Guinea, 2000

I am

very pleased on behalf of the people and the

Government of Guinea to convey to Mr. Harri Holkeri

of Finland our warmest congratulations on his

unanimous election to preside over our deliberations at

the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly. His

election highlighted his merits, his personal qualities

and his rich experience in international affairs. It also

reflected the high esteem in which the international

community holds his great country, Finland, whose

commitment to the ideals of peace, justice, progress

and the advancement of women is well known and

appreciated by one and all. As a member of the General

Committee at this session, my delegation wishes to

assure the President of its support and full cooperation.

It gives me pleasure also to pay tribute to the

President of the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth

session, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab of Namibia, who

honourably carried out his weighty responsibilities in

the service of the Organization.

Let me also pay tribute to the Secretary-General,

Mr. Kofi Annan, whose exemplary work at the helm of

the Organization merits our highest appreciation and

our support. I take this opportunity moreover to thank

the Secretary-General for his report (A/54/2000)

entitled “We the peoples: the role of the United Nations

in the twenty-first century”. That remarkable document

takes account of all the current concerns of Member

States.

I welcome the admission of the State of Tuvalu as

the one hundred eighty-ninth Member of the

Organization. This reinforces the universality of the

United Nations.

This session of the General Assembly is a historic

one. It is taking place just as the Organization has

successfully concluded the Millennium Summit, which

brought together in this Hall nearly all the world's

leaders. The outcome of that important Summit is a

source of hope for our peoples at the dawn of the new

millennium.

Just one week ago, from this very rostrum, the

Prime Minister of Guinea informed the international

community of a barbarous act of aggression against the

Republic of Guinea, an act of aggression whose sole

aim was to destabilize my country. Deadly, devastating

attacks have been carried out against the peaceful

population of Guinea. These were led by armed gangs

from Liberia, but it is regrettable to have to note that

another fraternal African country, Burkina Faso, has

also been involved in the aggression. The Republic of

Guinea, a land of peace and hospitality, which has paid

an enormous price by receiving hundreds of thousands

of refugees and which is working for the restoration of

peace and harmony in West Africa, has thus been the

victim of aggression by the same people who caused

the genocide and mutilations in Liberia and in Sierra

Leone.

41

I urgently call on the international community

strongly to condemn this aggression, which is part of a

plan to destabilize the subregion. It is this that justifies

my Government's request to the Security Council that

vigorous measures be taken to guarantee peace,

security and stability in the West African region.

The Government of Guinea has had to face the

severe consequences of the massive presence of

800,000 on its territory for the past decade, and it has

been obliged to divert resources from our country's

economic development programmes. That is why my

Government is most grateful for the United Nations

initiative to convene a conference for support and

solidarity with respect to Guinea. On behalf of my

Government, I wish once again to convey my

delegation's sincere thanks to the Secretary-General

and to all others who have contributed to this important

initiative. My country looks forward with great interest

to the completion of this initiative with the convening

of a second meeting, scheduled to be held in November

at Geneva.

This is the proper moment for my delegation to

turn to the thorny question of conflict in Africa.

Indeed, many of the crises that have emerged on our

continent pose a threat to peace and constitute a grave

violation of the principles and purposes of the United

Nations. The scope of these crises and their proliferation

jeopardizes all efforts at national development and at

achieving subregional integration. I take this opportunity to

welcome the report (A/55/305) of the Panel on United

Nations Peace Operations, chaired by Mr. Lakhdar

Brahimi. Its recommendations enabled the Security

Council to adopt an important resolution on ensuring an

effective role for the Council in the maintenance of

international peace and security, particularly in Africa. My

delegation hopes that the new provisions of that resolution

will be used to guarantee the effectiveness of United

Nations peacekeeping operations.

Among the central priorities of Africa, which

remains the theatre of many conflicts, is the

strengthening of its capacity to prevent, manage and

resolve conflicts. Thus, whether it be the conflict

between Ethiopia and Eritrea or the situation in the

Great Lakes region, in Angola or in the Democratic

Republic of the Congo, there have been significant

breakthroughs in the pursuit of peaceful, just and

lasting solutions, thanks to concerted action by the

Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the United

Nations.

In the West African region, the quest for peace in

Sierra Leone is continuing with the commendable

assistance of States members of the Economic

Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and

with the active support of the United Nations, through

the deployment of the United Nations Mission in Sierra

Leone (UNAMSIL). My delegation expresses its full

support for Security Council resolution 1306 (2000),

which placed an embargo on the illegal sale of

diamonds from conflict zones. We appeal urgently to

all States and to all specialized agencies to cooperate

actively in the effective implementation of that

resolution.

The proliferation and uncontrolled distribution of

light weapons is another subject of grave concern, and

is a major factor complicating and prolonging conflicts

in Africa and, more tragically, encouraging the

recruitment of child soldiers. Indeed, the resurgence of

rebel movements and the expansion of large-scale

banditry in our countries have been made possible by

that phenomenon. The firm support of the international

community is required to eradicate it. In that

connection, my delegation is pleased at the initiatives

taken by the United Nations and by the OAU to support

the efforts of our States to combat this scourge, which

threatens the stability of our continent.

The beginning of the third millennium brings

many challenges and hopes. It brings the hope of

seeing a plan for the settlement to the conflict in

Western Sahara, thanks to the joint efforts of the OAU

and the United Nations, and the hope of finally seeing

Israel and its Arab neighbours give peace a chance

through a just and lasting settlement to the crisis,

taking into account the legitimate aspirations of the

Palestinian people, as well as the respect for the rights

and dignity of all peoples in the region.

The question of development remains one of the

major challenges of this century, and as such it must

remain at the centre of our Organization's concerns.

At a time when a portion of the planet has

contentedly crossed the threshold of this new

millennium and is embarking, under the rubric of

globalization, on what is called “the new economy”, a

major portion of the world — indeed, the largest

portion — continues to live in poverty, suffering the

perverse effects of this globalization.

With regard to the alarming situation prevailing

on the African continent, the main concern of the

42

peoples of the United Nations must be Africa, so that

the root causes of its non-development can be

eradicated and so that it can be enabled to eliminate

poverty and enhance its capacities in order for it to

have better access to markets. To do that, debt

cancellation, an increase in official development

assistance and better attention to its specific needs

should make it possible to integrate the African

continent into the world economy. That is why my

delegation, based on the correlation between peace and

development, is pleased at the recent decisions taken

by the G-8 in Okinawa, aimed at more effectively

combating poverty and at bridging the digital gap

between the North and the South and at humanizing

globalization.

In that respect, my country calls for more

solidarity on the part of the rich countries, and we

deeply hope that — over and above professions of

good faith — concrete measures will be taken to allow

the developing countries, particularly those in Africa,

to experience sustained growth leading to sustainable

development.

With that in mind, my delegation appeals to all its

development partners to contribute, by means of more

generous and better-targeted aid, to strengthening the

institutional capacities of our States and to creating

adequate infrastructures, which guarantee balanced

development and success in the struggle against

poverty.

The Republic of Guinea is very much concerned

by the ravages of the AIDS virus. We believe that this

battle must further mobilize the international

community so that the necessary sacrifices can be made

to halt this scourge, which has taken more victims in

Africa than anywhere else in the world. That is why my

delegation supports the important decisions that

resulted from the recent International Conference held

in Durban, South Africa.

The protection of fundamental human rights, the

satisfaction of priority human needs and social justice

must remain at the forefront of United Nations

concerns. The United Nations, in its irreplaceable role

as an instrument for the promotion of cooperation and

understanding between peoples, must strengthen the

culture of peace and sharing.

Today it is unanimously acknowledged that the

United Nations can continue to play an effective role

only if there is a necessary reform of its organs, in

particular the Security Council, which has the primary

responsibility for the maintenance of international

peace and security. The aspirations of strengthening its

authority and ensuring more equitable representation in

the Council for the Organization's Members have been

reiterated many times by the overwhelming majority of

United Nations Members, and recently by virtually all

of the heads of State or Government during the

Millennium Summit. We must also restore to the

General Assembly its central role as the main

deliberative body and, finally, reform the other organs,

with a view to a greater revitalization of the entire

United Nations system. These are the aspirations of the

peoples of the United Nations — to enable this

Organization to face the challenges of the twenty-first

century.

In his statement at the Millennium Summit, the

Prime Minister of the Republic of Guinea reiterated the

total commitment of our country to the principles of

the United Nations and to the Charter. In this

Assembly, I would like to reaffirm this commitment,

which has never been found wanting in the history of

my country. Under the leadership of its President,

General Lansana Conté, a man of peace and dialogue,

Guinea has always struggled to uplift human dignity, to

defend freedom, to restore peace and to cultivate

harmony among peoples.

Guinea will continue, side by side with other

Member States of our Organization, to work resolutely

to free humankind from the spectre of war, violence,

exclusion and intolerance, and for a world of peace,

justice and solidarity for all.