Chad, 1998

At

the outset, I should like, on my own personal behalf and on

behalf of the Republic of Chad, to express our great

pleasure and congratulations on your brilliant election, Sir,

to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-third

session. The confidence placed in you to guide our work

reflects the international community?s recognition of the

contribution of your country, Uruguay, to the defence of the

ideals of the United Nations. Your competence and

experience reinforce our conviction that you will conduct

our work with success. Please be assured of the support and

cooperation of the delegation of the Republic of Chad in

the accomplishment of your task.

I cannot continue without first expressing all my

delegation?s gratitude to your predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Y.

Udovenko of Ukraine, who, during his term of office,

worked with such dedication, competence and tact on the

many pressing issues calling for mankind?s attention.

I also pay a well-deserved tribute to our Secretary-

General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his constant efforts to

strengthen the role of our Organization on the

international scene, especially in the quest for

international peace and security. In this context, may he

rest assured of the renewed support of the Republic of

Chad for the reforms that are needed to make our

Organization better able to achieve its goals in the context

of the rapid changes sweeping the world.

The ever growing problems facing humankind —

including, inter alia, civil wars, famine, epidemics and

pandemics, terrorism, and the evils of globalization and

mondialisation — are making our United Nations

increasingly sought after to solve them. More than ever,

the Organization needs the genuine cooperation of each of

its Members in support of its efforts to ensure

international peace and security, the sine qua non for

economic and social development. The ongoing

participation of the Republic of Chad in the work of this

Assembly; its payment of all its arrears, despite its

financial difficulties; and the presence of elements of the

Chad Armed Forces in the Inter-African Mission to

Monitor the Implementation of the Bangui Agreements

(MISAB) and, later, in the United Nations Mission in the

Central African Republic (MINURCA) bear witness to

our desire to cooperate with our Organization in the

accomplishment of its noble mission. But this effort

would never have been possible had we not first sought

to stabilize the situation in our own country, which, until

recently, was beset by a civil war fuelled by all types of

outside interference.

In fact, since 1 December 1990, when President Idriss

Deby came to power, Chad has resolutely followed the path

of national reconciliation and pluralistic democracy. The

rule of law has become a tangible reality, based on the

Constitution adopted by referendum on 31 March 1996,

which was followed by presidential and legislative

elections. In order to complete the process of

democratization, the Government, together with the

National Assembly, is establishing the other institutions

provided for in the Constitution.

In this respect, I am pleased to point to the adoption

by my country?s National Assembly, in early 1998, laws on

the Supreme Court and the High Court of Justice. The bill

on the Constitutional Council is currently being considered.

At its next session, the National Assembly will consider a

bill on decentralization.

In the economic sphere, I would note that the extreme

poverty in my country is not irreversible, since we have

excellent opportunities to emerge from it. This conviction

has prompted my Government to take the course of

economic and financial reform with the principal goals of

restoring the macroeconomic balance, disengaging the State

from public enterprise and promoting the private sector.

Thus, since July 1995, the Government of Chad has

adopted a medium-term strategy for economic recovery.

This is aimed at laying the foundations for sustainable

economic and social development.

In this framework, a structural adjustment programme

has been adopted in order to achieve high and sustained

economic growth, reduced external imbalances and

strengthened competitiveness. This programme, supported

by the International Monetary Fund in the framework of a

triennial agreement under its Enhanced Structural

Adjustment Facility, covering the period 1995-1998, has

also enjoyed financial assistance from the World Bank and

other multilateral donors.

Apart from our hopes for agriculture and animal

husbandry in the fight against poverty, we rely on the

important mineral and oil resources beneath Chadian soil.

The exploitation of our oil is one of my Government?s

priorities, because with the expected oil revenue, Chad?s

income will increase substantially early in the next century,

not to mention the fact that the flow of oil investments will

also generate important added value for local enterprises.

In this respect, we have tirelessly reaffirmed that oil

income will be allocated to the fight against poverty and

will help to finance health, social and educational materials;

the modernization of agriculture and husbandry; and

infrastructure and environment. In other words, the entire

population of Chad will benefit from this oil manna.

In this respect, we stress the fact that Chad is one of

the rare countries of the world that is managing such a

sensitive endeavour as oil exploitation in all transparency.

Meetings and seminars with the various sectors of civil

society and open parliamentary debates have been

organized by the Government in order to explain this

endeavour in all its aspects.

Despite the political and economic advances in my

country, we deplore the campaign of lies that is being led

against my Government. Indeed, for some time now,

disinformation and untruths have been spread among the

international institutions and some friendly countries

about both the oil question and the human rights situation

in Chad.

Nonetheless, my country has made considerable

progress in the area of human rights. We have ratified the

main international instruments relating to human rights

and have suppressed all extraordinary judicial procedures,

such as the court martial established in 1991. To better

guarantee respect for human rights, we have established

a national commission for human rights, which chooses

at its own discretion the questions to be considered and

governs its own activities.

After more than three decades of civil war, foreign

interference and ruthless dictatorships, Chad, thanks to the

determination of its people, has succeeded in turning the

dark pages of its history and in making the necessary

institutional reforms for the establishment of a state of

law and pluralist democracy, and it now legitimately

expects the international community?s help in fulfilling

the fundamental right of the people of Chad to economic

and social development.

In this respect, I solemnly invite friendly countries

and international institutions, governmental and non-

governmental alike, interested in Chad?s development to

participate extensively in the Geneva IV round table, to

be held from 20-22 October 1998, on strategic

development options for Chad for 1998-2001.

Our appeal for the development of our country

would be incomplete if we were not to raise a serious

subject of concern, the improvement of our environment,

which has been endangered by the approximately 1

million mines that infest a large part of our national

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territory and prevent all development activity. In this

respect, we reiterate the appeal for international assistance

made here by President Idriss Deby at the commemoration

of the fiftieth anniversary of our Organization and reiterated

by our delegation at the fifty-second session of the General

Assembly.

Our concerns about domestic policy in no way divert

our attention from the international situation. In Africa, we

are gratified at the progress made in settling conflicts

through negotiation. This applies particularly to Western

Africa, under the auspices of the Economic Community of

West African States (ECOWAS), particularly in Liberia,

Sierra Leone and, more recently, in Guinea-Bissau.

The efforts undertaken in the Central African Republic

first by MISAB and then by MINURCA have yielded

satisfactory results. My country is proud to have been a

participant in these efforts since 1996. We are duty-bound

to work towards consolidating peace, which remains fragile

in that fraternal neighbouring country. The legislative

elections will be an important stage in the peace process,

and the elections therefore call for the full support of the

international community. A premature withdrawal of

MINURCA, before these elections which are but one stage

of the process, would endanger the costly efforts made for

peace. In these troubling times throughout Central Africa,

we appeal for much more patience in order to enable the

international community to assist the Central African people

even farther along the path of national reconciliation and

security, as the United Nations does everywhere.

The strengthening of existing structures for the

prevention, management and settlement of conflicts in

Africa must be encouraged and firmly supported by the

international community, regardless of whether it is a

matter for the Standing Advisory Committee on Security

Questions in Central Africa or the United Nations Regional

Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa, located at

Lomé, Togo.

Despite the existence of these mechanisms, hotbeds of

tension have emerged here and there in Africa, dangerously

threatening peace and security on that continent, which

more than ever needs peace and security for its economic

recovery. Thus, we deplore the persistent situation of war

in the countries of the Great Lakes region, and particularly

the ravages of war in the Democratic Republic of the

Congo. It is urgently necessary that genuine efforts be made

by the international community under the aegis of the

Organization of African Unity (OAU), with the cooperation

of the States of the region, so that the Democratic Republic

of the Congo can exercise its right to national

reconciliation, the unity of its sons and daughters, its

territorial integrity and national sovereignty. This means

the withdrawal of the forces of aggression that occupy the

entire eastern part of that brotherly country.

With respect to Angola, Chad believes that

Mr. Jonas Savimbi is the only party responsible for the

deterioration of the situation. We therefore make a

heartfelt appeal to the international community and the

Security Council to acknowledge the new direction taken

by UNITA and to provide it the assistance necessary to

promptly achieve the terms of the Lusaka Protocol.

In the Horn of Africa, the armed conflict between

Ethiopia and Eritrea threatens peace in that part of the

continent. The relative calm obtained, thanks to OAU

mediation, must be observed in order to facilitate

negotiations with a view to a peaceful settlement of the

dispute between those two fraternal countries.

Close to those two countries, the situation of latent

war in Somalia is far from reassuring. In that country,

where the different factions in conflict are sowing terror,

war could break out at any time. It is important to make

a concerted effort to reintegrate that country into the

international community.

The consequences of these hotbeds of tension

afflicting the African continent can be measured in the

number of homeless people and refugees moving from

one country to another in search of a land that will

welcome them, not to mention the very high number of

innocent victims, including maimed and starving

individuals.

Having recently suffered the horrors of war

ourselves, our country is keenly aware of the value of

peace and appeals to the collective conscience to bring an

end to the multiple tragedies affecting innocent African

populations.

The same challenges confront us in Bosnia and

Herzegovina, where the implementation of the Dayton

Agreement must be firmly supported so that a lasting

peace can be established in that part of the world.

In Afghanistan, Chad urges the Taliban in power in

Kabul and the opposition coalition to undertake a frank

and sincere dialogue in order to achieve a lasting peace.

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In the Middle East, the hope of peace raised by the

Oslo accords is fading daily because of the stalled Israeli-

Palestinian talks. We urge all the parties concerned to

respect their commitments, as this is the only way to

achieve a lasting peace in that part of the world. Neither

violence nor extremism, much less intransigence, will

enable the achievement of a just and definitive solution to

this crisis which has lasted too long.

My country, Chad, noted with satisfaction the end of

the bipolar world and the radical change that took place in

the international situation. By resuming diplomatic relations

with the Republic of China on Taiwan, the Government and

the people of Chad had only one consideration: to diversify

relations of friendship with cooperation with all the peace-

and justice-loving countries of the world on the basis of

equality and solidarity. Thus Chad gave its support to the

request that an examination of General Assembly resolution

2758 (XXVI) of 25 October 1971 be inscribed on the

agenda of the fifty-third session, because of the radical

changes in the international situation and the coexistence of

two Governments, one on each side of the Straits of

Taiwan.

We are gratified at the progress, however slow, that

has been achieved in recent years in the fields of

disarmament and the fight against narcotic drugs. However,

we denounce the scandalous trade in conventional weapons

which fuel so many conflicts and bring bloodshed to so

many parts of the world. We are prepared to support all

measures aimed at combating this scourge.

Furthermore, and in the face of the globalization and

universalization that is engendering the arrogant

triumphalism of the powerful, the international community

must rise above the disparities among its members and find

adequate ways of overcoming the negative impact on a

fragile international balance of the mutations that are

currently taking place. In so doing, it must give priority to

consensus and agreement among its members and reject

unilateral actions conducted in its name but in disdain for

the principles and rules that govern it. Therefore, it is

urgent that peace- and justice-loving nations speak out to

denounce the frequent interferences in the internal affairs of

States and take a unanimous stand against the economic

sanctions that are often ineffective and are unjust and

fraught with social consequences, as well.

For this reason, Chad once again firmly condemns the

haste with which unilateral air strikes were made against a

simple pharmaceutical factory in the Sudan, causing the

loss of innocent lives in that fraternal neighbouring country.

In this respect, Chad reiterates its support to the appeal

made from this rostrum by the current Chairman of the

Organization of African Unity (OAU) to send a fact-

finding mission to study the matter.

As for the Lockerbie affair, while we support the

resolution of the latest OAU summit, in Ouagadougou, on

this question, Chad is also gratified that the United States

and Great Britain have agreed that the trial of the two

suspects take place in a neutral country. We appeal to

those two countries and to the Netherlands to undertake

negotiations with Libya, either directly or through the

mediation of the Secretary-General of the United Nations,

in order to conclude an arrangement for the

implementation of Security Council resolution 1192

(1998) and thus to establish the modalities for the trial,

including measures of security and guarantees for the

suspects. These negotiations are indispensable if this

question is to be truly resolved.

That being said, may there be no mistake as to the

meaning of our policy. We wholeheartedly condemn

terrorism in all its forms. The many victims of the recent

terrorist actions against the United States Embassies at

Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam, as well as the equally tragic

reactions that have ensued, force us to reaffirm strongly

that no end can justify such recourse to an aggressive and

blind fundamentalism.

It is clear that the infinite despair in which millions

of human beings are submerged cannot be alleviated by

the use of force, wherever it may originate. Furthermore,

the radical fundamentalism often inveighed against today

is not the preserve of any specific faith. To attribute it

lightly to one religion or one people inevitably reduces

the scope of the actions undertaken to circumscribe it.

We therefore support the plan for the urgent

convening of an international conference under United

Nations auspices in order to establish the modalities of an

effective international cooperation for the total eradication

of terrorism in all its forms.

On another matter which is related to the preceding

concerns, we would like to express our deep concern at

the present state of international economic relations. It is

indeed deplorable to see that the process of detente that

is evident in the international political situation and in the

globalization of the economy has in no way modified the

unequal economic relations, so that the imbalances

between rich and poor States are increasingly glaring. If

growth has continued in the developed countries for

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almost fifty years now, the opposite has taken place in the

developing countries, where growth has stagnated, if not

regressed. Thus, the eternal problems of indebtedness and

deterioration in the terms of trade have been compounded

by the problem of the constant marginalization of the

developing countries, in particular those of our African

continent, on international economic circuits.

In order to achieve the objective of lasting growth and

development in the interests of humankind, we invite the

international community to work for a system based on

rules that are just, fair and more open; for the progressive

liberation and elimination of obstacles to trade, in both

goods and services; for the rejection of all forms of

protectionism; etc. It is therefore urgent that concrete

measures be adopted to make it possible for Africa to

achieve sustained growth which should lead to real

development.

In conclusion, we would like to reiterate our complete

support for the United Nations both in the maintenance of

international peace and security and in the establishment of

a just and equitable international order.

But if the United Nations wishes fully to play the role

it has been given, it must adapt to the realities of the day.

It must be credible and its legitimacy must be undeniable.

The Security Council in its current form is far from

enshrining these ideals, for two principal reasons: first, its

composition does not at all reflect the views of the whole

and especially of the least and the smallest; secondly, it

pursues a policy based on a double standard, which makes

its decisions increasingly vulnerable.

Given this situation, the need for Security Council

reform is self-evident. Such reform must respond to the

expectations of Member States. This means that there must

be a recomposition of the Council as well as a review of its

decision-making procedures, in particular the right of veto,

which is used and abused. We must reaffirm the position

taken by the last Assembly of Heads of State and

Government of the Organization of African Unity: the

African continent must be equitably represented in that

organ where the fate of all humanity is at stake. It is

inconceivable and impossible to accept that an important

sector of humanity continues to endure the harshness of

decisions in which it did not participate.