Chad

The Government and the people of Chad were profoundly shocked and saddened by the horrendous attacks on the United States of America that took place on 11 September 2001 in New York and Washington. I would like to take this opportunity to convey once again the sincere condolences of the Government of Chad to the leaders of that friendly country and to the families of the innocent victims. Those extremely barbaric attacks demonstrate how urgently necessary it is for the international community to move beyond the intentions expressed in the various agreements on terrorism and agree on the implementation of a genuine common plan of action to eradicate terrorism totally and to free our world from the suffering to which it is subjected as a result of extremism and fanaticism in all their forms. We must work together to preserve peace and understanding among peoples for the sake of mankind’s future and all those who comprise it — Jews, Muslims, Christians and others. While vigorously stressing that nothing can justify terrorism, the Republic of Chad would nonetheless like to share with the Assembly some thoughts prompted by the serious situation facing the world. Terrorist bases are found on every continent, and the struggle against this scourge involves every religious community. It is for this reason that we must denounce the equation that is being made between terrorism and a given religion. It is unacceptable for certain media to perpetuate that equation in world opinion, thereby inciting hatred and exclusion. The war against terrorism must therefore be global and multidimensional in nature. It must be the subject of genuine cooperation among all peace- and justice- loving States, and it must take place within the most appropriate international framework, namely, the United Nations. This worldwide struggle need not necessarily be military to be effective. It must go hand in hand with economic measures to end the poverty and injustice evident in our world. We must also act on the political and diplomatic level to settle crisis situations and to identify, try and punish those truly guilty of terrorist acts and their accomplices. Not long after the holding of the Millennium Summit and the Durban Conference against racism, and just before the high-level International Conference on Financing for Development, scheduled for 2002, we must unfortunately once again deplore the injustice, poverty and suffering endured by the overwhelming majority of the world’s peoples. In the course of our many international meetings, we have constantly said that the world needs more solidarity and that the wealthier countries must expand their financial efforts to contribute to the economic and social development of the neediest peoples. In saying that we are not asking for charity, but rather for realizing the legitimate right of those peoples to development. Alas, the real state of affairs falls far short of our hopes. 17 Poverty continues to grow in the world, and the future of the world’s poor is undermined by the plight of their children. Hundreds of millions of those children work in inhuman conditions in order to survive. They are left to their miserable fate in the streets, subject to violence, drugs and prostitution, whose corollary is AIDS. The situation is all the more appalling given that, despite promises to reduce or cancel the debt of poor countries, that debt continues to grow, its burden hampering economic growth. At the same time, some financial speculators can make tens of billions of dollars in a single financial market transaction — 10, or even 20, times the amount of recent years’ generous debt write-offs. How can our world continue to profess respect for human rights while allowing those in the North and South who benefit from the global system that generates such poverty and all the injustices exacerbated by globalization? What meaning do human rights have for people who do not even have access to the basic right to feed themselves? Can we therefore continue to dream of a better world knowing that the rich countries are continuing to cut back their development assistance? It is therefore inconceivable to us to hope to fight terrorism without the genuine solidarity of the rich countries with the neediest. Yes, in this troubled world in which the international community is threatened by major conflict, it would not be out of place to reaffirm our desire to see the emergence of genuine solidarity among peoples and nations in the form of sound and mutually advantageous cooperation in order to redress these injustices, which are, I stress, the main breeding grounds of terrorism. In order to address all the challenges posed by this difficult world, my country, Chad, knows that it must rely above all on its own capacities if it is to occupy its rightful place in international life and to make its modest contribution to the building of a better world. That is the underlying message of the unrelenting struggle waged by President Idriss Deby since 1 December 1990 to establish a pluralistic democracy in Chad, the guarantee of sustainable development in peace and stability. I wish to state today that my country recently reached a decisive stage in the consolidation of that pluralistic democracy through the presidential election of 20 May. That election, the second of its kind in the history of Chad, involved seven competing candidates and resulted in the election of Mr. Idriss Deby, the outgoing President, to a second five-year term. It took place in total transparency, as attested by national and international observers. Moreover, the Chadian Government attaches great importance to the legislative elections to be held in 2002, with the assistance of the international community. On the economic level, since 1995 Chad has followed a recovery strategy intended to lay the basis for sustainable economic and social development. Thorough reforms have been undertaken to improve and stabilize public finance, to correct external imbalances and to launch lasting growth. These actions require an effective anti-poverty policy, with respect to which Chad, through me, expresses its gratitude to the international community for its support, in particular at the fourth Geneva round table of 1998 on the development of Chad and at the sectoral meeting and the mid-term review meeting of 2000. Furthermore, following lengthy and heated discussion, the oil project has been finalized and is operating well. Chad is now vesting great hope in its effects and looks forward to using its resources to finance its poverty reduction strategy. In that regard, I would recall that, for the first time in the history of petroleum exploitation, legislation has been enacted to guarantee transparency in revenue management and to reserve a portion of the profit for local communities in the producing region and their future generations. Along with these domestic efforts, Chad will continue to work tirelessly for subregional and regional integration in Africa. The challenges facing the modern world require all nations to pool their means and efforts in great economic, monetary and cultural groupings. Even if the international situation should become favourable and the industrialized countries should choose to heed the voice of Africa, we believe that it is up to Africans ourselves, first and foremost, to build our continent. The launching in July 2001 in Lusaka of the process of establishing the organs of the African Union opened encouraging prospects for the achievement of the legitimate aspirations of the African peoples to peace, security and well-being in a much fairer world. The African peoples are convinced that only a genuine union will allow Africa to address its challenges and to 18 extricate itself from the economic stagnation and violence that plague it. Civil war and violence of all sorts, generated by injustice and poverty, are found throughout the world and on every continent. Their proliferation and extent are deeply worrisome, especially since they are fuelled and perpetuated by certain countries that place their own interests above those of the peace and stability of nations. What can we say about the hesitation of certain countries to participate actively or morally in prevention, management, settlement or peacekeeping operations? In our opinion, it is equally unthinkable to seek to combat terrorism while allowing crises that feed it to persist. With respect to such crises, allow me to refer to certain conflicts situations that are of particular concern to my country, Chad. Central Africa, which in recent years has become a theatre of political and tribal tensions, has ultimately become aware of its situation in the international landscape. It has therefore resolutely committed itself on the path to ensuring the creation of improved security conditions. In that regard, we must commend the efforts of the international mediators and those statesmen who have personally and effectively contributed to defusing a number of hotbeds of tension in that part of the continent. However, while we may welcome the restoration of peace in Congo Brazzaville, the same is not yet true in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where, regrettably, war continues to claim innocent victims. We hope that the inter-Congolese dialogue begun in Addis Ababa will result in a peaceful settlement to that fratricidal conflict, which has gone on too long. We also certainly welcome the stabilization of the situation in the Central African Republic, but recent events have revealed the precariousness of the situation. In this regard, Chad reaffirms through me that it will tolerate no destabilization of that fraternal country through its borders and will always do its utmost to promote understanding and concord among its Central African brothers. It also calls on the international community to assist that neighbouring country in the restoration of lasting peace. In Burundi, although armed confrontations continue to occur, we welcome the establishment of a union Government and hail the tireless work done by President Nelson Mandela as facilitator to ensure that the current negotiation process leads to national peace and concord in the country. As to Angola, the Government of the Republic of Chad reaffirms its support for the legitimate Government in its efforts to achieve peace and security. In West Africa, the agreement on voluntary disarmament signed under the auspices of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone has yielded tangible results and is now the only proper course for resolving the crisis in that country. We encourage the Economic Community of West African States to continue to work to restore lasting pace to that subregion. As to the Horn of Africa, Chad encourages any initiative on the part of the belligerent parties to bring about national reconciliation in Somalia on the basis of the Arta agreements. Likewise, the Chadian Government welcomes the observance of the ceasefire between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and exhorts these two fraternal countries to build peace along their common border. As to the embargo on Libya, Chad unreservedly supports its immediate lifting, without conditions and in full, because it unjustly penalizes the fraternal Libyan people. In the Middle East, it is time for the tragedy of the Palestinian people, which has lasted for more than half a century, to be brought to a peaceful, fair and lasting conclusion. It is more urgent and necessary than ever for pressure of all kinds to be brought to bear on the State of Israel to induce it to fulfil the terms of the resolutions adopted by the Security Council on the Palestinian question, in particular resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). The credibility of the international community depends on the ability of the Palestinians to enjoy all their rights, including the right to an independent and sovereign State. Turning to another injustice in the world, namely, the inhuman embargo imposed on Iraq, my Government calls for its immediate and unconditional lifting, because it no longer has any justification. As to the injustice committed by our Organization vis-à-vis the Republic of China on Taiwan, the time has come to set things right, in order to allow that country, whose human, economic and political weight is unquestioned, to occupy its legitimate place in the family of nations, which is to say in the United Nations, following its recent admission to the World Trade Organization, which we welcome. 19 On this solemn occasion, we cannot fail to refer to another undemocratic and unjust feature of the structures of our Organization. In this regard, I would like to recall in the strongest terms that Chad still adheres to the common African position on the restructuring of the United Nations, including the enlargement and reform of the Security Council, so as to ensure fair representation for all regions of the world. Before I conclude, allow me to extend to you, Sir, the warm congratulations of the Chadian delegation on your well-deserved election to lead the fifty-sixth regular session of the General Assembly. I am convinced that your personal and professional qualities will guarantee the successful conduct of our work. Allow me also to convey the sincere thanks of my delegation to your predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri, for the tact and wisdom with which he conducted the work of the previous session. I wish lastly to convey the Republic of Chad’s sincere congratulations to our brother Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of this Organization, on the renewed trust that the international community has just placed in him for a second term, and also on the Nobel Peace Prize that was awarded to him and to the United Nations. The dedication of the Secretary-General to the cause of peace, progress and development has been thoroughly demonstrated. We therefore wish to assure him of the support and encouragement of the Government of the Republic of Chad throughout his new term in office.