Chad, 2002

At the

outset, I should like, on behalf of all the members of

the Chadian delegation that I have the honour to lead,

and on my own behalf, to warmly congratulate Mr. Jan

Kavan on his election to the presidency of the fifty-

seventh session of the General Assembly. In

discharging that heavy responsibility, he can count on

my delegation's full availability and support

throughout this session, all the more so since the

international community has honoured my country by

electing it to one of the prestigious posts of Vice-

President of the Assembly. I take this opportunity to

express our gratitude to the Members of the

Organization for the trust placed in my country, Chad.

Members may be assured that we shall do our utmost to

deserve that trust.

My thanks and congratulations go also to

Mr. Kavan's predecessor and to his team for the work

accomplished during the fifty-sixth session.

I should also like to pay particular and well-

deserved tribute to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi

Annan, whose commitment and ceaseless efforts to

achieve sustainable peace and development in the

world are welcome and should be recognized.

Lastly, I express my sincere and warm

congratulations to the Swiss Confederation on its

admission to the Organization. Chad, which enjoys

close relations of friendship and cooperation with that

country, welcomes its decision to join the great United

Nations family. A country devoted to democratic and

peaceful values, Switzerland will undoubtedly

contribute to enriching our debates on all issues.

The current session is taking place one year after

the terrible attacks perpetrated against the United

States of America on 11 September 2001, which

plunged American families and those of other nations

into mourning. The Government and the people of

Chad once again join the rest of the international

community in paying tribute to the memory of the

thousands of innocent victims of that act of blind

savagery, which nothing can justify.

Unfortunately, those sad events have brutally

alerted us to the numerous challenges that we

absolutely must face if we wish to one day bring about

a just and equitable international society that enables

each of its members to develop fully. In addition, those

acts of despair can be checked only if their roots —

which are nourished by unequal international relations

broadening daily the gap between rich and poor — are

eradicated. My country firmly condemns that form of

political expression, from whatever side it may come,

and is ready to associate itself with any initiative of the

international community to establish a new world order

based on democracy and sustainable development.

Today, the United Nations is called on more than

ever to help to establish a fairer and more prosperous

international society. We note with satisfaction the

Organization's frequent efforts to ultimately eradicate

the scourges of disease and malnutrition — in short,

those of underdevelopment. In that regard, numerous

world meetings at the level of heads of State or

Government have been organized under the auspices of

the United Nations or of specialized agencies with a

view to implementing the decisions and

recommendations of the Millennium Summit. But the

point is not to have Summits; above all, we must match

words with deeds.

The Republic of Chad, like all other developing

States, aspires to a better life and well-being for its

population. His Excellency Mr. Idriss Deby rightly

stated, in his inaugural address on 8 August 2001, that

his mandate would have the double aims of peace and

economic progress. In order to do that, Chad is relying

on the early exploitation of its mineral and agricultural

wealth. We take this opportunity to inform the

Assembly and to reassure the international community,

including the friends of Chad, that the work to carry

out its oil project is proceeding under good conditions.

According to forecasts, the first barrels of oil may be

brought to market starting in July 2003.

However, despite the prospects offered to Chad

by the oil age, the Government is aware of the

weakness of the national economic structures, of the

debt burden and of the imbalances that make the

population's living conditions precarious. Once again,

we call for our bilateral and multilateral partners to

increase their assistance and simply to cancel external

debt, as the African Union has always recommended.

Long captive to its domestic problems, the

Republic of Chad, now more than ever before, intends

to shoulder its responsibilities within the international

community, particularly on the level of the African

13

continent. Therefore, the Government is committed to

helping to make the African Union — whose birth was

celebrated on 9 July 2002 at Durban, South Africa — a

genuine instrument of the continent's political and

economic integration. The New Partnership for

Africa's Development (NEPAD) is part of that major

objective. In the framework of North-South and South-

South cooperation, NEPAD deserves the support of

Africa's development partners.

But again, Chad is among those who think that

Africa's salvation lies in the hands of Africans

themselves. To that goal, they must take courageous

political decisions and transcend their differences so

that the African Union can become a reality, because

the disruptions and crises of all kinds suffered by that

great and rich continent are sources of serious anxiety.

However, the latest news coming from various

African subregions allow us to believe that an end to

conflicts is in sight on the continent. Since the

beginning of this year, several meetings of national

reconciliation have taken place and several peace

agreements have been signed, including in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Angola, in

Burundi, in Sudan, in Sierra Leone and in Somalia.

That offers real hope for African populations. Chad

intends to fully commit itself to ensure that that hope is

realized.

Along with other members of the international

community, the Chadian Government is concerned at

the situation that continues to prevail in the Middle

East. Unfortunately, that intolerable situation results

from non-compliance with the relevant resolutions of

the Security Council and of the General Assembly. In

the light of its obligation to be fair to all Members of

the Organization, the Council should ban any policy of

double standards and should ensure respect for its

decisions, in particular resolutions 242 (1967), 338

(1973) and 1397 (2002). Genuine peace in the Middle

East demands that.

Likewise, the Government of the Republic of

Chad cannot remain silent on another situation of

injustice that continues to preoccupy the Organization:

its exclusion of the Republic of China on Taiwan. That

issue comes back to us every year like a boomerang

because we handled it badly more than 30 years ago.

For us, as a result, it is a matter of conscience that

challenges all of us to find a solution. We have stated

on a number of occasions that it is not a question of

redressing one injustice by committing another;0 it is

simply a question of giving back to the Republic of

China on Taiwan, a democratic and responsible

sovereign State, and to its people the place they should

have on the international stage. This is why, once

again, the Government of Chad calls for the admission

of The Republic of China on Taiwan to the

Organization.

At its creation in 1945 the United Nations had 51

Members. Now, almost 200 countries are full Members

of the Organization. This growth means that it is time

for an in-depth reform of its structures to allow for

greater participation by all Member States and

increased accountability for the taking of international

decisions that have a definite impact on the life of all

our citizens. This is because globalization should not

be regarded only as economic, but also as political.

Thus, Chad feels that the restructuring of the

United Nations is essential and should focus on the

following two points: first, strengthening the role of the

General Assembly in order to make it more democratic

and more active in decision-making; and secondly, an

increase in the number of the members of the Security

Council in order to achieve better representation for all

the geographic areas of the world. Chad therefore

endorses that position, which is also that of the African

Union.

Before I conclude my statement I wish to call to

mind a happy event which took place in my country

just one year ago. In July 2001 a significant scientific

discovery was made in the Djourab desert in the north

of Chad, by researchers headed by a French-Chadian

paleontological mission. This was the discovery of the

fossilized skull of a hominid known as Sahelanthropus

tchadensis, dating back approximately 7 million years.

Sahelanthropus tchadensis, which means man of the

Chadian Sahel, has been nicknamed Toumai which

means hope of life in the local language. Study of the

skull has indicated that this is a new human species, a

new earliest member of humankind.

This discovery has had a significant impact in the

scientific community and in world public opinion,

because it challenges the many theories concerning the

origin of humankind. Toumai is the common ancestor

of us all, and Chad is now regarded as the cradle of

humankind. In order to mark this important discovery,

the Chadian Government envisions the establishment

of a department of paleontology to foster research and

14

education in this scientific discipline, as well as the

construction of a museum to develop scientific tourism

in Chad.

My country will be relying on the support of the

international community to carry out these projects in

the sphere of scientific research and paleontology in

particular. All present are warmly invited to visit Chad,

now known as the cradle of humankind, whose tourist

assets have thus been enhanced by this new scientific

discovery.