São Tomé and Príncipe, 2012

First of all, on behalf of the Government of Sao Tome

and Principe, and in my own name, I would like to

congratulate Vuk Jeremić on his election as President

of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session.

I am convinced that his experience as Minister for

Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia will be a most

positive contribution to strengthening the affirmation

of the principles of the United Nations Charter for

world security and peace, and I trust that he will lead

the work of this session with clarity and balance.

The Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe

also wishes to express its great appreciation for the

work of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and for his

role in expanding our Organization and encouraging

it to continue its efforts to achieve the objectives of

world peace and security. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz

Al-Nasser for his highly positive contribution during

the sixty-sixth session.

As it did during the debates of the sixty-sixth

session of the General Assembly, the Democratic

Republic of Sao Tome and Principe reiterates its

hope that the United Nations will play a key role in

mediating international conflicts. Unfortunately, today

we continue to look on with concern as conflicts that

could jeopardize international peace and security

persist and further exacerbate the deep economic and

financial crisis that is devastating the world. Sadly,

our Organization continues to suffer from roadblocks

that prevent urgent decisions from being taken and

that undermine this forum’s credibility. That inaction

translates into impunity for leaders who martyrize their

own peoples, paving the way for more international

disorder, despair and the sentiment of injustice that is

experienced when peoples receive unequal treatment.

We need no further evidence of the urgency for

in-depth reforms of our Organization, primarily the

Security Council, than our inability to put an end to

the horrific images of children, symbols of purity and

innocence, who are killed daily in Syria, to prevent the

destruction of the world’s historic and cultural heritage,

as by gangs of destructive criminals in Mali and in

Afghanistan, and to forestall coups d’état or obvious

attempts to destabilize States and democratically elected

Governments that in fact solve nothing and irreparably

delay the lengthy process of building democracy and

fighting poverty.

We must prevent the disintegration of territories

and remedy the abnormal and degrading situations

of peoples who have already suffered from the

poverty and exclusion created by a lack of democratic

leadership or of effective and democratic rule of law.

In the specific case of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau,

with which Sao Tome and Principe maintains deeply

rooted historic, cultural and linguistic links, the

international community should bring both firmness

and persistence to bear in finding a credible, inclusive

and lasting solution that will ensure that coups d’état

do not recur in that country. To do so necessarily

requires a reform of the armed forces as well as a

strong warning to the political class as a whole to make

a steadfast commitment to respect political dialogue

and democratic legality. On our side, we will continue

to make efforts, in cooperation with the Community

of Portuguese-speaking Countries and other engaged

regional and international organizations, to guarantee a

better future for the people of Guinea-Bissau.

Regarding the occupation of the north of the

Republic of Mali by groups of terrorists and the persistent

conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sao

Tome and Príncipe acknowledges and applauds the

efforts the international community has made through

the United Nations and the African Union to establish

peace, security and stability. However, it seems that it is

becoming increasingly essential for us to ask the States

that share borders with those two African countries to

establish more effective, intelligent and effective ways

to cooperate, based on trust and on a matrix of mutually

beneficial and realistic economic interests.

It is common knowledge that the forces of

destabilization, despair and terror are fuelled and

furthered by differences and distrust between

States, which in turn paralyses the international

decision-making process. However, we must point out

positive signs in the trends of a few conflicts on the

African continent, such as the cases of the Republics of

the Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia. Consequently, we

cannot fail to applaud the recent agreement signed by the

Republic of the Sudan and South Sudan. Through that

framework, the two countries will be able to live in peace

and harmony. We also welcome the positive role of the

African Union Mission in Somalia, which paves the way

to returning the political, economic and social situation

of that country and the region to normalcy. Moreover,

in our opinion, the important recommendations of the

Secretary-General’s report on the situation concerning

the Western Sahara (S/2012/197) are a positive asset for

a permanent resolution.

The social movements that took place in North

Africa in 2011, which had the merit of reinstating

the right to freedom and democracy for the different

peoples, were popular movements that in many cases

were mobilized through social networking and modern

instruments of technical communication. Various

situations of insecurity and reprehensible acts, as well

as the acts recently committed in Benghazi of which

American diplomats were the victims, raise the issue of

how we may live in this new context of the circulation

and dissemination of images and information at the

global level, in a world that we want to be free, open

and tolerant, but in which large segments of the world

population still live in a state of extreme poverty, with

no access to education and with the growing conviction

that they face exclusion and discrimination.

How do we deal with the offences committed

by people, including even some persons with public

political responsibilities such as State leaders, who

fail to recognize the right of other peoples and States

to exist? In that regard, we would like to take the

opportunity that this platform affords us to express

to the mourning families of diplomats, journalists,

members of non-governmental organization and

peacekeepers our sincere and deep condolences as well

as our unfailing solidarity. Our ongoing obligation to

work to build a better world and to invest in education

and the promotion of human and democratic values is

fundamental, beginning with Member States complying

with all United Nations resolutions.

The massacres in Syria must cease, the integrity

and security of the State of Israel must be effectively

guaranteed, the Palestinian people must have their

own State, the embargo against Cuba must end,

countries, including Iran, must have the right to civil

nuclear technology and must scrupulously observe the

commitments that that entails, and polluters must be

the principal payers. It must be our ambition, and not

a mere hope, to ensure that we return here next year

with an agenda that includes fewer of these troublesome

issues, many of which are recurring.

We are pleased to note a few positive signs in the

dialogue between the Republic of China on Taiwan

and the People’s Republic of China on the one hand,

and, on the other, the willingness of the United States

Congress and the European Parliament to admit Taiwan

as a member of international organizations. Sao Tome

and Principe supports initiatives such as these, which

will make it possible for the people of Taiwan to make a

significant contribution to international issues without

ignoring the necessity for the two parties in the Straits

of Formosa to work peacefully to agree to frame and

normalize their relations.

The High-level Meeting that preceded the general

debate was an excellent opportunity for Member States

to share information on how democratic reforms are

being implemented and the rule of law strengthened

both in individual countries and at the international

level. It is very pleasing that this discussion is leading

to significant progress in implementing the democratic

and institutional reforms that can help to strengthen the

rule of law, internally and internationally. In that regard,

Sao Tome and Principe congratulates the Republic

of Angola on its recent successful and transparent

general elections, since they also constitute another

step towards strengthening the democratic process in

its sister country of Sao Tome and Principe.

Threats to our global security, particularly

transnational crimes such as piracy and the trafficking

and sale of arms and drugs, are a matter of great concern

for Sao Tome and Principe, a country with a long

coastline located in the Gulf of Guinea. Such events

are threats that we cannot ignore; they demand that we

cooperate as closely as possible both with the States

we share the coastline with and the other partners and

organizations that have experience in dealing with such

issues, and adopt mechanisms — which we resolve to

strengthen — for preventing, managing and resolving

conflicts caused by organized crime in order to improve

our collective security.

In that context, we applaud the important resolutions

2018 (2011) and 2039 (2012) adopted by the Security

Council on maritime safety and security in the Gulf

of Guinea. As part of the Gulf of Guinea region, we

repeat our firm pledge to do everything we can, jointly

with our partners, to prevent that region, rich as it is in

raw materials of strategic importance to industrialized

economies, from becoming a stage for maritime piracy

and other scourges that hinder economic trade, peace

and security in the region. To that end, we reiterate that

we are absolutely ready and willing to help implement

initiatives to hold an international summit on maritime

piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

The substantial transformations that have occurred

in the international political arena as a result of the grave

global financial crisis have forced the citizens of small

States, and of Sao Tome and Principe in particular, to

make major sacrifices. In that regard, Sao Tome and

Principe believes that the continuing international

and economic financial crisis and its effects on the

economies of small countries, which have included

reductions and slowdowns in official international aid,

tend to threaten social cohesion as well as previous

improvements in fiscal discipline, the business climate

and political stability itself. The acceptability of

controlling and reducing public deficits in developing

countries such as ours is reaching its limits where

our citizens are concerned, and good governance now

demands measures that can effectively jump-start our

economies through productive investments.

We believe that the most vulnerable populations,

in both the northern and southern hemispheres of our

planet, are demanding changes in the practices and rules of the international financial system, and new

world financial governance that is better able to hold

accountable the financial stakeholders and speculators

who undermine the efforts of Governments and their

peoples to develop economies that bring progress.

Internally, the Government of the Democratic

Republic of Sao Tome and Principe is making efforts

to reduce poverty and increase transparency in public

management and economic growth. Institutional

reforms in the areas of public finance, justice and

national defence, whose purpose is to strengthen the

capacities of our democratic institutions and develop

the country, have been progressing at a good pace.

Regarding the Millennium Development Goals, for

which the United Nations has set a deadline of 2015,

the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe can

report significant progress, particularly in the areas

of education, with a literacy rate of 92 per cent of the

population, and health, especially in the fight against

malaria. However, we realize that meeting the deadline

will require further effort.

To achieve those goals, our country hopes to

continue to receive support in many forms from the

international community. In that regard, I would like

to take this opportunity to extend the sincere thanks of

the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe to

the entire international community, and in particular

UNESCO and all of its member States, for designating

the island of Principe a UNESCO World Biosphere

Reserve, thus recognizing and providing further

incentives for our efforts to defend and preserve the

environment.

I would like to conclude by repeating that the

Government of Sao Tome and Principe, which I have

the honour of representing, stands ready and willing to

take part in efforts to mobilize the will and synergy

needed to achieve the honourable goals that guided the

creation of the United Nations.