Niger, 1994

Your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at

its forty-ninth session, Sir, is a source of pride for the

whole diplomatic community, for Africa and for your

country, Côte d’Ivoire, and constitutes a just reward for

your dynamic guidance of your country’s diplomatic

activities. Those of us who already know your work at the

United Nations and at other international meetings can

already foresee the success of the work of the forty-ninth

session; we know your enormous talent, wisdom and

patience. Your election also reflects the international

community’s confidence in your country, Côte d’Ivoire, a

country with which Niger maintains diversified relations

solidly rooted in the history and geography of West Africa.

Finally, your election is a posthumous tribute by the

international community to the work carried out over half

a century by the late President Félix Houphouët-Boigny in

the service of human dignity, peace and social progress.

Permit me, therefore, to congratulate you, Sir, and through

you the people of Côte d’Ivoire and its President, Mr. Henri

Konan Bedié, on your election as President of the General

Assembly at its forty-ninth session.

I wish also to congratulate the other Assembly

officers; I am sure they will spare no effort to rendering

valuable assistance as you carry out your tasks.

Niger thanks your predecessor, His Excellency

Mr. Samuel Insanally, for his tireless work; he fulfilled his

mandate methodically and ably during one of the

Organization’s busiest years.

I also convey my greetings to the Secretary-General,

His Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and thank him

for the dynamism and far-sightedness with which he is

carrying out his mandate in this period of important change;

we hail him for his firm commitment to international peace

and security.

The annual convening of the General Assembly

gives Niger the opportunity to renew its faith in the

purposes and principles of the Charter of the United

Nations, signed at San Francisco nearly half a century

ago. On 28 September 1993, the President of the

Republic of the Niger, His Excellency Mr. Mahamane

Ousmane, here outlined the views of Niger and its people

on the problems of our time. In his statement he stressed

that the solution to some of those problems lies first and

foremost in the establishment of democracy. Indeed, it is

through democracy that mankind will find the path of

freedom, the path of the love of work and the path of the

shared happiness of citizens.

Niger is firmly committed to this path of democracy;

it has already found the path of freedom for its children.

Today in Niger, no one is molested because of his

philosophical or religious ideas; since the establishment of

the Third Republic, freedom of the press is complete and

is guaranteed by the Constitution. Freedom of association

too is complete and guaranteed by the Constitution, and

a number of political parties, associations and trade

unions now play to the full the role that is properly theirs

in every democratic society.

It is in that context that the people of Niger is

engaged in rediscovering the path of the love of work,

which alone can generate wealth. Many

non-governmental organizations have been founded and

are working in close cooperation with foreign

organizations.

The Government of Niger is aware of its

responsibilities in this area, and is doing everything it can

to ensure that every man and woman of Niger feels fully

involved in development issues and can make even a

modest contribution to building a society founded on

prosperity, justice and freedom.

Niger is a Sahelian country confronted with the

inexorable advance of the Sahara Desert; we welcome the

conclusion at Paris last June of the International

Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries

Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification,

particularly in Africa. Niger invites all Member States to

sign that important Convention so as to permit it to enter

into force as soon as possible. We hope that the

international community will finally be able to act on its

commitment to give countries suffering from this scourge

the ability to lay the foundation for genuine, sustainable

development.

25

Like other developing countries, Niger is facing

numerous difficulties, the most important and most

formidable core issue for us is rainfall, whose

capriciousness is feared by our authorities and our people

alike. Sometimes too meager, sometimes excessive, the

rainy season is an ongoing concern in Niger. Last year

there was not enough rain; this year, however, there were

rains such as Niger has not witnessed in more than two

decades. They caused considerable damage but did not

gratify our people or our Government with an adequate

harvest.

Niger wants to free itself from the vagaries of the

heavens in order at last to save its children from hunger

and thirst. That is why our Head of State, His Excellency

Mr. Mahamane Ousmane, has initiated a major campaign

in which the people are participating in building the first-

ever dam on the Niger river.

To this end he called on all the citizens of Niger to

mobilize the resources needed to build the Kandadji Dam.

From this rostrum, I should like to invite all

organizations and countries which wish to aid my country,

to give particular attention to this project. For Niger, this

is a question of ensuring the conditions necessary for the

survival of the present and future generations.

My country has accorded food self-sufficiency top

priority in its campaign for economic development. It

keenly hopes that with the assistance of the international

community it will achieve this objective before the end of

the present decade. Here, Niger hopes that the nations

which share the same ideal of prosperity and happiness will

extend it the same solidarity.

Since he took office in April 1993, President

Mahamane Ousmane has vowed to devote his full energy

to the return of peace in the troubled regions in the north of

our country. He has made that question a constant matter

of concern for the Government of Niger.

By the grace of God, and following the recent

negotiations held in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, the

Government of Niger signed a peace agreement with the

Coordination of Armed Resistance, thereby opening the

way for a cease-fire and the drawing up of legislative texts

designed to provide more harmonious management of the

regions.

On behalf of the Government of Niger, allow me here

to extend our warm gratitude to Algeria, Burkino Faso and

France, whose mediation made it possible to arrive at this

fortunate conclusion.

The Ouagadougou Agreement, which was signed

last Sunday, 9 October 1994, and which entered into force

today, 11 October 1994, will allow the people of Niger to

devote itself to the critical issues of development in a

calm atmosphere. It opens the way to national

reconciliation among the sons of the same geographical

region, united by history and inspired by the same will -

that of living together.

The Government of Niger will, for its part, engage

in implementing this Agreement by submitting a draft law

to the National Assembly as soon as possible.

It hopes that the international community will assist

by providing material and financial resources to ensure

the return and integration of the refugees.

Niger is also expecting consistent support from the

international community to ensure its economic recovery.

Thus, since the devaluation of the CFA franc, my

Government has been continuing negotiations with the

World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

It has concluded an agreement with the Bretton

Woods institutions on economic recovery, and

negotiations are now under way for the conclusion of an

agreement on the facility for strengthened structural

adjustment. The Government of Niger has taken the

necessary preliminary measures to ensure that the present

negotiations lead to the signing of this agreement at an

early date.

On the eve of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding

of the United Nations, it is gratifying to be able to note

all that has been accomplished, in particular over the last

few years, in areas as complex as peace-keeping,

disarmament, security, the establishment of democracy,

and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The development of the situation in the Middle East

which led to the establishment of the Palestinian authority

in Gaza, like the logic of peace and dialogue which now

prevails between Israel and the other Arab countries, is

part of this new dynamic.

We cannot fail to mention here, with legitimate

pride, the process which led to the establishment in South

Africa of a democratic regime which is being guided with

wisdom and determination by President Nelson Mandela

26

and which has allowed this founding Member of the

Organization to regain its rightful place in the community

of nations.

How can we fail to be gratified that President Jean-

Bertrand Aristide will soon arrive on Haitian soil after three

long years in forced exile?

These are indeed major events which encourage us to

hope that we will see a rapid return of peace wherever it

may have been shattered or wherever it is threatened.

The recent negotiations held in New York between

Cuba and the United States, the negotiations between the

American and North Korean authorities, as well as the

withdrawal of the last foreign troops from Germany and

some of the Baltic States, show how much we have

accomplished in the five years since the collapse of the

Berlin Wall.

Throughout the world - in Africa, in Asia and in

America and in Europe - the last vestiges of the cold war

are fading away to open the way for a fruitful partnership

among nations.

The United Nations has made its contribution to the

achievement of this new atmosphere but here and there

hotbeds of tension continue to exist which attest to the

fragility of the present balance.

Among these conflicts, some of which are ravaging

Africa, I would mention first of all the conflict in Rwanda,

where a fratricidal war has caused the deaths of hundreds

of thousands of men, women and children, left thousands

wounded and sent millions of refugees into exile.

How can we have allowed such a tragedy to take place

without having used all the means and resources available

to the international community in time to prevent, if not

limit, the unprecedented massacres which were perpetrated?

Because it is aware that nothing lasting can be

conceived and realized in Rwanda without peace and unity

among its sons Niger made its modest contribution to the

restoration of peace in Rwanda by participating in the

United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR).

In this country which has been torn apart, Niger hopes

to see the provisions of the Arusha Agreement enforced so

that the hardworking people of Rwanda may be able at last,

and once and for all, to turn its attention towards the tasks

of reconstruction and development.

Niger expresses the same hopes for peace and

stability in neighbouring Burundi and welcomes the

significant progress made recently, which has resulted in

its acquiring authorities who can pursue the work of

consolidating the peace.

Quite close to Rwanda, peace is making great strides

also in a country which has been engaged in war and

suffering since its independence, namely, Mozambique.

Niger keenly hopes that the changes which took place

recently in South Africa will have a very positive effect

on the elections to be held there on 27 and 28 October.

The situation in Angola is a matter of concern for

my delegation. Niger welcomes the fact that, thanks to

pressure from the international community and the efforts

made by President Frederick Chiluba of Zambia and

President Nelson Mandela of South Africa and thanks

also to the joint actions of the special representatives of

the Secretaries-General of the United Nations and the

Organization of African Unity, UNITA has finally agreed

to the signing of a peace agreement, a prelude to a

general cease-fire and the establishment of a lasting peace

in Angola.

Nor must the international community and, in

particular, the United Nations turn its attention away from

Somalia, that other fraternal country that has been

ravaged. Indeed, it must do all in its power to maintain

a significant United Nations presence, which alone can

guarantee lasting peace in Somalia.

The process of settling all these conflicts has

revealed the need for greater coordination between the

efforts of the United Nations and those of the regional

organizations within the framework of safeguarding peace

and international security.

Niger thanks all the countries which, on a bilateral

basis, made their valuable contribution to the resolution

of certain African conflicts and appeals to the

international community for continuing support for the

machinery of prevention - machinery established by the

Organization of African Unity for the management and

settlement of conflicts - to allow it to be more

operational.

My country is gratified that, after 46 years of

hostilities, Jordan and Israel agreed to sign a peace

agreement on 25 July 1994 - this less than a year after the

signing of the agreement between the Israelis and the

Palestinians.

27

Niger hopes that the logic of peace which has been

established in this region will lead to the signature of

similar agreements between Israel and Lebanon on the one

hand and between Syria and Israel on the other, so that

once and for all fraternity will prevail between the sons of

this part of the world, the cradle of centuries-old

civilizations.

Niger thus appeals to the Iraqi authorities to ensure

that the actions they undertake fit within the spirit and letter

of the Security Council resolutions, that they recognize the

international borders of Kuwait and refrain from any action

likely once again to inflame the Gulf region in a fratricidal

conflict with incalculable consequences.

Clearly, the world today has gone from a period of

confrontation to one of cooperation.

It is clear that our Organization over the years, with its

present membership of 184 States, is aspiring towards the

ideal of universalism enshrined in its Charter. However, it

is up to the United Nations to devote particular attention to

other regions and other peoples which, through their vitality

and economic dynamism, could also contribute to the

implementation of the ideals of the Charter.

It is moreover in this spirit that Niger regrets that the

General Assembly was not able to put on its agenda the

item entitled "Consideration of the exceptional situation of

the Republic of China in Taiwan in the international

context, based on the principle of universality and in

accordance with the established model of parallel

representation of divided countries at the United Nations".

Niger is keenly concerned at the continuation of the

conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina despite the efforts and

the patience of the member countries of the Contact Group

and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the

numerous resolutions of the Security Council and the

General Assembly, and the many actions undertaken by the

international community.

The most recent events in this conflict have

demonstrated to those who still had doubts that the war in

Bosnia and Herzegovina is deliberate and is supported by

the leaders of the Serbian community who have made force

the primary basis for their actions.

That is why, while welcoming the political courage

demonstrated throughout this crisis by President

Izetbegovic, Niger supports the proposals which he made

here on 27 September of lifting the arms embargo which is

preventing Bosnia and Herzegovina from exercising its

right to legitimate self-defence in accordance with the

Charter of the Organization.

At the risk of seeing many States lose their faith in

the system of collective security, the Security Council

should make the Serbs respect the relevant resolutions

which it has adopted. It is high time for the Security

Council to take the measures required by the situation

concerning the Serbian aggressors.

The end of the cold war and of the East-West

conflict has not yet fully liberated mankind from all its

anguish; nor has it allowed it to remove the heavy

burden posed by the build-up and improvement in arms.

While it is true that risks of armed confrontation between

the super-Powers have today disappeared allowing

unimaginable progress in the area of disarmament, this

has not led to that strengthening of security which we

were entitled to expect.

A producer of uranium, Niger has ratified the Treaty

on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and will

support, during the negotiations to take place next year,

its extension and the universal nature it must acquire.

The signing last year in Paris of the chemical

weapons Convention, as well as the unilateral

moratoriums proclaimed by the nuclear Powers are today

also important constructive steps.

Other efforts should also be made to control

conventional weapons and, in a general fashion, to

establish confidence-building measures among States.

It is indeed horrendous to see colossal sums

absorbed in the manufacture of ever-more sophisticated

weapons of destruction and in mortgaging the security of

outer space while in vast regions of the world millions of

men, women and children are languishing in the most

abject misery, engaging in a daily battle against hunger

and illness. How many savings could have been made

from the resources allotted to peace-keeping if the

minimum had been allotted to development?

I am tempted to say here: give economic and social

development that which is its due and there will be less

to worry about concerning peace.

Indeed, as you so eloquently pointed out on 20

September last after your election, Mr. President, the

economic and social situation at the international level is

28

experiencing alarming developments marked by the stamp

of uncertainty and adversity for the developing countries,

and for Africa in particular.

In the course of this century that is coming to an end,

mankind has experienced unprecedented turns that improved

the conditions of the lives of individuals. However, in

several regions of the world peace is threatened not by

armed men but by millions of hungry human beings in

distress who see no prospects for improvement of their

living conditions.

In this regard, Africa for two decades now has seemed

a desperate case, despite its abundant natural wealth. To be

sure, progress has been made economically and socially,

but in comparison with the rest of the world such progress

seems insignificant, and in certain respects entire areas have

become settled in a situation of non-development.

Thus, while certain countries in Asia are experiencing

expansion with trends of accelerated growth, Africa’s

economic prospects continue to remain mediocre. Today,

more than 350 million Africans are living in abject poverty,

more than half of them women and children.

Paradoxically, Africa also shows the signs of a vibrant

continent capable of the greatest economic prowess, as long

as the international community gives it the opportunity and

the means to achieve its potential.

Indeed, how can we speak of a continent on its way

to ruin when along with its natural resources Africa has a

young generation determined to meet the challenges of

history? How can one sideline Africa when its contribution

to the global economy throughout past centuries has

allowed for the industrialization of the other continents?

Here the industrialized countries bear a heavy

responsibility. I should like to recall Niger’s position on a

particular aspect of this responsibility, namely, the debt. As

long as the developing countries, and in particular those of

sub-Saharan Africa, continue to devote the greater part of

their income to paying off the foreign debt they will never

be able to lay down the basis for a genuine economic

recovery. Thus, Niger urges the developed countries to

cancel the debts of the developing countries and if

necessary to give priority to the least developed countries.

In so doing the industrialized countries will have answered

their own appeal as made by the Group of Seven most

highly industrialized countries at the Naples Summit in July

1994.

Along with the debt the continued deterioration of

the terms of trade is a subject of great concern for Niger.

The purchase price of the products these countries offer

on the international market is falling year by year while

the prices of manufactured products which the same

countries are buying are continuing to rise.

To be competitive, some of these countries have

devalued their currency by half, despite the difficult

economic, social and political consequences. Quite

recently in Morocco the developing countries renewed

their faith in the rules governing international trade

through their active participation in the agreement

establishing the World Trade Organization. We hope

that, in return, this organization will be able to fill the

gaps in the text of the agreement by taking courageous

decisions and adopting measures in favour of the

developing countries, in particular those of Africa.

For many of the developing countries international

trade is, first of all, trade in commodities. That is why

Niger attaches great importance to the establishment of

the commodifies Fund and, in so doing, appeals

diversification to those countries still reluctant to do so to

become involved in the dynamic process under way in

this area.

But what the developing countries, and especially the

least-developed countries, need most is the establishment

of a genuine fund for development assured of lasting

resources. It is recognized today that the Bretton Woods

institutions have reached their limits in development

matters. The conditions attached to World Bank and

International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans are often a

genuine impediment to attaining the developing countries’

purpose in negotiating the loan agreements.

In his report "An Agenda for Development", the

Secretary-General rightly notes that peace is the

development; the economy is the engine of progress; the

environment is a basis for sustainability; and social justice

is a pillar of society.

My delegation hopes that the consultations to be held

on this document will result in a fleshing-out of the initial

outline and that the final report will take into account the

vital concerns of the developing countries. We hope that

it will put forward concrete ways and means to ensure

implementation of the development programmes and

strategies adopted by the General Assembly over the last

few years.

29

The forthcoming major international conferences - the

World Summit for Social Development, the Fourth World

Conference on Women and the Second United Nations

Conference on Human Settlements - provide opportunities

for us further to enrich this Agenda.

In conclusion, let me reaffirm Niger’s faith in the

ideals of the United Nations and in its ability to find,

thanks to the solidarity of all its Members, the right

answers to the new challenges we face.