Echoing previous eminent speakers at this rostrum, on behalf of
my country, the Union of the Comoros, and on my own
behalf, it is a genuine pleasure to address our warm
congratulations to the President on his brilliant
assumption of the presidency of the sixty-second
session of this Assembly. It is a pleasure likewise to
address our warmest congratulations to the Secretary-
General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for the effective manner in
which he has carried out his duties in this world
undergoing vast change, which requires increased
commitment by our Organization. May I also extend
our sincere thanks to the American Government and to
the leaders of this magnificent city of New York for the
fine preparations that they have made to receive and
welcome us here.
The situations of conflict that claim innocent
victims in the Middle East, in Darfur, in Somalia
and in so many other regions where hotbeds of tension
erupt appeal to our collective conscience and call
for urgent measures for calm and for the resolution of
such problems. My Government endorses any action
taken by the international community, particularly the
African Union and the United Nations, in seeking
solutions to these problems, which are a source of
concern for the whole world.
The world has reason to be concerned. Fear and
uncertainty have become widespread, within both
developed and developing countries. Paradoxically,
science and technology have never been so effective.
The world has never been so rich, nor has it displayed
such great profits.
Today, the countries of the South are
overwhelmed by the burden of debt, civil war,
insecurity, destitution, precariousness and endemic
disease. Therefore, security and harmony in this world
call for greater solidarity and greater humanism.
The international community should thus
emphasize development assistance to help the small
countries to meet environmental challenges,
particularly the effects of climate change, degradation
of the ecosystem and desertification. Such solidarity
should also be forthcoming in combating other
scourges affecting our countries, most specifically
HIV/AIDS, malaria and all other diseases that decimate
our peoples and impede our development.
In addition, yet another scourge besets the world,
and that is terrorism, which recognizes no borders. Nor
does it recognize race or religion in its unspeakable
cowardice and blindness. We should do everything
possible to ensure that it can no longer flourish on
poverty and prosper on the weakest links of the world
chain.
Also, we must ensure that fanaticism and
intolerance can no longer impose their law on the
world and destroy humankind. Indeed, in bolstering
tolerance and respect for the right to difference and for
the dignity of every people, we will avoid possible
setbacks, attacks on human rights and the amalgam of
terrorism and particular religions or regions. In this
way, we will be successful in guaranteeing lasting
peace, stability, security and development, because it
would be an illusion to speak of such ideals in a world
of poverty, where economic development and the
well-being of each and every individual have not yet
been achieved.
Moreover, at this midpoint on the way to the
deadline of 2015 set for the Millennium Development
Goals, while notable progress has been achieved, full
achievement of these objectives depend to a large
extent, on international solidarity and respect for the
various commitments entered into by the wealthiest
countries.
The reform of our Organization is more necessary
than ever to ensure that it is fully representative and
better reflects its universal nature. Thus, Africa and all
other regions of the world should be appropriately
represented within the Organization in order to more
effectively embody the principle of equality of States
within this great concert of nations.
The President took the Chair.
Allow me to take this exceptional opportunity to
present some insight into the situation in my country,
the Union of the Comoros.
Since assuming the highest office, I have
endeavoured, with my Government, to give effect to
the commitments made to the people of the Comoros
and to the international community in connection with
respect for human rights, the rule of law and good
governance, particularly through the restoration of a
system of justice that should serve as a model, the
struggle against corruption, the struggle against
insalubrious housing and advancing the situation of
women.
In this certainly very ambitious endeavour, I rely
largely on the people of the Comoros themselves to
establish at the national level the conditions necessary
for the success of the mission and task I have set
myself. I am also confident that international solidarity
will continue to increase, to support to a small country
such as ours in confronting the numerous problems that
it encounters daily. Indeed, I would like to express
from this rostrum our gratitude to all the countries and
organizations that support us in this undertaking of
building a nation in the Comoros that is peaceful and
prosperous.
But I have to emphasize that there was a time not
so long ago when the African continent and other
regions of the world were shaken by endless coups
d’état. That illegal, antidemocratic and frequently
violent form of access to power plunged the countries
in question into instability.
It would appear that that time is now passed, with
the advent of democracy and multiparty systems. The
large majority of political forces would appear to
accept democratic succession through free and
transparent consultation of peoples as being the only
acceptable means for acceding to power.
However, another mode of violent political action
continues to exist in developing countries and appears
to be assuming particular importance, namely, the
armed rebellions affecting many countries, including
the Comoros, my country. Armed uprisings are a
source of destabilization and an obstacle to
development efforts. Such uprisings are frequently at
the centre of political and geopolitical interests that
support them, to the detriment of the best interests of
the countries themselves. They benefit from the
explicit or hidden support of internal or external forces
which use them.
My country is not free from this phenomenon.
Indeed, the former Head of the Executive of the island
of Anjouan refuses to hold free and democratic
elections at the end of his term. He is leading an armed
uprising that has attacked the presidency of the Union,
the representation of the Government of the Union in
the island and the contingent of the National
Development Army. The uprising jeopardizes the hopes
for development of the country by causing delays in
repayment of the debt of the Comoros to the
international institutions and hampers the resumption
of investment from abroad. It is for this reason that I
state here our major concern at the political crisis that
we are experiencing.
Therefore, I make a solemn and urgent appeal to
the entire international community to assist us in
establishing lasting stability in the Union of the
Comoros by settling the problem of the uprising that
continues in the autonomous island of Anjouan.
Indeed, all the steps taken by the Government of the
Union have encountered to date the intransigence of
the rebels of Anjouan, who refuse to comply with the
resolutions of the African Union and the
recommendations of the international community
regarding the organization of free and democratic
elections in Anjouan, as occurred in the other two
islands and in respect of the constitutional legality,
particularly, the exercise in Anjouan of legitimate
powers.
From the bottom of my heart, I would wish to
thank all our bilateral and multilateral partners for their
unflagging support in the search for a prompt and final
solution to the crisis that we are experiencing. For all
these partners, I have always demonstrated our
goodwill in seeking to settle the Anjouan crisis by
peaceful means because the important thing is to save
national unity and preserve the people of the Comoros
from anything that might damage our development
efforts.
I take this opportunity also to thank the
authorities of the African Development Bank and all
those instrumental in providing partial debt relief to the
Comoros, with a view to facilitating our economic
recovery.
The Assembly will understand that the Comorian
Government cannot sanction any action that would
establish the Balkanization of our country. The
Comorian people remember only too well the
unfortunate experience regarding the sister island of
Mayotte. Although the one case is a problem within the
Comoros and the other a dispute with France, which is
a friendly country and principal partner of the
Comoros and I stress that fact, France is a friendly
country, a friend and principal partner of the
Comoros both situations involve the disunion of our
country, and we cannot remain indifferent to them.
Over 30 years have passed since the independent
nation of the Comoros was admitted to the United
Nations, within its authentic borders, that is, comprised
of four islands: Ngazidja, Mwali, Ndzouani and Maoré.
During those 30 years, all organizations that have
recognized our independence have unflaggingly
supported the just claim by the Comoros of sovereignty
over the island of Mayotte, a claim upheld by the
successive Governments in Moroni. That is a principle
that the people of the Comoros will never give up, even
if the approach has varied from one administration to
the next. Today, my Government would like, in a calm
atmosphere, to deal with this matter with France,
giving priority to dialogue and consultation. For we
must together find a rapid response to the problem of
the human tragedies caused by the frequent shipwrecks
of makeshift boats transporting on virtually a weekly
basis dozens of Comorians from the other islands who
visit Mayotte to meet with their families. We must
promptly together deal with the inhuman treatment
inflicted on Comorians from the other islands residing
in Mayotte, and we must seek to facilitate the free
movement of goods and persons among all the islands
of the archipelago. Lastly, we must find together a
modus vivendi that reflects particularly the social,
cultural, linguistic, economic, religious and historical
realities that shape the life of all Comorians.
To that end, I am happy to note the convergence
of views with Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the
French Republic, who, during his address to this
Assembly stated,
“I want to say, in the name of France, that there
will be no peace in the world without respect for
diversity, without respect for national identities,
without respect, I venture to say, for religions and
beliefs, or without respect for cultures.
Attachment to one’s faith, to one’s identity, to
one’s language and culture, and to one's way of
life, thought and belief in all that is legitimate,
and profoundly human.
I thus appeal to the United Nations to take on this
matter by working to achieve a closer rapprochement
between the two parties, with a view to a prompt
settlement of the question. I truly believe that together
with the French authorities we can find the ways and
means to move towards a final, just and lawful solution
to this problem.
In the ongoing quest for peace and freedom, I
have a particular thought for those who, throughout the
world, are engaged in struggle and are claiming their
rights to unity and territorial integrity. Thus, from this
rostrum, I would like to renew to our friend the
People’s Republic of China, our commitment to a
policy of a single China, single and indivisible. To our
brother country the Kingdom of Morocco, I would like
to reaffirm our support for its legitimate fight to
recover its territorial integrity.
In conclusion, I hope that peace reigns in our
world, that goodness and good faith win our hearts so
that the people of the world can live in happiness and
in greater solidarity than ever.
I would like to finish with a few words in Arabic.
The Israeli-Arab conflict is the source of tensions
in the Middle East, and the Palestinians in the occupied
Arab territories live in inhuman and tragic economic
conditions because of Israeli practices. The
international community must deal decisively with this
situation by requiring the Israeli authorities to
implement relevant Security Council and General
Assembly resolutions and decisions. Additionally, the
provisions of international law, international
humanitarian law and human rights must be observed.
As we all know, there can be no peace in the Middle
East without a just and lasting solution to the
Palestinian question effected by the withdrawal of
Israel from the Arab territories that it occupied in 1967.
Without the establishment of a viable Palestinian
State, with East Jerusalem with its capital, and the
settlement of the question of refugees on the basis of
the General Assembly resolution of 1949, the conflict
will not be settled. Construction of settlements must be
stopped, the separation wall must be demolished and
Palestinians must be compensated for damage caused
by its construction. I also invite our Palestinian
brothers to renounce division and disintegration and to
engage in dialogue. The international community and
the United Nations must provide swift humanitarian
assistance to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, open
the crossings and dismantle anything that hampers
movement.
We also state our solidarity with our brothers in
Lebanon, and we call for full implementation of
Security Council resolution 1701 (2006), the cessation
of Israeli incursions into Lebanon and withdrawal from
the Sheba’a Farms.
On the subject of Darfur, we give priority to the
peace talks to be held in Libya on 24 October this year.
We hope that all the parties will attend these talks. The
international community must assume its responsibility
and urge the parties to participate in those negotiations,
which we hope will be final and decisive. We also hope
that the African Union mission and character in Darfur
will be respected and that the sovereignty, unity and
territorial integrity of the Sudan will be fully respected.