At the outset of my remarks, I wish to convey the warm congratulations of His Excellency Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, Chair of the National Committee of Reconciliation and Development, President of the Transition, Head of State and Supreme Leader of the Armies of the Republic of Guinea, upon Mr. Csaba Korosi’s successful election as President of the United Nations General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session. I also wish to pay a well-deserved tribute to his predecessor, Mr. Abdulla Shahid, for the outstanding work accomplished during his mandate.
I wish to express the appreciation and the deep gratitude of the Guinean authorities to the Secretary- General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres, for the dynamic exercise of his mandate.
The Guinean delegation’s participation in this meeting allows us to provide information on the situation in our country and our assessment of the international situation. The Republic of Guinea, after having set the tone for independence in Africa, particularly in francophone countries, has nevertheless experienced dark times in its governance, and unfortunately the regime that ruled during the previous decade was no exception to the rule. That period was marked in particular by an extreme politicization of State bodies, violations of the rule of law and financial mismanagement.
Ultimately, the constitutional change abolishing the two-term limit for the presidency, orchestrated by the previous President, triggered sociopolitical unrest in a nation in which development had already been paralysed, despite the country being on the path to becoming the top producer of bauxite in the world.
Faced with that catastrophic situation and the need to prevent abuses of power, the country’s defence and security forces, united within the National Committee for Reconciliation and Development, made a decision. On 5 September 2021, in an expression of solidarity and patriotism, they decided to assume their responsibility to establish a Government of integrity that would benefit the Guinean population, particularly its women and youth, with the aim of achieving inclusive and sustainable development. The population supported those ideals and communicated their expectations during consultations between the National Committee for Reconciliation and Development (CNRD) and the country’s stakeholders. A stock-taking exercise was conducted to reach agreement on appropriate solutions to the challenges identified and to revive the country. The goal was an institutional correction to build strong and legitimate institutions that could stand the test of time and human frailty; the re-establishment of the foundations of the State to infuse a sense of ethics into public life and restore the State’s authority; a correction aimed at breaking with old practices to reform, modernize and renew the Administration; a gathering of the people as a whole to conduct public affairs in complete transparency; and respect for all commitments at the national and international levels.
In that respect, the following progress was made. The transition charter was drafted and published. A civilian transitional Government was established. The National Transition Council was established. The Court to Repress Economic and Financial Crimes was established to combat corruption and the diversion of public goods and to restore trust between the population and those in power. Looted State property was recovered. All proceedings are based on the full independence of the justice system. That is why the transitional President stressed, when he took power, that justice would be the compass of the life of our nation.
National symposiums, called days of truth and forgiveness, were held, and a report on the subject was submitted on 24 August. On that occasion, the Head of State entrusted me with the task of disseminating the report and following up on the recommendations that emerged from those days.
An inclusive consultation framework was established with the support of technical and financial partners. That is a platform that makes it possible for all the country’s stakeholders to exchange views on the conduct of the transition.
To carry out the transition in an inclusive and peaceful manner, the above-mentioned institutions have, in the exercise of their respective mandates, deployed missions within and outside the country to gather the opinions of Guinean citizens on the management of the transition and the country’s future. A proposed timeline was therefore agreed by consensus in order to prevent the people of Guinea from falling back into cyclical transitions.
With regard to the length of the transition, I wish to highlight the fact that a key issue of the negotiations between the Republic of Guinea and the Economic Community of West African States was the content of the transition, which covers 10 points, including a general census of the population and housing and an administrative census for civil registry purposes. Those two exercises will take 24 months to complete, and 12 additional months will be necessary for the holding of the three scheduled elections. I cannot stress enough the imperative to conduct a quality census to establish an indisputable electoral registry that will guarantee transparent electoral processes and results that are universally accepted. It should be recalled that the issue of the electoral registry has always been a point of contention and has led to various elections being contested in recent years.
In view of the outcome of the inclusive consultation framework and in line with his policy of outreach, the President of the transition created the framework for inclusive inter-Guinean dialogue, which has been placed under my authority. We hope that reluctant stakeholders will feel a burst of patriotic pride and join the dialogue. There is no obstacle today to inclusive dialogue in Guinea. It is important to note that, without any pressure being exerted, the members of the CNRD, the Government and the National Transition Council decided of their own free will that they would not run for office during the upcoming elections. That decision is constantly reaffirmed.
In terms of justice and human rights, the Guinean Government, in its respect for human rights, in addition to the judicial reforms under way, has made the organization of the trial for the events of 28 September 2009, during which there were victims, a national priority. In that regard, the transitional President decided to organize, after 13 years of waiting, day after day, the opening of the trial in cooperation with the International Criminal Court and the Human Rights Council.
On the economic front, strong measures have been taken to stabilize the macroeconomic framework to strengthen the country’s resilience. The development of an interim reference programme for the period from 2022 to 2025 will undoubtedly contribute to improving the living conditions of our people.
We would like to reassure all public and private investors of our Government’s determination to guarantee conditions conducive to a better business environment. An overhaul of public finances and reforms in the mining sector, in particular the setting of the index price of bauxite, will make it possible for the population to benefit from the dividends of the growth in that sector. We are committed to ensuring a careful consideration of the problems faced by the people of Guinea in order to find solutions that are sustainable for them — hence the imperative to establish the rule of law and strong institutions for a successful transition, which would be a clear guarantee of Guinea’s stability and, by extension, that of the West African subregion. We will also continue to cooperate with all our partners and respect our commitments in a spirit of openness and mutual trust and respect.
The seventy-seventh session of the General Assembly is taking place at a time when the world is facing a number of social, political and economic challenges at the dawn of a new multipolar world order. The theme chosen for this session, “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges”, calls on all countries of the world to show more unity in action and more solidarity in order to resolve the complex challenges generated by the coronavirus disease crisis and the crises affecting regions providing basic food stuffs, agricultural inputs and petroleum products.
In that regard, my country appreciates the Secretary- General’s initiatives on international peace and security and the path to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. It also reiterates the need to redouble our efforts to achieve this goal, through preventive diplomacy, respect for human rights and international solidarity in the fight against climate change and debt forgiveness for the least developed countries.
My country shares the concerns of the international community on the issues of peace, security, development and human rights being examined by the United Nations and renews its traditional position on the search for peaceful and consensus solutions to
these issues. This is an opportunity for my delegation to point out that, with regard to peace operations, since 1961, the Republic of Guinea has deployed and continues to deploy military contingents as well as police and gendarmerie personnel in various peace missions throughout the world. It is on the strength of all this experience that the President of Guinea, Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, an avowed pan-Africanist, has decided to deploy, in addition to the Guinean contingent in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali operating in Kidal, Mali since 2013, an additional contingent to replace that of Benin, whose mandate expires in 2023. Furthermore, my country reiterates its commitment and insists on the fight against climate change and irregular migration.
We are convinced that the United Nations remains indispensable to our world. However, it needs to be reformed in order to be fairer, more inclusive and better able to respond to the legitimate aspirations of the world’s peoples. It must adapt to the realities of the world, meet the many challenges facing humankind and maintain its central role in global governance. In this context, the Republic of Guinea attaches importance to the implementation of the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, which underpin the African Common Position, as declared by His Excellency Mr. Macky Sail, President of Senegal and Chairperson of the African Union, on Security Council reform.
The Republic of Guinea has adopted the same perspective as the United Nations in terms of inclusive dialogue, including with the Economic Community of West African States, being the guiding principle for our transition, strengthening the rule of law and promoting human rights and accountability with a view to mending a weakened national fabric. On behalf of the Guinean people, we thank our partners, in particular the United Nations system and bilateral and multilateral donors, for their support in this process.
Finally, my country reiterates its support for multilateralism, multilingualism and the revitalization of United Nations bodies, which are yet another asset for an international cooperation that is mutual, beneficial, inclusive and supportive of humankind and sustainable development, which is so much sought after and desired by the Member States. May God bless Guinea and the Guinean people. May God bless our planet.