Algeria

I would like to take this opportunity to warmly congratulate President Vuk Jeremić on his election to the presidency of the Assembly at its sixty-seventh session. I also pay tribute to his predecessor, Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, for his efforts during his tenure. I would also like to commend the continuing commitment and efforts of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Today our world faces a complex turning point in its history, replete with challenges and opportunities. The deep geopolitical upheavals in our region and the serious problems resulting from the economic and financial crisis attest to that. We believe that our collective faith in multilateralism will help us to unite our efforts to find solutions and overcome the persistent uncertainty that has resulted from those changes. The unprecedented extent of our problems may risk worsening the existing imbalances in relations among nations. All of us, without exception, bear a responsibility for the future of our planet, which we would like to be more just and more united. No country has been spared the consequences of the global crisis, and their management cannot be considered by only a small number of States acting to the exclusion of the rest. Quite the contrary, we all have the right to participate in finding solutions. The slowdown in the world’s economy negatively affects many countries, including those of the developed world, which are facing a sovereign debt crisis and increasing unemployment. Therefore, further efforts are called for to prevent such situations from spilling over to other regions of the world, in particular to Africa. The response to the challenges of the crisis rests with our capacity to find alternatives to the theories and practices of the past, because the new realities of our times require urgent implementation of appropriate and more effective approaches and mechanisms for addressing the crisis. As in previous years, we continue to suffer from the effects of the multidimensional crisis, whether in economic governance or in political coordination. In fact, the return of trust and growth should lead us to step up our efforts to coordinate between the United Nations and multilateral institutions in the economic and financial fields. The United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions should complement each other and act in complete political and economic coordination and harmony. As far as we are concerned, Algeria has shouldered its share of responsibility. It has made enormous sacrifices and continues to rigorously control and manage its expenditures. The fiscal surplus that we have achieved has allowed us to adopt a revived social policy under our five-year plan 2010-2014 that involves redistributing wealth while maintaining investments for economic growth. Algeria has always called for combating the causes and not just the consequences of instability. We have insisted on the important fact that development and peace and security are interrelated, and that the strategies of the United Nations and, in particular, the Security Council, for lasting peace must be thought of in harmony with socioeconomic development policies. In that regard, at the regional level, Algeria is contributing to the process of democratization and the promotion of the rule of law and socioeconomic development. The fight against hunger and poverty, the protection of food security, agriculture, growth, infrastructure, energy and renewable energy are areas in which we cooperate with countries of the Maghreb and the Sahel. Along the same lines, Algeria is sharing with African and Arab countries and with its other partners its experience in the area of fighting terrorism and the interrelated scourges of organized crime and illicit trafficking in drugs and weapons, which are widespread our region. Algeria welcomes the recent changes in some countries of North Africa and the Middle East that reflected the will of their peoples, who are searching for a democratic ideal, justice and dignity. Those are, in fact, the founding principles of the Algerian revolution. Committed to the principle of self-determination of peoples and mutual respect among nations, Algeria condemns all forms of violence and repression, wherever they arise. We will continue to believe that dialogue and negotiation are the best means for settling disputes. Algeria hopes that the people of Western Sahara will exercise their right to self-determination. We urge Morocco and the Frente Polisario to act in good faith and initiate formal talks, under the auspices of the United Nations, with a view to reaching a just and lasting solution, pursuant to the norms and provisions of international law. The search for peace, security and development is a priority for us all. That commitment was formally reaffirmed by the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement, including Algeria, at the Movement’s sixteenth summit, held in Tehran last August. We support the commitment of the United Nations to conflict prevention through its unf lagging diplomatic efforts, and we appreciate our Organization’s role in promoting appropriate solutions to major crises within the context of its tireless and comprehensive efforts to bring about development. Algeria is a member of the special joint committee of the United Nations and the League of Arab States to monitor the Syrian crisis. We supported Mr. Kofi Annan and we will do the same with his successor, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, with a view to reaching a political solution to the acute crisis that is unfolding within that fraternal country. In our region today, we are facing new risks and threats that point to a return of terrorism in its more violent manifestations, along with its interrelated scourges of organized crime and trafficking in drugs and weapons. It is in that context that we have to consider the complex situation in brotherly Mali. That crisis seriously threatens the security of the countries of the Sahel. In fact the deep, root causes of the situation can be attributed to the ills of severe underdevelopment and abject poverty. Algeria acts in concert with the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States and other regional actors concerned with a view to reaching a peaceful and lasting settlement of the crisis in Mali. The roles played by the General Assembly and the Security Council are essential for the preservation and building of peace throughout the world and for the realization of the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter in the areas of international cooperation and development. Moreover, the missions of those two principal and complementary organs are based on legitimacy, contrary to the deadlock in the reform process that began years ago. We must therefore do everything possible to ensure that the General Assembly, the most representative organ of the United Nations, reclaims all its competence in that context. The working methods and membership of the Security Council must be revised to ensure its democratization in terms of new permanent and non-permanent members from the developing world, in particular from Africa, the cradle of civilization. Algeria is proud to celebrate this year the fiftieth anniversary of its independence and of its membership of the United Nations. Faithful to its principles, Algeria has made a wise contribution to the complete decolonization of Africa. Today it enjoys peace with its neighbours with a view to completing the process of regional integration. Algeria would like to become a member of the Human Rights Council, for which it is a candidate for the period 2014-2016, in order to continue defending the values on which its history and its determination to overcome adversity is based. Everyone knows that the road of human rights is littered with many pitfalls and obstacles, such as authoritarianism, xenophobia, poverty, discrimination and unilateral economic sanctions. In that regard, the embargo on Cuba, which has lasted for more than half a century and has created deprivation, is both unfair and anachronistic. Furthermore, attacks on Islam and Muslims are a violation of human rights and a threat to peaceful coexistence among peoples. We should all fight against the phenomenon of Islamophobia, which is based on a xenophobic ideology that erroneously likens Islam to terrorism. That phenomenon must be fought. In that context, the tragic events engendered by the infamous video concerning Islam and its Prophet are reprehensible in many respects. Similary, Algeria condemns acts of violence perpetrated against diplomatic officers and missions, which are vehicles for friendly relations and cooperation among peoples. Algeria proposes an initiative under the auspices of the United Nations to identify the ways and means to organize a response that puts an end to such hateful events, which threaten international peace and security. In that regard, we cannot forget that the appropriate and responsible use of freedom of expression should also endow our world with a more human and brotherly face through the promotion of dialogue among religions and cultures. At the sixty-seventh session of the General Assembly, Algeria would like to welcome the State of Palestine as a new Member of the United Nations family, recognized within its 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. We believe that the time has come for Palestine to be fully represented at the centre of this irreplaceable international forum, the United Nations. Recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to sovereignty and self- determination is an inalienable right and a necessary precondition for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, which is currently being prevented by the Israeli policy of occupation. In addition, the creation of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East is an important confidence-building measure. In that regard, we support the efforts of the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Jaakko Laajava, as facilitator for the conference on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction, to be held before the end of this year in Helsinki. Algeria is committed to a global and ambitious agreement to protect the environment and promote sustainable development. In that regard, we are grateful to the Group of 77 and China, which we have the honour to preside over this year, for its constant support and cooperation, which has made it possible to achieve the results of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, the strengthening of the Nairobi Work Programme and the preparations for the next conferences on climate change and biodiversity. Algeria urges Member States to shoulder their responsibilities in implementing the commitments entered into under the concept of common but differentiated responsibility, that is, namely, the financing of the transfer of know- how, technology and capacity-building in the area of sustainable development. The President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelaziz Boutef lika, has given new impetus to the programme of reforms aimed at strengthening the democratic process, the rule of law and the advancement of women. The legislative elections of 10 May 2012 yielded a significant increase in women’s representation, with 146 women Members of Parliament, representing one third of the Lower Chamber. Our country has made tangible progress in the political, economic and social areas, and we continue our efforts to establish and consolidate our democratic freedoms based on the principle of equal opportunity embodied in our Constitution. Those steps have enabled our country to achieve in general the Millennium Development Goals prior to 2015. That led to Algeria being chosen as one of the 50 countries selected by the United Nations for consultations on the Millennium Development Goals and the post-2015 development agenda. In conclusion, I thank members for their attention and wish them every success in the work of our session.