Chad, 2008

On

behalf of my delegation and on my own behalf, I would

like to most warmly congratulate you, Mr. President,

on your election to presidency of the General Assembly

at its sixty-third session. The delegation of Chad is

convinced that your qualities and experience in the

area of international relations will ensure success for

our current session, and we would like to assure you of

our cooperation as you carry out your mission. I would

also like to express our gratitude to your predecessor

for having skilfully and insightfully steered the work of

the Assembly at its sixty-second session. I also pay a

well-deserved tribute to our Secretary-General, His

Excellency Ban Ki-moon, for his commitment to

upholding and promoting the ideals of our Organization.

The sixty-third session is being held at a time

when the world is facing many challenges. The armed

conflicts affecting essentially all continents are

compounded by the food, energy and financial crises

that endanger the most vulnerable populations. Those

recurring crises are genuine handicaps to implementing

the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to which

the international community has committed itself.

Chad, like many other countries, found itself

early on in an adverse political, social and economic

situation, despite the implementation of its national

growth and poverty reduction strategy. That strategy,

which was updated in 2008, is, however, the best

framework for cooperation geared towards pooling all

national and international efforts that are essentially

aimed at achieving the MDGs. To be sure, the

Millennium Declaration was welcomed in its time as a

08-53135 24

major step in the international community’s awareness

of the considerable lag of many of its members with

respect to development.

The Declaration and the MDGs, which we

adopted in 2000 to eradicate poverty by 2015, are

today still the most appropriate response to the

problems of poverty that many countries, including my

own, continue to face. Those problems include

shortfalls in terms of the resources necessary to fund

our programmes, but also, and particularly, the unrest

that has resulted from the many attempts at

destabilization and that is worsened by incursions of

mercenaries and armed militias of all kinds. The most

notable of such incidents took place in April 2006 and

February 2008.

To be sure, the development of our oil, which

began in 2003, has given the country additional

resources. But those resources do not, unfortunately,

meet our needs. Outside assistance is therefore

necessary in a number of areas in order to build our

capacities to better meet the challenges of poverty.

Contributions by our partners — although we

would like to reiterate our gratitude to them and

commend their commitment to us — need to be

adapted. Such contributions should, as a priority, be

aimed at building the country’s ability to take action, in

particular by developing its natural wealth, and should

provide more substantial financial and technical

support in that context.

More flexible conditions with respect to easing

the external debt of poor countries are indispensable.

Greater attention should also be given to the economic

problems facing developing countries, specifically

those in Africa, where the future of some could be

threatened by the lack of competitiveness of their

export products because of measures taken by their

competitors in the North. My country hopes that the

outpouring of solidarity that underpinned the launching

of the MDGs process will be revived in order to reduce

inequalities, which worsen poverty and which are

ultimately sources of tension, with unpredictable

consequences. At any rate, Chad continues to be

determined to do its utmost to improve the living

conditions of its people within the framework of the

MDGs.

I would like to commend the efforts of our

Organization in eradicating hotspots of tension that are

major obstacles to the implementation of development

goals. The Darfur crisis is an example of that, due to

the burden that it has placed on Chad as a result of its

economic, social and environmental repercussions. The

presence in eastern Chad of 290,000 Sudanese refugees

and 180,000 displaced Chadians is a matter of major

concern, for both Chad and for the international

community. We welcome the international community’s

unprecedented mobilization in that regard.

Nevertheless, the fate of the host populations

should be given greater attention, in order to restore

the balances that were upset by that massive inflow. In

that in that part of the world a true tragedy is

occurring, and it weighs on our collective conscience. I

would like to issue here a heartfelt appeal for a lasting

solution to that crisis.

Furthermore, my country welcomes the extension

by the Security Council of the mandate of the African

Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur

(UNAMID). Chad is persuaded that the international

community, having assessed the suffering of the people

of Darfur, will strengthen the operational capacities of

UNAMID by providing it with all the appropriate

resources so that it can effectively carry out its mission

and establish the necessary conditions for a

comprehensive and lasting settlement to the crisis.

We believe that it is essential to recall here that,

since the crisis broke out in Darfur, my country has

spared no effort to assist its Sudanese brothers in

finding a peaceful settlement to the conflict facing

them. In August 2003, His Excellency Idriss Deby Itno

was the first foreign head of State personally to travel

to El-Fasher to express his solidarity and support for

his Sudanese counterpart, Omer Hassan Al-Bashir,

while calling on the Sudanese rebels to lay down their

arms and agree to a political settlement. We would

recall the decisive role he played as mediator to reach

many peace agreements between the Sudanese

Government and its opposition.

Similarly, aware of the close linkage between

stability in Chad and the settlement of the crisis in

Darfur, he has always worked for the normalization of

relations between the two countries. It is in that spirit

that the Government of Chad welcomed the decision of

the Sudan to restore diplomatic relations with Chad at

the meeting of the Contact Group tasked with

implementing the Dakar Agreement, held in Asmara on

12 September.

25 08-53135

At that time, the Government of Chad called the

Contact Group to witness the sincere commitment of

the two parties towards a lasting normalization of their

relations. Here, I reiterate the gratitude of the

Government of Chad to the member countries of the

Contact Group, institutions and friendly countries for

the key positive roles that they continue to play in

supporting Chad and the Sudan on that path.

From this rostrum, we would like to commend the

close cooperation among the United Nations Mission in

the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT),

the European Union-led peacekeeping force and the

Government of Chad. The strengthening of the

mandate of MINURCAT offers new prospects for

developing relations between Chad and the United

Nations, taking into account the experience accrued

during the preceding mandate. The need for greater

effectiveness of the international presence in Chad

requires dynamic cooperation between the various

parties.

Despite the repeated attacks of mercenaries, the

repercussions of which on the life of the nation have

been devastating, the Government of Chad, under the

impetus of His Excellency Idriss Deby Itno, President

of the Republic and Head of State, remains committed

to pursuing political dialogue with the democratic

opposition and with the armed movements in order to

bring about national harmony. The tangible results of

that policy are the formation on 23 April 2008 of a

broad-based Government, led by Youssouf Saleh

Abbas, which includes leading personalities from the

democratic opposition. We are also pleased to note the

return to legality of several members of the armed

movements under the Sirte agreement of 25 October

2007.

We confirm that the political dialogue, initiated

by the agreement of 13 August 2007 and briefly

interrupted by the tragic events of February 2008, has

resumed its work. It is taking place in a climate of trust

and understanding and naturally will continue, with the

assistance of our partners, towards the holding of free

and transparent elections. Here, I would like to

reiterate very solemnly to those partners the gratitude

of the Government and people of Chad for their

valuable support in facilitating that dialogue.

After that overview on national political issues,

we would like to address some international challenges

facing our Organization.

The setback in the recent negotiations in Geneva

raises questions with respect to the ability to establish a

just and equitable global trade system that takes into

account the legitimate aspirations of developing

countries, the most vulnerable in the world economy.

What is more, despite the efforts of the international

community to reduce tensions and spare the world the

horrors of armed conflict, unfortunately we continue to

see theatres of confrontation emerge on all continents.

The unbearable sight of thousands of women, children

and elderly people displaced or cast into exile in the

wake of those conflicts should persuade the

international community to be more responsible.

Armed conflicts and the atrocities they cause are

a breeding ground for terrorism. That scourge is

another challenge to and major concern for the

international community. My country supports the

efforts of the United Nations to fight for its complete

eradication, but also for greater justice in addressing

international issues.

On issues concerning nuclear matters, we

reaffirm our country’s unswerving position, which is to

respect the sovereign will of States to acquire nuclear

power for civilian purposes.

With respect to conflicts on the African continent,

we are pleased to note the joint efforts of the African

Union and the United Nations to settle them peacefully

and enduringly. Thus, we welcome the normalization

of the political and military situation in Côte d’Ivoire,

Kenya and the Comoros. In the Horn of Africa, Chad

supports the efforts of the African Union to restore

peace and national harmony in Somalia. In Zimbabwe,

we welcome the political agreement reached between

the primary Zimbabwean political players thanks to the

mediation of President Thabo Mbeke, to whom we pay

well-deserved tribute.

In conclusion, within the framework of reform of

the bodies of the United Nations, and more particularly

the Security Council, I should like to reiterate the

urgent appeal of my country to the Assembly and to the

members of the Security Council for a just and fair

reform that takes into account the legitimate

aspirations of the African continent.