Mauritius, 1994

Let me say at

the outset how pleased I am to see you, Sir, presiding over

the General Assembly at this session. In addition to being

a well-deserved tribute to you personally and to your

country, your presidency is a distinct honour and privilege

for Africa. Your task will definitely not be easy but we are

confident that your wisdom and broad experience will help

guide our Organization in discharging its leadership role in

world affairs. I hasten to pledge to you my delegation’s

full cooperation and active participation in the deliberations

ahead.

Let me take this opportunity to say how welcome the

leadership provided by Ambassador Samuel Insanally was

during the past session. We commend him for the clear

vision and diligence with which he steered the work of the

Organization.

The Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali,

equally deserves appreciation for having carried out his

responsibilities with sagacity and serenity despite the

complex and sensitive nature of the issues that have

retained our attention this past year.

It is also my distinct pleasure to associate myself

with all those who have extended a hearty welcome to

non-racial democratic South Africa within the fold of the

Assembly. The end of apartheid in South Africa also

underscores the end of colonialism on the African

continent. However, there still remain a few areas where

the process is not complete, but I firmly believe that it

will not be long before we can boast of a totally free

world. In this regard, I should like to say that, with

respect to the question of the return of the Chagos

Archipelago to the sovereignty of Mauritius, we have

continued to pursue a positive dialogue with the United

Kingdom and that some progress has been registered.

The United Nations of today is perceived differently

from what it was less than a decade ago. The fabric of

international relations is undergoing profound

transformation. There is now more latitude and scope for

international cooperation and partnership than ever before

and the United Nations is increasingly becoming the focal

point for such cooperation on a number of fronts. The

numerous activities in such fields as peace-keeping,

preventive diplomacy, peacemaking, humanitarian relief,

election monitoring and supervision undertaken by the

Organization during the past few years indicate that its

leadership and potential to play an active role on the

international scene have been recognized.

But we should all accept the obvious reality that the

United Nations, despite its potential and goodwill, does

not have the material capacity nor can it muster the

financial resources to attend to every potential or actual

crisis situation. While it has become evident that

solutions to the present-day crises cannot but be evolved

within the framework of international cooperation, such

cooperation, however, is still lacking or, where it does

exist, is but lukewarm in substance. That is why, despite

the end of super-Power rivalry which, in theory, should

have eased tensions the world over, conflicts and tensions

have continued to flare up. Though the international

community does mobilize itself, albeit with disastrous

delay at times, to address such situations, peaceful

solutions remain elusive. Is it because our agenda in

addressing these problems is not always the same?

Coming from a small island State where our priorities

remain the economic progress of the country and the

constant improvement of the quality of life of our

citizens, I harbour the dream that we, leaders of the

6

international community, can still bequeath to future

generations a world which thrives on peace. On the eve of

the fiftieth anniversary of the Organization can we not

pledge and dedicate ourselves to that goal and recommit our

efforts to that end?

It has, it seems, become fashionable to question

whether the United Nations system is well adapted to the

new changing situations that confront us and whether it is

equipped to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.

But we often forget that we are the United Nations.

My delegation believes that the United Nations, given

its universality, should inevitably continue to have a central

and important role in the universal management of our

society. But to be able to do this satisfactorily there is an

urgent need not only to revitalize the Organization,

streamlining its agenda, but also to overhaul its structures,

bringing in more transparency in its internal operations and

taking on board the aspirations of the developing countries

which, after all, constitute the majority of our world.

In this regard, my delegation welcomes the ongoing

deliberations in the open-ended working group on the

question of equitable representation on and increase in the

membership of the Security Council. It is our hope that the

wide spectrum of views expressed so far on this subject,

though seemingly divergent, would eventually converge to

become a consensual approach that would render the

Council more transparent and democratic.

The review of the membership of the Council should

be such as to make it functionally effective and as widely

representative of the membership of the United Nations.

But it should also, I reiterate, be the product of as large a

consensus as possible to preserve its credibility. In this

context, while considering an increase in the permanent

membership of the Council, one should not be biased in

favour of the economic giants of this world alone. The

developing countries have a legitimate right to be

represented on the permanent slate of the Security Council,

for our concerns are different from those of the

industrialized and developed countries. The African and

Latin American continents should imperatively have their

share of the responsibility incumbent on the Council. We

have no doubt that those called upon to represent these two

continents as permanent members will have significant

contributions to make in the interest of the world at large.

While we do not favour too radical a reform, we believe

that the decisions of the Council should be arrived at by

consensus rather than through veto power. Such decisions

would obviously be more easily acceptable to the

international community. However, the present veto

system should be maintained for some time to come.

It is a fact that the United Nations has been playing

a more active role in world affairs and has been assuming

greater responsibilities in the fields of peace-keeping and

mediation in conflicts in a number of countries. But the

restructuring exercise needs to address other levels of our

Organization as well, so as to embrace the development

dimension of international relations. In this respect, one

should not shy away from a possible review of the United

Nations Charter itself, but the process, we believe, should

be gradual and consensual. A strengthened and reformed

United Nations should be able to contribute positively to

the fulfilment of the vision of its founders.

It is opportune here to remind ourselves of what, as

far back as 1945, the then United States Secretary of

State reported to President Truman on the result of the

San Francisco Conference. He said:

“The battle of peace has to be fought on two fronts.

The first is the security front where victory spells

freedom from fear. The second is the economic and

social front where victory means freedom from

want. Only victory on both fronts can assure the

world of an enduring peace. No provisions that can

be written into the Charter will enable the Security

Council to make the world secure from war if men

and women have no security in their homes and

jobs.”

Almost half a century later, we find an echo of the

same sentiment when our Secretary-General states that

“the development imperative is as much a priority

for the United Nations as the imperative of peace. ...

There can be no sustainable development without

peace. There can also be no real peace without

development.”

We fully subscribe to those views and would go

even further to say that international peace and security,

as well as an equitable and conducive environment and

the redress of the asymmetrical international financial and

trading relations, are necessary prerequisites for the

sustainable development of all countries in the world,

especially the developing ones.

In this respect, the plight of Africa is well known to

the world community. The causes of its ills and of its

weaknesses are well documented. While the disease has

7

been diagnosed, the cure is not yet in sight. Africa needs

a new order with a clear vision of hope that will ensure its

gradual integration into the international economic and

trading systems. Its marginalization, deliberate or

accidental, must be stopped and reversed.

The issue of human rights continues to be the subject

of varying perception. We believe that human rights are

indivisible, and therefore we hold the view that a revised

and reformed United Nations should concentrate equally, if

not more, on economic, social and cultural rights by

promoting international cooperation for development.

May I be allowed here to quote the example of

Mauritius? Since the last decade, the rapid strides we have

been making in the economic field have been accompanied

by consistent progress in the social and cultural fields, as

well as in the strengthening of the democratic framework.

Basic rights and freedoms, such as freedom of speech, of

association and of movement, and the holding of general

elections at regular intervals of five years with the free

participation of political parties and individuals are an

integral part of our culture. Our experience exemplifies the

synthesis that is being achieved through economic

development, which brings dignity to the population; social

development, for the protection of the weaker sections of

the population; and the strengthening of all democratic

institutions, for the evolution of a harmonious society.

The report by the Secretary-General entitled “An

Agenda for Development” is therefore timely and will no

doubt place the issue of development in its different aspects

in a prominent place on the international agenda. The

Secretary-General needs to be commended for this

interesting report, which highlights the multidimensional

nature of development. The report has been further

enriched by the constructive proposals contained in the

Ministerial Declaration of the Group of 77 adopted on 24

June 1994 in New York. I commend this Declaration as an

important contribution by the developing world to the

debate on the report.

Let our world, both developing and developed, take

advantage of the new environment. And let us commit

ourselves to reducing poverty, hunger and illiteracy in the

world; commit ourselves to ensuring a steady and

increasing flow of financial resources, as well as transfer of

technology, to the developing countries; and commit

ourselves to comprehensively tackling the debt problem.

Only through such commitments and shared responsibilities

and action in an increasingly interdependent world will it be

possible to stop the further marginalization of a large

number of developing countries and help integrate them

in a just and equitable international economic, financial

and trading system.

Next year will witness the establishment and setting

up of the World Trade Organization, which is expected to

contribute towards the development of an integrated, more

viable and durable multilateral trading system. I take this

opportunity to exhort the members of that organization to

adopt positive measures so as to ensure that the

developing countries, this time, secure a fair share in the

expected growth of the world.

Genuine fears have been voiced by a number of

developing countries, especially small island States, that

are vulnerable to natural disasters and suffer from the

disadvantages of being far from their sources of supply of

raw materials and foodstuffs and the markets for their

export products. It is feared that the results of the

Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and

Trade (GATT) will adversely affect their trade, especially

the trade preferences from which they benefit in the

context of contractual agreements entered into with a

group of developed countries, principally with the

European Union.

My own country stands to be affected both as an

exporter and as a net food-importing country. We

therefore appeal for steps to be taken, as provided for in

the Final Act of the GATT Uruguay Round, to provide

adequate compensation for any such loss. I should like

here to stress the need for the preservation of the existing

preferential trade regime of the Lomé Convention of the

African, Caribbean and Pacific Group and the European

Economic Community.

Any attempt to bring in new issues concerning the

multilateral trading system, including the World Trade

Organization, would not be appropriate at this juncture.

In this regard, it would serve no useful purpose for the

developed and the developing countries to adopt

confrontational positions while dealing with such sensitive

issues as the “social clause and the trade regime” and

“trade and the environment”. My country for one will

resist the inclusion of any clause that may appear as a

disguised protectionist measure.

However, I also believe taking as an example my

own country, where worker’s rights are protected by the

Constitution, that internationally recognized labour

standards and norms and the legitimate rights of workers

should be respected. This is important if man is to be at

8

the centre of development. The enjoyment of these rights,

and the observance of labour standards, should be

encouraged in all countries, without, of course, losing sight

of their respective levels of socio-economic development,

or the development needs and objectives of developing

countries.

I am happy to state, in that context, that my

Government recently introduced legislation to ensure that

workers participate in the management of enterprises and

become shareholders in the sugar sector where they are

employed. This is being done in the context of a new

social order based on partnership, and it is meant to favour

the democratization of the economy.

This leads me to the forthcoming World Summit for

Social Development, the Fourth World Conference on

Women and the United Nations Conference on Human

Settlements (Habitat II), to be held next year. In our view,

all these conferences are geared towards one simple goal:

to better the lot of mankind, and in so doing, to enhance

human dignity. It is our sincere and cherished hope that

these summit meetings and conferences will contribute to

the debate on the Agenda for Development and will

encourage a better understanding of the nature and

complexity of the development problems facing the

developing world. May these conferences come up with

reasonable and concrete proposals, backed by a clear

commitment of resources for their implementation.

It is true that the end of the cold war and the

disappearance of ideological conflicts have significantly

altered the geopolitical configuration of the world. They

have modified the nature of international relations, with

strategic economic alliances replacing military ones in a

world still in search of a new order — which thus far has

remained elusive.

In such an uncertain and volatile situation, where the

survival of the fittest and of the most competitive is the

order of the day, small and economically vulnerable

countries need assurances with regard to their security and

continued economic development and social progress. In

this respect, renewed attention is being given, in different

parts of the world, to regional cooperation and integration.

We believe that the salvation of small and weak

economies depends on the successful implementation of

regional cooperation and integration programmes. We view

regionalism as an important complement to multilateralism,

especially when open regionalism does not lead to

exclusiveness. I therefore appeal to the international

community to fully support the successful implementation

of regional cooperation and integration programmes,

especially the nascent ones in Africa.

In our own region, organizations such as the Indian

Ocean Commission, the Preferential Trade Area for

Eastern and Southern African States and the Southern

African Development Community are useful vehicles for

economic cooperation and integration among member

countries and help to strengthen our economies.

Political stability, good governance, respect for basic

human rights and freedoms are prerequisites to economic

development. It is therefore the duty of the international

community to ensure movement in that direction. We

have, however, failed by not responding quickly enough

to the agony of Rwanda, and, as the Secretary-General

has stated, we have acquiesced in the continued loss of

lives. The serious plight of hundreds of thousands of

refugees from Rwanda remains a major source of

concern. We should redouble efforts and commit

ourselves to urgently addressing such human catastrophes

of epic proportions, which, if left unattended or if tackled

timidly, may very well spill over into neighbouring

countries of the region and affect them adversely.

I had the opportunity to state my country’s position

on this issue at the recent Organization of African Unity

(OAU) Summit in Tunis, where I warned that Burundi

was sitting on a powder keg that risked explosion unless

the international community acted in earnest to contain

the problem. Though the situation has eased to a certain

extent, due mainly to Operation Turquoise and to the

commitment of troops from OAU member States, the

region still remains fragile. Countries which have the

resources must come to the fore and fully assume their

responsibility to prevent a recurrence of this tragic

episode.

My country, for its part, besides its interventions in

international forums and its modest contributions in cash

and in kind, played host to the dialogue between the

President of Zaire and the President of Rwanda, which

culminated in the signature of an accord with respect,

mainly, to the refugee situation.

I should like to use the opportunity of speaking

before this forum to appeal to my brothers in Angola,

Liberia and Somalia and elsewhere in Africa, where

pockets of tension exist that can flare up into unnecessary

conflicts, to apply peaceful means to resolve and iron out

their differences.

9

It would be fitting here to flag Mozambique as an

example where dialogue has prevailed over armed struggle,

and where, in a few days’ time, the people will be

exercising their freedom of choice to elect those they wish

to govern the country. Similarly, it is a matter of

satisfaction that the constitutional problem in Lesotho has

been resolved peacefully and through constant dialogue. In

that respect, I should like to commend the efforts deployed

by my brothers, Presidents Mugabe, Masire and Mandela.

I wish the same fervour could be demonstrated by

others who are active in the Bosnia and Herzegovina

conflict, where countless lives continue to be lost, where

human suffering has crossed the limits of endurance, where

the population seems to have resigned itself to a fate

imposed upon it by the warring factions. Are we not

responsible enough, human enough, to resolve the problems

besetting that region, the more so as conflicts like those

which have plagued Northern Ireland and the Middle East

over decades, and which appeared unsolvable, are being

addressed resolutely, and with positive results?

Indeed, the positive developments in the Middle East

mark a turning point in the inter-State relationships in that

region and augur well for peace and stability. It is my

fervent wish that the spirit of moderation and compromise

that has made it possible for positive results to be achieved

in the ongoing negotiations will continue to prevail and

helps open other avenues for peace to be restored in the

entire region.

Let us, leaders of the world, on the eve of the fiftieth

year of our Organization’s existence, take inspiration from

the positive trends that have emerged in the Middle East,

from the successful transition in South Africa as a result of

peaceful negotiations, and commit ourselves to resolving

conflictual situations — historical as well as current —

through dialogue. In this regard, let me make an earnest

appeal to Pakistan and to India, countries equally dear and

near to us, not to internationalize their differences but to

address them bilaterally through peaceful means. We

should like to encourage both Governments to resume their

dialogue in a spirit of trust and compromise, in the higher

interests of their countries and peoples, and indeed in the

interest of the entire region.

I am gratified to learn that in Sri Lanka, following the

installation of the new Government, a dialogue has been

initiated between the parties in conflict. This is indeed a

commendable move.

Such positive efforts can only be beneficial to the

international community, for the peace dividends that will

thus ensue will permit the world to tackle, with undivided

attention, the agenda of economic and social development,

in order to make the world a safer place in which to live.

That is why we continue to hope for speedy positive

developments in such places as Fiji, where equality of

citizenship is yet to prevail.

Another issue that remains a major preoccupation of

my country is the question of disarmament. Next year,

the Conference to review the Non-Proliferation Treaty

(NPT) will take place. Mauritius has made its position

amply clear on this issue. Any extension of the NPT

should be linked to progress on nuclear disarmament and

the achievement of a comprehensive test-ban treaty, as

well as the establishment of a negotiating framework

within which the discriminatory nature of the Treaty

should be examined. We have stated in no uncertain

terms that the world cannot be divided permanently into

countries permitted to have nuclear weapons and countries

not permitted to have them. A treaty perceived as

making such a decision permanent is bound to fail and

cannot be expected to last.

Without the convincing support of the NPT

members, we may fail in our endeavours to make the

world nuclear-weapon-free. The recent dispute between

a Member State of the Treaty and the International

Atomic Energy Agency clearly indicates that the NPT is

not infallible. Equally alarming is the trading in enriched

uranium and plutonium, in stark contradiction of the

objectives of the Treaty. As long as there are nuclear-

weapon States, there will be an urge for other States with

nuclear potential to acquire such weapon-grade material,

thus putting the world community in jeopardy.

Mauritius would like at this point to welcome the

efforts for the conclusion of a treaty to make all of

Africa, a nuclear-weapon-free zone. It is our earnest

hope that the exclusive club of nuclear-haves, principally

the permanent members of the Security Council, will do

everything to permit the emergence of such a zone and

the conclusion of the treaty.

10

(spoke in French)

As Acting President of the Conference of Heads of

State or Government of French-speaking countries, I should

like to say a few words in the French language, which

brings together this community of dialogue and cooperation

numbering 47 countries with more than 400 million

inhabitants. Since 1986, the highest officials of these

countries, which are found on the five continents, have been

regularly holding summit meetings to review those

problems that affect the francophone world and seek

together for solutions to global problems.

My country thus had the honour of hosting the Fifth

Summit of the Francophone World last October. It may

seem surprising to some that a country member of the

Commonwealth whose official language is English should

have been selected to host such a Summit and thus to

become the spokesman of the francophone group for a two-

year period. In fact, for us Mauritians, this is in no way

unusual, since we live with our cultural and linguistic

diversity in perfect harmony. Indeed, Mauritian culture is

the result of a synthesis worked out through history. We

live in a society that integrates the linguistic, religious and

social contributions of Europe, Africa and Asia. The theme

of “Unity in Diversity”, which inspired the work of that

Summit, is very dear to our country. All the segments of

the Mauritian nation participate in creating a national

identity while preserving their ancestral cultures. This

message of unity in diversity, based on the recognition of

difference and on human solidarity, is even more relevant

in the difficult and complex situation in today’s world.

The Heads of State or Government wish the

francophone world to cooperate more closely with regional

and international organizations that are working for

democracy, peace and the development of the world — first

and foremost, of course, is the United Nations. We have

adopted a series of resolutions to promote this new

partnership. It is, moreover, in this context that we had the

pleasure of welcoming the Secretary-General of the United

Nations, His Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, to

Mauritius. During the Summit, we were able to intensify

a dialogue that we have been maintaining since then by

various means. However, we hardly had time to acquire

the means to implement our own resolutions when events

began to move rapidly in the francophone world.

Indeed, on the day following the Mauritius Summit,

our brother Melchoir Ndadaye, President of Burundi, was

brutally assassinated. The Organization of African Unity

and the United Nations were immediately notified. Then

the situation deteriorated in Rwanda, and once again we

notified these two international forums. Given the lack of

action during the first few days, we welcomed France’s

intervention for strictly humanitarian purposes, which

allowed numerous lives to be saved.

In addition to their concern regarding the Great

Lakes region, the countries of the francophone world are

deeply moved about the situation in Haiti. We have been

following developments in that country very closely, and

we were gratified to note that positive steps have been

taken towards re-establishing democracy. We are

awaiting with great impatience, and in the interest of the

Haitian people, the return of legitimate power to this

country, a country that has suffered so much in the course

of its recent history.

The francophone world, for its part, has adopted

numerous resolutions aimed at securing for the

Francophone community a more dynamic presence

internationally. It will thus be able to make a

contribution in the specific fields of its competence. I

should like, in particular, to cite a resolution endorsing

the Secretary-General’s report, which is rightly entitled

“An Agenda for Development”. This resolution spells out

those themes which the francophone world would like to

see taken into consideration in the agenda and which will

be put forward by our representatives within the United

Nations during the preparatory stages.

At the Rio de Janeiro Summit, later in Vienna, then

in Barbados and in Cairo, and tomorrow in Copenhagen

and in Beijing, the countries of the francophone world are

consulting on the major problems the United Nations has

inscribed on its agenda. This is being done to arrive at

common positions for meeting the great challenges of

development.

Such concerted action is essential for the harmonious

development of our world at the dawn of the third

millennium; hence we are called upon to make a specific

contribution to illustrate that spirit of humanism that

motivates the francophone world.

The Mauritius Summit succeeded in situating the

francophone world in a more political and more

diplomatic context. The francophone world has an

original and positive message to spread through the world,

a message of liberty, solidarity and sharing. I am most

pleased to have conveyed it to you.