Comoros, 2012

Allow me,

at the outset, to extend my warmest congratulations to

His Excellency Mr. Vuk Jeremić, Minister for Foreign

Affairs of Serbia, on his election to the presidency of

the General Assembly. I should like to express to him

the pleasure of the Union of the Comoros at seeing him

preside over our work and to assure him of the full

support of the Comorian delegation in discharging his

noble task.I should also like to pay tribute to his predecessor,

Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, former Permanent

Representative of the State of Qatar, who presided over

the General Assembly with such wisdom, skill and

determination and who was successful in working to

strengthen its role.

Finally, I wish to congratulate the Secretary-

General, His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for the

vision with which he has led the Organization and for

the worthy initiatives he has ceaselessly undertaken to

promote respect for the purposes and principles of the

Charter of the United Nations, especially peacebuilding

and stability for greater development.

As was the case last year, the General Assembly

is meeting in a context of global uncertainty. It is a

climate marked by multifaceted crises, all of them

major challenges for our institution. It is meeting at

a moment when one of the Members of our United

Nations family, Syria, is being rent asunder by a steadily

deterioraiting fratricidal war, which poses a serious

threat to peace both for the region and for the world,

due to that country’s strategic geopolitical position.

The resignation of the Joint Special Envoy of the United

Nations and the League of Arab States, former United

Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, demonstrated,

were there any need for such, the complexity of

managing the Syrian conflict. It therefore behoves us to

act without delay to put an end to the terrible suffering

of the brotherly Syrian people and to save what can be

saved of its various infrastructures.

Just as important is the Palestinian cause. For

decades now, it has awaited a fair and lasting solution,

one found through our shared desire to establish

together the solid foundations for a world of peace and

prosperity. The Union of the Comoros reiterates its full

support for the Palestinian people and associates itself

with the formula of a Palestinian State as a full-fledged

member of the community of nations, living side by

side and in perfect security with the State of Israel.

The situation in northern Mali is also alarming.

The attacks carried out against the civilian population

of the region, the serious violations of human rights,

the obstacles erected to humanitarian access, and

the destruction and looting of holy places and other

religious, historical and cultural sites are barbarous acts

that are contrary to the principles of Islam. That is why

my country supports the commitment of the Economic

Community of West African States, alongside the African Union and the United Nations, to put an end to

those violations, which have gone on for much too long.

One should not, however, lose sight of the fact

that while some advocate fanaticism and extremism,

Islamophobia is also taking on alarming proportions.

Indeed, the dissemination of the video Innocence of

Muslims has led to waves of indignation and many

demonstrations throughout the world. Several million

believers have felt their faith insulted and harmed.

However, the protests against the unspeakable

insults to Islam, Muslims and the Prophet

Muhammad — peace be upon him — cannot justify the

violence against Western missions in many countries.

My country therefore condemns the terrorist attacks

that in Benghazi, Libya, caused the death of the

American Ambassador, Chris Stevens, and a number

of his colleagues. I take this opportunity to reiterate

to the American people and to the grieving families of

the victims the most heartfelt condolences of the people

and the Government of the Comoros.

The ongoing existence of many hotbeds of tension

throughout the world, the violation of fundamental

human rights, and the growth of piracy and terrorism

all speak to the need for urgent and in-depth reform of

the Security Council. My country therefore reiterates

its support for the African Union’s position regarding

the need to reform the Council for better representation

of the international community and for greater

effectiveness in the settlement and management of

conflicts.

A few decades ago, my country resolutely

committed itself to the path of democracy. It wishes

to make its contribution to the promotion of a world

of peace, security, justice and fairness. That is why

I have committed myself, since my accession to the

presidency, to spare no effort in promoting the rule of

law and good governance in the Union of the Comoros.

Above and beyond the setting up of all institutions

provided for under our Constitution, including the

Supreme Court, I have given major priority to the

fight against corruption. An anti-corruption law has

already been promulgated, and a national commission

to combat and prevent corruption has now been set up

and made operational. I thank the European Union for

its assistance and expertise in this area, which enabled

us to develop the document for our national strategy to

combat corruption.This year once again, the global economic and

financial crisis is at the heart of the Assembly’s general

debate. That crisis has made evident the urgent need

for a global form of economic governance based on the

values of responsibility, fairness and solidarity. It has

also placed before the eyes of the world the urgency

of an in-depth reform of the international financial

institutions.

The repercussions of the crisis are becoming

increasingly palpable, particularly in developing

countries, where the rising price of staples threatens

peace and stability. The crisis has also intensified

problems linked to energy, which powers all

socioeconomic development, limiting our ability to

promote development through investments.

Climate change is another major challenge our

countries face. We must respond effectively to that

phenomenon, which affects the entire planet, especially

small island developing States such as the Union of the

Comoros.

I wish to stress that last April my country

experienced two weeks of unusually violent torrential

rains that hammered our islands, causing damage that

had disastrous consequences for our population and the

national economy. Ten per cent of the population was

affected, a high percentage for a country as sparsely

populated as the Comoros. In the name of the whole

Comorian people and of my Government, I would

therefore like to thank all the partners and friends who

offered us urgent humanitarian aid to help us address

that dramatic situation.

The unprecedented storms led my Government

to draw up a rapid recovery plan, with the aid and

support of the international community. It will enable

us to better help those affected and to restore destroyed

infrastructure throughout our territory. That plan, which

contains procedures aimed at restoring the situation

within a period of six to 12 months, was launched at

a round table held on 5 September in Pretoria, with

the fraternal support of our friendly brother country,

the Republic of South Africa. I would therefore like to

appeal to all here to help finance the rapid recovery

plan, whose cost has been estimated at $18 million.

That will allow my country to better face the current

situation and to better prepare for the future.

The time has come to relaunch with greater

determination a number of pending international issues,

in particular those regarding measures to mitigate or adapt to climate change and to make operational the

Copenhagen Climate Fund. We need to honour the

commitments made to the countries of the South by

implementing, inter alia, the agreements on emissions

linked to deforestation and forest degradation, as well

as a comprehensive agreement on climate change. We

must also respect the Kyoto Protocol on the reduction

of greenhouses gases within the framework of the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change. Finally, we must do our utmost to achieve the

Millennium Development Goals.

Faced with all those equally important challenges,

I urgently call on the most developed countries to apply

to the most fragile countries the same mechanisms that

have been implemented to reduce the impact of the

crisis in Europe, in order to prevent more unfortunate

consequences, knowing that our countries depend on

the financial contributions of our people abroad. In that

context, my country, which is currently a beneficiary

of the Extended Credit Facility of the International

Monetary Fund, hopes by December to have reached

the completion point of the Heavily Indebted Poor

Countries Initiative. In other words, the new world

economic order, based on the shared principles of

fairness, transparency and prosperity that we have

willingly embraced, requires a real and dynamic easing

of the crisis that has struck the world. Africa impatiently

awaits the advent of that new order to realize economic

and social integration and to embark resolutely on the

path of sustainable development.

In conclusion, with respect to my country’s

stability, before the General Assembly, I once again

appeal to France that a frank and sincere dialogue

finally be set up between our two closely linked nations

on the question of the Comorian island of Mayotte. It

has grown increasingly clear that the fact that Mayotte

remains under French administration constitutes a threat

to the peace and stability of the three other Comorian

islands — the peace that remains the foundation of

freedom and prosperity.

It is true, and a secret to no one, that that island has

always served as a rear guard for the detractors of the

Comoros, those who would prefer not to see our country

move forward despite its great potential. Moreover, the

year 2012, now drawing to a close, proved particularly

dramatic for my people. Men, women and children

aboard f limsy boats known as kwassa kwassa perished

in the narrow waters that separate the Comorian islands

of Anjouan and Mayotte because of the visas that France imposed on the Comorians of the other islands. Surely

that painful, unacceptable situation, which has lasted for

decades, cannot fail to move this worldwide Assembly,

whose chosen theme for this year is “Bringing about

adjustment or settlement of international disputes or

situations by peaceful means”, including the rule of law

at the national and international levels.

I therefore hope that France will honour its

commitments as a country that respects international

law. Finally, I hope it will respond positively to our

urgent call so that together we may find a positive

way for Mayotte to return to its natural home, which

remains the Union of the Comoros. That is how to put

an end to the humanitarian tragedy and to guarantee

lasting stability for my country. It is through a definitive

solution to this conflict, which has lasted far too long,

that France can contribute to the ongoing efforts to

enhance regional integration, and thus to safeguard the

interests of this region of the Indian Ocean that we hope

to build together in stability and peace.