Chad, 2005

On behalf

of my delegation and on my own behalf I would like to

extend our warm congratulations to President Eliasson

on his election to the presidency of the General

Assembly at its sixtieth session and to ensure him of

our cooperation in carrying out his noble mission. I

would also like to congratulate his predecessor, His

Excellency Mr. Jean Ping, who guided our work with

tact, skill and competence throughout his term, in spite

of the delicate and complex issues that were on the

agenda during the fifty-ninth session.

It is clear that the results that we have reached in

recent years, both in terms of peacekeeping and in our

approach to development issues, have been made

possible by the commendable commitment and

devotion of each and every Member, at all levels of

engagement and responsibility. I would specifically

like to underscore the valuable contribution of

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, to whom I pay a well

deserved tribute.

In his report, entitled “In larger freedom: towards

development, security and human rights for all”

(A/59/2005), our Secretary-General submitted specific

proposals that we rightfully believe are appropriate

solutions to our shared concerns. Effective

implementation of those measures will enhance the

effectiveness and credibility of the United Nations and

will help us to meet the myriad challenges facing

today’s world.

A few days ago the heads of State and

Government reviewed the international situation from

the standpoint of the Millennium Declaration adopted

in 2000 and the implementation of the Millennium

Development Goals. The conclusions clearly indicate

the magnitude of the task that still remains to be

accomplished, despite the efforts made by Member

States and their national constituents. Those

conclusions, which corroborate the analysis of the

Secretary-General, tell us that times have changed and

that the world — while it still bears scars from the

past — has already entered into the future. Today, we

are seeing the unparalleled impoverishment of many

countries and peoples, as well as the emergence of new

abhorrent phenomena, such as terrorism and

transboundary crime, not to mention the pandemic of

HIV/AIDS and the resurgence of other communicable

diseases. Given those formidable developments, it is

absolutely necessary to build a new international

society that is more caring, more just and better

managed, with the United Nations at its centre.

For its part, the Government of Chad, since the

establishment of democracy in 1990, has planned and

implemented a vast programme of institutional

transformation that promotes social and economic

development, peace and security, both domestic and

external. Moreover, we held a constitutional

referendum in June to amend a number of

provisions — a clear demonstration of our concern to

adapt our institutions to present-day demands, as well

as an opportunity for our people to renew their

confidence in those institutions.

While our country has achieved sufficient

stability within, that is not true of our borders. We are

suffering from the impacts of an insecurity that is

prevalent among our neighbours, particularly in the

Central African Republic and the Sudan, with which

Chad shares very long borders. Therefore, prompted by

our border security concerns, we have undertaken

mediation initiatives to reconcile the belligerents. For

those reasons, the Government of Chad took the

initiative to bring together the parties to the conflict in

Darfur, at Abéché, Chad, in September 2003, to make

them listen to reason. Since then, the Government has

worked continually and actively towards helping to

reach a negotiated solution to that conflict, with

support from the African Union and representatives of

the international community. Moreover, in spite of his

heavy schedule, President Idriss Deby has become

personally involved in trying to bring about a pacific

settlement to that fratricidal conflict.

Chad’s mediation led to the conclusion of the

N’Djamena and the Abuja agreements in Nigeria,

where talks are still under way to find a comprehensive

political agreement and to put an end once and for all

to the crisis that has gone on for far too long. Chad will

continue to act as a mediator so that one day the

western region of the Sudan can at long last regain its

calm and stability.

We deplore the violations of the ceasefire that are

currently taking place in Darfur and hope that they will

cease. We must welcome the formation of the new

Government of the Sudan and we are hoping that that

will be an opportunity for an acceleration of the peace

process of Abuja.

In Chad, we are duty-bound to work with our

brothers in the Sudan, with whom we have historical

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and geographic ties. But we should not lose sight of the

impacts and consequences of the conflict, which have

taken a heavy toll, in particular on the border

populations. For instance, Chad took a fully sovereign

decision to welcome more than 200,000 Sudanese

refugees and is providing many forms of support to

other humanitarian institutions that are operating in the

affected zone. Indeed, the disruption of trade, the

deterioration of major roads by humanitarian convoys

and all the other costs eat up our meagre resources and

are the most common source of political unrest among

our own people, who feel that they have been

abandoned. Given the scarcity of our resources and the

immense needs of refugees and populations in refugee

areas, the Government of Chad is counting on

substantial assistance from the international

community.

The positive developments in the situation in the

Central African Republic are facilitating the restoration

of constitutional order in that brotherly country.

However, the incidence of crime spilling across that

country’s common borders with Chad and Cameroon is

increasing. That phenomenon has caused a new flow of

Central African refugees into Chad and they live in

very difficult conditions. We call upon the international

community to devote greater attention to their plight.

We welcome the initiative taken in that regard by

the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in the

Central African Republic, which brought together

representatives of Cameroon, Chad and the Central

African Republic at Yaoundé on 26 and 27 August to

consider the phenomenon of insecurity on their

common borders and to find solutions to it.

Of course, the insecurity on our borders should

not cause us to lose sight of other crises in Africa and

throughout the world. In Africa, we welcome the

developments in Guinea-Bissau, Burundi and Liberia,

to mention only those brotherly countries.

Undoubtedly, the issue of their reconstruction will have

an important place on the agendas of those countries,

of the African Union and of the rest of the world.

On the other hand, the situation in Côte d’Ivoire

continues to concern us. President Mbeki’s mediation

has not been able to lead — as had been hoped — to

the immediate holding of presidential elections. We

urge our Ivorian brethren to engage in dialogue.

In the Middle East, the persistence of the Israeli-

Arab conflict continues to poison relations in the

subregion, even while the withdrawal from the Gaza

Strip is a tangible element in recent developments. We

are convinced that it is only through dialogue that a

just and lasting solution to that conflict can be found.

With regard to the disagreement between the

People’s Republic of China and Taiwan, we appreciate

Taiwan’s tireless efforts to reach a peaceful solution.

The international community must encourage the two

parties to accept each other. The readmission of Taiwan

into the United Nations, which we believe to be a

legitimate demand of that country, would be the point

of departure for such acceptance.

The interdependence of the concepts of

development, peace and security is the basis of our

country’s support for the Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs). The Millennium Declaration was

undoubtedly a strong signal from the partnership of

rich and poor countries in favour of a fairer, more

balanced and more united world. In itself, it is a great

endeavour that could lead to the consolidation of

global efforts.

My country has set for itself the same objectives

in its development strategies, plans and programmes as

are found in the Millennium Declaration, particularly

our national poverty reduction strategy and our

national strategy for good governance. Undoubtedly,

for most of our countries, achieving the MDGs is not

very likely, particularly in the areas of promoting peace

and security, good governance and economic and social

reforms.

There is in Chad, however, a consensus regarding

the need for sustained progress on those issues and in

other areas related to social, economic and political

life. The Government of Chad is, therefore, focusing in

particular on activities relating to the protection of

children, the promotion of maternal health, the

education of girls and the social and professional

integration of underprivileged groups, particularly

women, the elderly and the disabled. In that

connection, there is no doubt that the partnership

between civil society and the private sector is being

strongly encouraged.

I am not unaware that many delegations may

wonder about the current situation with regard to

socio-economic development in Chad following the

exploitation of oil there. The fact that Chad joined the

small circle of oil exporting countries two years ago,

although it caused some euphoria in my country, has

9

not attracted the expected financial resources.

Unfortunately, Chad, under the agreements linking it to

the oil consortium, benefits from only a small

proportion of the revenues resulting from its oil. We

continue to need the cooperation and assistance of

friendly countries to supplement our resources, which

still fall short of our needs. Such cooperation is

essential if we are to carry out our development and

anti-poverty programmes.

As members are aware, my country’s

development depends partly on the cotton crop, which

unfortunately is in a state of crisis that is becoming

endemic. That crop, which provides a living for much

of Chad’s population, is dangerously threatened by the

protectionist practices of developed countries. In fact,

our cotton producers are victims of the subsidy policies

of countries that are supposed to comply with the rules

of international trade. Measures must be taken to limit

the effects of the market economy, which is

increasingly restricting our weak economies. We

believe that well-regulated economic trade would

ensure sustainable development for the least advanced

countries and would help to build confidence among

States.

We are uncertain of reaching a political solution

to the cotton problem, despite the hopes placed in

continued multilateral trade negotiations within the

framework of the Doha Round. It is no longer certain

that developed countries will agree to abandon their

subsidy practices and implement radical changes in the

current system to meet the expectations of African

cotton growers. That would leave no choice but to

resort to political and legal action under the provisions

of the statutes and rules of the World Trade

Organization with a view to regulating the cotton

market through measures to compensate the losses

suffered by our producers.

Most Member States had hoped that this sixtieth

session of the General Assembly would finally achieve

the democratization of the United Nations. That does

not yet seem to be the case. But we must not lose

momentum, and we must continue to work to ensure

that that objective is attained in the near future. The

revitalization of the General Assembly and of the

Economic and Social Council and the transformation of

the Commission on Human Rights into an important

United Nations body, as suggested by the Secretary-

General, would enable the Organization to be more

effective. In such a restructuring, which remains

relevant, the issue of Security Council expansion is of

interest to Member States, particularly those of

Africa — and quite rightly, because we know that since

the creation of the United Nations in 1945, no African

State has had a seat on the Council as a permanent

member with the right of the veto. That injustice

seriously mars the credibility of the United Nations,

and it is time to rectify it.

Our position regarding a new configuration for

the Security Council remains that which has been

reaffirmed many times by the African Union. It reflects

our firm will to participate in the efforts of the

international community under United Nations

auspices aimed at ensuring the maintenance of peace

and security, which are guarantees for sustainable

economic and social development.