Niger, 2012

I would

first like to congratulate the President of the General

Assembly at its sixty-seventh session on his election. I

also wish to congratulate his country for that success,

which allows him to manage the Organization during

his term of office. I would also like to congratulate

the outgoing President, His Excellency Mr. Nassir

Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, whose term of office was a very busy one. Lastly, I would like to thank the Secretary-

General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for the tireless work that he

has undertaken through the programme he submitted

for the next five years and through which he particularly

focuses on sustainable development, peace, security

and the participation of women and young people.

Sad reality shows us that some people, using the

freedom of expression that is guaranteed in their own

countries, have believed that that freedom includes the

right to publish cartoons and to produce a video that

insults Islam. Those acts are comparable to anti-Semitic

acts or racist acts in general by those who reject any

differences and insist on making that a rule of conduct.

We firmly condemn those actions, which are hurtful and

offensive for Muslims. But however disgraceful they

may be, they cannot justify the outbreak of violence we

have seen, especially those against diplomatic missions.

In particular, we condemn the murderous attack against

the United States diplomatic mission in Benghazi, and

we repeat here the sincere condolences of the people

and Government of the Niger to the American people

and Government. We reassert that Islam, a religion of

balance and moderation, cannot provide a basis for such

hateful responses. Those who, in the name of Islam, are

behaving like savage hordes discredit this great religion

and, in doing so, are behaving exactly like those they

claim to denounce.

The sad facts that I have just referred to demonstrate

the wisdom of the theme the President chose to place

at the centre of his mandate, that is, “Bringing about

adjustment or settlement of international disputes or

situations by peaceful means”. The peaceful settlement

of disputes, we may recall, was the theme of the general

debate at the sixty-sixth session. Between the two

sessions, the position of my country on the issue has

not changed.

At the sixty-sixth session, my country’s President,

Mr. Mahamadou Issoufou, said from this rostrum: “We

might have thought that the end of the Cold War would

open the way to an age of full and lasting peace around

the world” (A/66/PV.20, p. 17). Unfortunately, because

there was no ability, or perhaps not even the will, to

attack the evil at its roots, the hope for a world without

conflict recedes like the horizon as one approaches it.

The root of the evil is bad governance, politically and

economically. The promises of liberty, equality and

justice, of the rule of law and solidarity — promises

that were made to people both globally and at the

national level — have still not been upheld. The lack of any regulation of the global economy, the domination

of banks, unfair trade and the growth of inequalities

between and within nations are factors of disorder,

crises and conflicts that disrupt world peace. The rise

of terrorism and the increasingly strong probability

of criminal forces controlling great areas will worsen

tensions throughout the world.

Anticipating international conflicts and disputes

is the best way to prevent them. As international

economic competition can lead to war, the anticipation

of crises should create specific conditions for global

economic growth that benefits all. To do that, there

should be mechanisms to regulate the global economy

with the goal, among others, of ending the hegemony

of financial capital and unfair trade. The end of the

hegemony of financial capital should allow us to direct

available financial resources towards investments in

the real economy rather than towards speculation.

The end of unfair trade will allow countries that

produce raw materials, such as the Niger, to draw

greater benefit from them, particularly through the

change that generates added value. If a country such as

mine were able to get a fair price for its raw materials

and to establish real control over their exploitation, then

the Millennium Development Goals could be achieved

by 2015. That is one of the ambitions of the programme

for the renaissance of the Niger that President Issoufou

presented.

On the basis of that programme, the Government

has just drawn up an economic and social development

plan for 2012 to 2015. For financing the programme, the

Niger is organizing a donors’ meeting to be held in Paris

on 13 and 14 November. The 3N initiative — Nigeriens

Nourishing Nigeriens — is an integral and important

part of the plan. I take the opportunity here to invite all

partners of the Niger, both bilateral and multilateral,

both public and private, to take an active part.

Allow me also to take the opportunity to thank

all those who have responded positively to the appeal

that our President launched here on 23 September

2011 during his address to the Asembly at its sixtysixth

session, calling for assistance to the people of

the Niger following that year’s mediocre harvest. The

mobilization of the people and the Government, as well

as all our partners, enabled us to prevent the drought

from leading to famine, while creating the conditions to

prepare for the 2012-2013 harvest. The results are very

promising despite the recent f looding in the country. It is said that history has more imagination than

do men, because events often escape the control of

those who cause them. It is my hope that this saying

will not apply to the Arab Spring, which has created

turmoil from which we hope good will come. Allow me

to recall the fact that at the Group of Eight Summit in

Deauville on 26 May 2011, President Issoufou drew the

attention of the Heads of State and Government present

on the need for them not to lose sight of the foreseeable

consequences of a Libyan conflict in the Sahel-Saharan

region.

His fears were unfortunately confirmed with

the outbreak of the rebellion in Mali on 17 January,

triggered by elements from Libya and followed by

the coup d’état of 22 March, which dealt democracy

a severe blow while enabling the occupation of two

thirds of Malian territory, not just by external forces,

some of them from Libya, but also by terrorists and

criminal organizations specializing in various types

of trafficking, particularly drugs. In our view, the

current situation in Mali constitutes a serious threat

to the security and stability of the member countries

of the Economic Community of West African States

(ECOWAS), as well as the countries in the thick of

things.

The ambition of the jihadists who have subjugated

northern Mali, destroying the patrimonial historic sites

of Timbuktu, cutting off hands and forcing women

to wear the burka, is to conquer the whole of West

Africa and the Maghreb. Once they have achieved that

goal, will they stop there? Of course not. They will

immediately go on to attack Europe and the whole of

the rest of the world. This is therefore a global threat,

and the response should be global, too.

It must be immediate and unhesitating, because we

know well that postponing a fight always puts one at a

disadvantage. Therefore the international community,

and the Security Council in particular, has a duty to

take responsibility for the crisis in Mali without delay

in order to restore a united, democratic and secular

Mali. An operational concept for military intervention

should be drawn up and adopted within the framework

of a coalition that should include troops from ECOWAS

member States as well as from the countries involved

and from other African countries wishing to take

part. Such an operation should receive the firm and

determined support of the friends of Mali and Africa

among the great Powers. It should be carried out through

a Security Council resolution in a framework based on the current efforts of ECOWAS but better coordinated

with and controlled by the African Union through its

Peace and Security Council.