Cape Verde, 2002

I would like

at the outset to congratulate you, Sir, on your election

to preside over the General Assembly at this session.

We are confident that with your renowned skills and

diplomatic experience you will guide the work of

Assembly to a very successful conclusion. I assure you

that you will be able to count on the full support of the

delegation of Cape Verde.

I would like to acknowledge the strong leadership

and guidance of you predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-soo,

who presided over the Assembly during a particularly

difficult time, when important steps were taken to

improve the efficiency of the General Assembly with

view to reinforcing the role of our Organization in

resolving the issues confronting the international

community.

Allow me also to convey a special word of

appreciation to Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the

wise and capable manner in which he has guided the

United Nations, especially in managing the millennium

agenda, which has produced particularly important

results for the international community, such as the

outcomes of the Monterrey and Johannesburg summits.

Cape Verde welcomes the admission of the Swiss

Confederation to the United Nations. We are sure that

Switzerland's presence in the United Nations can only

be of to benefit the Organization, given that country's

valuable and renowned diplomatic experience.

Likewise, we welcome the forthcoming

admission of East Timor to the United Nations. At this

time, I am pleased to recall that Cape Verde has always

stood by the Timorese people in their struggle for self-

determination and independence. That young country

and its people have paid a very high price in order to

have their right to existence be recognized. It is

therefore a duty of the community of nations to

mobilize all the support necessary to enable that young

democracy to affirm itself and to make up for the

decades lost to destruction and violence.

The tragic events that struck vital and emblematic

centres in the United States on 11 September 2001

deeply shocked the world. The whole international

community mobilized itself and expressed its solidarity

with the United States of America, while at the same

time adopting measures adjusted to the challenges

posed by international terrorism. Cape Verde was

among the countries that reacted promptly to Security

Council resolution 1373 (2001) and remains firmly

committed to its implementation.

The shockwaves of that catastrophe were felt in

all latitudes and affected many different aspects of the

relations between States. These are reflected adversely

in lack of economic growth; in increased expenditures

for defence and security and the consequent impact on

the distribution of resources; and in the daily routines

of citizens of every country in the world through

restrictions on the mobility of people. In certain

regions of the world, there is an increased risk of

military confrontation that, should it occur, would have

immeasurable consequences.

Thus, today, the question of international security

has assumed unprecedented importance in the relations

between States, and the United Nations is called upon

to play a decisive role in its assessment and

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management. Diplomatic means should be privileged

and pursued in the context of the Security Council.

A safer world is a more just world. It is crucial

that the United Nations strengthen its intervention and

coordination capacities in international cooperation to

promote economic and social development as the

guarantee of a climate of peace and security throughout

the world. It is impossible to create a climate of peace

and security while more than half of the world's

population remains subject to poverty, malnutrition,

disease and ignorance. The international community

has to strengthen its commitment to ensure that the

millennium goals are achieved in time to give meaning

to the lives of millions of our brothers and sisters,

especially those in the least developed countries, who

today look to the future without any hope.

At the expense of great efforts, determination and

high social cost, many of those countries have

implemented the deep reforms required by their

bilateral partners and international financial

institutions. Regretfully, in many cases, instead of

receiving increased support to consolidate the reforms,

these countries are being devastated by their debt

burden, public development assistance is being

gradually reduced and they have yet to enjoy access to

foreign private investments. The populations are,

however, still waiting for the reforms to produce the

promised results.

It was against this backdrop that the Monterrey

and Johannesburg summits prompted great

expectations, but the results turned out to be relatively

modest. Even so, if the consensuses reached at those

summits are effectively implemented, they may

constitute an important starting point for developing

countries. The financial commitments announced in

Monterrey and the goals set in Johannesburg in the

vital sectors of water and sanitation are a contribution

of particular importance to the implementation of the

millennium goals. The most important thing now is that

the decisions adopted actually be implemented and

efforts redoubled in order to reach new consensus in

the other sectors essential to the planet's sustainable

development.

Cape Verde recognizes the efforts that have been

made by the United Nations to foster the development

of the least developed countries and small island

States. In this regard, we welcome the creation of the

Office of the High Representative for the Least

Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing

Countries and Small Island Developing States, in

accordance with the decisions of the Third United

Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.

Cape Verde has achieved positive results in its

struggle for economic and social development. The

people of my country have demonstrated an enhanced

political maturity that ensures stability and peace and

the normal functioning of democratic institutions.

Power changes have taken place at both the local and

the national levels. The most recent United Nations

Human Development Report ranked Cape Verde in a

privileged position on the African continent.

However, in spite of significant advances made in

the past 20 years at the political, social and economic

levels, Cape Verde suffers from a structural imbalance

between national production and domestic expenditures

that has resulted in a permanent deficit in the balance

of current transactions, as well as other economic

imbalances. Unemployment is high and poverty affects

a significant portion of the population.

The country's development has been marked by

advances and setbacks prompted by its natural

economic vulnerability as a small island with a lack of

natural resources, a weak production base and a strong

dependence on external financial flows. These

conditions are aggravated by the country's location in

the Sahel region, which subjects it to prolonged

droughts that weaken the environment.

In light of all this, and given the low rainfall

registered to date, we are facing the prospect of another

difficult year. This has prompted the Government to

adopt emergency measures to alleviate the effects of

drought on the most vulnerable. To that end, we have

called for the solidarity of all Capeverdeans while, at

the same time, we hope to be able to rely on the active

support of the international community.

Poverty is another of Cape Verde's limitations

and poverty reduction is one of the major challenges

facing Capeverdean society. At this time, we are

working in collaboration with our bilateral partners and

United Nations agencies on medium- and long-term

strategies to combat poverty.

In the coming years, the country will have to find

rapid and durable solutions in order to maintain the

fundamental macroeconomic balances, further and

consolidate structural reforms, expand the production

6

base and create competitive advantages for the

economy at both the external and the internal levels

in short, solutions leading to economic growth and a

reduction of the unemployment rate. In that context,

our efforts are more than ever in need of the proper

partnerships and foreign private investment so that we

may pursue the country's development process begun

with national independence in 1975.

We are pleased to note that some encouraging

signs have begun to appear on our continent. There is a

fresh wind blowing in Africa. This year, we saw the

birth of a new continental organization, the African

Union, as well as a new and original partnership, the

New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

With these were also born renewed hopes for a more

promising future for the African people. The globally

favourable reception to these two African initiatives is

a good omen for the continent. Africa thus seems to be

on its way towards finding its own path by

strengthening its endogenous capacities to resolve the

problems inherited from colonization and conflicts

often prompted by external interests. Africa seems to

be on the way to finding its own path by strengthening

its endogenous capacity to resolve the problems

inherited from colonization and to settle conflicts often

prompted by external interests.

In fact, the African Union and NEPAD are based

on a new foundation, as well as a new environment in

our continent that is opening new prospects for peace

and development. We note with satisfaction the

substantial progress made in Angola, Sierra Leone and

the Great Lakes region, which points to the definitive

resolution of conflicts that a year ago did not seem to

have a solution. In that context, we should recognize

the important role of the efforts of the United Nations

and the Organization for African Unity in seeking

solutions to those conflicts, as well as the decisive

action that some countries have taken to promote

understanding between belligerent parties.

We congratulate the Angolan Government and

UNITA on finally having found the solution to a

conflict that for many years devastated that country.

The political conditions are now in place to carry out

the enormous task of national reconstruction. However,

the gravity of the humanitarian situation demands

substantial support from the international community

to help the Angolans find a rapid and suitable solution

that will prevent their problems from growing.

The positive signs that could predict a new era for

Africa should not cause us to lose sight of the scope

and the complexity of the challenges we face, which

result from historical circumstances, environmental

disasters and an accumulation of human errors. The

most recent report of the United Nations Conference on

Trade and Development on least developed countries

points out that sub-Saharan Africa is poorer today than

it was 20 years ago. At the same time, the evaluation of

economic progress made in the past decade within the

framework of the United Nations New Agenda for the

Development of Africa in the 1990s is disappointing.

On the other hand, the spread of pandemics, in

spite of certain limited success in the fight against

them, and the serious food shortages that have affected

southern Africa reveal the seriousness and persistence

of the problems that Africans must solve.

The fact that United Nations cooperation with

Africa is being strengthened is noteworthy. That is

attested to by the increased attention being devoted to

the continent's problems. Examples are recent Security

Council meetings that have focused on the situation in

the continent, the creation of an Ad Hoc Advisory

Group of the Economic and Social Council on

countries emerging from conflict and yesterday's

General Assembly meeting devoted to NEPAD. In that

context, we would also note some of the decisions

stemming from the Monterrey and Johannesburg

summits.

It is our hope that this session of the General

Assembly will make an important contribution to

facing the challenges and will enable the United

Nations to strengthen its role as a promoter of peace,

understanding and cooperation among all people of the

world.