Chad, 1995

Half

a century ago the representatives of some 50 nations met in

San Francisco, in the United States, to create a new world

order for the post-war period. The founding fathers sought

to define rules and conduct enabling the countries of the

whole world to live free and safe from the scourge of war.

They gave the United Nations certain purposes that were as

noble as they were ambitious, such as, to mention only a

few, the maintenance of international peace and security;

the promotion of progress and international development;

respect for human rights and the rights of peoples; and

international cooperation.

While we rightly rejoice at the results obtained in

some of these areas, we must note that in others, concern

persists regarding the many internal conflicts and economic

and social crises that confront some of our States.

It was in an atmosphere of hope, but also uncertainty,

that His Excellency Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral was

elected to guide the work of this session which must

address the aspirations for peace and well-being of our

peoples. My delegation is happy at his election and warmly

congratulates him, convinced that his intellectual qualities

and diplomatic skills will ensure success in our

deliberations. We assure the President of our full

cooperation.

I wish also to pay a well-deserved tribute to his

predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Amara Essy, Foreign

Minister of Côte d’Ivoire, who skilfully guided the

proceedings of our previous session.

I should like to reiterate our deep gratitude to His

Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who since his

election as the head of our Organization has resolutely

sought to find solutions to our world’s many problems.

Our Organization has succeeded in sparing humanity

a third world war, but areas of concern remain. Before

addressing them, I should like to briefly describe the

situation in my country, and particularly the efforts that

my Government has made to solve both political and as

socio-economic problems.

At the last session the Chadian delegation described

to the Assembly the progress that we had made towards

the democratization of political life. Today I can report

that this has become a tangible reality. We have put

machinery and structures in place to enable the Chadian

people freely and openly to choose their institutions and

their leaders. I refer in particular to the Independent

National Electoral Commission, responsible for

supervising and monitoring the preparation of electoral

rolls and organizing the various elections; the Supreme

Council for Communications, charged with guaranteeing

equitable access to the media to political parties, civil

society and individual citizens; and the Constitutional

Court, which is to settle electoral disputes, among other

things. It is important to emphasize that all shades of

political and social opinion are represented in these

bodies.

The liberalization of political life can also be seen in

the existence of 53 recognized parties as well as a number

of civil associations and trade unions. Moreover, a draft

constitution agreed by all those involved in civil and

political life will soon be put to the vote in a referendum.

I can state from this rostrum that the democratic process

is under way and that Chad is merely awaiting the various

votes to conclude it.

The President of the Republic, General Idriss Déby,

stated at this year’s presentation of New Year’s greetings

from the Diplomatic Corps that he was determined to do

his utmost to ensure that the votes were transparent and

took place in the best possible conditions. Despite this

solemn commitment, some of those involved in political

life, manipulated from abroad, are trying desperately to

hoodwink national and international public opinion by

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saying that the Government are responsible for delaying the

votes. We reiterate the commitment of the Head of State

and invite all those who wish to do so, to come to Chad

and observe the various election processes.

I should like to extend our thanks to the United

Nations, which has already given us technical assistance. I

also take this opportunity to appeal to countries and

international organizations to help us properly to organize

the elections.

Because of the tumultuous history of my country,

peace and stability are constant concerns of my

Government, which seeks only to make a reality of the

legitimate aspirations of the Chadian people to economic

and social well-being.

National reconciliation was rightly one of the main

recommendations of the Sovereign National Conference, for

trust and harmony among the people of Chad must be

rebuilt. The establishment of a national reconciliation

commission and the proclamation of a general amnesty and

a unilateral cease-fire throughout the country are

demonstrations of the avowed will of the Government to

reunite Chadians. Some people in Chadian political life

consider that the final step in achieving this objective is to

organize a round table. The Government is in favour, as

long as the other participants are not limited to the armed

opposition and as long as it does not threaten the

achievements of the Sovereign National Conference, the

democratic process, or the established timetable.

Political freedom is truly beneficial only when it is

based on an economic situation from which all the

population gain. My country faces an economic and

financial crisis due to external factors, aggravated by

desertification, an uncertain climate and the fact that it is

land-locked. My Government has taken a series of measures

to improve the financial situation, while strengthening its

control over debt servicing and trying to exert similar

control over the civil service and the army. These measures

have had satisfactory results and should be supported by

our partners.

While we are pleased that the cold war has ended,

there remain, as I said earlier, many matters causing great

concern. The international community is confronting some

problems that negatively impact on the evolution of our

countries and require collective thought.

With regard to peace, since the last session the picture

has continued to be one of contrasts.

In Angola, my Government is heartened by the

progress achieved since the Lusaka Accords, which have

opened up great prospects for the consolidation of peace

and the reconstruction of the country.

Similarly, we welcome the signing in Washington on

28 September of the agreement between the State of

Israel and the Palestinian Authority. This is an important

milestone on the path towards a just and lasting

settlement of the crisis, which has lasted far too long.

My country also welcomed the agreements reached

by the Liberian factions on 19 August. With the setting

up of the Council of State, we can hope that the six years

of nightmare are now coming to an end for the people of

Liberia.

Elsewhere, the situation is much less favourable.

Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia and Sierra Leone are still

powder kegs, experiencing loss of human life and massive

displacements of populations.

My country is also concerned about the situation in

Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the very heartland of Europe,

where the spiral of war seems to hold sway over the logic

of peace. We encourage the patient and tireless efforts of

the international community to settle this conflict, with

respect for the country’s sovereignty and territorial

integrity.

We would make an urgent appeal to the various

protagonists to demonstrate perspicacity and political

courage in order to put an end to these human tragedies.

Foreseeable causes of conflict in most States are

behaviour and attitudes revealing a desire for hegemony

that threatens territorial integrity and harms good-

neighbourly relations. We must appeal to leaders to show

wisdom and refrain from such conduct; rather, they

should work together in a spirit of solidarity and mutual

assistance to implement joint development programmes.

For its part, Chad fully supports the principle of the

peaceful settlement of all disputes. In this spirit, on the

basis of resolutions of the United Nations, the

Organization of African Unity and the Organization of the

Islamic Conference, we again appeal for the lifting of the

embargo on the Libyan people, which has a negative

impact on neighbouring countries.

My country supports the efforts under way in our

Organization in the field of peace-keeping operations,

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particularly in the consolidation of peace in various parts of

the world. Thus, it is making its modest contribution to the

United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda.In the same

spirit, Chad supports Argentina’s “White Helmets”

initiative.

Africa, for its part, took a decisive step by

establishing, in 1993, a mechanism for the prevention,

management and settlement of conflicts; it is already

operational. We call for close cooperation between the

United Nations and this mechanism under Chapter VIII of

the Charter and for multifaceted support from the entire

international community.

As a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of

Nuclear Weapons, my country welcomes its indefinite

extension. This is a major step, because, since the

establishment of the United Nations, the prevention of the

dissemination of nuclear weapons has been one of the

major goals of Member States. Chad fully supports the

negotiations currently under way in the Conference on

Disarmament for the conclusion of a comprehensive test-

ban treaty.

My country welcomed the Secretary-General’s

convening of an international meeting on mine clearance

from 5 to 7 July 1995 at Geneva. We greatly appreciate the

positive reaction of the international community, which, by

announcing a contribution of more than $20 million,

demonstrated its determination to struggle against this

invisible, pernicious and constant menace.

Chad, a large part — about one third — of whose

territory is infested with mines of all types, supports the

Secretary-General’s statement that, by damaging local

communities, by contributing to emptying vast territories of

their population and by preventing the return of refugees,

mines are obstacles to economic and social development.

Hence, we appeal to the international community to help

my country rid itself of these death machines.

The unbearable pictures of thousands of mutilated

men, women and children throughout the world cry out to

us. That is why my country stands ready to support any

measure that would lead to the total prohibition of the

production and sale of such weapons.

Peace and development are the major objectives of our

Organization. So far as economic and social development

is concerned, in recent years many summits and

conferences have been held with the goal of improving the

living standards of peoples. But the results have not met the

expectations. In fact, as the Human Development Report

1995 states,

“More than three-fourths of the world’s people live

in developing countries, but they enjoy only

16 per cent of the world’s income.” (Human

Development Report 1995, p. 14)

Africa, where the majority of the least developed

countries are located, is in a most precarious situation.

The continual decline in export income condemns Africa

to such an increase in the servicing of its debt that any

development activity is futile.

What can one say about structural adjustment and

economic liberalization measures, which frequently have

a negative impact on the most vulnerable segments of our

society? Most of the initiatives to promote the

development of Africa in the 1990s have not brought the

hoped-for results.

We venture to hope that the Agenda for

Development, as a prop for the Agenda for Peace, will

foster a genuine spirit of solidarity and partnership in the

international community.

We believe that, 50 years after its creation, and

despite the outstanding results it has achieved in some

areas, the United Nations must continue to change in

order to meet new and increasingly complex challenges.

In this connection, we reiterate our support for the

process of restructuring and revitalizing the United

Nations in the economic, social and related areas. We

emphasize, however, that this necessary action must not

lead to marginalization of the developing countries.

Chad has already expressed its position on the

expansion of the Security Council, the organ with primary

responsibility for the maintenance of international peace

and security. The principle of equitable geographical

representation must be observed.

In conclusion, I should like to express the hope that

our deliberations will be fully successful and that the

twenty-first century will witness the beginning of a

genuine rebirth of our international Organization, so that

it can work decisively towards the greatness of mankind.

The meeting rose at 5.25 p.m.

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