Mauritius, 2005

I should like, on

behalf of my delegation and of the Government and the

people of the Republic of Mauritius, to congratulate

you, Sir, on your election as President of the General

Assembly at its sixtieth session. We are confident that

you will be able to discharge the responsibilities

entrusted to you. I want to assure you, as I did during

our meeting this morning, of my delegation’s fullest

cooperation during your tenure of office.

I would also like to convey my delegation’s

gratitude and appreciation to Mr. Jean Ping of Gabon

for the outstanding manner in which he conducted the

affairs of the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth

session. As Africans, we are proud of his exemplary

stewardship.

My delegation also wishes to express its

appreciation for the tireless and dedicated efforts of the

Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, in leading the

Organization in these challenging times.

The very first words of the United Nations

Charter — “We the peoples of the United Nations” —

are of overwhelming significance. They imply that

people should be the primary beneficiaries of every

resolution that we adopt and every programme that we

launch. As we engage in this debate, we should ask

ourselves whether we have, indeed, put the peoples at

the centre of all of our deliberations and activities.

Have we done enough to ensure that ordinary people,

men and women, young and old, benefit from all our

initiatives and actions, collective as well as individual?

Last Friday, by adopting the outcome document,

leaders of the world renewed their pledge to save

humanity from the scourge of war, fear, disease, famine

and poverty. The citizens of the world were witness to

the sober promises we made in it. They now wait, in

earnest, to see concrete results. We are therefore

required to muster the collective political will to

mobilize the necessary resources to fulfil those

pledges.

The wealthy and powerful North should assist the

less fortunate countries, which require assistance to

help propel them into the orbit of irreversible

sustainable social and economic growth. For its part,

the South must devote energy and show creativity as it

engages in a common effort to attain social

development and human security.

The spirit of teamwork and partnership which

resulted in the successful outcome of the United

Nations world summit should allow us to adopt a fresh

mindset that places the interests, security and welfare

of our peoples at the centre of our socio-economic

policies. That cannot be done without promoting

human rights and fundamental freedoms.

In our efforts to pursue people-centred

development, we must put a premium on tackling those

national and transnational issues that have a direct

impact on people’s welfare. Lifting peoples out of

abject poverty and endowing them with appropriate

means to lead productive lives is the best guarantee for

long-term sustained social stability, which, in turn, will

ensure prosperity and international peace. Poverty

reduction and eradication must therefore remain at the

core of all development efforts towards a just and

equitable order.

In keeping with our democratic tradition, just

three months ago, the people of my country voted,

overwhelmingly, for a change of Government.

Immediately upon assuming office, my Government

has formulated development strategies based on the

premise that economic and social policies must

subserve the primacy of the people, in particular the

poor. In fact, the fundamental principle of my

Government’s policy is putting the people first. My

Government believes that the fullest possible

participation of the people in the development process

is the best guarantee for the success of any growth

strategy.

The first set of social decisions taken by my

Government, with that in mind, has been to expand the

welfare State to cover free transportation for students

and the elderly as well as to restore old-age pensions

for all citizens. My Government's overriding objective

is ultimately to make the economy work for the people,

not to make the people work for the economy.

My delegation believes that assisting developing

countries through increased official development

assistance (ODA) is crucial; but it is only a palliative,

not a remedy. Aid without trade would be not only

unsustainable but, indeed, self-defeating. Trade is, and

will always remain, the recognized engine of economic

growth and development. Developing countries

continue to face impediments in their efforts to attain

sustained economic growth. Tariff and non-tariff

barriers in developed countries, combined with the

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non-implementation of commitments undertaken with

respect to development financing and debt alleviation

for developing countries, further aggravate the

situation. We call on the international community to

demonstrate the political will necessary to ensure that

the Doha development round truly takes into account

those concerns so as to achieve a fair and equitable

global trading system for the benefits of our people.

My delegation welcomes the particular attention

given by the world summit to the special needs of

Africa. While many countries throughout the world

have made significant progress in lifting their people

out of poverty, for many others — mainly in

sub-Saharan Africa — poverty, hunger, illiteracy,

infectious diseases and the incidence of HIV/AIDS,

unemployment and environmental degradation

continue to take a heavy toll. My delegation therefore

appreciates the resolve of the international community

to address those issues and emphasizes the need for

timely implementation of the relevant measures.

Despite significant efforts that have resulted in

peace in several parts of Africa, the continent

continues to suffer from violent conflicts and

humanitarian crises. The plight of displaced people —

especially women and children — in those conflict

situations and in refugee camps needs to be urgently

addressed. My delegation wishes to underscore the

importance of enhanced measures to protect vulnerable

groups, especially women and children, during and

after armed conflicts.

In our own region, Mauritius continues to remain

actively engaged in the reconciliation process in the

Comoros. We are presently coordinating the

preparations to host a donor round table for the

Comoros later this year. The importance of the meeting

cannot be overstated. We urge the donor community to

contribute to this process for the benefit of the people

of the Comoros.

The situation in the Middle East is seeing some

tangible progress. We welcome the process of Israeli

disengagement from Gaza and the northern West Bank,

and we commend the efforts of the President of the

Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, to find a

peaceful and lasting solution to the conflict. We urge

both the Israeli and the Palestinian peoples to continue

the much-needed confidence-building measures so as

to achieve a just and lasting peace.

With regard to Iraq, where innocent civilians are

falling victim to violence on a daily basis, it is

imperative that necessary support be provided to

ensure the creation of an environment in which the

Iraqi people can live in peace and security.

I spoke extensively on terrorism in the statement

I made on 15 September 2005 during the High-level

Plenary Meeting. I wish to reaffirm my country's

commitment to fully cooperate with the international

community to fight the scourge of terrorism, which has

a direct and indirect effect on the lives of ordinary and

innocent people.

At a time when there is a global consensus

regarding the need to build a more secure world, it is a

matter of the greatest regret that the 2005 Review

Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons failed to

achieve a conclusive outcome. The proliferation of

nuclear weapons poses a grave risk of fissile material

falling into the wrong hands. That eventuality is too

horrendous to contemplate. The devastation that could

be caused by so-called low-yield nuclear weapons is

unimaginable.

Mauritius advocates the eventual complete

elimination of all nuclear weapons on the basis of a

comprehensive and non-discriminatory disarmament

regime. To demonstrate once again its full commitment

to non-proliferation and to international peace and

security, Mauritius recently signed the Additional

Protocol of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Mauritius welcomes the agreement reached in

June 2005 in New York on a politically binding

international instrument on the tracing of small arms

and light weapons, which will no doubt assist in

combating the illicit trade in such weapons. That

represents a significant step in ensuring that our

peoples live in a safer world.

As regards reform of the Security Council, I wish

to refer to my statement on 15 September 2005

outlining the position of Mauritius on that issue. We

have a unique opportunity for substantial reform; it

must not be squandered. It is imperative that Africa

and India, the world's largest democracies, should find

their rightful place in such reform. A reformed Security

Council should reflect the present geopolitical realities

to meet the aspirations of all our peoples.

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The United Nations is a vital forum in which

States, large and small, wealthy and less fortunate, can

have their voices heard. It also provides a framework

for collective action on the basis of consensus

partnership and mutual understanding. I wish to

reiterate the appeal I made, as Chair of the Alliance of

Small Island States, to our friends and partners at the

special session on financing for development to

continue to assist the small island developing States in

their sustainable development efforts through the

proper and effective implementation of the Mauritius

Strategy.

Regional cooperation is an important means for

developing and strengthening the economies of

developing countries. To that end, we have made

modest but encouraging progress with respect to

regional integration. Mauritius pursues an active policy

of integration through subregional organizations such

as the Southern African Development Community, the

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the

Indian Ocean Commission and the Indian Ocean Rim-

Association for Regional Cooperation. While relations

with our traditional development and trade partners

continue to feature prominently in the foreign policy of

Mauritius, we intend to take vigorous steps towards the

development of strategic partnerships with member

States of the South Asian Association for Regional

Cooperation and of the Association of Southeast Asian

Nations, as well as with Latin American countries.

Allow me to reiterate before the Assembly our

legitimate sovereignty claim over the Chagos

Archipelago, including the island of Diego Garcia,

which was detached by the United Kingdom from the

territory of Mauritius prior to our independence, in

violation of General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of

1960 and resolution 2066 (XX) of 1965. The people of

the Chagos Archipelago, who were evicted from the

islands, are still struggling for their right to return to

their birthplace. We reiterate our call to the United

Kingdom to pursue discussions with us for an early

settlement of this issue. Likewise, we appeal to the

French Government to expedite the process of

resolving the issue of the sovereignty of Tromelin

through dialogue in the spirit of friendship and trust

that has always characterized our relationship.

(spoke in French)

Here, I should like to say a few words in French

to show my country’s attachment to and respect for

cultures and languages in all their diversity. Some of

those languages, including French, have been

bequeathed to us by history.

People have struggled throughout history to live

better, but humankind continues to suffer. That remains

true, unfortunately, for the developing countries, and

those of the African continent in particular. The dawn

of the third millennium has seen the expansion of

assistance projects, including the Millennium

Development Goals, to improve the fate of the weak

and impoverished. We are committed to reducing

extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.

The International Organization of la

Francophonie, as announced in November 2004 at its

tenth summit in Ouagadougou, is involved in that

global struggle. We need to reinvent ourselves, get off

the beaten track, and find new ways to attain our

objectives as soon as possible. In that respect, we

welcome the contribution of the French-speaking

family in that joint action.

(spoke in English)

From this very rostrum 37 years ago, when

Mauritius acceded to United Nations membership in

1968, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, then Prime

Minister and father of the Mauritian nation, firmly

advocated a secure, stable and just world:

“[M]en of goodwill are constantly trying to find a

formula by which the underprivileged can banish

inequality and fear and aspire to a place in the

sun.” (A/PV.1643, para. 100)

Today, those aspirations are more valid than ever

as the comity of nations engages in the quest for

freedom from want, freedom from fear and the freedom

to live in dignity. Providing mankind with those

freedoms remains the primary goal of the United

Nations.

In that spirit, I wish to announce that my

Government has made a commitment in the Clinton

Global Initiative to organizing an international

conference on poverty and development, which will be

results-oriented.

Today, as we celebrate the sixtieth year of its

existence, let us strive to become what we were always

meant to be — a truly representative body of “We the

peoples of the United Nations”, acting in defence of

their welfare and the advancement of their interests

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above all else. That must remain our unflinching

objective, and Mauritius pledges to fully play its part

in that noble endeavour.