Algeria, 1992

Your election

to the presidency of the General Assembly, Sir, is a tribute to you and to

your country, friendly Bulgaria, which has risen to the challenges of the

times with a combination of determination and wisdom. Your qualities as a

statesman, which you have amply demonstrated, and your skills as a seasoned

diplomat are solid assets which ensure the success of our work. I wish to

congratulate you most warmly on your election to this post and to assure you

of our complete support and cooperation.

I also wish to pay tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Samir Shihabi,

Ambassador of the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who guided the forty-sixth

session of our Assembly with a competence, distinction, and effectiveness that

I wish to emphasize today with pride. Another source of legitimate pride for

us is the work accomplished by the Secretary-General of our Organization,

Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

Only a few months have gone by since he began his term of office, and

already the record is impressive. There can be no doubt that

Mr. Boutros-Ghali has brought to the United Nations a spirit of initiative,

determination, and lucid leadership which it needs so much to face the

challenges posed by the fast pace of history at this century's end. The

Agenda for Peace, his first annual report, along with his major statements and

his remarks before the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and at the Jakarta

summit of non-aligned countries, bespeak his vision and courage, which command

our full support and esteem.

I cannot fail to reiterate here our congratulations to all the new

Members of the United Nations and to welcome them to this forum.

Bearing as it does so much hope and promise, the end of the cold war and

of the bipolar division of the world has not yet realized any of the hopes it

has given rise to with regard to the promotion of peace and international

cooperation. The spectre of war, the horror of famine and privation, the

trampling of human dignity, and the denial of the right of peoples to

self-determination still constitute the realities of the plight of many

peoples.

In fact, the so-called world order remains a concept without substance

for the overwhelming majority of mankind, whose economic and social situation

is steadily deteriorating and who also have reason to fear that this new order

is being established outside the bounds of the basic principles of the United

Nations charter and without meeting the need to democratize international

relations.

It is time to embark upon a genuine dialogue in order to shape the

international relations of the future. This is a vital task of the United

Nations, and the Organization's current prestige makes us believe that the

time is ripe to embark upon such an enterprise. Never before has the United

Nations seen so many hopes crystallized around it; never has it undertaken so

many initiatives or put so many plans on the drawing board. Whether the

United Nations initiatives and plans are met by acceptance and praise as is

often the case, or criticized, as sometimes happens, it is a fact that this more

assertive presence of the United Nations is one of the most positive results

of the major changes that have taken place on the international arena in

recent years.

The Security Council summit held last January, the proposals submitted by

the Secretary-General, the debates in the Economic and Social Council last

July on the role of the United Nations system in the strengthening of

international cooperation for development, and the results of the 10th summit

of the Non-Aligned Movement held at the beginning of this month in Jakarta are

all contributions to the joint thinking and action aimed at strengthening the

United Nations and promoting its effectiveness.

It is hoped that this session of the General Assembly will be a new

starting-point for the United Nations that will place it resolutely on the

path of greater democratization and enhance its effectiveness in promoting

peace, cooperation and development. This is exactly what has been called for

in the Jakarta Message, which was presented right here by the current

President of the Non-Aligned Movement, His Excellency President Suharto of

Indonesia.

The Movement of Non-Aligned Countries has more than ever a positive role

to play in the establishment, through dialogue and the harmonization of views,

of a just, well-balanced world order which ensures international peace and

security, the right to development, and the promotion of more equitable

economic relations. The United Nations constitutes a natural and privileged

space for the action of the Non-Aligned, who intend in this way to participate

fully in the current process of restructuring and strengthening the United

Nations. In this respect, restructuring initiatives should first of all aim

at achieving a correct balance of prerogatives between the General Assembly

and the Security Council. This undertaking should also meet the need to allow

access to the Council for all major cultural, political and geographic

groupings.

Algeria, which, since its independence, has undergone major

transformations in all areas and which has taken significant steps towards

progress and development, today faces a crisis which we do not underestimate

and whose seriousness we in no way conceal. This crisis threatens the

achievements made by our people through effort and sacrifice over three long

decades. While analyzing without any self-indulgence the causes of this

crisis, and while in no way trying to deny our own mistakes or the

responsibilities of the State in this situation, we affirm confidently and

with determination that our people has the means, capacity and will to

overcome this crisis and to embark again on global development and the

building of a society based on social justice and real democracy. This is the

substance of the message behind the program of government approved recently by

the High Committee of State.

This responsible posture in the face of those challenges permits us to

recall as well the external constraints that have worsened the difficulties we

face. This means that we expect our partners to cooperate readily in order to

reduce the negative impact of an unfavorable external environment, or at least

that they not hamper the efforts of our people.

Algeria pursues a non-aligned policy aimed at promoting stability, peace,

justice and cooperation in the region to which it belongs and in the world at

large. In the Mediterranean, Algeria works for a new era of solidarity that

responds to the aspirations of the peoples on both coasts of this great shared

interior sea. Mechanisms for regular consultation and dialogue have been set

up in order to promote the establishment of a comprehensive framework for

peace, security, good-neighbourliness, solidarity and mutually advantageous

cooperation.

The united Maghreb process which is rallying the energies of the member

countries of the Arab Maghreb Union and which constitutes a fundamental

aspiration of their peoples cannot but contribute to serving the cause of

peace, relations of good-neighbourliness and cooperation between its different

members and in the Mediterranean basin, the Arab world, and Africa.

There are two issues that are of special importance to my country.

Participation by the international community is required in dealing with

both. For the first of these, we wholeheartedly call for a peaceful solution,

in consonance with international legality, to the situation of tension that

exists between Libya and the major Western Powers. It is a situation that

stands in the way of the building of the Arab Maghreb and threatens the

stability of the whole region. The international community should respond to

the flexibility that characterizes the Libyan posture and to the initiatives

and proposals that have been put forth.

On the other hand, the delays in the implementing the United Nations

settlement plan for the organization of a self-determination referendum for

the people of the Western Sahara continue to be the source of grave concern

for us and for the international community as a whole. Algeria hopes that the

two parties to the conflict will refrain from any action that could hamper or

delay the implementation of the peace plan prepared jointly by the United

Nations and the Organization of African Unity with the full agreement of both

parties. Algeria also hopes that the international community, through the

United Nations and its Secretary-General, will redouble its efforts to

implement the plan in order to reach the desired solution.

Of late, there have been positive developments in the disarmament issue.

However, we look forward to a great deal of additional effort on the part of

the nuclear States, which, we must state not the major Powers alone. In this

context, we note with satisfaction the conclusion of negotiations on the issue

of a chemical weapons Convention in Geneva. However, this development will

have limited effects so long as it is not accompanied by concrete measures in

the field of nuclear disarmament, especially in a region as sensitive as the

Middle East, where a real nuclear threat persists.

Only if earnest efforts are made in this direction and significant

progress is achieved will that Convention - the conclusion of which is an

accomplishment that we commend - respond to the concerns and expectations of

all the parties concerned. Only then will it be possible to implement the

Convention on a just non-discriminatory basis will and, thereby, ensure the

universal acceptance necessary to this undertaking of genuine disarmament.

These were the observations and legitimate concerns expressed by the Arab

countries through a resolution adopted a few days ago, which they expect the

international community to take into account.

In spite of the significant progress achieved in the field of

disarmament, it remains true that to address the issue of security in a manner

that focuses on one specific region and shows concern for the security of the

few without taking into account the interests and concerns of the many is to

fall short of the objectives and ideals enshrined in the United Nations

Charter. That is why the Non-Aligned Movement has just reaffirmed the

unshakeable conviction of all its members that there is no peace or security

other than peace and security for all, and that in order for peace and

security to be lasting they must be addressed in all their dimensions and not

only in the military aspects. In an increasingly interdependent world, peace

and security should not be dissociated from their corollaries, namely economic

development and the upholding of human rights.

While we express satisfaction at the progress achieved in the settlement

of certain regional disputes, we note with concern the emergence of new crises

in the wake of the cold war, at a time when many of the old crises and issues

continue to await just and lasting solutions. Cambodia has embarked upon a

process of peaceful settlement thanks to the will of the Cambodian people to

build for themselves a future of peace and harmony, to the determination of

the international community and the efforts of the United Nations which now

supervises the implementation of a peace plan with the participation of

Algeria.

The inter-community talks on Cyprus, under the auspices of the

Secretary-General of the United Nations, have reached a crucial stage. We

hope that the remaining differences will be ironed out during the next round

of talks, in a context of respect for the sovereignty, unity, territorial

integrity, and the non-aligned nature of the island.

The recent news that has reached us from South Africa revives hope that

there will be a resumption of the process that began with the release of

Nelson Mandela, President of the African National Congress and was endangered

in recent months by the return of violence encouraged by the complacent

attitude of the Government. While we welcome such positive developments and

the encouraging prospects that pave the road toward the desired solution, we

must stress that the experience of recent months makes it necessary to closely

monitor developments in South Africa with a great deal of watchfulness and to

lend full support to our brethren in that country.

The horrific plight of the Somali people is a glaring example of the

deteriorating situation in many parts of Africa, a continent that has been

increasingly marginalized and whose role has been greatly diminished. It is

essential to learn a lesson from this tragedy, which underscores the need for

urgent humanitarian assistance for the Somali people side by side with the

intensification of United Nations efforts to reach a political settlement to

this crisis.

The question of Palestine continues to be the crux of the Middle East

conflict. Given our firm commitment to Palestine's freedom of choice, has

accepted the option chosen by the Palestinian leadership that has made it

possible to negotiate with a view to reaching a solution to the Middle East

crisis. We in Algeria remain convinced that the success of the negotiations,

begun within the framework of the process initiated in Madrid, depends on

readiness by Israel to comply with international legality, especially in

regard to the following:

First, United Nations resolutions must be adhered to and implemented.

Secondly, the operations of settlement in the occupied Arab territories must

be halted and existing Israeli settlements must be dismantled. Thirdly, the

continuity of the different stages of the peace process must be guaranteed

until a comprehensive solution is found that would guarantee to the

Palestinian people the exercise of its full national rights, including its

right to self-determination and to the establishment of its own State on its

territory with Al-Quds as its capital.

My country is convinced that participation by the United Nations in every

stage of this peace process in the Middle East can contribute to the

attainment of the objective that would guarantee a just comprehensive peace in

the region.

We emphasize once again that the Palestinian problem and the Middle East

conflict are one and the same thing. They are indivisible. Consequently, the

solution which must be found cannot be partial or limited to certain parties

involved in the conflict. In other words, and peace can be established in the

region only if it is peace for all the parties concerned, including the

Palestinians.

Algeria wishes to reaffirm here its commitment to the independence,

sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon within its internationally

recognized borders.

It condemns the continued Israeli occupation of part of southern Lebanon

as well as Israel's repeated attacks against Lebanon's territory and its

people. We demand the total and unconditional withdrawal of the Israeli army

from southern Lebanon in accordance with Security Council resolution

425 (1978).

We also reaffirm the need to preserve Iraq's unity and territorial

integrity. It must be clear to all that any negative development in this

respect will create grave problems for all the countries of the region. It is

our hope that respect for international legality will lead to reconciliation

between the States of that region which continues to suffer the horrific

consequences of the devastating war that followed Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

In the same region, there has been another development whose gravity

cannot be underestimated. It is Iran's illegal occupation of the island of

Abu Mousa thus reneging on its commitments and agreements concluded with the

United Arab Emirates. We support the demand of the Government of the United

Arab Emirates that the unilateral measures taken by Iran be nullified and that

a solution to the problem be found through negotiation in observance of

legality and international law.

In the face of the terrible plight of the peoples of former Yugoslavia,

the major imperative on which all efforts should focus is to ensure the

immediate return of peace to all of the territory of the former Yugoslavia,

with respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of

all the republics that have emerged therefrom. In this respect, the situation

which persists in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a source of grave

concern because of the increasingly terrible crimes that are being committed

there. The international community, and in particular the United Nations,

must take every measure necessary in order to put an end to the plight of the

entire Bosnian people and to the threats to peace and security in the region.

One of the most disturbing aspects of the current world situation is the

constant exacerbation of the economic situation of the developing countries

and negative developments that continue to rock the world's economy. The

sharp slow-down in the growth of world trade, which declined from 8 per cent

in 1988 to barely 3 per cent in 1991, the increasing deterioration in the

prices of raw materials at an average 15 per cent pace in real terms in 1990,

the persistence of the foreign debt problem of the developing countries with

the attendant acceleration of the slow-down of growth in the developed

countries, and the magnitude of the financial needs of the former USSR and the

countries of Central and Eastern Europe, show how great are the challenges to

be met.

Given the new opportunities and the new challenges to be met in this

period of profound change, the revitalization of international cooperation for

development and strengthening the role of the United Nations system in this

undertaking should be the high-priority task of the day.

This requires first and foremost the existence of real political will.

Some progress has been achieved in this direction. The declaration by the

Security Council at its summit meeting last January recognized the close

relationship that exists between peace and development. This recognition

should be translated into increased agreement on the need to move the economic

and social dimension from the secondary position it now occupies to the

forefront and to make it a principal and permanent concern of the United

Nations.

In fact, at a time when a great deal of thinking is taking place on the

concept and the instruments of preventive diplomacy, the success of renewed

growth and development in the countries of the South affect the credibility

and the effectiveness of any attempt to strengthen the role of the United

Nations in the areas of international peace and security.

The results of the Eighth United Nations Conference on Trade and

Development (UNCTAD) held at Cartagena in February of 1992, the results of the

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held at Rio de

Janeiro last June, and the General Assembly's adoption of a new United Nations

agreement for the development of Africa in the 1990s, all constitute new

milestones in our awareness of international interdependence and the need for

renewed international cooperation.

One of the basic objectives that we must strive to attain in this

particularly difficult situation in the third world is the need to ensure a

bigger share in world trade for the developing countries, the formulation of a

comprehensive strategy that addresses the issue of indebtedness and the

reactivation of the flow of funds and investments from the developed to the

developing countries. In general, the creation of favourable external

conditions is a vital requirement in the case of the developing countries

which are trying to carry out wide-ranging fundamental reforms at a very high

social and political cost. This is a basic requirement on which the United

Nations system should mobilize the international community.

The implementation of "Agenda 21" and the commitments that arise

therefrom, especially with regard to financial support and transfer of

technology, represent a major test both of the political will of the developed

countries and of the capacity of our Organization, through the Commission on

Sustainable Development, to ensure the implementation, follow-up and

coordination of a programme which aims at bringing about real and creative

changes in the concept of development and international cooperation.

There are new and vast horizons before the United Nations. Those

horizons give the work of this session of the Assembly particular importance

and substance. The international community must seize the opportunity to

develop at this world forum an integrated approach to the promotion of peace,

security, and stability in economic and social development and international

cooperation. In so doing, it would contribute to the optimum utilization of

our Organization's great potential.