Benin, 2000

It is my

pleasure to congratulate the President on his election. It

bears witness to the esteem which the international

community has for his country and for him. In wishing

him every success in the conduct of our work, I should

like to assure him also of the sincere cooperation of the

delegation of Benin.

May I also pay a well-deserved tribute to his

predecessor, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, Minister for

Foreign Affairs of Namibia, for the outstanding work

he accomplished.

In view of the developments in international

relations, the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, had

the felicitous initiative of gathering the highest

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representatives of the peoples of the world for

consultations on a new world order and on the role

which the United Nations will be called upon to play.

I would like to pay him a well-deserved tribute

and emphasize the determined conviction and

competence with which he heads the Organization.

The Millennium Summit showed once again that

multilateralism and international cooperation remain

the best approach to confront problems in

globalization. Indeed, the positive effects of

globalization remain limited, as is borne out by

imbalances in economic and social terms that

characterize the world today and violate human dignity

and human rights. What must be done therefore is to

channel the globalization process towards economic

and social progress for the benefit of the greatest

number.

In this process, the United Nations has a

comparative advantage — it is the only institution able

to embody universally accepted values and the only

platform for organizing fruitful debate on world issues,

as well as on the ways and means for settling them.

The United Nations is the body where the weak

and the forgotten are able to make their voices heard

and to participate in the attainment of a consensus on

questions of common interest.

And, indeed, globalization today is a fait

accompli; however, we must emphasize that it is not

neutral. Good governance, democracy and transparency

must be consolidated not only in national terms, but

also in international relations.

These principles must be applied both within

States as well as with respect to forces that govern

globalization and make use of it as before to avoid any

form of democratic control.

At the Millennium Summit, the heads of State

and Government adopted a document which determines

the main outlines of the United Nations action for the

twenty-first century.

It is now up to the world community and, thus, up

to our States, to civil society and to the private sector

to show the necessary determination to implement the

guidelines of the Summit quickly and resolutely to

make a reality of the message of hope and

determination which was expressed by the leaders of

the world.

Benin is pleased that special attention was

focused on Africa. The initiatives taken for the

continent require the firm support of the development

partners in the sense of a partnership and solidarity

which must basically work on the following: a lasting

solution to the debt problem; a more just order for the

international trade system; support in terms of financial

resources and strengthening production capacity.

We call for the effective implementation of

measures to integrate developing countries into the

world economy taking account of the special needs of

the least-developed countries with a view to halting the

deterioration in their situations.

In this regard, the holding of the Third United Nations

Conference on the Least Developed Countries is of

particular importance. It is essential that it lead to

concrete results.

The elimination of poverty is one of the

challenges that the international community was unable

to meet in the twentieth century. It is our responsibility

to dedicate ourselves to this task. In this regard, we are

pleased with the initiative taken by the Administrator

of the United Nations Development Programme

(UNDP) to organize a special ministerial meeting to

discuss the strategic orientation of UNDP and the need

to provide it with the resources essential for it to carry

out its missions. Benin is relying on UNDP, the main

body for coordinating development assistance, to meet

the challenges facing developing countries.

In commending the countries that have

announced an increase in their official development

assistance, I appeal for the restoration of a balance in

favour of core budgetary resources to make it possible

to execute the programmes and projects to which

Governments accord priority.

With regard to financing for development, it is

particularly essential to ensure that resources are better

mobilized and that development action involving all

partners, including the Bretton Woods institutions, is

better coordinated.

All these programmes and plans can be

implemented only in an environment in which peace

and security are guaranteed. Benin therefore welcomed

with great interest the Brahimi report (A/55/305),

containing an in-depth analysis of peacekeeping

operations.

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With regard to Somalia, Benin would also like to

express its satisfaction with the leader of the Inter-

Governmental Authority on Development and all the

facilitators for their courageous initiatives to bring

peace to that country through a process of dialogue and

reconciliation. We appeal to the international

community to lend its support to the consolidation of

the process so that Somalia can rapidly become part of

the community of nations.

Benin is, and will remain, committed to

respecting and promoting human rights, democracy and

the rule of law. These principles are inscribed in its

Constitution. In that context, since the fifty-second

session the General Assembly has supported Benin in

its organization of the Fourth International Conference

of New or Restored Democracies, to be held in

Cotonou from 4 to 6 December 2000. This Conference

will undoubtedly be an important stage in the

international community's progress towards the

consolidation of democratic principles. At the

Conference the old and new democracies will exchange

their experiences and commit themselves to promoting

democracy, peace and political stability and

development. Cotonou is preparing a warm welcome,

and hopes that there will be a great response to its

invitation.