It is with great
pleasure that I extend my warmest congratulations to
Mr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann on his election as
President of the General Assembly at its sixty-third
session. In electing him amidst this rather complex
global scenario, the international community places
confidence in his qualities as a statesman, a spiritual
leader and a defender of the most disenfranchised.
For my part, I am convinced that the experience
that Mr. d’Escoto Brockmann gained at a historic time
and in the particular circumstances in the lives of the
friendly people of Nicaragua will serve him well in
analysing and better understanding the challenges we
face in this, the first decade of the twenty-first century.
I count on his wisdom and balance, in the conviction
that spiritual force will always inspire him and help
him preside over our deliberations with success. He
can count on my personal support and on the
cooperation of the delegation of my country, Guinea-
Bissau.
Allow me also to thank his predecessor for the
results achieved at the last session. I would also like to
express our appreciation to Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon for his dedication and for the spirit of
innovation he has shown in fulfilling his duties. His
report on the international situation (A/63/1)
emphasizes the gravity of the major challenges the
world is facing as well as the complexity of the
reforms that are needed to improve the functioning and
efficiency of the Organization and the working
conditions for its staff.
We agree with him that in order to more
efficiently solve the numerous problems of our planet,
we need an organization which is less bureaucratic,
capable of adopting new technologies and possessing
sufficient financial means and competent and highly
motivated staff. We support the efforts of the
Secretary-General with a view to increasing the
Organization’s capacity to maintain peace and to
address global issues. We also support his proposal to
introduce, in the Secretariat in particular, new working
methods based not only on the recognition of
individual skills, but also on an emphasis on teamwork.
The present international situation demands
serious reflection about the cause of the present crisis
which greatly affects our countries. The three main
elements of the crisis — energy, food and international
finances, to which we would add the disastrous
consequences of climate change — call for a better
coordination of our efforts in the pursuit of innovative,
courageous and adequate solutions leading to the
establishment of a new world order, one which is more
just and equitable and which is capable of responding
to the realities of an interdependent and globalized
world.
The increase in oil prices has destabilizing effects
on our economies. The cost of producing electrical
energy in particular has become an unsustainable
burden for the poor countries and a major obstacle to
the achievement of the Millennium Development
Goals.
In my country, Guinea-Bissau, for example, the
lack of energy seriously compromises all socio-
economic activities, particularly hospital care and the
distribution of drinking water, which is essential for
guaranteeing hygiene and public health. How can a
poor country like ours face the unjustified increase in
the price of oil? What means do we have at our
disposal to face the adverse consequences of a system
which has been poorly based on speculation and which
has nothing to do with the law of supply and demand?
Is it not the right time for us to think about creating a
world fund to mitigate the effects that are jeopardizing
our ability to reach the Millennium Development
Goals? How can we invest in and improve our
infrastructure in such vital areas as health, education
and agriculture if we are continuously compelled to
spend enormous resources from our already limited
funding to purchase fuel?
Moreover, the tremendous increase in food prices
on the international market and the hunger and
malnutrition which could affect many countries, in
Africa in particular, are also matters of great concern
and impel us to take action and implement appropriate
agricultural policies with sufficient financial means so
that we can invest in the creation of modern and
affordable means of production.
Saying that agriculture is a priority should not be
a mere slogan. We need to be reminded that the right to
food is a fundamental right and is enshrined in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, whose sixtieth
anniversary we are celebrating this year. Every country
should be able to guarantee food autonomy. We
therefore need to examine and reformulate conditions
for obtaining agricultural credits in particular.
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A food shortage can pose a serious threat to the
peace and security of a country. At the international
level, we need to seriously discuss how to improve our
capacity to respond effectively to the food crisis by
putting into practice new scientific knowledge and by
applying technologies suited to the climate conditions
of the various regions of our planet and to the social
and economic realities of our respective peoples.
In an interdependent and globalized world, we
have to strive to establish and ensure respect for rules
capable of regulating the international, financial and
trading system without impeding the free flow of
capital. But the international financial system, which is
already affected by serious distortions, cannot be based
only on a quest for speculative profit and on unlawful
behaviour, which can have enormous consequences, as
is the case now in many countries, where thousands of
families have financial difficulties, particularly in the
area of housing credits. Unfortunately, the
consequences of these poor practices are not limited to
a few countries.
The international community must react to all of
these challenges. But how can we succeed without
close cooperation among all countries of the world? We
need cooperation in order to face climate change and to
mitigate the effects of natural disasters such as the
terrible hurricanes which have caused so much
destruction in countries in the Caribbean, such as Cuba
and Haiti, and also in Houston, Texas.
Our main goal should be to foster dialogue in all
circumstances — dialogue among the countries,
peoples, cultures, religions and civilizations of the
world. It is only through dialogue that we will be able
to identify our differences and find solutions in our
common interest.
We need dialogue and negotiation at the
international level to prevent and solve conflicts, such
as the conflict in the Middle East, and to preserve the
lives of human beings in danger, in Darfur and in
Somalia, for example. We need dialogue and
negotiation to defend and protect the most vulnerable,
in particular women and children, by promoting and
ensuring respect for human rights, the principle of
democracy and the rule of law.
At the national level, we need dialogue aimed at
creating appropriate conditions for the consolidation of
democracy through free, transparent and credible
elections, as we intend to do in Guinea-Bissau on
16 November.
Finally, we should further dialogue and
negotiations with the view to promoting a policy of
inclusion that guarantees the active participation of all
stakeholders, above all women and youth, and civil
society in general, in building peace and political
stability and in creating the necessary conditions for
development.
Although confronted with complex international
situations, the international community has ways of
facing those challenges. However, real political will is
needed from us all. The United Nations can play an
even more decisive role in preventing and resolving
conflicts, in protecting our planet and in creating better
living conditions for millions of people. Thus we need
a United Nations that is better organized, less
bureaucratic and better suited to confronting those
many challenges.
We reiterate our full support for the Secretary-
General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, in the implementation of
much-needed reforms for the greater efficiency,
capacity to respond and credibility of the United
Nations. We equally support the reform process
undertaken by the Member States of our Organization
in order to democratize the United Nations system, in
particular the Security Council, the enlargement of
which remains a priority for us all, considering the new
economical and political reality of today’s world and
above all the need to address the historic injustice done
to the continent of Africa for more than 60 years.