Togo

I am pleased to join those who spoke before me in expressing my warmest congratulations to the President on his election to lead this fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly. This choice reflects the great esteem in which the international community holds his country, Namibia, as well as being a tribute to his past as a freedom fighter and to his qualities as a statesman. I assure him of the wholehearted support of my delegation as he carries out his duties. I would also like to extend my most sincere congratulations to President Gurirab’s predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Didier Opertti, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, for the skill with which he conducted the work of the fifty-third session of the Assembly. To Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, I would like to express the utmost appreciation of the Government of Togo for the perspicacity and tenacity he has shown in seeking solutions to the many problems facing the Organization. Finally, I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to warmly congratulate the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga on their admission into this great family, the United Nations. We have met once again this year to take stock of actions carried out in pursuit of our common objectives and to coordinate our views on what actions to take in order to address today’s challenges. Given the current state of the world, we must acknowledge that, despite the significant progress that has been made, the world is still marked, unfortunately, by instability, raging wars and tensions that are most often due to widespread poverty and to the uneven distribution of resources, as well as to the legitimate aspiration of peoples for greater freedom, justice and well-being. Indeed, at a time when mankind is getting ready to embark on the third millennium, our world offers one of the bleakest pictures in its history from an economic and social point of view. All kinds of problems linked to underdevelopment, poverty and inequalities between developed and disadvantaged countries — problems long denounced in this and other forums — have worsened in recent years as a result of the globalization of the economy. Although developed countries have benefited from this phenomenon, especially in the areas of trade and investment, developing countries are suffering the negative impact of globalization on their economies, which have already been rendered fragile by their unbearable debt burden, the plummeting of prices for raw materials and the steady decline in official development assistance. As regards the external-debt problem in particular, we can never stress enough how the accumulation of this debt hampers development efforts. The awareness of the extent of this problem and of its impact on development is such that the most industrialized countries and the Bretton Woods institutions and those of the United Nations system now acknowledge that most of the developing countries’ debt can never be repaid. They also acknowledge quite openly that the debt burden is the major obstacle to the development of poor countries and that the mechanisms that have been established to resolve the debt crisis have not been very effective. Within this context we can only welcome the commitment of the G-8 summit, held last June in Cologne, to cancel a portion of the debt of world’s poorest countries. My delegation encourages the international community to continue to take bold steps aimed at resolving the debt problem in an effective and lasting manner. These steps might include the cancellation of all of the bilateral debt of the poorest countries, a significant reduction of the debt burden of middle-income and low-income countries, and increasing the flexibility 20 of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative so as to make its benefits more generally available. However, we should point out that the implementation of such measures should not be carried out to the detriment of official development assistance, which, unfortunately, continues to decline. As regards trade, it is generally acknowledged that the expansion of international trade is a true engine for growth and development. We would like to see the international community take appropriate measures to integrate developing countries into the international-trade regime, through increasing access for their exports to the markets of developed countries, by supporting the diversification and strengthening of developing countries’ production capacities, and by improving terms of trade. We sincerely hope that the forthcoming negotiations at the World Trade Organization, the tenth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries will take into account the interests of the weakest partners. In recent years, many initiatives have been taken on the bilateral and multilateral levels to try to address the challenges faced by the African continent. In this respect, I would cite the United States initiative for a Partnership for Economic Growth and Opportunity in Africa and the Tokyo International Conferences on African Development. While this may be satisfying, there is still reason, in the name of efficiency, to call for some degree of coordination between these initiatives and those of the United Nations system. Efforts to promote development and eradicate poverty in Africa cannot be dissociated from our daily struggle to safeguard peace and security. For our countries again this year, preserving and consolidating a climate of peace and stability have been the major imperative, given the many real dangers. Thus, the Government of Togo, traditionally inclined to search for peace and stability, has spared no effort to try to reconcile points of view whenever discord arises, convinced that dialogue and cooperation should be emphasized in the settlement of disputes and that any conflict that may arise in any country of a subregion represents a tragedy for the entire subregion, and perhaps Africa as a whole. Inspired by the spirit of subregional solidarity that, under the President of our Republic, Mr. Gnassingbé Eyadéma, current Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), we have carried out actions and taken appropriate initiatives to find negotiated solutions to the crisis in Guinea-Bissau, the conflict in Sierra Leone and the border dispute between Guinea and Liberia. Following the crisis that erupted in Guinea-Bissau in June 1998, the efforts of the ECOWAS and the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries led to the signing of a ceasefire and a peace Agreement in November 1998. The subsequent deployment of an ECOWAS Monitoring Group contingent with woefully inadequate means did not allow us effectively to implement the provisions of the Abuja Agreement and the Lomé Protocol, nor did it entirely allay tensions. Despite the brutal upheaval of the peace process on 7 May 1999, the Security Council ratified the Secretary-General’s proposal to maintain the United Nations office in Guinea- Bissau with a new mandate. We hope that the Organization and the international community will continue to provide the necessary assistance to the people of Guinea-Bissau, who so desperately need it. We welcome the commitments undertaken that will ensure respect for the elections of November 1997. We expect that tranquility and security will return to Guinea-Bissau. In Sierra Leone, thanks to the initiative and determination of the ECOWAS heads of State and to the support of the international community, the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front signed, in our capital city of Lomé on 7 July 1999, a Peace Agreement whose implementation will, we hope, allow the people of Sierra Leone to embark decisively on the path of national reconciliation, stability and reconstruction. Thus, as I pointed out yesterday before the Security Council in the context of the open debate on the situation in Africa, the restoration is closely linked to the implementation of the Lomé Peace Agreement. That is why I am pleased by the Secretary-General’s proposal in his latest report on Sierra Leone to create a United Nations force of 6,000 in that country, in keeping with this Agreement. I am convinced that the Security Council, which has already begun to consider the matter, will authorize as soon as possible the deployment of that force, which, in compliance with its mandate, will help 21 the Government of Sierra Leone to implement the stalled disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme. We also wish particularly to thank the Government of the United Kingdom, which chairs the international contact group on Sierra Leone; the international organizations and humanitarian agencies; and all those who have variously contributed to restoring peace in that country. I recall the fine spirit of solidarity that was manifest during the negotiations on the Lomé Peace Agreement, which allowed the representatives of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity, as well as the permanent representatives of the United Nations and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Sierra Leone to pool their efforts around the seven-member ECOWAS contact group, which worked tirelessly day and night for success in Sierra Leone. That is why we feel that the decision to embark as soon as possible on the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme with the dispatch of 6,000 United Nations blue helmets would put an end to this war. As for Liberia, the Ad Hoc Committee of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of ECOWAS met on 26 August 1999 in Lomé to study the destabilization of that brotherly country. My delegation makes an urgent appeal to the parties involved to respect the relevant provisions of the ECOWAS Treaty and the non-aggression protocol signed in Lagos on 22 April 1998 in order to allow the immediate restoration of a climate of peace, security and confidence in the subregion. In this respect, we were pleased by the recent signing in Abuja, on 16 September, of the understanding between the heads of State of Guinea and Liberia during the ECOWAS mini-summit, held in the capital of Nigeria. We also appeal to the international community to provide the necessary support to countries of the subregion that have borne the burden of refugees, Guinea-Bissau in particular, so that they may address that problem. Elsewhere, the perpetuation of armed conflicts, with their humanitarian consequences of all kinds, deeply concerns my delegation. In this respect, we welcome the signing in Lusaka on 12 July of the Ceasefire Agreement between the main parties to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and ardently call for a stronger commitment of the Security Council to assist the Southern African Development Community countries. In Angola, we hope that the joint efforts of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity will allow the people of that country to achieve reconciliation and will encourage the restoration of peace and stability in that country. In any case, Togo is determined to apply the decisions of our United Nations with respect to the steps taken against the belligerent parties in Angola. As to the border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea, my delegation sincerely hopes that these two brotherly countries will truly embark on the path towards a peaceful solution of their dispute. It is comforting to note that real progress has been made with regard to the crisis stemming from the Lockerbie affair after many years of procrastination which penalized the fraternal people of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The Government of Togo believes that in placing the two Lockerbie bombing suspects at the disposal of the United Nations, Libya has met its obligations under Security Council resolutions and that the Security Council must immediately lift the sanctions imposed on that country. This will contribute to ending the suffering of our Libyan brothers, which has lasted too long. With regard to the Middle East, we reaffirm our strong conviction that an era of lasting peace, stability and security for all can come about only through the continuation of the peace process and the most resolute political will on all sides, based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978) and the principle of “land for peace”. In this context, the Government of Togo welcomes developments in that region, through steps recently taken by President Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Ehud Barak. We urge the parties concerned to continue to work tirelessly to find ways and means to allow the harmonious continuation of the peace process. One of the most important events that will have most deeply marked this fading century is undeniably the end of the cold war. Among other things, it resulted in averting the spectre of a nuclear holocaust; at least, we hope so. Deeply attached to the principle of general and complete disarmament under effective international control, Togo is still concerned about nuclear disarmament and the elimination of other weapons of mass destruction. This is why we appeal for continued efforts to put an end to the proliferation of nuclear arms and the threats they entail. 22 The same applies to proliferation of and illicit trafficking in light weapons and small arms in Africa. My country welcomes United Nations initiatives to curtail and contain this phenomenon, and hopes that the international conference decided upon by the General Assembly in resolution 53/77 E of 4 December 1998, and scheduled to take place in Geneva in 2001, will make it possible to find effective solutions to this problem. I would also like to stress the role played in this context by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa, which organized in Lomé, from 2 to 4 August 1999, a workshop on illicit trafficking in light weapons. I am pleased to take this opportunity to pay a well deserved tribute to the Secretary-General of our Organization, who has just provided this Centre with a Director, whose main task it is to revitalize its activities and mobilize the necessary funds to finance its operational expenses. Because of its important role in implementing the Programme for Coordination and Assistance for Security and Development, as well as in the destruction of arms collected during the peace process in Liberia, we feel that support for its work is urgently needed. In this connection, we thank the Italian, Japanese, Norwegian and Swedish Governments for their generous voluntary contributions and reiterate our appeal to the international community to provide financial and logistical support. I turn to the functioning of our Organization. Here I stress the fundamental role of the Security Council in maintaining international peace and security. My delegation reaffirms its support for all reforms to strengthen the effectiveness of the Council and provide representation for Africa, in the form of a permanent Member, in keeping with the will of the heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity. Throughout its long history, my country has never strayed from the purposes of our Organization. We have often expressed and shown our dedication to the ideals of peace and justice, as well as the principles of democracy and the protection of human rights. Going beyond the social and political crises that we have known in recent years, the people of Togo are resolutely engaged in a new process of national understanding and harmony, something I wish to emphasize. On 19 July 1999, on the initiative of General Eyadema, President of the Republic, an internal dialogue bringing together all of the political actors of the country was organized following preliminary meetings held at Paris and Lomé between March and June 1999. The opportunity was given to representatives of the presidential leadership and of the Togolese opposition to freely express themselves on the major issues of political life in our country, under the arbitration of international facilitators. In this regard, I would like to renew our deepest gratitude to France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the European Union and the International Organization of La Francophonie for the important role they played during these negotiations, which led to the signing of a framework agreement on 29 July 1999. For the implementation of the agreement, the Government has shown itself ready to make all necessary concessions that are in the national interest, it being understood that national reconciliation is vital to the continuation of the process of democratization and the consolidation of the rule of law in Togo, as elsewhere. We are sure that reason and the national interest will prevail, so that the hopes of the people of Togo and the international community are not disappointed. The Government regards the signing of the agreement as an important step in our resolute march towards building a democratic society and bringing about development. We therefore solemnly appeal to the international community to resume effective cooperation with Togo, in order to allow its population to enjoy the fruits of democratization. Poverty is the enemy of democracy. The complexity of the issues and the many challenges to be taken up at the dawn of the third millennium call for a strengthening of international cooperation and, above all, greater solidarity with Africa. No nation, no country, whatever its resources and abilities, can tackle these challenges alone. Cooperation between the peoples of the United Nations is vital to us. We must therefore act together, consolidating our solidarity within the framework of our Organization, which, after half a century of existence, has proved that it is an irreplaceable tool at the service of mankind. Togo, which once again proclaims its faith in the United Nations, would encourage it to relentlessly pursue in the century to come the achievement of its Charter purposes. May this session strengthen us in our common struggle to consolidate peace, justice, freedom and progress in the world and foster more understanding between nations. Togo is ready to contribute to this effort.