The seventy-eighth session of the General Assembly, in which I am participating on behalf of my country, the Central African Republic, offers me the happy opportunity to reaffirm our inflexible determination to contribute to the search for solutions common to the challenges facing humankind.
I should like, from this rostrum, the symbol par excellence of human solidarity, to express the solidarity of the Central African people to the brotherly peoples of Morocco and Libya, hard hit by natural disasters that led to the loss of thousands of human lives and untold material damage a few days before the opening of this session. As I have argued on other occasions, the tragic consequences of such natural disasters must drive home to the global scientific community the urgency of identifying regions of the world that are particularly vulnerable to extreme climatic events and of making available to the States concerned the information necessary to limit the damage.
Furthermore, the whole world has followed with deep dismay the mass arrival in recent days of thousands of African migrants on the island of Lampedusa. Italy. Those young people, who represent the present and the future of our continent. Africa, are desperately seeking to reach the countries of the European continent in search of an Eldorado. The escalation of the migrant crisis is one of the appalling consequences of the plundering of the natural resources of countries made poor by slavery, colonization. Western imperialism, terrorism and internal armed conflicts, often waged
against a backdrop of hegemonic aims and geopolitical and geostrategic tensions among the great world Powers.
While I deplore that dehumanizing phenomenon. I salute the solidarity and incredible efforts of the host countries and the International Organization for Migration to provide assistance to those young people, whose lives are endangered by smugglers and the lawless sellers of illusions. However, my country believes that the United Nations must go beyond our common commitment to reviving global solidarity by involving African countries in the search for global solutions to the migration crises and the existential challenges facing young people on the African continent.
As our countries continue to face climate shocks, geopolitical tensions and unprecedented financial, energy and food challenges, new global challenges arise every day. Today, in Africa as elsewhere, conflicts — symptoms of the geopolitical and geostrategic tensions that divide the great Powers — are in full swing. In the Sudan, an internal armed conflict of rare cruelty broke out in April, despite the fact that the country was on the path to normalization with a promising process of dialogue among all the active forces of the nation. The Central African Republic has already registered 51.077 Sudanese and Chadian refugees in Vakaga prefecture, exposing our assuredly resilient populations to the potential exacerbation of our still precarious humanitarian situation and insecurity. I call for consideration of the impact of the crisis on regional geopolitics, as well as international solidarity in favour of refugees.
As we meet here, the Russo-Ukrainian conflict continues on the ground, with no prospect for a peaceful settlement, while the consequences for the world are painful and regrettable.
The persistence and multiplication of hotbeds of tension throughout the world raise questions about the effectiveness of certain mechanisms for the prevention and peaceful resolution of disputes deployed by the United Nations, whose primary mission is to guarantee international peace and security. That is why we strongly reaffirm the Common African Position on Security Council reform in order to increase the number of permanent and non-permanent members and to grant a permanent seat to Africa. That can only serve the interests of justice. The Central African Republic believes that it is urgent to remediate the historical injustices suffered by Africa, in view of the important agendas ahead, such as the Summit of the Future in 2024 and the eightieth anniversary of the United Nations in 2025. which could be opportunities to unite Member States in order to take concrete measures for said reform.
The Central African Republic wonders how we can accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in favour of peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all. when certain States, from the height of their political, economic and military power, constantly use coercive diplomacy or exploit international financial institutions for the purpose of imposing economic, financial and commercial blockades against countries impoverished by slavery, colonization and imperialism?
Indeed, on 29 July, the Central African people learned with great dismay of the renewal of the arms embargo, motivated by inadequate reports and rationales, with a false exemption for the national security forces. Before the world, the Central African Republic denounces that cynical decision, which betrays the unacknowledged intention of the members of the Council that voted for it to exploit the sanctions regimes for the purposes of political pressure, under the aegis of the United Nations. I recall and deplore the fact that the embargoes on arms and diamonds, maintained for 10 years and now compounded by the suspension of budgetary support, constitute real obstacles to the achievement by my country of the objectives of the 2030 Agenda. We reject that denial of our right to self-determination and permanent sovereignty over our natural wealth and resources, guaranteed by the relevant legal instruments of the United Nation. I urge the Security Council to put an end to those machinations, which are aimed at masking the desire to perpetuate insecurity and control over my country’s natural resources for the benefit of foreign Powers, legitimize armed groups and grant them status under international law.
Our planet is burning; our planet is drowning; the world is collapsing; the world weeps. Yes. every day the media announce natural disasters linked to climate change, which come as warning signs of the apocalypse. Paradoxically, trust and solidarity among nations, the founding values of the United Nations, are further fractured, thereby impeding the human community from achieving the noble objectives of sustainable development in favour of peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all provided for in the 2030 Agenda.
And yet. in order to restore confidence and revive solidarity in the face of devastating climate phenomena, commitments have been made by developed countries, the major polluters, from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change to the agreements struck in Glasgow and Sharm El-Sheikh. Egypt. The twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in particular, usefully set four major objectives that we have all adopted — mitigation, adaptation, financing and a just transition — in order to meet the common challenges facing humankind.
Unfortunately, many countries, including the Central African Republic, innocent victims of the dramatic consequences of the overexploitation of the planet by developed countries, do not benefit from the funding promises made. We appreciate the true value of the contribution of bilateral and multilateral partners alike in their surge of solidarity towards Africa, our continent, and thank them infinitely. However, we call for a more active, evolving and diversified partnership, respectful of the sovereignty of States and the cultural and moral values of all. Only in that way can we rekindle the flame of friendship among peoples, promote peace and security and create the conditions for equitable and inclusive development.
My country continues to advocate for inclusive multilateralism, mutually accelerated growth and a balanced world order and for global disputes to be addressed with particular emphasis on international peace and security and respect for the sovereignty of each State. I take this opportunity to denounce all the disinformation and denigration campaigns carried out by certain Western media against the Central African Republic. I reaffirm here the determination of my country to diversify its international cooperation with all the countries that so desire, in the sole vital interests of its people, and to avoid being drawn into competitions between world Powers.
By adopting by referendum, on 30 July, the new Constitution of the Central African Republic, by an overwhelming majority of 95.3 per cent and with a participation rate of more than 57 per cent, the Central African people have just reaffirmed their attachment to the goals and principles set out in the Charter of the United Nations and its inalienable right to respect for its sovereignty, self-determination, the stability of its institutions, peace, security, national unity and development.
To accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals in favour of peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all. the Government is pursing the implementation of the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in the Central African Republic and the Luanda Joint Roadmap for Peace in the Central African Republic and is investing in strengthening the commitment of all stakeholders. As part of the implementation of those peace and national security instruments, nine armed groups have already been dissolved. At the same time, the Special Criminal Court and the ordinary courts independently continue the fight against impunity.
I recall that, beyond the Constitution, our national policy of decentralization is both a deep aspiration of the Central African people and an essential component of the Peace Agreement and the Luanda Joint Roadmap. I highlight all the efforts already undertaken by the National Elections Authority with the support of international technical assistance, which have allowed us to reassess the electoral calendar, which now provides for the holding of local elections for the month of October 2024. For us. that is a fundamental step in our march towards the local anchoring of democracy, the promotion of participatory governance and local development. That is why we want those local elections to be inclusive, transparent, peaceful and credible. I urge all our partners to support the Government in completing the electoral process, which is well under way.