Gabon, 2012

I

warmly congratulate the President on his election as

President of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session. His election demonstrates the esteem in which

he and his country, Serbia, are held on the international

scene. I can assure him that he has the support of

my country, Gabon. I also commend the outstanding

work done by his predecessor, Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz

Al-Nasser, during his presidency of the Assembly at its

sixty-sixth session. And I would like to reiterate our

confidence in the efforts that Secretary-General Ban

Ki-moon is undertaking as the head of the Organization.

Our world more than ever needs a dialogue

of civilizations and cultures. In order to build a

more peaceful world, it needs more tolerance, more

understanding and more respect among peoples. During

this session, we are called upon to redefine the outlines

for better management of global challenges. I would

like to welcome the theme chosen by the President for

this session, namely, “Bringing about adjustment or

settlement of international disputes or situations by

peaceful means”, which will remain at the heart of our

common efforts and is indeed an ongoing quest.

The debate we held yesterday on the rule of law

at the national and international levels was also a

discussion of the conditions for peace in our countries

and around the world. By maintaining our focus on

that goal and working together, we can better tackle

the challenges of an international context that is still

marked by multifaceted crises, illustrated by many

hotbeds of tension around the world. That is shown by

the situations in the Middle East and Africa, which are

still of concern to us.

The Syrian crisis, which arose as an extension of

the Arab Spring last year, is having a destabilizing

impact on several countries of the Middle East region.

We hope that the efforts undertaken by the Joint Special

Representative, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, will help put a

stop to confrontation and will open up a dialogue.

With respect to the situation in Mali, we condemn

the attempts to divide the country and the destruction of

the World Heritage sites in Timbuktu. Gabon supports

the efforts of the new transitional Government, the

Economic Community of West African States and the

African Union to try to re-establish territorial integrity.

I urge the Security Council and Member States

to support the United Nations integral regional

strategy on the Sahel, which addresses issues of

security, governance, development, human rights and

humanitarian concerns.

When we served on the Security Council, we

joined other members in responding to the appeals of

the Libyan people. The situation there is still dire, and

we encourage the United Nations to continue to work to

promote political stability and reconstruction efforts.

We reiterate our condemnation of the attack on the

United States Consulate in Benghazi.

With regard to the ongoing tensions in the eastern

part of our brother country the Democratic Republic

of the Congo, our collective support for the Congolese

State must be maintained in security, political and

humanitarian matters.

I welcome the progress made in Somalia with the

adoption of its provisional Constitution and the election

of the new President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, whom

I congratulate and commend. Gabon will continue to

help Somalia, as it did last year with humanitarian

contributions. I commend United Nations and African

Union involvement in Somalia. Thanks to the African

Union Mission in Somalia and to Government forces,

security is improving even far outside Mogadishu. I

have the highest praise for the country, whose troops

pay a heavy price on the ground.

I honour the memory of the first Prime Minister of

Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, who passed away on 22 August.

All of us know of his work for peace in Somalia and the

Sudan, his commendable tenures as Chair of the New

Partnership for Africa’s Development Heads of State

and Government Orientation Committee and his focus

on climate change.

It goes without saying that the crises and conflicts

that continue to ravage the world constitute a profound

betrayal of the cry-from-the-heart aspirations of all

peoples for peace and security, justice, development

and the equal sovereignty of States. Those cries come

from the people of Palestine and Cuba, who long for a

better future. One wants recognition of a State living in

peace and security with its neighbours, within secure,

internationally recognized borders, while the other

wants an end to the economic, commercial and financial

embargo it suffers under. The General Assembly has

many times spoken out on the side of those two peoples’

aspirations, through numerous resolutions, which my

country has unequivocally supported.

To fulfil the aspirations of all peoples, we need global

governance that is more balanced, more democratic,

better structured and based on the principles of the

Charter of the United Nations. Such governance must be founded on the primacy of international law and

respect for the sovereignty of States in their quest for

democracy and development.

Throughout the coming sixty-seventh session we

will focus on certain priority issues, starting with

various reforms of the Organization, especially the

revitalization of the General Assembly, to make it better

able to play its part given the changes and current realities

in the world. We must strengthen the Assembly’s role

as an active force and as the premier forum for global

democracy. Likewise, in its commitment to Security

Council reform, Gabon continues to support permanent

and equitable representation for Africa.

As we did during our recent tenure on the Council,

we will continue our focus on mediation, prevention

and the peaceful resolution of disputes and conflicts.

We believe action must be taken before disputes

escalate into armed conflict, sparing the heavy expense

of peacekeeping operations. But current realities force

us to focus also on new, cross-cutting threats to peace

and security, including trafficking in small arms and

light weapons and maritime piracy, which is ravaging

the Gulf of Guinea.

That is why we are working along with

other countries in Central Africa to put in place

confidence-building measures, including the early

warning mechanism for Central Africa. We greatly

appreciate the support offered by the United Nations

Regional Office for Central Africa, which my country

hosts, in promoting peace.

During my tenure as Acting Chairman of the

Economic Community of West African States, I will

emphasize regional integration as a means to common

economic development and strengthening peaceful

connections among member States.

We know that the conflicts shaking the world have

numerous and complex causes. Any lasting settlement

of those crises requires an approach that combines

support for institution-building and governance in the

affected countries with initiatives to revitalize their

economies. Gabon will therefore follow with great

interest the issue of an increased role for the Economic

and Social Council.

Many countries remain concerned with economic

conditions. We must therefore rethink our approaches

to sustainable development initiatives. We must reflect

clearly on the post-2015 development agenda, especially

on how to coordinate the Millennium Development

Goals and the sustainable development goals enunciated

in the outcome of the United Nations Conference on

Sustainable Development (Rio+20) (resolution 66/288).

It is also crucial to break the impasse in the

World Trade Organization by rethinking the basis for

negotiations. We will thereby be better able to promote

the tripartite model of aid together with investment and

trade towards sustainable development.

During last year’s session I referred to work

in progress in my country towards the goal we set

for ourselves to become an emerging country by

2025. Since then that initiative has begun to produce

results in the creation of strategic infrastructures,

strengthening the rule of law and social, political

and economic reforms. We continue to take steps to

diversify our economy through local promotion of the

natural resources we export, which encourages wealth

creation and employment. Those efforts must be based

on sustainable management of our forests and their

biodiversity, which plays an important role in the global

environment. In that vein we are fighting poaching and

the illegal trafficking in protected species.

I am also pleased at the adoption, on 21 June, of

the outcome of the Rio+20 Conference, which reflects

the international community’s recognition of the need

to work together to promote sustainable development

through the joint efforts of individuals, Governments,

civil society and the private sector. Along those lines I

have instructed my Government to rethink our country’s

institutional framework for sustainable development,

with an eye to enacting legislation on the subject.

Gabon is also pursuing the opportunities offered by a

green economy in eradicating poverty.

We are also continuing to develop our human

resources, our financial services capabilities, new

information technologies and ecotourism. Given

current economic challenges, I recently instituted

measures to improve the daily lives of my fellow

citizens by tackling the cost of living — for instance,

by suspending customs duties and the value added-tax

on several basic items and building materials.

In the social arena, we have put in place a national

system of health coverage for all strata of Gabonese

society. That coverage, which is part of our fight against

HIV/AIDS, includes free antiretrovirals and prenatal

and maternal care for all infected pregnant women.

At the political level, we have introduced biometrics

to improve the organization of the next elections. We continue our efforts to talk with all leading players in

the nation, in particular through the National Council

for Democracy.

Together, those actions strengthen the climate of

peace bequeathed to us by my illustrious predecessor,

thereby creating an environment conducive to the well-

being of citizens and to the security of investments

needed for the development of the country. We are

therefore ready to welcome diversified and mutually

beneficial partnerships and look forward to doing so.

Our countries and the international community as

a whole must today overcome considerable challenges.

Our efforts can fulfil the aspirations of our peoples only

if we cooperate to achieve global governance based on

respect for the rule of law, dialogue among peoples,

conflict prevention, protection of the environment and

biodiversity. Our ultimate goal must be, above all, the

well-being of our peoples.

It is in that spirit that my country will continue to

make its contribution both in our Organization and in

our common work for peace, security, development and

prosperity for all.