Algeria

I have the particular pleasure of conveying to you, Sir, my sincere congratulations on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-second session. This attests to the esteem and trust enjoyed by your country. Your unanimous election to your high office is also recognition of your ability and your wealth of experience as a talented academic and diplomat, which we believe will ensure success in the work of this session. I assure you of my delegation’s support and its full readiness to assist you in carrying out your lofty mission. I should also like to thank Her Excellency Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa for her commendable efforts throughout the entirety of the previous session of the General Assembly. The measures she took are a further step towards modernizing the United Nations and improving its effectiveness. I would also like to express our sincere gratitude to Mr. Ban Ki-moon and to tell him how pleased we are to see him participating in the work of the General Assembly as Secretary-General. By unanimously electing him to lead the Organization, we have demonstrated our confidence in his ability to continue the work of reforming the United Nations begun by his predecessor with a view to making the Organization an effective tool in achieving the noble objectives of promoting peace and development throughout the world. We should continue to support him in realizing that enormous and ambitious undertaking. Gathered here at the General Assembly two years ago for the World Summit, our heads of State or Government took historic decisions for the future of the United Nations. Although we are pleased with the progress made to date, there is still a long way to go in achieving all the goals set at the Summit. Efforts must still be made to find the most appropriate response to the serious threat posed by climate change, which was the subject of discussion last week; achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); a comprehensive convention on international terrorism, which has still not been agreed; strengthening United Nations system-wide coherence; and reforming the Security Council, without which the overall reform process will remain incomplete. Algeria, which has always called for thorough and comprehensives reform of the Organization, continues to believe that decisive commitment and the widest possible endorsement by Member States are crucial to achieving the fruitful consensus to bring about a positive outcome of this ambitious reform effort. The world today faces new types of destabilizing factors and numerous threats that jeopardize international peace and security. That is especially the case with regard to terrorism, which is by definition a threat to the basic right to life. It spares no region of the world and makes no distinction as to race, gender or religion. It therefore requires resolute international mobilization and a collective and decisive response based on solidarity from the international community. Only in that way can we ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of the effort. My country has long suffered from heinous terrorism, which we have fought on our own and for which we paid a great price due to the indifference of the international community in the 1990s. We therefore appreciate the daily growing awareness of the dangers posed by that phenomenon and of the need to prevent and eradicate it. In that regard, Algeria supported the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which was adopted by the General Assembly in September 2006 as resolution 60/288. We call for a commitment by Member States to implement it immediately. We would like to point out, however, that the fight against terrorism should not be waged solely through the use of force but should also entail addressing the underlying causes of the phenomenon, in particular by finding just and equitable solutions to conflicts, especially the conflict in the Middle East. In addition to expeditious measures to thwart this devastating phenomenon, it is also urgent to conclude a comprehensive convention against international terrorism that includes a clear definition of the concept of terrorism. Such a convention should also clearly de-link terrorism from the legitimate struggle of peoples against occupation. It should also not equate terrorism with any religion, civilization or geographic region. In a world torn by conflict and tormented by extremism and intolerance of all sorts, it is essential today that we work to calm hearts and minds in order to promote a productive dialogue among cultures and civilizations, so as to dispel misunderstanding, eliminate prejudices and stereotypes and strengthen mutual understanding. With patience, determination and solidarity, we should dispel all theories and associations that promote the dangerous discourse of a clash of civilizations. We have great hopes for the General Assembly’s forthcoming High-Level Dialogue on Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace. We hope that the dialogue will serve to bring rationality to debates surrounding this issue, in line with the ambitious efforts of the Alliance of Civilization. Algeria is pleased at the particular attention given to this issue, including the appointment of Mr. Jorge Sampaio as High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations. We will spare no effort to promote this approach, which is more crucial than ever, to achieve a productive dialogue among civilizations that makes it possible for us to address such common challenges as underdevelopment, ignorance, poverty, racism and extremism. Despite the Organization’s laudable efforts, the task of decolonization remains unfinished. I would like to refer in particular to Western Sahara, which is the last case of decolonization in Africa. Its people are still deprived the right to self-determination enshrined in the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council. The international community had harboured genuine hope for a just and lasting resolution of the conflict, especially in the wake of the Security Council's unanimous support for the peace plan proposed by Mr. James Baker, former Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General a plan that resolution 1495 (2003) rightly referred to as an “optimum political solution” (para. 1). We are resolutely committed to the search for a peaceful solution under international law. Algeria welcomed the adoption on 30 April 2007 of Security Council resolution 1754 (2007), which clearly emphasized the need to find a just and lasting political solution which will provide for the right of self- determination of the Saharawi people. We hope that the negotiations that began in June and resumed in August at New York will continue, in order to allow the two parties Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO to reach an agreement in line with international law that makes it possible for the people of Western Sahara to decide their own fate freely and without constraints in a referendum on self-determination. Other tragedies are taking place in Africa: fratricidal wars, pandemics and natural disasters. This tragic situation only serves to push countries with limited resources into a precarious situation that diminishes the possibility of socio-economic development of any kind. Although, from its inception in 2004 the Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU) has been providing appropriate African solutions to conflicts on the continent, and as commendable as those have been, its efforts will not be effective without the firm commitment and considerable sustained assistance of the entire international community such as the tremendous efforts made recently to resolve the crisis in Darfur. Effectively addressing the multidimensional problems involving peace, security and development faced by the continent today also requires that the international community support the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), which is a viable vehicle to address Africa’s socio-economic concerns. In the Middle East, which is another especially unstable part of the world, the situation is deteriorating. This is reflected in daily violence and recurring crises. If we are not vigilant, that situation threatens to undermine any hope of establishing lasting peace in the region. The international community must once again become more involved in order to establish a just and lasting peace in the Middle East that is based on the implementation of the Road Map and the Arab Peace Initiative. In that regard, Algeria welcomes the renewed attention being given to the Arab Peace Initiative, as reflected in President Bush’s proposal to hold an international peace conference this fall. The international community should support that effort, which has rekindled hope for a comprehensive resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, in order to avert failure, which would have enormous consequences for international peace and security. The situation in Iraq also continues to be of concern. That fraternal country is experiencing scenes of deadly violence on a daily basis. Sectarian and communal violence also prevails throughout the country, which undermine the values of citizenship and coexistence among the children of a single people. Those events appeal to our collective conscience and call on us to mobilize assistance to that country by making our contribution to finding a solution that preserves Iraq’s national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity. I should also like to express my country’s concern about the current impasse in the multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation process: the failure of the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) held in May 2005 and the impasse at the 2005 World Summit on this issue. This is a matter that calls on us to act, for it is of crucial importance to the future of humankind. My country continues to believe that complying with the NPT entails the comprehensive and equitable implementation of all its provisions, ensuring a balance between the rights and obligations of States parties. The three fundamental pillars of the Treaty must be inseparable and complementary. Moreover, the goal of preventing nuclear proliferation should not be a pretext for preventing developing countries from having access to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. On the basis of that deeply held belief, on 9 January 2007 Algeria was host to the first African high-level regional conference on the theme of nuclear energy’s contribution to peace and sustainable development. The goal was to translate into action the common African concern to ensure that nuclear energy serves to promote peace and sustainable development on the continent. The issue of development has always been at the core of the international community’s concerns. In that regard, it is extremely important that it continue to be a very high priority for the Organization. In the light of the September 2000 Millennium Summit and the follow-up meetings held both under the auspices of the United Nations and outside the system, it is clear that the issue of development has become one of the major challenges such as peace, with which it is inextricably linked that the international community must address. In that connection, African heads of State, who launched NEPAD, and the leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) met last June at Heiligendamm, Germany, and took up the issue of peace and development in Africa as part of the agenda of that meeting. My country welcomes the decision taken by the G8 to provide $60 billion in assistance to combat AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other pandemics in Africa. Implementing that decision and the progress made in other areas, such as in effectively liberalizing international trade should be important steps towards achieving the development goals set by the international community. To that end, we believe that it is essential that the entire international community and developed countries in particular becomes more involved and honour the commitments undertaken at the 2000 Millennium Summit, the 2002 Monterrey International Conference on Financing for Development, the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development and the 2005 World Summit. In that regard, we are pleased to note that there were a number of encouraging signs during the high- level dialogue on climate change held at the United Nations last week. That illustrates that there is now a collective awareness of the reality of the threat to humankind posed by climate change and of its correlation with the issue of development. In that connection, I would like to emphasize the central role that should be played by the United Nations in carrying out negotiations in advance of the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is to be held in Bali, so as to ensure that the meeting produces a global regime to replace the Kyoto Protocol upon its expiry, in 2012. That regime should include an emissions reduction strategy that is fair, effective and equitable and based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. In essence, it is a matter of safeguarding the interests of developing countries, especially African countries, which pollute the least but are the most exposed to the effects of climate change. We are determined to continue our active participation in the international effort to protect the environment. Algeria has made its energy strategy part of its sustainable development policy by deciding to promote renewable sources of energy. I am also pleased to note that, on 5 June 2006, Algeria had the distinct honour of hosting the festivities for World Environment Day. In addition, from 17 to 19 December 2006, we hosted the Joint International Conference on Desertification, which was held to mark the end of the International Year of Deserts and Desertification, an issue which is linked to that of climate change. Algeria has embraced the Millennium Declaration and has spared no effort to take concrete steps through its national development policies. We are also working within the context of NEPAD to promote all efforts that will contribute to development on the African continent. Consolidating domestic reforms by strengthening democracy and the rule of law as important elements of good governance stems from our desire to modernize our country, economy and society. In that vein, Algeria has voluntarily agreed to peer review under the African evaluation Mechanism established for that purpose. That undertaking is part of Africa’s efforts to contribute concretely to strengthening good governance in every country of Africa, and in the continent as a whole. A report was presented to heads of States members of the African Peer Review Mechanism meeting at Accra in June 2007. Among other things, the report underscored Algeria’s great socio-economic progress. It also welcomed the steps that have been taken to achieve national reconciliation, which were the result of a courageous and visionary political decision taken by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika that has now been realized through a popular referendum that reaffirmed a very broad-based desire for reconciliation. In conclusion, allow me to point out that in 2005, when we commemorated the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, we charted a course to undertake genuine reorganization in the architecture of international relations by adapting the Organization to the world we live in today. Only an Organization that is effective, just and credible will be able to meet the demands brought about by change and to rise to the challenges produced by the turbulence of today’s world in order to ensure peace, security and development for future generations. That is Algeria's firm conviction, as well as that of the entire international community.