São Tomé and Príncipe, 2011

The Democratic Republic of Sao

Tome and Principe joins other speakers at this global

forum in congratulating the President on his election to

lead the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session.

His election is the acknowledgment by Member States

of the more than 30 years’ experience that he and his

country, Qatar, have given in service of promoting

international peace and security, sustainable

development and dynamic, multidimensional

cooperation among developing countries, as well as in

continuing the search for solutions to the challenges

facing multilateral diplomacy today.

We also congratulate the President on the

significance of the theme of this session, “The role of

mediation in conflict resolution through peaceful

means”, whose relevance and timeliness merit the

attention of all of us here and can help ensure that the

outcome of our collective discussions will support the

United Nations in its effective guidance of global

democratic governance and in implementing coherent

and consistent mechanisms aimed at achieving lasting

peace and a more secure world.

We further congratulate Mr. Ban Ki-moon on his

reappointment to the post of Secretary-General, and

thank him for the effort and skill with which he has

guided the Organization, whose challenges and

responsibilities seem more pressing than ever in the

current international context. We would also like to pay

tribute to the outgoing President, Mr. Joseph Deiss of

Switzerland, who carried out his duties with zeal and

dedication during the past year.

The theme of this session of the Assembly gives

us an opportunity to reflect deeply together on the

impact of international mediation on the resolution of

conflicts in various regions of our planet. We would

like to bring to this reflection a discussion of the

central role that the United Nations should play in

mediating such conflicts. This exercise should help us

formulate concrete proposals for strengthening the

capabilities of our Organization in this area.

Mediation as a method of resolving conflicts

between States began to be used in 1907 in the form of

good offices and mediation on the basis of The Hague

Convention for the peaceful regulation of international

conflicts. United Nations reports on peacekeeping

operations should therefore remind us that the

restoration of peace focuses on ongoing conflicts and

strives to de-escalate them through diplomacy and

mediation. The widespread use of international

mediation to resolve crises as a fundamental technique

of peaceful conflict resolution has not always matched

our expectations or produced the expected results.

It is for that reason that Sao Tome and Principe

believes that rather than settling for its role in

peacekeeping, international mediation must evolve to

become a fundamental factor in peacebuilding. In that

regard, the United Nations should be responsible for

dealing with what appears today to be a trend towards

the professionalization of international mediation,

which relegates to the background the legal

instruments ratified by specialized institutions to deal

with a given conflict. Defining the legal status of the

mediator and the methodology of mediation, as well as

greater involvement by diplomats and experts with

experience in international law, seems to us to be

necessary and important steps that the United Nations

should take in the future.

The State of Sao Tome and Principe has followed

with concern the growing international climate of

tension, characterized by proliferating claims in

various regions, some of them violent and destructive.

Our concern is all the more worrisome given our

distinct feeling that in such circumstances the

mechanisms available to the United Nations for dealing

with such matters effectively and accurately are pushed

into the background. We regret the absence of a

responsible partnership between the African Union and

the Security Council designed to resolve the crisis in

Libya.

It is therefore urgent that we strengthen the role

of the United Nations by reforming the entire

system — a process that should not drag on. This

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reform should include the Security Council and some

of the specialized agencies of the United Nations,

aligning them with the aspirations and demands of the

modern world.

On 9 July, Africa saw the birth of one more free

and independent nation: the Republic of South Sudan.

The Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe,

which has already recognized the brotherly State of

South Sudan, congratulates its people on this

achievement and wishes its leaders every success in

building a peaceful and prosperous nation. Similarly,

we appeal to the entire international community to

make a joint effort to support the new authorities and

political actors of that country in order to maintain the

national sovereignty of the new State and to promote a

climate of national unity and political stability.

East Africa is facing a serious food crisis caused

by phenomena that are beyond the control of men and

by the political and military conflict still raging in

parts of Somalia. It is incumbent upon us all to

contribute without delay to finding a lasting solution to

this serious situation. The Government of Sao Tome

and Principe proclaims its readiness to participate in

activities contributing to the alleviation of the suffering

of the people of that region. We join other Members of

the United Nations in appealing to the international

community to provide more financial resources to

support efforts to normalize the situation in the region.

In the particular case of Somalia, we would appeal for

an increase in official development assistance.

The United Nations is still addressing the pending

question of the Western Sahara and has adopted several

resolutions aimed at settling the conflict between the

Kingdom of Morocco and the Frente Polisario. Sao

Tome and Principe would like to see the two parties sit

at the negotiating table and urges the United Nations to

proceed with the population census, in accordance with

its own resolutions, with a view to completing this long

process of negotiation.

Democracy has the virtue of giving a voice to

people so they can choose their leaders through

popular, free, direct and transparent elections by secret

ballots cast in voting booths. The uprisings that started

in January in North Africa have expressed the

sentiments and will of the people of Tunisia, Egypt and

Libya to turn the page of their contemporary history. It

is in this conviction that the Democratic Republic of

Sao Tome and Principe recognizes the new governing

authorities in these countries as legitimate

representatives of their peoples.

We welcome the presence of the National

Transitional Council within the United Nations, and

urge the authorities of that country to conduct an

inclusive process of peaceful transition to ensure

peace, stability and social progress in that part of

Africa. Furthermore, our country is of the view that

political changes should take place not under violent

circumstances, but without any pressure or political

interference.

The Middle East continues to be shaken by an

unprecedented wave of conflicts within the borders of

some Middle Eastern countries as well as in the

broader region. The people of Syria, Yemen and

Bahrain have demanded reforms in State institutions.

However, we see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

continue. We reaffirm our support for the Palestinian

people’s right to guide their destiny, and we advocate,

in accordance with the relevant United Nations

resolutions, for the existence of a Jewish State. We take

this opportunity to appeal to the Government of the

United States of America and the European Union to

exert their influence to persuade the Government of the

State of Israel to stop building settlements in the

occupied territories.

The trade embargo imposed on Cuba decades ago

is a major concern for our countries, and for Sao Tome

and Principe in particular. We urge the lifting of the

sanctions so that Cuba can participate on equal footing

with other States in the process of building an

international society that is more balanced and fair.

Global security is vital to the sustainable

development of our countries. The threats emerging in

the world today — particularly transnational crime,

piracy, trafficking and the sale of weapons and

drugs — are a real source of concern for Sao Tome and

Principe, a country with extensive sea borders in the

Gulf of Guinea. These phenomena are threats that

cannot be ignored and require greater interaction with

the Member States with which we share these extensive

maritime borders. They also require our commitment to

conflict prevention, management and resolution

mechanisms, based on efforts to fight organized crime

and with a view to ensuring our collective security.

In this connection, we highlight the fact that the

32nd meeting of the United Nations Standing Advisory

Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa,

23 11-51390

organized by the United Nations Office for

Disarmament Affairs through its Regional Centre for

Peace and Disarmament in Africa in Lomé, was held in

Sao Tome and Principe in March.

On behalf of the Government of the Democratic

Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, I would like to

thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his timely

and correct decision to give Africa its own central

Office, which we believe will contribute greatly to the

promotion and development of actions to prevent,

manage and resolve conflicts in the region and will

assist countries of the region in coping with possible

threats to their sovereignty.

The profound changes wrought in the

international political scene, resulting from structural

changes in the world economy, pose new challenges to

countries like Sao Tome and Principe. My country, a

micro-island State, advocates greater access to the

various opportunities available at the international

level, in particular the possibility of obtaining more

official development assistance and facilities to attract

foreign investment.

It is our collective responsibility to take measures

to address the harmful effects of climate change and

ensure the continuity of the clean development

mechanism, particularly for the least developed

countries. We appreciate the political willingness of

Member States to further pursue the building of the

necessary consensus to achieve significant and legally

binding results in Durban, South Africa, at the next

Conference of the Parties to the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change, thus

guaranteeing the second commitment period of the

Kyoto Protocol.

However, climate change has caused imbalances

in the microclimate of our country, with drastic

consequences for our domestic production, thereby

threatening the food security in Sao Tome and Principe.

From this perspective, and in order to combat this

scourge, civil society in Sao Tome has been advocating

the need to enhance the study of the causes and adverse

effects of climate change in Sao Tome and Principe. To

fulfil this goal, the authorities of my country would

like to continue to rely on the invaluable collaboration

and availability expressed thus far by the international

community in general and the specialized entities of

the United Nations in particular.

I cannot end this speech without addressing the

situation of the two straits.

Taking into account that has Taiwan not only

enormous potential, but also a population of around

23 million people, its participation in United Nations

specialized agencies, as has been the case since 2009

with respect to the World Health Assembly, could make

a substantial contribution to the international

community. In this regard, we urge the relevant United

Nations bodies to seek ways and means to ensure the

participation of Taiwan in some of the mechanisms and

agencies of the United Nations system, in particular the

International Civil Aviation Organization and the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change.

The Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and

Principe has just concluded the consolidation of its

democratic process and transition of power through an

election by universal suffrage, which was direct and

anonymous. The President-elect took office on

3 September. Domestically, our Government is working

to reduce poverty and promote economic growth and

institutional reform, particularly in the area of justice,

in order to strengthen the capacities of the country’s

democratic institutions and development.

With regard to the Millennium Development

Goals set by the United Nations for 2015, the

Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe has

made significant progress, particularly in the areas of

education and health. We recognize, however, that

greater efforts should be made to attain the desired

objectives. In that regard, our State wishes to continue

to benefit from the continued and multifaceted support

of the international community.

To conclude, I would like to reiterate the

readiness of the Government of the Democratic

Republic of Sao Tome and Principe to participate in

efforts to mobilize our collective will and our synergies

in pursuit of the noble principles and objectives that

underpin the creation of the United Nations.