Burundi, 2003

Allow

me at the outset, on behalf of my delegation and in my

personal capacity, to extend my warmest

congratulations to Mr. Julian Robert Hunte on his

election to preside over our work. My country's

delegation and I wish him every success and assure

him of our full cooperation in bringing his noble

mission to fruition.

I should also like to pay a tribute to his

predecessor, Mr. Jan Kavan, for the skill and

competence with which he guided the work of the

General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session.

I take this opportunity to congratulate Secretary-

General Kofi Annan on the skill and dynamism with

which he has led our Organization and on his

unflagging attention to the people of Burundi in

helping them to emerge from the serious crisis they

have experienced for the past 10 years.

I should also like to voice our profound gratitude

to the Security Council for its ongoing readiness and

manifest determination to assist the Government and

people of Burundi in the quest for a lasting solution

leading to peace and national reconciliation. The

regular visits of the Security Council to my country

have encouraged the inter-Burundian peace process and

sent a message of hope to a people severely battered by

war.

Since the signing of the Arusha Peace and

Reconciliation Agreement for Burundi on 28 August

2000, the peace process under way in my country has

made significant progress. Since 1 November 2001, we

have had transitional institutions uniting all the

political factions of the country. Since then, effective

administrative reforms have been undertaken and

reforms planned for the judiciary are gradually being

made as funding becomes available.

Furthermore, the people of Burundi and the

international community were gratified by the transfer

of power at the highest level of State, which proceeded

smoothly on 30 April 2003, guaranteeing the

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institutional framework of the Arusha Agreement. The

Transitional Government of Burundi is now involved in

negotiations with the armed groups in order to achieve

a permanent ceasefire agreement and to ensure its

effective implementation.

Thus, on 7 October 2002, we signed a ceasefire

agreement with the factions of the Forces nationales de

libÈration-Parti LibÈration du Peuple Hutu (FNL-

PALIPEHUTU) and the Conseil national pour la

dÈfense de la dÈmocratie-Front pour la dÈfense de la

dÈmocratie (CNDD-FDD), led respectively by Alain

Mugabarabona and Jean Bosco Ndayikengurukiye. On

2 December 2002, we signed a similar agreement with

the principal armed movement of CNDD-FDD led by

Pierre Nkurunziza. Today, the Transitional Government

is pursuing negotiations with the latter with a view to

integrating that group into the Republic's transitional

institutions, including the Defence and Security Corps,

the National Assembly, the Senate, the Government

and the Administration. The most recent negotiations

were those organized in Dar es Salaam on

15 September.

Dar es Salaam served as the context and

opportunity for the presentation and consideration of

the strong and effective positions of all concerned.

Above all, it provided an opportunity to exchange

views and to understand and reaffirm the importance of

the central focus of the Arusha Peace and

Reconciliation Agreement for Burundi and for taking

into consideration the national realities that will ensure

the maintenance of stability. We refer in particular to

respect for the allocations agreed in Arusha; the

granting of visibility to CNDD-FDD in the institutions,

while avoiding a raising of the stakes and the exclusion

of others; the equitable sharing of power; respect for

the rights of citizens; and so on.

A summit of heads of State was then planned on

very short notice to arrive at the conclusions and

compromises necessary to the signing of the protocol

for the implementation of the ceasefire agreement of

2 December 2002 and for the entry of CNDD-FDD into

the transitional institutions. We take this opportunity

warmly to thank the heads of State of the region and

delegations at that summit for their work leading to the

steps already undertaken.

These fairly positive results should not blind us to

a number of difficulties facing Burundi today. Indeed,

the continuation of war is a major obstacle to

implementing planned reform, even though the

Government is sparing no efforts to meet this great

challenge, and its commitment to implement the

Arusha Agreement and ceasefire agreement for peace

and reconciliation in Burundi speaks for itself.

Therefore, we continue to urge leaders of the

regional initiative for Burundi, mediators and the

international community to step up their pressure on

Pierre Nkurunziza's FDD for a ceasefire and

integration in institutions, and on Agathon Rwasa's

Parti pour la libÈration du peuple Hutu

(PALIPEHUTU) to rejoin without further delay the

transitional Government of Burundi at the negotiating

table, the only appropriate forum to voice its claims.

We also urge the international community to

make a substantial financial contribution to the African

Mission in Burundi, which is crucial to the monitoring

of the ceasefire.

Finally, the Government of Burundi is impatiently

awaiting the establishment of an international judicial

commission of inquiry in Burundi, whose work will

clearly contribute to helping Burundi to objectively

confront the crucial issue of the campaign against

impunity.

Another major challenge confronting us is

economic growth and efforts to combat poverty among

our people. Indeed, the people of Burundi are now

living in unspeakable poverty. Ten years have so

severely devastated the national economy that we no

longer have the bare minimum required to sustain

social harmony. More than 68 per cent of the

population of Burundi is living beneath the poverty

level.

Of course, we approve of efforts already made by

the international community to ensure the survival of

my country. But we also ask it to make further efforts

to quickly fulfil the promises made in Paris and

Geneva.

I am pleased to say that the peace process in my

country is now developing in a propitious subregional

environment recently characterized by significant

progress in the peace process in the Democratic

Republic of the Congo and a democratic breakthrough

in Rwanda.

That positive change should lead to the definitive

end to conflicts and also make possible the

international conference on the Great Lakes region,

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which the Government of Burundi so ardently hopes

will take place.

We wish to see the peace that we seek for

Burundi and its neighbours spread to the entire world.

During the Millennium Assembly in September 2000,

heads of State and Government agreed, inter alia, to

spare no effort to save our peoples from the scourge of

war, whether it be civil war or war between States. A

decision was also made to increase the effectiveness of

the United Nations in the maintenance of peace and

security and to take concerted steps to combat

international terrorism.

On the one hand, we can justly welcome the

commitment made by the leaders of the entire world to

work for a better planet, and we commend the

somewhat positive results in restoring international

peace and security. On the other hand, our collective

conscience places obligations on us all and requires

sustained vigilance and efforts in the face of persistent

and serious setbacks endured here and there on the path

to international peace and security. Indeed, the world of

the twenty-first century has not been spared from the

dangers of war, poverty, terrorism, disease and natural

disasters.

The efforts to combat terrorism that were stepped

up by Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) have

had mixed results thus far, in view of the frequency and

viciousness of terrorist acts throughout the world, from

which even our outstanding Organization is not spared.

These terrorist attacks have done much to contribute to

maintaining a general trend towards over-reliance on

the military and the strengthening of doctrines based on

preventive attacks, a concept that continues to fuel

political and diplomatic debate.

Despite the ever-increasing commitment of the

United Nations and regional and subregional

organizations, hotbeds of tension among or within

States have not yet been extinguished and calls for war

are enduring and threatening, like the sword of

Damocles. Mercenaries are increasingly being used as

tools to destabilize sovereign and independent States.

The threat of nuclear war continues to loom over us

and poison international relations.

Trafficking in human beings, a true form of

slavery in the twenty-first century, particularly with

respect to the child labour market, child prostitution,

the use of children as cannon fodder in conflicts and

illegal migration continue to be a reality to this day.

All these abuses have as a common denominator

an attack on human rights and international

humanitarian law that the Member States of the United

Nations are duty-bound to champion side by side

within the framework of multilateralism, one of the

most cherished principles of our Organization.

In light of the impression that we are

experiencing a genuine crisis in the architecture of

peace-building and international security, intelligent

reform of institutions entrusted with the maintenance

of international peace and security is urgently needed

to better enable them to meet the security needs of our

time.

Above all, the revitalization of the General

Assembly, the most representative organ of the United

Nations, must be tirelessly pursued. Careful

consideration should make the General Assembly much

more operational and streamlined with respect to its

working methods and, in particular, to impartial

follow-up and implementation of its resolutions and

decisions.

Reform of the Security Council in all its aspects

also continues to be a top priority for us, as the

Millennium Declaration stressed, to meet the concerns

about the regional balance of its membership. The

credibility of the Council and our Organization are at

stake here.

Moreover, multilateralism must remain a common

pillar for us all, as one of the fundamental values that

should underpin international relations in the

framework of active solidarity and shared

responsibilities, under the aegis of our Organization.

We also appeal for regular voluntary financing of

United Nations peacekeeping operations and support

for mechanisms of regional and subregional conflict-

prevention and promotion of political stability, with

particular attention given to Africa.

There is no need to recall that our world is

increasingly characterized by growing

interdependence, conflicts, pandemics and natural

disasters that have repercussions that know no borders

between States. Economic and social imbalances that

result from the unfair and non-inclusive international

financial structure prevent us from efficiently tackling

today's very complex challenges. The needs and

interests of developing countries have not been

sufficiently taken into account. The gulf between rich

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and poor is widening. We therefore have a common

duty to establish an environment that will benefit all

poor peoples.

With respect to cooperation for development, the

fight against poverty remains a priority. Attaining the

goals set at the international level during major

conferences and summits involves the elimination of

poverty and hunger, in particular in rural areas.

This implies, among other things, significant

investment in the agricultural and rural sectors geared

towards increasing production and protecting the

environment. We are all aware that, in order to be

successful, the development efforts of poor countries

require multifaceted international support. To that end,

the commitments undertaken at the Monterrey

conference regarding aid to development are

encouraging, but we must promptly move from good

intentions to specific deeds.

The least developed countries have weak and

marginalized economies within the international

financial system. They therefore require particular

attention in terms of official development assistance,

direct foreign investment, debt relief, the strengthening

of capacities and access to international markets. We

also urge the international community to advance the

integral implementation of the Almaty plan of action as

a response to the specific difficulties linked to the

distance to the sea and to high costs of transportation

that seriously handicap the economic development of

landlocked countries.

Africa is the continent where the ills of

destitution have attained an alarming level. In a shared

impetus, Africans have created the New Partnership for

Africa's Development (NEPAD). The warm welcome

the international community gave to NEPAD must be

backed by concrete gestures of solidarity. Thus, the

spirit of partnership, which also entails the active

participation of local authorities and associations of

civil society, can, in fact, become a reality and allow

our continent to benefit from its immense riches down

to a grassroots level.

The rules of the World Trade Organization need

to be made more flexible to allow developing countries

to benefit from the liberalization of world trade. The

initiatives already undertaken along these lines in Doha

deserve to be further intensified. There is a need to end

all forms of subsidies for products exported from rich

countries, which lead to distorted exchange rates, as

well as various non-tariff obstacles. The international

community must also work to remedy the instability of

the prices of commodities, which are the major source

of revenue for poor countries.

Another major challenge is overcoming the

HIV/AIDS pandemic and halting malaria and

tuberculosis in tropical countries. AIDS is a threat to

mankind. It is devastating entire populations, making

millions of children defenceless orphans and

swallowing up all development efforts. Faced with this

common danger, urgent action is necessary. We herald

the establishment in January 2002 of the Global Fund

to combat these three scourges, and we urge those

countries that have the financial and scientific means to

do so to step up their efforts to limit and ultimately

stamp out those disasters.

I would not like to end without emphasizing

again the critical role that the United Nations Charter

bestows on our Organization in its sacred mission of

humanizing international relations each day and

contributing to building a better world. The obstacles

in the path of the United Nations are not inevitable;

rather, they are an opportunity to meet new challenges

and adapt the Organization to achieve the objectives of

the Charter and those of the Millennium Declaration.