Burundi, 2007

First of all, we would like to extend to Mr. Srgjan

Kerim our warmest congratulations on his unanimous

election as President of the General Assembly for the

current session and to say that the delegation that I

have the honour of leading is greatly pleased to see

him presiding over the work of the Assembly. We

would like also to pay a well-deserved tribute to the

outgoing President, who conducted the work of the last

session with great wisdom and distinction.

We would also like to convey to the Secretary-

General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, the great appreciation and

encouragement of His Excellency Mr. Pierre

Nkurunziza, President of the Republic of Burundi, and

of our Government, for the tireless efforts that he has

been making since he took office to defend and

promote the noble ideals of our Organization.

Building a viable world for humanity is a task

that is incumbent upon the international community

and every one of its members. Our position in Burundi

is that, in strengthening peace and justice within our

borders, we are also contributing to the harmonious

development of this world. It is in this context that the

Government of Burundi is sparing no effort both within

the country and at the regional level to establish an

environment conducive to the strengthening of peace

and security, the rule of law and development.

We are pleased to state that the signing of the

Comprehensive Ceasefire Agreement, which took place

on 7 September 2006 between the Government and the

Forces nationales de libération (FNL) rebel movement

greatly contributed to a return to peace and stability in

our country. That paved the way for talks on specific

aspects concerning the implementation of the

Agreement in a calm setting. Some weeks ago, the FNL

movement unilaterally decided to suspend the talks

without offering any truly convincing reasons.

However, we are not discouraged because we believe

that this is simply a hitch that will not have a lasting

impact on the gains which everyone wants to preserve.

Efforts are currently being made for a prompt

resumption of the talks. A regional summit on the issue

should take place shortly to encourage the FNL

movement to return to the negotiating table, which is

the only acceptable way to achieve a lasting peace. In

any case, the Government of Burundi remains open to

all proposals that would bring together the necessary

conditions for this effort.

The return to peace has also favoured the

implementation of programmes that are priorities for

the Government in areas such as national

reconciliation, education and health for all,

reconstruction and economic recovery. Issues related to

good political and economic governance, once taboo

because of their sensitive nature, are now openly and

regularly discussed, and concrete action is being taken

to improve the situation.

To achieve greater success in the delicate task of

national reconciliation, the people of Burundi have no

choice but to review together the history of their

country which, in several ways, is characterized by

some dark periods. Indeed, the Government has begun

negotiations with the Secretary-General in order to set

up a truth and reconciliation commission. We are soon

going to begin national consultations on this question;

the outcome should provide a solid basis for the

establishment and operation of such a Commission.

The civil war which ravaged our country greatly

impoverished the Burundian population. We are eager

to gradually resolve the problem of poverty and to

reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), we

have taken measures to offer free health care to

children under the age of five and to pregnant mothers

in public health clinics, and also to provide free

primary school education.

The Government has also set up the Strategic

Framework for Accelerating Economic Growth and

Reducing Poverty, which was adopted at the national

and international levels and which was submitted to

our development partners at the Bujumbura round table

held in May 2007. Our country’s appeal to the

international community had a positive reception:

funding for our priority programmes for the period

2007-2010 has been pledged.

We take this opportunity to reiterate the gratitude

of the Government and the people of Burundi to all of

our partners for their generous contributions at the

round table. We would be sincerely grateful if their

pledges could be redeemed so that we can satisfy the

most urgent needs of our population as soon as

possible.

Working with the Peacebuilding Commission, my

Government has also set up a Strategic Framework for

Peacebuilding in Burundi. This is a framework that

involves all of the national and international socio-

political partners in contributing to strengthening the

return to peace and ensuring that the resurgence of

deadly crises will be a thing of the past.

We would also like to take this opportunity to

express our gratitude to the Commission for the

positive results we have already achieved together, as

well as for the support of the Peacebuilding Fund, from

which my country has generously benefited.

We are convinced that peace and security can be

affirmed only in one’s house and in one’s immediate

environment. Burundi is playing an active role within

the regional framework in the work of the Tripartite

Plus Joint Commission, including the Democratic

Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi.

This Commission is a suitable forum for us to discuss

our security issues in a straightforward fashion —

namely, the presence of many armed groups that are

circulating and dangerously jeopardizing the

democratic gains made in the development of our

member countries. Moreover, on 15 December 2006, at

the International Conference of the Great Lakes region,

heads of State and Government of 11 member

countries, including our own country, Burundi, signed

a Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the

Great Lakes Region, with the ultimate objective of

making this zone an area of peace, economic growth

and sustainable and shared growth. Burundi had the

honour of being elected by its peers to host the

headquarters of the Executive Secretariat of this

Conference.

Furthermore, in re-launching the Economic

Community of the Great Lakes countries (CEPGL),

along with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the

Congo, and in joining the East African Community,

which includes the United Republic of Tanzania,

Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda, we are motivated by a

desire to build a peaceful, prosperous and united world.

There are still tensions that mark the international

situation and new sources of instability and uncertainty

have emerged. It is undeniable that remarkable work

has been achieved in recent years within the framework

of our Organization, as well as in continental and

regional organizations. Pockets of tension have now

been eliminated, and others are on the verge of being

so. However, we are concerned by the continuation of

bloody conflicts in Somalia and Darfur, in Iraq, in the

Middle East, to mention but a few. Despite the efforts

that have been made and the means that have been

deployed, there is still a great deal to be done. Burundi

decided to lend its modest contribution to resolving

some of these crises by providing military observers

and police personnel for Darfur and military

peacekeeping contingents in Somalia within the

framework of operations set up by the African Union.

We know full well that conflict prevention is an

ongoing concern of the international community.

Stabilization efforts and peacekeeping operations are

an eloquent testimony to this. We must accompany this

process by strengthening the prerogatives of the

Secretary-General in the area of preventive diplomacy

to prevent minor conflicts from becoming larger, open

conflicts. In this respect, conflict prevention can be

effective only if we take into account the nagging

question of the proliferation of small arms and light

weapons, which is a dangerous, destabilizing factor.

We would like to launch a vibrant appeal to the

countries that produce small arms and light weapons to

adopt responsible export policies that would truly help

to curb illicit flows of these weapons. The same applies

to the question of disarmament, which our country

considers crucial if we want a rapid return to security,

peace and development. We say this from experience,

because in Burundi, the proliferation of small arms and

light weapons, as well as in other countries of the

Great Lakes region, continue to cause destruction in

terms of human lives and social and economic

infrastructure, and it always un-does any reconstruction

and development effort that we are trying to achieve.

International terrorism is another major challenge

to global peace and security. This phenomenon can be

seen on all continents, thus proving very clearly that

terrorism knows no borders. The absence of a suitable

and effective strategy to eliminate this scourge places

us at its mercy. These situations should be one of the

top challenges for the United Nations family. Our

Organization, therefore, must be a tool at everyone’s

service in all countries, a tool capable of raising hopes,

of dispelling concerns and of restoring respect for the

rule of international law.

In this context, we must all agree and decide to

make our Organization more operational, more

pragmatic, more democratic and capable of fulfilling

its mission, a mission that is to be accomplished in full

cooperation with the regional organizations whose

effectiveness in the area of conflict prevention and

intervention is well known, despite often insufficient

resources. Thus, we express the hope that Security

Council reform, which has long been advocated and

discussed, will finally become a reality, with a

composition that respects the representation of

continents that, until now, have been excluded from the

category of permanent members, such as Africa, our

continent.

Although the cold war is over, we are forced to

acknowledge that social relations have crystallized into

two blocs with almost antagonistic and diverging

interests — that is to say, the rich on one side and the

poor on the other. It is high time to humanize relations

between the two blocs and to encourage specific

measures through respect for commitments that have

been taken. Otherwise, we will see the continuation of

new societal phenomena, such as the brain drain,

worsening crime, sex industry and international

migratory pressure, which stir up passions and spark

controversy.

To conclude, Sir, the gathering of such a large

number of high-level officials makes it possible to take

the pulse of the political situation as well as of the

international social and economic situation. It makes it

possible for us to observe our weaknesses and our

potential. We believe that solutions to the different

problems that have been mentioned in the course of

this debate are always possible, as long as there is a

minimum of political will. It is that minimum, which is

required of every member of our Organization, that we

should all try to obtain together.