I wish at the outset to discharge the
pleasant duty of conveying to you, Sir, the message of
His Excellency, Mr. Joseph Kabila Kabange, President
of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who is
unable to attend and therefore asked me to convey to
you his sincerest congratulations on your election to
the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-
third session. He has no doubt that your great
experience, enriched by your skills and knowledge,
will allow you to fulfil the heavy responsibility that has
been entrusted to you, to the satisfaction of all.
I should also like to pay tribute to your
predecessor, Mr. Srgjan Kerim, and congratulate him
on the dedication and skill with which he fulfilled his
mandate. Finally, I should like to pay due homage to
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, whose reforming
efforts, commitment and energy have enhanced the role
of the United Nations and made it more credible to
Member States and to international public opinion.
This session is opening at a particularly difficult
moment for humanity. The international financial
crisis, the sharp rises in the cost of food, energy and
fuel, and the effects of climate change are weakening
economies throughout the world, particularly those of
the developing countries. They are a threat to
international peace and stability and therefore represent
a major challenge to which the community of nations
must respond in a concerted, decisive and tangible way.
With regard in particular to the global food crisis
and the sharp rise in food prices, the Democratic
Republic of Congo calls for new, innovative and urgent
action to be taken beyond the recommendations made
at the Rome Summit. We also endorse the appeal for
the mobilization of the resources necessary for the
World Food Programme to implement its strategic plan
and achieve its priority mission. We are firmly
convinced that human intelligence, which makes all
scientific progress possible, should also allow us to
eliminate hunger throughout the world, provided that
we do so at the global level and that all States
demonstrate the necessary political will. It is on the
basis of that belief that the member countries of the
Economic Community of Central African States held a
regional meeting in Kinshasa in July in order to rise to
the challenge posed to our subregion by the food crisis
and the sharp rise in food costs. We made a frank
diagnosis, and concrete and urgent measures were
taken. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is
determined to make an active contribution towards
implementing those measures.
Similarly, the United Nations environmental
conventions that the Democratic Republic of the Congo
ratified include the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification, the United
Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
Ozone Layer.
Home to 60 per cent of the forests of the Congo
basin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is aware
of the crucial role that it can play in controlling the
global climate. It intends to assume that role in a fully
responsible way, provided that the international
community provides in exchange fair remuneration for
the environmental goods and services that are provided
by the forests of Congo to all humankind.
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The fact that the different crises are affecting —
though perhaps in different ways — all countries
throughout the world without exception clearly
demonstrates the futility of any claim to protective
isolation. On the other hand, it demonstrates the
common destiny of all humans and the justification for
the dialogue of religions, cultures and civilizations,
each of which must be protected and respected as an
integral and irreplaceable part of the human heritage.
We therefore commend the maturity of those States that
have apologized or expressed regrets, and even offered
compensation for the harm caused to others by slavery,
colonization, aggressive behaviour or violations of
fundamental human rights and the rights of peoples.
That will leave in the collective universal memory an
indelible testimony to those who, in the name of a
transitory supremacy that scorned the true basic nature
of the world, claimed eternal superiority and at one
point in history claimed to have a lasting moral right
over weaker people.
With the promise of a great future but weakened
by years of bad government and war, the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, thanks to the confidence of its
people and the sustained support of the international
community, has risen again as a State, a republic and a
democracy. Indeed, following the success of our
reunification and pacification efforts, and after
exemplary presidential, legislative and provincial
elections, the legitimate new authorities of our country
launched a programme of reconstruction and are now
ready to organize urban, municipal and local elections
in order to allow the people to choose their own local
representatives responsible for everyday affairs.
The improvement, however, needs to be shored
up urgently, because two territories in North Kivu, out
of the 142 that make up the Republic, are still the scene
of a dangerous security situation that could undermine
all the investments that have been made towards the
rebirth of the country. In fact, because of one of the
national armed groups, the Congrès national pour la
défense du peuple (CNDP), it has not yet been possible
to enjoy the full benefits of the AMANI Forum —
“Amani” means peace in Swahili — to implement the
act of engagement signed at the Conference on Peace,
Security and Development for the provinces of North
and South Kivu, held in Goma from 6 to 25 January
2008 at the initiative of the Head of State. On the
contrary, fighting has broken out again, which has
created a massive displacement of populations and led
to renewed violations of human rights.
With regard to the Nairobi communiqué, which
was the basis for resolving the problem of the harmful
presence in the same region of the country of armed
elements from the Forces démocratiques de libération
du Rwanda (FDLR). That group continues to sow death
and destruction despite the progress that has been made
elsewhere. That progress includes, first, the
organization of information and awareness-raising
programmes for armed Rwandan groups in order to
ensure their voluntary participation in disarmament
followed by their return to Rwanda, their country of
origin, if they so wish, or to relocate them far from the
border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo
and Rwanda, or outside Congolese territory; secondly,
the cantonment, disarmament and voluntary
repatriation to Rwanda of several dozen FDLR
elements and their dependants; and, finally, the
deployment of special brigades of the Forces armíes de
la Republique démocratique du Congo, who will work
with the United Nations Organization Mission in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) to
compel, if necessary, reluctant FDLR elements to
accept the disarmament, demobilization, reintegration
and resettlement or repatriation programme and to
curtail their movements.
In the face of a resurgence in violence, the Head
of State has taken the initiative once again by
reasserting the Government’s support for the Goma act
of engagement and the AMANI Forum as the best way
to put an end to the presence of armed groups in North
and South Kivu and for the Nairobi communiqué to
resolve the problem of the FDLR. Under his initiatives,
a disengagement plan drawn up by MONUC has been
adopted and a verification and monitoring mechanism
is being developed. Accepted by the Government and
the armed groups, with the exception of the CNDP, the
plan will come into force on 1 October and end 45 days
later.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo calls
upon the Security Council to support the plan and
provide MONUC with a clear mandate and adequate
resources in order, if necessary, to impose peace and
security in that part of the Congolese territory. The
credibility of the United Nations and its peacekeeping
missions — of which that in the Congo is by far the
largest — are at stake.
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The human conscience cannot tolerate and the
people of Congo cannot understand how, despite
having leaders legitimately elected by the people and
who enjoy international recognition, a small group
should be allowed to maintain a perpetual rebellion,
entailing the rape of women and the loss of human life
on a massive scale. In the face of the tragedy in the
eastern Congo, MONUC should be authorized to act
and be able to act convincingly. It is our firm belief
that there could be no more legitimate use of force or
timely exercise of the United Nations moral authority.
In addition to the efforts made to eliminate
insecurity in the East of our country, the Democratic
Republic of the Congo is seeking to strengthen the rule
of law, consolidate democracy and ensure good
governance. Justice is therefore one of the pillars of
our policy. For approximately 10 years now, our
country has witnessed millions of deaths, the direct or
indirect victims of armed conflicts. Entire families
have been wiped out, mass graves abound, and
violence against women has reached unprecedented
levels. The country is trying to remedy the situation.
For that reason, we supported Security Council
resolution 1820 (2008) on women and peace and
security, and we thank the Secretary-General for
having placed the suffering of the women and girls of
the Congo high on his agenda and for the support he
has given us in that regard.
What we need most of all, however, and what the
people of the Congo ardently desire and which we are
duty-bound to guarantee to them is the right to justice.
That means neither more nor less than putting an end
to impunity. How can we prevent recidivism and
copycat offences if, thanks to political horse-trading,
criminals are not prosecuted? How can we put an end
to the rape of women and girls and other massive
violations of human rights if the warlords are exempt
from legal prosecution because of their military
strength or capacity for doing great harm? The logic of
civilized society is specifically intended to counter the
law of force with the force of the law.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we
have experienced the unique role that justice plays as a
factor for national harmony and reconciliation, peace,
security and stability. It is thanks to justice that we
have been able to bring lasting peace to Ituri and North
Katanga. It is with the support of justice that we intend
to restore peace throughout our country. It will be
national justice preferably, international justice if
necessary, but justice in any case is a fundamental
requirement. It is in that context that we must place
efforts to rehabilitate the national judicial system, and
it is in the same framework that we are cooperating
with the International Criminal Court.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is also
doing its very best to meet the fundamental needs of its
people in the areas of healthcare, education, self-
sufficiency in food, basic infrastructure, electricity,
drinking water for all and, of course, efforts to
counteract HIV/AIDS, malaria and, above all poverty.
Five pillars have been established to that end. They
involve infrastructure, employment, housing, education
and health, and water and electricity. The complexity
of those areas in a country as large as ours justifies the
scope of the contributions we seek. The Democratic
Republic of the Congo is therefore open to any partner
that can help us meet the challenges of reconstruction
and development.
All peoples of the world aspire to peace; hence
the need for international and regional mechanisms and
instruments for peacekeeping and conflict prevention
and settlement. Therefore, the Democratic Republic of
the Congo welcomes the fact that the Secretary-
General has accepted our request to establish a United
Nations Peacebuilding Office for Central Africa. We
are convinced that the Office will promote greater
closeness and coordination between the United Nations
and the countries of the region. The issues of peace,
security, humanitarian aid and development will be
considered expeditiously and treated with the urgency
that they merit.
In more global terms, we continue to support the
efforts of the Organization in its various efforts to
promote peace, security, human rights, gender equality
and development. In that context, we call for
accelerated reform of the United Nations and the
Security Council, because achieving our dreams in the
face of current and future challenges depends on it. The
United Nations must change and adapt itself to meeting
the new challenges of armed conflict, globalization, the
lack of financial resources adequate to the breadth of
its missions, pandemics, terrorism, and the need to
buttress the system of collective security, particularly
by enlarging the number of decision-makers in terms of
international peace and security and by ensuring a
more balanced and fair representation of the world in
the Security Council. That is an indispensable
democratic requirement for the proper and effective
47 08-53141
functioning of the United Nations system. In that
regard, the African continent should be represented as a
permanent member of the Security Council.
Furthermore, the need for Security Council
reform should not obscure the need to review other
bodies of the United Nations system, particularly the
Economic and Social Council and the Secretariat. The
same applies to the working methods of the other
councils and the International Court of Justice, which
need to be revised, while their interaction with bodies
yet to be created must be better identified and
delineated. Similarly, efforts to revitalize the work of
the General Assembly should continue and its authority
strengthened in order to allow its President to play a
key role in finding solutions to international problems.
It is said that nature only poses threats to
humankind that its creativity is capable of addressing.
Despite our differences, the time has come to put our
individual imaginations together to ensure that the keys
of the global economy are not left to out-and-out
capitalism. We should instead use the universal values
of justice, solidarity and altruism to promote peace and
international security. We believe that, together, we can
provide a better future for humanity so long as we
work every day to achieve the ideals of our universal
organization.
I wish every success to this sixty-third session of
the General Assembly.