Niger, 2001

The

fact that we are meeting under the presidency of one of

the most eminent personalities of the Republic of

Korea bears eloquent testimony to the positive changes

in international relations and to the end of the

ideological bipolarization of the world.

I would like at the outset to convey the

condolences of the Republic of the Niger to the United

States of America and the Dominican Republic for the

tragedy that occurred this morning.

The Niger would like to warmly congratulate

Mr. Han Seung-soo on his election as President of the

General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session, as well as

the other members of the Bureau. We are sure that he

will demonstrate the same dynamism, energy and

human qualities as his predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri

of Finland, as he continues his outstanding work for the

benefit of humankind.

I would like to reaffirm the warm congratulations

of the Niger to our brother, Mr. Kofi Annan, the

Secretary-General, for his re-election to a post whose

visibility, prestige and effectiveness he has done so

much to enhance, as well as for the award of the 2001

Nobel Peace Prize, which is a testimony — if further

evidence were needed — to the global recognition of

the work that he has already accomplished in the

service of humanity.

This serves as an eloquent rebuttal to the

arguments of all those who claim to find, in the denial

of the fundamental principles of dialogue between

cultures and nations — principles enshrined in the

Charter — the high road to salvation. In this regard, the

Niger endorses the relevant General Assembly and

Security Council resolutions, and welcomes the

emergence of a general consensus on the need to wage

war against terrorism on a collective and global basis,

within the framework of the international legality

embodied by the United Nations.

If we are to succeed, the fight against terrorism

must be based on a programme of international

cooperation, including, in particular, substantial

financial and technical assistance to the most

disadvantaged States so as to enable them to make a

significant contribution to that process.

Still on the subject of peace and security, I would

like to point out that, within the realm of disarmament

and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, we are in

the final stages of the process of ratifying the

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and of

signing a safeguards agreement with the International

Atomic Energy Agency.

With regard to conventional weapons, the

convening of the United Nations Conference on the

Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All

Its Aspects fulfilled one of the commitments

undertaken by our heads of State or Government in the

historic Millennium Declaration. The Niger welcomes

the fact that the Conference was able to adopt, by

consensus, a Programme of Action to combat that

scourge, which is one of the most serious threats to

international peace and security. Furthermore, the

Niger welcomes the fact that that Programme of Action

took account of the principal concerns expressed by

African States in the Bamako Declaration, by

providing, in particular, financial and technical

assistance measures for the disarmament,

demobilization and reintegration of former combatants.

No part of the world has been spared the illicit

trafficking in and circulation of small arms. But the

developing countries, in particular those on the

continent of Africa, are paying the highest price for the

proliferation of small arms from the standpoint of their

security, stability and development.

That is why the Economic Community of West

African States moratorium on the manufacture, import

and export of small arms, adopted in Abuja in October

1998, which was extended for three years on 5 July, as

well as the Programme for Coordination and

Assistance for Security and Development, should

receive substantial financial support from the

international community.

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In this context, the Niger reaffirms its support for

the proposal of the United Kingdom to create an

international fund, to be managed by the United

Nations Development Programme, for the collection of

small arms. If it is effective, that fund will help to

support regional and national projects for the collection

and destruction of small arms in exchange for

development projects. In this regard, I am pleased to

reaffirm to the Assembly the gratitude of the Niger to

the countries that participated in the work of the Group

of Interested States on Practical Disarmament

Measures.

Since the events of 11 September, the entire

world has been assessing the tragic consequences of

that Manichaean ideology. Terrorists are, without

doubt, a threat to international peace and security. It

has been claimed that those events were committed in

the name of Islam. But as everyone knows, Islam is the

religion of the golden mean, and condemns suicide and

murder. It advocates dialogue and persuasion and the

steadfast combating of any tendency towards individual

or collective nihilism. That is one of the reasons why

the Niger fully associates itself with the global

coalition against terrorism. That is also why, during the

recent discussions on measures to eliminate

international terrorism, the Niger reiterated its firm

condemnation of all forms of violence and its

determination to commit itself to all subregional and

international initiatives aimed at eradicating that

scourge.

In the Millennium Declaration, world leaders

undertook to enhance the effectiveness of the United

Nations in the maintenance of international peace and

security by providing it with the necessary tools and

resources to better prevent conflict, bring about the

peaceful settlement of disputes and consolidate peace

and post-conflict reconstruction. In order to be

effective, a preventive conflict-management strategy,

as set out in the report of the Secretary-General,

requires the international community, working together

with national and regional actors, to adopt a

comprehensive approach encompassing political,

diplomatic, humanitarian and institutional measures,

and to undertake actions aimed at economic

revitalization. As a follow-up to that report, last July in

Agadez my country, acting within the national dynamic

aimed at consolidating peace and with the support of

the United Nations, organized a forum on conflict

prevention — the first of its kind in Africa. That forum

recommended the elaboration of a national conflict-

prevention strategy, the implementation of which

would be coordinated by the National Commission for

Social Dialogue, which brings together representatives

of the State and civil society.

For too long, the international community’s

attention has been focused on the Middle East, where

repeated efforts to achieve a negotiated settlement of

the Israeli-Arab conflict have ended in deadlock. The

support of the G-8 for the idea of sending international

observers to Palestinian territory is an important step

forward; such action would guarantee the impartial

application of the recommendations of the Mitchell

report.

The Niger would like to reaffirm, here in the

Assembly, that a lasting settlement of the Israeli-

Palestinian conflict cannot be achieved without the

realization by the Palestinian people of their

inalienable right to an independent sovereign State.

The Niger wholeheartedly supports the position of the

United States of America in this regard.

With regard to the conflict in Western Sahara, the

Niger supports the efforts of the United Nations, in

particular those of the Secretary-General and his

Personal Envoy, to bring about a final settlement that is

acceptable to interested and concerned parties.

With regard to Asia, the summit meeting that

took place last July in India between the President of

Pakistan and the Prime Minister of India raised great

hopes for a political settlement of the conflict in

Kashmir. Such initiatives must be supported and

encouraged so as to allow for the self-determination of

the Kashmiri people as soon as possible in accordance

with the relevant Security Council resolutions.

By according highest priority to the specific

needs of Africa, the Millennium Summit recognized

the full magnitude of the serious problems that beset

our continent. Proof of this is that most African States

are included on the list of least advanced and poorest

countries and have been left behind by the

technological revolution. The ravages caused by armed

conflicts and the HIV/AIDS pandemic have affected

more than 26 million Africans and wiped out the hard-

won progress made over the past decade. At the same

time, the flow of official development assistance to

Africa has plummeted, while foreign direct investments

have continued to stagnate. Worse yet, between 1999

and 2000 those investments even fell from $10.5

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billion to $9.1 billion, while during the same period

they rose in Asia and Central and Eastern Europe.

It is therefore urgent to increase the volume of

official development assistance, to expand debt-

cancellation initiatives, to improve the access of

African exports to international markets and to promote

investment. These measures must be accompanied by

appropriate support for the efforts of the United

Nations system because this Organization is the best

forum for promoting new partnerships for the benefit

of Africa.

In this respect, the Niger very much hopes that

Africa’s drive to reappropriate its own development

will be encouraged. That drive is marked by the

proliferation of national and regional initiatives, the

most recent manifestation of which was the adoption at

the Lusaka summit of the Organization of African

Unity (OAU) of an African development plan, the

implementation of which the G-8 has decided to

support.

The forthcoming International Conference on

Financing for Development should prove to be a

decisive turning point in the establishment of a more

just and equitable world economic order. It should,

inter alia, lead to the adoption of a clear political

declaration defining strategic priorities, accompanied

by a precise timetable, with respect to the

strengthening of the capacities of the developing

countries, particularly the least developed among them,

and their integration into the world economy. The

Conference should be the point of departure of a broad

world partnership to channel all energies towards the

mobilization of resources for development and the

reform of international financial structures.

In this regard, the 10-year Brussels Programme of

Action for the Least Developed Countries has made it

possible to lay the foundations of an enhanced world

partnership to achieve the economic growth essential to

reducing poverty. Following the firm commitments

undertaken in Brussels, there are now grounds for hope

that, particularly with regard to trade, the current round

of World Trade Organization negotiations in Qatar will

take fully into account the interests of the least

developed countries, whose 630 million inhabitants

have a legitimate aspiration to benefit from the positive

effects of globalization.

In the absence of an appropriate response from

the affluent countries, the damage caused by the

HIV/AIDS epidemic may prove to be irreparable, given

that some specialists estimate that there will be 100

million dead from that disease by the year 2010 if

effective measures are not taken immediately to stem

the scourge.

Need we recall, moreover, that malaria claims as

many human victims in Africa as AIDS, particularly in

West Africa? It is comforting to note, however, that the

international community has finally become aware of

the signal danger posed by that disease. The Niger

welcomes the decision of the United Nations to

proclaim the period 2001-2010 the Decade to Roll

Back Malaria in Developing Countries, Particularly in

Africa. The United Nations is thus in step with the

various initiatives of the OAU in the struggle against

malaria, led by Yahya Jammeh of Gambia, Olusegun

Obasanjo of Nigeria and Mamadou Tandja of the Niger.

There can be no doubt that the struggle against

major diseases calls for substantial resources and a

strong capacity for coordinated action. The Niger

therefore welcomes the Secretary-General’s

establishment of the Global AIDS and Health Fund,

which should give a new dynamic to the struggle

against AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, which together

claim 5 million dead throughout the world every year.

The announcement made at the G-8 summit in

Genoa that $1.8 billion will be devoted to launching

the Global Fund is an important step in the right

direction. In spite of everything, a great deal remains to

be done. According to United Nations estimates,

approximately $3 billion must be mobilized before

2001 for AIDS alone and contributions of $7 billion to

$10 billion will be necessary every year thereafter until

2005. Thus, today more than ever, the international

community must demonstrate active solidarity between

rich and poor and a sense of unshakeable collective

responsibility — in a word, unfailing political will —

if it wishes to translate into deeds the Declaration of

Commitment adopted at the special session on

HIV/AIDS.

The progress achieved in the Niger in its current

reform programme has allowed us to re-establish and

consolidate the country’s economic bases, to revive

fruitful relations with the international financial

institutions and thus to secure the Niger’s eligibility for

the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative.

Furthermore, the Niger recently established a new

framework for the implementation of its own national

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anti-poverty policy. A strategy for reducing poverty

defines the country’s priorities and measures and

actions to be undertaken in order to achieve the targets

set in various spheres, which will allow us to make

serious inroads into poverty by 2015.

This struggle against poverty in the Niger enjoys

the highest political involvement. A programme

initiated personally by the President of the Republic,

Mr. Mamadou Tandja, is designed to improve the living

standards of the people of our country. The first phase

of what is known as “The Programme of the President

of the Republic” has already led to the construction of

1,000 wells, 100 mini-dams, 100 schools and 100

health centres for rural communities. It is well known

that such communities in the Niger suffer intractable

illiteracy, a serious lack of infrastructure and cyclical

food shortages caused by irregular rainfall. The

Programme also stresses the link between poverty and

the environment. It is in that context that we plan to

plant 1 million trees throughout our national territory

by the end of this year.

The Government is thus perfectly in step with the

deep-rooted aspirations of the people of the Niger, who

recognize in its actions their ancestral lore of personal

and collective effort against adversity, and with its

bilateral and multilateral partners, whose ongoing

concern is the restoration of the environment. All the

institutions of the United Nations family and the

European Union — in particular France, Germany,

Italy and Great Britain — as well as Canada and Japan,

have contributed significantly to reviving the

ecological system and to combating desertification in

the Niger.

In the Niger, we are fully aware that this fight is

primary a national one. We wage it through

volunteerism, the roots of which are deeply entrenched

in our traditions and extend beyond our frontiers. I take

this opportunity to reiterate the profound gratitude of

the Niger to all the bodies of the United Nations

system, in particular the United Nations Development

Programme, the United Nations Population Fund, the

United Nations Children’s Fund and our other

development partners, for their precious support for the

efforts of the Government to promote the well-being of

our people.

To conclude, I would say that the international

community needs a strong United Nations to achieve

the ambitious objectives set forth in the Charter and to

implement the Millennium Declaration. It is therefore

necessary to give unstinting support to the Secretary-

General in his efforts to reform the Organization,

strengthen its role and secure the resources that will

allow him to accomplish his task effectively. The

United Nations remains indeed the only institution

capable of bringing about the new world order to which

we all so deeply aspire.