Mali, 1994

It

is a great honour for me to address the General Assembly

for the first time on behalf of the Republic of Mali.

The Malian delegation welcomes the fact that this

year’s session of the General Assembly is being held under

the skilful presidency of Mr. Amara Essy of Côte d’Ivoire.

As well as being a personal tribute, his election honours not

only Côte d’Ivoire, which is Mali’s friend and neighbour,

but Africa as a whole. It also attests to the confidence of

all delegations in him. They are confident that he will lead

our work effectively and wisely. He can rely on the full

cooperation of the Malian delegation. We convey to him

our warmest congratulations and every good wish for

success.

I wish also to pay tribute to Mr. Essy’s predecessor,

Ambassador Samuel Insanally of Guyana, for the devotion

and skill that he brought to his work as President of the

General Assembly at its last session.

I also take pleasure in greeting the Secretary-

General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and in commending

him for his tireless efforts to strengthen the role of the

United Nations.

In the period since the last session of the General

Assembly there have been encouraging developments in

the cause of peace.

The advent of a united, democratic and non-racial

South Africa is part of this pattern. That event, which

puts an end to three centuries of domination, marks the

completion of Africa’s liberation. But, in addition, by

enabling majority rule to prevail, it brings South Africa

into harmony with mankind’s essential values. For both

these reasons we must welcome the fact that joint efforts,

in Africa and around the world, were a powerful catalyst

in the eradication of the policy of apartheid. I pay tribute

to the determination of the South African people and to

the courage of two men, President Mandela and Vice-

President de Klerk, each of whom understood the trend of

history and opted for the course of reason and the path of

dialogue.

At the same time, I wish to take the opportunity

provided by the forty-ninth session of the General

Assembly to pay tribute to the Palestinian people and the

Palestine Liberation Organization, under the leadership of

Chairman Yasser Arafat. The Malian Government

welcomes the conclusion and the signing by Israel and the

Palestine Liberation Organization of the Peace Agreement

on the autonomy of Jericho and Gaza, which constitutes

a significant step forward towards settling the Palestinian

question. My delegation will continue to support the

peace process in the interests of the Palestinian and Israeli

peoples, because it provides a unique framework within

which to bring lasting peace, stability and security to the

whole region.

While developments in South Africa and in the

Middle East amount to significant progress towards peace,

certain remaining conflicts are a continuing source of

grave concern for the international community. Any

conflict capable of destabilizing any region of the world

is a threat to the peace and stability of the whole

international community.

To increase the chances of resolving conflicts that

have worldwide repercussions the United Nations should

resolutely support regional and subregional initiatives,

such as the establishment by the Organization of African

Unity of a central body for the prevention, management

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and settlement of conflicts. But such initiatives need to be

backed up with genuine and forthright involvement by

States in the same subregion, as well as by consistent

support from the international community, if lasting peace

is to be brought to the areas concerned.

Is it not also time to collectively address one of the

factors underlying the development of armed conflicts in

some regions of the world? I am thinking of the massive

uncontrolled circulation of small arms in third world

countries in general, and of Africa in particular. We are all

aware that very few of these countries manufacture arms.

So where do they come from? How are they channelled?

What can we do about them?

In the view of my delegation, the answer to these

pressing questions would make it possible to find ways and

means to ensure that our peoples enjoy a safe and stable

environment that will favour development activities.

Returning now to existing conflicts, we believe that in

Rwanda everything must be done to promote dialogue in

order to preserve peace in that country and in the region.

In this respect, my country, Mali, has been actively

involved in the quest for a solution to the Rwandan tragedy

and is participating in the implementation of the Arusha

peace agreements through its contingent earmarked to

reinforce the United Nations Assistance Mission for

Rwanda.

The international community and the United Nations

must continue their efforts to provide relief to the displaced

populations and organize their return while stepping up

economic, financial, material and technical assistance in

order to foster Rwanda’s reconstruction and economic

rehabilitation.

Similarly, there is a need for stepped-up cooperation

between the United Nations, the Organization of African

Unity, the League of Arab Nations, the Organization of the

Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement in

order to find a settlement to the Somali crisis in

humanitarian, political and security terms. This endeavour

should be accompanied by the launching of a massive and

effective programme of rehabilitation, relief and

reconstruction in Somalia. Hence the presence of the

United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM II) should

be maintained and strengthened.

In Mozambique, national reconciliation is under way.

My delegation wishes to hail the initiatives taken by the

United Nations through its observer mission and calls for

full compliance with the electoral timetable.

In Angola, we welcome the continuation of the

peace talks and call on all parties to fulfil their respective

commitments in order to bring peace quickly back to that

country.

With respect to the Western Sahara, recent

developments make it incumbent upon this Organization

to further pursue its efforts to bring about the holding of

the referendum, in conformity with the pertinent

resolutions on this issue.

In Liberia, where my country is actively involved in

the search for a solution, all initiatives designed to bring

lasting peace must be supported, in particular those of

the Economic Community of West African States

(ECOWAS). We call on the parties to the conflict, the

signatories of the various agreements, to respect their

commitments with a view to promoting the further

mobilization of the human and financial resources the

country needs. Everything should also be done to make

the experiment under way in the Military Observer Group

of ECOWAS a model for the settlement of other regional

conflicts.

Our abiding conviction that peace is possible

everywhere should bolster our determination to bring

about a settlement to other persistent conflicts.

Thus, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mali supports all

initiations permitting the speedy adoption and

implementation of measures that will break down the

stubbornness of the Serb party. My country, like other

countries of the international community, remains

profoundly perturbed by the armed aggression and policy

of “ethnic cleansing” being directed against the Republic

of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its people. We must do

our utmost to ensure that the relevant Security Council

resolutions are fully respected.

It is with this same goal of reducing the number of

regional conflicts that we should approach activities to

bring a return to democracy in Haiti and to restore peace

in Afghanistan.

Another source of grave concern for the international

community lies in the persistence of major economic and

financial problems.

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Indeed, one of the major challenges facing our

Organization today is development. The development

strategies and programmes that have been pursued thus far

have not yielded the desired results, in particular in the case

of Africa.

“An Agenda for Development”, proposed by the

Secretary-General, does provide a useful opportunity to

diagnose the existing situation, in particular in Africa, and

should permit us to propose appropriate measures to lay the

foundations for lasting development for the benefit of all

the peoples and nations of the world.

The Agenda represents the last hope for millions of

people living in poverty and destitution, for millions of

children dying every year of endemic diseases, and for the

millions of refugees around the world.

That is why my delegation welcomes the upcoming

World Summit for Social Development, scheduled for

March 1995 in Copenhagen.

Similarly, the Fourth World Conference on Women, to

be held in Beijing in 1995, should make an important

contribution to the elaboration of “An Agenda for

Development”. This Conference will permit our countries

to better manage the tremendous human resource

represented by women by translating policies and measures

in favour of women into concrete programmes. More

social justice for women can only enhance society as a

whole.

In the same vein, my delegation welcomes the ongoing

reforms in various bodies of the United Nations, notably

those responsible for economic and social development.

The question of world trade and commodities is

among those to have received the greatest attention in

recent years. In this context, the agreement creating the

World Trade Organization was signed in Marrakesh,

Morocco, on 15 April 1994.

In the implementation of that agreement, particular

attention must be given to the following issues: the specific

conditions of the developing countries, in particular the

least developed countries, which must continue to receive

preferential treatment in the implementation of the new

mechanisms designed to govern world trade; the transfer of

technology in keeping with the aspirations of the countries

of the South; regional economic integration; immigration

policies; professional training; and job creation.

Resolute political commitment on the part of the

whole of the international community is thus vital if the

Organization is to play the key role in the area of

development and international cooperation entrusted to it

by the United Nations Charter and the pertinent General

Assembly resolutions.

We welcome the fact that on 18 June 1994, the

International Convention to Combat Desertification in

Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or

Desertification, Particularly in Africa, was adopted. Mali,

a country that has been hard hit by the cumulative effects

of drought and desertification, is hoping for the early

ratification and implementation of this Convention.

Strengthening the role of the United Nations is

becoming more and more of a necessity, for as it

approaches its fiftieth anniversary, our Organization must

face many challenges, whether in the maintenance of

international peace and security or in the fields of

economic and social development or respect for human

rights.

Let us equip this Organization with the means to

accomplish these tasks.

While the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary

provides a useful opportunity to assess the work

accomplished thus far, it is also a reminder of the limits

that reality has imposed on the implementation of the

Charter. In this respect, it is not simply the problem of

the Organization’s financial situation that arises, but also

its Members’ ability to agree on its priorities and its tasks

that is being questioned. We can only rejoice when we

see that our collective awareness of the disorder and

shortcomings of the past has, for the first time, become

the promise of a readiness to engage in serious thought,

as attested to by the development of “An Agenda for

Peace” and the draft of “An Agenda for Development”,

which can become effective instruments to enable our

Organization to provide a better future for present and

future generations.

I should like to take this opportunity to inform the

international community of the democratic developments

that have taken place in Mali since 1991.

In political terms, democracy is daily being further

consolidated and expanded. After free and democratic

elections in 1992 we set up the institutions provided for

by our Basic Law. My Government today is striving to

educate the whole of Malian society in democracy.

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Evidence of this is the recent regional consultation meetings

which permitted the whole population in their respective

regions to voice their views on the major concerns facing

the Malian nation. That exercise has also permitted the

Government, among other things, to gauge the impact of its

measures on the population.

In economic terms, I wish to draw attention to the

important achievements in the context of the policy of

economic recovery and reform of public finance. The

Government’s new economic policy also stresses the

promotion of the private sector.

The challenges that face us are daunting and hence

our achievements still need to be consolidated; but that

will be possible with the support of the international

community.

The success of the recent round-table conference on

the development of Mali, held in Geneva on 13 and

14 September 1994, attests to the confidence of Mali’s

partners in development in the measures that have been

taken.

These qualitative changes in Mali have also been

observed in several developing countries. They reflect

the fundamental aspiration of peoples to freedom, justice

and development with solidarity. These positive

developments, if they are to be consolidated, require a

series of complementary measures at the international

level. In this regard it is important to ensure equal

participation by all States in the development of new

norms designed to place the international system on a

more solid foundation while at the same time providing

better security for all.

It is my hope that the commemoration of the fiftieth

anniversary of the Organization will provide a useful

opportunity to reflect in depth on these issues.