Mauritania, 1995

On behalf of the delegation of the Islamic

Republic of Mauritania it gives me pleasure to convey to

Mr. Freitas do Amaral of Portugal, our warmest

congratulations on his unanimous election to the presidency

of this session of the General Assembly of the United

Nations. We are convinced that his well-known personal

skills are the best guarantee for the success of the work of

this session which acquires special significance as it

coincides with the commemoration of the fiftieth

anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations.

I should also like to pay tribute to his predecessor,

Mr. Amara Essy, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the sister

republic of Côte d’Ivoire, who led the work of the forty-

ninth session in an excellent and praiseworthy manner.

I should also like to take this opportunity to reiterate

to Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary-General of the

United Nations, the confidence of my country and our

support of his efforts so that the Organization may fully

perform its proper role and succeed in defusing hotbeds of

tension throughout the world.

We have clearly stated, on previous occasions, that the

deteriorating economies of the developing countries and the

widening gap between the rich and poor countries are the

two principal causes of the proliferation of hotbeds of

tension and bloody wars that, more often than not, wipe out

every economic achievement, plunge the peoples of

developing countries into cruel suffering and deprive them

of the right to lead a decent life of security, stability, and

development towards a better future.

As we have noted in the past, the fact that structural

adjustment programmes neglect the necessary assessment of

the social cost of such adjustment and focus on correcting

the macroeconomic balance, has had the effect of causing

such programmes to fall short of achieving the desired

positive results. In this connection, we had voiced concern

over the possibility that the deterioration of the economic

conditions of developing countries would limit the impact

of such international instruments as environmental

conventions and programmes that promote the rights of

children and women, and human rights in general.

Today we note that despite the convening of numerous

international conferences such as the World Summit for

Children in New York, the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro,

the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, the

International Conference on Population and Development

in Cairo, the World Summit for Social Development in

Copenhagen, and the Fourth World Conference for

Women in Beijing, there is nothing on the horizon yet

that may give cause for hope that radical solutions to the

many problems besetting the most vulnerable peoples in

the poorest countries throughout the developing world are

beginning to emerge.

While these international conferences, in addition to

the Agenda for Development of the Secretary-General of

the United Nations have drawn the broad outlines of

future policies that would deal with such problems, no

specific formulae for putting those policies into practice

have emerged yet. On the contrary, we note that the

deterioration of the terms of trade and the reduction in

official development assistance (ODA) have continued

and have been the two principal causes that aggravate the

stifling economic crises which have so many third world

countries in their grip.

The Islamic Republic of Mauritania which, since

1984, has been engaged in a determined battle that aims

at restructuring the Mauritanian economy despite difficult

domestic, regional and international conditions, has made

tangible progress towards restoring the macroeconomic

balance and reducing its foreign debt, a fact that is

attested to by international financial institutions.

In striving for these objectives, my Government,

under the wise guidance of His Excellency the President

of the Republic, Mr. Maaouya Ould Sid’ Ahmed Taya,

have pursued liberal economic policies that neglect not a

single aspect of economic and social development.

These economic policies that we pursue encompass

the following broad sectors: road building, the

electrification of cities, combating desertification,

development of water networks, combating illiteracy, the

empowerment of women and development of the child,

education for all, and health coverage for the whole

population. In seeking to achieve these objectives, the

Government of Mauritania focuses on developing the

agricultural, mineral and fisheries sectors which form the

backbone of our economy.

In view of the nature of such development plans and

social policies the Government of the Islamic Republic of

Mauritania have participated in all the negotiations that

led to the adoption of the United Nations Convention on

the Law of the Sea, which entered into force on 16

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November 1994, and participated also in the negotiations

which culminated in the conclusion of the United Nations

Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries

Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification,

Particularly in Africa, signed in Paris on 14 October 1994.

It is our fervent hope that the international community will

make available the resources required for the

implementation of this Convention which will benefit

principally the African countries that are most affected by

drought and desertification.

The United Nations, which will commemorate its

fiftieth anniversary, in a few days’ time, is now required to

adapt to the realities of the age in order for it to be able to

face up to the challenges of a world that is being torn apart

by regional conflicts and whose progress towards prosperity

is obstructed by very complex social and economic crises.

Such a situation requires us to undertake the necessary

structural reforms and to make available to the Organization

the necessary material means and moral support that would

enable it to discharge the tasks entrusted to it.

We have indicated here in the past that the spread of

democracy and respect for human rights constitute the most

important gains made by the international community. We

have indicated also that democracy should not be limited to

the national framework of any individual State but must

extend to the relations between States.

Proceeding from this, we have reiterated, on many

occasions, that we support increasing the membership of the

Security Council in consonance with the behests of

democratic transparency, the principles of equality of

States, and in accordance with Article 24 of the United

Nations Charter, which stipulates that in carrying out its

duties the Security Council acts on behalf of all the

Member States. In view of this, it is essential that the

Council should reflect the universal nature of the

Organization.

We also consider it necessary to restructure the

Secretariat in order to revitalize it and enhance its

efficiency. The Economic and Social Council must be

restructured so that it can discharge the tasks entrusted to

it. The activities of the Secretariat and the specialized

agencies must be coordinated so that efforts may not be

wasted and the modest resources available for resolving

development problems could be put to optimum use.

As our overriding concern will always be the search

for peace, my country spares no effort in supporting the

international endeavour to replace war and tension with

peace and stability throughout the world. We have

encouraged and continue to encourage the use of

preventive diplomacy in order to avoid new human

tragedies. This is an approach that has always led to

satisfactory results.

In the Middle East, there is stronger hope that the

international efforts which have been deployed since the

Madrid Conference will put an end to the tragedy of the

Palestinian people and restore to that people its legitimate

right to establish its own independent State. The signing

of the Declaration of Principles on the autonomy of the

Gaza Strip and Jericho, on 13 September 1993, the Cairo

agreement, on 4 May 1994, the agreement between Jordan

and Israel and, finally, the Taba accord, which was signed

in Washington on 28 September 1995, on the

implementation of the second phase of the Declaration of

Principles, gives us hope that peace in the Middle East is

now on the horizon. We do hope that there will be

progress on the tracks of the peace process initiated with

Syria and Lebanon and that solutions to all the unresolved

humanitarian issues related to this conflict may be found

in order for a just and lasting peace that would be based

on the principles of mutual respect to promote fruitful

cooperation and brotherly relations between all the

peoples of the region.

It is fitting here to congratulate the parties directly

concerned and all the countries that, from near or far,

have supported the efforts for peace. We also encourage

all the parties concerned to keep moving forward so that

the opportunities for peace which are available today may

not be wasted. If those opportunities are frittered away,

the situation is bound to become more complicated.

In that same region of the world, the residue of the

Gulf war, unfortunately, are still taking their toll. The

Islamic Republic of Mauritania, which, from the very

beginning, given its commitment to international legality,

has totally rejected any infringement of the independence

and territorial integrity of fraternal Kuwait, and called for

resolving the question of Kuwaiti prisoners and detainees,

now wishes to declare its rejection of any infringement of

the unity and territorial integrity of Iraq. Mauritania

believes it is now time to put an end to the suffering of

the brotherly Iraqi people.

In the same context, the fraternal State of the United

Arab Emirates continues to claim its legitimate

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sovereignty over the islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb

and Abu Moussa. Mauritania reiterates its support for the

United Arab Emirates in this respect.

In the Maghreb, the United Nations continues to

deploy efforts towards organizing a referendum on self-

determination in Western Sahara. We hope that the United

Nations, which has enjoyed our country’s full support, will

overcome the remaining obstacles and succeed in

organizing the referendum within the time-frame set by the

Security Council so as to achieve a just and definitive

settlement of the Saharan question.

As we did last year, and as we have done on every

occasion, we call for the lifting of the embargo imposed on

the fraternal people of Libya, in the light of the Libyan

Arab Jamahiriya’s stated readiness to cooperate with both

the United Nations and the other parties concerned, since

that embargo is detrimental to the interests of all the

peoples of the Maghreb.

In Africa, we are still concerned over the continuance

of armed conflicts in several brotherly African countries.

Whereas our Liberian brothers have succeeded, through

dialogue, in concluding the Abuja Agreement and setting

out plans that we hope will restore peace to that country.

The situation in Somalia, regrettably, has not changed, and

the afflicted Somali people is still threatened with

extermination by fratricide and famine.

We also hope that our Rwandan brethren will succeed

in resolving their problems at the negotiating table. We

welcome the progress achieved by our Angolan brethren,

whose efforts have led to the signing of an agreement for

peace and for the settlement of their political problems. We

hope the sustained efforts of the United Nations and the

Organization of African Unity will continue until these

brotherly countries can enjoy peace so that their peoples

may devote themselves to rebuilding all that has been

devastated by civil wars.

We note with satisfaction that in Europe the member

countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have

adopted a new posture vis-à-vis the Serbian aggression

against the Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I should

like to voice the hope that in future greater determination

will be shown in dealing with this problem increasingly

sternly until such time as the Serbs agree to a just and

comprehensive solution that would guarantee all the peoples

concerned the right to sovereignty on their territory and the

right to live in peace within secure, internationally

recognized borders.

The many humiliations suffered by the United

Nations forces at the hands of the Serbs and the

massacres of innocent Muslims perpetrated by the Serbs

in Bosnia and Herzegovina make it necessary for the

international community, particularly the permanent

members of the Security Council, to impose respect for

international legality and to restore the credibility of the

United Nations by putting an end to the bloodshed that

has gone on for several years in that part of the world.

The commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the

United Nations affords an opportunity for giving deep

thought to finding the best means of facing up to the

challenges of our times and to equipping our Organization

with the military capability and material resources that

would enable it to address problems at the international

level with a single standard based on the principles of

equality and justice. The same should apply to the

Organization’s activities in the areas of peace-keeping and

aid for development, as well as in its endeavours to

ensure that the world will enjoy prosperity, peace and

brotherhood and to promote freedom, democracy and

respect for human rights.