At this time, when I have the honour to take the floor before this august Assembly, above all I would like to express to you, on behalf of the Congolese people as well as on my own behalf, my warm congratulations to Mr. Jean Ping on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly as well as the election of the members of his Bureau. I also take this occasion to congratulate and give my continued support to Mr. Julian Hunte, the President of the previous General Assembly, for the significant quality of the work he accomplished during a difficult international situation. This debate provides me the opportunity to bring the message of my country to the world — a message of peace and national reconciliation — and to express our vision concerning the violent events taking place in the world and the most appropriate way to find lasting solutions to those events. In that respect, looking back at world developments, we can only note and deplore the rise in international terrorism in all its forms with its long line of victims, distress and desolation. This appears to me to be the appropriate time to announce that my country’s commitment to the ratification of all international legal instruments on terrorism is moving into its final phase of adoption. Our aim is to combat that scourge which — I repeat — spares no one. Apart from terrorism, the international community is confronted with the resurgence of other disasters which are just as murderous and devastating and which require us to strengthen our collective efforts. In particular I am thinking of HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other endemic diseases. That list of forgotten diseases should not obscure the immense poverty and the natural disasters that we see throughout the world. Moreover, we must not forget the areas of tension, civil wars and other armed conflicts which increase the misery and hopelessness of humanity and which thus sorely test international peace and security. During the intersessional period, the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been characterized by a process of political transition. In the long term, we plan to organize elections which will enable the Congolese people to freely choose their leaders. In that respect, I would like to point out that that process reached its midway point on 30 June 2004. It has thus entered a decisive phase which requires from all institutions of the transition a redoubling of effort in order to meet the electoral deadlines as laid out in the global agreement. Today we can congratulate ourselves on the following significant progress: the reunification of national territory through the setting up of a land commission under central authority; national reconciliation, symbolized by the presence in the Government of former enemies; and the beginning of the process of integration of the army and the establishment of the national police force. Nevertheless, much remains to be done, including the complete restoration of the authority of the State throughout the country and the establishment of the necessary internal and external conditions for the holding of the aforementioned elections. Thus, taking into account the desire for peace of all of the Congolese people, and the determination expressed many times by the transitional Government to respect the deadlines, it is important that we reinforce, in terms of quality and quantity, the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), whose support of the forces of order will help us put an end to the 30 activism of the militias which continue to sow death and desolation in the eastern part of the country. In addition, given the results obtained by the political players in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the fulfilment of their obligations under the global agreement, we launch an urgent appeal to the international community and ask it to respect its promises and commitments in bringing about the objectives of the transition. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a peace-loving country, resolutely committed to developing, maintaining and promoting excellent relations with all countries dedicated to peace and justice and particularly, with its neighbours. Also the principle of good neighbourliness, far from being a simple slogan, is for us a living and daily reality. That is why I am happy to see the signature of the terms of reference, establishing a joint verification mechanism on the eastern border of our national territory. This will enable us to rebuild trust in relations in the region, a process which will culminate in the international conference on peace, security and development, scheduled to take place shortly. The other major task in the Great Lakes region remains preventing a recurrence of unfortunate events, such as the massacres of the people in Bukuvu, Ituri and those recently committed in Gatumba, Burundi, during which 160 of our fellow citizens tragically lost their lives. This assassination of Congolese refugees on Burundian soil is the work of the enemies of peace and of peaceful cohabitation in our subregion. The people of Congo are waiting impatiently for the report of the inquiry being prepared under United Nations auspices on this very subject. I solemnly express the Congolese people’s faith in the United Nations, which has stood at our side at the cost of many sacrifices. We firmly believe in its ability to take even more responsibility on its shoulders, with a view to the ideas and principles contained in the Charter, particularly with regard to its process of revitalization and the adaptation of its structures so that it is able to rethink its working methods in order that we will see peace, security and peaceful cohabitation come about among peoples throughout the world. I would like to conclude my statement by assuring the Assembly of our will to bring to a successful conclusion, with the help of the whole of the international community, the process of transition within the set deadlines so that the sons and daughters of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are able to live again in peace and dignity so long denied them and to which they legitimately have the right.