Chad, 1992

In addressing the

General Assembly this afternoon from this rostrum, I should like first of all

to offer Mr. Ganev my warmest congratulations on his unanimous election as

President for the forty-seventh session. His great experience is

unquestionably a most valuable assurance for the international community

during this tumultuous period in the world, a world which is seeking peace,

security and well-being. He can count on the strong support and the full

cooperation of the Chadian delegation, which it is my privilege to head.

Ambassador Samir Shihabi, his predecessor, won our admiration with the

tact and skill with which he handled the serious questions that arose during

the period of his mandate. We express to him our fullest appreciation for his

valuable contribution.

Less than 10 months after the beginning of his term of office, the

Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, has put his stamp on the

Organization and has been called upon to play a role of growing importance in

the life of free peoples and nations. We wish him ever-greater successes and

offer him our support in the execution of his weighty duties. We have no

doubt he will discharge his tasks with his well-known skill and tenacity.

I should also like to extend a warm welcome to the new Members of the

Organization. Their presence here cannot but strengthen the universality of

the United Nations, the goal of whose founding fathers was to bring together

all peoples, put an end to the scourge of war and other forms of conflict, and

above all to ensure socio-economic development and fraternity among men.

At the last session of the General Assembly my delegation set forth the

changes that had taken place in Chadian politics. We announced the enactment

of the law on the conditions for the creation and functioning of political

parties in the framework of pluralistic democracy and on the holding of a

national sovereign conference scheduled for May 1992. It goes without saying

that a meeting of such crucial importance for the future of the country had to

be most carefully and rigorously prepared if optimum results were to be

achieved. Thus, it was not possible to convene the conference on the

scheduled date because the commission in charge of preparations for it did not

submit its conclusions in time.

Today I am in a position to announce from this rostrum that the Chad's

national sovereign conference will take place during the first quarter of

1993, at the latest. This is a solemn commitment and one that has been

repeatedly reaffirmed. Similarly, I reiterate here and now that the

democratic process under way in my country is irreversible.

Looking forward to this important date, and with a desire to bring

together the largest possible number of our fellow citizens in the daily

management of the affairs of the State, President Idriss Deby decided, after

long consultations, to modify the National Charter which has governed Chad

since 4 March 1991. On this basis, Mr. Joseph Yodoyman, a member of the

opposition, has been appointed Prime Minister and Head of Government. The new

Government includes both representatives of the opposition parties and

representatives of ordinary citizens. This forward-looking government has set

for itself the objective of pursuing the orientation plan presented to the

donors and sponsors of Chad in Geneva in June 1990. Stress has been laid on

disengagement of the State, privatization, liberalization of the economy and

sector-based development, with priority given to competence and experience in

the administration and to maintaining a dialogue with our social partners.

Like many other countries on the continent, Chad is confronting an

unprecedented economic and financial crisis. To deal with the crisis, the

Government adopted a number of measures to stabilize public finances. These

measures included: an increase in individual income taxes; a 50 per cent

decrease in compensation given to all governmental and related workers; a

10 to 20 per cent reduction in indexed income; a 20 per cent reduction in

lump-sum income; a 10 per cent reduction of the numbers working in public

administration; and a reduction in State spending. These measures, which

affect workers in both the public and the private sectors, encountered the

vigorous opposition of the trade unions, leading to days of strikes in May,

June, July and August 1992.

Although the strikes were conducted lawfully, the Government had no

choice but to maintain these measures, the overriding necessity of which was

repeatedly underscored in the face of limited national resources. To make it

possible for these measures to have effect, the Government is at the present

time negotiating with social partners a social truce that will apply to the

rest of the year.

The Chadian people, officials and agents of the public and private

sectors have a moral obligation to endure these sacrifices if they are to be

able to look forward to the future with greater hope and serenity. With a

view to reducing expenditures and establishing balance, the Government is

pursuing its programme of restructuring the army. In this respect a protocol

agreement has been signed with France which should make it possible to reduce

the army from 50,000 to 25,000 men and to integrate all forces into a truly

national army. This means that the French Government is giving us technical

and financial assistance in this tremendous undertaking.

In connection with this programme, my country has not lost sight of

questions of security at the regional level, and we have taken part in

subregional cooperative meetings in this regard. At the initiative of the

10 States members of Central Africa, the United Nations General Assembly

adopted by consensus on 6 December 1991 resolution 46/37 B entitled "Regional

confidence-building measures". In keeping with this resolution, on

28 May 1992 the Secretary-General of the United Nations announced the creation

of the Permanent Consultative Committee on Questions of Security in Central

Africa. The Committee is charged with developing confidence-building

measures, promoting the limitation of armaments and furthering development in

the subregion of Africa. From 27-30 July 1992, in Yaounde, Cameroon, the

Committee held its organizational meeting at the ministerial level, with the

assistance of the Office of Disarmament Affairs of the United Nations

Department of Political Affairs. In its final report on this meeting, the

Committee laid down, among other measures within the framework of

peace-building, assistance for restructuring the army and providing new job

training to military personnel. We place tremendous hopes in the results of

this meeting and expect eventually to benefit from this assistance as we

endeavour completely to reorganize our army.

During the most critical periods of its history Chad has always enjoyed

the invaluable support of the international community, and the Chadian people

and Government are particularly grateful for this. Today again we urge all

our partners to help us to carry out our ongoing stabilization programmes, and

to stimulate economic activity in the country. These programmes have been

laid down in a political context that has not always been conducive to the

process of democratization that had been begun. Indeed, there have been here

and there pockets of resistance to change, leading to instances of rebellion

that have been put down thanks to the Government's policy of reaching out and

promoting dialogue. Several peace agreements have thus been signed with

rebellious movements, with the support of friendly countries, which deserve

our heartfelt gratitude.

Our joy at the ending of the cold war, which led to the beginning of a

fruitful dialogue in the Security Council, is matched by our concern at a

resurgence of certain problems such as injustice, ultranationalism, racism and

religious fundamentalism, all of which are potential sources of conflict. The

Chadian delegation would like to pay a well-deserved tribute to the

Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for his report, "An Agenda for

Peace", which gives us valuable guidelines towards achieving a more secure,

peaceful and just world.

But, as I said, there remain many sources of potential concern. In

Europe, for example, an area that had been spared violent upheavals thus far/

we are now helplessly witnessing a situation that defies the conscience of the

world. The breakup of the former Yugoslavia could have led to relationships

other than those based on war, particularly since the birth of that country

had been accompanied by much suffering. We denounce practices such as "ethnic

cleansing", a notion we had thought definitively eradicated from the language

of modern nations. Chad believes that, whether in the States that have

emerged from the former Yugoslavia or elsewhere, our conduct should be guided

by the hallowed principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of

all other related instruments.

On the other hand, the Chadian delegation welcomes the evolution of the

situation in Cambodia and expresses the hope that this most ambitious

operation undertaken by the United Nations will be successfully concluded, as

is so ardently desired by the international community and by the Cambodian

people, who have suffered long enough.

Turning now to the situation in the Middle East and Palestine, my

delegation observes that the process which began last year in Madrid has

continued towards a lasting solution to the Arab-Israeli crisis. The results

of the Washington meetings, however, have fallen short of expectations. While

we believe that a certain dynamism emerged, this will lead to success only if

the relevant United Nations resolutions are taken into account in good faith

thus showing a clear determination to restore peace and security in that part

of the world.

Even if the end of the confrontation between the two blocs has led to

certain bright spots in Africa, with the logic of peace at work in Angola and

Mozambique, even if democratization has made considerable progress, peace and

harmony are not yet at home in many parts of the continent.

For example, in South Africa, notwithstanding the positive initiatives of

the minority Government, we must continue to condemn manoeuvres aimed at

setting some peoples against others in an attempt to justify a system that

belongs to another age. The international community must bring sustained

pressure to bear to ensure that the vestiges of primitive racism will yield to

a democratic, multiracial and egalitarian South African society.

My country also deplores the break-up of the Somalian nation as a result

of the appetites of certain warlords there. It is high time that we put an

end to this abominable carnage whose victims are always the same: women and

children.

We strongly support the current initiatives of the Organization of

African Unity, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the

United Nations, and we urge the heads of the Somali factions to sit down at

the negotiating table and try to put an end to the terrible tragedy of the

Somali people.

Liberia symbolizes the freedom of the black man. For the past two years

it has been bogged down in a war that has taken a heavy toll in human lives

and economic infrastructure. We appeal to the sense of responsibility of the

primary leaders of that country and urge them to heed the voice of reason.

Civil war in the last decade of the twentieth century is a major

challenge to the constantly expressed desire for peace and security. In the

recent past Chad has experienced internal crises, so we are hardly in a

position to preach to anyone. But we still believe that a sincere commitment

to disarmament or rigorous control of the transfer of conventional weapons,

which are flooding zones of tension or open conflict, is an absolute necessity.

My delegation welcomes the opening of the Register on Conventional Arms

established by the Secretary-General. However, we have no illusions as long as

there are secret sales of weapons, which are a source of income for certain

suppliers and a means of acquiring power for the many beneficiaries.

If today, with a degree of optimism, everybody could agree there is a

real desire for change and progress in the world with regard to democracy and

human rights, the economic situation in many developing countries of Africa,

Latin America and Asia remains particularly disturbing notwithstanding some

progress that has been made. The cold statistics of the United Nations

Development Programme, the World Bank and the United Nations give us food for

thought. The economic situation of the developing countries requires urgent

solutions.

As was stressed by the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali at

the eighth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development,

"The economic crisis that results from weakening investments and the slow

growth of democratic institutions has threatened the national stability

of these countries and their political future. Zones of poverty, which

far from beginning absorbed are only spreading, are potential sources of

violence and confrontation. The proof has already been given that these

areas could flare up in ethnic, tribal or national conflicts. Therefore

lasting development is an essential factor in the establishment of world

peace and stability, which is undeniably in the mutual interest of all

the members of the international community, whether developed or

developing."

My delegation supports that analysis, and we urge the international

community to implement without delay the various instruments that have been

adopted thus far, in particular the Declaration on International Economic

Co-operation, more specifically the growth the development of the developing

countries.

If there is one question that is of concern to all the members of the

international community, it is the challenge of the environment. My country

is located in a Sahelian area and daily witnesses the deterioration of its

environment, so we attach special importance to this question at both the

national and regional levels. However, the universality of the question means

that it can be tackled only within the framework of international co-operation

based on interdependence and solidarity. While we welcomed the Rio Conference

on the Environment and Development, we still believe that its results will not

put an end to the many and varied threats to the environment if real substance

is not given to the concept of sustainable development.

Over the past few years human rights have played a preponderant role in

the lives of nations. New concepts that are still vaguely defined have

emerged. However, political pluralism alone will not solve all the problems

of more than half of mankind. That is why we hope that at the 1993 Conference

all questions concerning human rights will be tackled.

The United Nations is revived and refreshed as a result of the end of the

era of confrontation between the super-Powers. The Organization has recorded

astounding successes in such varied fields as decolonization and the

maintenance of international peace and security thanks to the Blue Helmets who

are scattered around the world, notwithstanding the difficulties that have

been encountered in implementing the ideals of the Charter.

One such ideal is the need for solidarity among peoples, and that

solidarity can be realized only if we take into account the elementary needs

of those who are destitute. On the threshold of the twenty-first century, men

must show that, having avoided a nuclear holocaust, they are now capable of

building a universal peace through development.