, my delegation wishes

to encourage both countries to assume their responsibilities

with more vigour, with a view to finding a just,

comprehensive and internationally acceptable solution to

this issue, bearing in mind the need to allow the people of

East Timor an opportunity to exercise their political rights,

including the right to self-determination.

Time and again, virtually all Member States have

emphasized the critical need to undertake reforms within

the United Nations so as to ensure greater effectiveness in

its work and to fulfil the sacrosanct principles enshrined in

its Charter. The needed reforms within our Organization

should not be regarded as an end in themselves. They

should, inter alia, pave the way for the active and global

participation of the developing countries, particularly the

least developed countries, in the work and procedures of the

United Nations, including the Economic and Social Council,

bearing in mind the shared responsibilities of these

countries in the economic and social challenges facing

today’s world.

In this reform process, the strengthening of the United

Nations system, which does not necessarily mean

downsizing, is of paramount importance. The revitalization

of the role of the Economic and Social Council is long

overdue to allow better coordination and effective and

efficient management of the funds, programmes and

specialized agencies of the United Nations system. Reforms

should also reflect the dynamics of international relations

and the growing need for enhanced democracy, equitable

geographic representation and the changes in the

composition of its membership since the establishment of

the United Nations 51 years ago. Above all, they should

ensure the needed legitimacy, transparency and efficiency

of its decisions.

In this connection, my delegation shares the

frustrations expressed by a number of delegations regarding

the lack of tangible progress within the Open-ended

Working Group on the Question of Equitable

Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the

Security Council and other matters related to the Security

Council. Since the beginning of its procedures, important

and interesting ideas have been advanced in this regard.

Therefore, nobody can deny the arguments calling for an

expansion of that body. Lack of progress on the

enlargement of the Security Council will only undermine

the ability of the United Nations to discharge fully its

obligations and limit the confidence of international

public opinion on the future of our Organization. It is

only by addressing the issue of enlargement and by each

one’s fulfilling its financial obligations that we can

reaffirm our commitment to the purposes and principles

of the Charter and expect a well-functioning and dynamic

United Nations ready to face the challenges of the next

century. What is necessary is a genuine political will to

change the status quo, which has favoured a limited

number of Member States to the detriment of the

legitimate interests of the vast majority of its membership.

In its 51 years of existence the United Nations,

despite numerous difficulties during this period, has been

able to achieve its crucial objective of halting the

emergence of a third world war. Therefore, it must be

allowed to continue to preserve the gains already achieved

and draw lessons from mistakes of the past so as to

ensure the feasibility of its mandate, as we approach the

twenty-first century, in the maintenance of international

peace and security, in monitoring the implementation of

important decisions taken in the economic, social and

environmental fields and in playing a more dynamic role

in the quest for the development of our countries.