Comoros

Taking the floor for the first time before this Assembly, it is my genuine pleasure warmly to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixtieth session. Your election was a personal honour to you and a recognition of the diplomatic skills that we all acknowledge. It also enhances the prestigious image of your country. Please rest assured of the support of the Union of the Comoros as you complete your exalted mission. Your predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping, deserves our full admiration and congratulations on the effectiveness and devotion with which he led the work of the fifty-ninth session. I also wish to reiterate our confidence in Secretary-General Kofi Annan and above all to express our gratitude for his tireless commitment to establishing a more just, peaceful and prosperous world. Our world faces challenges and threats that jeopardize our security and prosperity. And yet, we have also seen unprecedented technological and scientific development. That disparity highlights the stark reversal of our human values and of the basic principles of promoting peace, respect for human dignity and international solidarity. Is there any need to list the modern scourges that have engulfed every region of the world: extremism, terrorism, ethnic cleansing and others? In addition to that stark assessment of the state of the world — a result of the failure of the human conscience — we have also been struck by natural disasters, including floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tidal waves and, sadly, many others. To cite just the most recent example, Hurricane Katrina, which devastated Louisiana, is a striking illustration of that phenomenon. Through me, the Government of the Union of the Comoros offers its deep sympathy to the United States of America authorities and the entire American people. Like the victims of natural disasters, the victims of violence and human injustice have no recourse other than this Organization, entrusted with the most noble mission of defending and preserving their dignity. But the Organization will need a new impetus to spur international action worthy of the expectations of our peoples. We must therefore redefine our vision of world security. We must keep the human being at the heart of our considerations and take every parameter of human security into account. Indeed, there can be no lasting peace while poverty, disease, despair, war and oppression persist. In a word, there can be no peace if we are insecure about our daily lives and the future. There is an ineluctable link between peace and the development to which we all aspire. We must therefore set ourselves a code of good behaviour and create a life in which the law reigns supreme. We must reinvigorate and re-energize the United Nations in order effectively to prepare it to face the problems of the modern world. At the same time, the composition of its bodies should be as representative as possible so as to enshrine and embody its universality and safeguard the sovereign equality of States, especially the smallest among them. As the supreme global institution, the United Nations should also operate on the basis of rules and norms recognized and approved by all, which will strengthen its credibility. Only thus will we will truly be able to solve the problems of terrorism, addressing them at their roots, and express our sympathy for and solidarity with those who have devoted their entire lives to fighting exclusion and injustice. At this very moment, I have a deeply considered thought for all those who have fought for noble causes throughout the world. The brotherly people of Palestine offers a perfect illustration thereof. Indeed, the aspirations of the Palestinian people are those of a nation reclaiming its dignity and security. In the interests of all the peoples of the Middle East, the peace process must continue, because building and maintaining peace is essential to our world. It is critical that a Palestinian State be established and allowed to live in peace, security and stability with the State of Israel and its other neighbours. 19 My country welcomes Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, a decisive step in the quest for a timely, just and equitable solution to that long drawn-out problem. We are convinced that this gesture augurs well for the region and peoples concerned. As for Iraq, adequate conditions must be established to promote genuine progress towards peace, which will guarantee the stability necessary to the country’s socio-economic development. The situation in Asia also deserves the focused attention of the international community. The stalemate in the issue of the Chinese province of Taiwan, to cite just one instance, is not conducive to the promotion of stability in that part of the world. That is why, in its concern for the ongoing prevalence of law in international relations, and in order to guarantee respect for the national unity of countries, the Union of the Comoros urges the General Assembly to heed the legitimate claims of the Government of the People’s Republic of China over the Chinese province of Taiwan. With regard to Africa, we welcome the imminent settlement of certain crises, including in the Republic of the Sudan, where current developments are opening the prospects for effective national reconciliation. The Government of the Union of the Comoros encourages the Sudanese parties to persevere along that path. As to other crises that remain unresolved, we urge the international community to play a lead role in finding solutions. Indeed, stability remains a paramount condition for the success of Africa’s economic development efforts through the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and other regional and international initiatives seeking the same goal. Likewise, those efforts will remain inconclusive so long as HIV/AIDS, malaria, drepanocytosis and other diseases continue to rage in our countries. Other threats include drought, famine, locust infestations, extreme poverty and the debt burden stifling the economies of our countries. We therefore commend the initiative of convening a summit to assess the Millennium Development Goals, which should allow for the adoption of new arrangements for the achievement of the Goals by 2015. Environmental problems affect all States and are a source of genuine concern to us all. Unbridled pollution, the destruction of the ozone layer, deforestation, rising sea levels — in a word, the ceaseless deterioration of the environment — require us all to heighten our awareness of those global threats. And yet, while such problems may affect any number of States, we should recall that some — the small island developing States in particular — have specific characteristics that must be taken into consideration and addressed with greater attention. The Union of the Comoros itself recently suffered a volcanic eruption that severely damaged our environment. Such continuous threats to our countries call for the timely establishment of mechanisms to prevent and manage natural disasters. We welcome regional initiatives, including those undertaken by the Indian Ocean Commission, to better manage such situations and we urge the international community also to provide us with its invaluable assistance. I take this opportunity to thank the Government of France, the United Nations Development Programme, and all other friendly countries and specialized agencies of the United Nations that have greatly helped us to grapple with and manage that disaster. I spoke earlier of the inequalities prevalent in our world. They are manifest at many levels, to be sure, but the socio-economic aspect is the most glaring. Long marginalized in world decision-making, our countries of the South continue to suffer the consequences of our economic fragility. The rules of the game in world trade exclude us de facto from the playing field. Moreover, the paucity of new information and communications technologies in the South is a striking reminder of the vast abyss in that field between our countries and those of the North. Debt continues to burden many countries of the South, despite the fact that, thanks to a sudden surge of generosity and, above all, responsibility on the part of the wealthy countries, some saw their situation revisited and improved by the cancellation of their debt. That only highlights the urgency of the need to assess the economic and financial situation of the countries of the South in order for them to be genuinely integrated into the dynamic of globalization. If the disparities in and slow pace of the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in general are to be redressed, a world partnership is needed. In that context, special attention must be paid to the least privileged social strata, including by 20 providing access to financial services through the promotion of microfinancing and microcredit. Furthermore, we must address and objectively analyse the issue of debt. We must prioritize the cancellation of the public debt of the heavily indebted poor countries, the least developed countries, and the low- and medium-income developing countries. Finally, international action should promote a fair, regulated, open and non-discriminatory trading system, notably by facilitating the developing countries’ accession to the World Trade Organization. The United Nations is an irreplaceable forum. As the crucible of our warning cries and our hopes for a better world, it remains the perfect framework for discussing the world situation and for opening a window on the situation in each of our countries. With respect to the Union of the Comoros, I am pleased to announce from this rostrum that we have completed our establishment of new institutions, which are now operational. We thank everyone for their important contributions to that end. We now have the two-fold duty to consolidate the valuable achievements of national reconciliation and to promote our country’s socio-economic development. With our development partners, we are therefore striving to reinvigorate our cooperation and redirect it towards the well-being of our people. In the same vein, the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals is a priority of the Government of the Union of the Comoros. Furthermore, my country completed a staff- monitored programme of the International Monetary Fund in January 2005 and is working to streamline its public finances with a view to concluding a Facility for Poverty Reduction and Growth programme with the Bretton Woods institutions so as to mobilize the financial resources necessary to implementing its development priorities. In that respect, the Comoros authorities are also attempting to implement a recommendation from the international community to convene a donors conference on our behalf. I therefore have the pleasure of informing the Assembly that such a meeting, critical to my country’s economic and social future, will be held on 8 December in the Republic of Mauritius under the auspices of the African Union. On behalf of my country, I call on the international community to help us to ensure the gathering’s success. I also take this pleasant opportunity warmly to thank the Republic of Mauritius for its generous offer to host that important conference. In particular, we thank Mauritian Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam for his readiness to co-preside the conference. In the same vein, on behalf of the Government of the Union of the Comoros, I pay a well-deserved tribute to the Republic of South Africa for its ongoing support for the Comoros and for having successfully coordinated the efforts of the African Union and of regional countries to achieve national reconciliation in my country. The people of the Comoros sincerely and happily welcome the tireless interest of Mr. Thabo Mbeki, President of the Republic of South Africa, in the future of our country and his willingness to co- preside the donors conference. I cannot conclude without raising here the issue of the Comorian island of Mayotte. Following a series of consultations held between French and Comorian authorities in their common concern to find a solution that will preserve the friendship and cooperation between the two countries, safeguard the interests of both States and satisfy the aspirations of the entire population of the archipelago, a new process has been launched. It will promote direct dialogue between the two parties with a view to finding a solution that protects everyone’s interests in accordance with the law. The Comorian Government has invested a great deal of hope in the new dynamic. It believes that it can trust the French Republic to strive for a joint and honourable resolution of the situation. I therefore take this opportunity to reaffirm my sincere thanks to all the friends of the Comoros, who have never failed in their support, their encouragement and their solidarity with my country in the quest for a solution to the issue in line with the law. I also wish to assure them, on behalf of the Government of the Union of the Comoros, that they will always be kept up-to-date on developments in the issue and, whenever necessary, involved in the process. Working for peace means fighting all that fuels extremism and every source of frustration. Working for peace also means investing all necessary resources in development, without which humankind has no dignity. The health of our world depends on our Organization. 21 Let us strive for its renewal, for more peace, for happiness and for greater human dignity. Let us strive for equal opportunity for all.