It is
an honour and a legitimate source of pride for me to
speak from this rostrum on behalf of my country, the
Central African Republic, on the occasion of the sixty-
ninth session of the General Assembly of our shared
Organization.
I would like first to address, on behalf of the
delegation that is accompanying me and in my own
name, my warm congratulations to Mr. Sam Kutesa,
Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uganda,
for his election as President of the General Assembly
at its sixty-ninth session. My congratulations also go
to Mr. John Ashe, who successfully presided over the
Assembly at its sixty-eighth session, during which the
situation in my country was widely debated and was
subject to numerous resolutions of the Security Council.
I would especially like to express all my gratitude
and that of the people of the Central African Republic
to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his dynamism
and commitment to my country, a commitment that was
embodied in his April visit to Bangui.
It is also especially important for me to solemnly
address members in this Hall to express the profound
gratitude of the Central African people for the
international community’s unwavering and tireless
commitment to my country in distress. That recognition
goes especially to the Heads of State of the Economic
and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC),
the Economic Community of Central African States
(ECCAS), the African Union, European Union, and
the countries of the International Mediation under
the leadership of President Denis Sassou Nguesso of
the Republic of the Congo. It also extends to France
and its President for their dogged determination, and
to the United States of America and members of the
International Contact Group on the Central African
Republic for their renewed and unflagging support for
the transition authorities in my country.
The sixty-ninth session is being held at a time
when my country is still experiencing a worrying
humanitarian, security and economic situation that
challenges all of us as members of the international
community. The political instability and internal
conflicts that have been recurring for more than two
decades have plunged the Central African Republic into
a situation of extreme vulnerability. Since December
2012, the Central African Republic has been shaken by
one of the worst crises in its history, which has left the
Central African people in a dramatic situation.
Following the resignation of my predecessor on
10 January, I responded to the distressed calls of the
people of the Central African Republic. My election has
raised great hopes among the people of my country, who
welcomed the election of the first woman President of
the Central African Republic as a sign of a break with
the past and the start of a new future. Since then I have
felt the weight of the responsibility that has befallen me
and taken stock of the situation that I had inherited.
With determination, I immediately embarked
upon dealing with the situation, with the support
of the international community, in accordance with
the road map for the transition, whose main axes are
the restoration of security and peace, the resolution
of the serious humanitarian crisis, the recovery of
State authority throughout the national territory, the
relaunching of economic activities, and, of course, the
holding of free, transparent and democratic elections.
Today, I rejoice that my calls to the international
community to support the efforts of the transition
have not remained unanswered; we have been offered
multifaceted support, thanks to which the worst was
avoided in my country.
Those combined efforts have resulted in noticeable
progress on security issues and humanitarian,
economic and political matters. In terms of security, I
welcome the Security Council’s adoption of resolution
2149 (2014) on 10 April, authorizing the deployment
of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated
Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic
(MINUSCA), which was a strong response on the part
of the international community to the Central African
crisis and which led, on 15 September, to the final
transfer of authority from the African-led International
Support Mission in the Central African Republic to
MINUSCA. I want to thank all States that have made
their troops, materiel and financial contributions
available to the Mission.
We have placed high hopes in the deployment of
the Mission, which should contribute effectively and
efficiently to securing the country’s path to peace and
sustainable development. The fact remains, however,
that the success of the Mission will also depend on the
close involvement of the national security and defence
forces, which can provide support to the Mission based
on their knowledge of the terrain.
I would ask the Sanctions Committee to show
great understanding and to reconsider the arms
embargo imposed on the Central African Republic.
At the same time, it is also urgent to go beyond the
Brazzaville forum, which resulted in the signing of
an agreement to cease hostilities and opened the way
for the disarmament of all armed groups, the reform
of the defence and security sectors, and especially the
implementation of the disarmament, demobilization
and reintegration programme. In those areas, too, we
will need substantial backing from the international
community.
In the humanitarian field, efforts have been
ongoing since January. To date, the number of internally
displaced persons has dropped from 900,000 to 175,000
people, which means that 81 per cent of the internally
displaced persons have left makeshift sites to return
to their communities. Despite the improvements, the
humanitarian situation remains worrying in general,
since it is dependent on the fragile security situation,
particularly in the countryside.
Efforts should be focused on the return of 400,000
refugees now in neighbouring countries. Similarly, the
resources mobilized so far cover only 48 per cent of
the expressed humanitarian need. In that respect, we
expect other disbursements to support the return of
displaced and exiled persons to their homes.
With regard to the economy, the Central African
Republic’s economy has been hit hard by the deep
crisis. As a result, the growth rate of the country fell
to minus 36 per cent in 2013, placing the country in
sudden deep recession. Thanks to active diplomacy, the
Central African Republic has benefited from emergency
budgetary support for CEMAC and ECCAS countries,
an agreement signed with the International Monetary
Fund for the conclusion of a programme for the rapid
disbursement of credits and budgetary support from
the World Bank, the African Development Bank and
the European Union, as well as agreements signed with
France for budget support. Beyond the announcements
that have been made, the effective disbursement
of those funds will boost our country’s economic
activities and set it on a path of growth. The emergency
plan for sustainable reconstruction was designed to
effectively respond to the economic crisis, and one of
our expectations vis-à-vis the international community
is that we should be given all the necessary support for
the effective implementation of that plan.
In order to promote political dialogue and national
reconciliation and help Central Africans to live better
with one another, I have always focused on pacifying
hearts and minds so as to achieve genuine national
reconciliation. The first step was taken in Brazzaville
on 23 July. It is now time to continue the process in
the Central African Republic itself, by providing our
people with an opportunity to assess the situation of the
country themselves and share their vision for the future
of the country, and by bringing together all the parties
to the crisis around a table to consider a new republican
pact to recast the Central African State. The Central
African Republic cherishes the ardent wish that special
attention will be given to the political process, whose
success will depend on the resources available for its
implementation.
I would like to commend the relevance of the
theme that was chosen for this session of the General
Assembly. That theme should lead us to take stock
of the achievements of the Millennium Development
Goals and of emerging challenges. It comes at the right
time, because our world continues to be shaken by
crises of all types in Africa, the Middle and Near East,
Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The Ebola
virus disease, which is raging throughout the West
African region with the risk of expanding beyond the
region, is another current challenge that has large-scale,
adverse economic and humanitarian consequences in
many countries. I would like to take this opportunity
to extend, from this high rostrum, my most heartfelt
condolences and those of the people of the Central
African Republic to our brotherly countries in Africa
affected by that scourge, which has claimed so many
lives.
I also extend my condolences and those of the
Central African people to French President François
Hollande and the French people for the dastardly
murder of Hervé Gourdel, which has upset us all. That
cowardly murder is a timely reminder of the need to
step up our fight against terrorism, which remains a
major threat to our planet and a real obstacle to the
promotion of international peace and security. The
Central African Republic calls for greater mobilization
by the international community against terrorism, and
in particular against the Boko Haram sect operating
in Nigeria and Cameroon, not far from the borders of
my country and against the Lord’s Resistance Army,
which continues to rage throughout the territory of
the Democratic Republic of the Congo and some
neighbouring countries.
Similarly, the Central African Republic opposes the
proliferation of small arms and light weapons, which
continue to be traded illicitly and continue to fuel the
worst conflicts throughout the world, particularly in
Africa. The Central African Republic welcomes the
efforts undertaken to achieve the signing of the Arms
Trade Treaty and the adoption of Security Council
resolution 2117 (2013) on the non-proliferation of
small arms and light weapons, and we are awaiting the
effective implementation of that resolution.
Related to situations of war is the issue of justice
and human rights. I am strongly committed to fighting
impunity. The Central African Republic, as a party to
the Rome Statute, will continue to support the actions
of the International Criminal Court in its fight against
impunity for the most serious crimes, which affect the
entire international community, and especially my
country. In that context, the Central African Republic
supports the initiative taken by France and Mexico
to cut back on the abusive use of the right of veto in
the Security Council in cases involving massacres of
civilian populations, war crimes and genocide.
My country had been committed to achieving the
Millennium Development Goals, and to that end has
developed a poverty-reduction strategy paper that has
been implemented with tangible results, including in
the areas of water, sanitation and education. That was
the case until the most recent crisis unfortunately came
about, which called everything into question. I should
also like to draw the attention of the international
community to landlocked States like mine and to call
for international solidarity to ensure that substantial
assistance be granted to them in order to ease the
burden associated with our economic vulnerability and
facilitate the implementation of the Almaty Programme
of Action.
I commend the efforts undertaken by the
international community to stem climate change and its
negative impact on the world. I strongly encourage all
countries to ratify the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto
Protocol and to incorporate the principles of the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
into the new agreement to be adopted at Paris in 2015.
The Central African Republic is against any and
all attempts in favour of partition and threats against
the territorial integrity of nations. As such, it supports
the position of the Kingdom of Morocco on the Sahara
issue, which is in accordance with Security Council
resolutions 1754 (2007) and 2152 (2014).
I cannot conclude without paying a heartfelt tribute
to the work of the United Nations to promote peace
throughout the world. In conclusion, I would like to
express, above all, my pride at the courage and great
resilience of the Central African people and their
determination to rise up from the recurrent crises that
have inflicted untold suffering on them. Long live the
United Nations! Long live international solidarity to
ensure that peace and security prevails throughout the
world!