Cameroon

Allow me first of all, Sir, to convey, on behalf of my delegation, my warmest and most heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Opertti on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session. His election is a tribute to his country, Uruguay, a country with which Cameroon shares many common ideals. It is also a mark of our confidence in his qualities as a diplomat and lawyer of renown. He can rest assured of the full cooperation of the delegation of Cameroon in successfully discharging his important duty. I also pay a warm tribute to his predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, the former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, who discharged with effectiveness and authority the delicate and high-profile mission with which he was entrusted. Finally, I renew the firm support of my country, Cameroon, for the work undertaken by the Secretary- General, His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, at the head of the Secretariat of our Organization since his election. He has resolutely and effectively tackled the reform of the United Nations with discretion, tact and realism, so as to make it capable of meeting the challenges facing it. At a time of globalization and information superhighways, it is more urgent and necessary than ever to place the development and dignity of humankind at the centre of our concerns. We must also acknowledge that the tremendous technological advances at the end of this century justify high hopes of a better tomorrow. By working for the right to development for both present and future generations, by charting new and more secure paths in the quest for peace, by watching over international security more effectively than in the past, our Organization is, at this delicate period in history, helping to ease the anguish of humankind in an international environment that is increasingly complex, unequal and disquieting. In this context, the current session of the General Assembly gains greater prominence and importance because it coincides with two fiftieth anniversaries: that of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that of 9 the start of peacekeeping operations. Those two events will form the basis of my remarks. With regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first words of the preamble retain, 50 years later, striking relevance. It states: “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world”. Human rights are, first and foremost, a question of dignity: dignity for every human being; dignity for all of humankind. We believe that this search for dignity, which is a condition for peace, justice and freedom in the world, is the common ideal towards which all human rights actions and activities should be aimed. The commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary is a true rallying call to us and should provide the international community with an opportunity to refocus its approach to human rights questions, which remains very simplistic. Indeed, too often we forget that civil and political rights, which exercise the international community so much, can be fully developed only if economic, social and cultural rights are also guaranteed. Recent experiences of democratization processes in Africa remind us, by their very fragility, of the incontrovertible indivisibility, universality and interdependence of human rights. To paraphrase the words the head of State of Cameroon, His Excellency Mr. Paul Biya, spoke at the World Food Summit in Rome, what dignity can there be for the hungry? The international community must therefore give equal priority to the promotion of the right to a minimum standard of living. In a world in which the globalization of trade, instead of placing human beings at the centre of its concerns, merely means speculation, market manipulation and deals that generate the greatest profits, making the rich richer and reducing the poorest to destitution, the social environment itself is the cause of tension and conflict. That is why we congratulate the Secretary-General on his report (A/52/871), submitted to the Security Council as document S/1998/318 on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa. In this context, it is apt that, in seeking to establish a true culture of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the international community has chosen the central theme of the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary to be “human rights for all”. Poverty is today the most serious threat to human dignity. This is particularly true in Africa, which is the least advanced region and the one most seriously affected by the economic crisis. Despite the reforms that have taken place, at enormous social cost, to promote good governance, democracy and the liberalization of economies, meeting basic needs remains for many a luxury in that continent. Whether we are talking about access to drinking water, primary health care, or education or about transport or other communication infrastructures, international cooperation has not yet borne fruit in a reliable, continuing, predictable and effective way. Official development assistance, which elsewhere has helped to give rise to decent standards of living, is dwindling drastically. Despite the increasingly favourable juridical environment offered by Africa, investors seem to be losing interest in the region. The debt burden is getting worse. Our products do not have easy access to international markets, nor are they priced according to their true value. It is clear that the marginalization of Africa seems inevitable unless a true spirit of solidarity quickly provides real long-term solutions. It is time for the various initiatives, plans of action and other programmes adopted to benefit Africa to be translated into reality. Basing itself on the efforts made by the peoples of Africa, the international community must increase its assistance to that continent so as to enable Africans themselves to make the progress that is indispensable for developing their potential. In that way African countries will be able successfully to integrate themselves into world economic networks and achieve the development to which they legitimately aspire, despite the well-known geographical and historical handicaps. Such a development would inevitably benefit all of humankind. This solidarity should take the specific form of reconsideration — indeed, the cancelling — of the debts of African countries. We should recall that decisions to cancel debt in the past have enabled countries in difficult and precarious situations to rediscover the road to economic prosperity, democracy and greater political stability. The path thus seems clearly laid out for the rich countries that are working to promote freedom and human 10 rights. They should reflect, at the dawn of the third millennium, on their relations with developing countries that are becoming poorer because of their deep indebtedness. North-South solidarity should also be reflected in a new concept of official development assistance. Such assistance is indispensable for establishing development infrastructure within the context of poverty eradication. Private flows, channelled through non-governmental organizations, cannot alone take on that role. Furthermore, structural adjustment should aim to strengthen and improve the autonomous management capacity of countries in difficulty. Otherwise, globalization will mean that certain countries become richer while others become poorer. That would render meaningless the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and put in grave danger the requirement of dignity for every human being, for all people and for peace in the world. Indeed, what freedom or self-determination — and especially, what sovereignty — can there be for a starving people? What democracy can there be for a people suffering from malnutrition, with no access to basic health care, drinking water or elementary education. We thus need to return the human being to the centre of development. Cameroon has constantly contributed to this lofty endeavour. The salient activities we have undertaken to mark the fiftieth anniversary in my country include informing people about human rights and making all of society aware of human rights issues through media campaigns, seminars, conferences and poster campaigns throughout our land, even in villages; the introduction of human rights teaching in schools and universities; issuing special postage stamps; promoting in particular the rights of women, children and disabled or infirm people, establishing a prize for the best research in the human rights area; and the opening by the head of State of a public square dedicated to human rights. But above and beyond commemorating the anniversary, Cameroon has for a decade been making important progress in promoting human rights. It did so first through a series of legislative and regulatory measures that, inter alia, abolished legal exemptions, restored individual and collective freedoms, put an end to censorship and ensured better protection for the interests of workers and vulnerable social sectors. Through constitutional revision and a progressive electoral system, we have established total adherence to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and ensured the full participation of our people in making political choices. Furthermore, a national committee for human rights and freedoms was established in 1990, which is freely carrying out its activities throughout the country, as are the many non-governmental organizations and human rights groups that have come into being. With regard to progress made in the world since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the efforts that remain to be made in this area, there is no doubt that the promotion of and respect for human rights are a difficult, ongoing endeavour. Vigilance must therefore be our watchword, and the struggle for human rights should not flag in any region of the world. The United Nations must continue to ensure that human rights are fully enjoyed by all the peoples of the world. To that end, the letter and spirit of the Universal Declaration should gradually be adapted to changing mores and to science and technology. Bodies that are above the fray of ideologies and interests should ensure that it is observed, including through a system of regional and international human rights courts. With regard to the fiftieth anniversary of peacekeeping operations, we wish to pay tribute to the work done by the United Nations, which has always made its presence felt wherever peace has been threatened. Thanks to the Blue Helmets, the United Nations is present in all the world’s trouble spots, keeping the peace. It is true that some voices have been heard here and there deploring their sluggishness, hesitation and, in some cases the inaction. Sometimes the presence of a United Nations force or mission has not been able to prevent large-scale massacres or crimes against humanity, perpetrated in violation of the most elementary rules of humanitarian law. Such limits to the actions of our Organization remind us in a very timely manner that the United Nations can act only within the limits of the means made available to it by the Member States. It is up to Member States, therefore, to provide it with the necessary resources to enable it to respond fully to the mission entrusted to it by the peoples of the United Nations. Despite these limits, we must acknowledge in a positive spirit that over the years many peacekeeping operations and other actions taken by the Secretary- General have made it possible to prevent the emergence, aggravation or continuation of many conflicts. 11 Thanks to the Blue Helmets, millions of human lives have been saved, and sometimes the United Nations has paid a heavy price for this total commitment to the cause of peace. The recent tragic death of Mr. Alioune Blondin Beye and his team, to whose memory I wish to reaffirm the fraternal homage of the people of Cameroon, is one more particularly unhappy example of this point. By ensuring the safety of peoples, the delivery of humanitarian aid and respect for ceasefire agreements and by performing an increasing number of administrative tasks, the Blue Helmets are helping restore confidence and prevent loss of life and the disintegration of certain States. Such commitments and sacrifices deserve all our encouragement. The fiftieth anniversary of peacekeeping operations should provide us with an opportunity to think about questions relating to their continuation: problems of financing, the safety of personnel involved in the operations, the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations and ethical issues. With regard to the ethical issues, Cameroon believes that it is time to formulate a code of conduct so that people participating in peacekeeping operations can remain, above all, protectors of human rights as well as true beneficiaries of them. Given the many tasks expected of these operations, it would be appropriate to review their range, their scope and the modalities governing them. Even now, as we congratulate the United Nations on its work for peace, conflicts are still destroying lives, tearing apart families and communities and placing at risk the future of young generations throughout the world. The reports of the Security Council and of the Secretary- General, which we receive on a regular basis, are particularly important in this respect. The resurgence of terrorism is another element of the picture, as we were recently reminded by the deadly attacks against the American embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es- Salaam and the attack in Omagh. Cameroon, a peaceful, justice-loving country, strongly condemns these unfortunate events that show that we need to redouble our efforts to put an end to mindless violence. This means that we must silence weapons, prevent disputes and above all create the conditions for true peace. That does not mean merely the absence of armed conflict, but living together in harmony, with the entire international community and all nations building together a society that respects individual and collective freedoms. We need to begin by recognizing and accepting differences as a source of richness and dynamism. We need to practise tolerance and dialogue, the latter not just between the citizens of one nation but also between States, in order to build a more fraternal and democratic society. This means in particular that we must opt to settle disputes through peaceful means and that States must turn whenever necessary to the International Court of Justice as the judicial organ of the United Nations and the essential cog not only in the machinery for peaceful settlement of disputes, but also within the general system of peacekeeping and international security established by the Charter. At the end of the United Nations Decade of International Law, the call has become urgent for States to demonstrate themselves psychologically prepared to seek recourse naturally to the International Court of Justice and the political bodies of the United Nations and those of regional organizations. This is Cameroon’s conviction, as well as that of the General Assembly, which in resolution 3232 (XXIX), paragraph 6, reaffirmed that, “recourse to judicial settlement of legal disputes, particularly referral to the International Court of Justice, should not be considered an unfriendly act between States.” That is why Cameroon went to the International Court of Justice at The Hague with regard to its dispute with Nigeria over territorial and maritime boundaries. In this context, I should like to take this opportunity to make an urgent appeal to the international community, and especially to the United Nations, to help keep the peace between our two countries before, during and after the Court’s verdict. Silencing weapons is a good thing; eliminating their use through prevention and — why not? — through disarmament is even better. That is why we must not rest until all weapons of mass destruction are eradicated, be they of a nuclear, chemical, biological or other nature. It must be pointed out here that another danger has appeared in certain subregions of Africa — namely, the proliferation of small arms and their illicit circulation. This phenomenon is already a threat to peace and should 12 be quickly contained because it can sow the seeds of conflict. The conclusions of the recent seminar organized by the United Nations Secretariat in Yaoundé from 27 to 31 July 1998 within the framework of the Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa are particularly illustrative in that regard. I would like to thank the Secretary-General and donor countries for their support of the activities of that Committee. We know that we can continue to count on their support in implementing the recommendations of that seminar, especially in continuing the Committee’s activities. That institution is called on to play a crucial role in mobilizing the countries of central Africa to take responsibility for the security of their subregion under the aegis of the United Nations. Also with regard to prevention, the recent creation in Rome of the International Criminal Court is a timely addition to the mechanisms that protect human rights and maintain peace. The International Criminal Court will in effect be responsible for prosecuting and punishing persons guilty of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. Cameroon is pleased to have been one of the first signatories to its Statute and hopes that all States will become parties to it. To this end, it is urgent that the crime of aggression be rapidly and clearly defined. This would abolish the impunity of aggressors and prove to the peoples of the world our real determination to put an end to war once and for all. In the context of this general debate, I have deliberately chosen, as the Assembly has seen, not to touch on most current problems, particularly ongoing crises. I wanted to concentrate on certain permanent essential values that lie at the basis of the two observances I mentioned, whose violation causes most of the misfortune in our world today. I refer to the human persons’s right to dignity and fulfilment, the right to development and the right to peace — in short, the right to life. The United Nations is the guarantor of their observance and promotion. For Africa, the recent report of the Secretary-General, which should act as a kind of compass for all of us, lays down the foundations for all those committed to working for the prosperity of our peoples. In reality, all regions of the world need this kind of wake-up call and this kind of report. We are accountable to future generations for making these values a reality. Let us not disappoint. Let us not allow people to be left along the side of the road. It is up to us to do everything possible so that these humane values remain a constant concern of the United Nations and of its specialized agencies.