São Tomé and Príncipe, 2001

Mr. President, allow me to

congratulate you on behalf of the State of Sao Tome

and myself on your election to the presidency of the

General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session, which

testifies to the international community’s esteem for

and recognition of the Republic of Korea and you

personally. Please accept our wishes for every success

as you carry out your mandate. Let me also express our

thanks to your predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri, for the

exemplary way he led the work of our last session.

I should also like to pay tribute to His Excellency

Mr. Kofi Annan, our Secretary-General, both on his

resounding re-election and on the well-deserved and

just awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to him and the

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United Nations, reflecting their major contributions to

the cause of peace and development.

This session is being held at a particularly

important juncture in the history of international

relations, when the entire international community is

mobilizing to confront the devastating phenomenon of

international terrorism, the scope and magnitude of

which were evident in the 11 September attacks on

New York and Washington, D.C., and in Pennsylvania,

which took the lives of thousands of innocent people.

At that time, Sao Tome and Principe expressed its total

indignation at the criminal and monstrous acts

committed against the American people, as well as its

full solidarity with the American authorities and the

families of the victims. We share the opinion that those

responsible for these barbaric acts must be

apprehended and punished, and that terrorist

organizations supporting them must be dismantled by

all necessary means.

We reaffirm our full readiness to cooperate

actively at both the regional and international levels in

the fight against terrorism, which is one of the major

evils threatening world peace and security today. We

hail all initiatives taken to contain the military action,

justly launched against those who sow terror as well as

those who shelter them in their territories, so as to

avoid having innocent victims among the civilian

population. We welcome the efforts of the international

community to adopt a juridical instrument to make the

fight against terrorism more effective in the context of

a global strategy.

No one can doubt that this act of criminal,

unacceptable and unjustified aggression, condemned

throughout the world, requires a new dynamic in the

fight against it, particularly within the United Nations.

We note with satisfaction that important measures have

been taken in that regard, notably by the Security

Council in resolution 1373 (2001), of 28 September.

Yet the manifestation of extreme violence in these

recent attacks alerts us to the need to understand in a

different and comprehensive way the great problems

faced by mankind throughout the world, without losing

sight of the merciless fight that must be waged against

international terrorism in all its manifestations.

Despite the considerable scientific and

technological progress recorded throughout history,

which has permitted high levels of development,

striking imbalances persist in a number of areas with

regard to social and economic development, both

within and among the countries, regions and subregions

of the world. Witness particularly the situation

prevailing in sub-Saharan Africa. A look at the

statistics of economic and social conditions in the

countries of that region is enough to reveal the urgent

need to develop a front that, acting concertedly and

collectively, can fight to eradicate their absolute

poverty.

Faced with this scenario — rich countries on the

one hand and poor countries on the other — one might

wonder whether the political will exists to reverse this

situation, which is dominated by selfishness and the

interests of individuals, groups and States. Only thus

can one explain the lack of cooperation, indifference

and, indeed, the lack of sensitivity shown by the

industries of developed countries in the face of real

scourges that devastate thousands of people, making

the countries of the South even more vulnerable. For

example, I am thinking of the HIV/AIDS pandemic as

well as other epidemics, such as hepatitis B and

malaria.

The efforts of international organizations —

notably the United Nations and its system, as well as

certain non-governmental organizations — to help

mankind cope with this painful situation must be

visible.

Moreover, beyond the economic data reflecting

the growth of poverty in Africa, the situation of our

continent is worsened by the persistence of armed

conflicts, particularly the crises in the Great Lakes

region, the Horn of Africa and Angola, to cite only a

few examples of the fratricidal war that afflicts us.

As to the situation in Angola, we reaffirm our

urgent desire to see an end to the war in that fraternal

country. We condemn the terrorist acts that have

claimed countless lives, particularly among the civilian

population, and we call for a renewed application of

the terms of the Lusaka Protocol for conflict resolution.

In the context of conflict resolution, we welcome

the efforts of the international community to find a

solution to the East Timor question, as well as progress

made in the process of emancipation of the Maubere

people under the aegis of the United Nations. It is our

great hope to see this brotherly people admitted to the

United Nations as a full-fledged Member and to see a

strengthened Community of Portuguese-Speaking

Countries.

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We note with concern the escalation of violence

in the Middle East. In our view, it is essential that

Israel and the Palestinian Authority resume the

negotiations on the peace process, the only way to find

a just and peaceful solution that takes into account both

the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination

and the guarantee of security for the State of Israel.

Unfortunately, Sao Tome and Principe is still on

the list of poor, least advanced or underdeveloped

countries, despite the efforts of its people and the

determination of its leaders to place it on the track of

development. Today, my country is unquestionably a

place of freedom and democracy where fundamental

individual human rights are respected. The recent

presidential elections, held in July this year, which

brought Mr. Fradique de Menezes to the highest office

of the State of Sao Tome, are irrefutable proof of

democratic stability in our country. Nevertheless, the

constraints arising from the inequalities that prevail in

the new international economic order keep us from

attaining a state of well-being and from creating more

dignified living conditions for our people.

During the Millennium Summit last year, the

heads of State and Government adopted in this Hall a

very important text called the United Nations

Millennium Declaration. I take pleasure in citing a

portion of it:

(spoke in French)

“we have a duty therefore to all the world’s

people, especially the most vulnerable and, in

particular, the children of the world, to whom the

future belongs”. (resolution 55/2, para. 2)

(spoke in Portuguese; interpretation from French text

provided by the delegation)

This Declaration takes on particular importance

in the case of our country, where the future and well-

being of children seem badly compromised, bearing in

mind the atmosphere of terror, the horrors of war and

the abuses of exploitation, famine and poverty. We

must act now to protect our children. We must fight by

every available means to ensure full respect for their

fundamental rights. This is why we welcome with

much satisfaction the Second World Conference

against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children,

scheduled for next month, and the world summit on the

future of children, to be held in May 2002.

Sao Tome and Principe considers globalization to

be a phenomenon of interdependence, a unique

opportunity to bring peoples together, not a political

ideal driven by the dominant economic Powers. Thus

we enthusiastically welcome the New Partnership for

Africa’s Development and share the certainty that this

plan — based on our needs and the aspirations of our

people for the future, and designed to find practical

solutions to the economic and social problems

throughout Africa — will be favourably received by

our partners, notably those of the G-7/G-8, for

implementation.

The environment is a fundamental issue for the

survival of mankind, and it must continue to be the

focus of special attention by the United Nations. We

therefore stress the importance of the outcome of the

recent seventh Conference of the Parties to the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,

held at Marrakesh. Every effort must be made to create

and disseminate technology that can minimize the

environmental impact of human activities and to

mobilize the resources needed to implement the

policies and strategies adopted in a range of

international forums.

Today more than ever before, it is obvious that

we need to change the working methods of the organs

of the United Nations so that they can better respond to

the demands of the day. As a universal organization,

the United Nations must be open to all States. Here we

are talking about international law, the sovereign

conduct of relations with other States, and active

participation, in a spirit of solidarity, in development

efforts through cooperation and international trade

relationships. That certainly applies to the Republic of

China on Taiwan. We believe in the right to disagree,

especially when disagreement is democratically

expressed by people. We also believe that dialogue is

the only way to ease tension wherever it is most acute.

The United Nations, which has always aimed to

support the development efforts of all countries,

especially the poorest, must play a key role in the quest

for solutions to the major problems facing the world. It

must do so through fostering determination and

adopting appropriate measures to create a fairer, more

human world: a better world.