Cameroon, 2009

I would like to

begin by extending my congratulations to Mr. Ali Treki

on his election to the presidency of the General

Assembly at this sixty-fourth session and by wishing

him every success in the execution of his term of

office. Allow me also to pay tribute to Secretary-

General Ban Ki-moon for his tireless work and for the

remarkable devotion that he has demonstrated at the

helm of our Organization.

Like each year, we are asked during this session

to look at the state of the world, to consider together

the current problems and to recommend appropriate

solutions to them. In that regard, as we know, the

international community remains under the impact of a

global financial and economic crisis that has spared no

country.

The extraordinary mobilization that it has aroused

reflects its scope and extent, as well as the gravity of

the threat that it poses to the stability of the global

economy. We must welcome that strong mobilization,

led by the major industrialized countries. It was

prompt, resolute and consistent. Without doubt, it has

demonstrated the international community’s capacity to

respond fully when it is driven and underpinned by real

political resolve.

That is certainly a good example of solidarity, the

kind of international solidarity that we seek and that

we would like also to see in the achievement of the

Millennium Development Goals, in our common

concern to narrow the gap between the North and the

South, and in our daily struggle against poverty, hunger

and pandemics.

In other words, if we have been able to mobilize

ourselves so vigorously to contain the effects of the

financial crisis, we can do the same to address the

other challenges confronting us, namely the poverty

and underdevelopment in which so many human beings

throughout the world still live. For, while the crisis has

spared no continent, there is no doubt that its effects

vary depending on the country, region and level of

development.

Africa, in particular, which in no way contributed

to the unleashing of the crisis, today, paradoxically,

finds itself among the worst affected victims. Among

the most alarming effects, we therefore condemn the

decrease in remittances to our countries; the severe

drop in the prices of our products; the marked fall in

investment; worsening budget deficits; and the

slowdown in economic activity — all of which, among

other things, also have severe social consequences,

such as a rise in unemployment. Furthermore, there is

reason to fear that the continuation of the crisis will

only increase the debt of developing countries.

We find ourselves facing new difficulties just as

we are emerging from lengthy years of economic

recovery efforts under rigorous structural adjustment

programmes, resolutely implemented by our States in

cooperation with the international financial

institutions. Neither our efforts nor our sacrifices have

been in vain, and we believe that our gains, which are

the fruit of the commendable efforts of our peoples,

must unquestionably be preserved and supported.

The President took the Chair.

That is why we believe that, faced with the

harmful effects of the crisis, it is important that we all

work together towards a global, coordinated and

significant response for the benefit of the weakest

economies. In our view, that response should lead to

the provision of substantial financial resources free, as

far as possible, of conditionality and aimed at

mitigating or even compensating for the consequences

of a crisis that we could not avert.

Without such support, our developing countries

run the risk of seeing their economic activity decrease

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and the signs of the revival that they could reasonably

hope for disappear. It is evident that, over and above

development and improved living conditions, the peace

and stability of our countries depend on it. That also

holds true for international peace and security,

inasmuch as the numerous problems confronting the

world today — be it, for example, illegal immigration

or trafficking of every kind — arise partly from a real

lack of cooperation and solidarity, and thus call for

greater justice in international relations.

In that connection, I welcome the fortuitous

decision taken in London in April by the Group of 20

to recommend that the International Monetary Fund

(IMF) support the weakest economies through more

and softer loans, possibly with less conditionality.

Moreover, in that context, my country, Cameroon,

benefited from substantial financial support from the

IMF under the Exogenous Shocks Facility. I welcome

that support, and take this opportunity to thank

International Monetary Fund officials. That timely

support will strengthen the anticyclical measures that

we have adopted at the national and subregional levels,

fully aware that foreign aid is merely a buttress that

should not replace our own efforts.

Accordingly, in Cameroon, we have, inter alia,

strengthened the productive sectors and taken action to

reduce the prices of basic commodities and improve

the business climate. In the subregion, member

countries of the Central African Economic and

Monetary Community have agreed to adopt tax

incentives and to establish a support fund for the

sectors most affected by the crisis. Thus, while

welcoming assistance from the international

community, we are aware that it can bear fruit only if

based on stringent management and good governance

centred on the primacy of the public interest.

Moreover, it was in that spirit that a few years

back I recommended from this rostrum the

establishment within the United Nations of a global

ethics committee, for it is a combination of moral drift

and serious ethical deviations that is at the root of the

current global financial crisis. We trust that, in the near

future, we will surmount the crisis through collective

awareness and mobilization.

However, alongside with the financial and

economic crisis, we are concerned about other

important matters. The food crisis is still ravaging

many developing countries. The poverty reduction

struggle is far from being won. Global peace and

security are still threatened worldwide, particularly in

Africa. Climate change is each day becoming

increasingly worrisome, with visible consequences in

every country.

Regarding climate change in particular, Africa,

like other continents, has been hard hit despite its low

level of greenhouse gas emissions. Global warming, its

most salient feature, affects many socio-economic

sectors, including energy, health, agriculture, livestock

production, ecosystems and rapid desertification. In

this regard, the spectacular drying up of Lake Chad, the

surface of which has shrunk from 26,000 square

kilometres in the 1960s to 1,500 square kilometres

today, clearly requires significant collective action of

the Central African States which, in our opinion, needs

strong support from the international community. One

thing is certain: African countries are individually and

collectively pulling their full weight in the activity

necessary at the national, subregional and global levels

to provide concrete solutions to the challenge of

climate change.

Such participation is significant. In Cameroon, it

has taken the form of numerous actions, including the

establishment of a national environmental management

plan and the adoption at the subregional level of a

convergence plan for the sustainable management of

the Congo basin forest which, we are all aware, is the

world’s second largest.

The implementation of all these measures is very

costly, especially in terms of acquiring adapted

technologies, and requires our people to accept huge

sacrifices. Furthermore, without denying the fact that

the fate and future of the planet are everyone’s

business, it seems legitimate, in my opinion, to ask that

the peoples of Africa be duly compensated by the

international community for their efforts and sacrifices.

In this regard, we hope that the Copenhagen climate

conference scheduled for December will provide

satisfactory answers to the particular case of Africa.

Regarding world peace and security, we continue

to deplore the persistence of numerous conflicts or

hotbeds of tension, despite significant progress towards

a return to calm. I refer to the situations in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, Darfur and Somalia,

among others. Cameroon is playing an active role,

including by dispatching Cameroonian contingents, in

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the efforts to find lasting solutions to these conflicts,

which have lasted too long.

In this respect, I wish to hail the role of the

United Nations, which is making tireless efforts to

stabilize all these situations. However, if it is to be

more effective, the United Nations requires

commensurate human, financial and material resources.

Furthermore, the United Nations should be able to

reflect the common will of all its Members, large and

small, in order to ensure its effectiveness and

credibility. It must more clearly assert and further

strengthen its role as the crucible par excellence of

multilateralism, that is, a forum for the exchange of

ideas, solidarity, equity and equality where all the

voices and opinions of developed and developing

countries alike are expressed and taken into account.

These values go hand in hand with the dialogue

of civilizations proposed for our consideration at this

session. Such a dialogue should not ignore differences,

but rather promote diversity so as to foster knowledge

and mutual understanding among peoples. From this

perspective, the dialogue of civilizations or cultures

advocates tolerance and mutual respect and rejects all

forms of fanaticism that threaten international peace

and security.

That is the dual role that the United Nations, a

proving ground for multilateralism and crucible of the

dialogue of civilizations, must assume if it seeks to

embody the noblest and deepest aspirations of

humankind and satisfy our peoples’ expectations with

comprehensive and relevant solutions.

But the question is, how can the United Nations

fulfil this role if it does not adapt to the current trends

and changes in international relations? That is the

purpose of the recommendations we have been making

for the reform of the Security Council, the

revitalization of the General Assembly and the

strengthening of the means of action of the Secretary-

General. We therefore need to fast-track the overhaul

of an Organization that, through its universal nature,

symbolizes our common destiny and seeks to be our

common abode. For only a renewed United Nations

that is more democratic, more credible and more

efficient will be able to inspire peoples’ hopes and

trust.