Mali, 2006

At the

outset, it is my great pleasure to express to you,

Madam, the heartfelt congratulations of the delegation

of Mali on your outstanding election to the presidency

of the General Assembly at its sixty-first session. Your

election attests to your eminent personal qualities and

is a tribute to your country, Bahrain, with which Mali

06-53005 44

enjoys fruitful cooperation. I assure you and other

Bureau members, whom I also congratulate, of the

support of my delegation.

I should also like to express our satisfaction to

your predecessor, Mr. Jan Eliasson, for his excellent

guidance of the work of the General Assembly at its

sixtieth session. History will recall his spirit of

initiative and his commitment, which were decisive to

the implementation of the outcomes of the September

2005 World Summit.

I should also like to pay tribute to Secretary-

General Kofi Annan, who, throughout his two terms,

has carried out his mission with devotion and

commitment.

Tomorrow, Mali will celebrate the 46th

anniversary of its independence, but Mali is an ancient

country, a country of traditions, a crossroads of

civilization, a land of culture, dialogue and tolerance.

Under the leadership of President Amadou Toumani

Touré, our country continues every day to consolidate

its model of democracy, which has been unanimously

hailed in Africa and throughout the world. A new

Mali — a democratic, united Mali — is on the march.

A symbol of that dynamic was the signing in

Algiers on 4 July of the accord for the restoration of

peace, security and development in the Kidal region.

The Algiers agreement bolsters Mali’s firm resolve to

opt for the peaceful settlement of disputes, fruitful

dialogue and concerted action. The restoration of peace

in the northern part of our country has allowed the

various components of the Malian nation to work

together in building our nation in a spirit of solidarity

focused on the well-being and prosperity of all.

Similarly, our political system is being

strengthened daily in a context of peaceful democracy,

to the great satisfaction of our people, who have made

the irreversible decision that any devolution of power

must occur within a democratic and constitutional

framework. To that end, in the first quarter of 2007 the

people of Mali will be called to the polls — for the

fourth time since the establishment of multiparty

democracy in 1992 — to elect a president and renew

the mandate of the deputies to the National Assembly.

Mali welcomes the choice of theme for the sixty-

first session of the General Assembly on implementing

a global partnership for development. In that respect, it

goes without saying that the 2005 World Summit

represented a decisive moment in the international

community’s determination to ensure a better life for

all the peoples of the world. At that time, our heads of

State and Government reviewed the implementation of

the internationally agreed development objectives, in

particular the Millennium Development Goals, and

reaffirmed their relevance, thereby confirming their

importance at the heart of the development agenda.

In that regard, Mali has made the fight against

poverty a priority of the Government’s actions. In May

2002, my country adopted a strategic framework for

the fight against poverty, which sets priority

development guidelines, particularly in the social

spheres, in order to better meet the basic needs of our

people by creating an environment conducive to

sustained growth, enhanced participatory democracy,

good governance and entrenched rule of law.

With respect to results achieved, the Government

of Mali, with the assistance of its partners, is finalizing

a new so-called second-generation strategic framework

that will encompass, above and beyond the social

sectors, the productive sectors of agriculture, industry

and trade. In the same vein, we recently adopted a law

on agricultural guidelines that makes agriculture the

driving force of the national economy in order to

guarantee food self-sufficiency and to ensure the well-

being of our people.

Mr. Chungong-Ayafor (Cameroon), Vice-President,

took the Chair.

Security cannot be ensured in an environment in

which the movement of small arms and light weapons

continues to destroy human lives, destabilize States

and impede their economic and social development. In

accordance with the United Nations Programme of

Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit

Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its

Aspects, we are firmly committed to mitigating the

unspeakable suffering caused by those weapons and to

ensuring individual security for all.

In that regard, in West Africa and in the context

of the Economic Community of West African States

(ECOWAS), we have taken significant measures to

stem the scourge of the proliferation of light weapons.

Indeed, the thirtieth conference of ECOWAS heads of

State and Government, held at Abuja on 14 June,

decided to back up the ECOWAS moratorium on the

import, export and production of small arms and light

weapons with executive power by converting it into a

45 06-53005

binding convention. That new instrument should

contribute to building the capacities of Governments to

exert stricter control over the traffic in small arms and

to improve security arrangements within the

Community.

Similarly, we cannot fail to welcome the

launching, in Bamako on 6 June, of the new ECOWAS

Small Arms Control Programme (ECOSAP). Over the

course of six years, ECOSAP — via the intermediary

of national commissions — will not only provide

member States with technical and financial support, but

will also contribute to building the capacities of a

special unit in the ECOWAS Executive Secretariat.

On the other hand, we can only regret the fact

that the United Nations Conference to review the

implementation of the Programme of Action to

Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in

Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects

failed to draft an agreed text because of the lack of

progress in the priority areas of the bearing of arms by

civilians, the management of stockpiles, references to

human rights and the participation of civil society. As a

result, we have fallen far behind in the Programme, the

provisions of which we were supposed to improve. For

its part, Mali reiterates its readiness to continue to

work with other Member States to make progress on

that important issue.

Rarely have international peace and security been

put to such a harsh test by the resurgence of hotbeds of

tension and conflict and acts of international terrorism.

International terrorism is, as we all know, one of the

most serious threats to international peace and security.

In that respect, the attacks perpetrated worldwide

vividly remind us that no country is safe from that

phenomenon.

In order to create conditions conducive to

responding to terrorism, it is urgent that we build

national and regional capacities. To that end, we must

overcome our differences in drafting a consensus

definition and adopting a comprehensive strategy in

that area. No cause, howsoever just or right, justifies

the deliberate use of violence against innocent

civilians. In that vein, we must promote a dialogue

among civilizations, which remains fully relevant in an

international context marked by a lack of trust among

nations in terms of culture and religion.

The maintenance of international peace and

security is a prerequisite of any development process.

Mali therefore continues to be fully committed to the

ideals of peace and stability, both within and beyond its

borders.

On the African front, I welcome the progress

made towards reconstruction and national

reconciliation in many countries, including Guinea-

Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Burundi and the

Comoros. In Côte d’Ivoire, despite the clear lack of

progress in the implementation of the road map, the

peace process has reached a critical phase. Mali

reaffirms its readiness to assist the Ivorian political

actors in restoring lasting peace in that brotherly

neighbour country.

In the Sudan, the implementation of the Darfur

Peace Agreement, signed on 5 May in Abuja, is a major

concern of the international community. We urge all

parties involved to fulfil their commitments and to

work to restore peace and preserve national unity.

In the same vein, we can only welcome the

successful convening of the first general, free,

multiparty elections to complete the process of

democratic transition in the Democratic Republic of

the Congo.

The recent outbreak of violence in the Middle

East recalls — as if there were any need to do so — the

necessity for the international community to take

appropriate measures to create conditions conducive to

a lasting, negotiated and peaceful settlement to that

crisis. While reaffirming our active solidarity with the

people of Lebanon and Palestine, we are closely

following developments in that region and will

continue to support relevant United Nations resolutions

on the Middle East and the Palestinian question.

While it is now recognized that trade is a factor

for growth and development, we must also note that

developing countries continue to suffer the

repercussions of an unfair and discriminatory trade

system, particularly given the tariff and non-tariff

obstacles and subsidies for production and export that

distort competition. Given their negative effects, such

measures prevent the development of our agriculture,

deny our producers — Malian cotton growers among

them — a decent income, and keep them in the poverty

that we have committed ourselves to eradicating by

2015.

In that regard, the hopes placed in the Doha

Development Round contrast starkly with the major

06-53005 46

uncertainties arising from the recent failure of the trade

talks on agricultural products. That is a source of

legitimate concern to us. Mali urges all parties to be

flexible and promptly to relaunch the Doha Round to

ensure that trade liberalization serves the development

of all nations without exception, particularly the

poorest, so that we may raise millions of people out of

poverty.

The issue of external debt is of particular

importance to developing countries, especially the least

developed. Indeed, despite the welcome measures to

cancel the multilateral debt of certain countries,

including Mali, the debt burden continues to weigh

heavily on developing countries, undermine their

development efforts and prevent their economic

recovery. Those countries are locked in a cycle of

dependence on outside financing and, if nothing is

done, will fall behind in their efforts to achieve the

Millennium Development Goals.

In such circumstances, we need to explore lasting

solutions for making the debt less burdensome,

including the cancellation of bilateral debt. Those

countries need investment and to strive for the well-

being of their peoples. There must also be accelerated

progress towards a substantial increase in official

development assistance if the ultimate goal of 0.7 per

cent of the gross national income of the developed

countries is to be reached.

The AIDS pandemic has spread so alarmingly

that, beyond its health dimensions and given its vast

reach, it has today become a development problem

throughout the world. Indeed, in Africa it has become a

health emergency, despite our national and

international efforts. In the face of the pandemic, we

need to step up our efforts and strengthen our resolve

fully to implement the 2001 Declaration of

Commitment and the General Assembly’s Political

Declaration issued at the High-level Meeting on

HIV/AIDS in May and June this year. The XVI

International AIDS Conference, held at Toronto in

August 2006, it should be recalled, has highlighted the

seriousness of the situation and the urgent need to take

action.

At the national level, Mali has established a

multisectoral programme for combating HIV/AIDS,

whose implementation has made it possible to provide

free access to antiretroviral treatment for patients and

to carry out an awareness and education prevention

campaign to stem the disease and its disastrous social

effects. In the same vein, the Government has created a

National High Council against AIDS under the direct

authority of the President. I would like to take this

opportunity to stress that the international community

must continue to give the same priority to other

diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis and polio,

whose consequences are just as devastating for our

people as AIDS.

As for the situation of the disabled, Mali is

pleased to have been a member of the working group

that prepared the text that was the basis for a draft

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

We welcome the negotiations under way within the Ad

Hoc Committee, and we remain convinced that such a

tool will create the framework for equality and the full

participation of the disabled in efforts to build their

respective societies.

As for the institutional reform of the United

Nations, Mali welcomes the creation of the

Peacebuilding Commission, one of the major results of

the Summit of September 2005. For many years the

management of post-conflict situations has been the

weak link of our Organization. As is known, the

impulse that gives rise to peacekeeping, for both donor

countries and troop contributors, subsides once there is

a semblance of stability. As a result, such situations

quite often result in a resurgence of conflicts less than

five years after they have ended, as we have seen from

experience in this area.

How can we not welcome the creation and

implementation of the Human Rights Council, of

which Mali is a member, the Central Emergency

Response Fund and the adoption of a series of

resolutions on the follow-up to development? All those

measures work together for the attainment of the

wishes of the world’s leaders to address better the

problems and the challenges of our time in order to

bring changes in the priority areas of development,

peace, collective security, human rights and reform of

the Organization.

The progress achieved must not cause us to forget

that much remains to be done, especially the necessary

reform of the Security Council. While that need is

unanimously accepted, it is no less true that not one of

the formulas proposed has so far won consensus.

Mali, drawing on the Ezulwini Consensus and the

Syrte Declaration adopted by the heads of State and

47 06-53005

Government of the African Union, strongly supports

Africa’s claim to two permanent seats and five

non-permanent seats. A Council thus reformed would

better reflect the geopolitical realities of today’s world

and would redress the historical injustice done to

Africa, the only region without a permanent seat on the

Security Council.

I would like to end by recalling that millions of

persons in the world have placed their hopes for peace,

security, development and solidarity in the United

Nations. We have no right to disappoint them. As the

community of nations, we have the obligation and the

means to achieve all that through collective awareness

and protection of our common values. This is what it

will take for us to be in a position to guarantee future

generations sustainable development that will protect

them from the scourge of war.