Benin, 1995

You have the difficult and noble task, Sir, of guiding the

work of the General Assembly at a time when the United

Nations is celebrating 50 years of existence and

approaching a decisive turning-point in its history. Your

election to this high office is cause for joy and satisfaction

in the delegation of Benin, on behalf of which I have the

great honour of speaking from this world-renowned

rostrum.

I am pleased to be able to add my voice to those of

preceding speakers in congratulating you sincerely and

warmly and also in congratulating the members of your

Bureau. I am particularly glad in that you represent a

country, Portugal, with which Benin is honoured to have

excellent relations and valuable cultural ties. It is my belief

that your experience and your qualities and abilities will

help to ensure smooth proceedings and success here in our

discussions.

You, Sir, are taking over your office from my brother

Amara Essy of Côte d’Ivoire, to whom I would like to

extend the satisfaction and appreciation of my delegation

on the exemplary manner in which he presided over the

work of the forty-ninth session. In an international

situation marked by doubt, fatigue and an absence of

resources, he endeavoured with lucidity, resolve and

perseverance to reconfirm the central and irreplaceable

role of this Organization in attaining peace and social

progress.

I would also wish fraternally to extend a well-

deserved tribute to the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros

Boutros-Ghali, whom I welcome here with us today, a

man of conviction and humanism whom we should

support and recognize for his efforts and initiatives to

translate into action the purposes and principles of the

Charter.

Our world has changed considerably, and the wheels

of history continue to turn inexorably, throwing up their

share of upheaval and change, which makes even clearer

the need for a universal forum and an instrument as

valuable as the United Nations. It has asserted itself as an

essential catalyst for international cooperation based on

interdependence and an awareness of the common future

of mankind.

The ceremonies commemorating 50 years of the

United Nations give us an opportunity to evaluate what it

has done. I shall confine myself to just a few points.

There is a saying in my country that whenever we

hesitate about how to proceed in life, we should look

back over the road we have travelled. So, in that

context, I would like to recall that there should be three

pillars supporting this Organization, namely: the

maintenance of peace and security; economic and social

development; and respect for and protection of human

rights.

I think I am right in saying that, since 1945, peace has

in general been maintained. Most States have now gained

their sovereignty and their peoples are exercising their

rights, and the fundamental nature of respect for human

rights has been universally recognized.

Yet, there are such deep cracks in the second pillar

that the whole building may crumble. Hence the United

Nations is now at a critical turning-point in its history.

In a world in which economies and markets are being

globalized, a world that is almost entirely characterized and

united by the communications revolution and the progress

made in transport, we soon realized that peace does not

simply mean that weapons are silent. Increasing

interdependence has not really created a genuine feeling of

solidarity. Although this is often said — some of us

speaking before the international community every year

from this rostrum — it has not prompted collective action

to ensure prosperity for all.

The three pillars that symbolize the authority of the

United Nations and its ability to carry out its mandate must

all be strengthened if the building is to continue to stand.

I did not mean to turn my back on Benin’s tradition

by allowing myself to turn the thoughts of this Assembly

towards symbolism, but rather to highlight the reality of the

problems we face and the scope of the challenges they

throw down before us. Human dignity is what is at stake

here.

The United Nations can become stronger only by

strengthening its second pillar, by promoting action in

economic and social areas, by focusing its concerns on

development in order to achieve or maintain peace through

the promotion of social development.

The Organization therefore has a central role to play

in preventing mankind from drifting towards new

confrontation and impoverishment, and in enabling man to

gain greater control over his environment and his fate.

The new dynamic in international relations resulting

from the end of ideological confrontation is characterized

by a search for a new kind of inter-State relationship. As

a result, the hotbeds of tension and conflict that have not

been quelled are now approaching a solution or are being

contained. And yet, there is still such upheaval in some

parts of the world that international peace and security are

being threatened.

I am thinking here of the negotiations between Israel

and Palestine. They are the result of resolute action. We

know how difficult was the road leading to the

establishment of lasting peace in view of the level of

distrust and the acute, accumulated suffering involved.

Yet, we have high hopes that bitterness and fear will be

overcome so that dialogue may continue. We must all

encourage dialogue between Israel and the States of the

region, and to that end, the good will of all is essential.

In Benin, we welcomed the fact that the weapons

had finally fallen silent in southern Africa. For the first

time in several decades, the region seems to be able to

devote all its energies and resources to development

activities.

Here, we wish to pay tribute to the maturity of the

people and leaders of Mozambique who have helped to

establish a State based on the rule of law and political

pluralism on the basis of free and democratic elections. I

can only congratulate the United Nations on what it has

done to promote peace in that country. We are all

concerned that peace should be strengthened through

stability, reconciliation and national reconstruction. Faced

with this situation, the international community must,

more than ever before, support Mozambique by providing

assistance that can recreate an environment conducive to

economic development.

I also welcome the agreements signed at Lusaka

between the Government of the Republic of Angola and

UNITA, and on behalf of my delegation I should like to

encourage them to live up to the commitments they have

made.

The positive developments in Haiti are also most

welcome. Benin applauds the reinstatement of the

legitimate Haitian authorities and the courage and sense

of responsibility shown by the President, Jean-Bertrand

Aristide, who has engendered a spirit of reconciliation.

We appreciate the efforts made by the Government of

Haiti to strengthen democracy in the country by

establishing institutions following free elections. We have

high hopes that security and stability can thus be

re-established and will help to promote economic and

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social development, the only guarantee of lasting

democracy.

Unfortunately, however, in other regions, the course of

history is still not running smoothly. This is the case in

Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi and Liberia, where events would

seem to suggest that the protagonists have learned

nothing — but they have forgotten nothing either.

In Somalia, the absence of any viable State structure

has plunged the country into an impossible situation with

momentous consequences. The desire to secure

advantageous negotiating positions through the use of force

has led to continued suffering for the country. In expressing

our sympathy for the people of Somalia, Benin wishes to

remind the various factions that they must create the

conditions for dialogue and national reconciliation and we

would urge them to be tolerant.

In Rwanda and Burundi, re-establishing the judiciary

and establishing public order would seem to be the only

means of putting an end to the spiral of violence and

encouraging national reconciliation, which is a prerequisite

for establishing trust and encouraging the voluntary return

of refugees. We cannot deny that the slow pace and the

fragility of developments in the situation in those two

countries raise fears that the tragic events we so recently

deplored may recur at any moment.

In Liberia, we welcome the new situation that has

emerged from the cease-fire and the establishment of the

Council of State. We urge all parties to strengthen the

renewed peace by effectively disarming all the factions.

The former Yugoslavia is undoubtedly the world stage

on which new types of conflict and efforts to limit them are

running at the same time. While taking what may seem a

dispassionate look at the situation in the Balkans region, we

are not insensitive to the fate of millions of women,

children and elderly people who are the victims both of

new kinds of exclusion and of the irredentism of the

peoples of the region.

I should like to take this occasion to reiterate that

Benin strongly condemns “ethnic cleansing”, no matter who

its perpetrators may be, all violations of humanitarian law

and all attacks against United Nations personnel.

Benin supports the idea of a comprehensive settlement

with respect to the consequences of the disintegration of the

former Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia. For this

reason, I appeal to all the protagonists to put an end to

the fighting and to attacks against innocent civilians.

The New York agreements of 26 September 1995

between the three major protagonist groups constitute a

decisive step towards general and lasting peace in the

region, which, I trust, will soon cease to be the powder-

keg of today’s world.

The deplorable, indeed tragic, situations that I have

just described strengthen my conviction that the protection

and promotion of human rights and of fundamental

freedoms still deserve our full attention. They justify the

drafting of new international instruments to complete the

existing legal arsenal, so that those who continue to

perpetrate cruel and inhuman acts, genocide and “ethnic

cleansing” can be punished. In this spirit, Benin supports

the establishment of international tribunals for the former

Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

But what will all these efforts mean if we do not put

an end to the production, accumulation and international

transfers of weapons, and if we do not progress towards

general and complete disarmament under international

control?

In this connection, Benin reiterates its unwavering

support for all United Nations resolutions relating to the

reduction, limitation and non-proliferation of nuclear

weapons.

One of the mandates of this Organization is to make

general development efforts the focus of our concerns.

Changes in international relations and the liberalization of

trade have made us more aware of the many different

sectors and players involved in development. The

deterioration of our environment has alerted us to the

need to focus our behaviour and actions on ensuring the

long-term development of future generations.

We are both witnesses to and players in the changes

we are experiencing today. And yet we are not

unequipped to implement the transition to another kind of

development, because we have at our disposal the tools

for both diagnosis and prevention. There is only one

possible approach: the political will to implement our

respective commitments.

I should like to emphasize that as concerns

implementation of their commitments the developing

countries in general, and Africa and the least developed

countries in particular, have proceeded resolutely towards

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qualitative political and economic changes. In so doing,

they have required enormous sacrifices on the part of their

peoples in order to readjust and adapt to new world

conditions.

We must acknowledge, however, that the commitments

to carry out the duty of solidarity have not yet materialized.

Benin, of course, fully appreciates the international

community‘s support for the developing countries, and

particularly for Africa and the least-developed countries in

general. However, the assistance provided is far from

meeting either the needs or the expectations.

I sincerely hope that the results of the High-level

Intergovernmental Meeting on the Mid-term Global Review

of the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the

Least-developed Countries for the 1990s, which began here

in New York on 26 September, will make it possible to

overcome these shortcomings.

I urge the international community to live up to its

commitment to solidarity with Africa by contributing to the

United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa

in the 1990s. At the high-level meetings of the Economic

and Social Council held in Geneva from 4 to 6 July last,

the international community reconfirmed its commitment to

contribute effectively to the development of Africa and to

the implementation of this New Agenda.

It is therefore urgent — and this cannot be said often

enough — to reduce the debt burden to a level that would

enable us truly to set development in motion. I should like

also to invite all States to speed up their respective

constitutional procedures for ratifying the United Nations

Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries

Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification,

particularly in Africa.

The demonstrations organized worldwide at the time

of the first World Day to Combat Desertification and

Drought bear witness to the commitment of peoples and

Governments to tackling seriously this worldwide

environmental problem. This commitment must be backed

by the depositing of the 50 ratification instruments needed

for the entry into force of the Convention in 1996. The first

conference of the parties could thus take place in 1997, the

year earmarked for the mid-term review of Agenda 21 and

of all the recommendations and conclusions of the United

Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

Measures must also be taken to speed up the

integration of Africa into the international trade system and

to help in diversifying economies and encouraging

investment. Only in this way will that continent, which

has suffered greatly throughout history, be able finally to

emerge from the hellish cycle of poverty.

Benin is prepared to contribute to making 1996, the

International Year for the Eradication of Poverty, an

occasion for us to strengthen the moral obligation and

duty of solidarity that underlies the struggle against

poverty. But our Governments’ actions can be successful

only if they are supported by all our partners in

development.

The year 1996 will also see the holding of the Ninth

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

and the Second United Nations Conference on Human

Settlements (Habitat II), which is being referred to as the

“City Summit”. These two major Conferences, whose

importance cannot be overemphasized, will provide to the

international community an opportunity to assess the

progress made in the context of the commitment entered

into at Cartagena in February 1992 and of the Global

Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000. However, the

preparatory committees for those two Conferences must

focus on finding specific solutions rather than short-lived

measures and recommendations.

I am convinced that development cannot be achieved

simply by transferring one model of production and

consumption from one region of the world to another. We

must go beyond that cliché and base ourselves on a true

partnership for development, in which responsibilities

would be shared equally. For this reason, Benin welcomes

the outcome of the World Summit for Social

Development and of the Fourth World Conference on

Women.

Benin fully endorses the elaboration of an Agenda

for Development with a view to the effective

implementation of the programmes of action that have not

yet been carried out.

In conclusion, I should like to express our firm

conviction that this session of the General Assembly will

make it easier for us to achieve a consensus acceptable to

all on ways and means of revitalizing and strengthening

the institutions and structures of the United Nations.