Republic of the Congo, 2000

May I

start by joining previous speakers in offering, on behalf

of the Congolese delegation, warm congratulations to

Mr. Harri Holkeri on his election to the presidency of

this Millennium General Assembly, as well as to the

members of his Bureau. He can be sure that the

Congolese delegation is ready and willing to help him

accomplish his important and delicate task.

I should also like to pay homage to his

predecessor, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, Minister for

Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Namibia, for the

skill and wisdom with which he carried out his

mission.

Finally, I should also like to commend Secretary-

General Kofi Annan for his devotion and efficiency as

he leads our Organization.

The Millennium Summit, that great historic

gathering, provided the leaders of the planet with an

opportunity to debate at the highest level the burning

issues of the dawn of the twenty-first century. The

heads of State and Government examined the report of

the Secretary-General on the role of the United Nations

in the twenty-first century, and this led to wise and

relevant decisions, which we should welcome. It is now

up to us to do our utmost to ensure that the conclusions

of that report will be translated into action.

The reform of the United Nations, the

management of globalization, the preservation of the

environment, the promotion and protection of human

rights, peacekeeping and international security are

among the challenges facing humanity, today more

than ever before. The reform of the United Nations is

of course essential. After more than half a century of

existence, our Organization must take account of the

will of all Member States to participate in the

management of the world's affairs. The United Nations

must therefore undergo the transformations required in

order to adapt to the requirements of the modern world.

This reform is in our opinion both necessary and

urgent.

With regard to globalization, the question is no

longer whether one is in favour of or against this

phenomenon. Globalization is a concrete reality that is

having an impact on all areas of international relations.

Globalization is under way. However, if it is to produce

all of its intended benefits, it is necessary to take into

account the interests of the developing countries. In

this regard, the question of development assistance,

debt and access to developed country markets must be

envisaged as conditions that will allow more fruitful

and mutually beneficial cooperation between the North

and South.

We are also very much concerned about the

environment. Its preservation and protection have been

at the centre of the concerns of the United Nations

since the world conference in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It

is of the utmost importance for our shared environment

to be preserved and managed in conformity with the

principles of sustainable development. All of us —

developed countries and developing countries,

Governments and private sector — all of us must agree

to pay the price in a spirit of solidarity in order to

remove any pretext for those who sometimes say they

have no other choice but to degrade the environment.

What is at stake is the indispensable safeguarding of

fauna, flora and, above all, the forests of the

developing countries.

The Congo, an equatorial country, feels a special

responsibility in this area. Our Government has made a

solemn commitment to the sustainable management

and use of our forests. This subject will in fact be the

focal point of a ministerial meeting of the African

Timber Organization, which will take place in

Brazzaville from 9 to 13 October next.

With regard to peacekeeping and international

security, extensive efforts have been deployed by the

United Nations to free humanity of the scourge of war.

And although our successes may be remarkable, they

are far from meeting the expectations of millions of

men, women and children around the world, who await

with anguish. That is why we strongly support the

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proposals in the Brahimi Report and call for their rapid

implementation. In addition, we follow with interest

and hope the negotiations between the State of Israel

and the Palestinian Authority, and we greatly hope that

these efforts will be crowned with success.

We also welcome the most recent developments

in the Korean Peninsula, all the more so because these

express the will and deep aspiration of the Korean

people, separated by war, to live together in peace. We

also welcome the results achieved in Somalia, thanks to

the mediation of Mr. Ismail Omar Guelleh, President of

the Republic of Djibouti. We welcome this true

renaissance in Somalia and we express our best wishes

for the return of a lasting peace in that fraternal

country.

In Central Africa, determined to strengthen their

operational peacekeeping capacities in the face of

persistent crises and conflicts that are causing

deterioration in the region, the members of the

Economic Community of Central African States have

decided to establish a council for peace and security

(COPAX), whose operational organs will include the

rapid reaction mechanism and the multinational

peacekeeping force. Above and beyond its preventive

mission, COPAX is also a response to the Secretary-

General's call for reserve forces. It is important for the

international community to contribute to the proper

functioning of this sub-regional mechanism for

preventive purposes and for managing and settling

conflicts in this region of the world, which is the victim

of murderous, devastating wars. We would like to take

this solemn occasion to express our desire to be fully

associated in the search for solutions to the problems of

concern to us.

Our daily experience — one shared with

others — of the consequences of conflicts with

neighbours fully justifies this concern; we want to

eliminate the sources of conflicts with our neighbours.

That is why, whenever it is necessary, the Congo does

its utmost to dispel any misunderstandings and to

strengthen the links of brotherhood and cooperative

relationships with its neighbours.

Here, I must draw the attention of the

international community to the humanitarian drama

that is under way in the north-eastern part of our

country as the result of the massive influx of refugees

and displaced persons fleeing the renewed fighting in

the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country with

which we share approximately 2,000 kilometres of

border. Given the seriousness of this situation, the

Government of the Republic of Congo would like to

renew its call for robust assistance for the populations

in distress, who have virtually been forgotten by the

international community.

As the Assembly knows, my country, the

Republic of Congo, has also been shaken by internal

conflict. I should like to assure the Assembly that we

have re-established peace after the signature of the

ceasefire agreements and the agreements to cease

hostilities last year, thanks to the mediation of El Hadj

Omar Bongo, President of the Republic of Gabon.

Once again, we should like to express our sincere

gratitude to him.

Since then, the Congo has turned its face towards

the future. The future for us means the consolidation of

this peace, national reconciliation, the rebuilding of our

country and relaunching the process of

democratization. That is why, starting in September of

this year, as proscribed by the President of the

Republic, Mr. Denis Sassou Nguesso, the Government

of the Congo has undertaken a mission to carry out the

broadest possible consultations on a draft constitution

to be submitted to our transitional Parliament in March

2001. Its adoption will open the way to a constitutional

referendum and general elections.

Similarly, in the framework of the reconstruction

of our country, we have just adopted an interim post-

conflict programme for the period 2000-2002. Its

implementation requires the mobilization of significant

financial resources, and the support of the international

community is indispensable for this purpose.

We can never reiterate enough that our

Organization has demonstrated its utility. Its reform,

which is today unavoidable if we are to make it more

credible in a world which is undergoing constant

change and which will be changed profoundly by

globalization, is absolutely necessary. We must have

very strong political will to fight against poverty,

ignorance, illness, injustice and violence, as well as the

degradation and destruction of our planet. This is the

only way to guarantee the credibility of the United

Nations to the peoples of the United Nations.

May the commitments made at the Millennium

Summit guide our daily actions, so that the role of the

United Nations will indeed be strengthened over the

coming century for the well-being of all of humanity.

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