Mali

At the outset, I would like to express our condolences to the Governments of the United States and the Dominican 32 Republic, and to the families of the victims of this morning’s tragic plane crash. I express my warmest congratulations to Mr. Han Seung-soo on his election as President of the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly. I wish to assure him of my delegation’s complete support in the exercise of his difficult and lofty mission. I am convinced that, with his experience and talents as a seasoned diplomat, he will guide our discussions to success. To his predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri, I would like to express my sincerest and warmest congratulations on the competence, dedication, effectiveness and authority that he displayed throughout his term of office, which was so rich in important events for the life of our Organization. May I also take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Kofi Annan on his re-election to the post of Secretary-General of our Organization, and I would like once again to express to him Mali’s deepest appreciation for his steadfast efforts and his determination in the quest for a better world in the face of the many and complex challenges of the world of today. The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations and to Mr. Annan reflects the work accomplished by the Secretary-General over the past five years and is a source of legitimate pride to me as an African. Our fifty-sixth session is of particular importance, being held as it is in the aftermath of the brutal terrorist attacks that plunged the American nation into mourning on 11 September 2001. The Government of Mali has firmly condemned these heinous acts and expressed its solidarity with the American people and its support for the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Mali has already taken the measures necessary for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001), inter alia, through the establishment of an inter-ministerial committee in charge of implementing and coordinating international measures. We have also undertaken to ratify various conventions against terrorism in order to complete the vital legal arsenal that we need to make a complete contribution to the collective international efforts under the auspices of the United Nations, and also to regional actions. In this respect, in addition to the Organization of the Islamic Conference Convention on Combating International Terrorism, we appeal for the entry into force of the important Organization of African Unity Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism, adopted at Algiers in July 1999. We also call for an effective partnership with Africa to strengthen its capacity to combat terrorism. The terrorist acts of 11 September, incompatible with the lofty and tolerant message of Islam, have clearly shown the vulnerability of our current international system and have emphasized the need for increased international cooperation in order to deal with this situation. This is why the tragic events of 11 September 2001 call for the action now being taken against terrorism, but they also mean that we must in the medium and long term reflect on the further ways of combating terrorism that we must devise. But above all, these events mean that we must endeavour vigorously to implement the Millennium Declaration programme of action in order to ensure prosperity for the largest possible number of people. In this context, Mali advocates integrated, sustained global action in which the United Nations should play the primary role. While reiterating Africa’s appeal for the holding of an international conference on terrorism, under the auspices of the United Nations, Mali intends to support the initiatives of the Secretary- General and of his Special Representative, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, whom we congratulate on his appointment. Deeply concerned by the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, we call for increased and coordinated emergency humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people. The maintenance of peace and security requires strict control of weapons. Mali will actively and resolutely continue to support international and regional efforts in the field of disarmament and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. The question of small arms, as we see it, is another source of concern. In fact, small arms contribute to the breakdown of the social balance, fuel conflicts and destabilize States, thus jeopardizing all development efforts. Mali, which hosted the African preparatory conference, will work towards the success of a follow- up to the conclusions of the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects and towards the full implementation of the Programme of Action resulting from that important Conference. The West African experience in this respect constitutes an important initiative to be supported through the declaration of an Economic 33 Community of West African States (ECOWAS) moratorium on the importation, exportation and manufacture of small arms and light weapons and the Programme for Coordination and Assistance for Security and Development in Africa. The West African subregion remains characterized by the persistence of conflict, a high level of poverty, illicit trade in weapons and the proliferation of armed bands. In order to deal with these conflicts, ECOWAS has given priority to a regional approach for the prevention and management of conflicts in order to deal with the root causes of conflict and its humanitarian consequences. The ECOWAS protocol on the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security, adopted in 1999, is a major tool for regional prevention and management of conflicts. Its innovations include its Mediation and Security Council, its early warning system and the fact that it is rooted in the consolidation and protection of democracy and human rights. Mali welcomes and encourages the positive developments in the peace process in Sierra Leone that have taken place since the second meeting of the Committee of Six of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council with the United Nations, the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) on 2 May 2001 in Abuja, Nigeria. Progress, although still fragile, has been made in the Mano River Union region. As evidence of this we can cite the ministerial meetings among the three countries, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. ECOWAS intends to continue its efforts to help make the Mano River Union a pillar of stability and development. The recent summit of heads of State and Government of ECOWAS on a global and comprehensive approach to security questions stresses once again the will of West Africa to shoulder its responsibilities, helped by its various partners. The implementation of these initiatives and West African approaches to conflict prevention and management will require assistance from the international community, in particular the United Nations. In this respect, it is gratifying to note that a genuine partnership has been established between the United Nations and ECOWAS. We firmly encourage the establishment of the United Nations Office for West Africa, as recommended by the inter-institutional mission that visited the region from 6 to 27 March 2001. The special session of the General Assembly on children will be an opportunity to build a progressive and universalist vision in order to promote a “world worthy of children”, with the participation of all, within the framework of a world movement for children. ECOWAS, which has prepared for that gathering, is continuing its efforts to implement the Accra plan of action on the situation of children in conflict with the opening of a special office entrusted with this question, the Optional Protocol that will soon be adopted on the sale of children and the regional initiative on joint vaccination days. In the near future, a decade for the culture of children’s rights will be examined. The creation of the International Criminal Court will not only make it possible to bring to trial the perpetrators of the gravest crimes against the dignity of the human person, but will also be an instrument of deterrence, which can thus contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security. In this regard, I recall that Mali has already ratified the Rome Statute, thus expressing its support for the struggle against impunity and for the full respect of human dignity. We appeal to others to help make the court a reality as early as next year. In the field of human security, we must provide an appropriate response — a global and urgent response — to the scourge of HIV/AIDS following the special session of June 2001, while at the same time increasing our potential to fight malaria. Our responsibility is great indeed with regard to the persistence of inequalities and the increase in poverty. The peoples of the world aspire to education, employment, health and nutritional self-sufficiency — in other words, they hope to attain more dignified and humane living conditions. In this context, Africa, which intends to make its union a reality, wants to become master of its own destiny. It needs solidarity to help it strengthen its capacities and mobilize its own development resources. We will work hard toward the implementation of the Programme of Action of the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, held in Brussels in May 2001. As was stated by President Konare, that Conference, by the very fact that it was being convened, signalled progress 34 “... and it is also a test of the international community following the Millennium Declaration. There will be success only if we see a will to move to concrete action, if we envisage stronger and bolder measures to finance development, to increase the effectiveness of foreign aid and to resolve the problems that are hampering the sustainable development of the least developed countries.” The International Conference on Financing for Development, which will be held in Monterrey in March 2002, should be an important event and an interface for dialogue to find new means of contributing to the financing of development and to reaffirm the political will for concrete development objectives. This is why Mali believes that the Conference will have to lead to the adoption of a concise political declaration — a declaration with precise strategic objectives reflecting the collective will to act to resolve the problem of financing development and to lay the foundations for a real world partnership. Africa is pleased that the high-level debate of the 2001 substantive session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which was held in Geneva in July, had as its theme “The role of the United Nations system in supporting the efforts of African countries to achieve sustainable development”, and awaits the realization of the measures envisaged there. This role must not be merely a declared one — it must lead to concrete results. This is why we hope that the Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which is now under way in Doha, Qatar, will promote new progress and decisive initiatives to make it possible for Africa to develop its assets. The entry into force of the African Union, whose constituent act was signed in Lomé on 12 July 2000, reflects the commitment of African leaders to the integration of our continent. In fact, the establishment of the African Union and the launching of the New Partnership for African Development, aimed at eliminating poverty through sustainable development, can help support the dynamics of regional integration. In this respect, we appeal to the international community to assist this African initiative, which is so promising for the future of the peoples of our continent. Our Organization is, more than ever before, called to act to promote international peace and security and to achieve development for all. Here in the United Nations, we must act as full-fledged Member States, shapers of our shared future. We say this in order to recall our shared responsibility to bring about peace in the Middle East, the Balkans and the Great Lakes region — to mention just these cases — and to do justice to human nature. We share responsibility to manifest more solidarity and to provide assistance to resolve the many humanitarian crises that exist. In the Middle East, the situation remains of concern because of the persistence of violence in the occupied Palestinian territories. Mali firmly condemns the violence that has been suffered by the Palestinian people, and we believe that Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), the principle of land for peace and the other relevant resolutions of the United Nations must serve as a basis for negotiations and the establishment of a just, global and lasting peace. We call for the resumption of these negotiations and reaffirm our unfailing attachment to the legitimate rights of the fraternal Palestinian people, including the right to the establishment of an independent State. My delegation also expresses its hope that there will be a definitive lifting of sanctions against the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. On the Korean peninsula, the region from which you come, my delegation hopes that the process of reconciliation now under way will experience further progress, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 55/11, thanks to autonomous and strengthened inter-Korean dialogue, and especially the holding of a second summit in the near future. In this spirit, my country will continue its action for the reconciliation and peaceful reunification of the two Koreas. Adapting the United Nations to the demands of our world is an urgent need. Mali remains convinced of the vital necessity of democratizing the United Nations and restructuring its main organs, making them more representative and credible. A democratization of the Security Council, whose structure no longer corresponds to the realities of the world, will help reflect the shared will to make that organ more effective, representative and legitimate. Along these lines, we reiterate the demands of Africa for an equitable allocation of the two categories of seats, in 35 accordance with the Harare Declaration and the decisions adopted by the heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity. In conclusion, the peoples of the United Nations are watching us as we carry out the promises contained in the Millennium Declaration. We must build a new world — a world that reflects our intelligence, a world of justice, a world that embodies the essential values of all humanity.