When the nations of the world come together in the
General Assembly to consider the major issues facing
humankind, it is an honour and a privilege to take the
floor and to express the viewpoint of one’s country.
Animated by those twin sentiments, on behalf of the
Congolese people I address the Assembly and through
it the community of nations as a whole.
At the outset, I wish to express my most sincere
congratulations to Mr. John Ashe on his election as
President of the General Assembly at the sixty-eighth
session. I also congratulate the members of his Bureau.
I further wish to hail his predecessor, Mr. Vuk Jeremi.,
for the outststanding way in which he fulfilled his term
as President. I would also like to pay well-deserved
tribute to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for all his
initiatives for peace and security throughout the world
and for his personal involvement in seeking ways
and means to bring peace and stability to the eastern
part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the
entire Great Lakes region. His efforts are all the more
commendable given the fact that the enemies of peace
are always on the lookout, ready to strike anyone,
anytime and anywhere, as we have unfortunately been
recently reminded by the terrorist attack that brought
such tragedy to the Republic of Kenya. On behalf of
the Congolese Government and people and on my own
behalf, I condemn that despicable act. We express our
condolences and solidarity with the brotherly people
and leaders of Kenya.
We welcome the President’s choice of theme for this
general debate, namely, “The post-2015 development
agenda: setting the stage”. He mentioned the equally
relevant need to draw lessons from the implementation
of the Millennium Development Goals, consider new and
emerging development challenges, create measurable
indicators, establish new types of partnership and
better integrate the economic, social and environmental
aspects of sustainable development. The importance of
the theme chosen and the relevance of the indicators
that accompany it are undeniable. Our thinking must
be even more rigorous, as we witness several troubling
elements in the international environment.
With respect to organizing for the post-2015
period, the international community is increasingly
witnessing non-compliance on the part of certain
Members with the basic principles of international
relations, persistent selfishness on the part of States and
convulsions in the global economy. The consequences
are manifold. They range from threats to peace to
deadly conflicts and from globalization driven mainly
by the unbridled pursuit of profit to the aggravation
of poverty. That comes in addition to the food crisis,
famines, diseases — including endemic diseases that
had once disappeared and are now reappearing — and
environmental destruction, which is the main cause of
climate change and its deplorable effects.
To remedy the situation, the General Assembly
has established several bodies, and I welcome their
creation: the Open Working Group on Sustainable
Development Goals, the Intergovernmental Committee
of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing
and the high-level political forum to promote the
implementation of recommendations and decisions on
sustainable development. My hope is that that process
will be consistent with the ongoing transformation
of the Economic and Social Council and, beyond
that, of the entire United Nations system, in order to
better integrate the three dimensions of sustainable
development, namely, the economic, social and
environmental dimensions, in the new post-2015
agenda.
The new programme that we are called upon to
create must be universal, ambitious and able to meet the
huge challenges facing humankind. It must bring about
positive change, based on the principle of common
but differentiated responsibilities. In that respect, it is
important to utilize the contribution of women, youth
and civil society in both the design and the execution
of the agenda. We should also draw lessons from the
implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.
With regard to climate change as an important issue
to resolve in the post-2015 period, allow me to recall
that, under the final document of the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development (resolution
66/288), States pledged to abandon unsustainable long-
term patterns of consumption and adopt sustainable
ways of managing natural resources as the basis for
economic and social development and the very future
of humankind. Climate change is a threat to humankind
and fundamental human rights, particularly for
vulnerable populations and especially those from the
African continent and island countries. Seeking to limit
its impact is, for each of our countries, a responsibility
that we must shoulder as a duty towards our people, a
service to the human race and an act of international
solidarity.
Recognizing that fact, the Democratic Republic
of Congo, a country of exceptional biodiversity, has
always sought to manage its natural resources with a
view to the future. The management policy for of our
forest ecosystems is aimed at that. The Grand Inga
project has also been designed along those lines. We
should emphasize, in fact, that that project should
eventually enable us to produce enough electricity to
meet the energy needs of nearly half of Africa. It will
also be clean and renewable energy, consistent with the
requirements of sustainable development.
Today we must begin to set the stage for the post-
2015 period. In that context, I express the hope that
proposals will be made during this session to translate
into reality our common desire to promote the economic,
social and environmental dimensions of sustainable
development. Such proposals should cover our local,
national and regional development programmes. They
should also encourage bold international cooperation
and reflect the will of each of our States to contribute
to international peace and security.
Without peace, no progress is possible. Without
the minimum conditions for the safety of persons and
property, all development is hypothetical. That is all the
more unacceptable since a breach of the peace is the
result of aggression. That is the sad recent history of
my country.
It is also important to remember other parallel
truths that are often overlooked or hidden. Because we
acted in solidarity by welcoming Rwandan refugees to
our territory, the Congolese population in the eastern
part of the country has been deprived of peace — a
fundamental right of all persons — and they continue
to count their dead. The most recent episode of the
unending tragedy occurred when bombs crushed the
women and children of Goma last July. It was truly a
tragedy unequalled in history and which cannot leave
any heart untouched. It is time to ask ourselves what will
remain of international humanitarian law if welcoming
refugees in distress, which is a humanitarian act par
excellence, becomes sufficient reason to justify the
eruption of war.
The recent bombing of Goma was all the
more reprehensible as it was perpetrated while the
Government of the Democratic Republic of the
Congo was in the process of implementing the Peace,
Security and Cooperation Framework of Addis Ababa,
including talks with the armed group responsible for
the bombings. Nevertheless, I wish to reaffirm my
country’s determination to comply with all of the
commitments contained in the Framework agreement.
From that perspective, my Government has already
undertaken the following definitive actions: the
establishment of the National Follow-up Mechanism to
implement the commitments of the Democratic Republic
of the Congo; the acceleration of security sector
reform, especially the army, police and justice sectors;
further progress in decentralization, by adopting the
necessary implementation laws; the reform of public
finance management; and the restructuring of the
Independent National Election Commission. This last
was immediately implemented in order to prioritize the
organization of local, municipal, provincial, senatorial
and provincial governor elections. A national dialogue
has been organized, starting on 7 September, with the
goal of seeking national cohesion to better respond to
all of the challenges facing the country.
Beyond those efforts on the part of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, the dawn of sustainable peace
in the region depends on two main conditions — ending
impunity in all its aspects, and the diligent execution
of their commitments by the other signatories of the
Framework agreement. Therefore, my country again
urgently appeals to the Organization to deal with all
Member States with equal rigour and to require that
each one strictly respect the principles of the Charter of
the United Nations. It is clear that denouncing violations
of those principles is a good thing, but punishing those
who violate the principles is preferable by far, especially
when those violations are ongoing and recurrent.
I cannot conclude my remarks without expressing
my thanks to the Southern African Development
Community, the International Conference on the Great
Lakes Region, the African Union and the European
Union for their essential role in maintaining peace in
our region. I also thank the United Nations, in particular
the members of the Security Council, and all of those
States that have, for many years, remained at our side
in order to ensure peace in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo. We are all the more thankful to them, as
they have participated in one of the breakthroughs of
the post-2015 development agenda aimed at ensuring a
better world for all.
We must be convinced that beyond our differences
lies a common future. Our diversity must be seen as
the essential source of wealth that it is. It is high time
that we, the international community, find the ways
and means to enable millions of people to not simply
live, but to live a life of dignity in a world where peace,
security and justice are a reality for all.