First of all, we would like to extend to Mr. Srgjan
Kerim our warmest congratulations on his unanimous
election as President of the General Assembly for the
current session and to say that the delegation that I
have the honour of leading is greatly pleased to see
him presiding over the work of the Assembly. We
would like also to pay a well-deserved tribute to the
outgoing President, who conducted the work of the last
session with great wisdom and distinction.
We would also like to convey to the Secretary-
General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, the great appreciation and
encouragement of His Excellency Mr. Pierre
Nkurunziza, President of the Republic of Burundi, and
of our Government, for the tireless efforts that he has
been making since he took office to defend and
promote the noble ideals of our Organization.
Building a viable world for humanity is a task
that is incumbent upon the international community
and every one of its members. Our position in Burundi
is that, in strengthening peace and justice within our
borders, we are also contributing to the harmonious
development of this world. It is in this context that the
Government of Burundi is sparing no effort both within
the country and at the regional level to establish an
environment conducive to the strengthening of peace
and security, the rule of law and development.
We are pleased to state that the signing of the
Comprehensive Ceasefire Agreement, which took place
on 7 September 2006 between the Government and the
Forces nationales de libération (FNL) rebel movement
greatly contributed to a return to peace and stability in
our country. That paved the way for talks on specific
aspects concerning the implementation of the
Agreement in a calm setting. Some weeks ago, the FNL
movement unilaterally decided to suspend the talks
without offering any truly convincing reasons.
However, we are not discouraged because we believe
that this is simply a hitch that will not have a lasting
impact on the gains which everyone wants to preserve.
Efforts are currently being made for a prompt
resumption of the talks. A regional summit on the issue
should take place shortly to encourage the FNL
movement to return to the negotiating table, which is
the only acceptable way to achieve a lasting peace. In
any case, the Government of Burundi remains open to
all proposals that would bring together the necessary
conditions for this effort.
The return to peace has also favoured the
implementation of programmes that are priorities for
the Government in areas such as national
reconciliation, education and health for all,
reconstruction and economic recovery. Issues related to
good political and economic governance, once taboo
because of their sensitive nature, are now openly and
regularly discussed, and concrete action is being taken
to improve the situation.
To achieve greater success in the delicate task of
national reconciliation, the people of Burundi have no
choice but to review together the history of their
country which, in several ways, is characterized by
some dark periods. Indeed, the Government has begun
negotiations with the Secretary-General in order to set
up a truth and reconciliation commission. We are soon
going to begin national consultations on this question;
the outcome should provide a solid basis for the
establishment and operation of such a Commission.
The civil war which ravaged our country greatly
impoverished the Burundian population. We are eager
to gradually resolve the problem of poverty and to
reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), we
have taken measures to offer free health care to
children under the age of five and to pregnant mothers
in public health clinics, and also to provide free
primary school education.
The Government has also set up the Strategic
Framework for Accelerating Economic Growth and
Reducing Poverty, which was adopted at the national
and international levels and which was submitted to
our development partners at the Bujumbura round table
held in May 2007. Our country’s appeal to the
international community had a positive reception:
funding for our priority programmes for the period
2007-2010 has been pledged.
We take this opportunity to reiterate the gratitude
of the Government and the people of Burundi to all of
our partners for their generous contributions at the
round table. We would be sincerely grateful if their
pledges could be redeemed so that we can satisfy the
most urgent needs of our population as soon as
possible.
Working with the Peacebuilding Commission, my
Government has also set up a Strategic Framework for
Peacebuilding in Burundi. This is a framework that
involves all of the national and international socio-
political partners in contributing to strengthening the
return to peace and ensuring that the resurgence of
deadly crises will be a thing of the past.
We would also like to take this opportunity to
express our gratitude to the Commission for the
positive results we have already achieved together, as
well as for the support of the Peacebuilding Fund, from
which my country has generously benefited.
We are convinced that peace and security can be
affirmed only in one’s house and in one’s immediate
environment. Burundi is playing an active role within
the regional framework in the work of the Tripartite
Plus Joint Commission, including the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi.
This Commission is a suitable forum for us to discuss
our security issues in a straightforward fashion —
namely, the presence of many armed groups that are
circulating and dangerously jeopardizing the
democratic gains made in the development of our
member countries. Moreover, on 15 December 2006, at
the International Conference of the Great Lakes region,
heads of State and Government of 11 member
countries, including our own country, Burundi, signed
a Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the
Great Lakes Region, with the ultimate objective of
making this zone an area of peace, economic growth
and sustainable and shared growth. Burundi had the
honour of being elected by its peers to host the
headquarters of the Executive Secretariat of this
Conference.
Furthermore, in re-launching the Economic
Community of the Great Lakes countries (CEPGL),
along with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, and in joining the East African Community,
which includes the United Republic of Tanzania,
Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda, we are motivated by a
desire to build a peaceful, prosperous and united world.
There are still tensions that mark the international
situation and new sources of instability and uncertainty
have emerged. It is undeniable that remarkable work
has been achieved in recent years within the framework
of our Organization, as well as in continental and
regional organizations. Pockets of tension have now
been eliminated, and others are on the verge of being
so. However, we are concerned by the continuation of
bloody conflicts in Somalia and Darfur, in Iraq, in the
Middle East, to mention but a few. Despite the efforts
that have been made and the means that have been
deployed, there is still a great deal to be done. Burundi
decided to lend its modest contribution to resolving
some of these crises by providing military observers
and police personnel for Darfur and military
peacekeeping contingents in Somalia within the
framework of operations set up by the African Union.
We know full well that conflict prevention is an
ongoing concern of the international community.
Stabilization efforts and peacekeeping operations are
an eloquent testimony to this. We must accompany this
process by strengthening the prerogatives of the
Secretary-General in the area of preventive diplomacy
to prevent minor conflicts from becoming larger, open
conflicts. In this respect, conflict prevention can be
effective only if we take into account the nagging
question of the proliferation of small arms and light
weapons, which is a dangerous, destabilizing factor.
We would like to launch a vibrant appeal to the
countries that produce small arms and light weapons to
adopt responsible export policies that would truly help
to curb illicit flows of these weapons. The same applies
to the question of disarmament, which our country
considers crucial if we want a rapid return to security,
peace and development. We say this from experience,
because in Burundi, the proliferation of small arms and
light weapons, as well as in other countries of the
Great Lakes region, continue to cause destruction in
terms of human lives and social and economic
infrastructure, and it always un-does any reconstruction
and development effort that we are trying to achieve.
International terrorism is another major challenge
to global peace and security. This phenomenon can be
seen on all continents, thus proving very clearly that
terrorism knows no borders. The absence of a suitable
and effective strategy to eliminate this scourge places
us at its mercy. These situations should be one of the
top challenges for the United Nations family. Our
Organization, therefore, must be a tool at everyone’s
service in all countries, a tool capable of raising hopes,
of dispelling concerns and of restoring respect for the
rule of international law.
In this context, we must all agree and decide to
make our Organization more operational, more
pragmatic, more democratic and capable of fulfilling
its mission, a mission that is to be accomplished in full
cooperation with the regional organizations whose
effectiveness in the area of conflict prevention and
intervention is well known, despite often insufficient
resources. Thus, we express the hope that Security
Council reform, which has long been advocated and
discussed, will finally become a reality, with a
composition that respects the representation of
continents that, until now, have been excluded from the
category of permanent members, such as Africa, our
continent.
Although the cold war is over, we are forced to
acknowledge that social relations have crystallized into
two blocs with almost antagonistic and diverging
interests — that is to say, the rich on one side and the
poor on the other. It is high time to humanize relations
between the two blocs and to encourage specific
measures through respect for commitments that have
been taken. Otherwise, we will see the continuation of
new societal phenomena, such as the brain drain,
worsening crime, sex industry and international
migratory pressure, which stir up passions and spark
controversy.
To conclude, Sir, the gathering of such a large
number of high-level officials makes it possible to take
the pulse of the political situation as well as of the
international social and economic situation. It makes it
possible for us to observe our weaknesses and our
potential. We believe that solutions to the different
problems that have been mentioned in the course of
this debate are always possible, as long as there is a
minimum of political will. It is that minimum, which is
required of every member of our Organization, that we
should all try to obtain together.