Togo

In expressing to you, Sir, our great pride at seeing an eminent representative of the Group of African States preside over the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session, I wish to offer you, on behalf of Mr. Gnassingbé Eyadema, President of the Togolese Republic, and of the Government and the people of Togo, which it is my great honour to represent, our sincere wishes for your success in fulfilling your mandate. We also congratulate Secretary-General Kofi Annan on his dynamic and unequivocal work at the head of our Organization. The present session of the General Assembly is being held at a time when international peace and security continue to be seriously threatened, requiring our common Organization fully to shoulder its role and mission with even greater determination and bolder initiatives. Indeed, we are living in a world of precarious balances arising from our collective inability to establish genuine peace and shared well- being in the framework of international legitimacy. In Africa, the legitimate aspirations of people to lasting peace, in particular in those countries and regions where that peace is being sorely tested, have yet to be achieved. In Côte d’Ivoire, after numerous short-lived hopes have been dashed, the implementation of the Accra III Agreement remains today the sole hope for the restoration of peace and stability in that country. The Togolese Head of State, who from the very beginning of the crisis committed himself to the path of dialogue and reconciliation, will continue to be involved in the peaceful settlement of that fratricidal conflict. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, recently arisen obstacles to the peace process, which is intended to lead to the holding in 2005 of elections for the creation of new institutions, have required the international community to spare no effort in maintaining the gains won through the costly deployment of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) and in launching, whenever necessary, such operations as Artemis to nip in the bud any impulse towards a resumption of combat wherever it may arise. The Government of Togo therefore unreservedly supports the Secretary-General’s proposal significantly to increase the number of MONUC personnel. It is to be hoped that the international conference on peace, security and development in the Great Lakes region, to be held in November, will be the appropriate framework for finding lasting solutions to the problems of insecurity and instability that continue to weaken relationships among States of the region and to jeopardize the emergence of a climate of good- neighbourliness and mutual understanding. In the Sudan, regarding the tragedy unfolding in Darfur, the international community must urgently assist the Government of that country and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement to consolidate the peace process through the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement. In that regard, the international community must provide consistent support to the African Union’s peace operation. In Burundi, Liberia and Somalia in particular, the outburst of solidarity and renewed interest which the international community continues to show in the restoration of peace and the recovery of those countries, battered by long years of war, should be accompanied by more adequate financial and logistical assistance. Togo, for its part, will continue to contribute to conflict and crisis resolution in Africa and to support the various United Nations peacekeeping operations by supplying military contingents or observers, as it is currently doing in Côte d’Ivoire, Burundi, Liberia and Haiti. The prevailing situations in the world, particularly in Iraq and the Middle East, are a source of major concern. In Iraq, the restoration of full sovereignty to the Iraqi people and the recognition that the United Nations has an important role to play in rebuilding the country should give every element of Iraqi society the opportunity to work with resolve to 11 build a stable and prosperous country free of all violence. In the Middle East, the ongoing escalation of violence between the State of Israel and the Palestinian State may definitively compromise the continuation of the peace process and the implementation of the various agreements that have been signed. In that respect, the international community and the Quartet must strive to persuade the two protagonists to avoid unilateral action and to return to the negotiating table on the basis of the road map and the relevant resolutions of the Security Council. Furthermore, we wish to emphasize, again with respect to crisis issues, that post-conflict situations clearly demonstrate the importance of providing adequate financing, not only for humanitarian assistance but also for other vital programmes to promote peace and sustainable development. There is thus a need for the financing of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes for ex- combatants and other long-term instruments for ensuring peace — such as education, health care and job creation for young people — to be made a priority of post-conflict peace-building. In the same context, the troubling financial situation of the three Regional Centres for peace and disarmament call for more attention from the Assembly if they are to enjoy the financial resources necessary to fulfil their mandates harmoniously. In that regard, and on the basis of the relevant Secretary-General’s reports, the delegation of Togo firmly believes that it is high time for the General Assembly seriously to review the financing of the Regional Centres in order to provide them with adequate financial resources under the Organization’s regular budget. In so doing, the General Assembly would demonstrate its genuine support for the Organization’s goals in the area of arms control and disarmament and its appreciation of the active role played to date by the Centres. For its part, my country, which hosts the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa, will do its utmost to ensure the Centre’s continuity and long-term viability. Terrorism is the other major danger of our times because it continues seriously to threaten our States and is thus a scourge in the face of which failure to act effectively means giving way to the forces of evil. Having endured terrorism in the past, Togo once again condemns the heinous terrorist attacks perpetrated recently around the world and keenly hopes that more decisive action will be undertaken to eradicate that disease of the human conscience. From that perspective, while it is up to each State to take the measures necessary to strengthen security within its own borders, we must strive above all to enhance regional and international cooperation among States and to ensure that the poor States can enjoy adequate assistance in the implementation of effective national mechanisms to combat terrorism. Economic and social development is a corollary of peace and security. We all recall that, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, the Millennium Summit was convened here in this very Hall. Following the Summit, at which the problems of poverty and development were debated, the heads of State and Government adopted the Millennium Declaration, an unprecedented affirmation of international solidarity in which the rich and poor countries together undertook firm commitments whereby they forcefully reaffirmed their will to reduce by half, by the year 2015, the proportion of the world’s population touched by poverty. World leaders voiced the hope at that time that other major meetings also held early in the new millennium would serve as a framework for the birth of genuine partnership between the countries of the North and those of the South. Several years later, however, we note with regret that the Millennium Development Goals have been hard to achieve. Indeed, the necessary resources to finance sustainable development and to combat poverty and hunger in the developing countries have not been mobilized and, contrary to expectations, only a small number of developing countries have been able to make progress in the elimination of poverty. The critical economic situation in Africa requires a collective awakening and introspection. What has happened to our myriad commitments? What has happened to our many promises? Regarding the rules of international trade, which remain unfavourable to the poor countries; regarding the long-awaited debt relief; regarding the fact that the goal of 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product for official development assistance has been met by only a small fraction of donor countries, we may well ask ourselves what happened to the solidarity so loudly proclaimed at the Millennium Summit. 12 Last year’s failure of the World Trade Organization trade negotiations in Cancún — designed to settle the critical issues of eliminating agricultural subsidies and providing access to the markets of the industrialized world for the products of the countries of the South — highlighted yet again the North-South division and evoked real fears for the future of the multilateral trade system. On the basis of those questions and concerns, the delegation of Togo reaffirms the need for all international partners to reflect in deeds the political will they proclaimed at the International Conference on Financing for Development and the World Summit on Sustainable Development so as to give new impetus to efforts to increase official development assistance, to provide debt relief and equitable access to markets, to protect the environment, and to combat malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases. 2005 will be a crucial year for our Organization. Indeed, in 2005, we shall engage in in-depth consideration of the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus. In 2005, we shall hold a high-level debate on the implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS. In that regard, we need to bear in mind that the twenty-sixth special session of the General Assembly set specific goals to be met for 2003 and 2005 towards the eradication of HIV/AIDS pandemic. Above all, 2005 will be the year of the high-level plenary meeting to engage in a comprehensive review of progress made in the implementation of all of the commitments undertaken in the Millennium Declaration and at the major United Nations conferences and summit meetings in the economic and social fields. We therefore await those meetings with interest. They will give us the opportunity to reaffirm our political commitment to building a world of greater solidarity and prosperity in order to give hope once more to that significant segment of the world’s population that lives on less than $1 a day, suffers from hunger and malnutrition and has no access to drinking water. The peace and economic and social development that we desire for our countries cannot be achieved without the effective participation of peoples in managing public affairs. Democracy in Togo, based on a multi-party system and the rule of law, has become a vibrant reality, inter alia, through the adoption of important legislative and administrative texts and the establishment of virtually every institution provided for by the Constitution. With faith and determination, the Government of Togo, under the impetus of the Head of State, is striving to build a genuinely democratic society that also takes the sociological realities of our country into account. In order to complete its task, the Government has declared its openness to any constructive contribution from the national political class and civilian society, as well as from our development partners. In that context, on 14 April it opened consultations with the European Union, in conformity with article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement of partnership linking that organization to the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States. At the outset of the consultations, the Government endorsed a number of commitments whose implementation is currently near completion and should ultimately lead to a better foundation of democratic culture and the consolidation of the rule of law. The Government intends to strive to bring the consultations to a successful conclusion, the ultimate objective of which is the resumption of cooperation between the European Union and Togo. The political zeal of the Togolese authorities — reflected in the implementation of an ongoing inclusive national dialogue; the adoption of a press and communications code; the drafting of an improved electoral code and a financing law for political parties; and the decision taken by the Head of State on 11 August to release more than 500 common-law prisoners — is a guarantee of the Government’s resolve to create favourable conditions for the citizens of Togo to enjoy their fundamental rights, and in particular their political and economic rights. We take this opportunity to launch an urgent appeal to all our development partners to assist the Government of Togo in the process of strengthening and consolidating democracy and the rule of law. I cannot conclude without returning to the recurrent issue of United Nations reform. The Government of Togo wishes to propose that bold decisions be taken at this session to accelerate the process of reform of the system, and of the Security Council in particular, so that the issue can be more than a mirage. Indeed, the numerous challenges confronting 13 today’s world require a strengthened and more effective Security Council, which only a more representative and more democratic membership can ensure. In that respect, Africa deserves an appropriate place within that vital United Nations body. The Security Council must therefore be enlarged in both the permanent and non-permanent memberships so as to meet the democratic requirements of our times and to allow various groups of countries to provide their valuable assistance in achieving the objectives of our Organization, which include peace and security, working for freedom and democracy, guaranteeing global prosperity through free and equitable international trade, preserving a healthy environment and creating stable international relations based on dialogue. If we truly seek to achieve all this, we must give our common Organization the resources commensurate with doing so. May this session serve to strengthen cooperation among our States and peoples and assist us in consolidating peace and in achieving security and lasting development for all.