The annual general debate of the General Assembly
always serves as an opportunity for the international
community to consider the state of the world through a
series of exchanges and thus combine innovative ideas
to support our desire to create a community that will
ensure a better future for all. Burkina Faso always
participates in this meeting of the world partnership
with great interest.
Before I go any further, please allow me,
Mr. President, to offer you sincere and warm
congratulations from the Government and people of
Burkina Faso on your election to the presidency of the
General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session, for which
you have chosen the theme of strengthening mediation
as a means of preventing and settling conflicts. Burkina
Faso fully supports this choice and is committed to
sharing with the international community its
experience in peace negotiations, particularly with
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regard to the role of mediator for the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that
President Blaise Compaoré played in settling the crises
in Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea.
I would also like to commend your predecessor,
Mr. Joseph Deiss, on the efficiency with which he
guided the work of the sixty-fifth session. And I
congratulate Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on his
successful reappointment to the leadership of the
United Nations. I wish him health and every success
for his second term.
I salute the Republic of South Sudan’s
achievement of independence and international
sovereignty, and welcome it to the great family that is
the United Nations. The Government of Burkina Faso
offers its sincere and willing cooperation to the South
Sudanese people and authorities.
Much has happened since our last session to
affect the development of the world and our States.
Some countries have been victims of natural
catastrophe; others have experienced financial,
political and social crises. At the beginning of the year
my country, Burkina Faso, also had to deal with social
demands arising from the difficult national and
economic situation. Fortunately, those demands, which
were followed by social unrest, were resolved, thanks
to a sustained and inclusive dialogue initiated by
President Compaoré. This dialogue, involving all of the
country’s social classes, enabled the Government to
conduct an exchange of views with every element of
our society on their concerns, with the aim of arriving
at suitable solutions.
Furthermore, the Government of Burkina Faso,
within the framework of strengthening the rule of law
and improving and reinforcing our system of political
and institutional governance, established an advisory
council for political reform aimed at continuing with
the political and institutional reforms that began
several years ago. In the economic and social areas, as
part of our accelerated growth and sustainable
development strategy, my Government, despite its
modest budget and many other constraints and
priorities, continued its efforts to build a functioning
economy, with a particular emphasis on strengthening
certain key sectors, including education, health, water,
training and youth employment; on improving
socio-economic infrastructure, especially roads; and on
encouraging the business environment.
Needless to say, this progress was made possible
thanks to the cooperation and support of our bilateral
and multilateral partners. I take this opportunity to
acknowledge and thank them for their continuing
commitment to supporting us and for their backing for
our efforts to meet the Millennium Development
Goals.
At the subregional and continental levels,
Burkina Faso, working within the framework of the
West African Economic and Monetary Union,
ECOWAS and the African Union, will continue to be
constructively involved in strengthening the integration
process. While we proclaim our faith and deep
attachment to the regional integration process taking
place in Africa, we are convinced that regional
integration must be pragmatic and based on concrete
achievements, which represent the only way we can
realize our peoples’ legitimate aspirations. At the
regional level, we recognize the value of all the
initiatives that the African Union has taken to manage
and settle conflicts on our continent. Burkina Faso
reaffirms its continuing readiness to contribute to
maintaining peace, security and stability all over
Africa.
The world is currently experiencing times of
enormous uncertainty and anxiety as a result of
international economic and financial instability,
increased poverty, continuing deterioration of the
environment and a growing number of natural
disasters. In particular, the recent international
financial crises are dangerously compromising the
balance of our economies and putting our social
cohesion to a terrible test. They demand a response,
constant vigilance and firm solidarity on all our parts.
The harmful effects of climate change have
spared no country; natural disasters, in particular, have
compromised and shaken the foundations of
development for many of us, especially the least-
developed countries, which are especially vulnerable
and suffer the most. In tackling this scourge, special
attention and renewed effort on the part of the
international community are more necessary than ever
in regard to climate issues, as well as every other
environmental concern. Among other initiatives,
Burkina Faso commends that of Mrs. Hilary Clinton,
Secretary of State of the United States, for the Global
Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, from which countries
such as Burkina Faso could benefit greatly.
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The High-level Meeting held during this session
on the theme “Addressing desertification, land
degradation and drought in the context of sustainable
development and poverty eradication”, as well as the
signing by various countries, including Burkina Faso,
of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic
Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of
Benefits Arising from Their Utilization to the
Convention on Biological Diversity, are also events
worthy of commendation.
Burkina Faso considers particularly important all
issues connected to the advancement of women and, to
that end, has spared no effort to improve the social and
legal status of women in our country. We therefore
commend the Organization’s establishment of
UN-Women, and hope that this new body, which
should be adequately funded, will be a genuine catalyst
for United Nations activities in defence of women’s
rights. More specifically, we hope it will provide
strengthened support for pro-women policies in
developing countries. We are pleased that during this
session the African Group will be introducing a draft
resolution intended to ban female genital mutilation
worldwide. We hope that it will be supported by the
entire international community.
For more than a decade we have been working on
the process of reforming the United Nations in order to
enable it to be in step with the demands of a world in
constant change. Unfortunately, despite significant
progress, much still remains to be done. Burkina Faso
believes that the reforms must take into account the
interests of all Member States and increase our
Organization’s effectiveness in managing the peace and
security, stability and development of all parties.
At the dawn of the third millennium, our hope
and wish was that this millennium would see us
reconcile with one another and bring peace, security
and stability. Sadly, our planet is still beset by
numerous conflicts, many of which bear the mark of
international terrorism, which, needless to say, Burkina
Faso firmly condemns in all its forms and
manifestations. That is why Burkina Faso, which
fervently advocates for the prevention and settlement
of conflicts through dialogue, commends the adoption
by the General Assembly of resolution 65/283 on
strengthening the role of mediation in peaceful
settlement of disputes and conflict prevention and
resolution. We are pleased that that resolution was
introduced by the Group of Friends of Mediation, of
which Burkina Faso is a member.
As we did in Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and
Darfur, Burkina Faso is fully prepared to contribute
wherever it is called upon for mediation, peacekeeping
and peacebuilding. The organization of free and
transparent elections in Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire came
as a result of the successful facilitation efforts of
Mr. Blaise Compaoré, President of Burkina Faso.
The Ouagadougou Political Agreement allowed
Côte d’Ivoire to emerge from crisis. What it needs now
is peacebuilding and reconciliation. We take this
opportunity to thank the Secretary-General, who
effectively supported the efforts of ECOWAS and the
inter-Ivorian dialogue facilitator. Beyond facilitation,
we are prepared to assist all countries in our subregion
in their quest for peace and stability in post-conflict
situations. We call on the international community to
support peacebuilding efforts, especially in Côte
d’Ivoire and Guinea.
Burkina Faso participates in the African Union-
United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur, with a
force of 800 men. The signing on 14 July 2011 of the
Doha Document for Peace in Darfur between the
Government of the Sudan and the Liberation and
Justice Movement represents significant progress
towards restoring lasting peace.
Thanks to the trust placed in us by the African
Union and the United Nations we were able to support
the peace process, and we call on all parties to the
conflict to sign the Doha Document. We express our
recognition and profound gratitude to the Emir of
Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa
Al-Thani, for his support, which was critical to the
success of the process.
In the framework of the Implementation Follow-
up Committee, my country will continue to contribute
to peacebuilding. We call on the Justice and Equality
Movement, the Sudan Liberation Movement and the
Government of the Sudan to bring hostilities to a
complete halt in Darfur as soon as possible.
In North Africa a will for change has found
expression in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Burkina Faso
expresses its solidarity with those countries in their
quest for freedom and democracy. We reiterate our will
to strengthen fruitful links of cooperation. Burkina
Faso reaffirms its recognition of the Transitional
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National Council in Libya, and we encourage it to
continue to promote democracy, national cohesion,
stability and security for all people living in Libya.
In the Middle East we closely follow the progress
of the Palestinian question, and we support Palestine’s
request to be admitted to the United Nations as a full
Member State. We reiterate our call for a lasting,
comprehensive peace in the region that guarantees the
freedom and right to self-determination of the
Palestinian people and the security of the State of
Israel.
Burkina Faso believes in multilateralism, in
solidarity among peoples and in the virtue of dialogue
among nations. My delegation notes with great
satisfaction the peaceful climate that currently prevails
in the relationship between the Republic of China on
Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China. That will
favour the granting to the Republic of China on Taiwan
the place that it deserves in the concert of nations,
including its genuine participation in the activities of
international organizations such as the International
Civil Aviation Organization and conferences such as
those on the United Nations Climate Change
Convention.
In conclusion, I wish to express the desire that the
virtues of international solidarity and dialogue among
nations will continue to inspire the United Nations,
which is the pre-eminent forum for multilateralism, so
that together we can respond to the challenges that our
world faces.