São Tomé and Príncipe, 2005

First, Sir, I

should like to extend my sincere congratulations to you

on the occasion of your election to the presidency of

the sixtieth session of the General Assembly and to

wish you the greatest success in conducting the work

of the Assembly. I am also pleased to take this

opportunity to offer my sincere thanks to your

predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Jean Ping, Minister

for Foreign Affairs of the Gabonese Republic, for the

considerable results produced during his term as

President, especially towards the end of the session,

when we reviewed matters related to the

implementation of the Millennium Goals and the

reform of the United Nations.

I should also like to take this opportunity to

express our appreciation to the Secretary-General,

Mr. Kofi Annan, for his valuable efforts to bolster and

propel the role of the United Nations in international

peacekeeping, security and development. The report by

Mr. Kofi Annan (A/59/2005) and the recommendations

set out in it provide us with important elements capable

of leading to consensus on strategies that will help us

to achieve the Millennium Goals and to make progress

on reforming the United Nations.

I cannot fail to take advantage of this opportunity,

on behalf of the people of Sao Tome and Principe, to

reiterate to the Government and the people of the

United States of America and to the bereaved families

our sincere condolences regarding the tragedy caused

by Hurricane Katrina. These difficult times, being

experienced by a large part of the American people,

cannot leave us indifferent, above all because we are

fully aware of the role that the American people and its

Government play in international solidarity and

cooperation, constantly seeking peace and prosperity

for peoples in difficulty, and of their support and

financing of this great Organization.

From the early days of the signing of the Charter

in 1945 in San Francisco, the United Nations has

played a crucial role in undertaking many matters of a

political, economic, social and humanitarian nature

throughout the world. Nevertheless, it seems to us that

the world now needs a stronger and more dynamic

United Nations. The present session takes place in a

very complex international environment. Indeed, the

climate of permanent tension experienced in some

parts of the world, the unbridled arms race, human

trafficking, cross-border organized crime, terrorism,

systematic violations of human rights, economic

depression and environmental degradation constitute

important matters that are in need of the attention of

the United Nations now and in the years to come. In

the face of such challenges, Member States must

manifest a sense of wisdom and responsibility in order

for an international order based on peace, security and

cooperation to prevail.

Small island States met this year in Mauritius to

evaluate the Barbados Programme of Action for the

Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing

States. In Mauritius, States reaffirmed their

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commitment to support the efforts of small island

developing States that would lead to sustainable

development through a greater and more effective

implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action.

Decisions and recommendations were adopted on

climate change, natural and environmental disasters,

water resources, waste management, tourism, energy,

transportation, biodiversity and marine and coastal

resources. All the problems that affect small island

States, from global warming to ecosystem problems,

can be resolved only if the international community

makes an effort to effectively increase the resources

that will support the sustained development of small

island States. In this regard, we would like to take the

opportunity to express our thanks both to the

international community and to the Government of

Mauritius for the efforts made to organize the special

conference.

International security is based on the protection

of the people and on education for capacity-building,

promoting a community’s development. Nations that

do not pay attention those factors could be in a state of

permanent tension, which is not conducive to progress.

For this reason HIV/AIDS, poverty, political crises,

ongoing violations of human rights, oppression and

occupation constitute threats to human security.

Many of our countries continue to face challenges

in combating HIV/AIDS and other illnesses. In some

regions of Africa HIV/AIDS is devastating families,

cultures and economies — entire societies. The cost of

treatment continues to be extremely high and our

economies are beginning to buckle under the effects of

the illness. If significant resources and additional

scientific investment for research to seek a cure for

HIV/AIDS are not forthcoming the development

expectations of Africa will be far from being met.

Very recently the Republic of Angola was

attacked by the worst outbreak ever of Marburg fever,

caused by a virus related to the Ebola virus. We are

concerned because Sao Tome and Principe, being an

integral part of the Central African States, cannot

remove itself from that situation. We appeal to the

World Health Organization (WHO) to strengthen the

capabilities of the countries of the subregion by

holding seminars and providing training. This initiative

will help us to deal prophylactically with similar

situations that might arise. Likewise, malaria continues

to be a serious public health problem for my country

despite its active involvement with existing

programmes supported by several countries and

organizations.

The situation of insecurity primarily affects the

most vulnerable populations, especially refugees,

children, women and the elderly. Terrorism is

destabilizing Governments, destroying lives and

claiming innocent victims. We are faced with a

challenge that requires reformulating our strategies to

combat it. It seems entirely appropriate to start with an

understanding of the origins of the problem by

identifying its causes, and then to forge new

consensuses and improve the methods of combating the

problem and implementing Security Council resolution

1373 (2001). However, the United Nations must take

additional action to benefit States which, like my own,

are not in a position to fully comply with all the

provisions of that resolution. We need resources that

will contribute to the improvement, inter alia, of our

security, including control of our borders and territorial

waters. Here, strengthening our capability to fight the

phenomenon of terrorism is a priority.

In my capacity as President of the Community of

Portuguese-Speaking Countries, I should like to refer

to Guinea-Bissau, which has just successfully

concluded a long and difficult political transition. First,

let me congratulate the people and the authorities of

that country on their success. I commend the

international community, and in particular the United

Nations and its Secretary-General, for its prompt

contribution, which bolstered the people’s action for

peace, stability and development. Now, Guinea-Bissau

faces the giant task of promoting development and

well-being for its population. The international

community must therefore continue to provide its

traditional help so that legitimate expectations may not

be frustrated.

The universality of the Organization requires that

all nations must be represented. However, this

continues not to be so despite several calls for it. As we

reflect on reforming the United Nations, we must once

again take advantage of the opportunity from this

rostrum to invite the international community to review

the problem of the need for the Republic of China on

Taiwan to be represented in the Organization. In this

regard, my country signed the letter contained in

document A/60/192 requesting the inclusion of an item

in the agenda of the present session entitled “Question

of the representation of the 23 million people of

05-51226 15

Taiwan in the United Nations”. Once again, we have

lost an opportunity to correct this injustice.

We are further concerned by the recent adoption

by the People’s Republic of China of the so-called anti-

secession law, which, by increasing tension in the

Strait of Taiwan, may compromise peace in the region.

Aware of the role of the United Nations, specifically

under the provisions of Articles 1 and 34 of the

Charter, Sao Tome and Principe also joined in

proposing the draft resolution annexed to document

A/60/193. That document contains a letter requesting

the inclusion of a supplementary item in the agenda of

the present session entitled, “A proactive role for the

United Nations in maintaining peace in the Taiwan

Strait”. Neither proposal received the expected support.

We are faced with an excellent opportunity to

infuse our Organization with greater dynamism and

rationality, more action and less bureaucracy. Reform

of the system is urgent. It is a high priority. To that

end, we must all work without hesitation for the good

of the world to which we belong.