On behalf of
my Government, I wish to congratulate Ms. Al-Khalifa
on her election to the presidency of the General
Assembly at its sixty-first session. We are confident
that under her guidance and leadership, this session
will be productive and will attain the goals set. I assure
her of my delegation’s full cooperation.
I would also like to take this opportunity to
express my country’s appreciation to the Secretary-
General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for the valuable work he has
performed during the 10 years of his mandate, which is
now drawing to a close.
Mr. Annan has made an indelible mark on the
history of the United Nations by paying special
attention to the most pertinent problems affecting our
planet, especially the African continent. In particular,
Angola praises the role which Mr. Annan has played
during the most critical phase of the Organization’s
history. I trust that the next Secretary-General will find
in Mr. Kofi Annan’s legacy an impressive reference for
the reinforcement of the Organization’s capacity to
deal with the principal problems facing humanity.
The aspirations to stability, security and social
justice of the peoples represented in this Assembly
continue to be unfulfilled. The persisting armed
violence in some States and the meagre results in the
fight against world poverty have been contributing to
this picture; consequently, these make up the chief
challenges facing the United Nations.
With regard to the new tendencies towards
violence, we see something new. It is more
indiscriminate; it emerges not only from inter-State or
internal conflicts, but rather, and increasingly, it arises
from actions that seek to alter the way of life of
societies through intimidation and the brutal
destruction of human lives.
In recent times alone, over a dozen countries in
four continents have been severely affected by acts of
terror, which have become the most direct and
immediate threat to international peace and security. In
spite of political or ideological differences, the
international community has, in general terms,
demonstrated firmness and unity in the fight against
acts of terror. We are of the view that this form of
collective action must continue to be the most
appropriate way of dealing with threats to international
security, including terrorism.
Poverty indexes around the world are also a
contributing factor to the bleak present-day
international situation. Half of the world’s population,
or three billion people, continue to live on less than
two dollars a day; 640 million people are without
appropriate housing; 400 million people do not have
access to drinking water; and 270 million people lack
medical assistance. Close to one billion people have
entered the twenty-first century illiterate and with little
hope of emerging from spiritual and material poverty.
Africa is the continent most affected by this
scourge, and not even the potential for economic
growth of some of our countries permits us to hope that
the poverty indexes will be drastically reduced.
Notwithstanding this unwelcome picture, in
recent times, we have seen significant progress in the
area of peace and security, democracy and respect for
human rights. For instance, the resolution through
dialogue of the Angolan internal conflict, which was
among the longest-running conflicts in Africa,
constitutes one of the more significant success stories
in this regard. Recently, the Angolan Government
opted for the same path of dialogue and negotiation in
order to extend the peace process to the territory of
Cabinda, where some insecurity persisted.
The establishment of peace in Angola was the
supreme objective of a sensible and principled political
process led by President José Eduardo dos Santos,
whose goals were: to liberate, together with some
forces in our region, the people of southern Africa from
the dominance of oppressor regimes; to settle the
conflicts in Central Africa through negotiation; to
extinguish the threat that some States represented to
their neighbours; and, finally, to economically develop
and integrate the region.
The fruits of this political endeavour are visible
today: the people of the region, who before were under
oppressive regimes, now live in freedom and have built
democratic societies. With Angola’s support, one State
in Central Africa settled its internal conflict, and, once
06-53005 50
free, its people took charge of their destiny and
recovered their sense of peace and stability. Another
State in Central Africa overthrew the dictatorship that
had oppressed its people and had created a permanent
focus of regional tension by acting as a source of
instability for neighbouring countries. Today, the
people of that country are engaged in building a new
democratic society by means of transparent elections
and national reconciliation.
Now that peace has been achieved, one of the
fundamental objectives of the Government of Angola is
the complete elimination of factors of conflict. We
have prioritized the pursuit of political reforms with a
view to the consolidation of a democratic regime and a
righteous State, aware that these constitute
prerequisites for the maintenance of peace, political
stability, respect for citizens’ rights and economic
development. This is a serious commitment which my
Government will not forsake, the main objective being
the regular holding of elections.
The next electoral process is at an advanced stage
of preparation, and voter registration will begin next
November. My Government is creating all the
necessary conditions to make the next elections
transparent and credible, so that their results are
accepted by all the parties, and so that they constitute a
step on the road to prosperity. Therefore, the
organization of the next elections is going ahead surely
and firmly.
Other priorities are the reintegration of the
displaced population, refugees and former combatants,
as well as the rehabilitation of the economy and the
reduction of poverty. These areas have registered
important progress. In only four years of peace,
roughly 4.5 million displaced persons and more than
400,000 refugees have been resettled. Nearly 200,000
former combatants and members of their families have
been socially and productively reintegrated; and
countless infrastructures that were destroyed by the
conflict are also being rehabilitated.
The national economy is characterized by a solid
macroeconomic stability resulting from a coherent
monetary and budgetary policy. It is among the fastest-
growing economies in the world. For 2006 and future
years, we foresee continuous, vigorous economic
growth, of the order of 20 per cent.
In social terms, the results over the last four years
are also encouraging. Poverty has been reduced from
over 80 per cent to 56 per cent. With the ongoing
implementation of poverty reduction programmes and
substantial investment in capital goods, we foresee a
gradual improvement of social well-being and
employment indexes in the short term. The global
advances which my country has achieved in four years
of peace are evidence that its people can look to the
new Angola with real hope. The international
community can count on Angola as a dependable
partner.
In the area of peace, important progress has been
made in other parts of the African continent. The
Democratic Republic of the Congo, a neighbour and
brother of Angola, is steadily approaching a situation
of normality, which is likely to contribute to the
lessening of tensions in Central Africa and in the Great
Lakes region. Recently, and for the first time in its
history, the people of this country exercised their right
to freely choose their legitimate representatives. Such
an act marks a crucial stage in the process of
democratic transition and the consolidation of internal
stability. It was made possible by the support of the
international community, particularly of Angola, which
supplied $30 million and some logistical means for the
electoral process.
Angola has always stood by the Congolese people
and always will. It contributed to the cessation of the
internal conflict that devastated the country and is
currently contributing to building the capacity of the
Congolese institutions charged with maintaining
internal peace, security and order. It is now up to the
Congolese parties to demonstrate that they are truly
committed to peace and democracy. We want to believe
that they will not frustrate the expectations of their
people and of the international community and that
they will respect the verdict of the ballot box.
The situation in Côte d’Ivoire remains volatile.
The Ivorian people continue to be the principal victims
of a conflict that is jeopardizing the country’s future.
Angola associates itself with the efforts of the
international community to reach a definitive and
peaceful resolution of the conflict in that country.
In the Middle East, the continuing violence is
rendering ineffective any blueprints for peace aimed at
resolving the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Angola supports the right to existence of all States in
the area as well as their right to live in peace with their
neighbours. It is important to return to a process aimed
51 06-53005
at the peaceful resolution of the conflict — a process
based on the road map for peace — in order to arrive at
a comprehensive solution leading to regional
stabilization.
Angola hopes that the people of Iraq and of
Afghanistan will be able, in the short term, to fulfil
their aspirations to live free from violence and from
tension, and that those countries will be respected as
sovereign and genuine States.
In conclusion, we would like to reiterate our
desire that the process of reform of the United Nations,
mainly of the Security Council, be accelerated. The
current composition of that organ is anachronistic and
fails to reflect the contemporary structures of the
international community.
In the context of United Nations reform, we wish
to stress the importance of the recent creation of the
Peacebuilding Commission and of the Human Rights
Council. I would like in that respect to express my
gratitude to all Members of the United Nations for the
trust they placed in my country, which is to preside
over the Peacebuilding Commission during its first
years of existence.