I
should like at the outset to convey to you, Sir, my
heartfelt and sincere congratulations on your well-
deserved election as President of the General Assembly
at its sixty-sixth session and to wish you every success
in discharging your mandate.
I should like also to reiterate my heartfelt
congratulations to Mr. Ban Ki-moon on his
reappointment as Secretary-General. I assure him of
the full cooperation of the Government of Benin and
the personal support of its Head of State in the vast
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undertaking that is the modernization of the United
Nations, which he has been working towards since he
took the helm of the Organization.
I should like also to pay a well-deserved tribute
to Mr. Joseph Deiss for the outstanding manner in
which he carried out his mission as President of the
General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session.
I should like to commend the selection of the
theme of the sixty-sixth session, “The role of mediation
in the peaceful settlement of disputes”. This reflects a
recognition of the importance of dialogue and of the
responsibility of third parties in the maintenance of
international peace and security.
Conflicts, crises and wars represent a large part
of the challenges faced by humankind. They undermine
poorer States, whose efforts are often undone by
indiscriminate violence, as deadly as it is destructive.
This legitimate interest in the use of mediation
should serve as a catalyst for raising the awareness of
stakeholders in all regions of the world as to the need
to accord greater importance to dialogue in resolving
problems, nationally and in the context of inter-State,
bilateral, regional and international relations.
We would therefore like to commend the
partnership between the United Nations and the
African Union within the context of the special
political missions, which are an optimum framework
for mediation. Such partnerships can help to avert
redundancy and duplication, which can be counter-
productive and doom mediation efforts to failure.
Benin, for its part, which owes much to dialogue,
very early on grasped the importance of that tool in the
prevention and resolution of crises at the national level.
In that respect, I believe it appropriate here to draw the
attention of the international community to the fact that
the Government of Benin has given high priority to the
issue of mediation in its programme of action and, in
that context, established the Office of the Ombudsman.
We would also like to commend the creation, at the
regional level, of the Association of Ombudsmen of
Member Countries of the West African Economic and
Monetary Union, which Benin chairs; indeed, most of
the countries in the Union are relying on this important
tool for the maintenance of peace.
Perhaps we should go even further and establish
civil entities for mediation and the restoration of peace,
whose members would meet with the parties to a
conflict so as to re-establish dialogue among them and
to prevail upon them to resolve their disputes
peacefully.
The current state of the world makes clear the
urgent need to strengthen multilateralism, with a view
to averting the collective collapse that could result if
appropriate or consensual solutions are not rapidly
found to the global problems afflicting the world today.
At the national level, we require greater cohesion
among the vital forces of the country and greater
determination in the context of actions aimed at
eliminating the obstacles that impede development.
With respect to preserving democratic institutions,
when the fundamental values enshrined in the Charter
are at stake, the United Nations must be at the forefront
of the efforts of the international community.
In that regard, impartiality cannot be synonymous
with neutrality, which would be unfathomable and
make the United Nations a passive bystander to the
triumph of aggression over the rule of law. I should
therefore like to thank the Secretary-General for the
courageous choices he has made.
In Benin, democracy has been strengthened by
the tireless commitment of the United Nations to
ensuring electoral transparency, which it accomplished
through its support for the creation of a computerized
permanent voters’ list, which prevents any
manipulation or other fraudulent manoeuvres and
thereby ensures fairness in our country’s elections.
Based on the success of our young democracy in
Benin, my Government has been working to
consolidate cooperative governance at both the
national and local levels, so as to maximize the impact
of the resources that have been mobilized and
earmarked for the promotion of the well-being of all
the citizens of our country. Accordingly, far-reaching
reforms have been undertaken to reorganize the State
and rid the country of the structural and behavioural
incoherence that has impeded the State in its efforts to
govern effectively.
The strengthening of democratic institutions and
a fresh balance of powers is at the very heart of the
constitutional review that is under discussion. Such a
review must in no way affect the principal mechanisms
that ensure the alternance of power, that is, the number
of terms allowed the President of the Republic —
strictly limited to two — and the age limitation of
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70 years, beyond which one cannot run for the highest
office in Benin.
The fight against corruption is a crucial aspect of
that effort to streamline the State apparatus. The
adoption in late August 2011 of a new law to fight
corruption is in keeping with the national dynamic of
ensuring transparency in the management of the State’s
resources and in the resolute fight undertaken against
any practices that deny citizens the ability fully to
enjoy the fruits of their labour. That new law enables
us to better combat the various forms of illicit
enrichment, as today it is up to the accused to justify
the source of his wealth, not the accuser. This is a
revolutionary development in the context Benin’s
judicial and legislative mechanisms.
At the global level, we believe in the benefits of
multilateralism. That is why we see an ever greater
need for the United Nations, which should be given a
more assertive role in global governance — a United
Nations that would spearhead and lead of actions
aimed at promoting, within an inclusive framework,
comprehensive and sustainable solutions to the
manifold crises that are affecting the world and having
direct repercussions for human rights.
Our Government, throughout its term in the
Human Rights Council, intends, together with other
members of the Council, to work to promote and
protect universally recognized human rights, in a spirit
of cooperation. Benin firmly believes in the
universality, the indivisibility and the interdependence
of all human rights. It has faith in international
cooperation as the most effective means for promoting
and protecting all universally recognized human rights.
Let us recognize the ongoing efforts made in past
years by each of our countries, and collectively through
international organizations both regional and universal,
to manage the consequences of the various crises that
affect the world, particularly developing countries —
food, energy, financial, economic and environmental
crises.
However, the international economic situation
remains sluggish and uncertain. Indeed, the long-
awaited international economic recovery remains slow
and tenuous, while financial and stock market
turbulence continues to affect the international market.
Even today, more than two thirds of the
800 million people in the least developed countries
(LDCs) are living in poverty. The economic indicators
of those nations — which have made prodigious efforts
and heavy sacrifices to emerge from underdevelopment —
call for great prudence with regard to attaining the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.
Despite that rather bleak picture, we should
continue our efforts to ensure that our countries can
make progress in the spheres of good governance,
development, health, water, sanitation, primary
education for all and the empowerment of women and
youth.
The developing countries, particularly the LDCs,
need more than ever the transfer of modern technology
to increase and diversify production, take a greater part
in international trade and build the infrastructure
required for development. The developed countries and
the countries of the South that are experiencing
significant economic growth should establish facilities
to that end, as was agreed at the Fourth United Nations
Conference on the Least Developed Countries, held in
Istanbul from 9 to 13 May 2011. The new programme
of action adopted at that Conference clearly reflects
our shared ambition to ensure that half those countries
move to the category of middle-income nations by
2020.
But however noble the goals set forth in the
Istanbul Programme of Action may be, they cannot be
achieved unless we respect the commitments already
made. For that reason, despite the cyclical difficulties
that characterize the current global economic situation,
we must remain firm in our resolve to move forward.
There is no stable financial support for the
development efforts of the LDCs without stable
sources of financing. Therefore the Government of
Benin strongly supports the innovative financing
initiative for development. We call on the nations of
the Group of 20 to take a closer look at that initiative
so that taxation of financial transactions becomes a
tangible reality during the weeks and months to come.
Threats related to climate change — particularly
the continuing deterioration of the environment and
drought, a source of famine in some parts of Africa —
and the recurrence of natural disasters greatly
undermine the future prospects of the LDCs.
Benin commends the United Nations preparatory
work for the Rio+20 Summit planned for Brazil in June
2012. We hope those meetings will lead to robust
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measures and decisions that match the perils that await
us.
The threats that curtail our ambitions stem from
other factors as well, such as the surge in transnational
organized crime, which is quite pernicious. My
country, Benin, has in recent months been the target of
extremely serious and savage acts of piracy, armed
robbery at sea and an influx of narcotics and
counterfeit medicines. This scourge has not spared
other countries of the Gulf of Guinea, which have also
been affected to varying degrees. We are particularly
distressed not only by the escalating number of such
attacks and the increasingly sophisticated methods the
pirates employ, but also and especially by the
expansion of their field of action and the immediate
effect of these attacks on port activities in Benin.
That situation complicates Benin’s efforts to find
the resources to handle the economic and financial
difficulties related to external shocks, the repercussions
of which severely impact the economy of small
countries like ours. It also seriously hampers our
ability to achieve the MDGs. The Government of
Benin is working with our neighbour Nigeria to
mobilize the countries of the Gulf of Guinea subregion
for a coordinated response by developing and
implementing a regional approach that involves joint
manoeuvres to be launched shortly by the armed forces
of Benin and Nigeria along the coast of Benin.
I call for the effective solidarity of States with
expertise in the area of maritime operations to come to
our assistance. Our resources are laughable, given the
magnitude of the threat. Clearly, the fight against
piracy requires technical and financial resources that a
developing State cannot provide alone. Here I would
like to thank the United States, France, China and other
countries that have already shown spontaneous
solidarity toward Benin.
The matters to which we need to find solutions
grow ever more complex. The United Nations must
continually improve its ability to closely define the
challenges facing humanity and to help States
formulate appropriate responses while preserving the
delicate balance of interests of all stakeholders, as
evidence of its efficiency and efficacy.
Along these lines, the negotiations to reform the
Security Council must be intensified with the adoption
of a specific timetable for their outcome, to be
credible. My sense is that 2015 could be considered a
deadline for completing negotiations and establishing
an inclusive Security Council that would redress the
historical injustice done to Africa with respect to its
permanent representation in that body, which crowns
the collective security system established by the United
Nations Charter.
Benin says no, no, and a third time no. The time
has come to put an end to an intolerable injustice that
excludes an entire continent — the only one, Africa —
from the supreme decision-making body with respect
to international security.
I am certain that completion of Security Council
reform will lead to greater trust and less suspicion in
the management of today’s great challenges in the
realm of international peace and security.
My country has always advocated strengthening
conflict prevention as a means to ensure international
peace and security at less cost. Efforts to that end must
be tirelessly pursued.
Prevention also includes effectively supporting
young people to prepare them for their responsibilities,
protect them from the risks they face and channel their
energies towards participation in the development of
their countries. We need to remove the obstacles that
deter or prevent them from fulfilling their potential and
divert them to risky behaviour of all kinds that harm
public order and the stability of States.
That is why my Government was firmly
committed to the holding of the United Nations High-
level Meeting on Youth. Now that it has taken place,
we need to do our utmost to ensure that its conclusions
on youth are translated into specific actions as soon as
possible. The great interest in that High-level Meeting
shown by young people around the world reflects their
will to become more involved in the search for
appropriate solutions to the challenges facing
humankind.
The Government of my country also believes that
it would be useful for the United Nations to hold youth
hearings every year, or every other year, to enable
youth from around the world to address a specific
subject, with broad participation of young delegates
and young leaders of non-governmental organizations.
Such regular mobilization of the world’s young people
in the heart of the United Nations would make our
world Organization more inclusive and closer to our
peoples.
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For us in Benin — and I quote the President of
the Republic, Mr. Boni Yayi — “there is no doubt that
only those societies that give young people
opportunities will be able to meet the challenges to
come”.
From 16 to 20 November 2010, Benin hosted an
international symposium on the fiftieth anniversary of
the independence of African countries. That meeting
culminated in the drafting of an important historic
document entitled “The Fiftieth Anniversary
Manifesto”. The African Union, at its most recent
summit, held in Malabo on 30 June and 1 July, adopted
the Manifesto as a reference document for the
renaissance of the African continent.
The Anniversary Manifesto details, in the context
of globalization, felicitous prospects with regard the
challenges facing Africa in the coming 50 years, which
will require new partnership approaches to promote
development and more effective collective action for
the renaissance of the continent. I firmly hope that the
Manifesto will be taken to heart equally by the United
Nations and lead to synergy and better coordination of
efforts to mobilize the international community for the
economic development of African countries so as to
meet the legitimate aspirations of the people of the
continent.
In conclusion, I want to note that recent history
teaches us that the greatest threats to international
peace and security come from peoples who have long
been frustrated. The Palestinian question makes the
Arab nation a frustrated nation. The United Nations
today has the means to find a just and lasting solution
to the Palestinian problem, and it must not fail to meet
its historic responsibility.
We support a free and independent Palestinian
State living in peaceful coexistence with the State of
Israel. Benin gives ongoing support to the one-land,
two-State solution and calls upon the Security Council
to facilitate the prompt resolution of the problem, to
bring relief to the Palestinian people, who endure daily
suffering.
We believe in the virtue of mediation. The choice
of that option as a way to resolve conflicts around the
world in this sixty-sixth session of the Assembly offers
a last chance for the two parties to re-engage in
dialogue to finally bring lasting peace to the Middle
East and to the world. The peace that we all so wish for
must be based on universal respect for the cardinal
principles and fundamental values contained in the
United Nations Charter.