UN General Assembly
1997

like to know what has become of the follow-up to the Secretary-General’s initiative under resolution 51/45 L on assistance to States for curbing the illicit traffic in small arms and collecting them. Burkina Faso welcomes the results of the Oslo conference on anti-personnel landmines, and urges all States to adhere as quickly as possible to the Convention adopted in Oslo, and above all to comply with its terms. Burkina Faso remains concerned by all situations of turmoil, instability and conflict, from Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia to Cambodia. The illusions harboured after the end of the cold war are now giving way to a contrasting vision in which the factors of integration and disintegration in our world are becoming clearer. In Africa, the tragedy in Somalia has been followed by tragedies in the Great Lakes region and the Republic of Congo, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo is now embarking, with some hesitation, upon the road towards restoration. In Liberia, elections finally allowing that country to recover, too, and to contemplate the colossal task of national reconstruction are taking