Angola, 2006

On behalf of

my Government, I wish to congratulate Ms. Al-Khalifa

on her election to the presidency of the General

Assembly at its sixty-first session. We are confident

that under her guidance and leadership, this session

will be productive and will attain the goals set. I assure

her of my delegation’s full cooperation.

I would also like to take this opportunity to

express my country’s appreciation to the Secretary-

General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for the valuable work he has

performed during the 10 years of his mandate, which is

now drawing to a close.

Mr. Annan has made an indelible mark on the

history of the United Nations by paying special

attention to the most pertinent problems affecting our

planet, especially the African continent. In particular,

Angola praises the role which Mr. Annan has played

during the most critical phase of the Organization’s

history. I trust that the next Secretary-General will find

in Mr. Kofi Annan’s legacy an impressive reference for

the reinforcement of the Organization’s capacity to

deal with the principal problems facing humanity.

The aspirations to stability, security and social

justice of the peoples represented in this Assembly

continue to be unfulfilled. The persisting armed

violence in some States and the meagre results in the

fight against world poverty have been contributing to

this picture; consequently, these make up the chief

challenges facing the United Nations.

With regard to the new tendencies towards

violence, we see something new. It is more

indiscriminate; it emerges not only from inter-State or

internal conflicts, but rather, and increasingly, it arises

from actions that seek to alter the way of life of

societies through intimidation and the brutal

destruction of human lives.

In recent times alone, over a dozen countries in

four continents have been severely affected by acts of

terror, which have become the most direct and

immediate threat to international peace and security. In

spite of political or ideological differences, the

international community has, in general terms,

demonstrated firmness and unity in the fight against

acts of terror. We are of the view that this form of

collective action must continue to be the most

appropriate way of dealing with threats to international

security, including terrorism.

Poverty indexes around the world are also a

contributing factor to the bleak present-day

international situation. Half of the world’s population,

or three billion people, continue to live on less than

two dollars a day; 640 million people are without

appropriate housing; 400 million people do not have

access to drinking water; and 270 million people lack

medical assistance. Close to one billion people have

entered the twenty-first century illiterate and with little

hope of emerging from spiritual and material poverty.

Africa is the continent most affected by this

scourge, and not even the potential for economic

growth of some of our countries permits us to hope that

the poverty indexes will be drastically reduced.

Notwithstanding this unwelcome picture, in

recent times, we have seen significant progress in the

area of peace and security, democracy and respect for

human rights. For instance, the resolution through

dialogue of the Angolan internal conflict, which was

among the longest-running conflicts in Africa,

constitutes one of the more significant success stories

in this regard. Recently, the Angolan Government

opted for the same path of dialogue and negotiation in

order to extend the peace process to the territory of

Cabinda, where some insecurity persisted.

The establishment of peace in Angola was the

supreme objective of a sensible and principled political

process led by President José Eduardo dos Santos,

whose goals were: to liberate, together with some

forces in our region, the people of southern Africa from

the dominance of oppressor regimes; to settle the

conflicts in Central Africa through negotiation; to

extinguish the threat that some States represented to

their neighbours; and, finally, to economically develop

and integrate the region.

The fruits of this political endeavour are visible

today: the people of the region, who before were under

oppressive regimes, now live in freedom and have built

democratic societies. With Angola’s support, one State

in Central Africa settled its internal conflict, and, once

06-53005 50

free, its people took charge of their destiny and

recovered their sense of peace and stability. Another

State in Central Africa overthrew the dictatorship that

had oppressed its people and had created a permanent

focus of regional tension by acting as a source of

instability for neighbouring countries. Today, the

people of that country are engaged in building a new

democratic society by means of transparent elections

and national reconciliation.

Now that peace has been achieved, one of the

fundamental objectives of the Government of Angola is

the complete elimination of factors of conflict. We

have prioritized the pursuit of political reforms with a

view to the consolidation of a democratic regime and a

righteous State, aware that these constitute

prerequisites for the maintenance of peace, political

stability, respect for citizens’ rights and economic

development. This is a serious commitment which my

Government will not forsake, the main objective being

the regular holding of elections.

The next electoral process is at an advanced stage

of preparation, and voter registration will begin next

November. My Government is creating all the

necessary conditions to make the next elections

transparent and credible, so that their results are

accepted by all the parties, and so that they constitute a

step on the road to prosperity. Therefore, the

organization of the next elections is going ahead surely

and firmly.

Other priorities are the reintegration of the

displaced population, refugees and former combatants,

as well as the rehabilitation of the economy and the

reduction of poverty. These areas have registered

important progress. In only four years of peace,

roughly 4.5 million displaced persons and more than

400,000 refugees have been resettled. Nearly 200,000

former combatants and members of their families have

been socially and productively reintegrated; and

countless infrastructures that were destroyed by the

conflict are also being rehabilitated.

The national economy is characterized by a solid

macroeconomic stability resulting from a coherent

monetary and budgetary policy. It is among the fastest-

growing economies in the world. For 2006 and future

years, we foresee continuous, vigorous economic

growth, of the order of 20 per cent.

In social terms, the results over the last four years

are also encouraging. Poverty has been reduced from

over 80 per cent to 56 per cent. With the ongoing

implementation of poverty reduction programmes and

substantial investment in capital goods, we foresee a

gradual improvement of social well-being and

employment indexes in the short term. The global

advances which my country has achieved in four years

of peace are evidence that its people can look to the

new Angola with real hope. The international

community can count on Angola as a dependable

partner.

In the area of peace, important progress has been

made in other parts of the African continent. The

Democratic Republic of the Congo, a neighbour and

brother of Angola, is steadily approaching a situation

of normality, which is likely to contribute to the

lessening of tensions in Central Africa and in the Great

Lakes region. Recently, and for the first time in its

history, the people of this country exercised their right

to freely choose their legitimate representatives. Such

an act marks a crucial stage in the process of

democratic transition and the consolidation of internal

stability. It was made possible by the support of the

international community, particularly of Angola, which

supplied $30 million and some logistical means for the

electoral process.

Angola has always stood by the Congolese people

and always will. It contributed to the cessation of the

internal conflict that devastated the country and is

currently contributing to building the capacity of the

Congolese institutions charged with maintaining

internal peace, security and order. It is now up to the

Congolese parties to demonstrate that they are truly

committed to peace and democracy. We want to believe

that they will not frustrate the expectations of their

people and of the international community and that

they will respect the verdict of the ballot box.

The situation in Côte d’Ivoire remains volatile.

The Ivorian people continue to be the principal victims

of a conflict that is jeopardizing the country’s future.

Angola associates itself with the efforts of the

international community to reach a definitive and

peaceful resolution of the conflict in that country.

In the Middle East, the continuing violence is

rendering ineffective any blueprints for peace aimed at

resolving the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Angola supports the right to existence of all States in

the area as well as their right to live in peace with their

neighbours. It is important to return to a process aimed

51 06-53005

at the peaceful resolution of the conflict — a process

based on the road map for peace — in order to arrive at

a comprehensive solution leading to regional

stabilization.

Angola hopes that the people of Iraq and of

Afghanistan will be able, in the short term, to fulfil

their aspirations to live free from violence and from

tension, and that those countries will be respected as

sovereign and genuine States.

In conclusion, we would like to reiterate our

desire that the process of reform of the United Nations,

mainly of the Security Council, be accelerated. The

current composition of that organ is anachronistic and

fails to reflect the contemporary structures of the

international community.

In the context of United Nations reform, we wish

to stress the importance of the recent creation of the

Peacebuilding Commission and of the Human Rights

Council. I would like in that respect to express my

gratitude to all Members of the United Nations for the

trust they placed in my country, which is to preside

over the Peacebuilding Commission during its first

years of existence.