Togo

My country, Togo, welcomes the election of the President of the Assembly to direct the work of the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session. On behalf of the Government and people of Togo and on my own behalf, I would like to convey our warm congratulations to him. We wish him every success in accomplishing his noble and exhilarating mission. Today more than ever, the ever increasing number of challenges facing the planet call for greater solidarity to provide an effective global solution worthy of our peoples’ aspirations. When world leaders bringing forth their nations’ ambitions meet in this forum to reflect upon the main issues of the hour, it is to give their people hope for a brighter tomorrow. 23 11-51372 In order to address those various challenges, Togo has for several years endeavoured to relaunch its economy to achieve sustainable development for the well-being of its people. We have made strengthening national unity and good governance, reviving economic growth and combating social injustice our rallying cry. In terms of political governance, Togo remains faithful to its new vision of sharing its victory with all stakeholders of goodwill, including political parties that have lost in elections. Above all, this is about emphasizing the peoples’ victory and not that of any political party. In our opinion, that concept of power should inspire all leaders who seek greater stability following elections. Based on its desire to strengthen the gains made in the area of democratization, the Government of Togo supports the implementation of the recommendations made by the European Union election observation mission, including institutional and constitutional reforms, especially against the backdrop of the local and legislative elections to be held in 2012. In that respect, faithful to the policy of openness and cooperation initiated by our head of State, the Government has renewed its dialogue with all political and civic stakeholders under its permanent framework for dialogue and cooperation in order to pursue discussions on all subjects concerning the management of governmental affairs. The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, launched two years ago with the task of promoting national reconciliation, is currently at the critical stage of holding both public and closed hearings, according to witness preference. That is an opportunity for all Togolese men and women to talk to each other about the most painful moments of their history and to speak truthfully in order to ensure justice and reconciliation, thereby making it possible to turn the page once and for all. In terms of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the Government of Togo has made commitments to increasing State capacities to protect individuals and property and guarantee fundamental freedoms in order to prevent Togo’s young democracy from losing ground with regard to the progress made in shaping its identity, as well as to avert any exploitation of differences. In that regard, Togo has just provided the governing body of the Human Rights Council in Geneva with its national report in connection with the universal periodic review that will take place in a few weeks. Togo would like to reaffirm its determination to honour its international commitments. We will continue to combat all types of human rights violations and to take action against their perpetrators. My country will therefore tirelessly continue the work already begun in order to strengthen the gains of democracy and peace, while making greater efforts to implement the Millennium Development Goals. In terms of economic governance, Togo is pursuing reforms for better management of its public finances, in order to optimize domestic revenues. We are working for a more robust financial sector, privatizing public banks, operationalizing the Court of Auditors and instituting a new public tendering code that is fully aligned with international standards. All that is in addition to the steps we have taken towards membership in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Among other things, those various measures have allowed us to successfully conclude our participation in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative and to benefit from about $1.8 billion in debt cancellation. The broad ongoing programme to improve and rehabilitate road infrastructure throughout our national territory is an illustration of the effective implementation of this reform. On behalf of the Government and the people of Togo, I would like to thank all our partners that have assisted in our process to improve governance. This meeting is taking place at a time when Africa is again threatened by famine such as we have not witnessed in 20 years. All countries, as well as the United Nations, must take urgent measures to confront that exceptional situation if we wish to avoid a large- scale humanitarian tragedy. With respect to resolving conflict and promoting peace and security throughout the world, which is the theme of this session, it is encouraging to note that significant progress has been made. That is particularly in the case in Africa, where peace and security have been restored in Côte d’Ivoire, thereby enabling the relaunching of socio-economic activities in that country. The peaceful resolution of the lengthy conflict in South Sudan, which has become the Organization’s 193rd Member State, gives us reason to hope that any conflict can be resolved acceptably and sustainably so 11-51372 24 long as the parties concerned work in good faith to achieve that goal. Also as we meet here, parts of the world continue to face waves of demonstrations and uprisings, especially in Africa. Those legitimate movements contribute to the blossoming of democracy for the people concerned. In addition to delivering on their legitimate expectations, they also help to avoid any risk of wavering in the medium term that might jeopardize peace and national unity. That seems to be true for all conflicts, because we believe that no sustainable solution is possible outside of negotiation. With regard to the Middle East, my country therefore firmly believes that the parties to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict and the international community must continue to seek a political solution to that old conflict. The Middle East must know peace. Israel and Palestine must coexist in two States with well-defined borders, in peace and security. We are fundamentally convinced that the aspirations of the Palestinian people for a national State and those of Israel for sustainable peace and security are not contradictory, but complementary, objectives. Despite the many efforts and determination of the United Nations to eradicate terrorism in all its forms, that scourge is gaining even more ground and is compromising the chances for building a world of peace and security. This year, as we commemorate the tenth anniversary of the tragic attacks on 11 September 2001, the international community and all States must continue to work synergistically so that humankind will not again experience such indiscriminate and wanton attacks as those of 9/11 or those that recently victimized the peaceful people of Norway and the headquarters of the United Nations in Abuja. Those crises and conflicts, as well as new threats to international peace and security, such as maritime piracy, cyber crime and drug trafficking, which undermine efforts to build peace throughout the world, require the international community to rethink the role of the United Nations in the context of security and socio-economic development. At a time when the West African subregion is witnessing an increase in violence due to drug trafficking and terrorism in the area, we cannot allow our shorelines to be taken hostage by pirates, as was recently the case in the waters off Benin and Togo. I call for stricter cooperation among all countries to effectively combat this new phenomenon. As I just said we need to rethink the role of the United Nations. While it is widely acknowledged that nothing can replace the Organization, it is just as true that, 65 years after it was established, the United Nations needs to be reformed. My country therefore calls on Member States to pursue and conclude the process of Security Council reform, which began more than 15 years ago. Like the majority of Member States, Togo hopes that this General Assembly session will provide us an opportunity to take decisive steps with regard to Council reform. In so doing, we have the opportunity to correct flagrant and unacceptable injustices and to make the Security Council truly representative of all the regions of the world, thereby making it better placed to resolve the crises and conflicts that we face. With regard to the process of replacing non-permanent members of the Council, the Assembly will elect five new members in October to replace those whose terms will end on 31 December. Togo is among the candidates from the Group of African States that are seeking the votes of Member States in those elections. Contrary to the practice observed today in Africa with respect to elections to the Security Council, three candidates are in the running this year for the two seats that go to Africa. Togo, whose candidacy enjoys the endorsement of the Economic Community of Western African States and the African Union, of course attaches great importance to the sovereign right of each State to apply for a seat on any United Nations body. However, I would like to ask all delegations to bear in mind the need to see emerge, after the elections, a Security Council that is balanced and representative of all the major regions in Africa, especially West Africa. My country has participated in United Nations peacekeeping operations for many years. We are currently involved in the missions in Côte d’Ivoire and the Sudan, and will soon participate in the one in South Sudan. We wish to sit on the Council in order to make a contribution, however modest, to the work of the organ responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. If elected, Togo will focus on the importance of preventive diplomacy in the peaceful settlement of conflicts and the link between peace and security, on the one hand, and social justice and development, on the other. We would also not neglect combating the 25 11-51372 scourges to which I referred earlier, as well as new threats to international peace and security. Togo’s noble ambition can only come to pass if we have the support of delegations for our candidacy. It is my hope that all Member States will wish to provide their invaluable support for our candidacy. I wish very much to thank them in advance for their support.