Guinea

On behalf of my delegation, I should first of all like to congratulate Mr. Opertti warmly on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at this session. My country, the Republic of Guinea, is pleased with this expression of confidence, eloquent proof of the international community?s recognition of the very positive role played by his country, Uruguay, in working for the noble ideals of our Organization. I am sure his personal qualities and great experience will ensure success at this session. I should also like to take this opportunity to convey our great appreciation to Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, President of the General Assembly at its fifty-second session, for the skill, open-mindedness and efficiency of his presidency. I should also like to extend to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, the confidence of the Government of Guinea, which greatly appreciates his perceptiveness, his great wisdom and his hard work, which together are opening up new horizons for this Organization. Despite encouraging results in many areas, the United Nations still faces many challenges that threaten international peace and security and jeopardize the sustainable development of nations. It is the responsibility of the United Nations, in accordance with its purposes and principles, to become more involved in the enduring search for peace, so that the human race, on the eve of the third millennium, can establish a real foundation for the prosperity of all States. How can one ensure peace and the harmonious development of our States if the international community will not firmly commit itself to identifying and eradicating the deep causes of the many conflicts and imbalances that continue to impede mankind?s progress towards greater well-being? At a time when we are preparing to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the world?s conscience is still troubled by the indifference of the major players in the international arena in the search for appropriate solutions to the challenges that face us all. In a number of countries, peoples and individuals are deprived of fundamental rights. Civil wars continue to cause great suffering to innocent victims. It has been shown that respect for fundamental rights, including promotion of the right to development, which underlies all other rights, is an excellent instrument of preventive diplomacy today. Our session is opening at a time when the Middle East peace process is completely deadlocked. My country is following with great concern recent developments in that part of the world, particularly in the Arab territories occupied by Israel. My delegation is convinced that unless the rights of all the interested parties are taken into account, peace will remain elusive. The search for peace in the Middle East is a matter of concern to all States, first and foremost the States members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which on several occasions has called on the Security Council and the General Assembly for greater United Nations involvement in achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle East through the return of the occupied Arab territories, the creation of a Palestinian state and respect for the rights of all States in the region to peace and security. My delegation appeals to all parties concerned, particularly the authorities in Tel Aviv, to ensure strict implementation of the Oslo and Washington agreements, with a view to saving peace and thereby avoid the threat of another crisis that jeopardizes the balance in the subregion and international peace as a whole. The African continent continues to be a central concern of the international community. There is no need for me to enumerate the many internal conflicts that have occurred in Africa in recent years. In West Africa, the collective awareness of the member States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) of the need to make our subregion a zone of peace, security and stability has 15 contributed, thanks to the resolve shown by our heads of State, to restoring peace in Liberia and has allowed for a return to constitutionality in Sierra Leone. These achievements, which are the result of the unanimous desire of our peoples to manage their own affairs, also attest to the vitality of the institutions of regional integration as instruments for conflict prevention, management and resolution. Here, I would appeal to the international community for more cooperation with and assistance to the peacekeeping mechanisms initiated by subregional organizations. There is a need to consolidate the great achievements of the restoration of peace in Liberia and Sierra Leone through massive assistance for their speedy reconstruction, the return of refugees and national reconciliation. If the young people who have been demobilized in these two countries do not quickly find some activity in civilian life, the temptation to return to disorder will remain. To strengthen peace and security in the West African subregion, the international community must help the economies of Liberia and Sierra Leone return to the path of growth. While ECOWAS and the international community were seeking ways and means to consolidate peace in Sierra Leone and Liberia, another conflict erupted on 7 June 1998 in Guinea-Bissau. The Government of Guinea, which has always advocated dialogue and consultation to resolve conflicts, expressed, from the beginning of this crisis, its grave concern because of the geographic, historical, social and cultural ties uniting Guinea-Bissau and my own country. The existence of a mutual defence assistance pact, signed on 25 January 1980, and the explicit invitation by the Guinea-Bissau?s democratically elected President, President João Bernardo Vieira both justified the sending of a Guinean contingent to Guinea-Bissau to preserve constitutional order and help end the war. Faithful to our policy of peace and dialogue, the Government of Guinea has been working since the beginning of this crisis in the ECOWAS Committee of Seven to find a just, negotiated solution. We believe that complementary action by the Economic Community of West African States and the contact group of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries will make it possible for us to achieve the objective of restoring peace and security in Guinea-Bissau. If we are to preserve the achievements of democratization in Africa, the international community must adopt new, more binding legal instruments prohibiting any seizure of power by force and banishing those responsible for such actions at the international, regional and subregional levels. The implementation of such measures will help to strengthen preventive diplomacy and to preserve peace and security within our States, with respect for fundamental human rights. I cannot end this section of my statement without mentioning the thorny issue of refugees and displaced persons, who are the victims of these crises. My country, the Republic of Guinea, because of its geographic location among three countries facing civil war, has of all the countries in the world the highest proportion of refugees within its territory. Over the last decade, Guinea has taken in more than 700,000 refugees, which is one tenth of our population. This massive and prolonged concentration of people has had serious social, economic and environmental consequences in the areas of Guinea concerned, and is weighing heavily on my country and its economy. I would like to reiterate here the appeal made by the Government of Guinea for substantial assistance, in accordance with Security Council and ECOWAS resolutions to help the Republic of Guinea bear the burden of these refugees. On behalf of the Government of Guinea, I should like to express our gratitude to those States that have already responded favourably to this appeal. Concerned about the situation, the United Nations Department of Political Affairs and the United Nations Development Programme organized a special meeting on the Republic of Guinea on 9 and 10 July this year in New York. The Government of Guinea appreciated this welcome initiative by the Secretary-General. We greatly appreciated the recognition by the international community, through the United Nations system, of the great sacrifices made by the people of Guinea to help the refugees from neighbouring countries, and especially the will of the United Nations system to mobilize resources to strengthen Guinea?s economic capacity and preserve its stability, so that we can continue to be a small island of peace and prosperity. I should like to take this opportunity to urge multilateral partners, all our partners, to continue to pursue with us the activities undertaken in support of Guinea, particularly in the area of the environment, which 16 has been seriously degraded by the long-term mass presence of refugees. The future of the water supplies of West Africa is at stake here. The Republic of Guinea is closely following recent developments in the political situation in the Great Lakes region, particularly the crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. My delegation is deeply concerned by the risk that the conflict will spill over into the subregion. We urgently appeal to all the parties to the conflict to call an immediate ceasefire and to respect the territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in accordance with the recommendations of the summit of heads of State of the subregion held at Victoria Falls on 7 and 8 September this year. Promoting the right to development is part of the overall search for greater prosperity for the human race. While tangible political progress has been made in Africa over the last decade, African States still face the challenge of development, indebtedness and the negative impact of a globalization which is not yet fully understood. This terrible situation, aggravated by the negative impact of internal conflict, is significantly weakening our States and opening them up to new and dangerous forms of foreign greed. The implementation of a policy to gradually reduce the imbalances between rich and developing countries would contribute to the emergence of a true global market by the creation of centres of development on all continents. Each country in the world should be given every opportunity for development and helped to become part of the world trade system. Despite considerable efforts by African countries towards political and economic restructuring, and towards strengthening their credibility and making their economies more competitive, the economic situation in Africa continues to be critical. If urgent and appropriate measures are not taken, the sacrifices made risk having been in vain. My Government has already undertaken far-reaching political, economic and structural reforms and hopes that special attention will be given to the situation in Africa. We appeal to the international community and the developed countries to continue to increase official development assistance. Sustained assistance to African countries will enable them to consolidate what they have already achieved and thereby to enter the next millennium with a greater sense of calm. In this respect, the Agenda for Development should be strongly supported, with a view to its effective implementation. The question of disarmament and the non- proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is still a concern for my Government. While the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was a significant step forward for the preservation of peace, recent developments in the international arena require the international community as a whole to consider more deeply the underlying causes of the nuclear arms race. It seems clear that as long as imbalances and injustices are not put right, the spectre of proliferation will continue to threaten international peace. Countries that already possess nuclear weapons have a special responsibility for the preservation of international peace and must shoulder their responsibilities by taking a more active part in strengthening prevention and peacekeeping mechanisms, resolving existing or latent conflicts, ensuring more equitable treatment for States involved in conflict and, finally, making a more substantial contribution to the development of less fortunate nations. The Government of Guinea believes that only general and complete disarmament can prevent the risk of proliferation. In the subregion of West Africa, the trade in small arms endangers the internal equilibrium of our States. Within the context of conflict prevention in West Africa, subregional cooperation is under way to eradicate this scourge. We invite the other regions of Africa to support this initiative and to work to establish appropriate structures in order to put an end to the illicit trade in small arms and make Africa a zone of peace and security. The Republic of Guinea welcomes the adoption and signing of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. The National Assembly of Guinea has already ratified this important Convention to show its support for the elimination of landmines, which cause so much suffering to innocent victims. It is reassuring to note the greater awareness at the global level of the need to end drug-trafficking, whose many consequences dangerously threaten the prosperity of nations. The results of the recent world summit meeting on drugs will doubtless enable us to further refine our methods to combat the production, distribution, sale and consumption of drugs, which are a real scourge. 17 The recent adoption in Rome of the Statute of the International Criminal Court was a major milestone in the progress of humankind towards the elimination of serious violations of humanitarian law committed during international or internal conflicts. As our community prepares to enter the third millennium, it is now more necessary than ever to adapt the United Nations to the requirements of international life. The new challenges facing us will require the adoption of new, more appropriate arrangements to make the twenty-first century one of peace, justice and prosperity within the context of an equitable partnership that is beneficial to all nations. My delegation is convinced that the United Nations is still the melting pot in which all nations can make their voices heard in the search for just and lasting solutions to their concerns. We therefore believe that the financial capacity of the United Nations must be strengthened. Contributions must be paid on time and in accordance with the established scale. To that end, we must, together, review the way in which the United Nations system functions with a view to adapting it to current and future circumstances. My delegation believes in the need for the democratization of the United Nations through the restructuring of its principal bodies, such as the Security Council, whose current membership reflects the state of the world in 1945 and no longer corresponds to the political, economic and social realities of the world today. The reform of the principal bodies of our Organization must enable all States to use their national capacities to seek and consolidate international peace. My country is more committed than ever to the honourable mission of our Organization as set forth in the Charter. Given the many challenges facing us, Guinea believes in the need for all of us to work together to strengthen and preserve humankind?s vision of justice, freedom, peace and solidarity. That is what our peoples would have us do.