Niger

My delegation would like to say that the leadership shown by the President in presiding over this session makes us confident that our deliberations will continue in a spirit of dynamism and optimism for the development of international relations. Niger is very happy to convey to the President and to other members of the Bureau of the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly our heartfelt congratulations. We remain convinced that President Kavan will follow up the remarkable work done by his predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-soo of the Republic of Korea, with the same human qualities for the good of the international community as a whole. I wish to reiterate to our brother, His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, the congratulations of the people of Niger for the prestige and effectiveness of his deeply appreciated work done in the service of humanity. I also wish to congratulate the Swiss Confederation on becoming a new Member, and Timor- Leste, as an imminent Member of the Organization. We are convinced that their participation will help enrich our debates. The American people have been mourning the tragic events of 11 September 2001 for a year now. The whole world has taken full measure of the threat that terrorism poses to peace and security. In Niger, we cannot stress the fact enough that, in order to be effective, the fight against terrorism must avoid taking a piecemeal approach. It must be long term and it must be conducted within the framework of international legality, which is epitomized by the United Nations. 22 Niger agrees with the provisions of Security Council resolutions 1368 (2001) and 1373 (2001), and it is firmly committed to all subregional, regional and international initiatives aimed at combating terrorism in all its forms. At the same time, in order to succeed in the fight against terrorism, we must take into account the need to develop a more just and equitable economic and political order, since it has been shown that poverty, ignorance, injustice and all kinds of frustrations are factors that can produce blind extremism. Speaking of international peace and security, I am pleased to recall that Niger is a peaceful country that contributes actively to efforts to achieve general and complete disarmament. In that regard, I would like to point out that in that field, my country, pursuant to article 3 of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, has accepted an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, on a system of monitoring and safeguards for its uranium production. Regarding conventional weapons, Niger is happy that the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects has adopted a programme of action to combat that scourge. Our concerns were taken into account in the Bamako Declaration, but there is still work to be done, particularly in terms of technical and financial assistance measures to support disarmament programmes and reintegration programmes for former combatants. While it is true that no region of the world has been spared, there is no doubt that developing countries, particularly African countries, are the ones suffering the most from the devastating effects of the proliferation of light arms and small weapons in terms of their security, stability and development. That is why the bodies charged with monitoring, detecting and prosecuting infractions committed along those lines must be strengthened. Since 1994, Niger has had in place the National Commission for Collecting and Controlling Illicit Weapons, whose task is to help the political authorities at the highest level identify, design and put implement strategies to fight the proliferation of light weapons. In that context, the Government of Niger and the Department for Disarmament Affairs of our Organization are cooperating closely for the success of a project to collect illegal small arms and light weapons for the entire West African subregion. That is a part of the regional and subregional initiatives aimed at cutting off the illicit movement of small arms and light weapons. The peace that we wish for Niger is the same peace we wish for the rest of the world. That is why our country has always tried to make its modest contribution to settling conflicts that threaten peace and security in Africa and throughout the world. In spite of our limited resources, we have sent contingents to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and civilian police officers to Haiti, Timor and Kosovo, to support the efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the international community to restore and consolidate peace. The Government of Niger reaffirms its ongoing availability to send contingents to all United Nations peacekeeping operations. For a few months now the international community's attention has been focused on the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, whose peace process is now more paralysed than ever. Niger wants once again to reaffirm before the Assembly that a permanent settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict necessarily requires establishing the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the creation of an independent, sovereign and viable Palestinian State. On the basis of that conviction and in light of all kinds of false starts that have characterized the peace process in Palestine and the Middle East, Niger has made a sovereign decision to break off its diplomatic relations with Israel, which continues to deny the Palestinian people their legitimate right to self-determination. In Western Sahara, the Republic of Niger supports the efforts of the United Nations, on one hand, to enforce the settlement plan and, on the other hand, the relevant Security Council resolutions, in order to achieve a just and comprehensive settlement of the conflict. The laudable action of the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy, Mr. James Baker, should be followed up and supported until a positive conclusion is achieved, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions. In that context, we think that United Nations resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir must be speedily implemented so that the Kashmiri people can exercise their right to self-determination, which would allow to defuse that hotbed that involves two nuclear States — 23 India and Pakistan — and to avoid a serious threat to peace and security in the South Asia region. Therefore, Niger, a member of the contact group established by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, reiterates the appeal already made to the two parties to step up their negotiations in order to achieve a peaceful settlement of that conflict. Niger, like almost all African countries, faces a number of major challenges, which require the international community to provide the necessary support to help them in the search for solutions and in consolidating their economic renewal programme. From that standpoint, the developmental strategy that we have implemented gives priority to the culture and the promotion of good governance through a good- conduct mechanism and public affairs management that focuses on concerns such as transparency and civil society participation in all socio-economic decisions. This is the time to sincerely thanks all the bilateral and multilateral partners of Niger, particularly the United Nations institutions, for having been kind enough to continue to support the efforts of my country to create an institutional environment conducive to giving us social peace. That assistance is much appreciated and is necessary in this critical phase of the national construction process. In economic terms, never before has mankind had so much wealth and potential overall to generate common benefit. The positive world economic situation could give us hope to establish a more just economic order that would be more conducive to poverty reduction. In that regard, Niger welcomes the new partnership, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), and we believe that that programme, which crystallizes the hopes of our continent today, must be aimed at bringing together the necessary conditions and means for the effective participation of all African countries to the multidimensional developmental process within the framework of the African Union. Poverty is an affront that can no longer be tolerated in a world of abundance that has the means to vanquish it if there is the necessary political will. Today, we must note that 52 per cent of people who live on less than a dollar a day are found in Africa, which is the most indebted part of the world. A clear look must be taken at globalization, which in the 1990s gave rise to hopes but today is a source of concern because of the growing inequalities it is creating. In less than a year, we have discussed global problems four times, and we know the true remedies. We need a more elevated concept of international cooperation that draws its essence from strategic partnership. However, we can rejoice in the unanimous will that the international community affirmed in adopting the Johannesburg Plan of Action in September. The special session of the General Assembly devoted to HIV/AIDS, held in July 2001, demonstrated eloquently our degree of awareness of the terrible danger that that disease represents for the human species. The establishment of a special fund to fight AIDS is an important step in the world crusade against AIDS and other major epidemics. Progress must be made within the framework of initiatives undertaken by the world Summits held at Cairo, at Copenhagen and at Beijing. My country expects a greater degree of solidarity from the industrialized countries, particularly with regard to increasing the volume of official development assistance, a traditional development source. At the same time, we must unite our efforts to mobilize financial resources and to establish a humanitarian fund under United Nations auspices. It is indispensable and urgent that we reverse the trend of declining official development assistance, which, the Assembly will recall, is at its lowest level in 50 years. In fact, many difficulties have conspired to keep our countries at the bottom of the human development index. The state of poverty affects 63 per cent of our compatriots, and 34 per cent of them live below the extreme poverty line. Those populations, deprived of minimal basic social services, are the victims of a continued deterioration in their standard of living. The growing scarcity of financial resources has caused, among other things, a drastic decline in public investment, particularly in the social sectors, thus depriving 80 per cent of Niger's rural citizens of basic social benefits. Niger has decided to undertake measures to reverse that trend through its poverty reduction strategy, which was formulated and implemented after a participative process. Its goal is to substantially reduce the suffering of 80 per cent of the population. That strategy is now the only frame of reference for Niger's economic, financial and social policies. 24 This year, under the direct supervision of the President of the Republic, we have launched an extensive programme, called Special Programme 2001, which consists of building 1,000 classrooms, 1,000 dispensaries and 100 mini-dams to fight poverty. A good part — more than 80 per cent — of that operation has already been completed. I should also like to express again from this podium our deep appreciation for the support that our developmental partners have continued to give us for the implementation of our National Framework Programme to fight poverty, which Niger formulated and which is among our highest priorities. However, the crucial problem of African debt, which is annihilating all our development efforts, calls for an effort by the entire international community to help us to implement — without delay or any conditions other than those of good governance — satisfactory policies and mechanisms for its solution. The United Nations remains the best instrument for helping us realize the new world order to which we all aspire, so long as we carry forward the so-called quiet revolution begun by the Secretary-General four years ago. In conclusion, I should like to express the full confidence that Niger and its people place in the United Nations, which remains an institution of hope based on the principles of justice, equity, peace and progress.