Niger, 1996

It

gives me great pleasure to convey to Mr. Razali Ismail

the heartfelt congratulations of the delegation of Niger on

his outstanding election to the presidency of the United

Nations General Assembly at its fifty-first session. His

election is testimony to the high esteem and prestige

enjoyed by his country, Malaysia, in international affairs

for its contribution to the attainment of the ideals of our

Organization. It is also recognition of the fact that he is

a seasoned diplomat and a man of great experience.

I extend my congratulations to the other officers of

the Assembly, and we assure Mr. Razali of the full

cooperation of the delegation of Niger in the discharge of

his duties. I should like to convey to his predecessor,

Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral of Portugal, our great

pleasure at, and our compliments on, the excellent job he

did during his presidency.

The President of the Republic of Niger, General

Ibrahim Maïnassara Barré, reaffirms his unreserved

support for and encouragement to the Secretary-General,

Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for his tireless efforts for

peace and development. As the Assembly knows, this

support was demonstrated to the Secretary-General at the

recent Summit of Heads of State and Government of the

Organization of African Unity (OAU), when my country

joined the unanimous tribute to him.

I know that my country’s decision to propose one of

our sons as a possible candidate for the post of Secretary-

General has given rise to much comment. Let me here

make it clear that Mr. Hamid Algabid, the candidate in

question, is simply a “candidate for the candidacy”. In

other words, if in the coming weeks no veto opposes the

re-election of Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali as Secretary-

General, Africa would only stand to gain. It would be

perfectly normal for a son of our continent, who is just as

qualified as his predecessors, to enjoy, as they did, a

second mandate at the head of our distinguished

Organization.

The annual session of the General Assembly gives

my country an opportunity to renew its faith in the ideals

and principles of the United Nations Charter. The fiftieth

anniversary of our Organization, which we

commemorated last year, gave us an opportunity to look

at the progress made and to define the priorities on which

we should focus. Among those priorities is joint action by

the international community to reduce the economic

imbalance between the nations of the North and the

nations of the South. Unfortunately, the map of economic

24

and social development of the world contains a geography

of contrasts and disparities, although there were reasonable

hopes that the end of the cold war would facilitate the

mobilization of the international community for

development.

Everywhere, and more specifically in the countries of

the South, poverty is the greatest threat to political stability

and social cohesion. The destitution of the shanty towns,

the destitution of the street children, and absolute poverty

are a disgrace to us all, and they will be as long as we see

marginalization as inevitable. As the Director-General of

the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization, Frederico Mayor, stated so well:

“From poverty to marginalization, from

marginalization to exclusion: this is how the most

fertile breeding ground for violence is created.”

It is this violence which we must avoid, by offering

better alternatives to the peoples to whom we are

responsible — most particularly in Africa. Indeed, this

continent shows signs of being a land full of vitality,

capable of major economic achievements, if the

international community gives us a chance and the

resources. Accordingly, the commitments jointly entered

into in the United Nations New Agenda for the

Development of Africa in the 1990s are as relevant as ever.

And more than ever they require that greater efforts be

made for Africa by other members of the international

community.

The question of external debt, and in particular the

question of multilateral debt, which was given special

attention at the G-7 summit in Lyon deserves radical,

urgent treatment. Niger fully supports the recommendations

adopted at the mid-term review of the United Nations New

Agenda for the Development of Africa. We welcome the

launching on 15 March 1996 of the United Nations System-

wide Initiative on Africa. We hope that this programme,

which is in any case an important framework for

cooperation, will make it possible to ensure sustainable

economic and social development in Africa.

Official Development Assistance — quite rightly

identified as one of the main conditions for the

revitalization of the African countries — should be

increased to the level indicated in the resolutions adopted

on this subject. At the upcoming Singapore meeting of the

World Trade Organization appropriate follow-up action

should be taken to ensure that the rights and interests of all

countries, and in particular of the African countries, be

protected. Likewise, the provision of technical and

financial assistance to implement horizontal and vertical

policies to diversify exports will give African countries

the means for greater economic independence.

Since the end of the cold war, our Organization has

certainly had some success in the maintenance of

international peace and security. Among these successes

was the coming into being of a democratic and multiracial

South Africa and the end of the disastrous war in

Mozambique. We have also made significant progress in

the peace process in Angola, in the crisis in the Middle

East and in the former Yugoslavia, in particular the

holding a few days ago of elections in Bosnia and

Herzegovina. Niger is following closely the efforts

undertaken by the authorities in Rwanda to overcome the

aftermath of the tragic events we all witnessed and in

particular to consolidate national reconciliation and lasting

peace.

The situation in Liberia has seen a change for the

better after the recent Economic Community of West

African States (ECOWAS) summit devoted to that

country. Niger supports the recommendations which

emerged from it and has decided, despite our own

financial difficulties, inter alia, to strengthen the structure

of the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) in

Liberia by sending a contingent of about 500 men. My

country believes, however, that these efforts will only be

successful with the valuable support of the international

community, which inter alia must honour its

commitments to this country.I take this opportunity to

commend the tireless efforts made in Liberia by Nigeria,

the great friend and brother of Niger.

Somalia also deserves support. My country has been

following with great interest the evolution of the situation

in Western Sahara and hopes for a resumption of dialogue

between the two main protagonists there so that, in the

near future, efforts by made by the United Nations will

finally lead to the self-determination referendum which

the international community hopes to see. Concerning the

sanctions imposed on Libya, Niger believes that the

constructive proposals made by the authorities of that

country provide a serious basis for negotiations to resolve

that crisis, the consequences of which are adversely

affecting the Libyan people as well neighbouring

countries.

In the Middle East, for three years now, considerable

progress has been made on the path to peace. Until

recently, President Arafat, living among his own people,

25

was developing a dialogue with his former enemies that,

while certainly difficult, was also useful. With the support

of the international community, that dialogue must go on.

But unfortunately, since the return of the right wing to

power in Israel, all hopes seem to have been dashed. Our

Organization must shoulder its responsibilities and do

everything in its power to stop the Middle East from

plunging into a new war with unforeseeable consequences.

If the State of Israel has the right to exist and to live in

peace, the same goes for all States in the region —

beginning with Palestine.

Niger is similarly concerned about the serious situation

in Jammu and Kashmir and hopes that the international

community will discuss it further. It is indispensable that in

that region of the world as well, and with the

encouragement of all countries of good will, that wisdom

and dialogue prevails, so that in the near future the people

of Kashmir can finally exercise freely their inalienable right

to self-determination.

Disarmament and the non-proliferation of weapons of

mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, have a central

role to play in conflict prevention and the promotion of

peace and economic and social development. This is why

Niger renews its appeal for universal accession to

international conventions and treaties that relate to weapons

of mass destruction, and in particular to the cornerstone

treaty: the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear

Weapons.

Further efforts should be made to control conventional

weapons and, generally speaking, to establish confidence-

building measures among States. The signing of the Treaty

of Pelindaba, on the creation of a nuclear-weapon free zone

in Africa, was a source of legitimate pride. My country

welcomes the adoption here in New York of the important

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which finally puts

an end to the fears of millions of human beings for their

lives and for their environment. It is certainly a significant

step towards nuclear non-proliferation. Niger was among

the sponsors of the resolution submitted by Australia, and

will be signing the Treaty in the near future. We hope that

this stage, which puts an end to the risks of horizontal

proliferation, will lead to a substantial reduction in existing

arsenals.

Finally, as in previous years, my country will join in

initiatives to be taken to combat illicit trafficking in small

arms. It will also join the increasingly unanimous

condemnation by the international community of the

manufacture and use of those deadly devices: anti-

personnel landmines.

The building of a better world, which is our common

goal, is still dependent on the establishment of

international relations based on the principle of

cooperation and human solidarity. We have had major

discussions on this subject: in Rio on the environment, in

Cairo on population, in Copenhagen on social

development, in Beijing on the promotion of women, in

Istanbul on human settlements, and soon, in Rome, on

food. All the concerns of humanity have been taken into

account in the many important recommendations which

emerged from those conferences and which outlined a

vision of a better world. We believe that only genuine

human solidarity can transform that vision into reality.

Before concluding, I would like to provide an

overview of the political solution in my country. Niger is

one of the African countries which, early on, chose the

path of democracy. In less than five years, it has tried

everything: a national conference, democratic transition,

and free and transparent elections which established the

institutions of our Third Republic. Following the dismissal

of the Government by the National Assembly, and the

dissolution of that Assembly by the President of the

Republic, the ensuing elections brought about the victory

of the opposition and the establishment of a power-

sharing regime marked by institutional instability in which

the higher interests of the country were sidelined. The

resulting paralysis of State structures prompted the army

to seize power. Understand me clearly: I have no wish to

justify military coups d’état. But in Niger, the putsch was

the lesser evil. At least that is how it was perceived by

the people of Niger, who spontaneously organized

demonstrations in support of the new regime.

As I speak to you now, Niger, having elected a new

President, General Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, is now

preparing for legislative elections. The Government is

doing this in cooperation with the opposition, which only

last week finally agreed to hold discussions with the

representatives of the presidential party and to define with

it the conditions for organizing future popular elections.

The two parties have agreed to abandon sterile polemics

and to create the calm conditions so necessary to work

effectively in the higher interests of Niger.

This shows that Africa in general, and Niger in

particular, is not allergic to democracy. But in the matter

at hand, what my country wants is to be given the

opportunity to build to its democratic system — based,

26

without question, on respect for human rights and

freedoms — at its own pace, taking into account its own

political, economic, social and cultural context. And I

venture here to say that one of the dominant features of

African culture is that we do not turn public administration

into a dichotomy between those in power and the

opposition, between those responsible for running the

country and those who are excluded from that process. In

Africa, we do everything together. We work together, we

eat together and we manage things together. Of course, in

the interest of the human community to which everyone

belongs, everyone should know his rightful place in this

process and everyone should play the role he has been

given.

In this regard, I would like to add that even just in

our subregion, West Africa, there are several examples of

countries that have understood this process and that are

fruitfully applying it on a daily basis. This is the case of

Senegal and Burkina Faso. Let us try to find in our

culture — or better in our cultures — all the elements

that can enable our countries to establish a viable,

properly adapted democracy, while also rejecting

categorically any kind of ready-to-wear democracy that

might be foisted upon us.

In conclusion, allow me to reaffirm Niger’s faith in

the ideals of the United Nations and in its ability to find

in the solidarity of all its Members appropriate responses

to the new challenges facing humanity.