Mauritius, 1999

It is a distinct pleasure to

address the Assembly with a distinguished son of Africa

and a veteran freedom fighter in the presidency. His

election to preside over this last session of the closing

millennium is a fitting tribute to his outstanding qualities.

I congratulate him warmly and assure him of the total

support and cooperation of my delegation.

We also thank His Excellency Mr. Opertti for the

excellent manner in which he presided over the work of the

fifty-third session. The Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan,

whose strong commitment to the cause of the United

Nations needs hardly be emphasized, has continued to lead

the Organization with vision, vigour and great dedication.

Mauritius welcomes very warmly the admission of the

Kingdom of Tonga, the Republic of Kiribati and the

Republic of Nauru to the United Nations.

The curtain will soon fall on our eventful twentieth

century, a century of tremendous achievements by mankind.

The wide world has been reduced to a global village

through progress in the field of science and technology

during this century. The political map of the world has

undergone tremendous transformation. It is hardly

recognizable from what it used to be at this century's outset.

Today, our world is made of independent nations, with

peoples themselves in charge of their destinies. On the

other hand, we did experience the horrors of wars in the

first half of the century but decided never to let it happen

again. We created the United Nations in the aftermath of

the Second World War as a forum for all nations to carry

forward together a common pledge for lasting world peace

and promote development and progress for all humanity.

During this century man has paradoxically also

created weapons of mass destruction that threaten his very

existence. Disarmament, including nuclear disarmament,

remains a major preoccupation for all of us as we step

into the new millennium. The United Nations,

representing the collective conscience of nations, has

endeavoured to serve humanity and the cause of peace

and development. The United Nations is the sole

mechanism through which universal peace can be secured.

We unanimously agree also that reforms to the Charter of

the United Nations are necessary — indeed, overdue —

as in its present form it does not reflect the tremendous

changes the world has undergone since the Organization

was founded half a century ago.

It is now almost six years since the General

Assembly established the Open-ended Working Group on

the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase

in the Membership of the Security Council and Other

Matters Related to the Security Council. Progress has

been slow and has taken place on a limited set of issues

only.

What is lacking for the process to move forward is

political will on the part of some members. The fact is

that the Security Council in its present form is neither

adequately representative nor sufficiently transparent in its

work for its decisions to be universally accepted.

Mauritius supports the proposals of the Non-Aligned

Movement and of the Organization of African Unity

(OAU) on the reform of the Security Council. We appeal

to all Members of the United Nations to work together

constructively and advance the much needed reform

process expeditiously.

While the international community has largely been

successful in averting global wars, armed conflicts have

continued to endanger national, regional and international

peace. In particular, the African continent has continued

to be afflicted with conflicts, the worst being the crisis in

the Democratic Republic of Congo and the continued civil

war in Angola.

However, the international community should take

comfort in the fact that the leaders on the African

continent have spared no efforts to find solutions and

restore peace in the countries and areas in question.

Through tireless and extensive efforts of African leaders,

the OAU and the United Nations, and all the parties

concerned in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of

Congo, have signed the Lusaka Agreement in order to

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restore peace and stability in the country. One of the

fundamental aspects of the Agreement is the deployment of

a United Nations peacekeeping force, with the task of

ensuring that all parties respect the terms of the Lusaka

Agreement. We deplore the fact that the United Nations

peacekeeping force has still not assumed its crucial

responsibility in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We

call upon the Security Council to give due priority to this

matter so that a peacekeeping force is dispatched

expeditiously, as delay to do so may imperil the

implementation of the Agreement.

The rebellion in Angola continues because of arms

supplies from outside to the forces of destabilization. The

Security Council is fully apprised of this and confident that

those guilty of breaking the embargo on arms supply to

UNITA will be identified and held responsible. The people

of Angola have indeed suffered too long. We therefore

appeal to all nations to take necessary steps to ensure that

unscrupulous elements do not channel weapons to the

forces of rebellion in Angola out of their greed of monetary

windfalls. The international community needs to intensify

its efforts to end the rebellion in Angola.

The armed conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea ended

with the signing recently of an agreement with the help of

the OAU and several African leaders and friendly countries.

We hope that the spirit in which the two countries have

agreed to end their differences will continue and that lasting

peace will return to the region. We are also heartened by

the fact that an agreement has been signed between the

parties concerned to end the internal strife in Sierra Leone.

We are confident that peace and stability will now return to

Sierra Leone.

In the Comoros, forces of destabilization have

continued to thwart the return to normalcy. Through tireless

efforts by the OAU and countries of the region, a

conference of all the Comoros parties concerned was held

earlier this year in Madagascar with a view to reaching an

agreement under which peace and stability would return to

the Comoros and territorial integrity and sovereignty would

be maintained. Unfortunately, the military coup derailed the

whole process. We therefore call for the establishment of

democratic rule in the Comoros so that the agreement

reached at the Antananarivo conference can be fully

implemented.

The Kosovo conflict has distressed us all. We have

witnessed the horrors of ethnic cleansing, massive

disruption of the life of a people and terrible destruction

inflicted on a country. We must all remember many

messages from the events in Kosovo. Humanity will not

sit idly by when people are flagrantly subjected to

genocide for reason of ethnic bigotry or political

expediency. Quick-fix military action to resolve

deep-rooted problems is not necessarily the best option.

The United Nations remains the most appropriate

mechanism for addressing issues that relate to

maintenance of international peace and security.

Mauritius is deeply distressed by the violence in East

Timor, the loss of so many innocent lives and the terrible

sufferings inflicted on the Timorese people in the

aftermath of the recent referendum. We welcome the

action undertaken by the United Nations to send a

peacekeeping force to restore peace and security on the

island. The verdict of the referendum must be respected

by the Indonesian Government and all parties concerned.

In the Middle East, the determination shown by the

new Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Ehud Barak, to move

the peace process forward, together with President Arafat,

is most encouraging not only to the parties concerned in

the region but also to the international community as a

whole. This moment of great optimism must be seized in

order to work out a comprehensive and just settlement

that will bring lasting peace and stability to the region.

In 1996 our delegation, led by the Prime Minister of

Mauritius, The Honourable Navinchandra Ramgoolam,

drew special attention to the situation in Fiji. We are

pleased that the new constitutional process under which

general elections were recently held has removed the

iniquities which were written into that nation's

Constitution before. We welcome this change and

congratulate the people of Fiji on their courage and

determination to bring the change in a democratic and

peaceful manner.

(spoke in French)

Conflicts and wars, even after they have ended,

invariably leave serious humanitarian situations behind

them. The humanitarian crises in Africa seem of little

interest to the cameras of international television

networks. There are more than 12 million people who

need urgent humanitarian assistance in Africa. The

humanitarian agencies have received only $352 million

although their needs for Africa in 1999 are in the order of

$796 million.

Peacemaking efforts must be supported by effective

humanitarian aid, especially for refugees. The host

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countries, already faced with their own difficulties, cannot

take on this heavy burden. To give lasting peace a real

chance, it is also necessary to support the return of refugees

so as to make the stabilization of society possible. A special

financing effort on the part of the international community

is necessary to that end.

(spoke in English)

Respect for human rights is of primordial importance

for the prevention of conflicts and for the maintenance of

durable peace. We believe that all countries should make

strict adherence to the human rights instruments of the

United Nations a matter of national priority. We in

Mauritius always place human rights high on our national

and international agenda. Mauritius was honoured to host

the First OAU ministerial conference on human rights, held

earlier this year in the context of the celebration of the

fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights. The conference reviewed the human rights situation

in Africa and adopted a declaration and plan of action

which aim at strengthening the promotion and protection of

human rights.

We have witnessed gross violations of human rights,

particularly under military regimes. In this regard, the

decision at the recent OAU summit in Algiers to exclude

from that organization those leaders who assume power in

the continent through military coups is an important step

that will help the cause of democracy and human rights.

Mauritius has welcomed the International Criminal

Court and was amongst the first to ratify the Statute

establishing it. We look forward to an early conclusion of

the work of our experts who are currently engaged in

finalizing the rules to enable the International Criminal

Court to commence its work.

The easy availability of light and small-calibre

weapons has given rise to numerous conflicts, particularly

in Africa. These small arms, besides exacerbating conflicts,

give rise to social disruption, insecurity, instability, violence

and crime. In view of the magnitude of the problem, the

OAU summit in Algiers last July decided to convene a

regional conference to address the issue fully. We urge the

international community to take measures to control the

flow of small arms.

Disarmament is essential for international peace. It

is regrettable that the threat of nuclear holocaust will

accompany humanity into the new millennium because of

the international community's failure to work out a regime

for the total elimination of nuclear weapons. Under the

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and

the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty we have

taken important steps on the issue of nuclear

disarmament, but these alone cannot eliminate the threat

of nuclear weapons. Mauritius continues to be firmly of

the belief that the best way for the international

community to address the nuclear disarmament issue

effectively is to establish a clear timetable for nuclear-

weapon Powers to commit themselves to dismantle all

nuclear weapons and for all nations to commit themselves

to not develop such weapons in the future. So far we

have adopted half-way measures only; it is time for a

bold step to be taken that would eliminate nuclear

weapons once and for all.

Chemical weapons, as weapons of mass destruction,

can inflict untold miseries on their victims. The

Convention on Chemical Weapons — a very significant

achievement — must be adhered to by all nations,

particularly countries that have chemical weapons in their

possession.

The lives of many people around the world, in

Africa in particular, continue to be affected by landmines.

We believe it is the responsibility of all nations to address

this problem collectively. We appeal to those countries

that have not yet acceded to the Ottawa Convention on

anti-personnel mines to do so and also to contribute

financially to the efforts to remove all landmines.

Peace, security and development are indivisible and

mutually reinforcing. As we stand at the threshold of the

twenty-first century we have a historic opportunity to

create a long-term visionary strategy for the sustainable

development of all countries of the world, in particular

African States, and thus promote international peace and

security. This is extremely important if we really want to

avoid the marginalization in the wake of the irreversible

process of globalization and unbridled liberalization. It is

increasingly being realized that market forces alone

cannot resolve the problems of poverty, deprivation and

marginalization, particularly in Africa, which comprises

the largest number of least-developed countries. The

United Nations system, in our view, has an important role

to play in this respect as there is a crying need for

coherence in the formulation and implementation of

policies in the trade, finance and social sectors.

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It is true that globalization brings both challenges and

opportunities, but to many developing countries the

challenges are proving overwhelming. But there does not

seem to be any alternative, in a world characterized by the

“pensée unique”, to making the necessary adjustments to

join a fast globalizing world economy. Higher levels of

investment; technology transfer; and institutional, human

resource and infrastructure capacity-building, will be

required especially for African countries, if they are to

make the necessary transition.

The developed world and the major financial and

trading organizations must be not only cognizant of the

situation but also responsive to the constraints on and needs

of the developing world in general and the least-developed

countries and vulnerable small island developing States in

particular.

The heavy debt burden, the declining level of official

development assistance — which currently stands at 0.22

per cent of gross domestic product compared to the target

of 0.7 per cent — and insignificant private investment

flows into Africa do not allow many African countries to

implement successfully the necessary adjustment

programmes to compete effectively in the world market.

Only decisive action to resolve the debt problem can

provide the necessary impetus.

Although we recognize that the Cologne Summit

initiative represents an improvement over the original

Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative, we

believe that the unsustainable debt of Africa — which

contains 33 of the 41 HIPC countries — should be written

off, for only then can those countries embark on the path of

sustainable growth and development.

In that connection, we welcome the recently

announced plan to cancel $27 billion of debt owed by the

poorest countries to allow them to use those resources to

finance education and health, which are important in

dealing with the problem of poverty.

We also commend the World Bank for establishing the

$400 million Infrastructure Investment Fund, whose

advisory board will be headed by Mr. Nelson Mandela,

former President of South Africa.

Capacity-building in all sectors of the economy is

important if developing countries are to benefit from the

opportunities arising from globalization and trade

liberalization. But in view of the lack of a level playing

field and the inherent obstacles facing African, Caribbean

and Pacific countries, it is imperative for them to continue

to benefit from trade preferences in the European Union

under the successor to the fourth ACP-CEE Convention

of Lomé for a sufficiently long transitional period before

they implement any alternative trade arrangement.

The euphoria created following the signing of the

Marrakesh agreement in 1994 after the conclusion of the

Uruguay Round has been short-lived; many developing

countries today recognize that they are overburdened with

World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments and

obligations. There is indeed a growing recognition that

implementation of these commitments is simply beyond

their capacity, or rather that there is a limit to trade

liberalization and deregulation.

It is, therefore, important to allow developing

countries flexibility within the world trading system to

implement policies in harmony with their sustainable

development needs. The provisions on special and

differential treatment in all areas covered by WTO

agreements should be fully and effectively implemented.

In this regard, it is also crucial that the multilateral

trading system should facilitate the process of regional

integration, because for many countries regional

integration is an important step towards their integration

into the global economy.

We welcome and support the recent OAU decision

to accelerate implementation of the 1991 Abuja Treaty for

the establishment of an African Economic Community.

This process could be facilitated by effective

implementation of the United States of America-Africa

Blueprint adopted in March 1999 and more importantly,

of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. We urge the

United States to ensure early passage of this long-standing

Bill with its original provisions on textiles and clothing.

Two days ago, I had the opportunity in my address

to the recent Assembly special session to highlight both

the inherent constraints on small island developing

countries and their development needs. The special

session gave us an opportunity to review the

implementation of the Barbados Declaration and

Programme of Action for the sustainable development of

small island developing States (SIDS): we must take the

process further to embrace other issues, such as

concessional loans and trade preferences for SIDS.

I reiterate my appeal to the international community

to give special attention to the plight of SIDS, in terms

both of providing financial resources, and of encouraging

foreign direct investment, and also in the context of the

negotiations for the third WTO Ministerial Conference, in

Seattle. We must ensure that the Conference, which is to be

held later this year, addresses the marginalization of small

economies and the problems of developing countries that

are net importers of food by adopting specific and practical

measures. We must also see to it that the Seattle Round of

multilateral trade negotiations is a “development round” that

puts the issue of development firmly on the international

agenda. The WTO negotiations in Seattle should be broad-

based and should provide a balanced outcome from which

all countries will benefit.

In this connection, it should be emphasized that

agricultural trade is of vital importance to a number of

developing countries, in particular to small economies

including small and vulnerable island developing States. In

the agricultural trade negotiations we should give just as

much importance to non-trade issues such as food security,

environmental protection and the viability of rural

populations.

These are vital issues for Mauritius, and for many

other SIDS and small economics and small economies. And

that is why we are emphasizing the multifunctionality of

agriculture. Planting sugar cane, which is the only crop

suitable to our difficult terrains, and which is resistant to

adverse climatic conditions like cyclones and droughts, also

contributes to environmental protection by providing a

renewable source of energy. Sugar exports earnings assure

food security. Many small island developing countries are

in the same situation as Mauritius. We would therefore urge

that this important dimension be fully taken into account in

the WTO negotiations on agriculture.

Economic growth by itself does not bring about

sustainable socio-economic development. Social

development should continue to be given due consideration

by our Organization. We therefore welcome the follow-up

conferences on social development and on women, which

will be organized next year.

For the majority of small States, the United Nations

continues to be the main bulwark against infringements on

their sovereignty and territorial integrity. We have

consistently drawn the attention of the Assembly to the

issue of the Chagos Archipelago, which was detached from

Mauritius by the former colonial Power prior to our

independence in 1968, and also to the plight of over 2000

people who were forced to leave the land of their birth,

where they had lived for generations, for resettlement in

Mauritius. This was done in total disregard of the United

Nations declaration embodied in resolution 1514 (XV), of

14 December 1960, and resolution 2066 (XX), of 16

December 1965, which prohibit the dismemberment of

colonial Territories prior to independence.

Mauritius has repeatedly asked for the return of the

Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia, on which a

United States military base has been built, and thereby the

restoration of its territorial integrity. The over 2,000

displaced Ilois people have been facing tremendous

difficulties in adapting in mainland Mauritius, in spite of

all the efforts that Mauritius has made to assist them in

this process.

So far the issue has been discussed within the

framework of our friendly relations with the United

Kingdom, with a view to arriving at an acceptable

solution. Unfortunately, there has not been significant

progress. The United Kingdom has been maintaining that

the Chagos Archipelago will be returned to Mauritius

only when it is no longer required for defence purposes

by the West. While we continue the dialogue for an early

resolution of the issue on a bilateral basis, we urge the

United Kingdom in the meantime to allow the displaced

inhabitants to return to the Chagos Archipelago. At the

dawn of the new millennium, when we so strongly uphold

universal recognition of and respect for fundamental

human rights, the inhabitants of Chagos should not

continue to be denied the right to return to the Chagos

Archipelago.

The restoration of the territorial integrity of the State

of Mauritius will not be complete without the return of

Tromelin. We therefore call upon France to resume

constructive discussions with us on the question of

Tromelin.

This is the last session of the General Assembly for

this century. When we meet next year it will be a new

millennium. The question that comes to our minds is

whether we want to come back next year and discuss the

same issues and the same problems. Should we not,

rather, make a pledge here and now that by the time we

meet next year we will have taken the necessary measures

that will put an end to regional and ethnic problems and

to the abuse of human rights, and will instead create the

necessary environment to enable the human race to enjoy

basic freedom and basic rights in peace and prosperity?

Mauritius is ready to make such a pledge.

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