Mauritania, 2000

On behalf of the Islamic Republic of

Mauritania, I should like to congratulate Mr. Harri

Holkeri on his election to the presidency of the fifty-

fifth session of the General Assembly. We are

confident that his personal qualities and his extensive

political and diplomatic experience are an excellent

36

guarantee of the success of this session. I should like to

assure him of the full cooperation of our delegation in

this lofty task.

I should like also to seize this opportunity to

express our sincere thanks to his predecessor,

Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, for the outstanding way in

which he guided the work of the previous session. I pay

tribute also to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan.

We deeply appreciate his efforts to reform and

restructure the Organization as well as to develop its

methods of work and rationalize its role in all domains

so that it meet the needs and challenges of today.

In this respect, we listened closely to the

Secretary-General?s presentation of his report on the

work of the Organization. It is also my pleasure to

welcome Tuvalu as a new Member of the Organization.

We are prepared to cooperate fully with it in order to

achieve the objectives of our Organization.

The reform and restructuring process of the

United Nations bodies has become a necessity for the

common interest. The conditions in which the United

Nations was founded more than 50 years ago have

changed, and major developments have taken place in

all fields and at all levels, making it essential to review

the methods of work and structure of the Organization.

For that reason, we support the expansion of the

Security Council, in keeping with the principles of

transparency and justice, so as to achieve equitable

geographic representation and to reflect the

universality of the Organization, in accordance with

Article 24 of the Charter.

This session is being held at the dawn of the third

millennium, at a time when the majority of humanity is

living in conditions that prevent them from realizing

their aspirations. Despite some encouraging indicators

in some of the third-world countries, the general trend

is towards a wider gap between the industrialized

world and the developing one, which is facing major

obstacles such as external debt, low prices for their

commodities, and the difficulty of accessing world

markets.

Our Organization should exert all possible efforts

to alleviate the economic and social difficulties

confronting the developing countries. It must help them

accelerate their development in an effective manner by

increasing official development assistance and by

allowing more direct foreign investments into these

countries and the opening of the markets of the

developed countries to the products of developing

ones, all of which will contribute to the establishment

of a new world order based on consensus, cooperation

and solidarity among all States.

The problem of debt must also benefit from the

attention and the interest of the international

community, because it is an obstacle to the economies

of the developing countries. In this respect, my country

hopes that the initiative undertaken to alleviate the debt

of highly indebted and poor countries will contribute to

the solution of this problem.

The world today is facing numerous problems

and challenges, the effects of which are not contained

by national boundaries. They jeopardize international

security and undermine the achievements registered in

all fields. Thus it is our duty to work relentlessly to

resolve these problems. They include, to give but a few

examples, terrorism, poverty and violations of human

rights.

In this respect, my country wishes to reaffirm its

condemnation of the phenomenon of terrorism, in

whatever form and whatever its origin. We call for the

reinforcement of cooperation and consultation at the

international level in order to face this phenomenon

with determination.

There is also a need to put in place policies and

adopt measures to combat poverty, in order to ensure

sustainable development. My country has created a

commission entrusted with combating poverty and with

implementing concrete programmes aimed at preparing

our citizens to play a role in development. This

commission is also responsible for guaranteeing the

promotion of individual and collective rights.

In this context, I would like to recall the special

session of the General Assembly on social

development, held in Geneva last June, which

reaffirmed and stressed once again the Programme of

Action adopted at the World Summit for Social

Development, held in Copenhagen in 1995.

We hope that the outcome of that special session

will contribute to an improvement in the living

conditions of all people and to the attainment of

sustainable development by strengthening the links

between social issues and development.

We express our satisfaction at the outcome of last

June?s special session of the General Assembly,

37

?Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace

for the twenty-first century?, and we hope it will

enhance the role played by women in all spheres.

The foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of

Mauritania is founded on good-neighbourly relations,

peaceful coexistence and strengthening regional and

international cooperation. In line with those principles,

my country attaches great importance to consolidating

stability and eliminating the causes of conflict and

tension that can threaten international peace and

security and hamper development in many regions of

the world.

Turning to the Middle East, my country, while

reaffirming its support for the peace process, considers

that a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the

region can come about only on the basis of the Madrid

agreements, the principle of land for peace, and the full

implementation of Security Council resolutions 242

(1967) and 338 (1973) to ensure complete Israeli

withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territories

and from the Syrian Golan and the restoration to the

Palestinian people of their legitimate national rights,

foremost among them the right of self-determination

and the right to the establishment of an independent

State with the holy city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its

capital. This requires us to intensify our efforts to

overcome the obstacles to peace in the region, a region

that so sorely needs a chance to realize its potential and

to turn a new page in the history of its peoples. In that

context, we note with satisfaction the Israeli

withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

We hope that efforts to bring stability and

understanding to the Gulf region will be successful. My

country reaffirms its respect for and adherence to

international legitimacy, and reiterates its rejection of

anything that could impinge on the independence or

territorial integrity of Kuwait, as well as its rejection of

any measure that would threaten the unity or territorial

integrity of Iraq. We call for an end to the embargo

imposed against the Iraqi people, who have suffered

immensely from that embargo; it is children, women

and the elderly who have suffered most.

On the question of the Arab Maghreb, my country

is working staunchly and resolutely in cooperation with

our sister countries in the Arab Maghreb Union to

strengthen cooperation and consultation to realize the

aspirations of the people of that region.

On Western Sahara, my country reaffirms its

readiness to make every effort to promote the

implementation of the United Nations settlement plan

for that conflict.

Turning to developments in the Lockerbie crisis,

we wish to express our satisfaction at the progress

towards a comprehensive settlement, including the

suspension of the embargo imposed on Libya. We

welcome the success of the diplomatic approach, and

we hope that this problem will be resolved once and for

all.

We are concerned about the ongoing conflict in

Somalia, and we hope that our Somali brothers will

agree to engage in constructive dialogue in a spirit of

responsibility and patriotism with a view to a peaceful

settlement and to restoring unity and national

sovereignty to the country so that it can once more

enjoy stability and a climate of conciliation.

We regret the continuing tension in Sierra Leone,

and hope that ongoing efforts will bear fruit, so that

that country, which for nine years has been suffering in

a destructive war, can once again enjoy stability and a

climate of conciliation.

On the situation in the Democratic Republic of

the Congo, we reaffirm our support for the Lusaka

Ceasefire Agreement, which in our view is the only

acceptable framework for a peaceful, comprehensive

and lasting solution.

With respect to Angola, my delegation reaffirms

its full support for Security Council resolutions 864

(1993), 1127 (1997) and 1173 (1998), and calls upon

UNITA to fulfil its commitments under the Lusaka

Protocol so that peace and security may return to that

country.

Turning to the conflict between Ethiopia and

Eritrea, we express our satisfaction at the ceasefire

achieved thanks to the efforts of President Abelaziz

Bouteflika of our sister country the People?s

Democratic Republic of Algeria. We hope that the

negotiations between the parties will result in a final

solution to that conflict.

On Kosovo, my country expresses its satisfaction

at the positive developments towards ending the

violence, restoring confidence and rebuilding the

country after many years of war.

38

The United Nations was established to attain the

common purposes of all mankind, notably international

peace, security and stability. The text of the Charter

contains the provisions necessary to ensure a balance

between the rights and the duties of all those wishing

to serve the common interests of international society.

That is why, at the dawn of the third millennium, we

must spare no effort to ensure the maintenance of

international peace and security.