Central African Republic, 2003

At the outset, I pay sincere tribute to

the President on his election to preside over the

Assembly at the fifty-eighth session, which is being

held in a particularly important context in this century.

His long experience and his expertise on international

issues, as well as the role that his country, Saint Lucia,

plays in the Caribbean region, guarantee that our work

will be a success.

I also congratulate the other members of the

Bureau, and cannot fail to commend the skill with

which the President’s distinguished predecessor, Mr.

Jan Kavan, of the Czech Republic, conducted the work

of the fifty-seventh session.

I reiterate to the Secretary-General the full

support of the Transitional Government of the Central

African Republic for his unceasing work at the head of

the Organization to ensure peace and security in a

world beset by terrorist threats and widespread

insecurity.

The Central African Republic joins those who

have honoured the memory of the United Nations

personnel who fell victim to the wanton violent act of

terrorism in Baghdad on 19 August, including Mr.

Sergio Vieira de Mello, and reiterates its sincere

sympathy to the Secretary-General. We appreciate his

decision to maintain the United Nations mission in

Iraq, despite everything.

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For a decade, the General Assembly has adopted

many recommendations, whose implementation has not

always brought solutions to our diverse shared

concerns.

Before my delegation contributes its appraisal of

the state of the world, against the backdrop of the many

challenges of the twenty-first century, I would like, on

behalf of His Excellency François Bozizé, President of

the Central African Republic, and of the Republic’s

Government and people, to express the wish that our

meetings may be crowned with success.

A world that cherishes peace, progress, solidarity

and concord is the objective to which the entire world

aspires and the main philosophy of the founding fathers

of the United Nations. Indeed, when peace is not

assured, various crises ensue. Aggravating factors like

destitution, penury, extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS,

tuberculosis and malaria, combined with intolerance,

injustice, indifference and social inequality, greatly

threaten the balance of peace in many regimes of the

world, and particularly in the Central African Republic.

It was against this background that a surge in

patriotism occurred on 15 March this year in the

Central African Republic as the outcome of a process

to which all the leading lights of the nation contributed.

The situation that prevailed in my country before

15 March was the subject of several debates, and

unsuccessful attempts at settlement, by the Security

Council, the African Union’s/Central Organ of the

Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and

Resolution, the Central African Economic and

Monetary Community (CAEMC) and the Community

of Sahelo-Saharan States. A number of bilateral

initiatives also failed.

I reiterate once again the gratitude of the

Government and people of the Central African

Republic to the Secretary-General, the United Nations

Peace-building Support Office in the Central African

Republic, the Security Council members and

particularly friendly countries, who generously

contributed to supporting the Central African people at

an extremely difficult time.

Since 15 March the resolve of the Transitional

Government to work for a return to normal

constitutional life has resulted in significant advances,

in the framework of the implementation of

commitments according to the following timetable:

May 2003, establishment of the National Transition

Council to replace Parliament;. September 2003, the

holding of a national dialogue for the Central Africans

to examine the deep causes of their long-standing

confrontations; 2004, holding of a constitutional

referendum; the third quarter of 2004, presidential

elections; and fourth quarter of 2004, municipal and

legislative elections.

This consensual transition, scheduled to end in

January 2005, should establish security throughout the

country, improve public finances and revive the

economic and social sectors, which are engines of

growth.

These main points of our overall policy and of the

Transitional Government’s economic and social

recovery strategy now being implemented are

supported and commended by the neighbouring

countries in general, and in particular by the members

of CAEMAC, which acknowledge the work of the new

regime.

The member countries of the United Nations

Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in

Central Africa, at their nineteenth ministerial meeting,

held in Brazzaville from 14 to 17 May this year,

expressed their support for the change that had

occurred in Bangui in a declaration, and appealed to

the international community to provide assistance to

the Central African Republic.

The exhaustive report of the situation before

15 March presented by the President of the Republic,

His Excellency General François Bozizé, to the special

summit of CAEMAC devoted exclusively to the

situation in the Central African Republic led heads of

State and of delegations to understand and support the

Transitional Government’s efforts to bring about a

return to constitutional order. Clear signs of the

significant progress in establishing national

reconciliation and restoring constitutional and

democratic order are the fruitful discussions with many

friendly countries and partners, the consultations

between the Central African Republic and the

European Union which have been going on since

22 May, and the fact-finding visit to Bangui from 17 to

21 August of the Committee of Ambassadors of the

African, Caribbean and Pacific States.

In his introductory report to the Millennium

Summit, the Secretary-General recalled that people are

the purpose of any activity. Nothing could be more

true. My delegation would like to see the United

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Nations regain its authority in order to help promote

human rights, democracy and development throughout

the world.

Protecting and guaranteeing human rights

contributes to a country’s national concord and to the

strengthening of its democracy. This was so well

understood by the Central African Republic that on

15 March we chose consensual governance, at the

centre of which the well-being of the citizens and the

protection and guarantee of their rights are the highest

priorities.

Implementing this will require resources that

permit the widespread promotion of human rights and

social development. My delegation hopes that the

United Nations will become more involved, at the

beginning of this third millennium, in international

action to create a true human rights culture. To do this,

the United Nations needs to reform, renew itself and

adapt to today’s world. It will have to rationalize its

procedures, methods and approaches to all questions

within its purview.

It will be understood that my delegation would

like to see the Security Council reformed, so that it

may better discharge its noble mission. Even if the veto

is not as abused as it was during the cold war, Security

Council membership needs to be reformulated, both at

the level of permanent membership and non-permanent

membership, in order to reflect the new realities of our

world. This is the view of the delegation of the Central

African Republic.

The need for a new approach in relations between

States means that we all need to make a real

commitment. This led to the adoption of the

Constitutive Act of the African Union as an expression

of the desire of Africa to meet, together with the

United Nations, all the challenges of the twenty-first

century. My country will spare no effort to promote

this new dynamism.