Central African Republic, 2002

The fifty-seventh session of the General

Assembly is being held one year after the terrible

terrorist attack of 11 September 2001. The delegation

of the Central African Republic still intimately feels

the strong emotion caused by that attack against liberty

and democracy.

The President of the Republic, the head of State,

His Excellency Ange-Félix Patassé, leading the

delegation of the Central African Republic to the

commemoration, wanted to reiterate his friendly

sympathy towards the American Government and

people, and to reassert the firm determination of his

country to do everything that is necessary in order to

contribute effectively to the legitimate international

crusade against all forms of terrorism. Our work is

starting within a particular context in the history of

international relations, because never has humanity

been so conscious of the need to confirm its cohesion

in order to ensure a world of concord, solidarity and

peace.

Before expanding on those facts, Mr. President, I

would like to express to Mr. Jan Kavan and the

members of the Bureau our warm congratulations on

his election to the presidency of this session. His rich

experience, as a great statesman and diplomat, will

ensure the success of our work. That work will benefit

from the full cooperation of the delegation of the

Central African Republic. I take this opportunity also

to express our admiration for his eminent predecessor,

Mr. Han Seung-soo, for the skill and competence with

which he carried out his responsibilities.

The determination with which the Secretary-

General of our Organization, Mr. Kofi Annan, is

working, under all circumstances, to make the

principles and ideals of the United Nations prevail,

once more elicits our admiration. The President of the

Republic, the people and the Government of the

Central African Republic, want hereby to assure you of

their support and reiterate their deep gratitude for all

the objective reports on the situation in the Central

African Republic.

Moreover, the entry of the Swiss Confederation to

the United Nations, and soon the entry of the

Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, are evidence of

the resolute march of our Organization towards

universality. The Central African Republic wishes to

welcome Switzerland and hopes to cooperate closely

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with that country within the framework of the United

Nations.

Two years ago, 189 Member States met in this

very hall. They set objectives for development for the

Millennium, such as the reduction of extreme poverty,

education for all, promotion of gender equality and the

empowerment of women, reduction of child mortality,

improvement of maternal health, fight against

HIV/AIDS and other diseases, such as malaria and

tuberculosis, preservation of a sustainable environment

and the establishment of a world partnership for

development. All States unanimously pledged, through

multilateral cooperation, to implement what is called

the Millennium Declaration in order to achieve those

objectives within 15 years.

The findings we made at the Millennium Summit

on the state of the world at that time showed serious

shortcomings with regard to our will to fulfil

collectively the ideals bequeathed to us by the founding

fathers of our Organization. However, through that

same will, we undertook, in the Millennium

Declaration, to re-examine these issues so as to set a

course for the world that corresponds to the aspirations

and expectations of the people.

However, this is far from what has happened. The

revolution in information and communications, the

progress of science and technology, the liberalization

of trade and the disappearance of State frontiers, while

accentuating the phenomenon of globalization, have at

the same time led the world into an uncertain and

unforeseeable future, to the point where the world

today is threatened in the short term with imbalance.

States should fully explore all the potential

offered by multilateral cooperation within the

framework of the United Nations, particularly to put a

stop to such threats. These threats, according to our

delegation, are essentially of four kinds.

The first of these, as you can expect, is the threat

that changed the world in one hour. It is called

terrorism. This diffuse form of organized trans-border

crime that foils armies, however powerful they may be,

cannot be tolerated. The reaction of the international

community to this new form of aggression must be

sustained by adhering to resolutions firmly condemning

such actions, and by observing a certain attitude

towards the countries and institutions that tolerate their

authors. Thus, all together, through solidarity and

multilateral cooperation, we shall conquer terrorism,

whether committed by a State or a small group.

The destruction of the environment, which

threatens our future, is also a real threat. We should

strive for the sustainable preservation of forests, fauna

and biodiversity for the benefit of present and future

generations. This subject was eloquently analysed at

the Summit on Sustainable Development, held recently

in Johannesburg. My delegation has no doubt that

international solidarity can here too be of help to

safeguard nature. We should like on this occasion to

express our gratitude for the American initiative,

supported by the international community, for the

protection of the Congo basin, of which the Central

African Republic is a member.

There is one threat, which does not need to be

named because it is so obvious, and that is poverty,

which — far from declining — has grown over the

years. The Declaration talks about reducing poverty,

but must we not first stop manufacturing it? Famine,

endemic disease, HIV/AIDS and malaria are the daily

lot of the two thirds of humankind living on barely $1 a

day. How can we fail to be moved by this? That fringe

of humanity calls merely for the solidarity that will

allow it to live in conditions worthy of our civilization.

In the face of the drying up of official

development assistance, and with respect to the failure

of certain development initiatives, the African

countries have felt that we need to develop some sort

of partnership with the countries of the North. They

have therefore proposed an original plan for the

development of Africa through the New Partnership for

Africa's Development. The delegation of the Central

African Republic fervently calls for the worldwide

support of the international community for the

implementation of the plan.

The many challenges defined at the Millennium

Summit in terms of goals to be attained, along with the

new plan for African development, will have no chance

of success unless they are fostered in an environment

of peace, security and stability. However, current

conditions do not give much cause for optimism,

although we note the occasional positive movement

towards the settlement of a few conflicts. Regional

crises remain, however, that are no less threatening to

peace.

Faithful to its doctrine, the Central African

Republic believes that the situation in the Middle East

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can be settled only through the strict implementation of

the relevant resolutions of the United Nations on this

subject. It deplores the escalation of violence in that

region.

In the context of its own regional and subregional

sphere, the Central African Republic highly appreciates

the latest developments in the situation in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, in particular the

signing of the Pretoria peace agreement with Rwanda

and the disengagement agreement signed with Uganda.

In conclusion, I am compelled to note that my

country, the Central African Republic, is the victim of

international ostracism and of indifference that borders

on contempt. How else is one to understand the silence

of the international community and the international

financial institutions in the face of calls for

intervention and of Security Council resolutions

following on the reports of the Secretary-General since

the notorious date of 20 May 2000, and despite the

appeals of the Organization of African Unity — now

the African Union — the Community of Sahel-Saharan

States and the Central African Economic and Monetary

Community? And yet, our country has come a very

long way with respect to good governance — that

fetishistic word! — in politics, economics and finance.

As of early 2002, the reduction of corruption is no

longer a figment of the imagination, as evinced by the

action undertaken in our financial offices.

My country's situation requires me to call

attention to the words of the Algerian writer Kateb

Yassin:

“Our blood must become enflamed and we must

catch fire in order to move the spectators. May

the world open its eyes not to our mortal remains,

but to the wounds of the survivors.”

The sustainable development we all dream of will

become a reality only if, here and now, we inject

solidarity into international relations.