In taking the floor on behalf of the delegation of the Republic of Benin, I would like first of all to express my heartiest congratulations to the entire Bureau of the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly. I would also like to express my satisfaction at seeing the Foreign Minister of Namibia, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, presiding over the Assembly at this session, the last of the century and of the closing millennium. At a time when the United Nations more than ever is called upon to act in the interest of the peace and well- being of humankind, Benin takes pride in seeing a representative of Africa holding that important post. I would assure him of my delegation’s full cooperation and support, for it will be under his enlightened presidency that the Organization will stride forward into the twenty-first century. We see this felicitous and remarkable coincidence as a definite assurance of the success of the important debates we will be holding and a sign of hope that the decisions to be taken will so direct our actions as to ensure that the coming century is one of peace, progress and development, for the African continent in particular. Allow me at this stage to pay tribute to Mr. Didier Opertti, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, for the outstanding work he did in the service of the Organization throughout the fifty-third session of the General Assembly. I wish also to pay a highly deserved tribute to our brother, Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, for the unstinting devotion that he has demonstrated since his election and for the undeniable successes that he has achieved for the United Nations in particularly difficult circumstances. I should like here to reaffirm the full support and confidence of the Government of Benin as we pursue the lofty and legitimate goal of giving the United Nations the means of tackling the challenges that await us on the threshold of the first century of the new millennium. I should like also to congratulate and warmly welcome the three new States Members of the United Nations — the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga. This session of the General Assembly is beginning at a particularly important moment in the history of humankind, for, after a century of deeds and events fraught with all kinds of consequences, the entire international community is preparing to move forward into the first century of a new millennium. We who have been privileged to witness this twofold historical transition should not ignore the great responsibility that we have borne throughout the century that is now closing and the equal responsibility that we will have to shoulder throughout the one that is about to begin. The challenges that face us are many and range across all human areas of activity. It is our conviction that if we so desire, we can make the next century an era of peace, security, development, understanding and concord among peoples. In order to do this, we will have to promote and strengthen worldwide cooperation, in particular in tackling the serious problems that the century that is now ending will have bequeathed to the one that is now beginning. Combating poverty should, it seems to me, be one of our priorities, because poverty is a factor of destabilization and a source of conflict and war, particularly in Africa. The holding of the millennium summit in September 2000 will be a historic opportunity for us to strive to strengthen peace, security and stability, for which all peoples of the world yearn. We could hardly overemphasize the close relationship among development, peace, security, democracy and human rights, and we all share the responsibility of day by day translating these words into reality. We can overcome poverty. 30 The international community is in a position to put an end to the atrocities and the savagery that have been on the rise recently in all continents. To this end, it is essential for the process of revitalization, restructuring and democratization in the world Organization, begun under the authority of the Secretary-General, to be continued so as to enhance its effectiveness in carrying out the urgent tasks that it will face at the beginning of the third millennium. Benin is at peace within its borders, with its neighbours and with the whole of the international community. But we are seriously disturbed by the appalling conflicts that continue to devastate and destabilize our continent. We are ready to continue to support the efforts of Africa itself and those of the great Powers in the context of the prevention, settlement and sustainable management of conflicts. Here I wish to pay tribute to the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and certain subregional organizations such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Southern African Development Community for their bold initiatives aimed at bringing peace and security to Africa. I have no wish to forget or to minimize the contribution of other countries, but I wish in particular to pay tribute here to the tremendous sacrifices made by the peoples of West Africa and in particular by the people of Nigeria in the context of the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) to help the West African subregion to put an end to war and insecurity, which hamper development and economic progress. I wish also to welcome the bold resolutions adopted by the Heads of States at the OAU Summit in Algiers, as well as the initiatives of the subregional organizations in West Africa and in the Great Lakes region, which attest to strengthened political resolve to reverse the course of events in a positive and constructive direction. These endeavours deserve to be sustained and strengthened by international solidarity. The example of Kosovo is there to remind us of the key importance of prompt and determined action on the part of the international community in order to restore and maintain peace. The distressing events in East Timor are another eloquent example of this. Allow me in all honesty to state here that human rights are universal and indivisible. If we wish to build a united and peaceful international community, let us not introduce into the defence, protection and promotion of human rights any conditionalities or preferences, be they geographical, cultural, geostrategic or others. In this age of rapid globalization, we must realize that the risk of marginalizing the weakest economies and the most vulnerable peoples is very real; it is a mortal danger. Fortunately, there is still time to avert it. If we are to succeed, our vision for the twenty-first century and our prospects for the future must be clarified and strengthened by the effective implementation of the various plans and programmes of action adopted since the beginning of this decade within the framework of the United Nations system. In this context, the situation of the developing countries, the least developed countries in particular, deserves more attention from the international community, which should endeavour to create favourable conditions for those countries to develop. In this respect, we cannot evade the anguished question of the future of Africa on the threshold of the third millennium, particularly given the debt burden and the deterioration in the terms of trade. These are sad realities which are killing at least as many people as are dying from AIDS. Fortunately indeed, Africa can cease to be the continent of bad news. Today, it has the ability and the will to make it so. Throughout the decade that is now drawing to a close, the international community has repeatedly stated that Africa must be a priority. Mindful of the need for that continent to achieve economic progress, the United Nations has worked out appropriate strategies and embarked on specific development programmes. But none of those initiatives will have any impact on the development of the continent if African countries themselves, supported by their development partners, do not redouble their efforts to carry out the necessary reforms and mobilize the necessary resources. While we clearly reaffirm our own responsibility, we must also say that for Africa better economic performance necessarily involves a rapid and lasting solution to the problems caused by external debt; inputs of the new and additional financial resources required to meet the growing need for funding; transfers of new and appropriate technology; promotion of a genuine, open and fair system of international trade; and appropriate incentives for our efforts to diversify and modernize our 31 economies. What we need in this age of globalization is a genuine solidarity pact. This new partnership with Africa should set out to enable all African countries to enjoy the benefits of globalization. This implies mobilizing and pooling the efforts of the whole international community, inspired by the same vision of a common destiny and a new philosophy of sharing. That vision of development prompted the Government of Benin to host, in February 1999 in Cotonou, a conference of United Nations Development Programme Resident Representatives working in Africa to consider the problems of development in Africa in the coming millennium. The conference identified the major problems that African countries face at the close of the twentieth century: social and political upheaval; poverty; problems of access in meeting essential social needs; population pressure; the debt burden; and economic marginalization, among others. The conference also highlighted the assets and potential of the continent: significant natural and human resources; cultural wealth; a spirit of sharing; and a sense of solidarity. Accordingly, the conference recommended another approach for Africa's development, based on the promotion of peace and security within and between States; real integration of Africa into the world economy; and the creation of an African regional observatory for globalization. It would be regrettable if these highly lucid and relevant analyses and findings came to nothing because the United Nations Development Programme itself is stifled by a lack of resources. In keeping with those recommendations, Benin, together with several other African countries, has undertaken far-reaching political and economic reforms to improve the living and working conditions of its people, particularly those in rural areas. The measures include action to stabilize public finances, liberalize the economy, develop the private sector, stimulate economic growth, combat corruption and preserve social peace and political stability through the establishment of a State based on the rule of law that respects democratic principles and fundamental rights and freedoms. Against that background we are striving, tirelessly and resolutely, to ensure that the democratic process takes firm root in Benin. Our young democracy has just successfully completed an electoral process culminating in the renewal of Parliament before the deadline set by the Constitution. In a few months' time we will be holding local elections to elect mayors and councillors to help entrench democracy at the grass-roots level. However, despite these significant efforts and sacrifices, we know that our political and economic structures will continue to be fragile and vulnerable so long as poverty and disease continue to lay waste to our towns and countryside, so long as HIV/AIDS is not conquered or, at least, contained at the same levels as in Europe and America, and so long as insecurity and appalling internal and regional conflicts continue to undo the work of the African peoples and enrich a few arms manufacturers and traffickers. I should like to extend the recognition and gratitude of the people and Government of Benin to all its development partners, to the Powers which have realized that today poverty more than ever is a matter for all of us, wherever it may be found, and that violations of human rights involve us all wherever they may take place. I wish once again to express our thanks to all those who are assisting us in our activities aimed at making Benin, indeed Africa in general, a haven of peace, political stability and successful, integrated development. During its fifty-first session, the General Assembly accepted Benin's offer to hold the Fourth International Conference of New or Restored Democracies and encouraged it to do so, no doubt because of our efforts, which I have just outlined, to maintain peace, democracy and the constitutional rule of law. I am convinced that the fourth International Conference of New or Restored Democracies — the first that Africa will have the honour and privilege of hosting, following the conferences held in the Philippines, Nicaragua and Romania — will be an opportunity for all the friends of Africa — indeed, all the friends of democracy — to pool their experience and to work together to consolidate a political system that, 32 unfortunately, is not yet the most widespread of phenomena. The Cotonou conference, scheduled for early December 2000, can have significance and impact only if all democrats agree to make a sincere contribution; this would enable democracy all over the world to take a crucial qualitative leap forward. For this reason, I fervently appeal to all those of goodwill, and to all development partners eager that democracy, the rule of law and good governance should be solidly established in every one of our States and on all continents, to lend their material and financial support and their experience to the preparation, organization and convening of the Cotonou conference. We earnestly hope that the Cotonou conference will enable us to build on existing achievements in the maintenance of international peace and security. Peace, security and sustainable human development are the themes that my delegation would like to see as the banner of this session of the General Assembly, the last before the year 2000: peace above all, so that the founding cry of this Organization, “never again”, may in the new millennium become a reality for all peoples and for all individuals.