Cape Verde, 1998

I take particular pleasure in

extending to Mr. Didier Opertti and to his country,

Uruguay, my congratulations on his election to preside over

the work of this session of the General Assembly. His

eminent qualities, as well as his diplomatic experience,

will undoubtedly ensure the success of our work.

I also express my deep appreciation for the wise

leadership his predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko,

imprinted on the work of the fifty-second session, thus

contributing to the positive results achieved.

My country appreciates highly the creativity and the

intellectual energy brought to United Nations affairs by

Secretary-General Kofi Annan since he took over, and we

particularly appreciate his efforts to streamline United

Nations structures.

My Government fully supported the United Nations

programme of reforms aimed at conferring more

coherence and efficiency on the activities of the United

Nations. We have no doubt that the streamlining of the

United Nations administration will have a positive impact

on the way the Organization handles the various and

complex issues confronting the international community.

The efforts made over recent years by the

international community, the Organization of African

Unity (OAU), the African subregional organizations and

by States individually to deal with the conflicts in the

African continent have produced some positive results,

some of them remarkable. This has contributed to the

restoration of peace and the return to normalcy in several

of the affected countries. However, the resurgence of new

conflicts and the reappearance of other conflicts which we

believed had already been resolved raise serious concerns,

particularly because of the threat they pose to peace and

stability even beyond national borders. This situation

raises the spectre of disastrous consequences for the

populations? well-being and security and casts a shadow

over the much-needed economic and social development

of the affected countries.

A strong commitment is required on the part of the

international community to find ways and means to deal

effectively with the armed conflicts in the African

continent. In Africa, as in any other region of the world,

internal conflicts arise whenever individuals or groups of

people have no channels through which they can funnel

their legitimate claims through peacefully and

democratically. In the end, the non-existence of dialogue,

the practice of intolerance and the absence of reliable

judicial means to deal with divergences are the shortest

path to armed conflict.

14

In his recent report to the Security Council on this

matter, the Secretary-General made a substantial

contribution to the understanding of the causes of conflict

in our continent and their relationship to development, good

governance, democracy and human rights.

Maintaining peace in fact becomes a difficult task

when we witness the deepening of social gaps; while the

overwhelming majority of the population has difficulty

obtaining the essentials; when fundamental rights of

populations or parts of them, including the right to

participate in the governance of their country, are not

recognized or respected; or when citizens or groups of

citizens are discriminated against on the basis of ethnic,

cultural, religious or political considerations.

This situation is compounded by the temptation of

outside interference aimed at imposing policies or exerting

influence on Governments — most of the time causing or

aggravating conflict situations.

The virus of violence and conflicts that plagues

African regions and countries thrives in the precarious

living conditions of millions of Africans and the non-

recognition in practice of the most fundamental rights of

citizenship. Whenever one faces rampant famine, illiteracy,

ignorance, illness and oppression, whenever human dignity

is not secured by the lofty ideals of full-fledged democracy,

or whenever the respect for human rights is not widely

upheld, then peace, stability and progress are in question.

It is evident that if one wants to reduce the occurrence

of armed conflicts it is imperative to uphold respect for the

fundamental rights of citizenship, tolerance and social

justice and to support the creation of better living

conditions that comes with economic development.

The United Nations, as the main guarantor of peace in

the world, has a major role to play in the mobilization of

the resources and political will needed to confront African

countries? colossal needs and overcome the prevalent

situation of underdevelopment and intolerance, which in the

end favour the occurrence or persistence of armed conflicts.

However, it must be recognized that it is up to African

States, their leaders — especially those that hold the reins

of power — and their respective civil societies to assume

courageously their responsibilities, particularly in respect of

the promotion of the sound and fair management of their

resources, the consolidation of democratic institutions, the

observation of and respect for the rights of citizenship and

the creation of a climate of tolerance and respect for the

dignity and liberty of the human person.

The sisterly country of Guinea-Bissau has gone

through a difficult period in her history over the last two

months, as it has been faced with an internal armed

conflict. My country, which together with the other

Portuguese-speaking countries shares with Guinea-Bissau

a long common history, has been following with

particular attention the situation unfolding in that sisterly

country and has not spared any effort in contributing to

the search for a political and negotiated solution to the

crisis.

In the framework of the Community of Portuguese-

Speaking Countries (CPLP) Contact Group, which we

have the honour to be coordinating, we will continue to

give our best efforts to support a peaceful resolution of

the crisis, and we hope that the joint mediation initiative

of the CPLP and the Economic Community of West

African States will come to play an efficient and decisive

role in the ongoing peace process.

We hope that the parties to the conflict will continue

to strictly observe the ceasefire agreement signed at Praia

on 25 August and will also continue to show tolerance to

enable Guinea-Bissau society to be reconciled soon.

The difficult situation prevailing in Angola, a

country to which we are bound by profound brotherly ties

and a long common history, demands a strong and

decisive commitment on the part of the international

community in order to restore as soon as possible

compliance with the obligations entered into in the

framework of the Lusaka Protocol, while bearing in mind

the relevant Security Council resolutions. Of particular

concern to my country is the spectre of new armed

confrontations in Angola, raised by UNITA?s regrettable

defiance. The brotherly people of Angola, who for many

years have been victimized by the prevailing situation of

war, have the right to peace, political stability and a

much-needed national reconciliation.

The current international financial crisis that recently

shook the economies of many countries, especially in

Asia, seems to raise increasing concerns for all of us. It

raises doubts about prospects for continuing the global

prosperity which, fuelled by economic growth, once

seemed so long-lasting. The former optimistic outlook has

lately been called into question, especially in respect to

developing nations, by a series of financial setbacks that

15

pose a threat to social stability, cohesion and peace in the

affected countries.

The rapid degradation of economies considered to be

healthy and in full expansion only months ago has been the

object of the special attention and concern of many that

have spoken from this rostrum in the last few days. The

fear and apprehensions that the stability of many States

may be affected negatively by the fallout resulting from the

dynamics of globalization raise justifiable concern,

particularly about the speculative attacks against the

economies of certain developing nations or the maintenance

of not so transparent management practices.

At question is the equilibrium of the world economy,

the disturbance of which may have disastrous

consequences — economic and otherwise — for all of us.

The ongoing democratization process taking place at

different rhythms in different countries could fall prey to

this situation. It could also lead to social and political

instability and give rise to risks to peace and security. It is

illusory to believe that the negative impact of such an

economic situation could be contained within the

boundaries of developing nations, since the phenomenon of

globalization seems to have created its own dynamics and

knows no boundaries.

The destinies of our countries, large and small alike,

industrialized or developing, are increasingly interlinked.

Therefore, it is imperative that collectively we find effective

solutions that facilitate the end of the crisis, promote

growth on a global scale and secure a sustainable rhythm of

social and economic development.

As a country severely affected by drought and

desertification, Cape Verde pays special attention to the

environment.

The environmental issues confronting mankind, as well

as of the relationship between man and nature, make it

incumbent upon us to act in a swift, efficient and global

manner so as to guarantee the preservation of the basic

conditions that make life possible on Earth. Our primary

task should be to find a global strategy that will maintain

the balance of our ecosystems and at the same time secure

the betterment of living conditions for the world?s

population.

However, this is easier said than done. Cape Verde

shares the view that, in order for us to confront the problem

of environmental degradation, we should take a new

approach to the dynamics of economic and social

development, an approach that focuses on the eradication

of poverty. Until this is done, not much can be achieved

in this regard, at least not in the developing countries.

Against this background, my Government has been

enacting various pieces of legislation to bring the issue of

the environment into its legal mainstream. However,

whatever legislative measures we and other developing

countries may enact, in order to reap the expected

environmental benefits, resources should be made

available by the international community to allow

developing nations to build their capacity to implement

their own environmental programmes in a sustained

manner.

The end of the cold war seemed to have created a

new dynamic for the issue of poverty through the Agenda

for Development. Awareness of this issue seems to have

been strengthened, since we cannot remain indifferent to

the extreme poverty that severely afflicts more than a

quarter of the planet?s inhabitants. The spirit of solidarity

that guided the Copenhagen Summit must today be

reflected in a gamut of concrete actions aimed at

supporting the huge efforts of developing countries in

their struggle against poverty, the creation of conditions

for sustainable development and, consequently, the

general improvement of people?s living conditions.

Cape Verde, within the framework of the

engagement undertaken at that Summit, has been adopting

the necessary measures to combat poverty in the country.

Nevertheless, like other developing nations, especially

those on the list of least developed countries, we find that

our internal efforts will not produce the expected results

without additional measures on the part of the

international community. We believe that the special

follow-up meeting to take place in the year 2000 should

be the occasion for a thorough assessment of the situation

and for the launching of concrete action targeted at the

effective implementation of the engagements undertaken

at the Copenhagen Conference.

By the same token, I cannot but emphasize the issue

of small island States, which, as is known, have special

challenges and vulnerabilities, a global assessment of

which will be made next year, in keeping with the

Barbados Programme of Action. It is expected that the

international community will commit itself to concrete

measures with a view to implementing the engagements

undertaken under that Programme, which is of particular

importance for the sustained development of the small

island States.

16

As we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the international

community should seize the occasion to make a detailed

assessment of the global performance in protecting and

realizing all the rights of the human person. To this end, an

assessment of the implementation of the Vienna Declaration

and Programme of Action over the last five years would

contribute much.

It should be borne in mind that the protection and

promotion of all human rights constitutes a major challenge

to mankind as we approach the next millennium.

Regrettably, throughout the world, political, ethnic or

religious intolerance, as well as armed conflicts, have

brought untold misery to millions of people whose

fundamental rights have been violated, including the

fundamental right to life. Special emphasis, in this regard,

should be put on the right to development, a fundamental

human right which, by its very nature, conditions the degree

and the modus of realization of the other human rights —

political, civil, social, cultural and economic rights.

Much talk has been heard on the issue of human

rights. It is not enough, however, to proclaim such rights or

to brag about them without at the same time ensuring the

conditions, including the economic conditions, for their

effective implementation, a task that especially requires

action on the part of the United Nations system and the

international community in general.

The people of East Timor are still deprived of their

fundamental rights, especially the inalienable right to

dispose of their own destiny. Cape Verde, in keeping with

the United Nations principles it has always upheld, once

again emphasizes the need for the observance of and

respect for the right of self-determination of the East

Timorese people, and encourages the efforts undertaken by

the international community, under the authority of the

Secretary-General, with a view to protecting and promoting

human rights in that territory, and finding a lasting solution

that is acceptable.

As we approach the next millennium, our countries are

faced with daunting challenges, and the Organization, which

has unequivocally scored some successes, should be capable

of coping with a rejuvenated role, one which should be

increasingly more humane and reflecting more solidarity,

aimed at the effective implementation of the lofty ideals

that are its foundation.