UN General Assembly
2010

which provides the most fertile soil. My country is carefully following political developments in Madagascar and Niger. We welcome the initiatives taken by the transitional authorities in the two countries to organize free and transparent elections that will ensure a return to constitutional order. Turning to Western Sahara, we welcome the impetus given to the negotiations by the Secretary- General, and we call on the protagonists to pursue political dialogue with a view to a peaceful and realistic settlement of the dispute. One cannot speak of peace and security in Africa without mentioning drugs and narcotics trafficking and their clear link with armed conflicts, the proliferation of light weapons, money-laundering, the financing of organized transnational crime and terrorism. The need to pool our efforts to deal with all this is essential and of concern to every country. The open debate of the Security Council organized by Burkina Faso on 8 December 2009 to address this scourge (see S/PV.6233) was a contribution to that effort. We hope that there will be appropriate follow-up so as to keep the international community mobilized.