Mauritania, 2005

On

behalf of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, I am

pleased to extend to Mr. Eliasson my wholehearted

congratulations on his election to the presidency of the

General Assembly at its sixtieth session. We are

convinced that his wealth of experience and immense

talent will allow him to address the international and

regional issues on our agenda with confidence and

ensure the success of this session, which coincides with

the sixtieth anniversary of our Organization.

I cannot fail to seize this opportunity to pay

tribute to his predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping, Minister for

Foreign Affairs of Gabon, for his gifted and patient

performance at the helm of the General Assembly at

the fifty-ninth session and for his tireless efforts to

establish the appropriate conditions for the holding of

the session and the High-level Plenary Meeting that

preceded it.

I should also like warmly to congratulate

Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his colleagues on

their intense and consistent mediation and efforts to

ensure the convening of this session and the

achievement of the Organization’s lofty objectives.

I also hail the major efforts made during the

intersessional period at the high-level dialogue begun

in New York in late June on financing for development

and at the Economic and Social Council session on

national achievements and steps towards the attainment

of the Millennium Development Goals and to

implement the outcomes of the international

conferences held from 1992 to 2002.

Attaining the objectives of development, security

and stability hinges on how effectively we deal with

the issues of violence and terrorism. The global nature

of the phenomenon of terrorism requires that the

question be dealt with in a global manner, through the

complementarity of the cultures of nations and a

rejection of confrontation and conflict. It is also

important not to forget the considerable growth gap

that exists between poor and rich countries, particularly

since the social, scientific and technical lag is one of

the major causes of tension and one that nurtures

terrorism and violence in the world. In Mauritania, we

condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,

and we view it as a phenomenon that is alien to our

society and our Islamic values of tolerance. We reject

violence and extremism and call for mutual

understanding, dialogue and tolerance.

It is clear that we must quickly begin a political

dialogue, which is the only means to end the conflict in

the Middle East and to restore calm there. In this

context, my country believes that the Israeli

withdrawal from Gaza and a few cities of the West

Bank constitutes an important step towards the

implementation of the road map and the Arab peace

initiatives. Through those initiatives Arab States have

proposed to Israel a comprehensive peace and normal

relations in exchange for total withdrawal from all

Palestinian territories and from Syrian and Lebanese

territories, a return to the 4 June 1967 borders, the

establishment of a Palestinian State with East

Jerusalem as its capital, and a negotiated, just

settlement of the problem of Palestinian refugees.

We are following with interest the developments

of the situation in Iraq and are anxious to preserve

Iraq’s territorial unity, the unity of its people, its

sovereignty, independence and non-interference in its

internal problems, in order to overcome the problems

and ensure security, stability and the re-construction of

the State, while supporting the transitional

Government.

We are following with equal interest the

development of the situation in the Sudan, and we give

our blessing to the Agreement between the

Government of Sudan and the Sudanese People’s

Liberation Army. We support the commendable efforts

of the Sudanese Government, in coordination with the

African Union, the Arab League and the United

Nations, to tackle humanitarian, security and political

questions related to the Darfur crisis.

Regarding Western Sahara, Mauritania supports

the efforts of the United Nations and its Secretary-

General to find a definitive solution to assure stability

in the region, a solution that has the support of all

parties.

Mauritania today is on the eve of an era that

began with an initiative taken by the Military Council

for Justice and Democracy on 3 August 2005, which

was hailed by the entire Mauritanian people. It put an

end to totalitarian practices that caused suffering and

led to dangerous derailments that threatened the future

of the country over the last two decades. This initiative

rests on the commitment of the Council to the

Mauritanian people to create the right conditions for

the emergence of an honest and transparent democracy

and to allow civil society and all legal political actors

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to participate in this endeavour with full freedom. The

Military Council will not exercise its powers beyond

the period necessary to prepare for and set up genuine

democratic institutions, and that period will not extend

beyond two years. The Military Council for Justice and

Democracy solemnly reaffirms respect for all of

Mauritania’s international commitments and instruments.

In crystallizing this initiative, the Military

Council for Justice and Democracy has defined the

priorities of the transitional Government. It has

established three ministerial committees entrusted with

the task of defining the modalities to guarantee proper

elections, working together with political parties and

civil society organizations to establish an equitable

legal system, in consultation with the national bar

association. The aim of these efforts is to propose all

measures necessary for the emergence of a genuine

system of good governance, in which the private sector

and civil society participate.

In order to ensure justice and national

reconciliation and to enable all people to participate

freely and actively in political life, a comprehensive

and absolute amnesty was proclaimed on 2 September

2005 for all Mauritanians condemned for political

crimes and misdemeanours. At this point in time, no

Mauritanian is being prosecuted for any political crime

domestically or abroad.

For the first time, the mass media are open to all

political parties and civil society institutions. A

constitutional law was enacted prohibiting the

President and members of the Military Council for

Justice and Democracy, the Prime Minister and

members of the Transitional Government from

standing in the forthcoming elections or supporting any

political candidate or party. An independent elections

committee was formed to supervise elections, seeking

help from any nation willing to help. It is in this

context that Mauritania presented a memorandum to

the United Nations regarding provision of assistance to

international observers invited by the Mauritanian

Government to provide technical and logistical

assistance for the elections. This is with a view to

conducting a constitutional referendum, which will be

organized by July 2006 at the latest, as well as

legislative and presidential elections to be held before

6 August 2007. The referendums and elections would

be held in accordance with the commitment made by

the Military Council for Justice and Democracy with

the Transitional Government, in order to provide the

appropriate conditions for a transparent and open

democracy and to facilitate the establishment of

institutions that will be truly representative and

diverse.

Mauritania is eager to contribute to the

development of cooperation and solidarity in the

regional context. It is in that context that we would like

to reaffirm our total support for the Arab Maghreb,

which remains an incontrovertible strategic choice and

an ambitious project for the people of the region in

their aspirations to greater complementarity and

solidarity.

With regard to the African continent, we would

like to reiterate the importance we attach to our

friendship and brotherly relations with all countries of

the continent. We would like to further strengthen

cultural dialogue, communications and relations, which

we have pledged to do within the Five-plus-Five

framework and the Barcelona process, the tenth

anniversary of which we shall celebrate this year.

Given ongoing world changes, we would like to

see the role and functions of the General Assembly

enhanced and to see its decisions implemented. That

holds true for other organs of the United Nations, in

particular the Economic and Social Council.

The Security Council needs to be strengthened,

and to be made more representative by including

members from Africa, Latin America and other regional

groups, such as the Arab Group, as well as other

industrialized States such as Germany and Japan. Finally,

the working methods of the Council and its performance

need to be improved so that it can achieve its mandate

of maintaining international peace and security.