Algeria, 2007

I have the particular pleasure of conveying to you, Sir, my

sincere congratulations on your election to the

presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-second

session. This attests to the esteem and trust enjoyed by

your country. Your unanimous election to your high

office is also recognition of your ability and your

wealth of experience as a talented academic and

diplomat, which we believe will ensure success in the

work of this session. I assure you of my delegation’s

support and its full readiness to assist you in carrying

out your lofty mission.

I should also like to thank Her Excellency

Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa for her commendable

efforts throughout the entirety of the previous session

of the General Assembly. The measures she took are a

further step towards modernizing the United Nations

and improving its effectiveness.

I would also like to express our sincere gratitude

to Mr. Ban Ki-moon and to tell him how pleased we

are to see him participating in the work of the General

Assembly as Secretary-General. By unanimously

electing him to lead the Organization, we have

demonstrated our confidence in his ability to continue

the work of reforming the United Nations begun by his

predecessor with a view to making the Organization an

effective tool in achieving the noble objectives of

promoting peace and development throughout the

world. We should continue to support him in realizing

that enormous and ambitious undertaking.

Gathered here at the General Assembly two years

ago for the World Summit, our heads of State or

Government took historic decisions for the future of

the United Nations. Although we are pleased with the

progress made to date, there is still a long way to go in

achieving all the goals set at the Summit. Efforts must

still be made to find the most appropriate response to

the serious threat posed by climate change, which was

the subject of discussion last week; achieving the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); a

comprehensive convention on international terrorism,

which has still not been agreed; strengthening United

Nations system-wide coherence; and reforming the

Security Council, without which the overall reform

process will remain incomplete. Algeria, which has

always called for thorough and comprehensives reform

of the Organization, continues to believe that decisive

commitment and the widest possible endorsement by

Member States are crucial to achieving the fruitful

consensus to bring about a positive outcome of this

ambitious reform effort.

The world today faces new types of destabilizing

factors and numerous threats that jeopardize

international peace and security. That is especially the

case with regard to terrorism, which is by definition a

threat to the basic right to life. It spares no region of

the world and makes no distinction as to race, gender

or religion. It therefore requires resolute international

mobilization and a collective and decisive response

based on solidarity from the international community.

Only in that way can we ensure the effectiveness and

sustainability of the effort.

My country has long suffered from heinous

terrorism, which we have fought on our own and for

which we paid a great price due to the indifference of

the international community in the 1990s. We therefore

appreciate the daily growing awareness of the dangers

posed by that phenomenon and of the need to prevent

and eradicate it. In that regard, Algeria supported the

United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy,

which was adopted by the General Assembly in

September 2006 as resolution 60/288. We call for a

commitment by Member States to implement it

immediately. We would like to point out, however, that

the fight against terrorism should not be waged solely

through the use of force but should also entail

addressing the underlying causes of the phenomenon,

in particular by finding just and equitable solutions to

conflicts, especially the conflict in the Middle East.

In addition to expeditious measures to thwart this

devastating phenomenon, it is also urgent to conclude a

comprehensive convention against international

terrorism that includes a clear definition of the concept

of terrorism. Such a convention should also clearly

de-link terrorism from the legitimate struggle of

peoples against occupation. It should also not equate

terrorism with any religion, civilization or geographic

region.

In a world torn by conflict and tormented by

extremism and intolerance of all sorts, it is essential

today that we work to calm hearts and minds in order

to promote a productive dialogue among cultures and

civilizations, so as to dispel misunderstanding,

eliminate prejudices and stereotypes and strengthen

mutual understanding. With patience, determination

and solidarity, we should dispel all theories and

associations that promote the dangerous discourse of a

clash of civilizations.

We have great hopes for the General Assembly’s

forthcoming High-Level Dialogue on Interreligious and

Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace.

We hope that the dialogue will serve to bring

rationality to debates surrounding this issue, in line

with the ambitious efforts of the Alliance of

Civilization. Algeria is pleased at the particular

attention given to this issue, including the appointment

of Mr. Jorge Sampaio as High Representative for the

Alliance of Civilizations. We will spare no effort to

promote this approach, which is more crucial than ever,

to achieve a productive dialogue among civilizations

that makes it possible for us to address such common

challenges as underdevelopment, ignorance, poverty,

racism and extremism.

Despite the Organization’s laudable efforts, the

task of decolonization remains unfinished. I would like

to refer in particular to Western Sahara, which is the

last case of decolonization in Africa. Its people are still

deprived the right to self-determination enshrined in

the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and

the Security Council. The international community had

harboured genuine hope for a just and lasting

resolution of the conflict, especially in the wake of the

Security Council's unanimous support for the peace

plan proposed by Mr. James Baker, former Personal

Envoy of the Secretary-General a plan that

resolution 1495 (2003) rightly referred to as an

“optimum political solution” (para. 1).

We are resolutely committed to the search for a

peaceful solution under international law. Algeria

welcomed the adoption on 30 April 2007 of Security

Council resolution 1754 (2007), which clearly

emphasized the need to find a just and lasting political

solution which will provide for the right of self-

determination of the Saharawi people. We hope that the

negotiations that began in June and resumed in August

at New York will continue, in order to allow the two

parties Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO to

reach an agreement in line with international law that

makes it possible for the people of Western Sahara to

decide their own fate freely and without constraints in

a referendum on self-determination.

Other tragedies are taking place in Africa:

fratricidal wars, pandemics and natural disasters. This

tragic situation only serves to push countries with

limited resources into a precarious situation that

diminishes the possibility of socio-economic

development of any kind.

Although, from its inception in 2004 the Peace

and Security Council of the African Union (AU) has

been providing appropriate African solutions to

conflicts on the continent, and as commendable as

those have been, its efforts will not be effective

without the firm commitment and considerable

sustained assistance of the entire international

community such as the tremendous efforts made

recently to resolve the crisis in Darfur. Effectively

addressing the multidimensional problems involving

peace, security and development faced by the continent

today also requires that the international community

support the New Partnership for Africa’s Development

(NEPAD), which is a viable vehicle to address Africa’s

socio-economic concerns.

In the Middle East, which is another especially

unstable part of the world, the situation is

deteriorating. This is reflected in daily violence and

recurring crises. If we are not vigilant, that situation

threatens to undermine any hope of establishing lasting

peace in the region. The international community must

once again become more involved in order to establish

a just and lasting peace in the Middle East that is based

on the implementation of the Road Map and the Arab

Peace Initiative. In that regard, Algeria welcomes the

renewed attention being given to the Arab Peace

Initiative, as reflected in President Bush’s proposal to

hold an international peace conference this fall. The

international community should support that effort,

which has rekindled hope for a comprehensive

resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, in order to avert

failure, which would have enormous consequences for

international peace and security.

The situation in Iraq also continues to be of

concern. That fraternal country is experiencing scenes

of deadly violence on a daily basis. Sectarian and

communal violence also prevails throughout the

country, which undermine the values of citizenship and

coexistence among the children of a single people.

Those events appeal to our collective conscience and

call on us to mobilize assistance to that country by

making our contribution to finding a solution that

preserves Iraq’s national unity, sovereignty and

territorial integrity.

I should also like to express my country’s

concern about the current impasse in the multilateral

disarmament and non-proliferation process: the failure

of the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty

on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)

held in May 2005 and the impasse at the 2005 World

Summit on this issue. This is a matter that calls on us

to act, for it is of crucial importance to the future of

humankind. My country continues to believe that

complying with the NPT entails the comprehensive and

equitable implementation of all its provisions, ensuring

a balance between the rights and obligations of States

parties. The three fundamental pillars of the Treaty

must be inseparable and complementary. Moreover, the

goal of preventing nuclear proliferation should not be a

pretext for preventing developing countries from

having access to nuclear technology for peaceful

purposes.

On the basis of that deeply held belief, on

9 January 2007 Algeria was host to the first African

high-level regional conference on the theme of nuclear

energy’s contribution to peace and sustainable

development. The goal was to translate into action the

common African concern to ensure that nuclear energy

serves to promote peace and sustainable development

on the continent.

The issue of development has always been at the

core of the international community’s concerns. In that

regard, it is extremely important that it continue to be a

very high priority for the Organization. In the light of

the September 2000 Millennium Summit and the

follow-up meetings held both under the auspices of the

United Nations and outside the system, it is clear that

the issue of development has become one of the major

challenges such as peace, with which it is

inextricably linked that the international community

must address. In that connection, African heads of

State, who launched NEPAD, and the leaders of the

Group of Eight (G8) met last June at Heiligendamm,

Germany, and took up the issue of peace and

development in Africa as part of the agenda of that

meeting. My country welcomes the decision taken by

the G8 to provide $60 billion in assistance to combat

AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other pandemics in

Africa.

Implementing that decision and the progress

made in other areas, such as in effectively liberalizing

international trade should be important steps

towards achieving the development goals set by the

international community. To that end, we believe that it

is essential that the entire international community

and developed countries in particular becomes more

involved and honour the commitments undertaken at

the 2000 Millennium Summit, the 2002 Monterrey

International Conference on Financing for

Development, the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit

on Sustainable Development and the 2005 World

Summit.

In that regard, we are pleased to note that there

were a number of encouraging signs during the high-

level dialogue on climate change held at the United

Nations last week. That illustrates that there is now a

collective awareness of the reality of the threat to

humankind posed by climate change and of its

correlation with the issue of development. In that

connection, I would like to emphasize the central role

that should be played by the United Nations in carrying

out negotiations in advance of the Conference of States

Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention

on Climate Change, which is to be held in Bali, so as to

ensure that the meeting produces a global regime to

replace the Kyoto Protocol upon its expiry, in 2012.

That regime should include an emissions reduction

strategy that is fair, effective and equitable and based

on the principle of common but differentiated

responsibilities. In essence, it is a matter of

safeguarding the interests of developing countries,

especially African countries, which pollute the least but

are the most exposed to the effects of climate change.

We are determined to continue our active

participation in the international effort to protect the

environment. Algeria has made its energy strategy part

of its sustainable development policy by deciding to

promote renewable sources of energy.

I am also pleased to note that, on 5 June 2006,

Algeria had the distinct honour of hosting the

festivities for World Environment Day. In addition,

from 17 to 19 December 2006, we hosted the Joint

International Conference on Desertification, which was

held to mark the end of the International Year of

Deserts and Desertification, an issue which is linked to

that of climate change.

Algeria has embraced the Millennium Declaration

and has spared no effort to take concrete steps through

its national development policies. We are also working

within the context of NEPAD to promote all efforts that

will contribute to development on the African

continent.

Consolidating domestic reforms by strengthening

democracy and the rule of law as important elements of

good governance stems from our desire to modernize

our country, economy and society. In that vein, Algeria

has voluntarily agreed to peer review under the African

evaluation Mechanism established for that purpose.

That undertaking is part of Africa’s efforts to

contribute concretely to strengthening good

governance in every country of Africa, and in the

continent as a whole.

A report was presented to heads of States

members of the African Peer Review Mechanism

meeting at Accra in June 2007. Among other things,

the report underscored Algeria’s great socio-economic

progress. It also welcomed the steps that have been

taken to achieve national reconciliation, which were

the result of a courageous and visionary political

decision taken by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika that

has now been realized through a popular referendum

that reaffirmed a very broad-based desire for

reconciliation.

In conclusion, allow me to point out that in 2005,

when we commemorated the sixtieth anniversary of the

founding of the United Nations, we charted a course to

undertake genuine reorganization in the architecture of

international relations by adapting the Organization to

the world we live in today. Only an Organization that is

effective, just and credible will be able to meet the

demands brought about by change and to rise to the

challenges produced by the turbulence of today’s world

in order to ensure peace, security and development for

future generations. That is Algeria's firm conviction, as

well as that of the entire international community.