Burundi, 2005

It is a

distinct honour to address this Assembly on the

occasion of the sixtieth regular session of the General

Assembly of the United Nations, an important

milestone in the life of our Organization. We would

like to take this opportunity to express our warm

congratulations to His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan,

Secretary-General of the United Nations, for the skill

and dynamism he has displayed in leading our

Organization. We would also like to pay tribute to his

dedication to the cause of peace and to the interest he

has always paid to the people of Burundi during their

difficult times. Allow us also at this memorable time to

express our profound gratitude to the Security Council

of the United Nations for the resolute will it has

displayed in accompanying the people of Burundi step

by step in their search for peace.

Our country has just entered an essential phase in

its history. In political terms, after more than ten years

of war and a lengthy period of transition, the main

protagonists in the conflict have agreed to bury the

hatchet. Free, pluralist, fair and transparent elections

were the culmination of this long process. Indeed, it

was at the end of a genuine electoral marathon,

involving local, legislative, senatorial and presidential

elections, that the people of Burundi overwhelmingly

chose the programme and candidates of my party, the

CNDD-FDD (Conseil National pour la Défense de la

Démocratie, Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie),

in calm and in dignity. This was an indisputable and

undisputed victory recognized and acknowledged by

all of the many foreign observers. The political parties

have also accepted the verdict of the ballot boxes.

In order to enable every opportunity for national

harmony and establish democracy once again, we have

just set up a Government of broad national union

consisting of all the elements of the Burundi people,

with its political, social, ethnic and regional diversity, a

Government where women hold the significant

position they deserve.

We are especially pleased to note the genuine

social and mental change represented by the entry of

Burundian women into the political sphere. Today,

women hold 35 per cent of posts in the executive

branch. Their presence is notable in all State

institutions. For the first time in my country’s history,

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the National Assembly is presided over by a woman

and two women are vice-presidents of the Senate. At

the Government level, one of the two vice-presidencies

of the Republic is held by a woman. Women head

seven of the 20 ministries, including in such important

posts as justice, foreign relations and planning. Lastly,

many women are working in provincial and communal

administrations.

Our Government cherishes the hope that this

contribution of women’s talents to managing the affairs

of State will help to strengthen democracy by giving it

a warmer, more thoughtful and peaceful image.

We are also pleased that the democratic spirit of

cohesion and unity in diversity which has breathed new

life into the political scene is also being felt in the

institutions of defence and security. Indeed, yesterday’s

antagonists — the former Burundian armed forces and

the armed groups arrayed against them — have been

merged into new forces, known as the National

Defence Force and the National Police of Burundi, in

which all the country’s players are represented. That

fact is rare enough to warrant highlighting.

All of those profound changes have been made

possible by the synergy between the concern of the

international community, the courage and maturity of

the Burundian people, and the willingness to

compromise of the political class. We express our

warmest thanks to all the international partners that

accompanied us on our long road to peace. In

particular, we would single out the regional initiative,

the United Nations Operation in Burundi, mediators

Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and President Mandela,

facilitator Jacob Zuma, the European Union, the United

States of America, the African Union and many

friendly countries, especially those that contributed

troops to the peacekeeping force as well as financial

logistic means.

Peace in our country, like the lasting success of

our democratic experience, is closely linked to the

stability of the regional environment. We therefore

welcome the efforts to restore peace, stability and

sustainable development in the Great Lakes region. We

are closely following and actively participating in the

preparations for the International Conference on the

Great Lakes Region, now being organized under

United Nations and African Union auspices, with the

support of the region’s Group of Friends.

We are one with our world village. Nothing that

occurs there does not touch us. Threats to peace and

security sneer at borders. We call today for an urgent

partnership to combat terrorism. In that context, the

general convention on international terrorism, once

concluded, will be an innovative legal instrument in

addressing issues that have yet to be regulated.

We also need to stem the phenomenon of drug

trafficking, which — with its many corollaries,

including child labour, the sex industry and illegal

migration — is transforming human beings into

twenty-first century commodities.

Combating terrorism must include promoting a

culture of peace. It would thus be useful to use the

International Decade for the Culture of Peace to build

the defences of peace in the minds of men and women,

particularly through education, the media, faith-based

organizations and cultural programmes aimed at

children.

Terrorism is also a denial of human rights. We

therefore welcome the decision to create the human

rights council to promote respect for those rights. The

council will allow us to end the partisan bickering

prevalent in the Commission on Human Rights.

As to the reform of the Security Council and

other United Nations organs, our Government supports

the position of the African Union.

With respect to good governance, our

Government is committed to taking appropriate

measures to establish good governance in all its

aspects. We refer in particular to capacity-building, the

mobilization of domestic resources and the

implementation of strategies to combat corruption,

fraud and embezzlement. We will soon be unveiling a

new law and anti-corruption squad.

We are committed to fighting impunity, for we

want to strive for impartial justice, not only by

building our capacities in that sphere, but also by

reforming the sectors involved in that issue. In that

context, we request in particular the international

community’s assistance in the urgent establishment of

a truth and reconciliation commission.

In the socio-economic field, we hope that the

establishment of new elected, democratic institutions

will lay the groundwork for robust legitimacy and

effectiveness in our reconstruction and socio-economic

development strategies. We wish to prioritize the

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rehabilitation of social and economic infrastructure

destroyed during the war and the reintegration of

expatriates, internally displaced persons, demobilized

soldiers and war victims.

We also intend to attach high priority to

education. Thus, when we came to power, we decided

to provide free primary schooling to all children by the

beginning of the 2005-2006 school year. That priority

goal for education requires the development and

implementation of ambitious and urgent programmes to

train qualified teachers, rebuild schools and obtain new

educational materials.

For the period 2006-2008, we are planning for the

construction of at least one primary school for each

census area, totalling some 350 primary schools. That

will involve the construction of 800 classrooms in

2006, the recruitment of 2,000 new teachers and the

acquisition of teaching materials at an estimated cost of

$15 million. In that same context, we will prioritize

professional training, particularly in the agricultural,

paramedical, technical and trade fields, in order to

hasten the country’s reconstruction. By 2008, we

expect to build in each province a technical secondary

school with several departments and a capacity of at

least 1,000 pupils.

Increased financial resources will be necessary

and we know that we can count on the assistance of the

international community. In that regard, we support the

innovative proposal of the French Government to find

new sources of development financing by imposing a

levy on air tickets.

Much remains to be done in the area of health.

Our Government has undertaken to develop a policy to

make significant improvements in universal access to

health care, and to implement the national strategic

plan to combat HIV/AIDS, an essential component of

which is capacity-building in HIV/AIDS prevention

and treatment.

The achievements of my country, particularly in

the political and security fields, are important steps in

the right direction. Nevertheless, they are only the start

of a process that must be consolidated.

In particular, we will have to resume activities to

combat poverty and re-establish economic growth, two

essential measures that will allow our people to reap

the dividends of peace.

The support of the entire population for the peace

process and the programme for economic growth is

essential. But how can the people feel that the new

policy includes them if their living conditions are not

rapidly improved? That is why the support of the

international community in this difficult period is of

supreme importance. We make an urgent appeal to the

international community to ensure that the level and

quality of their commitments will respond to the

insistent expectations of our population and to the new

democratic changes.