Rwanda, 2014

I want to start by congratulating

you, Sir, on your election as President of the General

Assembly.

We are living through a period of unprecedented

progress in human development. The success of

the Millennium Development Goals framework

demonstrates that international cooperation remains

strong, though we wish the expected results would

come faster. Even on climate change, if the public and

private sectors work together to increase investment

in scientific research, we can look forward to a future

where countries no longer have to choose between

green energy and economic growth.

While we work on building peace and well-being

in Africa, crises elsewhere in the world have aroused

grave concern. Efforts to address them seem to have

little effect, and in some cases they may even make

things worse.

Two critically important public goods have been

consistently undervalued by the international system in

its approach to conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

They are physical security and national identity. When

security breaks down, the human costs are enormous.

Extremists and opportunists are empowered. Citizens

lose faith in public institutions, as grievances are

settled in the street. As a result, sustainable gains in

good governance cannot be made. It takes time and

patience to build a better political system. There are

no shortcuts. We are dealing with real people who want

change, but with continuity and safety. They must be

fully included in the process of consensus-building.

That is because structures of governance that are not

developed from within will not take root. We should

encourage full ownership and partnership, and the

approach of international institutions and Member

States should take those realities into account. In

countries that have known only peace, such arguments

may sound self-serving. But they are not, because lives

are at stake.

The second neglected element is national identity.

That is just as important. To manage the diversity in our

societies, politics must be national in scope. Whatever

differences we may have, our common citizenship

is a bond that unites us. The negative experiences

of nationalism have created doubt about affirming

patriotism and national identity. However, what we see

around the world today is that national identities are too

weak, not that they are too strong. As a result, ethnicity,

region and religion become the dominant currency

of politics, and nations are torn apart. International

systems should encourage efforts by Governments and

civil society to strengthen national unity.

In Rwanda, we have focused on building

accountable governance institutions and renewing our

dignity as a nation. As a result, Rwandans today are

among the most optimistic and civic-minded people

in the world. For us, stability is not an abstraction, it

is a reality that abides in the minds and hearts of the

people and the institutions they build to sustain it. Once

achieved, the horizon expands from poverty reduction

to wealth creation and the attainment of ever higher

measures of human development.

Therefore, our task in the international community

is not to manage conflicts, but to help prevent and end

those conflicts. If we focus on keeping people safe and

bringing them together to solve their problems, we will

be able to do so.