The Central African Republic would like,
through me, to commend Mr. Joseph Deiss on his
election to the presidency of the General Assembly at
its sixty-fifth session. We congratulate him and offer
him our support in fulfilling his great responsibility.
His predecessor, Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki of the
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, also deserves our heartfelt
commendation and gratitude for the outstanding
contribution he made during his term of office in
revitalizing the General Assembly. Lastly, on behalf of
His Excellency Army General François Bozizé,
President and Head of State of our country, allow me to
convey our sincere congratulations to Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon, who has been tireless in
carrying out his extremely important role to promote
the ideals of the Organization.
The sixty-fifth session is taking place at a time
when the world faces many challenges. In addition to
the armed conflicts that affect almost every continent,
there are also the food, energy and financial crises,
which have made the lives of the most vulnerable
people increasingly precarious. There are also
challenges when it comes to respect for human rights,
the rule of law and good governance, which are the
foundations of lasting peace and security and a healthy
environment. Today, we are aware that systematic
violations of human rights and the glaring absence of
the rule of law are often the root causes of conflicts
and other social crises. States and non-State actors
confront each other. Warlords, terrorists and criminal
gangs dictate their own rules. Civilians, rather than
soldiers, become the first targets. Security policy can
no longer be confined to the traditional framework of
the State; it must be focused first and foremost on the
security of individuals.
As the President rightly said in his opening
speech to this session of the General Assembly by way
of referring to the special theme for the sixty-fifth
session, “we must reinstate the United Nations and the
General Assembly at the centre of global governance.
The challenges we face today have acquired a global
dimension and require global solutions.” (A/65/PV.1)
The Central African Republic continues to
believe that preventing and peacefully resolving
conflicts are the best way to maintain international
peace and security. Many other challenges also require
the attention of the international community. We
should provide responses tailored to those challenges
in order that together we can build a better world,
starting with the issue of climate change.
Today more than ever before, the survival of the
planet is threatened by changes to the climate that have
a serious impact on living conditions in developing
countries — owing mainly to desertification, the silting
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up of rivers, ecosystem deterioration, shortened winters
and floods. Faced with that danger, it is not a matter of
raising questions about respective responsibilities; we
must rather, first and foremost, put in place suitable
emergency measures to confront the challenge.
In that connection, the outcomes of the Bali
Conference are as relevant as ever and they should be
implemented. Although, unfortunately, the Copenhagen
summit was the scene of selfishness and inconsistency
on the part of States vis-à-vis international cooperation
and climate policy, we hope that the upcoming meeting
at Cancún, Mexico, will find appropriate answers to
those worrying issues.
The HIV/AIDS and malaria pandemics are
another challenge to which we must give particular
attention, as they pose a serious threat to the survival
of humankind, in particular on the African continent.
With regard to HIV/AIDS, we must truly redouble our
efforts and determination to implement the 2001
Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the
outcomes of the high-level meetings on AIDS. Child
and maternal mortality rates in Africa, whose increase
is yet another cause for concern, should also enjoy the
same attention as the other issues. All of those
meetings have emphasized the gravity of the situation,
underscoring the importance of acting and the need to
mobilize resources accordingly to fight those health
threats.
Achieving Millennium Development Goal 1 on
time — namely, reducing by half the number of people
who suffer from hunger by 2015 — compels us to put
in place a new approach and policy towards
international cooperation that is based on support for
agriculture, rather than on providing food assistance,
which should only be provided in exceptional
circumstances, and then in a timely manner.
Developing agriculture in Africa so that it
provides for lasting food security also necessarily
entails controlling water, the availability of equipment,
access to raw materials for producers and proper
organization of the means of producing, storing,
transforming and marketing agricultural products. The
Central African Republic, a country endowed with
abundant natural resources, would easily be able to
take its place as an agricultural country, were it not for
the handicaps it faces owing to its landlocked status
and the scarcity of means at its disposal.
Agriculture in my country is essentially a
subsistence affair that performs poorly despite the
country’s enormous potential. That includes 15 million
arable hectares, of which only 600,000 are cultivated
annually, as well as 16 million hectares of range land
for a herd of 2 million animals. We also have at our
disposal a vast network of rivers and streams, as well
as abundant rainfall amounting to 1,200 to 1,800
millimetres per year. Agriculture employs more than 75
per cent of working people in our country, contributing
about 53 per cent of our gross domestic product.
In the Central African Republic, about 72 per cent
of the poor and hungry live in rural areas, where
agriculture plays a crucial role, feeding communities
but providing employment that offers only meagre
incomes. Nevertheless, in spite of the enormity of the
need and the growing food insecurity, assistance to
agriculture continues to decrease, having dropped
significantly in the past 20 years.
The Central African Republic has maintained the
strengthening of human capital as one of its priorities
under the fourth pillar of its national poverty-reduction
strategy. Under that pillar, education, health and
employment are considered priority sectors, in line
with the Millennium Development Goals. Assessments
of the programmes that have been launched seem to
reveal shortcomings in the results. For instance, adult
literacy rates are poor, at 57 per cent, while the overall
primary school attendance rate is also low, at 55 per
cent.
The Central African Republic is among the
countries of the world most affected by the HIV/AIDS
pandemic, even though we are continuing efforts to
bring its prevalence under control.
Given those outcomes, it is clear that, if our
country is to pursue the implementation of the
priorities of our development plan, we need significant
support from our development partners.
With regard to nuclear disarmament, the
proliferation crisis we are experiencing constitutes the
greatest threat to international peace and security
today. Nuclear disarmament and nuclear proliferation
in all their aspects should be at the centre of our
debate. We should resolve to prioritize the use of
nuclear energy for peaceful civilian purposes.
Today more than ever before, the
interconnectedness of the crises faced by the
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international community underscores the need to inject
new impetus into efforts to achieve international peace
and security, including collective efforts at the
international level.
With regard to reforming the United Nations
system, the Central African Republic shares the view
that the current system no longer reflects the ambitions
of the founders. Our country therefore once again calls
for full representation for Africa in the system’s
decision-making bodies, in particular the Security
Council. Whatever the outcome of the ongoing
negotiations on this matter, my delegation continues to
believe that any viable reform of the Security Council
must take into account Africa’s numerical and political
significance in the General Assembly, especially given
the two types of situations considered by the Council.
The Central African Republic held elections in
2005, which were heralded by the international
community for having met all the necessary standards.
It should be pointed out that those held in 2010
experienced various difficulties that need to be
examined. Therefore, on the basis of a political
consensus, the National Assembly adopted a law based
on a constitutional court opinion. This constitutional
arrangement extends the term of office of our country’s
President, as well as those of members of the
Assembly, until the holding of elections, now set for
23 January 2011.
In another area, the programme for the
disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of
former combatants has made considerable progress in
the central and north-western parts of our country.
Nevertheless, the Central African Republic continues
to face security problems in the north-east of the
country, as a result of the consequences of the conflict
in Darfur, as well as in the south-east, owing to the
raging Ugandan rebellion by the Lord’s Resistance
Army (LRA).
This alarming situation has resulted in a growing
number of refugees and internally displaced persons
from various areas, who have fled to the cities from the
fighting. Having been pushed out of Uganda, LRA
rebels have regrouped in the south-east of our country,
where they carry out all sorts of violence and spread
terror among the people. It is important to point out
that the Central African Republic does not have any
borders with Uganda.
The Central African Republic therefore welcomes
the decision by the United States Government with
regard to disarming the LRA. Nevertheless, we hope
that the United States Administration will focus in
particular on the case of the Central African Republic,
which is a post-conflict country that still needs United
States assistance, given the danger posed by the LRA
on the ground in our country and the disastrous social
consequences it has already had.
The United Nations Mission in the Central
African Republic and Chad, whose mandate will expire
on 31 December 2010, requires particular attention.
The Central African Republic’s defence and security
forces will take over from international forces in order
to ensure the continuity of operations. However, they
are in desperate need of military equipment and
supplies. The Government of the Central African
Republic therefore appeals to the international
community for assistance in strengthening the
operational capacities of our armed forces.
I cannot conclude without once again thanking all
those whose commitment, courage and determination
continue to be of assistance in helping my country to
emerge from crisis to lasting peace and development.