UN General Assembly
1999

those relating to the proliferation of, and illicit traffic in, small arms, which is an important factor in the increase in terrorism and crime in our States. That is why, at the thirty-fifth Summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), held last July in Algiers, the African Heads of State and Government devoted most of their consideration to ways and means of consolidating peace in order to create modern States based on the primacy of law, respect of the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens, and the democratic governance of public affairs. 14 Along the same lines, on 20 September last, at the opening of the general debate, the current Chairman of the OAU, Mr. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, clearly set out in this very Hall Africa's views on the key questions of peace, security, economic development and international cooperation. The Congo associates itself fully with that important declaration. I cannot conclude this political analysis without mentioning other areas of tension that are a source of