Senegal

The General Assembly has unanimously chosen you, Sir, to guide our debates. This is a tribute both to your qualities as a diplomat and statesman and to your country, Finland, for the very positive role it plays in addressing the great issues of our modern world. Senegal is happy to convey to you, through me, its congratulations and hopes for success in leading this session. You were preceded in this office by His Excellency Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, Minister for Foreign Affairs of our sister Republic of Namibia, who presided in the name of our continent, Africa. He guided our debates successfully throughout his mandate, which was full of important events for our Organization. I would like at the same time to pay tribute to the work of our Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, who has devoted himself and all his energy to our Organization, in an increasingly complex world. Let us pay him the tribute he richly deserves for the success of the Millennium Summit, which proved to the world that Mr. Kofi Annan has achieved what he set out to do, i.e. to restore the dignity and prestige of the Organization as the indispensable forum for concertation and concord, and as a peacemaker and promoter of progress for all. I would also like, finally, to welcome the delegation of Tuvalu, which has become the 189th Member State. History will recall that, in the framework of the Millennium Assembly, the Millennium Summit gathered in this venerable Hall our illustrious heads of State and Government, who examined the role our Organization is being called upon to play in the twenty- first century. These eminent dignitaries thereby gave us a new vision of how to take up the great challenge posed by globalization by promoting a new human international order. The first half of the year 2000 was also an intense time for the United Nations and the international community, what with the holding in June of two major special sessions of the General Assembly. These two special sessions following up on and reviewing the Fourth World Conference on Women, which was held in Beijing, and the World Summit on Social Development, held in Copenhagen produced encouraging results. My delegation cherishes the hope that these sessions will contribute to strengthening the status and role of women in our respective societies by promoting gender equality, the eradication both of poverty and of its feminization, and the promotion of productive employment and social integration. If we do not fully respect women and recognize their essential contribution to the progress of our societies, our world is going continue walking on one leg, when obviously there are two. Despite these new perspectives and their historical importance, this session is not without causes for grave concern and even despair. Despite our ongoing efforts, a number of conflicts are persisting and deepening. From Sierra Leone to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from Angola to the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea, from Burundi to Somalia, from Kosovo to East Timor we hear the echoes and see the images and the horror of conflict zones. Senegal would like to here voice its great concern at what is occurring between Guinea and Liberia. Our country calls upon these two countries to carry out a brotherly, peaceful dialogue in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). We make the same urgent request of the political leaders of CÙte d'Ivoire, urging them to find a political compromise that will enable the great country, CÙte d'Ivoire, which we love so well, to live in peace, stability and unity. It is in view of such situations that regional organizations, aware of the fact that Africa is paying a high price for all these conflicts, have resolutely undertaken to seek political solutions, with the help of the international community. This is what occurred in 9 Sierra Leone, where the LomÈ Agreement, reached under the aegis of the Economic Community of West African States, allowed us to nourish hopes for a lasting solution. The same can be said for Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the two Lusaka agreements of 1994 and 1999, respectively. Unfortunately, these praiseworthy efforts often run up against a lack of commitment on the part of rebel movements or armed factions to the very agreements that they themselves have signed. However, in spite of this bleak situation, we should not give in to discouragement. As the constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization says, `since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed'. We have a moral obligation to continue to act with determination and perseverance, bringing the protagonists of these conflicts to recognize and embrace a culture of peace that will allow people to progress, committing themselves to forgiveness and reconciliation. It is in this context that my delegation congratulates the members of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations for its recent report. The subtlety of the analyses and the relevance of the recommendations contained therein open new perspectives for the United Nations in terms of reducing tensions and wisely managing conflicts. Senegal attaches great importance to the consideration of the Panel's recommendations, so that a new peacekeeping doctrine can be established. Experience has shown us that the language of weapons, as well as feeding conflicts by illicitly exploiting natural resources, cannot produce humanly acceptable solutions. The only possible solution is one that allows peoples to fully enjoy conditions of peace and economic and social security. It is in this context that the Constitutive Act of the African Union was signed on 12 July at LomÈ, at the thirty-sixth session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), committing Africa to resolutely engage in a spirit of unity in finding African solutions to its many challenges. This is why the President of the Republic, MaÓtre Abdoulaye Wade, a convinced Pan- Africanist, led to its completion the procedure making Senegal the second African country to ratify this historic Act. Before LomÈ, Africa had already taken another meaningful decision, at the Algiers summit, by proclaiming 2000 the year of peace and concord on the continent. The advent of democracy in Guinea-Bissau and the efforts to bring about a gradual return to normality in the life of its citizens and institutions are part of the response to the demand for democracy. Is not the recent peaceful political transition in my country, which brought MaÓtre Abdoulaye Wade to the highest executive position, further proof that our peoples can choose their leaders in a sovereign and democratic fashion? I now turn to the Middle East, where my country has noted the major breakthroughs this year in the Israeli-Arab conflict, at the heart of which is the question of Palestine. The evacuation of Lebanese territory by the Israeli occupation troops and the long and delicate negotiations at Camp David between Palestinians and Israelis give rise to hope, despite the talks' relative failure. Our hopes include that of seeing the creation of a space of lasting cohabitation between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as between Israel and its Arab neighbours, with respect for the dignity and rights of the peoples and States of the region. It is only right to pay tribute to all the participants in this positive development, in particular the Palestinian and Israeli leadership, who, thanks to their political courage and sense of history have opened this avenue towards a new dawn of peace in the Middle East. Senegal reiterates its constant support for President Yasser Arafat and its admiration for his courage and political lucidity. He has never dropped the olive branch to which he referred here in 1974. Our congratulations also go to President Clinton. We express our support for the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Barak, as well as the other actors in the peace process, whom we commend for their determined efforts in search of peace and reconciliation between all the peoples of the region. We hope that their efforts will soon be crowned with positive results. The year 2000 was also marked by a relaxation of major importance in relations between the two Koreas. This highly significant political development will contribute to consolidating peace and security on the 10 Korean peninsula and in the entire subregion of South- East Asia. The United Nations, universal symbol of the peoples' aspirations to peace and security, should make a significant contribution to protecting the ongoing process between the two Koreas. It is in the name of rapprochement between peoples and the principle of universality that my country supports the request of the Republic of China on Taiwan to rejoin the concert of free nations within the United Nations and its specialized agencies, and thus to participate in the consolidation of international peace and security. With the completion last June of the definition of what constitutes crimes, and of the rules of procedure and testimony, the Preparatory Committee for the International Criminal Court passed a significant milestone in the establishment of this important legal institution. This progress and the new ratifications of the Rome Statute, are encouraging signs of the international community's rejection of criminal faits accomplis, injustice and impunity. I repeat Senegal's support for the process, which should bring about a credible, independent and efficient International Criminal Court. Building and consolidating peace also, and above all, means to meeting the chronic challenge of underdevelopment, for, as we know, development is another name for peace. Twenty years ago the North- South Commission on development problems strongly emphasized that where hunger reigns there cannot be peace, and that whoever wants to banish war must also banish poverty. Yet today, despite that warning, poverty persists and grows, although we have the means to fight it. We dare to hope that next year's high-level meeting on financing development will be a unique opportunity to examine in depth the causes of the decline in official development assistance and will find ways and means to redress this worrying situation: the urgent need to deal with the debt crisis, rebalance international trade and deal with the risks of marginalization resulting from globalization. I recall President Wade's appeal, warmly received by his peers, for an in-depth analysis of the African debt and for a world summit on globalization to correct its injustices and contradictions. I would also like to reiterate Senegal's support for cooperation frameworks such as the EU-ACP agreements and the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). We hope that recent decisions made at the G-8 Summit in Okinawa, as well as the American initiative, `African Growth and Opportunity Act', will be the starting point of a new partnership based on solidarity and mutual benefits. Development is inseparable from the promotion and protection of human rights, the rule of law and sound governance, principles to which my country remains firmly attached. By creating a human rights unit attached to the presidency of the Republic, the Head of State has shown his personal commitment to the protection and promoting of citizens' fundamental rights and freedoms by the Administration and at every level of public life. Senegal will continue to make every effort to consolidate the foundations of the rule of law, to protect human rights defenders and to honour the obligations it assumes by its adherence to international legal instruments on human rights. With the momentum created by the success in Senegal of the peaceful change-over of political power and a peaceful transition, my country feels equipped to continue to defend the image of a serene Africa, a mature Africa, a tolerant and democratic Africa. Today, more than ever, our people wonder about the political will and capacity of our States to take advantage of the current international climate, which seems propitious for a dynamic of peace and for taking into account the human dimension in technological innovations. In Africa our thoughts often turn to the anguish caused by the ravages of HIV/AIDS, although with a l.6 per cent rate, Senegal strengthens the hope that this scourge will be defeated. Fifty years ago, at the end of the planetary nightmare of the Second World War, a hope and conviction were born: that men and women throughout the world would do everything possible to prevent new wars from breaking out and would work together to ensure respect for the right of each individual to freedom, justice and progress. Today the intellectual and material resources available to humanity should logically be increasingly dedicated to building a future of peace, progress and shared happiness. But it must be said that for the great majority of peoples and nations the international situation does not meet their aspirations to peace and progress. In the final analysis, to build a pan-human society which is at peace with itself we must unite all our energies to create the basis for more human development with greater solidarity, bringing new hope to future generations. This is the importance and meaning of the Millennium Summit, in urging us to make a collective contribution to strengthening our Organization for the salvation of humanity. As it has become a tradition in my country, I will leave the last word of my statement to the inimitable Senegal-Cameroon poet of love and hope, David Mandesijop, who said: `Hope lived in us as in a citadel.' I hope the aspiration to a more just and happy world will live within us all as an impregnable citadel so, as Mandesijop said, that spring will grow beneath our footsteps.