Nigeria and Pakistan
are mourning today. I should like to extend to the Governments and the
peoples of these two friendly countries the compassion of the people of Benin
who understand their sorrow and share their grief.
I should like to join those who preceded me at this rostrum in
congratulating Mr. Ganev warmly, on behalf of the Republic of Benin, on his
outstanding election to the presidency of the General Assembly at this
session. This is a well-deserved tribute to his country, Bulgaria, and to him
personally.
I should also like to congratulate his predecessor,
Ambassador Samir Shihabi of Saudi Arabia, who presided over the forty-sixth
session of the General Assembly so ably and efficiently.
I wish also to pay a well-deserved tribute to the Secretary-General of
the United Nations for his courage, his dedication and his readiness in the
service of the ideals of the Organization. Less than a year after his
election, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali has already demonstrated his effectiveness
and his diplomatic experience, to the admiration of the international
community as a whole. His tireless efforts to restore peace to the various
hotbeds of tension throughout the world deserve the active support of all the
Members of the United Nations. His recent detailed and well-written report to
the membership is eloquent testimony of his endeavours.
My delegation would like once again to pay a tribute to his predecessor,
Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, for his invaluable work at the service of our
universal Organization, whose membership has continued to expand over the
years.
Benin welcomes the new Members of the United Nations: Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
the Republic of Moldova, San Marino, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan.
At the last session of the General Assembly, we unanimously welcomed the
end of an era of confrontation and the advent of an era of international
cooperation based on a spirit of solidarity and fraternity among the nations
of the world.
In that context, Benin also welcomed the advent and the admission to
membership in the United Nations of the independent States that emerged from
the former Soviet Union following the signing of the Minsk Agreements.
The first ever meeting of the Security Council at the level of Heads of
State or Government, held on 31 January 1992, marked the end of the cold war;
at that meeting, they urged the advent of a new, more stable and more
prosperous world order, for which the United Nations would provide the
framework.
Unfortunately, we have to say that this session of the Assembly is
beginning at a time when there is an unprecedented reappearance of hotbeds of
tension throughout the world, resulting in a situation in which peace-keeping
activities have become the primary concern of the United Nations over the last
10 months. These hotbeds of tension demonstrate the fragility of peace and of
international security, at an important turning-point in our history.
May I point out here that the Security Council, in its statement of
31 January 1992, indicated that the development of the democratic movement and
the promotion of respect for human rights would help make the world more
stable and more prosperous.
My delegation would like to reaffirm that the international community,
while welcoming the emergence of new nations as a result of the affirmation of
the unbreakable will of peoples to regain freedom, dignity and justice through
respect for their own cultural and political values, must promote the search
for consensus and the spirit of tolerance and dialogue which can still today
provide the basis for a peaceful transition.
Negotiation prevailing over the use of force, trade over exploitation,
freedom over constraints: those are the approaches that should guide each of
our countries so that the capacity of the Organization in the areas of
preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and peace-keeping can be enhanced.
We often say that our planet is sick. It is sick because of delayed
development resulting from financial, technological, scientific and ecological
imbalances between the northern and southern hemispheres. It is sick because
of social injustice and because of extreme poverty that dehumanize so many
peoples that are referred to as "developing peoples".
To all these ills, aggravated today by the resurgence of nationalism, we
must add new kinds of illnesses that are decimating our peoples throughout the
world. It is therefore essential that States regain control and contribute
individually and collectively to the strengthening of international peace and
security.
Against this backdrop, the Secretary-General's report, "An Agenda for
Peace", submitted pursuant to the statement agreed by the summit meeting of
the Security Council on 31 January 1992, offers us food for thought serious
thought and it opens up new prospects. We must all contribute to fleshing
out that report so that our dream of a better world can become a reality in
the years ahead.
As for Africa, our continent has suffered too much for us not to try
today, together, hand in hand, to join forces and use all that we have in the
way of intelligence, courage, strength and resources, to lessen suffering,
alleviate poverty and establish a coherent strategy for sustainable
development.
It is Benin's hope that all of Africa will be free of fratricidal and
internal wars and all other conflicts that hinder our development. It is
enough to look around us to see the tragedy of our brothers in Liberia,
Somalia and Sudan, just to mention a few.
From now on Africa can prove, if need be, that it can resolve its own
conflicts when foreign interference does not complicate matters. To eliminate
instability and insecurity in Africa, the international community must offer
its firm support for the efforts now under way to restore peace to Liberia and
Somalia.
My country, which currently holds the chairmanship of the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has been making intensive efforts
since August to bring those involved in the Liberian tragedy to silence their
weapons so that we can move towards national reconciliation. Benin's only
interest in Liberia is peace. President Soglo's efforts deserve the support
of Africans first and foremost and then of all the major Powers and all other
Members of the United Nations.
Benin hopes that recent appeals from the Conference of Heads of State and
Government of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), held from 28 June to
2 July 1992 in Dakar, to those involved in the tragedy in Somalia and Sudan
will be heard so that hostilities can cease and negotiations can begin, with a
view to national reconciliation. That, we believe, is a prerequisite for
preserving the unity and integrity of those two countries, which are also
ravaged by famine.
It is important to emphasize the hope inspired by the humanitarian
actions of the United Nations to save the people of Somalia from famine. Here
I should also like to hail the work done by all the countries and humanitarian
organizations that have taken action in that part of the world, despite the
threats they are exposed to in the field by the various parties to the
conflict. In particular, we hail the efforts of Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, to
whom we are indebted for heightening awareness of that tragedy and its
horrors. In addition, his Special Representative, Ambassador Sahnoun of
Algeria, deserves our fraternal commendation and admiration.
Just a few months ago, the international community welcomed the positive
changes taking place in the situation in South Africa, changes that were
expected to crown with success the tireless struggle of the black people of
South Africa against a system that for more than 50 years had reduced them to
slavery. Here I should like to reaffirm my country's unequivocal position on
the problem of apartheid. That odious and inhuman system must be dismantled,
in deeds and in law, to allow for the emergence of a democratic and
multiracial South Africa, where the principle of one man, one vote, will
become a political reality.
Recent developments, both political and social in that country, notably
the resumption of violence, which has already claimed hundreds of innocent
victims, shows, unfortunately, that many difficulties and obstacles still
have to be dealt with before apartheid can be totally dismantled. In the
interest of international peace and security, we must encourage dialogue among
those involved in the political situation in South Africa, who still have to
overcome very deep political differences, while continuing at the same time to
keep the pressure on the South African regime so that the reform processes
that have been initiated can be continued and speeded up.
That is how Benin understands the Security Council's adoption of
resolution 765 (1992) on the question of South Africa, the appointment by the
Secretary-General of a Special Representative and the sending of United
Nations observers to that country.
We are happy to see that the peace process in Angola, which began with
the signing of the cease-fire agreement at Estoril, Portugal, on 31 May 1991,
is on course. The Members of the United Nations must continue to support that
country, which has been riven by 15 years of fratricidal war, in its efforts
for democratization, one important stage of which will be the free elections
scheduled for 29 and 30 September 1992, that is, tomorrow and the day after.
The delegation of Benin welcomes the fact that the peace talks which have
begun between the Maputo Government and RENAMO leaders have led to the signing
at Rome on 7 August 1992 of a peace agreement between the two parties. May
peace truly and definitively come to Mozambique so that all the sons and
daughters of that country can tackle the job of national reconstruction.
The Madrid Conference on peace in the Middle East portended a reasonable
arrangement between Arabs and Israelis with a hope for lasting peace. Recent
political changes in Israel may enable the current negotiations to evolve in a
satisfactory manner that would be acceptable to all parties to the conflict.
!t is our duty to encourage that needed dialogue, with a view to achieving a
lasting peace that would guarantee the existence of the Hebrew State and a
Palestinian State within secure borders recognized by all.
That, of course, would presuppose our listening to both parties. It is
in that spirit that Benin this year resumed diplomatic relations with the
State of Israel. We are guided by our firm resolve to use our pivotal
position as a traditional friend of the Arab States and a new partner of the
State of Israel as a point of departure to help bring the two parties together
as best we can. My country wholeheartedly hopes for success at the peace
process that began in Madrid.
A solution to the Middle East Problem also involves the consistent and
effective implementation of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and
338 (1973), emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory
through war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace, enabling each
State in the region to live in safety within boundaries that are
internationally recognized and guaranteed by the international community,
including Palestine and Israel.
My country is distressed at the killing and the flagrant violations of
human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina stemming from the disintegration of the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The continuing tragedy of the peoples of that country threatens
international peace and security and constitutes a new challenge to our
Organization. In my Government's opinion, there are three factors that could
have a favourable influence on efforts undertaken by the European States and
the United Nations to restore peace in the former Yugoslavia. These are an
immediate cessation of hostilities; respect for the territorial integrity of
the various States that have emerged from the disintegration of the former
Federation; and the protection of minorities.
I would add to this our unequivocal condemnation of the intolerable
practice of "ethnic cleansing", a practice unworthy of humankind and one of
which each and every human being should be ashamed today. Given the
universality of our Organization, however, my country hopes that the request
for admission of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro
will encounter no obstacles and that the admission of that country might even
be a catalyst for a just and lasting peace in the Balkans.
The new spirit of consensus particularly among the permanent members of
the Security Council and the end of the cold war have encouraged the present
atmosphere of detente in the international political arena. In that context,
general and complete disarmament must remain the international community's
ultimate goal at the end of the twentieth century.
The Republic of Benin would like to see the enormous resources devoted to
the manufacture and purchase of weaponry shifted towards satisfying the more
urgent need for development of the third world countries. We believe that a
major step in that direction would be the acceptance by the international
community particularly the arms-producing countries of the
Secretary-General's proposal on taxing arms sales in order to offset the
budgetary deficit of the United Nations and provide it with the resources it
needs to carry out the work entrusted to it. My country therefore supports
this proposal by Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Moreover, Benin supports all
United Nations resolutions related to the reduction, limitation, and
non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
It is often being said that the international community is today at a
turning-point. The will expressed by Member States to move towards the
solution of regional conflicts and the new feeling of urgency in the face of
global threats to the well-being of the planet give us an historic opportunity
to tackle the real problems we all face.
Of course, the world economy has developed in a rather remarkable way in
the past few years, as demonstrated, inter alia, by the extension of the
market economy and the emergence of major economic groupings in Western Europe
and North America. However, the international cooperation necessary to the
creation of a new world order is not really getting under way. The imbalances
between North and South are being exacerbated. If the current trends persist
until the year 2000, the citizens of the richest nations of the world will
have an average annual income of more than $13,600 while those from the least
developed African countries will have an average per capita income of only
$217 that is, $12 less than in 1985. This sharp decrease has already been
seen in many countries.
We must therefore acknowledge that the problem of the economic liberation
of Africa is one that still faces us most acutely. All the efforts made to
wipe out and reverse this trend towards deterioration in the economies of our
countries have been in vain. Africa's economic horizon is darkening daily-
Here, I should like to broach the question of debt, and more specifically
in sub-Saharan African. In one report on the debt crisis, the
Secretary-General stressed that the heavy obligations imposed by debt
servicing have given rise to serious budgetary problems. Public investment
and social expenditures have suffered the results of this, and the most
vulnerable social sectors have therefore been the most seriously affected.
Today, our continent groans under the crushing burden of debt, which now
amounts to more than $270 billion. In 1990, our States had to pay out
$23 billion to service this debt. Confronted by these increasingly harsh
resource problems, most of our States have committed themselves to structural
adjustment programmes. These programmes do not yet have the resources that
are truly necessary to the development of our devastated economies. That is
why Benin appeals to the international community to take concrete, urgent
action to reduce the debt burden of the African countries and increase
financial flows for their development.
Measures to ease or cancel debt in some cases debt that our countries
find so difficult to bear should be accompanied by detailed and explicit
programmes on the conditions for financing structural adjustment programmes
and repaying the debt owed by our States.
On another level, the forty-sixth session of the General Assembly,
following consideration and final evaluation of the implementation of the
United Nations Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and
Development 1986-1990 adopted the New Agenda for the Development of Africa in
the 1990s. That was an opportunity to refocus the international community's
interest in the socio-economic difficulties facing the countries of Africa.
To reach the objectives of the New Agenda, it is now time for the
international community to translate into real action the commitments that
have been entered into and renewed so many times to support the efforts made
by the African countries themselves to achieve autonomous growth and
socio-economic development. Indeed, the Secretary-General has said that
Africa is one of the five United Nations priorities for the 1990s. As to the
other four priorities the environment, peace-keeping, the fight against drug
abuse, and humanitarian assistance we have to say that no actual decision
has been taken to translate this priority into action.
My delegation feels serious concern about the situation that still
prevails one year after the adoption of resolution 46/151 on the United
Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. First, the
Secretary-General's programme has not yet really been launched. Secondly, the
follow-up mechanisms, for example, the high-level consultative group, the
inter-agency committee and the steering committee, have not yet been set up.
Thirdly, the study on the need for and the feasibility of establishing a
diversification fund for African commodities has not yet been carried out,
even though it is supposed to be the subject of a report by the
Secretary-General to the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session.
Lastly, the setting up of adequate financial resources is still hypothetical.
I would like to express the ardent hope that no effort will be spared to
ensure that by December 1992, or at the latest by January 1993, the New Agenda
for the Development of Africa in the 1990s will emerge from its present
lethargy and enter a truly active and dynamic phase that will live up to our
hopes.
To a certain extent, the Programme of Action for the Least Developed
Countries for the 1990s is experiencing the same difficulties as the New
Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. This will hardly help to
improve the living and working conditions of the most vulnerable groups in the
least developed countries.
It is essential to continue and support efforts aimed at ensuring that
the number of least developed countries, particularly in Africa, can be cut in
half by the end of the twentieth century. We must thus reverse the tendency
towards increasing the number of least developed countries, a trend that has
been noted since the adoption of the Programme of Action in September 1990 and
the adoption of the new criteria for classification in 1991.
My Government feels that the International Conference on Financing
Development could provide responses to the difficulties facing the various
programmes and plans of action for the development of the countries of the
South.
For that reason, we sincerely hope that the General Assembly will, during
this session, adopt a resolution to convene the Conference, which will be
prepared as part of the process of intergovernmental negotiations with the
participation of all States. The holding of such a Conference will be an
important element in the process of strengthening the role of the United
Nations in promoting international economic cooperation. We welcome the
Japanese initiative to organize in 1993 an international conference on the
development of Africa. The work of that conference should be a good
preparatory exercise for the Conference on Financing Development.
Benin believes that economic integration is also a response to the
marginalization of Africa. It is essential today for our States that the
regional economic groupings we have created in order to ensure South-South
cooperation should be strengthened.
Africa, determined to continue with vigour the policy it has been
following in this sphere for effective regional and subregional economic
cooperation and integration, is thus particularly committed to the creation of
the African Economic Community, whose Constitution was signed by the Heads of
State and Government on 3 June 1991 at Abuja.
Success for this project presupposes, I believe, a commitment by each of
our States to promote integration in the various activity sectors of our
economies and to ensure the development and maintenance of reliable networks
of agricultural, road and industrial infrastructures on the continent.
Despite the economic situation of our countries, many specific actions
have been taken to help children as part of the follow-up of the World Summit
for Children.
On 16 June 1992 Benin celebrated the Day of the African Child, as we had
in 1991. Although my country had already scored some successes, the
celebrations on that day enabled us to place even more emphasis on improving
the health of mothers and children through the expanded vaccination programme,
the struggle to combat malnutrition and other widespread diseases of children,
the provision of drinking water to rural areas, the gradual reduction of
illiteracy and the securing of access to education for all children.
Africa aspires to development of the whole person, and to that end, we
must be sure to involve women and children. They are, after all, the majority
of the people of our countries on the path of progress, which can be achieved
primarily through the education and training of young people and adults.
Benin welcomes the action already taken by the Organization of African
Unity (OAU), together with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), with a
view to the holding of the International Conference on Assistance for the
African Child, to be held at Dakar from 25 to 27 November 1992.
Parallel with its actions in behalf of children, my Government is also
preparing actively to mark the International Year of the Family in 1994. In
addition, we stand ready to make a worthwhile contribution to the preparatory
work for the World Conference on Women, to be held at Beijing in 1995.
A few years ago each of our States, particularly the richer ones among
us, was content to act alone at the national level in order to stop
environmental degradation.
Today we have to recognize that the major ecological problems we face are
planetary in dimension and require an international approach.
In that context, Benin welcomes the conclusions of the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held from 3 to 14 June 1992
at Rio de Janeiro.
While that historic conference, in which my country took an active part,
did not fully live up to the hopes placed in it, it did enshrine the concept
of sustainable development and a recognition of the undeniable link that
exists between environmental protection and economic development.
Benin, convinced that dealing with environmental and development problems
requires the coordination of activities, initiatives and programmes, welcomes
the agreement reached at Rio on institutional mechanisms for following up
UNCED decisions, particularly the establishment of a high-level commission on
sustainable development.
In our opinion, that commission will play an essential role in the
implementation and follow-up of Agenda 21, adopted at Rio by the Conference.
With a strong and competent secretariat, which could be headquartered at
Geneva, the commission on sustainable development should make it possible, we
believe, to coordinate, facilitate and orient intergovernmental action within
the United Nations system in the area of environment.
The members of the commission, to be elected by the General Assembly,
should represent all the regional groups in the United Nations and all types
of development.
As well as supporting the establishment of a high-level commission on
sustainable development, which will be the subject of a draft resolution at
this session, Benin stresses the great importance we attach to following up
all the decisions and recommendations of the Rio Conference. We welcome in
advance the resolutions the Assembly will adopt in this connection, including
that by which the Assembly will establish an intergovernmental negotiating
committee to draft by June 1994 an international convention to combat
desertification, particularly in Africa. We also look forward to a resolution
on the financing of Agenda 21, whose implementation by developing countries
will require new, additional funds.
The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development does not reflect all
the concerns expressed during the preparatory process for the Conference; the
General Assembly must therefore adopt a resolution with a view to preparing an
Earth charter to be adopted during the fiftieth anniversary of the United
Nations in 1995, as proposed by the Secretary-General of the Conference,
Mr. Maurice Strong.
While cruel at times, our age can now be proud of having witnessed the
emergence of a universal human-rights movement. An awareness of democracy is
spreading throughout the world, a world where men and women used to be reduced
to silence and wretchedness. Democracy is slowly becoming a reality that it
will be difficult to ignore.
The credo of Benin, henceforth to be a State where the rule of law is
paramount, is respect for, and the promotion and defence of, human rights and
the rights of peoples. That is why we support the 1993 convening of a World
Conference on Human Rights and are already participating actively in the
Preparations for that high-level Conference.
It is necessary to promote social development if we are to promote,
protect and defend human rights. To the hungry, human rights can mean little
if nothing is done to improve health care and education, to eliminate hunger
and wretchedness, and to improve housing and the quality of life in short,
to achieve greater well-being. That is why my country welcomes the decision
to convene a world summit for social development in 1995; this will enshrine
the human dimension of development.
I wish on behalf of the Government and the people of Benin to pay tribute
to all nations, large and small, that have shown unswerving support and
friendship for my country, particularly in the past two years, and that have
supported and encouraged democratic renewal in Benin: the political, economic
and moral rebirth of my country.
I pay a special tribute to friendly agencies, bodies and Governments for
their continued cooperation as we ponder, evaluate, organize and take
decisions on all aspects of the lasting economic and social recovery of Benin,
and for all they did to prepare for, coordinate, organize and hold the
round-table meeting of partners in the economic and social development of the
Republic of Benin, which took place at Geneva on 2 and 3 April 1992.
It is my great hope that the forty-seventh session of the General
Assembly will achieve a consensus acceptable to all in the negotiations on the
restructuring of the United Nations system and the strengthening of the
Organization's role in promoting international economic cooperation and
consolidating our achievements in peace-keeping and international security. I
also hope that it will show our peoples that it is still working for
solidarity, partnership for development and hope.


Mr. President, the contribution that your country, Bulgaria, is making to the building of a new world order accords with the genius of its people. He are gratified by your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session, and we wish you every success in the discharge of your mandate.
He take pleasure in hailing and paying tribute to His Excellency Ambassador Shihabi of Saudi Arabia, who skilfully handled his responsibilities at the forty-sixth session, which was marked by, among other major events, the election of the new Secretary-General of our Organization.
He also take pleasure in addressing heartfelt congratulations to His Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros Ghali. The energy and distinction with which he has assumed his new functions reinforce our conviction that he will succeed in lending the necessary impetus to the indispensable transformation that will enable the United Nations system to rise to the growing expectations of a world seeking peace, security and prosperity for all.
His Excellency Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru admirably strove towards the same ends during his remarkable term at the helm of our Organization. Cameroon offers him its profound thanks.
Thirteen new States have just been admitted to the United Nations. This is a resounding victory of the inalienable right of peoples to decide for themselves, and we see it as a sign of the times:	the beginning of a new page
in the history of humankind.
He therefore take pleasure in welcoming among us the representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and
Uzbekistan.
The forty-seventh session of the General Assembly is being held at a time when the international community is still trying to cope with the sweeping changes brought about by the end of the cold war. None the less, there is increasingly gaining ground a convergence of wills in confronting the new kinds of challenges that threaten our collective security, and in meeting old challenges such as poverty and want, whose continued existence in this new day and age seems like a negation of our shared humanity.
The historic Security Council summit of 31 January 1992, the very first of its kind, provided a striking illustration of that point, reviving the hope that the collective responsibility of our Organization in the quest for solutions to global challenges will henceforth be based on more effective international solidarity.
Cameroon thus agrees with the rest of the international community as to the need to revitalize the United Nations so as to increase its efficacy, its prestige and its authority to enable it to discharge the responsibilities conferred upon it by the Charter.
The shared vision of the Member States as to the central role the Organization must henceforth play in the realm of international peace and security, as also in the equally vital area of development, implies the prerequisite that decisions be taken on the basis of consensus. That being so, the restructuring process now under way must neither tend towards side-lining certain States nor lead to redeployments based on selective priorities.
In that context it is appropriate to welcome the pertinent study "Agenda for peace" submitted by the Secretary-General at the request of the Security Council. The bold proposals it embodies will, we are convinced, stimulate joint reflection on all the issues connected with peace, which are priority concerns of the international community. We share in the global vision that emerges from that study. The fact is that the problems of peace cannot be analyzed solely in terms of the prevention and management of conflicts, because peace and security are contingent upon factors that are at once socio-economic, political and military in nature.
Therefore we welcome the latest spectacular strides taken in the arena of disarmament, as consolidated by the recent conclusion of work on the Convention on Chemical Weapons. But progress remains to be made in checking the risk of the proliferation of nuclear technology and coping with supply and demand in conventional weaponry.
In fact, though it is certain that the elimination of weapons of mass destruction does contribute to strengthening international peace and security, the definition of a minimum threshold of weaponry necessary to ensure the security of States reassures the international community as to the desired achievement of general and complete disarmament.
We might thus be able to build a lasting peace and release major resources for the building of a new world order that will be more equitable, marked by greater solidarity and oriented towards the advancement and fulfillment of all human beings.
That is the rationale that fits the initiative taken by the member States of the Economic Community of Central Africa aimed at the implementation of measures likely 'to build confidence and enhance security and development in our subregion.
Thus, in conformity with General Assembly resolution 46/37 B, adopted by consensus at the forty-sixth session, the Secretary-General has proclaimed the establishment of a standing advisory committee responsible for matters of
security in Central Africa. Indeed, the 11 States of our subregion, having met at Yaounde from 27 to 31 July 1992 under the auspices of the United Nations, adopted that Committee's action program, which revolves around a set of measures notably involving establishing a center for training peace-keepers; entering into a non-aggression pact; and establishing an international headquarters and staff for crisis management.
In this regard I wish on behalf of its promoters to express our appreciation to the Organization for the assistances that has been provided thus far in the implementation of confidence-building measures in Central Africa.
He sincerely hope that the United Nations and individual Member States, and governmental and non-governmental organizations alike, will provide assistance to the Committee's action program.
The elimination of poverty and underdevelopment must have priority among the present concerns of the international community. To that end, we have decided upon strategies and action programs to be implemented. The same is true of the Declaration that emanated from the eighteenth special session of the General Assembly, on international economic co-operation. The strategy for the Fourth United Nations Development Decade is a part of this trend, as indeed are the conclusions reached at the recent United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development.
Furthermore, I would observe that our countries have taken a certain number of steps in economic and political terms. Economically, they have undertaken painful reform in the context of structural adjustment, and, politically, they have set in place a process of democratization to ensure their people of advancement and more effective enjoyment of human rights.
To meet with success, however, the efforts thus undertaken by developing countries must be accompanied by respect on the part of the developed countries for commitments undertaken so as to seal the new contract of worldwide solidarity in favor of development, a contract that expresses the convergent vision of the international community as to strategies and plans of action to be implemented.
Against that background, the present international economic environment must, especially with regard to raw materials, stop being a jungle in which the ruthless law of speculation holds sway and contempt is shown for the legitimate demands of our countries for more equitable compensation for our commodities.
Beyond that, it is high time to find a satisfactory solution to the debt problems, the weight of which is paralyzing our economies, in terms of debt-servicing leading to unsustainable investments of net financial flows
towards the rich countries and multinational institutions.
In this respect/ I should like, in particular, to welcome the Rio resolution with regard to financial resources a resolution that extends the benefit of debt cancellation to medium-income countries. He hope that this major decision will be translated into action.
It is hardly necessary to emphasize the extreme seriousness of the situation in Africa, where there is an unprecedented economic crisis, aggravated by natural disasters, civil wars and the social consequences of structural adjustment, which threaten the process of democratization. While this situation devolves, first and foremost, on the African countries themselves, the international community cannot be indifferent to it.
The United Nations was therefore fully justified in deciding to give special attention to this situation. All of us have a duty to see to it that the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s does not suffer the same sad fate as the United Nations program of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development. Thus the plan must be launched urgently and the necessary resources must be provided for the plans of action envisaged by the institutions and bodies concerned with its implementation.
He hope that the conference on the development of Africa, to take place in Japan in 1993, will provide an opportunity to mobilize additional resources to relaunch growth and start economic recovery in our continent. The Secretary-General's initiative with regard to the convening of an international conference on finance for development is based on these very concerns and deserves the international community's support.
The resources available in the world are commensurate with the great challenges of our time. In fact, the international context has never been so favorable for the beginning of a genuine North-South dialog taking into account the interests of all. In this regard, a global summit on social development would provide an opportunity to embark on an in-depth analysis of human development in all its aspects, in the context of the forthcoming international meetings on human rights, women, and population. Indeed, we must agree to attach to the economic, social and cultural rights of the individual the importance that is now attached unfortunately, too often selectively to civil and political rights. Thus we could conquer poverty and create the conditions for sustainable development, taking into account simultaneously the needs of growth and the imperatives of protection of the environment, in the interest of mankind. The establishment during the present session of a committee for sustainable development would be an important step towards achieving this goal.
Progress and economic and social development are possible only in a climate of global peace and security. Unfortunately there are still numerous conflicts and hotbeds of tension, which seriously imperil peace. Therefore, we are particularly alarmed at the deplorable violent ethnic conflicts that are tearing apart the peoples in the former Yugoslavia. Cameroon appeals to the sense of reason of the parties to the conflict to halt this war, which is the result of an obsolete and deplorable ideology. He shall continue to support all steps taken by the Security Council, the European Community and other bodies to achieve a satisfactory solution.
With regard to the Middle East, the peace process that was launched in Madrid and is still under way must be maintained with a view to keeping alive the possibility of achieving a peace capable of standing the test of time and of men and, once and for all, reconciling the peoples of that region.
With respect to South Africa, a harmonious transition to a democratic, non-racial and united country free of violence is in the interests of all.
The prospects that emerged from the recent Mandela-de Klerk summit are positive, and we firmly support them.
While welcoming the maintenance of the cease-fire in Cambodia, we call on all the parties involved to cooperate fully with the United Nations Transitional Authority so that it may be enabled to carry out its mission within the framework of the Paris Agreements. Cameroon is proud to have been able to able to contribute to the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) by sending to that friendly country a contingent of civil forces and a group to supervise the cease-fire. We take this opportunity to reiterate our willingness to serve the cause of peace.
We also welcome the culmination of the peace process in Angola, where elections have just been held under the aegis of the United Nations. In that fraternal country, there is opening up an opportunity to achieve internal reconciliation and to embark on the work of national reconstruction, which will inject new dynamism into the efforts to attain economic integration in our subregion.
We earnestly hope that there will be a similar course of events in Somalia, Liberia, Mozambique, Western Sahara and all other regions of the world that are still torn by conflicts.
Unfortunately, international peace and security, the environment and development are not the only major challenges of the day. The acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) pandemic, drugs, terrorism and other scourges call for ever greater mobilization, and we shall continue to support measures decreed by the international community to counteract them. Action taken in this area must be pursued and strengthened. That is why we repeat our support for initiatives to convene a global summit on social development# the world conference on women# the conference on African children# the conference on population and development# and the conference on human rights.
Finally# with regard to natural disasters and man-made emergencies# we approve the steps the Organization has taken towards restructuring# rationalization and coordination steps that have led to the establishment of the Office of the United Nations Coordinator for Disaster Relief.
As was emphasized last year# Cameroon has opted for democracy and has resolutely begun profound changes designed to establish a more democratic society with ever greater respect for the fundamental human rights and freedoms of its citizens. Following legislative elections# in which transparency and proper conduct were noted by numerous independent observers of various nationalities# Cameroon acquired a multi-party Parliament# in which democracy is given free expression.
The pluralist# democratic and adversarial nature of the new society in Cameroon has led to the establishment of a coalition Government responsible to Parliament. In a few days' time on 11 October this process will culminate in the holding of presidential elections involving at least eight candidates. We owe all this progress to President Paul Biya a man of renewal whose attachment to openness and whose commitment to democracy in Cameroon have never been denied.
Cameroon wants to play its part in meeting the needs inherent in the
embryonic new world order. Clearly this is a long-term objective, which must be pursued at a pace appropriate to our society and which, if it is to be successful, requires the assistance and cooperation of all people of good will. I know that we can count on that.


We ask the President to accept our hearty
congratulations on his election as President of the General Assembly at its
forty-seventh session. We pledge to him the fullest support and cooperation
of the Liberian delegation as he puts forth his best efforts in guiding the
deliberations of the Assembly.
We offer his illustrious predecessor. Ambassador Samir S. Shihabi of
Saudi Arabia, our deepest appreciation for the able manner in which he
conducted the affairs of the forty-sixth session, and we wish him well in his
future endeavours.

We welcome the advent of Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, a distinguished
African scholar and diplomat, to the position of Secretary-General of the
United Nations. His stewardship of the Organization since the beginning of
this year has witnessed the utilization of the finest diplomatic skills,
undiminished resolve, and broad vision to address the many challenging
problems which now confront the international community. This singular
commitment on his part to the cause of global peace and security, social
justice and economic prosperity has inspired tremendous confidence that the
United Nations will continue to be the appropriate forum for harnessing
various ideas which can promote the betterment of mankind.
We also welcome and extend a hand of friendship to the newly admitted
Members of the United Nations. We entertain the fervent hope that their
participation will contribute to the achievement of its lofty ideals and
objectives.
The cessation of the ideological antagonism which characterized the
cold-war era aroused great expectations that our global village would be
visited by a climate of international peace, tolerance and goodwill whereby
our energies could be devoted to grappling with the myriad problems of
underdevelopment. Unfortunately, with apocalyptic premonition, there are wars
and rumours of war casting grim shadows throughout our one world. In Somalia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, in some of the nations emerging from the former Soviet
Union, and even in my own country, Liberia, wars are raging, brought about by
either nationalistic yearnings, ethnic and religious rivalries, or by sheer
greed for wealth and power.

Although the United Nations does respond, sometimes much too belatedly,
to such crises, there is an urgent need for the Organization to employ its
moral authority in a more effective and non-selective way at the early stages
of conflicts to prevent the human tragedies which so frequently revisit
mankind.

In this connection the Liberian delegation notes with appreciation the
comprehensive and insightful report of the Secretary-General entitled "An
Agenda for Peace", in which he outlines specific measures and proposals to
enhance, in a more vigorous and non-selective way, greater United Nations
involvement in preventive diplomacy, peacemaking, peace-keeping and peace
enforcement.
Within this context Member States that are better endowed must exercise
leadership to ensure that the United Nations becomes ready, willing and able
to engage constructively in humanitarian intervention in internal conflicts,
consistent with the guiding principles annexed to General Assembly
resolution 46/182 of 19 December 1991 and Article 2, paragraph 7, of the
United Nations Charter.
At this juncture we would wish to apprise delegations of developments in
Liberia and of Liberia's continuing quest for peace.
Since 24 December 1989, when rebel forces effected an incursion into
Liberia from a neighbouring country, Africa's oldest republic has been
embroiled in a tragic civil strife replete with atrocious mayhem, murder and
madness. In a three-way armed struggle for power in which the "enemy" was
defined with scarce exactitude, each faction preyed on the civilian
population, whose cries for help were heard by a largely indifferent world.
Liberia, a beacon of hope in Africa as a sovereign expression since 1847,
a country which welcomed and assimilated into its society thousands of other
Africans from neighbouring countries and elsewhere, was rapidly reduced to a
land of grief and desolation. This fratricide impelled about 800,000 of our
citizens to seek sanctuary in neighbouring countries.
After the disintegration of the Government and the attendant breakdown of
civil authority, and in order to avert further bloodshed, the Economic

Community of West African States (ECOWAS) undertook a mediatory initiative by
advancing a plan that secured the concurrence of all the interested parties.
The ECOWAS peace plan required, inter alia, the deployment of a peace-keeping
force, the ECOWAS Cease-fire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), as well as the
formation of an interim Government of National Unity to include the warring
factions, the political parties and the interest groups of the country.
In August 1990 ECOWAS facilitated the convening of a national conference
so that Liberians could deliberate on the future of their country, form an
interim government and undertake the initial plans for free and fair elections
to be conducted under international supervision and monitoring. The National
Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), the main rebel faction, led by
Mr. Charles Taylor, failed to attend, apparently opting for a military
solution that was still vainly expected to arise from what was already a war
of attrition.
At the Conference, the delegates worked within the scope of the peace
plan that had been accepted by the warring factions as the basis for
mediation. It required that none of the leaders of the armed groups would
serve as interim President and that the interim President would be a caretaker
and not participate in the elections. Accordingly, the Conference reserved
for the NPFL leader the position of Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the
highest position in the interim government, from which he could still seek the
presidency of the country in a free and fair election. The NPFL was also
awarded a majority seating in the interim Legislative Assembly. However, this
overture failed to induce the NPFL and its leader to find some common ground
with other Liberians.
The Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, meeting at an extraordinary
summit at Bamako in November 1990. negotiated a cease-fire declaration and

urged Liberians to continue the search for peace by holding another national
conference at which the NPFL could be present.
ECOWAS convened a second national conference at Monrovia in March 1991,
at which an NPFL delegation participated in the negotiation of an arrangement
for the governance of the country along the lines of a framework it advanced.
The euphoria that attended chose preliminary results were short-lived, as the
conclusions reached were summarily rejected by the NPFL leader.
A few months thereafter the NPFL alerted some of the leaders of ECOWAS
that it was not prepared to participate in an interim government that would,
alternatively, be disposed to negotiating, under the auspices of ECOWAS,
another proposal of its own. The NPFL proposed a snap election, to be held
within six months, to be preceded by the encampment and disarmament of all
armed combatants.
ECOWAS established the Committee of Five, headed by His Excellency
President Felix Houphouet-Boigny of Cote d'lvoire, to work with Liberians and
help us reach an understanding. The negotiations took place in four different
meetings, producing an agreement which, because of the venue, has become known
as the Yamoussoukro Accord. This Accord has aroused declarations of support
from the Organization of African Unity, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries
and the United Nations Security Council.
But how has the NPFL reacted to the commitments it undertook? At the
fifteenth session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS,
held at Dakar in July 1992, the 16 West African leaders reached a clear
consensus and observed:

"The Authority determined that the uncooperative conduct by the
NPFL, especially with regard to the encampment and disarmament of the
combatants and the insertion of a buffer zone along the Liberia-Sierra
Leone border, continued to pose a serious threat to the peace, stability
and security of the West African region."

The Authority therefore mandated the Field Commander of ECOMOG to
complete the implementation of the programme contained in the Yamoussoukro
Accord not later than 30 days from the conclusion of the summit meeting.
Furthermore, the West African leaders decided:
"That unless Charles Taylor and the NPFL comply with the implementation
of the said programme, the Authority shall impose comprehensive sanctions
against Charles Taylor and the NPFL-controlled areas of Liberia and any
other party that fails to comply with the implementation of the
programme; that all the Member States of ECOWAS shall take all necessary
measures to give full effect to this decision; that the Committee of
Five, in consultation with the Standing Mediation Committee, shall seek
the assistance of the Security Council of the United Nations to make
whatever sanctions are imposed effective and binding on all members of
the international community in accordance with the provisions of the
United Nations Charter."
In support of the decision taken by the ECOWAS Heads of State, the Tenth
Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, meeting
in Jakarta in September 1992, said, inter alia, in its Final Documents:
"if ... there are parties still frustrating the efforts to create the
required climate for the holding of free and fair elections in Liberia,
stringent economic sanctions as proposed by the ECOWAS Summit ... [shall)
be imposed on such parties and the areas they control."
It also "appealed to the international community to support said sanctions, if
and when invoked, as well as provide necessary assistance to Liberia and the
Economic Community of West African States Ceasefire Monitoring Observer Group

(ECOMOG)." We expect that the Security Council of the United Nations will be
equally supportive.
Consistent with the spirit of its responsibilities, the Interim
Government of National Unity has taken several measures aimed at enhancing the
NPFL's capacity to cooperate in the implementation of the undertakings into
which it willingly entered.
We have successfully contributed to sensitizing those countries that can
prove helpful in assisting with funding for demobilizing and rehabilitating
combatants. An amnesty has been offered to enhance the prospects for
reconciliation. We have secured food for the NPFL to help alleviate the
strains incidental to the encampment of its troops, which, to use its leader's
words, are currently "living off the land". To give confidence to the NPFL
with respect to the pending elections, we offered it the position of Chairman
of, as well as majority seating on, the Elections Commission. This we did
even though the political party that it is now forming is only one grouping to
enter an election with at least six other parties.
It should be recalled that Dr. Amos Sawyer, President of the Interim
Government of National Unity, will not be a candidate in these elections and
that therefore the advantages of incumbency are not a factor here. Moreover,
Dr. Sawyer has announced that, in order to ensure a unified country, if
Mr. Taylor would concede his forces' being encamped and disarmed, and if he
would renounce his claims to a bogus presidency in the area he controls.
Dr. Sawyer would resign in favour of another Liberian acceptable to both
sides, who would hold the country together through the remaining months
leading to elections.
We, the people of Liberia, know what we want. We want an end to the
war. we want a unified country. We want free and fair elections. While we

concede the existence of some deep-seated problems clouded by suspicion and
demanding circumspection, our difficulties are being compounded by the
influence that external factors and forces wield over the NPFL. This is not
to suggest that Liberians are not ultimately responsible for the havoc we have
wrought on our country, but it is important for the international community to
understand and appreciate the variables which tend to make peace elusive in
Liberia.
The Liberian crisis was planned abroad. Many of the insurgents were
trained outside the country. Those who initially provided the training, arms,
and finances have tried to explain to us their motives, couched in spurious
arguments of revolutionary duty to their oppressed African brothers. We must
remember, too, that the insurgents crossed an internationally recognized
boundary and appear still to be receiving the cooperation and support of some
of our would-be brotherly peoples. We remain aware that as the NPFL advanced
there was a systematic plundering of the country, with the extraction from
Liberia of movable capital assets, from earth-moving equipment to power
plants, from computers to automobiles, primarily by the route by which the
insurgents came.
We are also cognizant of the fact that a few multinational corporations,
some with investments in the country, provided material and financial
assistance to the NPFL, with the intention of hastening its advance. There
are others which, acting on the presumption of an imminent NPFL victory,
provided similar assistance to secure concessions in natural rubber, iron ore
and timber resources. We are aware that some of these foreign corporations
believe they have become too involved to disengage now, and they have sought
the support or acquiescence of their countries in what is transpiring in
Liberia.

We Liberians are concerned about the causes underpinning our present
dilemma. We do not wish to see our country go the way many small countries
have gone by being embroiled in a protracted civil conflict over the spoils of
war. Liberia need not be destroyed in a quest for economic advantages. There
is no reason for the pitting of Liberians against each other in a zero-sum
game and the transformation of the country into a mass grave.

We recognize that we live in an interdependent world and accept the fact
that economic ends or objectives will be pursued in our country. However, we
are dismayed by the senselessness of the manner and the means. Results which
can be achieved in an organized, civilized and equitable way need not be
pursued in a manner replete with disorder, carnage and confusion.
As we Liberians want to reconstruct our lives the future being all we
have left we affirm here and now that all the signs of good neighbourliness
we are already demonstrating are sincere and genuine and that they will
continue to be a sustained national policy. In the same vein, corporate
entities that were lured into errors of judgement will be expected to
participate in time in open-minded discussions with the intent that they
should become actual partners in progress with the people of Liberia.
The intransigence and negative attitude of the NPFL has led to the
emergence on the scene of a fourth force, the United Liberation Movement for
Democracy in Liberia (ULIMO), which has declared itself to be a group of
Liberian refugees trying to find their way home. They also claim that their
primary objective is to compel the NPFL to adhere to the Yamoussoukro accord.
The ULIMO has engaged NPFL forces and recently, in a rapid advance, captured
several areas that had been under NPFL control.
We, the Interim Government, will continue our efforts to have a
cease-fire arranged between these contending forces. There is an urgent need
to avoid escalation through the likely involvement of the other forces, which
have been encamped for more than a year, awaiting the encampment of the NPFL
for the commencement of general disarmament.
Under cover of the security blanket provided by ECOMOG, the Interim
Government of National Unity has succeeded in re-establishing an acceptable

level of civil administration. We are pleased to note that since last year
schools have been open, with banking, mercantile and other commercial
activities resumed. Residents are being provided with basic social services
within the limits of our resources. We wish to observe that, despite the
emergency situation, we have been able to operate under the rule of law with a
constitutional Government which respects human rights. We take pride in the
fact that the people of Liberia have demonstrated both a spirit of cooperation
and the tenacity and the will to reorder their lives, in spite of tremendous
hardship.
Monrovia, which had a pre-war population of less than 500,000, has grown
to about 1.2 million as hundreds of thousands of our citizens continue to seek
refuge in the relative safety and normalcy of the capital. This mass
migration is placing a serious strain on the Government's meagre resources,
taking into account that the principal sources of revenue are under NPFL
control. As such, there is still a need for continued humanitarian assistance
to the country.
Concurrent with the effort to bring peace to Liberia and secure
appropriate conditions for holding free and fair elections, Liberia and the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have invited the United
Nations to assist with the electoral process. The Secretary-General has
already sent consultants to Liberia to evaluate the availability of population
data and the situation of constituency maps, and to provide support to the
Elections Commission.
We wish to register our appreciation to the States Members of the United
Nations for the several resolutions adopted by the General Assembly in
response to the critical humanitarian and other needs of Liberia since the

civil strife began. We wish to thank all the countries, especially the United
States, Japan, the European Community, the Nordic countries and others, which
have made significant contributions in response to the appeals of the
Secretary-General both for the United Nations emergency programme in Liberia
and for assistance to the neighbouring countries which host Liberian refugees.
We also express our gratitude to the United Nations system, and to all
the non-governmental and private volunteer organizations which have continued
to provide assistance to our people. We trust we can rely on the
international community for its continued empathy and support as Liberia goes
through the most difficult period of its history.
The timely initiative of the Economic Community of West African States to
mediate in the Liberian conflict was a laudable response by a subregion to a
subregional problem, consistent with Chapter VIII of the United Nations
Charter. This initiative is most deserving of the encouragement and support
of the international community. We therefore call on the United Nations to
play an active role in mobilizing financial and other support for ECOWAS as it
responds to the Liberian crisis, which continues to pose a threat to regional
peace and security.
On behalf of the Government and the people of Liberia, we wish once again
to extend our heartfelt appreciation to all the member States of ECOWAS,
particularly the Governments and peoples of Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Guinea,
Sierra Leone, the Gambia and Mali, which are participating in ECOMOG. We
thank all of them for the many sacrifices they are making to restore peace to
Liberia.

While we are preoccupied with domestic considerations, we have firm views
which we would like to advance with respect to some of the issues on the
international agenda.
The painful and tragic situation in Somalia is a grim reminder to the
people of Liberia of the ethnic strife, the wanton destruction of life and
property, the grave refugee problem and the disintegration of the country that
we ourselves experienced. The appalling human condition of the Somali people
makes them deserving of treatment equal to, if not greater than, that given
any other country experiencing a civil conflict. That is why we are most
pleased with the recent initiative taken by the Secretary-General in arousing
the conscience of the international community to the plight of Somalia. We
also applaud the active role he is playing to resolve the conflict.

With respect to developments in South Africa, the Government of Liberia
views with serious concern the gruesome sectarian violence in that country.
In view of the positive steps that the South African Government, yielding to
international pressure, was taking to end apartheid, it is most distressing to
receive indications of that Government's apparent collusion with the appointed
leaders of homelands to unleash unprovoked violence and death on defenceless
civilians engaged in a legitimate exercise of protest. Such action can only
put at risk the gains that have been made by all South Africans.
We therefore urge the South African authorities to take speedy action to
arrest black township violence and exclude from the security apparatus those
responsible for the recent atrocities. My delegation is encouraged by the
reports that the leader of the African National Congress, Mr. Nelson Mandela,
and President de Klerk have resumed talks on the country's political future.
We appeal, however, to Chief Gatsha Buthelezi of the Inkatha freedom movement
to rejoin his compatriots in the negotiations for the establishment of a
non-racial, democratic society.
The tragic story of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of continuing
suffering, destruction and death. It heightens profound fears that if the
situation is not urgently arrested the world could find itself involved in a
major effort to prevent the extinction of a national group due to the
horrendous policy of "ethnic cleansing." Liberia deplores that inhumane
practice and calls for enforcement action in keeping with the relevant
resolutions of the Security Council.
With regard to the situation in the Middle East, Liberia welcomes the
renewed efforts by the parties to the crisis and others to move the peace
process forward. It is our continuing belief that only a negotiated

settlement within the parameters of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967)
and 338 (1973) can bring a just and lasting peace to that troubled region.
One of the perennial issues before the Assembly has been the need to
ameliorate the poverty and underdevelopment that plague the developing
countries. The mounting debt burden, the decline in commodity prices and
increasing protectionism are some of the factors contributing to the economic
stagnation in many developing countries. My Government is therefore concerned
about the delay in concluding the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations. We
entertain the hope that the negotiations will be completed before the end of
1992, as envisaged.
It was in appreciation of the disturbing economic trends that I have
mentioned that the forty-sixth session of the General Assembly adopted a New
Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. Liberia calls upon the
international community to support the Agenda wholeheartedly in order to grant
relief to African countries.
Another important task of this session of the General Assembly is to
follow up the decisions taken by the United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development, which was held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. The decision
by most countries to sign the Conventions on climate change and on
biodiversity, as well as to adopt a comprehensive programme for sustainable
development. Agenda 21, reaffirmed awareness of the fundamental relationship
between development and the environment. As the Secretary-General observes in
his report, Agenda 21 constitutes the centrepiece of international cooperation
and coordination activities within the United Nations system for years to
come, it is therefore Liberia's sincere hope that at this session the General
Assembly will take appropriate measures to ensure the full implementation of
the historic decision that has been reached.

The rapid pace of change and the shrinking of our planet by faster means
of travel and communication have combined to make more relevant the
interdependence of nations. As such, Liberia reaffirms its abiding faith in
and commitment to the principles of the United Nations that have stood mankind
in good stead. Like those whose vision led to the birth of the Organization
at a time of great upheavals and challenges, we too must call forth the best
in us to ensure that we bequeath to posterity a world safe from pockets of
wars and the attendant dreadful consequences.
In pursuit of that attainable goal we must banish from our minds all
forms of mistrust, suspicion, fears and prejudices which, more often than not,
define our behaviour in national and international affairs. If we muster the
courage and the will to face squarely the new realities of the post-cold-war
era, then the chances will be enhanced of a stable international environment
in which the United Nations can promote social progress and development while
keeping the peace.


I have the pleasure to extend to Mr. Ganev the
warm congratulations of the delegation of Nepal on his unanimous election to
the presidency of the forty-seventh session of the General Assembly. We are
happy to have an eminent person like him, with wide experience and skill, to
guide our deliberations at this particularly important stage in the history of

the United Nations. I take this opportunity to express the great appreciation
of my delegation to Mr. Samir Shihabi, who presided over the forty-sixth
session with great distinction.
I should also like to pay a tribute to our Secretary-General,
Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for his dedication to the ideals of the United
Nations. His statesmanship and wise leadership are crucial in our collective
efforts towards realizing the vision of the Charter.
The pace of change in the world has presented humanity both with promises
and with challenges. The events of the last few years have underlined the
universal applicability of the Charter of the United Nations. Its validity as
a universal guide has withstood the test of time and flux. Confidence in the
Organization as the central agency for upholding the rule of law and as a
forum for harmonizing the actions of nations has never been greater. We have
seen a united international community, acting on the precepts of the Charter,
overcome an act of aggression. After decades of paralysis, the Security
Council is functioning as envisaged in the Charter. Efforts to revitalize the
role of the United Nations in the economic and social fields have gained
momentum. This unparalleled resurgence of faith in the United Nations is best
symbolized in the admission of 20 new Members in a single year. We are closer
than ever before to the cherished goal of universal membership.

A period of rapid changes is also a period of uncertainties. The old
global order has passed but the new order is still very fluid. At this
threshold of a new era in international life, we have a broad framework for a
better future in the Charter of this Organization. The challenge before the
United Nations is to harness the new mood and dynamism in international life
and bring them to bear on the global problems facing mankind. It is the
challenge to seize the opportunity to end war, to protect the dignity and
worth of the individual, to ensure freedom and the rule of law and to promote
economic development. In an interdependent world, the United Nations is
indispensable for international cooperation.
The task is by no means simple. In one single year, there have been
upheavals of epic proportion: the break-up of political entities of long
standing and brutal ethnic and religious wars. Narrow nationalism is
threatening the norms of a stable international order. The cost in terms of
human suffering has been appalling. The horrors of Somalia and of Bosnia and
Herzegovina force us to ask if we, the peoples of the United Nations, are
really determined to combine our strength to maintain international peace and
security. The persistence of widespread poverty and destitution forces us to
ask if we are indeed resolved to employ international machinery for the
economic and social advancement of all peoples.
The historic summit-level meeting of the Security Council in January this
year was an important landmark in the search for answers to these and other
questions. That meeting launched a serious search for new ideas and provided
an impetus to meet new situations in the world. As the Secretary-General has
pointed out, the tumultuous events of the last few years have already driven
home several lessons: the need for democratization at the national level with

a corresponding process at the global level; the defence of human rights,
including minority rights and the right to development; the need for new ways
to prevent internal and inter-State confrontations, including the increasing
use of regional arrangements; and universal acceptance of the rule of law
transcending changing perceptions of expediency.
These observations form the core of the Secretary-General's report, "An
Agenda for Peace". Several of the Secretary-General's recommendations can and
should be implemented immediately. These relate to the more effective use of
the traditional forms of peace-keeping, the safety of peace-keeping personnel,
and the finances involved. His recommendation for greater resort to
fact-finding missions is equally pertinent. Some other recommendations raise
fundamental issues related to the perception of an international organization,
its role vis-a-vis State sovereignty, and the role of the Secretary-General
himself. My delegation looks forward to a full-scale discussion of this
important document during the present session.
It is obvious that there is today a greater need for the United Nations
to address itself more seriously to the great divide between the rich and poor
nations. This, along with the universalization of a human rights regime, is a
fundamental issue of the new era.
As a least developed country, Nepal accepts the principal responsibility
for its economic and social development. Our development policies are
directed towards creating a basic infrastructure for development. Human
resources development is a priority with us. We consider it extremely
important to improve the living conditions of our people, to raise the level
of literacy, improve basic health and nutrition, and reduce the rate of infant
mortality. We are committed to these goals because we believe that it is the
human being and not the State which has the ultimate right to development. We

fully share the view that these goals can be attained only in a society that
is committed to the inalienable right of its people to elect their own leaders
in free and honest exercise of their will. We have already put in place the
foundations necessary to achieve these objectives. Principal among them are
the constitutional guarantee of political pluralism, the rule of law, the
independence of the judiciary, and safeguards for human rights. We now have
the legal framework to enable people locally to take primary responsibility
for their own development. With the basic political and legal grounds in
place, I wish to reiterate our appeal for measures to reach the targets set
out in the programme of action adopted by the Second United Nations Conference
on the Least Developed Countries. While expressing deep gratitude for the
generous assistance we have been receiving from donor countries and
multilateral agencies, we look forward to increased cooperation to complement
our own efforts to meet the needs of the poorest of our poor.
It is now universally recognized that, if development is to be possible,
the life-sustaining ecological systems must be preserved, and that development
alone can make it possible to safeguard the environment. It is imperative to
improve the living conditions of the poor in developing countries so that they
are not forced to destroy the ecological basis of their children's future to
meet the immediate challenges of sheer survival. The United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development held in June this year was the most
potent expression of global interdependence. The Conference has established
that developing countries need to mobilize their own resources for sustainable
development. It obliges developing countries to take global environmental
consequences into consideration in their development planning. It has also
established the right of developing countries to development. It has

underscored the need for the transfer of additional resources and technology
from industrialized countries to enable developing countries to fulfil their
responsibility to safeguard the environment for present and future
generations. Equally important, the Conference has established that developed
countries need to reduce the great burden they impose on the environment. The
Rio Declaration and Agenda 21 place people at the centre of concern.
Agenda 21, with its far-reaching implications, can be the centerpiece of a
mutually beneficial international cooperation. Nepal sincerely hopes that the
philosophical commitment of Rio will be followed through and strengthened. We
hope that establishing a high-level commission on sustainable development will
receive the utmost priority it deserves during this session of the General
Assembly.
While speaking of international cooperation in economic and social
fields, I appreciate the ongoing efforts to enable the Economic and Social
Council to play the role envisioned in the Charter. Political justice will
mean little if the health and happiness of people, especially those in
developing countries, are ignored. Indeed, global economic and social
development alone can constitute the lasting foundation of international peace
and security. We welcome the serious and out-of-the-ordinary approach of the
1992 session of the Council as the first tangible move towards restructuring
set in motion by General Assembly resolution 45/264. The holding of the first
high-level segment of a regular session of the Council was a promising
beginning. Also important was the examination of operational activities
including the workings of organs and agencies of the United Nations family in
economic and social fields. The times call for an integrated approach to
economic and social issues in the field as well as at headquarters. They

demand that we avoid inter-agency competition, duplication and waste of
limited resources by improving coordination among agencies, including the
Bretton Woods institutions. My delegation has noted with appreciation the
Secretary-General's determination to pursue restructuring of the Secretariat
to meet these larger goals.
One of the most satisfying reforms undertaken during the last year has
been in the area of coordinating humanitarian assistance. My delegation
welcomes the establishment of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs and
expresses its warm appreciation to Under-Secretary-General
Ambassador Jan Eliasson for his good leadership. We have already seen several
examples of effective balance between principles and operational guidelines,
improved coordination and governance. The situations in Somalia and the
former Yugoslavia present unique tests of international commitment in this
area. Indeed, it might not be too far-fetched to visualize the operation of
effective humanitarian emergency assistance and the equally important roles of
follow-up rehabilitation and development phases as new arms of the United
Nations in preventive diplomacy and peacemaking.

The relationship between freedom and democracy, on the one hand, and
peace and stability, on the other, needs no reiteration. Nepal rejoices in
the resurgence of democracy in various parts of the world in recent years. We
strongly support this trend, which we believe to be in full conformity with
the purposes of the United Nations. Developments in recent years have made it
clear that, without respect for human rights, other achievements will have
little meaning. The starting-point of democracy is the recognition and worth
of each human individual. Respect for human rights alone makes freedom
meaningful. The protection and promotion of human rights are becoming a
common basis for international cooperation. Respect for human rights is an
essential condition for the conduct of international relations in a spirit of
openness, trust and confidence. The realization by many peoples within
well-established political entities of their right to self-determination has
raised the complex question of the rights of minorities. Clearly, absolute
self-determination of each minority would have unforeseen consequences for the
system of international relations. Clearly, multi-ethnicity, cultural and
religious pluralism would continue to enrich most of the nations of the
world. However, it is a duty incumbent on governments to ensure that members
of minority groups are guaranteed the full enjoyment of the basic human rights
common to all. It is also a duty incumbent on governments to ensure special
protection when needed. The current upheavals in various parts of the world
underscore the need for the United Nations to work out principles that can
serve as common points of reference for the peaceful resolution of conflicting
aspirations.
The historic Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, unilateral disarmament
decisions taken by the United States and the Russian Federation, and the
agreement reached between the two countries this summer are crucial steps

towards lower levels of armaments and greater security. There is an
overwhelming consensus today that the opportunity provided by the uniquely
favourable international relations must be seized in order to achieve a
comprehensive test-ban treaty. Events in the Persian Gulf have made the
non-proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction the subject
of global focus. My delegation sincerely hopes that at this session the
General Assembly will be able to adopt the long-awaited Convention on chemical
weapons, the first comprehensive international instrument to outlaw a whole
class of weapons of mass destruction. In this context, Nepal welcomes the
recent agreement between our two neighbours, India and Pakistan, on chemical
weapons.
We have been following events in the territory of the former Socialist
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with utmost concern. The use of brute force
against the civilian population, especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has
been appalling. We find the policy of forced mass expulsion abhorrent. We
cannot accept the use of force to change internal or external borders. Nepal
joins in the international demand that parties to the conflict respond
immediately to the successive resolutions of the Security Council. We appeal
to the European Community to redouble its efforts, in cooperation with the
United Nations, to seek a negotiated settlement of the crisis in the Balkans.
Nepal welcomed the extraordinary session of the Commission on Human Rights
devoted to Yugoslavia. We look forward to the report of the Secretary-General
on the findings of the Special Rapporteur on allegations of grave violations
of human rights throughout the former Yugoslavia. We pay a tribute to the
personnel of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), the United
Nations humanitarian agencies and the International Committee of the Red

Cross, which have been doing an outstanding job in the most difficult
circumstances.
My delegation reiterates its full support for the territorial integrity
and non-aligned character of Cyprus. We hope that the October round of talks
under the good offices of the Secretary-General will produce the desired
results.
Nepal has welcomed the implementation of the United Nations plan for
Cambodia. We reiterate our appeal to all Cambodian parties to cooperate fully
with the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) for the
successful conclusion of this important United Nations mission. I take this
opportunity to express my Government's appreciation to Mr. Yasushi Akashi,
Special Representative of the Secretary-General, for the great efforts he has
been making to ensure the successful implementation of the plan for Cambodia.
We are following with keen interest talks between North and South Korea,
now fellow Members of the United Nations. We sincerely hope that these
bilateral talks will facilitate the fulfilment of the wishes of the Korean
people for peaceful national reunification.
Nepal is gravely concerned over the violence and the deaths of innocent
civilians in Kabul. We appeal to the various Afghan factions to end the cycle
of violence and to engage in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the
war-torn country.
Events of the past year have not diminished the urgency of finding a
solution to the Middle East conflict on the basis of Security Council
resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). Israel and the Palestinian people must
recognize each other's rights: the right of the Palestinian people to
self-determination, including their right to form a State of their own, and
the right of Israel to exist within secure and internationally recognized

borders. The Government of Nepal strongly supports the continuing efforts of
the sponsoring Powers of the Middle East peace process to bring about a
negotiated settlement of the crisis.
South Africa is today at a critical juncture. Negotiations thus far have
indicated that difficulties in the establishment of a united non-racial
democratic South Africa are not insurmountable. Violence should not be
allowed to dampen hopes for a peaceful end of apartheid.
My delegation welcomes the report of the Secretary-General and the
endorsement by the Security Council of his proposal for involvement of the
United Nations in order to put the dialogue on track again. My delegation
hopes that the Pretoria regime will respond positively to the proposals
contained in the report, expecially those relating to ending the violence.
As I said at the beginning of my statement, the vision of the Charter is
more valid today than ever before. It is, however, clear that models and
policies of the past are not adequate to meet today's global issues. The
magnitude and severity of economic and social problems in many countries of
the world today are unprecedented. The emergence of the Security Council as
the central instrument for the maintenance of international peace and
security, as intended by the Charter, is a welcome development. The United
Nations must seize this historic opportunity to promote with equal vigour and
urgency international cooperation in the economic and social fields. The
precepts of the Charter should be our guide in bringing in a new era of
international relations. This family of nations must strive to create a world
where all people are entitled to political freedom, economic and social
justice, a clean environment and full human rights.


Mr. President,
on behalf of the delegation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, I wish to
congratulate you on your election to the presidency of the forty-seventh
session of the General Assembly. I am convinced that you will brilliantly
fulfil the important mission conferred upon you by the Assembly.
I also wish to express sincerest congratulations to the
Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who has assumed
his office and high responsibilities at a time when the world situation
requires that the United Nations play an important role.
We cannot miss this opportunity to pay a special tribute to his
predecessor. His Excellency Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, for his active
contribution to the defence of our Organization's cause.
We warmly welcome the presence among us of new Members: the Republic of
Armenia, the Azerbaijani Republic, the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the
Republic of Croatia, the Republic of Georgia, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the
Republic of Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, the Republic of San Marino,
the Republic of Slovenia, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the
Republic of Uzbekistan. Their admission is an important step towards the
universality of our Organization.
The global situation is in a state of profound change, both complex and
full of new promise. With the breakup of the Eastern bloc, military and
nuclear confrontation have progressively waned. None the less, numerous civil
conflicts, ethnic struggles, religious clashes and border conflicts continue
to disturb many countries of the world, thus seriously threatening
international peace, stability and security.
All of this notwithstanding, it must be noted that the world climate is
evolving towards co-operation, development and the settlement of global
problems, including those related to poverty, to misery and to the environment.
In the changing world in which the new international order is beginning
to take shape, the United Nations must play a central role in the collective
effort to define this new order, which should respond equitably to the rights
and interests of all countries and peoples without discrimination and must be
based on the principles of peaceful coexistence and those of the United
Nations Charter. It is therefore necessary to revitalize, restructure and
democratize the United Nations if we want the Organization to be capable of
the tasks that lie ahead in this new era.
We are still in an uncertain world characterized by many problems and
conflicts in different regions.
In Europe, the situation prevailing in former Yugoslavia continues to
deteriorate dangerously. It is a major source of concern for the
international community, as well as a threat to regional and global peace and
security. The international community must take appropriate measures to put
an end to that ethnic conflict in order to restore peace, security and normal
life to that part of the world.
In South Africa, despite certain political reforms the foundations of the
apartheid system remain intact. The Pretoria regime continues to resort to
violence to repress the black population, while the African National Congress
of South Africa (ANC) is forcefully and constructively pursuing its struggle
for the triumph of its just cause. The Lao Government fully associates itself
with the international community in its efforts to support the struggle of the
great majority of that people in order to make South Africa a democratic and
non-racial country.
In the Middle East, the situation remains tense and precarious. Israel
is perpetuating its occupation of Palestinian territory and of the other Arab
territories. We reaffirm the view that every effort for peace now under way
with a view to a just, comprehensive and lasting solution in the Middle East,
at the heart of which is the question of Palestine, should work towards rapid
implementation of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and
the other resolutions of the United Nations calling for Israel's withdrawal
from all occupied Arab lands, as well as recognition of the Palestinian
people's right to self-determination.
In the Persian Gulf, following the end of the war peace and security have
not yet been established because of threats of and attempts at further
hostilities.

In Western Asia, Afghanistan remains a theatre of civil war. The
international community must appeal to all the parties concerned to put an
immediate end to their conflicts in order to achieve national harmony among
Afghans and to establish political, economic and social stability.
In the Korean peninsula, the signing of the North-South Accord on
Reconciliation, Non-Aggression and Exchanges and the Joint Declaration on the
Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula by the Democratic People's Republic
of Korea and the Republic of Korea has contributed to promoting mutual
understanding and trust. It has opened up a new prospect for peace, stability
and cooperation in the Korean peninsula and strengthened peace and security in
the North-East Asian region and in the rest of the world.
In the South-East Asian region, in spite of certain factors of
instability, the situation as a whole is moving towards peace, stability,
cooperation and development in the interest of the peoples of the entire
region. In this context, inspired by the desire to strengthen relations of
friendship and cooperation with neighbouring countries, the Lao Government,
applying its consistent foreign policy based on the five principles of
peaceful coexistence, signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation with the
Kingdom of Thailand, became a party to the Treaty of Bali of 1976. It has
also become an Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) observer. It
will continue to work firmly for fruitful cooperation in South-East Asia, with
a view to promoting the progress and prosperity of the region, thus
contributing to promoting peace and development the world over.

As regards the question of Cambodia, the signing of the Paris Agreements
of 23 October 1991 laid the foundations for a comprehensive political
settlement to the conflict, making it possible to put an end to the suffering
endured by the Cambodian people during a long period of civil war and to
establish peace and tranquillity in the noble land of Angkor. Complete
compliance with, and implementation of, these Agreements is required to meet
the aspirations and the interests of the Cambodian people.
In my own country, the implementation of our policy of renewal has led to
important successes. Political stability and social order are solidly
guaranteed. Democracy and the right of collective decision-making by the
people have developed steadily in accordance with our level of economic and
social development and the customs of the country. The adoption last year by
the National Assembly of the first Constitution of the Republic makes it
possible for our country to move progressively towards a State of law. In the
framework of that policy we are focusing all our efforts on freeing the
country of underdevelopment. To this end we have encouraged foreign
investment, intensified cooperation with other countries and taken advantage
of all economic sectors employing market-economy mechanisms in order to tap
all our national potential and to improve the physical and spiritual living
conditions of our people.
The world economy is in a state of uncertainty. Last year it experienced
the first global recession since the 1940s. Moreover, the recovery remains
weak and precarious. The developing countries continue to suffer from
coercive economic policies and practices. The stifling burden of foreign

debt, the decline in resources allocated to development, the deterioration of
the terms of trade, the worsening of the outflow of capital, the drop in
commodity prices, the rise in protectionism and limited access to modern
technology all obstruct their economic progress at a time when reforms and
readjustments are under way. Since the world economy is a single entity whose
components are interdependent and interrelated, it is urgently necessary
indeed, crucial to develop a new world consensus and to obtain a commitment
to the strengthening of international cooperation, and in particular the
revitalization of the economic growth and development of the developing
countries, in order successfully to implement the economic strategy of the
Fourth United Nations Development Decade, 1991-2000.
One of the most important issues related to development is that of the
environment, which is at the forefront of our international concerns. Climate
change, air, sea and ocean pollution, desertification and the depletion of the
ozone layer have all had a negative impact on our lives and on the future of
mankind. In this respect, we believe that the recent United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development, which was held in Rio de Janeiro,
laid the foundations of international agreement on cooperation aimed at
integrating the environment into all development activities. It will
therefore be up to the United Nations and its specialized agencies to
implement effectively Agenda 21.
At the same time, the aspirations of the international community to a
better quality of life and social progress have become more pressing and
increasingly important. In fact, protection of the environment, promotion

of economic growth and development, and the eradication of poverty are
mutually reinforcing and require a new global partnership. In this framework,
we are awaiting with interest the planned convening of the World Summit for
Social Development.
The problem of the illicit traffic in narcotic drugs remains a source of
global concern. The struggle against this scourge requires concerted, strong
action by all countries. For its part, in order to contribute to the
international effort the Lao Government has cooperated in the sphere of
integrated rural development with certain interested countries, especially
neighbouring countries, as well as with international organizations, including
the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, and we are prepared
to continue this cooperation.
In conclusion, the Lao delegation wishes to assure the President,
Mr. Stoyan Ganev of Bulgaria, of its complete cooperation. We will work in a
constructive spirit with other delegations to contribute to the success of
this session of the General Assembly.