Ivory Coast, 2013

Like the

Heads of State and Government who have spoken

before me, I would like, on behalf of the delegation of

Côte D’Ivoire and on my own behalf, to address my

sincere congratulations to Mr. Ashe on his outstanding

election as President of the General Assembly at its

sixty-eighth session. I also wish in particular to thank

Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon for his leadership of

the Organization and his commitment to world peace

and development. I take this opportunity to reiterate to

him, in the name of my counterparts in the Economic

Community of West African States (ECOWAS), our

gratitude for his personal involvement in the resolution

of conflicts in Africa and especially in the subregion of

West Africa.

Before touching on the topic of today’s debate, in

taking the floor for the second time before the Assembly

I would like to reaffirm the gratitude of the Ivorian

people for the efforts of the United Nations and the

international community on our behalf. Indeed, thanks

to that invaluable support, Côte d’Ivoire is now hard

at work and has returned to the path of economic and

social development for the well-being of all Ivorians.

My country is in a period of full reconstruction after

establishing credible and democratic institutions

following free, transparent elections. National

reconciliation and political dialogue are under way in

a climate of peace. We are aware of the challenges that

remain, but we are on the right path.

The theme for this session, “The post-2015

development agenda: setting the stage”, calls on us all

individually and collectively to consider our capacity

to meet the development challenge. As we approach

the 2015 target date for achieving the Millennium

Development Goals, it should be noted that significant

progress has been achieved by most countries, and

we welcome the determination of all Governments

to continue their efforts to meet the Millennium

commitments.

Although much remains to be done and the

progress made can mask various national and regional

realities, the current trend appears to be irreversible,

despite a particularly difficult economic environment.

We must seek to build on the positive outcomes that

have been achieved in a number of areas, such as

primary school enrolment, vaccinations and slowing

the spread of HIV/AIDS. We must also resolve issues

of food security, drought, access to drinking water

and combating poverty, which continue to be major

concerns for our States.

By adopting the Millennium Development Goals,

we have the collective responsibility and ambition to

improve the living conditions of our fellow citizens and

thereby accelerate the development of our countries. As

far as my country, Côte d’Ivoire, is concerned, progress

towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals,

which was deadlocked because of the sociopolitical

crisis, has today gained new momentum, thanks

to the sound performance of our economy. It is in

that favourable climate that the Government has

established an ambitious reconstruction programme,

which is based on the national development plan for

the period 2012-2015. Social investments being a

priority in that programme, the programme allocates

substantial amounts to education, health and basic

social infrastructure. The Government has also made

job creation a national priority, in particular jobs for

young people, and its goal is to create 200,000 jobs a

year, which is a considerable number given the size of

our country.

As we assess what has been accomplished, we must

face the fact that the world needs greater solidarity to

reach the Millennium Development Goals. Therefore,

we must adopt a comprehensive approach that will

enable our countries to create sustainable development

models that are more equitable and more respectful

of our differences. The African continent, which lags

behind in the effort to achieve the Goals by 2015,

can nevertheless count on an increasing share in the

global economy because of its growth rate. My country

therefore supports the definition of a post-2015 agenda

to forge a new consensus regarding a new generation

of sustainable development goals, based on the

Millennium Development Goals.

The world we seek will not come about unless

we meet the challenge of peace and security, as well

as that of democracy, through a return to the values

of the Charter of the United Nations. Too many wars

and conflicts continue to tear humankind apart,

undermining development efforts in numerous

countries. We must collectively put an end to that

situation by ensuring that we serve the interests of the

people exclusively, using the tools we already have. It

is by renewing the foundations of our solidarity that we

will be able to counter new threats, such as terrorism,

cross-border crime, drug and arms trafficking, human

trafficking and piracy at sea.

The attack of a rare violence that occurred in our

brother country, Kenya, is an example of those threats,

and reminds us of the urgent need for collective action

against the threat of terrorism. We condemn in the

strongest possible terms that despicable and barbarous

act, which shows that the fight against terrorism is

ongoing and calls for new methods of security. In these

times of great suffering, I would like, on behalf of my

country and West Africa, to convey to the brotherly

people of Kenya and its President our compassion and

support.

International governance must become more

democratic and increasingly embody the universal

consensus and the values of our nations. Indeed, the

world must be able to recognize itself in its multilateral

institutions in order to effectively deal with the hazards

of this new century.

West Africa is aware of the threat posed to

its development, the deterioration in the security

environment and the proliferation of new factors of

instability. Accordingly, the Heads of State of ECOWAS

are rightly doing everything possible, with the support

of the international community, in a determined effort

to re-establish and maintain peace in our region. For

that reason, we welcomed with the utmost satisfaction

the re-establishment of the territorial integrity of Mali

and the successful holding of presidential elections in

that country.

That success must not hide the major challenges

still facing our region. I therefore call upon the

international community to learn from the conflict in

Mali and to support ECOWAS and the African Union in

implementing a coherent and proactive security policy.

Terrorism in the Sahel region is spreading to such an

extent that entire expanses are outside the authority of

States. The threat goes beyond the borders of the African

continent and demands a concerted international

response in keeping with the stakes involved.

I would like to encourage donors and our traditional

partners to provide their support to the United Nations

and to our States within the framework of this strategy.

We welcome the announcement of the upcoming visit

of the Secretary-General and the President of the World

Bank to the Sahel region in order to mobilize the entire

international community and the financial institutions.

If we want to end the cycle of politico-military

crises in West Africa, Guinea-Bissau must also receive

international support, so that we can build upon the

current inclusive transition and enable the Government

to organize democratic elections next November. For

that reason, on behalf of ECOWAS, I call upon the

international community to contribute to the financing

of general elections in that country.

In closing, I would like to remind our Assembly that

in order to meet the challenges of international peace

and security, we must redouble our efforts to deliver on

the commitments made at United Nations conferences

and summits. The right to development must become a

reality for all, as set out in the Millennium Declaration

(resolution 55/2), which was unanimously adopted in

September 2000. We must all draw lessons from the

shortcomings of the past in order to rebuild the world

gloriously for ourselves, our children and our children’s

children.