The
delegation of the Niger — which I have the honour to
lead and which brings the message of His Excellency
Mamadou Tandja, President of the Republic — is more
than pleased to see you, Mr. President, presiding over
the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. Your
election, which the Niger welcomes with pride, is
without a doubt both recognition and endorsement of
your exceptional abilities as a seasoned diplomat,
which you have demonstrated throughout your
distinguished career. We in the Niger are well placed to
attest to your commitment to the cause of Africa and of
our common subregion, specifically through the
Community of Sahel-Saharan States, that other forum
in which our countries work together for the same
goals that are enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations. Thus we consider ourselves to be in your good
hands, ready to advance the work of the Organization
in this time of formidable challenges.
I should like to renew our congratulations to the
outgoing President, Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann,
on his active and very full presidency, and to state that
the Niger was honoured to serve alongside him in its
capacity as Vice-President at the sixty-third session.
On behalf of the Niger, I should like to reiterate
our profound gratitude to Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon for his unflagging efforts to make the United
Nations a more just and effective Organization, able to
meet the expectations of its Members.
My delegation welcomes your decision, Sir, to
declare as the very apt theme for the Assembly’s
current session the strengthening of multilateralism and
dialogue among civilizations for international peace,
security and development. In our view, this theme has
the potential to spur Member States to greater initiative
in realizing the goals that we are pursuing, namely,
those of preserving international peace and security.
We are pleased, in this regard, by the renewed
dynamism in cooperation between the Security Council
and regional organizations, in particular the African
Union. We believe that this direction has the potential
27 09-52598
to lead to lasting solutions to the problems of peace
and security in Africa.
We are convinced that such cooperation will yield
results even on the most delicate issues, such as the
implementation of the political-legal concept of the
principle of universal jurisdiction. While my delegation
welcomes the inclusion of this topic in the agenda of
the General Assembly, we should like once again to
endorse the concerns already expressed by the African
Union and to urge Member States to avoid using this
principle inappropriately. We hope that our debate in
this common forum will make possible a better
understanding of this concept and a better definition of
the framework governing its eventual application.
We note the progress that is being made in
various areas in the prevention and management of
conflicts, both in Africa and elsewhere. And we
welcome the commitment and goodwill of all parties
carrying out concerted actions to ensure international
peace and security.
The recommendations of the special summit on
conflict prevention and management held in Tripoli
reflect the will of African leaders to take on issues that
have always slowed our continent in its march towards
progress and prosperity. It is at this level that the theme
of multilateralism — which you, Mr. President, have
selected for the sixty-fourth session — takes on all its
meaning. Indeed, the United Nations, as the common
framework enjoying the highest level of participation
by countries and other actors in the world, should serve
as a laboratory in which we work towards the goal of a
more balanced international community.
Governed as it is by the laws of globalization, the
current international scene is, as we know, much more
complex today than in the past. We must address and
manage the consequences of the international financial
crisis and, for countries in the Sahel such as the Niger,
the recurrent effects of food insecurity. We must
address climate change in a concerted and coordinated
manner, and we must constantly question the current
formulas for preventing conflict and maintaining
international peace and security.
My delegation supports such initiatives, which
must be inclusive, because they must benefit from the
contributions and perspectives of everyone, including
the most vulnerable countries. In particular, we support
the various discussions under way on this subject,
whether in the General Assembly, the Economic and
Social Council or the Security Council, or even in the
context of specific initiatives such as the discussions
being held by Canada on peacekeeping operations.
We in the Niger have made undeniable progress
in the area of combating poverty and promoting basic
development, thanks to the bold actions of the
President. Through projects designed specifically to
meet the needs of Niger’s people, he has enabled our
country to finally give meaning to development. Today,
development is palpable in every corner of the Niger
because of proactive and systematic efforts to build
classrooms and health clinics, dig wells, build local
drinking water systems and promote a microcredit
system designed specifically for the most vulnerable
rural women. The head of State is doing this to
improve the living conditions of our people, who
suffered from the political instability that characterized
our country during the 1990s, which one could
describe as a lost decade for Niger’s development. In
late August, a meeting was held in Niamey for the
second 2009 review by the Poverty Reduction and
Growth Facility of the International Monetary Fund.
The Niger’s performance in those areas was
acknowledged and commended at the meeting, which
brought together representatives of the World Bank and
of our country’s Ministry of Economy and Finance.
I recall these aspects of the situation in Niger
because, as members are aware, a referendum was held
in our country on 4 August 2009 to adopt a new
constitution. It formalizes the return to a presidential
Administration more suited to the realities of our
country and introduces new provisions such as that
establishing two chambers, Parliament and the Senate.
The referendum, held in an atmosphere of calm and
transparency by the National Independent Electoral
Commission, enabled us to adopt the new constitution,
which formalizes the arrival of the sixth Republic.
Therefore, I wish to take this opportunity to
reassure the international community, development
partners, civil society and other actors and entities that
may be justifiably concerned about the political
situation in the Niger that the country is not in a
situation of lawlessness or insurrection, as some would
have one believe, but rather is a place where all people
freely express their opinions within the framework of
the democratic process, to which we are deeply
committed.
09-52598 28
The sovereign people of the Niger have chosen to
refashion the Republic around certain values with
which they identify. In this new endeavour, President
Mamadou Tandja has solemnly pledged that no group
or structure will be overlooked. Following the
referendum, the President recalled his willingness to
work with all citizens of the Niger in the interest of the
country and its people. The forthcoming legislative
elections, to be held on 20 October, and the municipal
elections in December 2009 will be opportunities for
large-scale mobilization to ensure better representation
for the people in the conduct of State affairs. It is this
reality of a Niger marching towards development,
resolutely committed to building its future and more
determined than ever to lift its people out of poverty,
that we must bear in mind.
We fully support any joint action that can
contribute to general and complete disarmament. We
have been at the forefront in fulfilling our
commitments in this area, and we are resolved to
continue to work in that regard within our modest
means. Our most recent initiative was to ratify the
Convention on Cluster Munitions on 14 May 2009 — a
formality that made the Niger one of the very first
countries to do so and accelerated its entry into force.
We believe that this gesture, although it may seem
minor, assumes its full meaning in the context of the
difficult path towards complete disarmament. For us,
this initiative, together with our country’s ratification
of the Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons,
Their Ammunition and Other Related Materials,
adopted by the Economic Community of West African
States, is a significant contribution to disarmament at
our level.
We are following the various processes carried
out at various levels to reform the United Nations
system. This includes reform of the Security Council,
with regard to which we call for greater recognition of
Africa’s role through the Ezulwini Consensus; the
ongoing preparations to ensure the success of the
United Nations climate change conference in
Copenhagen; and the summit convened by the
Secretary-General and just concluded here in New
York, which benefited from the valuable guidance of
heads of State and Government. In addition, there is
United Nations system-wide coherence; the definition
of the new concept of the responsibility to protect,
which needs to be clearly defined and set out, as in the
Constitutive Act of the African Union; and, finally, the
follow-up to the outcome document of the Conference
on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its
Impact on Development, which the previous President
of the General Assembly wished to begin by appointing
facilitators.
With regard to all those issues and many other
important concerns, such as those referred to in the
outcome document of the Follow-up International
Conference on Financing for Development to Review
the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus, held
at Doha at the end of 2008, we wish to express once
again our ongoing concern that we should develop an
inclusive and transparent approach at all levels that
takes into account the concerns of both large and small
countries.
We are following with great interest, and often
concern, the progress of the commitments made within
the framework of the Millennium Development Goals,
and we note that it remains mixed. At the same time,
adverse phenomena are placing constraints on both
developed and developing countries, such as the world
economic and financial crisis. These problems now
require that all of us redouble our efforts to keep our
commitments. In that regard, we will closely follow the
preparations for the 2010 mid-term review conference,
which, we hope, will result in efforts to accelerate the
attainment of the agreed objectives. We also take this
opportunity to reaffirm the irreplaceable nature of the
New Partnership for Africa’s Development as a
relevant African initiative that must enjoy the support
of the United Nations and of the international
community as a whole.
We welcome the decision to convene the Fourth
United Nations Conference on the Least Developed
Countries, and we salute the host country, Turkey, for
its generous initiative vis-à-vis our group of countries.
We also thank other countries and partner organizations
which have always remained sensitive to the many
constraints and concerns of our countries. We also
know that, if significant progress has been made in
10 years in recognizing our difficult conditions and
establishing useful partnerships in that regard, it is
thanks to the coordination of the Office of the High
Representative for the Least Developed Countries,
Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island
Developing States. We thank him for his initiatives,
which remain essential for least developed and
landlocked countries in the Sahel, such as the Niger.
29 09-52598
I should also like to express my Government’s
appreciation to the President of the General Assembly
for his decision to devote part of this session to the
subject of the dialogue among cultures and
civilizations. We believe that that issue is worthy of
much attention and of action throughout the sixty-
fourth session. Indeed, we must maintain the
momentum begun by eminent Member States through
the Third Ministerial Meeting on Interfaith Dialogue
and Cooperation for Peace, held in 2008; the High-
Level Dialogue on Interreligious and Intercultural
Understanding and Cooperation for Peace; and the
international conference on dialogue among
civilizations and cultural diversity, held from 2 to
4 June 2009 in Kairouan, Tunisia. We must develop
these initiatives, for which my delegation reiterates its
congratulations to the Governments of the countries
concerned.
Along the same lines, my delegation applauds the
Government of the Philippines, which has decided to
organize a special meeting at the ministerial level for
the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement, under the
theme “Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for
Peace and Development”, from 1 to 3 December 2009
in Manila. That shows that the theme continues to draw
the interest of many States and that you, Mr. President,
were aptly inspired in identifying it as a topic of
interest for the international community.
I would like to conclude my statement by
renewing my delegation’s delight at the direction that
you, Sir, have suggested for the current Assembly
session and by reiterating our full confidence in your
leadership, which promises a very fruitful and dynamic
term in the pursuit of common objectives of the
international community. As always, you can count on
the unflagging support and readiness of the
Government of the Niger throughout your term.