Togo, 2001

The sudden

speeding up of events that has taken place since the

fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly and their

potential impact on the future of humankind only

confirms our impression that our world is experiencing

developments that could, one the one hand, open the

door to hopes for peace, stability and progress, or, on

the other, jeopardize these hopes and imperil prospects

for a better world.

The threat is real. We therefore must mobilize our

efforts to an even greater extent to ensure that the

ideals of peace, solidarity, justice and tolerance can

triumph throughout the world.

Hatred and intolerance took centre stage on 11

September, when the United States, our host country,

was the target of terrorist acts of indescribable and

unjustifiable barbarity.

In the face of the outrage and horror to which

those events gave rise, the President of the Republic of

Togo immediately condemned these heinous attacks,

which he called a veritable declaration of war, and

which, regrettably, caused the death of nationals of

nearly 80 countries, including mine.

Once again, in paying tribute to all of those who

lost their lives in the tragedy of 11 September and in

conveying once again our deep condolences to the

American people, I should like to express the fervent

hope that, thanks to our collective efforts and to a

greater solidarity in our actions, we will be able to

defeat evil.

Because we have on several occasions been the

victims of terrorist acts, Togo is aware of the

significance and seriousness of the consequences of

such acts of murderous violence, which are committed

with complete disregard for respect for human life and

for human dignity.

The joint combat against international terrorism,

in all its manifestations and wherever necessary, is a

task of great importance for the entire international

community, because no one is safe from this scourge.

This fight should not be understood as a confrontation

between civilizations, cultures or religions. Identifying

the true causes of this scourge and finding appropriate

solutions to combat it — this is the true challenge that

we must meet.

In this context, it is important to do everything

we can to ensure the broadest possible participation of

States in the strict application of the 12 international

conventions dealing with specific aspects of terrorism

and to step up negotiations on the comprehensive

convention on international terrorism.

Likewise, it is essential for all States to cooperate

closely with the mechanism has been set up by the

Security Council pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) in

order to combat this scourge in an efficient and

coordination manner. My country is already complying

with its responsibilities in the context of this process.

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However, cooperation in eradicating this scourge

needs to be strengthened at the regional level as well.

Thus our West African subregion notes with

satisfaction that it has set up functional structures to

combat terrorism, through the quadripartite agreement

between Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria; and the

Economic Community of West African States

(ECOWAS) Protocol on Mutual Assistance, Protocol

on Non-Aggression and Protocol relating to the

Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management,

Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security.

Before continuing my statement, I should like to

join my voice to those of previous speakers in

extending to Mr. Han, on behalf of my delegation and

on my own behalf, our warmest congratulations on his

election as President of the fifty-sixth session of the

General Assembly. I am convinced that, thanks to his

experience and diplomatic skills, the work of this

session will definitely be successful.

I should like also to extend my warmest

congratulations to his illustrious predecessor, Mr. Harri

Holkeri, who so ably guided the work of the fifty-fifth

session.

Finally, I should like to take this opportunity to

pay well-deserved tribute to Mr. Kofi Annan. Thanks to

his skill and his vision, our Organization has regained

its credibility and its primary role in the management

of international affairs. His unanimous re-election to a

second term of office, and the fact that he won the

Nobel Peace Prize for 2001 together with the United

Nations, attest clearly to the great confidence that the

entire international community places in him.

There cannot be economic progress nor

sustainable development outside an environment of

peace, security and stability. Togo’s foreign policy has

always been based on the principle of seeking peace,

stability and solidarity between nations.

Since coming to power, the President of our

Republic, Mr. Gnassingbé Eyadema, has worked to

consolidate peace. This requires the participation of all

citizens in political life as well as the construction of a

state that is truly based on the rule of law, in which all

individuals can make their contribution and use their

skills in the building of a prosperous nation.

The President had already begun to democratize

political life in Togo by the 1980s. Like any other

human endeavour, the promotion of democracy and

good governance and the consolidation of the rule of

law are part of a process that, by necessity, can be

perfected and can evolve and that fits in a given time

and place.

With various forms of support and aid from our

foreign partners, this process is taking its course and

registering tangible and real progress. We should like

here to express our profound thanks to all our

international partners who have supported us in our

ambition to pursue and achieve political reforms

necessary to consolidate democracy and rule of law in

Togo.

The upcoming legislative elections, in March

2002, are organized with the aim of making this

ambition more of a reality. In this regard, we are

grateful to the United Nations for having recently sent

an assessment mission to Togo to make

recommendations in light of these elections. The long-

awaited upcoming legislative elections, as well as the

proper conduct of the balloting, will, without a doubt,

contribute to boosting the economy of our country.

For it is true that progress made in pursuing any

process of democratization and establishing the rule of

law can be protected only if accompanied by a

significant improvement in the living conditions of the

populations concerned. In other words, to be lasting,

the advances in promoting civil and political rights and

fundamental liberties should absolutely be underpinned

by the real enjoyment of economic and social rights.

In such a context, we may well be surprised at the

unjustified continuation of the economic sanctions

imposed on Togo by our main partners in development

for almost 10 years. What has my country done to

deserve such a fate? What has the Togolese population

done to justify its daily suffering? Why apply this

policy of double standards? Given the way Togo is

being treated, are we to see this as an concrete

illustration of the views of the renowned, classic

French writer Jean de la Fontaine: “Depending on

whether you are powerful or weak, the judgement of

the court will make you white or black”?

The Togolese people still cannot understand why

Togo — which was one of the first countries in Africa

to be committed to the path of democratization and

political reforms and which, in all objectivity, made

progress in this area — continues to be subjected to

such injustice. I would like to make once again an

urgent appeal, on behalf of the Togolese Government

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and people, for normalization of our cooperative

relations with our development partners.

Peace, security and stability in Africa are still at

the heart of our concerns. We note with satisfaction

that significant progress in settling conflicts has

recently been made on the continent. I would cite by

way of example the cessation of conflict between

Ethiopia and Eritrea, or the gradual return to normal

constitutional life in Comores, despite the vicissitudes

of the last few days. All this was made possible thanks

to the efforts of the Organization of African Unity, the

Organization of la Francophonie and the League of

Arab States. These are glimmers of hope and signs of

relief.

Nonetheless, must remains to be done to bring

about lasting peace and security in certain parts of the

continent, notably in the Mano River region, the Horn

of Africa, the Great Lakes Region and Angola.

The serious crisis endures in the Middle East.

Violence can only beget bitterness and resentment and

perpetuate violence. The hellish cycle of violence that

the region has known for already more than a year —

in particular, in the occupied Palestinian territories —

has certainly had an impact on the negotiations being

pursued with a view to reaching a just, final and

comprehensive settlement to the question of Palestine

that is at the heart of the conflict.

It is therefore important that the parties in

conflict show greater proof of the necessary political

will in applying the agreements that have been reached

and work to conclude other arrangements on the basis

of the relevant Security Council resolutions. In this

respect, Togo welcomes the positive developments that

have been recently made with respect to the evolution

of the position of certain Member States on the

creation of a Palestinian State.

Humanity has fully entered the twenty-first

century, but the economic and social position of

developing countries remains of concern. In sub-

Saharan Africa and in the least-developed countries in

particular, we are witnessing an ongoing deterioration

of living conditions and the unprecedented

marginalization of these countries — a situation that

can only exacerbate misery and extreme poverty.

Debt burden, the decline in export earnings and

the lack of sufficient resources for development have

greatly contributed to making social and economic

conditions worse. Therefore more resources must be

allocated to these areas. In addition to these

insurmountable difficulties, we now have the

pandemics of AIDS and malaria.

Africa, which is already organizing itself and

taking matters in hand, expects the international

community to make good on the commitments

undertaken at the Millennium Summit. Against this

background, we hope that the major encounters that

will take place in 2002 — the International Conference

on Financing for Development and the World Summit

on Sustainable Development — will be opportunities to

take appropriate measures that can genuinely

contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction.

We also hope that specific and substantial support will

be given to Africa in implementing its development

plan, as contained in the New Partnership for

Development in Africa.

At the start of the millennium, with great changes

underway in the world, the United Nations still is,

without a doubt, the centre for new hopes and

expectations of humanity. More than ever before, it has

shown itself to be the appropriate framework in which,

together, we can and must work to meet the numerous

and complex challenges that humanity faces in the

context of an increasingly inexorable process of

globalization.

While continuing to work to maintain peace and

security, promote sustainable economic development

and move towards eradicating the great pandemics, we

also must confront poverty, injustice, selfishness and

exclusion, which, it seems to me, still are the source of

many problems that often lead to acts of violence,

terrorism and armed conflict. Thus, and only thus, will

it be possible for us to establish a new international

order of greater justice, solidarity and humanity.