Guinea-Bissau, 2004

Thirty years ago, my country attained its

national sovereignty. Indeed, it was on 17 September

1974 that the young Republic of Guinea-Bissau was

admitted to the United Nations as a full-fledged

Member State. Three decades, to be sure, is a short

time in terms of nation-building. But it is a long time if

you consider that in most African countries, including

my own, life expectancy does not exceed 50 years.

That bitter reality is the true measure of the time that

has elapsed and of what my country has achieved since

independence. Hence, for us in Guinea-Bissau, this is

an important time for reflection, indeed for

introspection, in the light of recent events and of the

successive crises we have confronted of late.

I address the Assembly today as the transitional

President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau.

Addressing the Assembly gives me particular pleasure,

Sir, because you - Mr. Jean Ping, the outstanding

Minister of State and Minister for Foreign Affairs of

the brotherly and friendly Gabonese Republic - are

presiding over the Assembly's work with the skill,

experience and talent we all know so well.

We have come to New York in search of new

ideas for innovative and resolute action, ideas that will

affect the way we think and will have a positive impact

on our joint efforts to create a new world of peace,

freedom and social justice for all countries and peoples

represented here.

It was with great attention and interest that we

listened to the outstanding statement made here two

days ago by Secretary-General Kofi Annan (see

). His observations were thought-provoking.

For our part, we share his vision of the world as it is

today and as it should be tomorrow. Above all, we

appreciate his dedication and determination at the head

of the Organization, whose irreplaceable role is

increasingly evident throughout the world.

We live today in a world of ever more striking

contrasts, imbalances, contradictions and inequalities.

On the one hand, we are witness to increasingly

marvellous scientific and technological progress, from

which certain countries benefit greatly. On the other

2

hand, hundreds of millions of people continue to live

precarious lives and to suffer from malnutrition and

endemic disease. This situation is not only inhuman

and immoral, it is dangerous. It is sowing all the seeds

that provoke frustration and despair, fuel rancour and

hatred and lead to irrational behaviour and to actions

endangering peace and international security.

Combating poverty and epidemics such as

HIV/AIDS throughout the world does not mean kindness

or charity; it is common sense that requires that together

we mobilize our actions to combat those scourges. I am

gratified by the initiative of certain heads of State ó in

particular, President Lula da Silva - in recalling to

each of us our responsibilities in the fight to eradicate

hunger and destitution in a world as interdependent as

the one in which we live today. It is critical here to

understand that there is an urgent need to act, and to

act properly. Above all, let us not wait for more reports

or analyses to be submitted to us first, regardless of

how visionary or relevant they may be. Thousands of

women, children and infants die every day because

they lack a pill or a vaccination. That is unjust; that is

immoral.

We must pool our efforts to establish more

equitable relations among States. International trade

must be better regulated, just as globalization and its

effects on the world economy must be better

controlled, to allow for a more equitable distribution of

the riches of the world. Rather than leaving the

underdeveloped countries to suffer from the effects of

globalization, let us create for them the conditions

necessary for their integration into the process, which

is utterly beyond their control and whose social

dimension must be the subject of specific measures so

as to mitigate negative consequences.

Today it is clear to everyone that to ensure peace

throughout the world there is a need to promote the

development of the poorest countries and to improve

the living conditions of populations, in particular by

guaranteeing them access to drinking water, health and

education - especially for girls. Above all there is a

need to create a social and political environment that is

stable and is likely to release that creative energy of

each and every individual and to promote the

participation of all citizens in the management of the

affairs of State of their country.

The rights of each and every person must be

respected, and all liberties provided by the law must be

guaranteed without any impediment. The rule of law

must be consolidated to allow each institution to

function properly and effectively. I am thinking in

particular of justice, which must be able to act with full

independence and with scrupulous respect for the

separation of executive, legislative and judicial powers.

Guinea-Bissau, unfortunately, has not escaped

from the cycle of violence and political crisis that

seems today to have become a prerogative of the

African countries. Our country has recently suffered

from the disastrous consequences of an economic

policy that is poorly adapted to the real needs of the

population. The domestic conflict we have been

experiencing in Guinea-Bissau since 1998 could have

been avoided. It has further impoverished a country

that is among the least developed countries and where

everything must still be built because nothing could

resist destruction. We are aware of the seriousness of

the situation and of the need to pool our efforts to make

the necessary changes, which our people have a right to

expect from their leaders.

Our people have suffered too much and for too

long and have made too many sacrifices. We must

create new conditions that provide reasons for hope.

We have successfully initiated national dialogue based

on mutual respect and taking into account the national

interest. We have created a new culture of peace based

on our affiliation with one single country with all its

diversity and social and cultural riches. We have

decided to make democracy an immutable reality.

However, we are aware that democracy is not

easy to build in a poor country where the illiteracy rate

is still high and where the fundamental infrastructure is

still severely lacking. Nevertheless, we continue to be

inspired by the courage of our people and by the

support of other countries ó those of the Economic

Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the

Union …conomique et MonÈtaire Ouest-africaine

(UEMOA) and the Community of Portuguese-speaking

Countries in particular ó and the European Union,

China and the rest of the international community.

Thus last March we were able to organize legislative

elections that the international community considered

just and credible and to establish a new parliament, the

role of which is fundamental in any democracy. We

will also be organizing presidential elections in April

2005, as agreed in the Charter of Transition, thus

allowing for the restoration of constitutional order.

3

Guinea-Bissau needs the assistance of the

international community to meet the many enormous

challenges confronting it. That assistance is urgent and

important. We have created mechanisms for the

rigorous control of State revenues and expenditures

and, with the assistance of the UNDP and the Bretton

Woods institutions in particular, all the necessary

conditions for the transparent management of public

property, which allows us to combat corruption.

To enable us to relaunch our economy rapidly, we

are planning to hold a round table in December. We

hope that India, Brazil and South Africa will be

assisting us in that initiative to combat poverty and

helping us in the organization we have created in our

country.

We have here a great opportunity to express our

gratitude for the commitment and dynamic action of

the Economic and Social Councilís Ad Hoc Advisory

Group on Guinea-Bissau and its partners, an

indispensable instrument for advancing constructive

dialogue between Guinea-Bissau and its partners for

development, including the World Bank and the

International Monetary Fund. I should like to thank

them from this rostrum for their continued support. So,

too, we wish to reaffirm our great appreciation for the

members of the Security Council who visited our

country last June and showed their great interest in it.

For the maintenance of international peace and

security Guinea-Bissau, speaking before the great

majority of the Members of the Organization, hopes

that the Security Councilís part will be strengthened by

enhancing its membership to better reflect the world

situation. From this rostrum, I would like to say how

grateful we are to those who supported us in the first

phase of our transition.

Humanity is one and indivisible. The men and

women who inhabit our planet share the same

aspirations: peace and well-being. Every individual,

whatever the continent he belongs to, feels the same

frustration when confronting injustice, impunity and

violations of the rights of the human being. There is

not a single child who does not feel the need to be

loved and protected by his or her parents and who does

not hope to grow up in a home where peace and love

reign. How can we protect them if nothing is done to

guarantee the rights of women and give a suitable

education to young women? How can we prevent the

mother, and the child she brings into the world,

becoming victims of an endemic illness such as AIDS,

tuberculosis or malaria at a time when most poor

countries are incapable of providing basic health care?

Tomorrowís world is being built today. Thanks to

the awareness of the real challenges, in this planetary

village in which we all live, with its advantages and its

problems, our human condition must be the common

denominator on which and around which all people of

good will should come together in order to make our

world more fair, more tolerant and based more on

solidarity.

Whether we are discussing crises in Africa or in

the Middle East, or the fight against terrorism - a

fight that requires us all to mobilize our efforts - we

must be animated by the same determination to seek

lasting solutions based on consensus.

The peoples we represent expect us to take

concrete actions. They hope that we will be able to

overcome our differences and pool our efforts so as to

respond to their most urgent needs. Many praiseworthy

initiatives to eradicate hunger, poverty, malnutrition

and illiteracy have been undertaken. We must involve

non-governmental organizations and other elements of

civil society. In other words, we must appeal to all

people of goodwill.

The nations of the world all share the planet

Earth, on which we all live. It is our responsibility to

protect it so that we can provide our children and our

childrenís children with the conditions for a healthy

life lived in dignity.

Environmental protection alone is not enough.

We must also create a climate of peace throughout the

world. That cannot be done without the help of each

Member State: it must be a collective effort in which

dialogue and agreement take precedence and where the

rule of law prevails in international relations. None of

our peoples can live in isolation in the self-reliant

manner of the past. The interdependence of the global

economy is now a reality for all of us. Let us take

advantage of the resources of the Earth without

abusing our ecosystems, because the future of the

planet depends on our capacity to think in terms of the

collective interest. Let us act in a spirit of humanism

and solidarity whenever the poorest of the poor

confront calamity and natural disasters - disasters

such as those that have recently afflicted Haiti, the

Dominican Republic and other Caribbean countries.

4

Let us understand the true dimension and

meaning of the spiritual force that resides in each

human being - a force to which we can turn at times

of doubt and discouragement in order to regain the will

and the energy we need to overcome our challenges.