São Tomé and Príncipe, 1998

On behalf of

the people and the Government of Sao Tome and Principe,

and on my own account, I congratulate you, Sir, on your

election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its

fifty-third session, and wish you success in carrying out

your duties.

On the occasion of the fifty-third session of the

General Assembly, the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome

and Principe would like to join with all other countries of

the world in advocating the cause of development, peace

and liberty for all the world’s people. We want also to state

our deep concern at the grave problems which affect

mankind and which pose a threat to the world.

We are one year away from the beginning of a new

millennium, and it is with sadness that we observe a

world deeply divided between North and South, rich and

poor, and developed and underdeveloped countries.

The African continent continues its process of

healing and its struggle towards development. In recent

decades many countries of our continent have become

independent and democratic, and are ready for the open

market. Some of them have experienced significant

economic growth. Economic reforms and democracy have

made them favourable ground for development.

However, against this background, many African

countries have become poorer. Bad management and

various types of crisis have given these countries very

few opportunities for development. In 1996, 240 million

Africans were living on less than one dollar per day.

Africa’s share of international trade was only 2 per cent,

and the continent received 2 per cent of foreign

investment. Poverty is increasing, and political instability

is creating violent conflicts which are very difficult to

control.

With deep sadness, we observe too many armed

conflicts, such as those in Sudan, Somalia, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Great

Lakes region, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea and so on. Too

many lives have been lost; too much economic

infrastructure and too many homes have been destroyed;

too many refugees have been created. That is the result of

armed conflicts in our continent.

This situation merits the attention of all in order to

prevent armed conflicts, by creating an environment for

dialogue and reconciliation based on democratic

principles, good governance and respect for the human

rights of minorities.

The situation in Guinea-Bissau requires the special

attention of the international community in order to

promote dialogue between all the parties in conflict. We

participated in negotiations as a member of the

Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, together

with the Southern African Development Community, and

our mediation resulted in a ceasefire. We appeal to both

parties to create a good environment to secure peace and

tranquillity and restore the normal functioning of

democratic institutions and respect for the Constitution.

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Angola is also our concern. We call on the

international community to avoid another war in that

country. We also appeal to UNITA and to the Government

of National Unity and Reconciliation, of which UNITA is

a part, to fulfil all the objectives of the Lusaka Protocol and

work for peace and development.

The situation in Central Africa and the Great Lakes

region is for us the most worrying in our continent. I do not

want to exaggerate, but I can say that this subregion is in

flames which can spread into other countries. Our desire is

to work together with the international community and all

countries in the subregion to seek a solution. Despite all the

approaches already made to end the conflict peacefully, we

cannot remain inactive while the conflict is widening, with

catastrophic consequences. The international community

must continue to work for peace to stop the suffering of

innocent people.

Besides the conflicts on the African continent, there

are others, such as that in East Timor. The East Timorese

people have been suffering under foreign occupation. They

are fighting for self-determination, the right to freely choose

their own destiny, in accordance with the Charter of the

United Nations. If we deny them those rights, we contradict

the principles of our Organization. Against this background,

we reaffirm our support for the Maubere people in their

struggle for self-determination. We appeal to the United

Nations and the international community to continue

supporting the negotiations to reach a peaceful end of the

conflict.

The world is facing serious environmental problems.

The development of programmes to protect our planet must

be a priority, and we must work together to avoid

behaviour that damages the environment by creating

pollution, land degradation and destruction in general. We

need to follow the Rio Declaration if we want a safe

environment and sound development. We have to pay

special attention to the problems of desertification, water

pollution, deforestation and biological diversity.

I would like to call attention to resolution 2758

(XXVI), adopted in 1971, which denied over 21.8 million

people their right to international representation and totally

contravenes the principle of universality, consecrated in the

Charter. The admission of the Republic of China on Taiwan

as one of our own would not pose a challenge to any of the

existing Members, and the peaceful coexistence of the two

sides in this Organization would be a catalyst to end one of

the largest and most enduring sources of instability in Asia.

Taking into consideration this and the changes that have

taken place in international relations, we call on the

General Assembly to review resolution 2758 (XXVI).

Fifty-three years after the United Nations was

founded, I would like once again to emphasize and praise

the positive contribution this Organization has made to

freedom, development and peace. The Organization faces

more and more challenges, and it is necessary and

convenient to proceed with reform of the system to make

it capable of responding to the demands upon it. The

reform must also include the Security Council; it is time

to reform its structure to provide a better geographical

representation.

It is our understanding that a more democratic,

efficient and less bureaucratic United Nations may better

shoulder its obligations and carry out its duties, in order

to guarantee progress and universal peace.

The struggle against organized crime, drugs, money

laundering and international terrorism must be one of the

priorities of the United Nations and of all countries.

Everybody must contribute to fighting these problems and

their catastrophic consequences.

My country is facing a difficult moment in its

history. The economy of Sao Tome and Principe has been

undergoing deep changes. Statistical data show that there

is a significant improvement. It seems that inflation has

slowed; there is an improvement in the fiscal system and

the value of the national currency has risen.

The Government has been making efforts in order to

achieve satisfactory results in the area of economic

development and reducing poverty. One of our concerns

is related to the problem of our high foreign debt,

estimated at nearly $270 million and which is 54 times

greater than the value of our exports. Despite all the

efforts that have been made, these numbers are still tragic.

It is essential for Sao Tome and Principe to benefit from

having its foreign debt forgiven. It is very important for

us to be able to participate in the Heavily Indebted Poor

Countries Debt (HIPC) Initiative.

In closing, I would like to thank the United Nations

and its specialized agencies for the support given to my

country.