Gabon, 2013

I

am honoured to take the floor on behalf of Gabon at

the sixty-eighth session of the Assembly. I warmly

congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President and

I assure you of Gabon’s full support. I also pay tribute

to the remarkable work of your predecessor, Mr. Vuk

Jeremi., President of the General Assembly at its sixty-

seventh session. I wish to reiterate our confidence in the

cross-cutting work of the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban

Ki-moon, as well as the important organizational

reforms undertaken.

I would also like to congratulate Mr. Boubacar

Keita of the Republic of Mali and His Excellency

Mr. Hassan Rouhani of the Islamic Republic of Iran on

their elections in their respective countries.

This session has opened in a context marked by the

terrorist attack against a shopping centre in Nairobi that

killed many innocent people, including children. It was

an intolerable act and I express, here in the Hall, my

country’s strongest condemnation of the perpetrators.

I also express my own and my country’s deepest

condolences to the victims’ families and the people

of Kenya. Gabon offers its support to the Government

of Kenya at this trying time. As a target of terrorism,

Africa should receive the international community’s

full support and solidarity in its fight against the threat.

Poverty fuels extremism throughout the world,

and the fight against that scourge must remain at the

heart of our policies. Our peoples, especially the youth,

demand greater socioeconomic progress from us. I

therefore welcome the opportunity at this session to

set the stage for the post-2015 development agenda and

consider the necessary action remaining to achieve the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs

have provided a global solidarity pact for our countries’

socioeconomic development. I would like to emphasize

here that Gabon has achieved noteworthy progress in

poverty reduction, food security and education. We have

significantly reduced infant and maternal mortality,

HIV/AIDS prevalence and malaria mortality. We have

strengthened women’s participation in the political

and economic life of the country. Despite the efforts

made by States, it must be recognized that some of the

MDGs will not be achieved as expected, owing mainly

to unfulfilled commitments and reduced funding.

In that context, Gabon draws two main conclusions:

the importance of strengthened governance and the

need for further efforts in education and health aimed

at more equitable and inclusive growth. As members

begin to consider the post-2015 development agenda, I

wish to note that Gabon seeks a post-2015 development

agenda with a particular focus on Africa’s priorities;

it would include the unrealized MDGs among the

future sustainable development goals and would take

into account specific issues such as energy, access to

clean water and sustainable agriculture. My country

also seeks an agenda based on predictable funding

that combines public and private funding, innovative

financing and global partnerships. That agenda should

stimulate direct investment and increase our share of

international trade. It must promote the transformation

of our economies with a view to inclusive and

sustainable growth.

Such an approach has led me, as the Chairman of the

Central African Economic and Monetary Community,

to propose to my peers — who have accepted — the

creation of a fund of $200 million for the training

and employment of young people, entitled “Train My

Generation”. Its goal is to enhance the role of youth

in our countries’ development efforts. In that spirit, at

the fifth Tokyo International Conference on African

Development, I proposed to my peers that by 2020

Africa should be able to convert its raw materials prior

to exportation. Using that approach, Gabon is already

processing 40 per cent of its timber locally, thereby

doubling employment in that sector.

In the context of the post-2015 development agenda,

improved assessment and monitoring of countries’

progress will become important. To that end, Gabon

has proposed a sustainable development index that will

combine the human development index and countries’

ecological footprints.

Our quest for sustainable development must also

ensure a binding climate treaty. Our best global experts

tirelessly draw attention to global warming. The very

existence of some States is threatened. It is necessary

to state that we remain prisoners of our own interests

and climate sceptics. For its part, Gabon has assumed

its responsibilities by implementing measures such

as our land-use programme and our environmental

programme. Can we advance towards a post-Kyoto

agreement in 2015 through strong and courageous steps

in the interest of future generations? That question

should cause greater concern. That is why I fully

support the Secretary-General’s initiative to convene a

summit on climate change in 2014.

In addition to climate, biodiversity is threatened

by poaching and the illicit trade in protected species.

Elephants and rhinoceros are especially threatened

owing to the illegal trade in ivory and horns. That

phenomenon has become both an ecologic and an

economic challenge; it is a transnational crime that

threatens States’ security. Along with the Federal

Republic of Germany and other States, we have initiated

a debate on that issue. On 26 September, here at the

United Nations, an event will take place on the sidelines

to mobilize support on the issue. We would be honoured

by the presence and participation of members of the

Assembly in the discussions. I also call on the United

Nations to integrate that issue into its cooperation

efforts with the African Union. In May in Marrakech,

Morocco, in the presence of the African Development

Bank, I proposed the creation of a trust fund aimed at

strengthening capacity-building in Africa and other

efforts.

Clearly, sustainable development must be based

on good governance, equality, access to justice and the

protection of human rights and democracy. In Gabon

we are striving, with all national stakeholders, to

strengthen those areas. We are collecting biometrical

data in order to enhance election transparency, thus

strengthening democracy. Furthermore, our election

to the current Human Rights Council is in line with

our commitments, particularly in terms of promoting

and protecting the rights of women and children.

During this twentieth anniversary year of the Vienna

Declaration, Gabon will promote economic, social

and cultural rights and seek to combat racism, hatred

and violence throughout the world. It is on the basis

of those commitments that Gabon will present itself

as a candidate for the presidency of the Human Rights

Council in 2014.

Africa is more hopeful for its future, but if that hope

is to be realized throughout the continent Africa must

be able to resolve crises preventing its development.

Allow me to list some crisis situations.

First of all, in the Democratic Republic of the

Congo, Gabon is still concerned by fighting in the

eastern part of the country, where women and children

are paying a high price. We welcome the increased

efforts on the part of the United Nations to implement

Security Council resolution 2098 (2013) and the

commitments made by the parties to the Framework

Agreement signed in Addis Ababa. All countries in the

Great Lakes region must support efforts by the United

Nations. We would also encourage the efforts on the

part of the Government to ensure that elections are held

soon.

Gabon supports the transition in the Central African

Republic, for which we have worked with members of

the Economic Community of Central African States.

We hope that the numerous stakeholders will adhere

strictly to the transition framework. Nevertheless, we

are still concerned by the humanitarian and security

situation in the country, as well as by the renewed

activities on the part of the Lord’s Resistence Army. We

welcome the establishment of the International Support

Mission to the Central African Republic by the African

Union, which will take over from the Mission for the

Consolidation of Peace in the Central African Republic.

Gabon calls for a contingency plan to be put in place for

the new mission. I would like to thank France, which is

supporting efforts on the part of the subregion to ensure

that peace returns to the Central African Republic.

In Mali, at the height of the crisis, Gabon responded

to a funding appeal by the African Union, which

was launched to support its efforts in that country.

We commend the positive political change that has

taken place in Mali, proof of which can be seen in the

presidential elections and the decision by the people of

Mali to elect President Keita. I would like to wish him

all the best, and I call upon the international community

to support the reconstruction of Mali.

With regard to Western Sahara, Gabon welcomes

efforts to bring about dialogue and negotiations by the

Organization. My country would also like to reiterate

that it supports the Moroccan initiative for Western

Sahara, which we believe is a courageous and realistic

proposal, one that could lead to a lasting settlement. We

call upon the different players to reach a constructive

and dynamic compromise, the results of which will

benefit the unity of Africa.

Africa should be able to respond to new threats

to peace and security, including transnational crime,

the illicit trafficking in small arms, and piracy in

the Gulf of Guinea, which the Atlantic coast is now

experiencing. Following the Summit of Heads of State

and Government on Maritime Safety and Security in the

Gulf of Guinea, which was held in June in Yaounde, we

adopted a strategy for combating those threats. Gabon

is ready to make contributions towards the measures

that were adopted at the Summit. I also welcome

efforts by the Security Council to address the problem,

particularly through resolution 2018 (2011).

Africa cannot face up to the challenges of peace and

security alone. Its efforts must be given better support,

because instability in Africa will have repurcussions

in other regions. I thank our partners, particularly

France, Japan, Germany, the United States, the United

Nations and the European Union, for their significant

contributions towards such efforts.

In the face of those new threats, it is important for the

United Nations to continue to enhance its cooperation

with regional African organizations. Furthermore, we

must ensure the implementation of the Arms Trade

Treaty, which was the first legally binding instrument

on the matter adopted by the General Assembly, in May.

In a world stricken by tensions and crises, we

must continue to work towards ensuring that the

Organization can better fulfil its mandate in the area

of international peace and security, with a particular

emphasis on conflict prevention, while supporting

peaceful resolutions to emerging crises. The crisis in

Syria has already claimed many lives, and we have

seen an unacceptable escalation in the form of the use

of chemical weapons. We strongly condemn the use

of such weapons, and Gabon calls for the destruction

of all stockpiles of chemical weapons throughout the

world. With regard to the investigations being carried

out by United Nations inspectors in Syria, we call upon

all parties to fully cooperate. Furthermore, Gabon

supports all diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving a

political solution that will allow us to emerge from

that crisis. In the event that its efforts are blocked, the

Security Council must take measures.

With regard to Palestine and the State of Israel, the

possibility of resuming talks with the impetus of the

United States must be welcomed. Gabon still supports

the broadly accepted view of two viable States, Israel

and Palestine, coexisting in mutual security and respect

within recognized borders.

With regard to the embargo on Cuba, Gabon

reiterates its position in favour of lifting that ban

because of its negative impact on the well-being of the

Cuban population.

It is our obligation to transform our international

institutions in order to make them more equipped to

meet current challenges. The reform of the Security

Council, enhancing the role and authority of the

General Assembly and the reform of the Economic and

Social Council are all to be wished. It is essential for

our common future that we assume that responsibility,

in the spirit of the Charter. Assuring such a future calls

upon our shared but differentiated responsibility and

forces us to act for the well-being of humankind. On

the basis of those convictions, Gabon will continue to

be committed, within the Organization, to working for

peace and development, which is also at the heart of the

vision that I have proposed for the future of my own

country, a future I wish for all countries.