The sixty-first session of the
General Assembly has begun its work in quite a
disturbing context. We note the persistence of certain
conflicts and the emergence of new hot spots of
tension, which are serious threats to international peace
and stability. World poverty and hunger have not
decreased, despite the enormous efforts of our
countries to improve the living conditions of our
populations. In fact, we note a deterioration in the
social and health conditions of millions of people as a
result of endemic diseases such as HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis and malaria, particularly on the African
continent.
The political, economic, financial, social and
environmental problems facing the world are assuming
increasingly alarming proportions. That requires
concerted efforts on the part of the entire international
community. Therefore, we must work together to
strengthen the existing multilateral system and the
capacity of the United Nations to act in order to
address those challenges more effectively.
Our people expect concrete, swift and effective
measures from the Organization, involving the
establishment of modern and efficient operational
structures. In short, reforms within the United Nations
system are necessary and urgent.
It is in that context that, on behalf of my country,
Guinea-Bissau, which it is my honour to represent, I
warmly congratulate you, Madam, on your election as
President of the General Assembly at the present
session. We believe that your many qualities and your
long experience are guarantees of the success of our
work. Under your guidance, we will experience a new
dynamism capable of promoting joint efforts for peace.
I would like to assure you of the availability and full
cooperation of our delegation in contributing to the
achievement of the our common goals.
Allow me to congratulate your predecessor as
well, Mr. Jan Eliasson, for his dedication to the cause
of our Organization and for the important results
achieved during the sixtieth session. I reference in
particular to the creation of the Human Rights Council
and the Peacebuilding Commission, of which my
country is a member.
We recently participated in the fourteenth Summit
of the Non-Aligned Movement in Havana, where a
large number of world leaders gathered. Those eminent
personalities, including the head of State of Guinea-
Bissau, considered the world’s problems, the
seriousness of which calls to us all and demands of us
concerted and collective actions. The conclusions
reached at the Summit, as well as the initiatives we
intend to undertake on behalf of our Movement, are in
line, to a large extent, with the opinions,
recommendations and solutions set out by the
Secretary-General in his annual report on the work of
the Organization, delivered during a brilliant speech to
the Assembly.
None today can doubt the seriousness of the
situation in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon. It
is the same with regard to the tragic conditions in
which millions of our African brothers live in Darfur. It
is clear that we can no longer accept the systematic
violation of international norms. Nor can we
understand why we are incapable of taking concerted,
negotiated and responsible measures to put an end to a
tragic situation that threatens the lives of innocent and
vulnerable people. Our brothers in Darfur have the
right to the compassion and solidarity of Africa in
particular, and of the international community as a
whole.
If current trends in the world continue, poor
countries will not be able to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. The reforms that
are planned or that have already been introduced into
our systems of governance, respect for the rules of
democracy and respect for human rights are,
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unfortunately, insufficient to achieve the rates of
growth essential to relaunch our economies.
In our countries, the economic and financial
situation depends on internal and external factors that
we do not control. Protectionist measures and subsidies
for agricultural products such as cotton, sugar and
wheat seriously compromise the competitive capacity
of our farmers. The absence of an agreement on the
rules that should govern international trade and the
lack of political will and of progress in the negotiations
within the World Trade Organization are aggravating
factors.
We need to recognize that we are far from
achieving the objectives set out in the Monterrey
Consensus and Johannesburg Plan of Implementation,
which concern developing countries, particularly the
least developed countries. We also feel the imbalance
in the globalization process. These are serious
obstacles to our development. The midterm review for
the Brussels Programme of Action for the Least
Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010 has
indeed shed new light on the shortcomings and on the
still-insufficient level of development assistance. In
this environment, our efforts to eliminate poverty and
create better living conditions within our countries are
at risk.
A large part of our populations, particularly our
young people, are more and more despondent because
of the very high level of unemployment and lack of
hope for a better future. Thousands of young people are
so desperate that they even risk their lives to seek other
forms of existence, which, unfortunately, often turn out
to be mirages. The international community must
accord greater attention to this issue so that we might
find the means to ensure the rebirth of hope in the
hearts of our youth. I am thinking especially of
creating professional training centres and promoting
activities that generate jobs, thus ensuring more and
better social integration.
I would also like to stress in this regard the
importance of the High-level Meeting on International
Migration and Development, which for the first time
met here at the Headquarters of the United Nations. I
am convinced that thanks to this type of dialogue and
cooperation at the international level, we will be better
equipped to put a brake on illegal immigration and on
organized crime, to which this tragic phenomenon is
more and more linked.
Guinea-Bissau, with a considerable number of
citizens living abroad, pays particular attention to the
issue of migration. Therefore we welcome the place it
occupies on the agenda of the international community.
We support the relevant recommendations emerging
from the High-level Dialogue on Migration and
Development that took place here in New York, two
weeks ago. We are aware of the role played by our
diaspora in the economy of developing countries,
thanks to remittances and other forms of contributions.
My country is committed to developing an appropriate
national policy on this issue in cooperation with our
development partners, especially with the countries of
destination.
On 17 July Guinea-Bissau hosted the sixteenth
Conference of the Heads of State Community of
Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP). The heads of
State of our community reaffirmed their determination
to step up efforts to eradicate hunger and poverty. They
also committed themselves to undertaking concrete
measures to mobilize internal and external resources
for the achievement of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) by 2015. The consolidation of
democracy, the rule of law and human rights issues
were also subjects of particular attention for these
leaders. They are indispensable preconditions for
international peace and security. The heads of State
also decided to strengthen relations between the CPLP
and the United Nations and its specialized agencies in
order to establish an effective partnership.
Allow me in this respect to thank, on behalf of
the CPLP, all our partners for the important assistance
they have given to the weakest members of our
community. I would also like to appeal to our
development partners in general and to the Group of
Eight countries in particular, requesting that they assist
us in addressing the critical issue of external debt
burden.
One year after elections in Guinea-Bissau, which
confirmed the return to constitutional normality in my
country, I should like to reiterate here the commitment
of the people, Government and especially that of
Mr. João Bernardo Vieira, President of Guinea-Bissau,
to spare no effort in consolidating peace and
establishing political stability and national
reconciliation. Significant progress has been made in
this area. It must, however, be stressed that the
complexity of the current reforms, especially within
the defence and security forces, requires lasting and
31 06-53341
substantial support from the international community,
given the lack of resources available to us.
I would like to express our appreciation to all our
partners, especially our brothers in the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the
Community of Portuguese Language Countries
(CPLP), for their support and the creation of the
International Contact Group on Guinea-Bissau, whose
first meeting was held here at the United Nations
Headquarters last week. I would also like to take this
opportunity to reaffirm that my country will spare no
effort to continue to deserve your confidence and
solidarity. Nonetheless, it must be stressed that, despite
our willingness and determination, Guinea-Bissau
needs your urgent assistance in order to implement the
measures contained in the national poverty reduction
strategy paper. Just adopted by our Government, that
document will serve as the basis for preparing a
roundtable on Guinea-Bissau planned for next
November at Geneva. It is a pleasure to invite all our
traditional partners and others here present to take part
in that roundtable, which will, indeed, be an event of
great importance for stimulating our economy and for
raising the living conditions of our people.
Today’s world is a genuine global village.
Mankind’s progress in science, information technology,
communications and transportation means that the
destinies of our peoples are more and more
interdependent. That is why we must combine our
efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger in the world
and to deal with endemic diseases, such as HIV/AIDS,
and to put an end to injustices, violations of human
rights and all forms of discrimination and intolerance.
When we discuss the issues of development and
combating poverty, we must resist the temptation of
taking the easy way and applying simplistic solutions.
Economic and social development and its corollary, the
eradication of poverty, require deep thought and
courageous measures. No phenomenon can be
explained simplistically, and there is no simple
universal recipe. The signs of the times must be
correctly interpreted. Peoples’ opinions, their culture,
their religious practices and their concerns must all be
understood and respected. We must find new ways of
reorganizing and strengthening democratic States by
giving priority to education and training. We must also
think about the need to increase our collective capacity
to combat terrorism and to deal with all forms of
extremism through permanent dialogue between
cultures and civilizations.
It is incomprehensible, and even less acceptable,
that human beings are abandoned and condemned to
die under the indifferent regard of the international
community. International solidarity towards vulnerable
populations must not be delayed or be given under post
mortem conditions. The international community must
demonstrate vigilance and be capable of preventing all
humanitarian catastrophes resulting from conflicts, as
the Secretary-General rightly recalled, in the name of a
universal conscience. It is precisely because of the
universal nature of the responsibility of our
Organization that Guinea-Bissau will spare no effort in
order to strengthen the capacity of the United Nations
through concerted, pragmatic and efficient reforms. In
fact, the effectiveness of our Organization would be
even greater with the full participation of all Member
States with a view to enhancing our multilateral
institution, which needs greater democracy and
transparency in fulfilling its mandate.
More than sixty years after its founding, the
United Nations must adapt to the changes that have
taken place in the world in order to take into account
the existence and the emergence of new players on the
world stage whose contribution to peacekeeping and
international security are becoming more and more
important. Among those States are countries in Africa,
Asia and Latin America, which can legitimately lay
claim to a permanent seat on the Security Council.
Developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin
America have the right to greater participation and
prominence on the Security Council.
Ten years ago, we elected Kofi Annan, an
outstanding son of Africa, to guide the destiny of our
Organization. As we assess his tenure, it is with pride
and satisfaction that we note the achievements during
his term of office. Recent years have not been easy,
because the world is confronting new and longstanding
challenges in various forms and scales and for which
our Organization was insufficiently designed and
prepared. On behalf of Guinea-Bissau, the President of
Guinea-Bissau, João Bernardo Vieira, and our
Government, I would like to add our voice to the
vibrant tribute paid by the entire international
community to the Secretary-General. I would also like
to express the gratitude of our people to him for the
contribution of the United Nations system in promoting
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peace, political stability and development in our
country.
The great challenges of the new millennium will
determine the development work facing us and the
capacity of people to resolve, as quickly as possible,
problems of peace, political stability, national
reconciliation and social justice. All States and civil
society must be able to count upon, whenever required,
the transparent and democratic functioning of the
United Nations system for the defence of their rights,
in a perspective that creates consensus and which is
compatible with human development, namely
compatible with the well-being of humanity.
As the General Assembly prepares to select a
successor to Mr. Kofi Annan, it will, I am convinced,
be able to elect a Secretary-General with the essential
attributes of skill, experience and dedication for
promoting better understanding between peoples and
nations of this world.
The determination and leadership of the next
Secretary-General will also be necessary in order to
establish synergy and international cooperation so as to
transform the United Nations into a unique and
irreplaceable instrument that can strengthen
multilateralism in favour of development, of improved
conservation of our planet and of international peace
and security.