Madagascar, 1997

The success of a

session of our General Assembly lies heavily with its

President, the chief catalyser and conductor of our work

during the session; with the state of affairs left by his

predecessor; and, of course, with the capacity of the whole

United Nations Organization to implement in a credible,

coherent and sustainable way the various decisions,

resolutions and recommendations made by the General

Assembly.

It is therefore a pleasure for me to express to you, Sir,

on behalf of the Republic of Madagascar, our warmest

congratulations on your election to the presidency of the

present fifty-second session of our General Assembly.

Please be assured of our support and of our conviction that

your proven experience in international affairs is definitely

a major asset towards the success of your mission.

We would also like to express our gratitude to your

predecessor, Ambassador Resale Ismaili, whose

commitment during his tenure we admired and whose

work and achievements make up a solid foundation on

which this and upcoming sessions will build and further

construct.

Last but not least, I should like to reaffirm our

strong praise and encouragement for our Secretary-

General and his staff for their highly laudable work on

proposed reforms of the United Nations aimed at making

our Organization an even more credible and efficient

body, capable of meeting the challenge of the next

century. It would thus be a matter of legitimate pride to

realize at the end of this process that major and positive

United Nations reforms would have been achieved under

the tenure of a native African Secretary-General.

(spoke in French)

There is no doubt that the question of United

Nations reform, which has been of concern to us more

particularly since the middle of July last and which has

figured prominently in most of the statements made

during the general debate, is not only making the fifty-

second session of the General Assembly seem like a hive

of feverish activity leading up to major events but also is

lending it a special character that will remain in the

annals of the Organization because of the importance of

the stakes for all of humankind.

It is a starting point for this necessary process to find

answers to our aspirations for the future of our

Organization, following the solemn commitment made here

two years ago by our Heads of State and Government, in

the framework of the commemoration of the fiftieth

anniversary of the United Nations, to work jointly to

promote peace, development, equality, justice and

understanding among peoples.

This reform process should reflect the changes and

profound upheavals that have taken place in the world and

that have made it necessary for our Organization to adapt

itself and its structures to the new realities of the world in

which we live — a world characterized by an upsurge in

globalization and by greater interdependence among

nations. The free movement of goods, people, capital and

information has increased. Technological progress is

making it possible to transmit and disseminate ideas,

cultures and lifestyles.

Some developing countries have undergone rapid

economic growth and have become integrated into the

dynamic current of the world economy. Others — and

unfortunately there are far too many of them — have

experienced slow or even negative growth and have been

marginalized in the globalization process. Poverty and

famine still affect a considerable number of people. The

figures speak for themselves: at a time when some people

are privileged enough to surf the Internat to do their

shopping, 800 million others go hungry every day — that

according to a report of the Food and Agriculture

Organization at the World Food Summit last November.

And that is to say nothing of illness, illiteracy or violence.

The basic principles that have given impetus to this

process of renewal include good governance, sound

management, transparency and the democratization of

international relations. In this respect, Madagascar cannot

but welcome this innovative approach because it is based

on the same values and the same ideals underlying my

Government’s quest for social and economic progress,

whose goal is to provide a higher standard of living for the

Malagasy people in conditions of greater freedom.

Indeed, we in Madagascar hope to ensure that the

observance of human rights, social justice, participation by

all in national development efforts, the implementation of

economic reforms and the practice of democracy do not

remain mere political slogans but are put into practice. As

the representative of a Government born of a democratic

change of power seven months ago, I know what I am

talking about.

At this stage of the considerations presented by our

Secretary-General, certain points are noteworthy. Among

those I would refer specifically to restructuring, financial

reform and the Security Council.

With respect to restructuring, it is clear that efforts

must be made to merge agencies of the United Nations

system in order to ensure improved efficiency and better

coordination. An example would be to merge into a single

unit in Geneva the Office of the High Commissioner for

Human Rights and the Centre for Human Rights in order

to strengthen complementarity in related activities of our

Organization.

My country believes that we must increase

transparency and create a culture of shared savings, which

a reform of the Centre’s administration would bring

about — this with the aim of avoiding by every possible

means the non-observance of democracy, which is the

fundamental reason for serious human rights violations

throughout the world. Likewise, humanitarian relief,

which the United Nations continues to provide to

countries that are facing natural disasters, would become

more effective with the creation of an office for the

coordination of emergency situation efforts,

complemented by an appropriate intervention mechanism.

I take this opportunity to convey my country’s

gratitude to those who did not hesitate to assist

Madagascar in our efforts to deal with the locust invasion

in the southern part of the island. I would mention in

particular the Food and Agriculture Organization of the

United Nations, the United Nations Development

Programme, the World Food Programme, the United

States Agency for International Development and the

World Bank, as well as friendly countries — Japan,

Germany, France, Norway and the United Kingdom,

among others.

My delegation, which welcomes the strengthening of

certain United Nations activities and the inclusion of new

priorities, agrees with the conclusions of the fifty-third

session of the Commission on Human Rights, according

to which human rights are inseparable from the promotion

of peace, security, economic prosperity and social equity.

It reaffirms, therefore, that the work of the United

Nations in the area of human rights must be considered as

an element of the Organization’s activities in the field of

preventive diplomacy, and that United Nations operations

to monitor the observance of human rights must promote

respect for these rights in order to be able to restore

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social stability and assist in the reconstruction and recovery

of societies following periods of conflict.

In this regard, the restructuring of the Secretariat

should take into account all approaches to human rights, in

accordance with the outcome of the Vienna Conference,

which, as we know, proclaimed the interdependence and

indivisibility of human rights as well as the promotion of

the right to development.

My delegation, however, would appeal for greater

vigilance on the question of human rights, bearing in mind

that on 10 December we shall begin to celebrate the fiftieth

anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

and in view of the possible consequences of international

oversight of human rights for the sovereignty of States,

particularly when this involves monitoring measures and

even conditionality, under the guise of humanitarian

concerns.

Reform must not be reduced to a simple cost-cutting

exercise; rather, it must strengthen the role of the

Organization and above all enhance its efficiency. Hence

Madagascar recognizes the need to strengthen the role of

the General Assembly, which we feel must remain the

primary forum for States to discuss essential issues of

peace, security and development. At a time when the

virtues of democratization are preached, the General

Assembly is the only body capable of guaranteeing that as

many people as possible can make their voices heard at the

world level and play an effective part in the management of

international affairs.

The Charter could therefore be amended to give

greater power to the General Assembly, so that it might

play a bigger role alongside the Security Council,

particularly in the maintenance of peace. We therefore

support the Secretary-General’s initiative to set up a

ministerial commission to consider the possible changes.

On financial reform, many eminent speakers — I

would refer in particular to the Prime Minister of

Pakistan — have stated in this debate that one of the main

weaknesses of the United Nations stems from the fact that

while some Members are supposed to pay their assessments

in full and without conditions, others delay payment,

making it contingent on one reason or another, whether

stated or not.

Madagascar appeals for what I would call a code of

good conduct or financial civic-mindedness, in order to

remedy this situation. We support the principle that the

financing of the United Nations must be an integral part

of the reform process. Moreover, the scale of assessments,

the key to the apportionment of expenses, must reflect the

capacity of each State to pay, as it is applied in most, if

not all world organizations, on the basis of equity, pure

and simple. It is clear to us that the scale cannot be set in

stone and that there should be provision for amendment

when necessary — that is, when there is a change in a

country’s capacity to pay.

Finally, we welcome the desire of the Secretary-

General to allocate more predictable resources to finance

development, to ensure an overall increase in official

development assistance and to create an Office for

Development Financing to allocate to developing

countries what have been described as the dividends of

reform.

In regard to the Security Council, it would be putting

it mildly to say that its present membership no longer

reflects reality. To speak of our continent alone, Africa

has the greatest number of Member States of the United

Nations, and yet the continent has no permanent seat on

the Security Council. Nor was the continent even

consulted or considered at the time of the first review of

the Council in 1965.

Madagascar endorses the position of the

Organization of African Unity (OAU) and would opt for

an expansion of Security Council membership based on

democratization, transparency and equitable geographical

representation. An increase in number and an

improvement in the Council’s functioning and working

methods, as well as its relations with States that are not

members of the Council, are essential in order to reflect

the present reality, and above all to allow the United

Nations to lend an attentive ear to the problems of the

poor and less favoured countries. In addition, relations

between the Security Council and the Economic and

Social Council must be strengthened, so that decisions on

international peace and security can take into account

social factors.

In this regard, my delegation welcomes the decision

of the sub-working group of the African Group, chaired

by Egypt, which is considering the modalities for

implementing a rotation system for two permanent seats

which could be allocated to Africa, called for in the

Harare Declaration of the summit of Heads of State and

Government of the OAU.

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We feel that the veto must not be considered

separately from the question of expanding the membership

of the Council. Moreover, given the principles of

democracy supported by the international community as a

whole, it would be logical to extend the right of veto to all

permanent members, or simply to abolish it.

In addition, we emphatically reaffirm that any question

relating to reform of the Security Council must be subject

to a two-thirds majority vote of Member States, in

accordance with the provisions of Article 18 of the Charter.

Any initiative to submit a simple resolution running counter

to that would be prejudicial to the Organization and to its

Members.

The 15 priority areas on which the Secretary-General

has taken action and made recommendations respond to the

demands of today’s world. My delegation is certain that the

substantive comments and proposals of the General

Assembly will help implement the initiatives taken, so that

our Organization can keep pace with the demands of our

time and, above all, live up to the expectations of our

people. In any event, Madagascar, within the framework of

the regional forums to which it belongs, is considering the

proposals of the Secretary-General in a spirit of

constructive dialogue and without preconceptions.

However, I cannot speak of international peace and

security without expressing my concern at the slow pace of

negotiations leading to general agreement on every aspect

of Security Council reform. We are concerned because,

despite the establishment of a Department for Disarmament

and Arms Regulation, announced in the package of reforms,

the Council will still remain, under the Charter, the body

entrusted with maintaining international peace and security.

However, the Malagasy Government welcomes the fact that

cooperation between the United Nations and the OAU with

regard to peace was mentioned in the Secretary-General’s

report to the fifty-second session, as well as in statements

made last Thursday at the ministerial meeting of the

Security Council on the situation in Africa. We are pleased

to note the determination of the Secretary-General to

increase this cooperation and extend it to all activities

related to the maintenance of peace, including conflict

prevention. In this area, we welcome the Secretary-

General’s plan to appoint a representative based in Addis

Ababa. It is important here to emphasize the importance not

only of combining, but also coordinating, the efforts of the

OAU — which has a central Mechanism for Conflict

Prevention Management and Resolution — with those of

the Security Council, so that we do not work at cross-

purposes. Here I would like to recall that the OAU

welcomed the principle of strengthening African

peacekeeping capacity, which France, the United

Kingdom and the United States of America have jointly

proposed to assist.

My delegation welcomes the negotiations to date on

nuclear disarmament measures and on limiting and

gradually reducing conventional weapons and in particular

anti-personnel mines. On this last point, Madagascar has

voted in favour of General Assembly resolutions on a

moratorium on the export of mines. We welcome the

agreement drafted in Oslo on the text of a convention for

the complete elimination of anti-personnel mines, as well

as Norway’s commitment to provide $100 million for

demining activities and assistance to victims.

In this respect, my country appeals to States with

military arsenals to continue resolutely to take measures

aimed at general and complete disarmament. The

participation of all States in this process of disarmament,

in cooperation with the Department for Disarmament and

Arms Regulation, whose establishment is part of the

reform programme, will provide an invaluable

contribution to the easing of global tensions.

This international determination will also be a source

of mutual assistance and cooperation in combating

organized transnational crime. Transnational criminal

organizations have, in fact, existed for a long time, but

the globalization of international relations with regard to

the economy, commerce, telecommunications and the

rapid progress of technology, as well as the disappearance

of ideological blocs, have permitted the activities of

transnational criminal organizations to expand and have

increased their power to such an extent that they are now

a permanent threat to the foundation and internal security

of States, to their cultural and artistic heritage and to the

environment of the planet. Today we are witnessing the

emergence of new forms of transnational crime: money-

laundering or the investment of capital generated by

activities that are usually interconnected, including drug-

trafficking, corruption, traffic in weapons, terrorism,

traffic in nuclear and toxic material, traffic in protected

natural resources, traffic in human beings, removal of

organs, and more.

From this standpoint, the countries that are weakest

in terms of economic, institutional, material and

technological capacity are the most vulnerable —

developing countries in general and African countries in

particular — because the automatic effect of the activities

of developed countries to prevent and combat organized

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crime is to condemn such countries to becoming new zones

of expansion.

We must therefore urgently find an effective response

to this threat by defining a common objective based on a

united stand and coherent action, by establishing or

strengthening cooperation for exchanging experience and

knowledge, by increasing our exchange of information and,

above all, by actively promoting and supporting cooperation

with international or regional forums so as to provide

institutional technical assistance and logistical support. That

notwithstanding, we note the special importance attributed

by the Secretary-General to the need to improve the

capacity of the system to combat drug-trafficking and

terrorism.

Peace is, with development, one of the main missions

of the United Nations. My country reaffirms its unwavering

commitment to the principle of settling disputes peacefully.

It is deeply concerned by the threats to destabilize peace in

the world, especially in Africa.

With regard to the Republic of Congo, therefore,

Madagascar appeals to the parties to develop a dialogue

aimed at a definitive ceasefire, in accordance with the spirit

of the Libreville Summit, held on 14 and 15 September

1997, and at allowing the deployment, under the auspices

of the United Nations and the Organization of African

Unity (OAU), of the international intervention force

recommended at the Summit.

As for the internal crisis in the Comoros, which is an

immediate neighbour of Madagascar, we support of the

efforts of the Secretary-General of the OAU as well as

those of the League of Arab States and the Organization of

the Islamic Conference. Furthermore, we reaffirm our

support of the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros

with regard to sovereignty and territorial integrity. In this

respect we support the convening of an international

conference to restore peace in that sister Republic, and we

have expressed the readiness of Madagascar to become

involved in any initiatives along these lines.

Also in Africa, Madagascar welcomes the

establishment of direct talks between Morocco and the

POLISARIO Front, which recently culminated in the

Houston Agreement, as a result of the mediation of James

Baker. We believe this to be a major landmark on the path

to the settlement of the question of Western Sahara, which

has gone on for too long.

In the Middle East, Madagascar also strongly appeals

to the parties concerned to safeguard the progress

achieved in the peace process. We believe that an

essential element for this is for Israel to halt the

establishment of new settlements.

Finally, we reaffirm our support for the concept of

the reunification of Korea and welcome the progress that

is starting to appear in this regard.

During the course of the United Nations conferences

on human rights, the environment, population, social

development, women, etc., we succeeded in achieving

important global commitments, and we must ensure the

follow-up. We have achieved an international consensus

on the need to ensure that ecological realities and

priorities for environmental policies are taken into account

in structural changes that are in progress in the

international economic order. To be more specific, we

must integrate environmental factors — a precondition for

sustainable development — into economic priorities. In

this regard Madagascar encourages the efforts already

undertaken by international development finance

organizations and by Governments. We are convinced that

the overall implementation of the provisions in the basic

Agenda 21 document for rapid and specific action will

come to fruition in the recommendations of the Secretary-

General as contained in his programme for reform.

In conclusion, I take this opportunity to recall my

comments at the nineteenth special session of the General

Assembly, on an overall review and appraisal of the

implementation of Agenda 21. While reaffirming our full

adherence to the principles of mutual interest and the

shared but differentiated responsibilities of developed and

developing countries contained in the Rio Declaration,

and to its general implementation, we requested, first, that

developed countries honour the commitments undertaken

in Rio to devote 0.7 per cent of their gross national

product to development assistance. Secondly, we

requested that the Global Environment Facility be

restructured and adequately replenished so as to facilitate

access to resources; and thirdly and above all, that,

following the concept of the “democracy dividend” and

the “economic adjustment and reform dividend”, an

“environment dividend” should be advocated for the least

developed countries to enable them to protect their

environment and thereby speed up the eradication of

poverty, the main cause and consequence of

environmental degradation.

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We now ask whether the United Nations Environment

Programme (UNEP) in its present form has the necessary

power to impose sanctions or to grant dividends, or whether

we need to strengthen its mandate or create a new structure

with adequate power.

For its part, Madagascar — we cannot repeat this

often enough — is proud to comply with the measures

recommended in Agenda 21. Indeed, it stands out in its

capacity as a country that is both a nature sanctuary and a

natural sanctuary, possessing treasures and specific

characteristics that are rare, if not unique in the world, in

terms of flora and fauna.

We hope that in Kyoto in December firm

commitments will be made to reduce greenhouse gas

emissions, which cause global warming and thereby

contribute to the further deterioration of our environment.

It rests only with us to make this session a session of

reform, as the Secretary-General wishes, or to make it a

session like so many others — one in which speakers assail

us with rhetoric or at best with verbal promises that are not

followed up with actions. Madagascar is convinced that we

will make the right choice at the right time to consolidate

our ideals.