Chad

On behalf of my delegation and on my own behalf, I would like to most warmly congratulate you, Mr. President, on your election to presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-third session. The delegation of Chad is convinced that your qualities and experience in the area of international relations will ensure success for our current session, and we would like to assure you of our cooperation as you carry out your mission. I would also like to express our gratitude to your predecessor for having skilfully and insightfully steered the work of the Assembly at its sixty-second session. I also pay a well-deserved tribute to our Secretary-General, His Excellency Ban Ki-moon, for his commitment to upholding and promoting the ideals of our Organization. The sixty-third session is being held at a time when the world is facing many challenges. The armed conflicts affecting essentially all continents are compounded by the food, energy and financial crises that endanger the most vulnerable populations. Those recurring crises are genuine handicaps to implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to which the international community has committed itself. Chad, like many other countries, found itself early on in an adverse political, social and economic situation, despite the implementation of its national growth and poverty reduction strategy. That strategy, which was updated in 2008, is, however, the best framework for cooperation geared towards pooling all national and international efforts that are essentially aimed at achieving the MDGs. To be sure, the Millennium Declaration was welcomed in its time as a 08-53135 24 major step in the international community’s awareness of the considerable lag of many of its members with respect to development. The Declaration and the MDGs, which we adopted in 2000 to eradicate poverty by 2015, are today still the most appropriate response to the problems of poverty that many countries, including my own, continue to face. Those problems include shortfalls in terms of the resources necessary to fund our programmes, but also, and particularly, the unrest that has resulted from the many attempts at destabilization and that is worsened by incursions of mercenaries and armed militias of all kinds. The most notable of such incidents took place in April 2006 and February 2008. To be sure, the development of our oil, which began in 2003, has given the country additional resources. But those resources do not, unfortunately, meet our needs. Outside assistance is therefore necessary in a number of areas in order to build our capacities to better meet the challenges of poverty. Contributions by our partners — although we would like to reiterate our gratitude to them and commend their commitment to us — need to be adapted. Such contributions should, as a priority, be aimed at building the country’s ability to take action, in particular by developing its natural wealth, and should provide more substantial financial and technical support in that context. More flexible conditions with respect to easing the external debt of poor countries are indispensable. Greater attention should also be given to the economic problems facing developing countries, specifically those in Africa, where the future of some could be threatened by the lack of competitiveness of their export products because of measures taken by their competitors in the North. My country hopes that the outpouring of solidarity that underpinned the launching of the MDGs process will be revived in order to reduce inequalities, which worsen poverty and which are ultimately sources of tension, with unpredictable consequences. At any rate, Chad continues to be determined to do its utmost to improve the living conditions of its people within the framework of the MDGs. I would like to commend the efforts of our Organization in eradicating hotspots of tension that are major obstacles to the implementation of development goals. The Darfur crisis is an example of that, due to the burden that it has placed on Chad as a result of its economic, social and environmental repercussions. The presence in eastern Chad of 290,000 Sudanese refugees and 180,000 displaced Chadians is a matter of major concern, for both Chad and for the international community. We welcome the international community’s unprecedented mobilization in that regard. Nevertheless, the fate of the host populations should be given greater attention, in order to restore the balances that were upset by that massive inflow. In that in that part of the world a true tragedy is occurring, and it weighs on our collective conscience. I would like to issue here a heartfelt appeal for a lasting solution to that crisis. Furthermore, my country welcomes the extension by the Security Council of the mandate of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). Chad is persuaded that the international community, having assessed the suffering of the people of Darfur, will strengthen the operational capacities of UNAMID by providing it with all the appropriate resources so that it can effectively carry out its mission and establish the necessary conditions for a comprehensive and lasting settlement to the crisis. We believe that it is essential to recall here that, since the crisis broke out in Darfur, my country has spared no effort to assist its Sudanese brothers in finding a peaceful settlement to the conflict facing them. In August 2003, His Excellency Idriss Deby Itno was the first foreign head of State personally to travel to El-Fasher to express his solidarity and support for his Sudanese counterpart, Omer Hassan Al-Bashir, while calling on the Sudanese rebels to lay down their arms and agree to a political settlement. We would recall the decisive role he played as mediator to reach many peace agreements between the Sudanese Government and its opposition. Similarly, aware of the close linkage between stability in Chad and the settlement of the crisis in Darfur, he has always worked for the normalization of relations between the two countries. It is in that spirit that the Government of Chad welcomed the decision of the Sudan to restore diplomatic relations with Chad at the meeting of the Contact Group tasked with implementing the Dakar Agreement, held in Asmara on 12 September. 25 08-53135 At that time, the Government of Chad called the Contact Group to witness the sincere commitment of the two parties towards a lasting normalization of their relations. Here, I reiterate the gratitude of the Government of Chad to the member countries of the Contact Group, institutions and friendly countries for the key positive roles that they continue to play in supporting Chad and the Sudan on that path. From this rostrum, we would like to commend the close cooperation among the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT), the European Union-led peacekeeping force and the Government of Chad. The strengthening of the mandate of MINURCAT offers new prospects for developing relations between Chad and the United Nations, taking into account the experience accrued during the preceding mandate. The need for greater effectiveness of the international presence in Chad requires dynamic cooperation between the various parties. Despite the repeated attacks of mercenaries, the repercussions of which on the life of the nation have been devastating, the Government of Chad, under the impetus of His Excellency Idriss Deby Itno, President of the Republic and Head of State, remains committed to pursuing political dialogue with the democratic opposition and with the armed movements in order to bring about national harmony. The tangible results of that policy are the formation on 23 April 2008 of a broad-based Government, led by Youssouf Saleh Abbas, which includes leading personalities from the democratic opposition. We are also pleased to note the return to legality of several members of the armed movements under the Sirte agreement of 25 October 2007. We confirm that the political dialogue, initiated by the agreement of 13 August 2007 and briefly interrupted by the tragic events of February 2008, has resumed its work. It is taking place in a climate of trust and understanding and naturally will continue, with the assistance of our partners, towards the holding of free and transparent elections. Here, I would like to reiterate very solemnly to those partners the gratitude of the Government and people of Chad for their valuable support in facilitating that dialogue. After that overview on national political issues, we would like to address some international challenges facing our Organization. The setback in the recent negotiations in Geneva raises questions with respect to the ability to establish a just and equitable global trade system that takes into account the legitimate aspirations of developing countries, the most vulnerable in the world economy. What is more, despite the efforts of the international community to reduce tensions and spare the world the horrors of armed conflict, unfortunately we continue to see theatres of confrontation emerge on all continents. The unbearable sight of thousands of women, children and elderly people displaced or cast into exile in the wake of those conflicts should persuade the international community to be more responsible. Armed conflicts and the atrocities they cause are a breeding ground for terrorism. That scourge is another challenge to and major concern for the international community. My country supports the efforts of the United Nations to fight for its complete eradication, but also for greater justice in addressing international issues. On issues concerning nuclear matters, we reaffirm our country’s unswerving position, which is to respect the sovereign will of States to acquire nuclear power for civilian purposes. With respect to conflicts on the African continent, we are pleased to note the joint efforts of the African Union and the United Nations to settle them peacefully and enduringly. Thus, we welcome the normalization of the political and military situation in Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya and the Comoros. In the Horn of Africa, Chad supports the efforts of the African Union to restore peace and national harmony in Somalia. In Zimbabwe, we welcome the political agreement reached between the primary Zimbabwean political players thanks to the mediation of President Thabo Mbeke, to whom we pay well-deserved tribute. In conclusion, within the framework of reform of the bodies of the United Nations, and more particularly the Security Council, I should like to reiterate the urgent appeal of my country to the Assembly and to the members of the Security Council for a just and fair reform that takes into account the legitimate aspirations of the African continent.