The Democratic Republic of Sao
Tome and Principe joins other speakers at this global
forum in congratulating the President on his election to
lead the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session.
His election is the acknowledgment by Member States
of the more than 30 years’ experience that he and his
country, Qatar, have given in service of promoting
international peace and security, sustainable
development and dynamic, multidimensional
cooperation among developing countries, as well as in
continuing the search for solutions to the challenges
facing multilateral diplomacy today.
We also congratulate the President on the
significance of the theme of this session, “The role of
mediation in conflict resolution through peaceful
means”, whose relevance and timeliness merit the
attention of all of us here and can help ensure that the
outcome of our collective discussions will support the
United Nations in its effective guidance of global
democratic governance and in implementing coherent
and consistent mechanisms aimed at achieving lasting
peace and a more secure world.
We further congratulate Mr. Ban Ki-moon on his
reappointment to the post of Secretary-General, and
thank him for the effort and skill with which he has
guided the Organization, whose challenges and
responsibilities seem more pressing than ever in the
current international context. We would also like to pay
tribute to the outgoing President, Mr. Joseph Deiss of
Switzerland, who carried out his duties with zeal and
dedication during the past year.
The theme of this session of the Assembly gives
us an opportunity to reflect deeply together on the
impact of international mediation on the resolution of
conflicts in various regions of our planet. We would
like to bring to this reflection a discussion of the
central role that the United Nations should play in
mediating such conflicts. This exercise should help us
formulate concrete proposals for strengthening the
capabilities of our Organization in this area.
Mediation as a method of resolving conflicts
between States began to be used in 1907 in the form of
good offices and mediation on the basis of The Hague
Convention for the peaceful regulation of international
conflicts. United Nations reports on peacekeeping
operations should therefore remind us that the
restoration of peace focuses on ongoing conflicts and
strives to de-escalate them through diplomacy and
mediation. The widespread use of international
mediation to resolve crises as a fundamental technique
of peaceful conflict resolution has not always matched
our expectations or produced the expected results.
It is for that reason that Sao Tome and Principe
believes that rather than settling for its role in
peacekeeping, international mediation must evolve to
become a fundamental factor in peacebuilding. In that
regard, the United Nations should be responsible for
dealing with what appears today to be a trend towards
the professionalization of international mediation,
which relegates to the background the legal
instruments ratified by specialized institutions to deal
with a given conflict. Defining the legal status of the
mediator and the methodology of mediation, as well as
greater involvement by diplomats and experts with
experience in international law, seems to us to be
necessary and important steps that the United Nations
should take in the future.
The State of Sao Tome and Principe has followed
with concern the growing international climate of
tension, characterized by proliferating claims in
various regions, some of them violent and destructive.
Our concern is all the more worrisome given our
distinct feeling that in such circumstances the
mechanisms available to the United Nations for dealing
with such matters effectively and accurately are pushed
into the background. We regret the absence of a
responsible partnership between the African Union and
the Security Council designed to resolve the crisis in
Libya.
It is therefore urgent that we strengthen the role
of the United Nations by reforming the entire
system — a process that should not drag on. This
11-51390 22
reform should include the Security Council and some
of the specialized agencies of the United Nations,
aligning them with the aspirations and demands of the
modern world.
On 9 July, Africa saw the birth of one more free
and independent nation: the Republic of South Sudan.
The Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe,
which has already recognized the brotherly State of
South Sudan, congratulates its people on this
achievement and wishes its leaders every success in
building a peaceful and prosperous nation. Similarly,
we appeal to the entire international community to
make a joint effort to support the new authorities and
political actors of that country in order to maintain the
national sovereignty of the new State and to promote a
climate of national unity and political stability.
East Africa is facing a serious food crisis caused
by phenomena that are beyond the control of men and
by the political and military conflict still raging in
parts of Somalia. It is incumbent upon us all to
contribute without delay to finding a lasting solution to
this serious situation. The Government of Sao Tome
and Principe proclaims its readiness to participate in
activities contributing to the alleviation of the suffering
of the people of that region. We join other Members of
the United Nations in appealing to the international
community to provide more financial resources to
support efforts to normalize the situation in the region.
In the particular case of Somalia, we would appeal for
an increase in official development assistance.
The United Nations is still addressing the pending
question of the Western Sahara and has adopted several
resolutions aimed at settling the conflict between the
Kingdom of Morocco and the Frente Polisario. Sao
Tome and Principe would like to see the two parties sit
at the negotiating table and urges the United Nations to
proceed with the population census, in accordance with
its own resolutions, with a view to completing this long
process of negotiation.
Democracy has the virtue of giving a voice to
people so they can choose their leaders through
popular, free, direct and transparent elections by secret
ballots cast in voting booths. The uprisings that started
in January in North Africa have expressed the
sentiments and will of the people of Tunisia, Egypt and
Libya to turn the page of their contemporary history. It
is in this conviction that the Democratic Republic of
Sao Tome and Principe recognizes the new governing
authorities in these countries as legitimate
representatives of their peoples.
We welcome the presence of the National
Transitional Council within the United Nations, and
urge the authorities of that country to conduct an
inclusive process of peaceful transition to ensure
peace, stability and social progress in that part of
Africa. Furthermore, our country is of the view that
political changes should take place not under violent
circumstances, but without any pressure or political
interference.
The Middle East continues to be shaken by an
unprecedented wave of conflicts within the borders of
some Middle Eastern countries as well as in the
broader region. The people of Syria, Yemen and
Bahrain have demanded reforms in State institutions.
However, we see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
continue. We reaffirm our support for the Palestinian
people’s right to guide their destiny, and we advocate,
in accordance with the relevant United Nations
resolutions, for the existence of a Jewish State. We take
this opportunity to appeal to the Government of the
United States of America and the European Union to
exert their influence to persuade the Government of the
State of Israel to stop building settlements in the
occupied territories.
The trade embargo imposed on Cuba decades ago
is a major concern for our countries, and for Sao Tome
and Principe in particular. We urge the lifting of the
sanctions so that Cuba can participate on equal footing
with other States in the process of building an
international society that is more balanced and fair.
Global security is vital to the sustainable
development of our countries. The threats emerging in
the world today — particularly transnational crime,
piracy, trafficking and the sale of weapons and
drugs — are a real source of concern for Sao Tome and
Principe, a country with extensive sea borders in the
Gulf of Guinea. These phenomena are threats that
cannot be ignored and require greater interaction with
the Member States with which we share these extensive
maritime borders. They also require our commitment to
conflict prevention, management and resolution
mechanisms, based on efforts to fight organized crime
and with a view to ensuring our collective security.
In this connection, we highlight the fact that the
32nd meeting of the United Nations Standing Advisory
Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa,
23 11-51390
organized by the United Nations Office for
Disarmament Affairs through its Regional Centre for
Peace and Disarmament in Africa in Lomé, was held in
Sao Tome and Principe in March.
On behalf of the Government of the Democratic
Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, I would like to
thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his timely
and correct decision to give Africa its own central
Office, which we believe will contribute greatly to the
promotion and development of actions to prevent,
manage and resolve conflicts in the region and will
assist countries of the region in coping with possible
threats to their sovereignty.
The profound changes wrought in the
international political scene, resulting from structural
changes in the world economy, pose new challenges to
countries like Sao Tome and Principe. My country, a
micro-island State, advocates greater access to the
various opportunities available at the international
level, in particular the possibility of obtaining more
official development assistance and facilities to attract
foreign investment.
It is our collective responsibility to take measures
to address the harmful effects of climate change and
ensure the continuity of the clean development
mechanism, particularly for the least developed
countries. We appreciate the political willingness of
Member States to further pursue the building of the
necessary consensus to achieve significant and legally
binding results in Durban, South Africa, at the next
Conference of the Parties to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, thus
guaranteeing the second commitment period of the
Kyoto Protocol.
However, climate change has caused imbalances
in the microclimate of our country, with drastic
consequences for our domestic production, thereby
threatening the food security in Sao Tome and Principe.
From this perspective, and in order to combat this
scourge, civil society in Sao Tome has been advocating
the need to enhance the study of the causes and adverse
effects of climate change in Sao Tome and Principe. To
fulfil this goal, the authorities of my country would
like to continue to rely on the invaluable collaboration
and availability expressed thus far by the international
community in general and the specialized entities of
the United Nations in particular.
I cannot end this speech without addressing the
situation of the two straits.
Taking into account that has Taiwan not only
enormous potential, but also a population of around
23 million people, its participation in United Nations
specialized agencies, as has been the case since 2009
with respect to the World Health Assembly, could make
a substantial contribution to the international
community. In this regard, we urge the relevant United
Nations bodies to seek ways and means to ensure the
participation of Taiwan in some of the mechanisms and
agencies of the United Nations system, in particular the
International Civil Aviation Organization and the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change.
The Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and
Principe has just concluded the consolidation of its
democratic process and transition of power through an
election by universal suffrage, which was direct and
anonymous. The President-elect took office on
3 September. Domestically, our Government is working
to reduce poverty and promote economic growth and
institutional reform, particularly in the area of justice,
in order to strengthen the capacities of the country’s
democratic institutions and development.
With regard to the Millennium Development
Goals set by the United Nations for 2015, the
Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe has
made significant progress, particularly in the areas of
education and health. We recognize, however, that
greater efforts should be made to attain the desired
objectives. In that regard, our State wishes to continue
to benefit from the continued and multifaceted support
of the international community.
To conclude, I would like to reiterate the
readiness of the Government of the Democratic
Republic of Sao Tome and Principe to participate in
efforts to mobilize our collective will and our synergies
in pursuit of the noble principles and objectives that
underpin the creation of the United Nations.