Mali

At the outset, I should like to tell you, Sir, how pleased my delegation is to see you presiding over the work of the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly. To your predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-soo, I should also like to express my sincere and warm congratulations on the competence, devotion and authority with which he guided the work of the fifty-sixth session. I should also like to express again to Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the Organization, the warm congratulations and profound gratitude of the Government of Mali for the effectiveness and wisdom he has shown in managing the concerns of the international community in a particularly difficult context. I take this opportunity to reiterate to the Secretary-General the thanks of His Excellency Mr. Amadou Toumani Touré, President of the Republic of Mali, for the confidence that the Secretary-General has placed in him in seeking solutions to certain conflicts that are shaking Africa. He expresses Mali ‘s readiness to continue to work for the preservation of international peace and security, particularly in Africa. Mali wishes to welcome to the Organization Switzerland and Timor-Leste, whose admission strengthens the universal character of the United Nations. The fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly is opening in an international context marked by the persistence of areas of tension, of development inequalities and of growing poverty among the peoples in developing countries, of the sad consequences of globalization, of natural disasters and of the extremely difficult consequences of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, whose first anniversary the international community has just commemorated. At the time, Mali vigorously condemned those attacks, which nothing can justify. Since then, it has participated in the great international campaign of the fight against terrorism. In so doing, it has ratified all international legal instruments related to the fight against terrorism. Likewise, important means and mechanisms have been put in place so that Mali ‘s national territory cannot be used for the preparation or perpetration of terrorist acts. In order to meet the terrorist threat, it is important that the international community strengthen cooperation among its members. Furthermore, Mali calls for integrated and sustained global action, in which the United Nations should play the premier role. It reiterates the appeal of Africa, of the Non-Aligned Movement and of the Organization of the Islamic 2 Conference for the holding of an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations aimed at swiftly concluding a universally accepted legal instrument on international terrorism. In Mali, the year 2002 was devoted to the holding, for the third time, of pluralistic, democratic and peaceful elections, at the outcome of which His Excellency Mr. Amadou Toumani Touré assumed the country ‘s highest post. Those elections are sufficient proof that Mali ‘s democratic institutions have taken root, and they support the democratic culture of the Malian people. Here, I must express, on behalf of the people and the Government of Mali, my heartfelt thanks to all our partners for their contribution to the organization, the holding and the success of those elections. Mali is deeply attached to the consolidation of the rule of law, to the preservation of peace and security and to the improvement of the living conditions of populations. In that regard, our conviction remains that we must deepen, promote and respect those values. For Mali, republican and democratic institutions must be renewed only through democratic institutional mechanisms that have been established in advance. The strengthening of good governance, the consolidation of the democratic process, food security, the improvement of the educational and health systems, the organization and effective functioning of justice, actions to promote children and women, and the fight against poverty and corruption are, inter alia, the challenges to which the new Government of Mali is committed to face. Likewise, as part of its policy of economic and social development, Mali is working, with the help of its development partners, to implement macroeconomic reforms designed to re-launch the process of growth and development. Mali is resolutely determined to guarantee individual security in all its dimensions. That why my country is a full-fledged member of the Human Security Network. It fully agrees that there is a need to harmonize efforts with regard to the destruction of anti- personnel landmines and the fight against the illicit trade in and the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, with a view to adopting a United Nations programme of action to reduce the human suffering caused by those scourges. Stability, peace and security are prerequisites for any process of true development in Africa. Despite the significant progress made in resolving certain African conflicts, our continent continues to be faced with a number of ongoing problems, including debt, the continuing fall in the price of raw materials, the democratic deficit, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, malaria and difficulties related to humanitarian assistance. Those issues constitute a serious impediment to development efforts in Africa. Mali welcomes the fact that the long fratricidal conflict in Angola has come to an end and pays a well- deserved tribute to the people and the leaders of Angola for the courage that they have shown and the efforts that they are continuing to make to consolidate peace and bring about national reconciliation. I should like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the United Nations for its valuable contribution to the search for a resolution of the Angolan conflict. I should also like to pay tribute to my compatriot, the late Alioune Blondin Beye, a talented diplomat who was the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Angola from 1994 until the time of his death in June 1998. Alioune Blondin Beye made the supreme sacrifice on behalf of peace in Angola. The recent signing of a peace agreement between the main parties to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a further reason for hope. These glimmers of hope for conflict management on the continent will require intense support from the international community, which must provide further support for Africa's efforts through in the form of resources and mechanisms that are capable of providing security and promoting development, stability and peace. The launching of the African Union, which has replaced the Organization of African Unity, certainly represents the most decisive historic and political event on the African continent this year. The African Union will enable the continent to plan for its future more clearly, take responsibility for its own development, prevent and manage conflict and promote partnership and international cooperation that is better adapted to the expectations of the population. The recent adoption at Durban of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security 3 Council of the African Union, a standing decision- making body for conflict management and resolution in Africa, represents an important step forward in the setting up of a collective rapid-reaction security system designed to facilitate an appropriate and effective regional response in dealing with conflict situations and crises in Africa. It is also the appropriate tool to bolster the efforts of the Security Council in fulfilling its main responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, in particularly in Africa. Mali has already begun to take the necessary measures to ratify that important instrument. The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) also deserves ongoing support from the international community. Indeed, NEPAD offers the international community a historic opportunity to establish a credible partnership with Africa — a partnership founded on shared responsibility. Mali remains deeply concerned about the dramatic developments of the situation in the Middle East. The responsibility of the international community in dealing with that situation remains a commitment aimed at a global, just and lasting peace in the Middle East — a peace founded on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and the principle of land for peace. The creation of a Palestinian State — the central issue of the Middle East question — side by side with Israel, within safe and internationally recognized borders, in accordance with Security Council resolution 1397 (2002), would be the best guarantee of a just and lasting peace in the region. On a different subject, Mali accords priority to international cooperation on the basis of international law in the search for a lasting solution to conflicts that are of concern to the international community. This principle should apply to the handling of the Iraqi issue. The creation of the International Criminal Court, whose Statute was adopted in Rome, will not only make it possible to bring to justice those who commit the most serious crimes that infringe on the dignity of the human person, but also will provide an instrument of deterrence that contributes to the maintenance of international peace and security. In this respect, my country would like to reaffirm its full support for the fight against impunity and for full respect for human dignity. My country would like to appeal to those countries that have still not acceded to the Statute of the International Criminal Court to do so in order to strengthen the legitimacy of that institution. We are faced with a number of economic problems that are impeding the full growth of several of our States. The globalization of the economy has contributed greatly to a serious imbalance whose chief victims are the developing countries. It has led in particular to the impoverishment of a large number of people, to environmental degradation and to large-scale migration. External debt is a heavy burden for poor countries. The money used to service the debt has to come from the meagre resources of those countries, which seriously handicaps any attempt to re-launch growth and development. Despite the measures agreed to aimed at alleviating the debt burden for poor countries and allowing access to the markets of the countries of the North, the inequalities persist and poverty continues to worsen. New measures designed to establish closer links between debt- and poverty-reduction activities should continue. More flexible mechanisms need to be set up, however, in order to mobilize and utilize the resources generated by the application of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative. In this respect, it is highly desirable for the developed countries and the international financial institutions to envisage measures capable of enabling the developing countries to move further towards sustainable development and to benefit from globalization. Fulfilling the development objectives set forth in the Millennium Declaration would bring that about. Mali warmly welcomes United Nations initiatives in support of the least developed countries, as exemplified by the Brussels Programme of Action. My country welcomes the holding in March 2002 at Monterrey of the International Conference on Financing for Development and, more recently, the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development. The conclusions and recommendations that came out of those two important meetings reflect the determination of the international community to commit itself in a resolute manner to achieving the objectives contained in the Millennium Declaration. 4 The Government of Mali also encourages institutions and Governments throughout the world to implement the relevant provisions contained in the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, since it is true that development policies and strategies intended to reduce poverty must necessarily take account of the problems of ageing. The democratization and restructuring of the main organs of the United Nations desired by the overwhelming majority of Member States, would greatly contribute to peace and security in the world. In particular, the democratization of the Security Council, whose structure no longer reflects the realities of today's world, would reflect our common determination to make it a more effective, more legitimate and more representative body. Our peoples are waiting. They are waiting for us to lead them forward towards rebirth in the new century, towards the building of a new world, rich in diversity, more just and more united.