The President of the Republic of Cameroon, His
Excellency Mr. Paul Biya, has requested me to convey
to members, the Secretary-General and his fellow staff
his warm greetings and to deliver his statement before
the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session.
“Next year, we should adopt the post-2015
development agenda in follow-up to the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). Throughout the sixty-
eighth session, our representatives actively worked
to develop new goals to pick up the MDG torch.
That important task, since it concerns the raison
d’être of the Organization, is not finished. It will
be incumbent upon the President to see it through.
I am sure that he will succeed. Rest assured of the
full and wholehearted cooperation of my country
in that regard.
“For the post-2015 period, the United Nations
seeks a transformative agenda that gives priority
to the eradication of poverty and hunger, as well
as to sustained and inclusive economic growth.
Cameroon fully shares that vision.
“In Cameroon, since 2010, we have implemented
a strategy for growth and employment whose
primary purpose is indeed the reduction of poverty.
The measures taken in that regard aim in particular
at creating jobs and improving the living conditions
of the population. The recovery of our economy and
our public finances, which has fostered the return
of growth, bodes well for the success of our efforts.
However, such progress, substantial and significant
as it is, has not yet enabled us to eradicate poverty.
In the areas of education, health care, access to
water and electricity, roads, et cetera, there is still
a long way to go in order to meet the needs of our
people.
“Most of the countries targeted by the
MDGs — the developing countries — face similar
situations. That is why, like the President, we
support a transformative post-2015 agenda. That
will clearly require some changes to our approach
to development. It should no longer be seen as an
external process but, rather, as an expression of
the wishes and needs of the target populations.
Moreover, that is the common position of the
African countries.
“Following a review of the MDGs, it will also
be necessary to establish a follow-up mechanism
for the goals of the new system. Finally, we will
inevitably have to change the way in which
development aid is financed in order to improve its
effectiveness.
“Once those conditions are met, we should
work on the most important matter of all, namely,
ensuring security. For it goes without saying that
without security there can be no development.
Take the example of my country, which is proud
of having been a haven of peace and stability for
decades. To the east, since March 2013, the Central
African Republic has seen its security situation
severely deteriorate: massacres and population
displacements have jeopardized any hope of
development, not to mention the flux of tens of
thousands of refugees towards Cameroon. In the
far north, attacks by the Boko Haram group, which
is more concerned about imposing shariah law than
improving the living conditions of populations,
threaten the integrity of our territory. There, too, the
lack of security has caused thousands of displaced
persons to flee to my country. It is estimated that
in recent months Cameroon has hosted more than
200,000 refugees from all kinds of origins. It goes
without saying that my country will continue to
honour its tradition of hospitality. However, if that
situation should continue, there is no guarantee that
we will have the resources to deal with it.
“The time allocated to me does not allow
me to mention the other areas of tension and
conflict, whether in Africa, the Middle East or
Eastern Europe. The causes and issues are varied.
I will therefore limit myself to urging the parties
concerned to negotiate and to seek peaceful
solutions.
“That is the path that Nigeria and Cameroon
chose to settle the dispute between them, some
years ago, over the Bakassi peninsula. It enabled
us to find a solution conforming with international
law and, above all, to seal an unfailing friendship
between our two countries. Moreover it was, I
should stress, in harmony with the ideals of the
Charter of our Organization.”