Allow me, first of all, to warmly congratulate the
President on his election. His human qualities, along
with his experience, will be invaluable throughout this
sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly. To his
predecessor, His Excellency Joseph Deiss, I wish to
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express our gratitude for his extremely skilful
presidency. I also take this opportunity to congratulate
the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Ban
Ki-moon, on his unanimous re-election, and reiterate
Gabon’s full confidence in him.
Allow me to recall that Gabon has always striven
to contribute to peace and the peaceful settlement of
conflicts through dialogue and mediation. We firmly
believe in the link between peace and security, on the
one hand, and development and democracy, on the
other. Because the people of Gabon enjoy peace at
home, as well as with their neighbours and the world as
a whole, we are able to achieve new development
goals.
This firm belief, which I proposed to my
compatriots when I was elected as head of
Government, lies at the heart of Gabon’s future vision
for development. Since my last statement before the
General Assembly a year ago, my Government has
moved to take action. We are humbled by the scale of
the task and the time required to ensure further
progress.
We are already building strategic infrastructure,
including preparations for the African Cup of Nations,
which Gabon will host in 2012 together with
Equatorial Guinea. We are also moving forward with
industrial processing projects, beginning with wood,
manganese and gas. In addition, we are also making
progress with policies to support the service sector. In
terms of agriculture, we intend to develop agro-industries,
and to support food production and sustainable fishing,
which are both so valuable for our food security.
Finally, we are working on a daily basis to
implement our steadfast commitment to sustainable
development in the context of a green Gabon.
With regard to international peace and security in
Africa and throughout the world, Gabon has reiterated
its commitment and has contributed according to its
means. Since 2010, we have had a non-permanent seat
on the Security Council. Last June, Gabon held the
Presidency of that body, a role that we discharged with
responsibility and commitment.
Turning to Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon has endorsed the
actions taken by the United Nations, aimed at
respecting the will of the Ivorian people and ensuring
the return to a peaceful political environment. We must
now support the efforts of the new Government to
achieve national reconciliation and reconstruction in
our sister country.
With regard to Libya, Gabon has recognized the
National Transitional Council and welcomes Libya’s
return to the African Union and to the international
community at the United Nations. In the Security
Council, along with the other two African members, we
approved resolution 1973 (2011). It was incumbent on
the international community to prevent the bloodbath
that threatened to take place in Benghazi. We also
needed to cut short a conflict that posed great danger to
the civilian population. Today, it is important that
Libya emerge from this crisis in order to begin
reconciliation for all Libyans and the reconstruction of
the country. It is with this aim in mind that we took
part in the conference of friends of Libya in Paris. We
welcome the role played by the United Nations. It is
important to work together with the African Union and
other stakeholders. We are ready to contribute to the
efforts of the international community in Libya.
South Sudan has also joined the international
community. Gabon congratulates the authorities of that
newborn sister country and assures it of our support.
We welcome the clear determination of Sudan and
South Sudan to seek a peaceful way to settle their post-
referendum issues.
In Somalia, we must act resolutely because of the
serious and urgent nature of the situation. Everything
must be done to deliver humanitarian aid to those who
need it in the towns and villages in Somalia itself.
Gabon responded to the appeal of the international
community and has made a contribution.
The issue of Palestine affects us all, so far-
reaching are its implications for peace in the Middle
East and throughout the world. It is important to stress
that we all share the goal, which is the existence of two
States, Palestine and Israel. On this question, I wish to
express my desire, as I did here in this Hall last year
and do this year with even greater hope, namely, to see
soon a Palestinian State that exists in peace alongside
Israel, within secure and recognized borders. The
Israeli and Palestinian peoples, both friends of Gabon,
aspire to live in peace and security. The peaceful future
of these two peoples is essential for the future of the
Middle East and for peace in the world.
Syria represents a new situation that requires
efforts on all our parts. We hope that the Arab League’s
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mediation efforts will ensure a peaceful and democratic
outcome as a matter of urgency.
Gabon will be particularly attentive to the priority
issues throughout this sixty-sixth session of the
General Assembly. Gabon is, of course, in favour of
reform of the Security Council and reform of the
United Nations system in general. We must enable our
Organization to better discharge its mission of peace,
cooperation and justice throughout the world.
Africa should, in a manner that remains to be
determined, have a permanent seat in the Security
Council. Africa’s voice must be heard more on the
international stage. This expectation on the part of
Africa and even other regions of the world is part of
our aspirations for a true democratization of global
political and economic governance.
As you know, Gabon is fully committed,
including within the framework of the United Nations,
to protecting the environment and combating global
warming. Since I assumed the highest office in my
country, Gabon has taken major steps to reduce its
carbon dioxide emissions and to increase the carbon
sequestration rate of our forests. My Government has
committed itself to modern ways of preserving our
tropical forests and biodiversity within our 13 national
parks, which cover a little more than 11 per cent of our
territory. Gabon has thus launched an extensive
campaign to prevent the pillaging of its natural
resources and the poaching of its protected species. We
are striving to develop our timber industry, while
preserving the ecological wealth of our immense
tropical forest.
We should also recall that the issues of the
environment and international security will face us in
the future. At the coming United Nations Climate
Change Conference in Durban, in South Africa, we will
have to deal with that complex of issues in our work
and bear in mind the link that exists between the
environment and international security.
Finally, we are closely following the efforts under
way to delineate the limits of the continental shelf.
Given the potential of undersea resources, we should
ensure that their future exploitation does not lead to
natural disasters.
Gabon is concerned by the impact of the
economic crisis on countries of the South, particularly
in terms of achieving the Millennium Development
Goals. The impact of the international financial crisis
on public investment in basic social sectors, such as
education, health and the provision of drinking water
and electricity, is constraining our efforts to promote
human development.
Despite significant progress in implementing the
Millennium Development Goals, the deadline of 2015
remains for many countries, including Gabon, a
difficult challenge to meet. The Millennium
Development Goals cannot be achieved unless
additional funds are mobilized before 2015.
Development assistance is stagnating, and I see real
concern as a result of the situation. The international
community must make an effort to live up to the
commitments it agreed to in Monterey, Doha,
Gleneagles, Paris and Accra. We need a new global
partnership for development to ensure lasting economic
growth in our countries. Aid should be accompanied by
more direct investment and more fair and equitable
trade. To mobilize new resources, we encourage and
support the efforts under way aimed at
institutionalizing innovative mechanisms for funding
development.
The President of the General Assembly has asked
us to discuss the issue of mediation. This issue is at the
heart of the very raison d’être of our Organization,
which is to guarantee peace and security throughout
the world.
Mediation and conflict prevention must remain
our primary means of collective action. We all feel the
need, in a complex world, to achieve greater
democracy, a world where economic and cultural
exchanges are better balanced and where crisis
prevention, whether it be of political or other crises, is
better organized, with, in particular, better early
warning systems and mediation.
Gabon is historically attached to mediation and to
the peaceful settlement of disputes. This approach has
always been one of the bases of our relations with our
neighbouring and brotherly countries in the Central
African subregion and has played a part in our
contribution to the resolution of conflicts in Africa. My
country will never depart from that path, in particular
at the very moment when Africa is striving to achieve
political and economic integration.
Our commitment to the peaceful settlement of
conflicts is also part of the commitments that we have
undertaken under a number of conventions and treaties
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on human rights, humanitarian law, the promotion of
democracy and the rule of law, and international
cooperation and solidarity.
We are well aware that mediation has its limits,
and the international community must always be ready,
if necessary, to consider other ways of ensuring
conflict prevention and conflict resolution. Conflicts
will be more complex and multidimensional in the
future. Economic crises, environmental crises and
aspirations for democracy and freedoms, which are
taking on new forms, will worsen tensions, and we
must follow these developments closely.
Gabon will continue to support and contribute to
the mediation efforts and good offices of the Secretary-
General on several different fronts and in the various
areas of the world where there are conflicts. Those
efforts are essential. They must be enhanced by
increased resources and be carried out in an impartial
way, with full respect for the sovereignty of States. It
should also be said that the participation of women is
important in all aspects of mediation, since they are
always the first victims of conflicts, along with
children.
Finally, the United Nations must enhance its
cooperation with all the other actors playing a role in
this area. In Africa, the African Union, which continues
to enhance its mediation capacities, is an essential
player.
I would like to conclude by recalling the motto of
my vision for our society aimed at making Gabon an
emerging country: peace, development and sharing.
The climate of peace and stability that Gabon is now
enjoying will be invaluable as our country enters a new
phase of rapid modernization. More than ever before,
Gabon wishes to cooperate with other countries. We
are deeply committed to peace. The people of Gabon
are therefore ready to exchange, create and build with
the rest of the world.