Cameroon, 1994

Over and above the usual civilities, Sir, the very sincere

and warm congratulations of the Cameroon delegation on

your election to preside over the current session of the

General Assembly are addressed to you both as an able

diplomat and as a worthy representative of Côte d’Ivoire,

a country that is a friend of ours and with which we are

honoured to have longstanding relations of fraternal

cooperation. On behalf of the delegation of Cameroon, I

wish you every success in the exercise of your important

functions.

Ambassador Insanally of Guyana, your predecessor,

successfully reflected and expressed our concerns when

presiding over the forty-eighth session. We should like to

express our deep appreciation to him.

Since his election our Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros

Boutros-Ghali, has placed all his courage, energy and

determination at the service of our Organization to promote

peace, justice and progress in an increasingly difficult

climate. Cameroon would once again like to assure him of

its firm and constant support.

Despite the uncertainties, upheavals and crises we are

experiencing in the evolving international environment,

several major events since the last session give grounds for

satisfaction and hope.

The emergence of a united, democratic and non-racial

South Africa, under the leadership of President Nelson

Mandela, has sounded the death knell of the apartheid era,

now a thing of the past, while marking the advent of a new

era on our continent. South Africa can now get down to its

economic and social development with increased vigour.

Cameroon, which was at the forefront of the struggle

against the scourge of apartheid, once again solemnly

welcomes South Africa’s return into the concert of nations.

The credit for this happy return goes to the United

Nations, the Organization of African Unity and the forces

of progress in the world for their combined efforts, but

mainly to the South African people and leaders

themselves, in particular Nelson Mandela and Frederik de

Klerk, who have always distinguished themselves by the

breadth of their vision, their courage and their

determination.

Echoing the new era beginning in Pretoria, an

important stage has just been reached in the long process

leading to the normalization of relations between Israel

and the Palestinians on the one hand, and between Israel

and its other Arab neighbours on the other hand.

The advent of Palestinian autonomy in the Gaza

Strip and Jericho, pursuant to the agreements concluded,

and the significant progress in the negotiations between

the Jewish State and Jordan are significant advances

towards a just and lasting settlement of the question of

the Middle East, in accordance with the relevant

resolutions of the Security Council and the General

Assembly. We must encourage this promising, but still

fragile, development and give it all the necessary attention

and determination.

The judicial settlement of the conflict between Chad

and Libya over the Aouzu Strip, which has finally come

into being following lengthy negotiations, deserves to be

welcomed with satisfaction, particularly since it

constitutes a model for others to follow.

By bringing the question of the border and territorial

dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon over Bakassi to

the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and its

machinery for the prevention, management and settlement

of conflicts, to the Security Council, which is responsible

for the maintenance of international peace and security,

and to the International Court of Justice, which is charged

with the peaceful and judicial settlement of conflicts, it

was the intention of Cameroon to subscribe fully to the

virtues of preventive diplomacy.

It is an established fact that, like non-aggression

pacts and mutual assistance pacts, preventive diplomacy

is an interesting innovation and one that may well prevent

new conflicts and suffering, and even reverse the

tendency towards confrontation and war which is so

characteristic of our continent.

For this reason, preventive diplomacy should be

encouraged and supported by the international community.

13

For its part, my country would like to thank all those who

have supported it in regard to the Bakassi affair. The

means of action and the machinery of diplomacy at the

disposal of the OAU and the United Nations should be

further strengthened.

The positive developments in South Africa and the

Middle East coincide, unfortunately, with the persistence or

the eruption of hotbeds of tension throughout the world. In

Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Cyprus, in Afghanistan, as well

as in Cambodia, peace is still threatened. It is threatened

even further on our continent, a fact to which the tragedy

of Rwanda bears witness.

This is an opportunity to renew an urgent appeal to

our brothers in Liberia, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola

and Mozambique, as well as in other countries beset by

tension, conflict and warfare, to rise above their various

differences so that they may be able to make the necessary

efforts to meet the challenge of peace.

The persistence of these conflicts and hotbeds of

tension, so harmful in their consequences, compels us to

initiate and resolutely and vigorously pursue any action

conducive to peace, security and the building of confidence,

which are so necessary in the struggle against poverty and

destitution.

Within States we should, for instance, promote

tolerance, respect for the rights of others, participation by

all in the affairs of the country, and fair distribution of the

fruits of growth.

In relations between States, the independence,

sovereignty and territorial integrity of States must be

respected, while at the same time this should not be an

obstacle to mutual cooperation in the event of natural

disasters and calamities that require humanitarian

intervention.

The creation by the African Heads of State of the

OAU machinery to which I have referred, and the initialling

by the States of central Africa of a non-aggression pact in

September 1994, are among the efforts we have been

making to promote good-neighbourly relations based on

confidence and free from any threat of the use of force.

Although at the outset this machinery has already

achieved some excellent results, nevertheless, like the

Standing Consultative Committee on Questions of Security

in Central Africa that was created by the Secretary-General

of the United Nations in the context of preventive

diplomacy, it needs the support of the international

community.

In the final analysis, these regional initiatives to

promote confidence-building measures and progressive

disarmament should, on the global level, be encouraged

in order to achieve the objectives of the international

community with respect to disarmament, peace and

security.

Thus, we welcome the respect being shown for the

moratorium on nuclear testing, as well as the progress

achieved in negotiations between the United States and

the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea over the

North Korean nuclear programme. We encourage both

countries to find a peaceful solution to that dispute.

Regarding the current negotiations at the Conference

on Disarmament to conclude a comprehensive nuclear-

test-ban treaty, Cameroon joins the Movement of Non-

Aligned Countries in expressing the hope that this

convention will be signed before the Amendment

Conference in 1995.

Finally, whether we speak of nuclear weapons or

other weapons of mass destruction, conventional weapons,

toxic waste, mine clearance or anti-personnel mines,

Cameroon also wishes to see the international community

working towards general and complete disarmament.

In his report entitled “Agenda for Development”

(A/48/935), the Secretary-General noted very aptly that

peace was the foundation of development; that the

economy was the engine of progress; that the environment

was the basis of sustainability; that justice was the pillar

of society, and that democracy represented good

governance.

These preliminary reflections deserve great attention,

since the “Agenda for Development” is a follow-up to the

“Agenda for Peace” (A/47/277). It reaffirms,

furthermore, that economic, social and cultural

development is a fundamental right of the human being.

Furthermore, global talks on development, which

were held in New York in June 1994 on the initiative and

under the presidency of Ambassador Insanally, the high-

level debate and the recent session of the Economic and

Social Council on the “Agenda for Development”, the

Ministerial Declaration that followed the commemorative

ceremonies for the thirtieth anniversary of the Group of

77 and the substantive session of Economic and Social

14

Council indicate that development is a complex

phenomenon, requiring constant effort on the part of States

and of the international community as a whole.

It is therefore our hope, that on the basis of the

priorities identified during these meetings, the measures

required to deal with these issues will be considered by the

General Assembly on the basis of a new report by the

Secretary-General.

The urgent need to set in motion a new United

Nations programme for the development of Africa in the

1990s should be stressed. The timeliness and relevance of

such a step was reaffirmed by the international conference

on the development of Africa held in Tokyo. The African

economy, as we know, is essentially based on primary

commodities. Any strategy for the sustainable development

of the continent must consequently take into account the

need for diversification. We would like to reiterate the

appeal we made last year from this same rostrum for the

creation of a fund for diversification of commodities for

Africa.

In a different context — and this cannot be repeated

too often — debt is a major obstacle to development. The

debt of developing countries has steadily increased, rising

from $1.662 billion in 1992 to $1.770 billion in 1993. We

welcome the efforts made so far to relieve or reschedule

debt for developing countries. However, a great deal still

remains to be done, as is emphasized in the 1994 edition of

the Human Development Report.

Drought and desertification are another subject of

major concern. We welcome the fact that negotiations were

successfully concluded last June in Paris to draw up an

international convention on drought and desertification, a

matter of undoubted importance for the world ecosystem

and, more specifically, for the implementation of Agenda

21 in Africa.

If the conclusion of multilateral economic negotiations

in the context of the Uruguay Round provides further

prospects for a dynamic revitalization of international trade,

it is important that steps be taken in parallel to reverse the

pronounced trend towards the marginalization and the

impoverishment of Africa, which could be promoted by the

new machinery established at Marrakesh.

Human rights are universal and indivisible, and we

must therefore attach equal importance to economic,

political, cultural and social rights. Whether in terms of the

rights of women, children, youth, the disabled, the aged or

other vulnerable groups, the human being must remain the

central focus of the international community’s concerns.

We should welcome the Plan of Action adopted at the

recent International Conference on Population and

Development, held at Cairo, for it takes account of that

requirement. The Plan of Action does not focus on

mankind as an abstract entity, but on human beings rooted

in their economic, social, cultural and religious diversities,

all of which need to be kept in mind.

That is why the forthcoming Copenhagen World

Summit on Social Development ought to result in specific

commitments to reduce poverty, to create productive jobs

and to strengthen social integration, particularly among

the most vulnerable strata of society.

The same concerns are reflected in the importance

we attach to the Fourth World Conference on Women, to

be held at Beijing in 1995.

It is in the interest of us all to pursue collective,

unified action to struggle against the harmful effects of

drugs, the spread of the AIDS pandemic, and natural

catastrophes, if necessary combining emergency

humanitarian assistance with measures for the

rehabilitation and reconstruction of the stricken countries.

In another area, the entry into force next November

of the Montego Bay convention — the United Nations

Convention on the Law of the Sea — next November is

a particularly encouraging development setting the seal on

the universality of that important legal instrument. We

hope that it will promote exploitation of the seas and

oceans for the benefit of all.

As we near the fiftieth anniversary of the United

Nations, our wish is that the Organization will meet the

challenge of reform and renewal. Whether it be the

revitalization of the General Assembly and its subsidiary

organs, the enlargement and strengthening of the Security

Council, the rationalization of activities and procedures or

the consolidation of the Organization’s financial basis,

Member States should strive to mould an institution

worthy of the vision and the inspiration of its founding

fathers.