Guinea

I should like to associate my country and delegation with the expressions of sympathy for the great suffering endured by the city of New York following the crash of the American Airlines plane yesterday. To the Government of the United States, our host city and all the bereaved families, I address the condolences of the Government and people of Guinea. A year ago in this Hall, the great leaders of the world, in a unanimous surge, committed themselves to thinking together about the role of this Organization, the United Nations, in the twenty-first century, and about ways of achieving its objectives fully, with a view to constructing together a world of peace, progress and solidarity. The historic Declaration which emerged from the Millennium Summit emphasized the need to open a new era of international relations. It was when the international community was preparing to review the implementation of the recommendations and decisions of that Summit that unprecedented terrorist acts cast a shadow over our hopes. These acts, to which the United States fell victim on 11 September 2001, profoundly shocked the conscience of all peoples. The barbarity and violence of these terrorist attacks, and also the threat of bioterrorism, are serious attacks on international peace and security. My delegation would like once again to express its sympathy to the American people, especially the families of the many victims. The Republic of Guinea condemns those intolerable acts and believes that it should be the concern of all States to combat and eradicate terrorism. We firmly support any measures aimed at eliminating the bases of international terrorism and fully associate ourselves with the international community in its global response to that scourge. The fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly is thus taking place within the context of a new and alarming situation for international peace and security. My delegation is therefore very pleased to see you, Sir, presiding over the Assembly during this session. We are convinced that your wealth of experience, as well as your great diplomatic skill, will ensure the success of our discussions. I would like to assure you of the cooperation and support of the delegation of Guinea. I should also like to thank your predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri, for the excellent work accomplished under his presidency. 17 My delegation would like once again to convey the warm congratulations of General Lansana Conté, President of the Republic of Guinea, to our brother, Kofi Annan, on his well-deserved re-election as the head of our Organization. The unanimous tribute that has been paid to him brings honour to the whole of the African continent and bears witness to his great qualities and his commitment to achieving the objectives of the United Nations. The Nobel Peace Prize recently awarded jointly to him and to the Organization is eloquent testimony to that commitment and an encouragement to continue to act in the service of peace and understanding among peoples. The award of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations is, without doubt, a recognition of its role in the implementation of its objectives — the maintenance of international peace and security, development and cooperation among nations. Increasingly, the Organization is proving to be the necessary crucible for dialogue among States. However, almost all Members earnestly desire the strengthening and improvement of the entire system. While reaffirming its support for the reform process initiated by the Secretary-General, my country, the Republic of Guinea, would like to emphasize the need to strengthen the principal organs of the Organization. We welcome the actions taken by your predecessor, Sir, to streamline the working methods of the General Assembly so as to give it fresh dynamism. We hope that that impetus will continue. My delegation would also like to reaffirm its support for restructuring the Security Council, in its membership as well as its working methods, so as to enable it to better protect the interests of all Member States. I should like to take this opportunity to express, on behalf of my Government, our gratitude to all States for the unanimous support that enabled Guinea to be elected a non-permanent member of the Security Council for 2002 and 2003. During its mandate, the Republic of Guinea will make every effort to contribute actively to the maintenance of peace and security in the world. Peace and security continue to be threatened in many parts of the world. In the Middle East, intolerance and intransigence have led to a dangerous escalation of violence, which, if not controlled in time, could cause the whole region to go up in flames. The Republic of Guinea would like to appeal to all the parties to exercise greater restraint so as to facilitate a resumption of the peace process. My country supports the full application of the recommendations of the Mitchell commission and the implementation of effective follow-up mechanisms. Dispatching international observers could contribute to ending the violence and returning peace to all the peoples there. However, the indifference of the international community and its failure to take action could, in the long term, prove to be prejudicial to security in the Middle East. My delegation condemns all acts of violence, which can lead only to a worsening of the situation. In the light of the serious events that have taken place in recent months, the international community must do all that it can to lead all parties to accept a ceasefire and to resume the peace process. Arms must give way to dialogue, which should lead to a just, equitable and lasting peace. The legitimate rights of the Palestinian people should be respected. Likewise, the existence and security of Israel must be guaranteed. One year ago, my country became the victim of aggression committed by rebel groups. That barbaric aggression caused great loss of life and material damage. My Government would like to express its full appreciation for the subsequent role played by the United Nations in adopting appropriate measures to create conditions conducive to the restoration of peace and stability in the subregion. My delegation would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the individuals and States that contributed to the adoption and implementation of those measures. One year later, the fact that a dialogue has been initiated by civil society in the three countries concerned — Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea — means that we have reached an important stage in the search for peace. The Republic of Guinea, which has always shown its determination to maintain and strengthen friendship, brotherhood and cooperation with all African countries in general and neighbouring countries in particular, would like to reaffirm to the Assembly its readiness to make the Mano River Union a model of economic integration, social cohesion and political stability. However, relaunching the activities of the Union will depend upon respect for the relevant provisions of the Non-aggression and Security Cooperation Treaty signed by the three countries and of the 15th Protocol to the Mano River Declaration, signed at Conakry on 8 18 May 2000. That is what is required for productive dialogue among the three countries. In the framework of the process of re-establishing confidence and dialogue among the countries members of the Mano River Union, meetings have been held at the ministerial level in Monrovia, Freetown and Conakry. Those meetings made it possible to discuss important problems relating to the activities of armed groups in the subregion, the situation of refugees, measures to rebuild confidence, peace and security, and the need to reactivate the various bodies of the Mano River Union. My Government welcomes the encouraging developments in Sierra Leone, particularly the programme for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR). The DDR programme that has been implemented will have to be consolidated if it is to lead to the true demobilization of all the Revolutionary United Front combatants and if the mistakes made in Liberia are to be avoided. In Liberia, the restoration of peace after 10 years of civil war has not, unfortunately, been accompanied by a true DDR programme or by post-conflict financial support. I would like to express regret with regard to the inadequate results of the Paris conference convened to deal with the problem of Sierra Leone, and to call on the international community to provide the necessary material and financial support to guarantee lasting peace in that country. My delegation bases its appeal on the relevant recommendations contained in the Brahimi report, which have been accepted by the principal organs of the Organization. The Republic of Guinea will continue to support the efforts of the United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States in restoring peace, security and national reconciliation in Sierra Leone. The question of refugees is still a matter of great concern for my Government. The enormous economic, social, environmental and security impact of the continued presence of hundreds of thousands of Sierra Leonean and Liberian refugees continues to impose a heavy burden on the economic and social life of my country. The situation of the refugees is a matter of great concern for the international community at a time when rebel attacks against my country are being carried out, as the countries hosting refugees are the main target of the aggressors. Following this aggression, the Government took appropriate measures, in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to relocate refugees in zones far from the borders in order to ensure their security. The Secretary-General’s report on strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance amply describes the context of humanitarian assistance and the difficulties to be overcome, particularly in complex emergency situations. We welcome the missions undertaken in the subregion of West Africa by various United Nations bodies, as well as the conclusions they reached. While the resolution of most issues identified by those missions requires an integrated approach, it is nonetheless true that problems peculiar to certain countries require particular attention. With respect to Guinea, a victim of the consequences of the conflicts in the subregion, it would be desirable for the international community to provide greater support. In that regard, I wish to reiterate the appeal to convene a conference on solidarity with Guinea in order to help it address the consequences of the prolonged presence of refugees on its territory. I would stress that this appeal of the Guinean Government is supported by the United Nations inter-agency mission that recently visited our country. Before I conclude on this topic, I wish to welcome the proposal to create a United Nations office for West Africa, in accordance with the recommendation of the Fall mission report. The creation of such a body would demonstrate the Organization’s clear interest in making the West African region a zone of peace, security and cooperation. My country will spare no effort in cooperating fully with that office. How can we discuss the conflicts in Africa without highlighting the links between the illegal exploitation of natural resources, the traffic in weapons and the perpetuation of conflict? The reports of the various groups of experts established by the Security Council are edifying on this subject. In Sierra Leone, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, these links have clearly shown the involvement, in addition to rebel groups, of certain authorities in that illegal activity. My Government therefore fully supports the actions of the Security Council to impose sanctions against any Government or group involved in the 19 pillaging of a country’s natural resources, in accordance with the relevant provisions of international law. The Republic of Guinea feels that if energetic deterrent measures are not taken against the perpetrators of such crimes, which are emerging as a new kind of threat to peace, the entire African continent may once again fall victim to conflict. With regard to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, my country calls for scrupulous respect for the Lusaka Agreement and for all pertinent Security Council resolutions, and in particular for the withdrawal of foreign troops, safeguarding the integrity of Congolese territory and the pursuit of the inter- Congolese dialogue. In the Western Sahara, my country welcomes the efforts of the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General. We are following with great interest the new initiatives under way to find an acceptable solution to the crisis. The phenomenon of globalization, characteristic of international life today, calls for greater attention from our States. My delegation is aware of the necessary interdependence of nations and wishes once again to stress that there can be no shared destiny without a minimum of justice and solidarity in international relations. We must work together to make international economic relations more human and to eradicate poverty. There is no need here to point out that poverty, destitution and illiteracy, which are unfortunately the lot of a large majority of nations, provide fertile ground for the propagation of the extremism and fanaticism that, regrettably, underlie terrorist tendencies throughout the world. The eradication of poverty should be the objective of all countries in strengthening the bases of lasting peace and security in the world. Allow me to reiterate the appeal to the rich countries to listen more closely to the poorer nations and to support them in their development efforts. In this respect, I renew the appeal for the adoption of a better approach to the question of the debt of African countries, for appropriate payment for raw materials and for an increase in official development assistance. On another level, the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO) sought to institute an equitable multilateral trade system with special reference to the particular situation of the least developed countries. It is regrettable to note today, however, that the least developed countries are being increasingly marginalized in the globalization process and that their share of the world trade market is only 0.4 per cent. The Republic of Guinea hopes that this trend will be reversed and that decisions to that end will be taken at the fourth WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha. These decisions will have to address, inter alia, the issue of the implementation of WTO accords, the consolidation of special and differentiated treatment set forth in the various WTO agreements, consolidated market access for the products of the least developed countries to the markets of the developed countries, and access to essential drugs for the poorest populations of the world that are particularly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. I also welcome the People’s Republic of China’s accession to full membership of the WTO and reiterate the support of the Guinean Government for the position positing a single China. In addition, we would like to see the International Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in March in Mexico, become an opportunity for all parties to agree on solutions promoting sustainable development for all members of the international community, in particular the developing countries and especially those on the African continent. In stressing the interdependence of environmental, economic and social factors, my delegation feels that the forthcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development, to be held in South Africa, should encourage the financing of projects. My delegation urges greater involvement by the international financial institutions in the search for ways to promote international cooperation for development. In the framework of operational activities for development, the funds and programmes of the United Nations must more than ever harmonize and stress their interaction on the African continent so as to allow it to rise above conflict and underdevelopment. I also take this opportunity to appeal to the international community to give special attention to the New African Initiative, adopted at the recent Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity, held in Lusaka in July, in order to help Africa to participate actively in the world economy and international political life and thus to 20 escape exclusion from a planet undergoing full-scale globalization. The United Nations was born last century. It continues to exist in this new century. This is a source of satisfaction to humanity. It is therefore essential that we return to the ideals on which the Organization was founded and that we give it the means to achieve a world of peace, progress, solidarity and concord. The achievement of such a world is possible if we want it. Let us work together to make the noble ideals contained in the Millennium Declaration a reality so that we may lay the foundations of a planetary village free of threats to the survival of mankind, such as the scourge of war, poverty, injustice and intolerance. I can solemnly assure the Assembly that my country will cooperate to achieve that end.