Angola, 2013

On behalf of

the President of the Republic of Angola, His Excellency

Mr. José Eduardo dos Santos, whom I have the honour to

represent before the Assembly, allow me to congratulate

Ambassador John William Ashe on his election to the

presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth

session and to assure him of my country’s support in

the fulfilment of that important and noble mission.

I would also like to express our gratitude to His

Excellency Mr. Vuk Jeremi. for the effective manner

in which he conducted the work of the previous session,

and we salute Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his

continued dedication to the cause of our Organization.

This session of the General Assembly is taking

place in a complex international climate, one where the

intervention of the international community is needed

to provide lasting solutions to conflicts that constitute

serious threats to international peace and security.

The prevalence of armed conflicts and their impact

on populations, terrorism, organized crime and drug

trafficking, maritime piracy, environmental crimes

and looting of resources, as well as extreme poverty,

deprivation and hunger are issues that require priority

attention from our Organization. Angola reiterates

the importance of the role of the United Nations as a

driving force behind global efforts to maintain peace,

stability and economic and social development, and

it is therefore important to strengthen its capacity for

conflict prevention and crisis management.

My country will continue to contribute actively

in peacekeeping efforts, assuming responsibilities

at the international level, in particular with regard to

Africa, as well as in the regional framework and the

economic and political groups it is a part of, including

the Southern African Development Community, the

Economic Community of Central African States, the

Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries, the

International Conference on the Great Lakes Region

and the Gulf of Guinea Commission.

In that context, the Peace, Security and Cooperation

Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo

and the Region, signed in February in Addis Ababa, is

both the most appropriate mechanism for the peaceful

resolution of the conflict in the eastern Democratic

Republic of the Congo and the best guarantee for

regional stability and for safeguarding the peace,

security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo. We reiterate our

call to the signatories to respect their commitments, and

we condemn the threats that negative forces continue to

pose to civilian populations, particularly in the city of

Goma and its surrounding area.

In the context of global efforts to maintain

international peace and security, we reiterate the

importance of revitalizing the United Nations system,

particularly through reform of the Security Council,

which should adapt to the realities of today’s world by

increasing the number of its permanent members so as

to fairly represent every region.

We express our deep concern about the escalation

of violence in Egypt and add our voice to the call to the

transitional authorities to act with moderation. We urge

the African Union and the international community to

continue to work towards a solution to the crisis in that

country.

The conflict in Syria poses a risk to international

peace and security, and the violence is seriously

worsening the humanitarian situation in the region.

We call on the international community to act urgently

in order to arrive at a peaceful solution to the conflict

through the mediation of the United Nations and the

Arab League, and we urge respect for the human rights

of civilians.

The Israeli-Palestine conflict is one of the oldest on

our planet and one that still confounds the international

community. Angola supports the mediation efforts

undertaken by United States Secretary of State John

Kerry, and hopes for the resumption of dialogue and

the conclusion of an agreement between Palestine and

Israel that can convert the deadlock into lasting peace

and the establishment of an independent Palestinian

State within the 1967 borders, living side by side with

the State of Israel in security.

We note with concern the poor progress being

made in resolving the question of Western Sahara,

and we urge the parties to continue negotiations under

the auspices of the United Nations, so that the people

of Western Sahara can exercise their right to self-

determination.

Angola welcomes the normalization of the legal

and constitutional framework of various African

countries that, after tumultuous periods of instability,

have successfully held free and fair elections and are

now making strides towards building democratic

States, establishing the rule of law and promoting

economic and social development. In that connection,

we welcome the democratic election of President

Ibrahim Keita in Mali and express our solidarity with

the process of reconciliation and reconstruction of the

country. We also congratulate those countries that have

shown positive developments and that despite unstable

situations are working to implement agreements aimed

at resolving crises and normalizing their constitutional

frameworks. They include Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar,

Somalia, the Sudan and South Sudan. We call for the

entire international community to support the efforts

those countries are making to achieve peace and

stability.

Six years after the onset of the international

financial crisis, with its grave repercussions for the

world economy, many countries are experiencing serious

difficulties in financing programmes for economic

growth and mobilizing resources for development

aimed at improving living conditions and meeting the

Millennium Development Goals. That situation is even

more problematic for developing countries, particularly

in Africa, where armed conflict and poverty frequently

coincide.

In that context, the Angolan Government believes

that it is essential that we consider “The post-2015

development agenda: setting the stage”, the theme of

this session of the General Assembly, in the hope that

it will contribute effectively to the economic and social

development of developing countries. The Angolan

Government is of the view that during this session the

Assembly should consider holding regional meetings

based on the report of the High-level Panel on the Post-

2015 Development Agenda, A New Global Partnership:

Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies through

Sustainable Development, in which various leaders

could define their positions on the post-2015 agenda

from a regional perspective, and which could be

followed by another meeting at the global level. In that

regard, the Government of Angola reiterates its support

for initiatives aimed at liberalizing international trade

so as to promote fair and balanced competition, and

we hope that the ninth World Trade Organization

Ministerial Conference, scheduled to take place in Bali

in December, will lead to the best results.

Environmental challenges persist. By renewing the

commitments to sustainable development contained

in Agenda 21, the United Nations Conference on

Sustainable Development provided a sound basis

for policy-making at the national and international

levels and for ensuring the social, economic and

environmental welfare of our peoples. To that end, we

reiterate that it is essential to take appropriate measures

to strengthen international support for actions in support

of sustainable development, as well as to increase

the financial resources of the United Nations budget

through contributions so as to enable the Organization

to fulfil its mandate efficiently and make sustainable

development a reality.

On another topic, the embargo against Cuba violates

the rules of international law and has for decades been

a major impediment to the development of that country

and to the improvement of the living conditions of the

Cuban people. Angola reiterates its position of principle

that, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the

United Nations, the embargo should be brought to an

end.

Angola reiterates its belief in mutual respect

and mutual benefit, good neighbourliness and the

strengthening of regional economic integration. Angola

will continue to respect all international commitments

and treaties to which it is a party. We respect and

implement the principles of the Charter of the United

Nations and the Constitutional Act of the African Union,

and we establish relations based on the principles of

self-determination, the peaceful settlement of disputes

and respect for human rights.

Currently, Angola is experiencing a period of

consolidation in its democratic institutions and the

rule of law. There has also been a dynamic process

of reconstruction and development marked by the

consolidation of macroeconomic stability through the

implementation of a national policy and strategy for the

promotion of economic diversification contained in our

economic and social development plan for the period

2013-2017.

By agreeing to join the programme of countries

eligible to graduate from the least developed country

category, Angola reaffirms its priority to implement a

programme of diversification of its domestic production

aimed at achieving balanced growth in various sectors,

expanding employment opportunities and decreasing

its dependence on imports of consumer products and its

high dependence on oil sector exports.

Despite progress made in the past decade and the

fact that the Angolan economy is on the right path, much

remains to be done in order to fulfil the Millennium

Development Goals. Aware of that challenge, the

Government continues to develop programmes aimed

at reducing social inequality, while pursuing the fight

against hunger and poverty as two crucial elements

for building a prosperous society and attaining social

justice. Furthermore, rehabilitating and upgrading the

main productive and social infrastructure, including

the reconstruction of roads and railways, electricity and

water supply and distribution systems, and sanitation

and telecommunication networks, continue to be a

challenge for the Government in its quest to improve

the well-being of the population and attain sustainable

development in Angola.

I would like to conclude by referring to an issue

of particular importance for the Government of my

country. The Republic of Angola is a candidate for

non-permanent-member status in the Security Council,

with elections to be held at the sixty-ninth session of

the General Assembly. We hope we can count on the

support of all the States that make up the Assembly.

I will finish by expressing my country’s

unconditional support for the initiatives of the United

Nations aimed at building a better world for all, based

on justice and freedom, free from all threats that

endanger international peace and security.