Gabon

I am honoured to take the floor on behalf of Gabon at the sixty-eighth session of the Assembly. I warmly congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President and I assure you of Gabon’s full support. I also pay tribute to the remarkable work of your predecessor, Mr. Vuk Jeremi., President of the General Assembly at its sixty- seventh session. I wish to reiterate our confidence in the cross-cutting work of the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, as well as the important organizational reforms undertaken. I would also like to congratulate Mr. Boubacar Keita of the Republic of Mali and His Excellency Mr. Hassan Rouhani of the Islamic Republic of Iran on their elections in their respective countries. This session has opened in a context marked by the terrorist attack against a shopping centre in Nairobi that killed many innocent people, including children. It was an intolerable act and I express, here in the Hall, my country’s strongest condemnation of the perpetrators. I also express my own and my country’s deepest condolences to the victims’ families and the people of Kenya. Gabon offers its support to the Government of Kenya at this trying time. As a target of terrorism, Africa should receive the international community’s full support and solidarity in its fight against the threat. Poverty fuels extremism throughout the world, and the fight against that scourge must remain at the heart of our policies. Our peoples, especially the youth, demand greater socioeconomic progress from us. I therefore welcome the opportunity at this session to set the stage for the post-2015 development agenda and consider the necessary action remaining to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs have provided a global solidarity pact for our countries’ socioeconomic development. I would like to emphasize here that Gabon has achieved noteworthy progress in poverty reduction, food security and education. We have significantly reduced infant and maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS prevalence and malaria mortality. We have strengthened women’s participation in the political and economic life of the country. Despite the efforts made by States, it must be recognized that some of the MDGs will not be achieved as expected, owing mainly to unfulfilled commitments and reduced funding. In that context, Gabon draws two main conclusions: the importance of strengthened governance and the need for further efforts in education and health aimed at more equitable and inclusive growth. As members begin to consider the post-2015 development agenda, I wish to note that Gabon seeks a post-2015 development agenda with a particular focus on Africa’s priorities; it would include the unrealized MDGs among the future sustainable development goals and would take into account specific issues such as energy, access to clean water and sustainable agriculture. My country also seeks an agenda based on predictable funding that combines public and private funding, innovative financing and global partnerships. That agenda should stimulate direct investment and increase our share of international trade. It must promote the transformation of our economies with a view to inclusive and sustainable growth. Such an approach has led me, as the Chairman of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community, to propose to my peers — who have accepted — the creation of a fund of $200 million for the training and employment of young people, entitled “Train My Generation”. Its goal is to enhance the role of youth in our countries’ development efforts. In that spirit, at the fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, I proposed to my peers that by 2020 Africa should be able to convert its raw materials prior to exportation. Using that approach, Gabon is already  processing 40 per cent of its timber locally, thereby doubling employment in that sector. In the context of the post-2015 development agenda, improved assessment and monitoring of countries’ progress will become important. To that end, Gabon has proposed a sustainable development index that will combine the human development index and countries’ ecological footprints. Our quest for sustainable development must also ensure a binding climate treaty. Our best global experts tirelessly draw attention to global warming. The very existence of some States is threatened. It is necessary to state that we remain prisoners of our own interests and climate sceptics. For its part, Gabon has assumed its responsibilities by implementing measures such as our land-use programme and our environmental programme. Can we advance towards a post-Kyoto agreement in 2015 through strong and courageous steps in the interest of future generations? That question should cause greater concern. That is why I fully support the Secretary-General’s initiative to convene a summit on climate change in 2014. In addition to climate, biodiversity is threatened by poaching and the illicit trade in protected species. Elephants and rhinoceros are especially threatened owing to the illegal trade in ivory and horns. That phenomenon has become both an ecologic and an economic challenge; it is a transnational crime that threatens States’ security. Along with the Federal Republic of Germany and other States, we have initiated a debate on that issue. On 26 September, here at the United Nations, an event will take place on the sidelines to mobilize support on the issue. We would be honoured by the presence and participation of members of the Assembly in the discussions. I also call on the United Nations to integrate that issue into its cooperation efforts with the African Union. In May in Marrakech, Morocco, in the presence of the African Development Bank, I proposed the creation of a trust fund aimed at strengthening capacity-building in Africa and other efforts. Clearly, sustainable development must be based on good governance, equality, access to justice and the protection of human rights and democracy. In Gabon we are striving, with all national stakeholders, to strengthen those areas. We are collecting biometrical data in order to enhance election transparency, thus strengthening democracy. Furthermore, our election to the current Human Rights Council is in line with our commitments, particularly in terms of promoting and protecting the rights of women and children. During this twentieth anniversary year of the Vienna Declaration, Gabon will promote economic, social and cultural rights and seek to combat racism, hatred and violence throughout the world. It is on the basis of those commitments that Gabon will present itself as a candidate for the presidency of the Human Rights Council in 2014. Africa is more hopeful for its future, but if that hope is to be realized throughout the continent Africa must be able to resolve crises preventing its development. Allow me to list some crisis situations. First of all, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon is still concerned by fighting in the eastern part of the country, where women and children are paying a high price. We welcome the increased efforts on the part of the United Nations to implement Security Council resolution 2098 (2013) and the commitments made by the parties to the Framework Agreement signed in Addis Ababa. All countries in the Great Lakes region must support efforts by the United Nations. We would also encourage the efforts on the part of the Government to ensure that elections are held soon. Gabon supports the transition in the Central African Republic, for which we have worked with members of the Economic Community of Central African States. We hope that the numerous stakeholders will adhere strictly to the transition framework. Nevertheless, we are still concerned by the humanitarian and security situation in the country, as well as by the renewed activities on the part of the Lord’s Resistence Army. We welcome the establishment of the International Support Mission to the Central African Republic by the African Union, which will take over from the Mission for the Consolidation of Peace in the Central African Republic. Gabon calls for a contingency plan to be put in place for the new mission. I would like to thank France, which is supporting efforts on the part of the subregion to ensure that peace returns to the Central African Republic. In Mali, at the height of the crisis, Gabon responded to a funding appeal by the African Union, which was launched to support its efforts in that country. We commend the positive political change that has taken place in Mali, proof of which can be seen in the presidential elections and the decision by the people of  Mali to elect President Keita. I would like to wish him all the best, and I call upon the international community to support the reconstruction of Mali. With regard to Western Sahara, Gabon welcomes efforts to bring about dialogue and negotiations by the Organization. My country would also like to reiterate that it supports the Moroccan initiative for Western Sahara, which we believe is a courageous and realistic proposal, one that could lead to a lasting settlement. We call upon the different players to reach a constructive and dynamic compromise, the results of which will benefit the unity of Africa. Africa should be able to respond to new threats to peace and security, including transnational crime, the illicit trafficking in small arms, and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, which the Atlantic coast is now experiencing. Following the Summit of Heads of State and Government on Maritime Safety and Security in the Gulf of Guinea, which was held in June in Yaounde, we adopted a strategy for combating those threats. Gabon is ready to make contributions towards the measures that were adopted at the Summit. I also welcome efforts by the Security Council to address the problem, particularly through resolution 2018 (2011). Africa cannot face up to the challenges of peace and security alone. Its efforts must be given better support, because instability in Africa will have repurcussions in other regions. I thank our partners, particularly France, Japan, Germany, the United States, the United Nations and the European Union, for their significant contributions towards such efforts. In the face of those new threats, it is important for the United Nations to continue to enhance its cooperation with regional African organizations. Furthermore, we must ensure the implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty, which was the first legally binding instrument on the matter adopted by the General Assembly, in May. In a world stricken by tensions and crises, we must continue to work towards ensuring that the Organization can better fulfil its mandate in the area of international peace and security, with a particular emphasis on conflict prevention, while supporting peaceful resolutions to emerging crises. The crisis in Syria has already claimed many lives, and we have seen an unacceptable escalation in the form of the use of chemical weapons. We strongly condemn the use of such weapons, and Gabon calls for the destruction of all stockpiles of chemical weapons throughout the world. With regard to the investigations being carried out by United Nations inspectors in Syria, we call upon all parties to fully cooperate. Furthermore, Gabon supports all diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving a political solution that will allow us to emerge from that crisis. In the event that its efforts are blocked, the Security Council must take measures. With regard to Palestine and the State of Israel, the possibility of resuming talks with the impetus of the United States must be welcomed. Gabon still supports the broadly accepted view of two viable States, Israel and Palestine, coexisting in mutual security and respect within recognized borders. With regard to the embargo on Cuba, Gabon reiterates its position in favour of lifting that ban because of its negative impact on the well-being of the Cuban population. It is our obligation to transform our international institutions in order to make them more equipped to meet current challenges. The reform of the Security Council, enhancing the role and authority of the General Assembly and the reform of the Economic and Social Council are all to be wished. It is essential for our common future that we assume that responsibility, in the spirit of the Charter. Assuring such a future calls upon our shared but differentiated responsibility and forces us to act for the well-being of humankind. On the basis of those convictions, Gabon will continue to be committed, within the Organization, to working for peace and development, which is also at the heart of the vision that I have proposed for the future of my own country, a future I wish for all countries.