| ADDRESS By H.E. JOAQUIM ALBERTO CHISSANO Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen; Allow me, at the outset, to join
previous speakers in congratulating you on your election as President
of the 58th Session of the General Assembly. You represent a region
whose peoples share a common history with the African peoples. A
region that we regard as a natural ally to We commend your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Jan Kavan for the manner in which he guided the proceedings
of the Assembly during the last session. I would equally wish to commend
the Secretary-General for his relentless efforts in turning the
United Nations into an effective instrument for international cooperation
in the search and preservation of peace and security, and in dealing
with an ever-increasing array of challenges worldwide. I wish to
encourage you, Mr. Secretary-General, to continue in this positive
path. Recently, the United Nations family has lost some of its
best servants. We mourn the tragic death of Sergio Vieira de Mello,
a dedicated servant of our organization. We reiterate our deepest
condolences to the United Nations, the Government of Brazil and
to Sergio's family. We mourn also the passing away of Anna Lindh, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, an outstanding
diplomat and a defender of the United Nations. Her departure is
a major loss for humanity, as she fought for a world order in which
every nation could live in peace, harmony and prosperity. We wish
to reiterate our heartfelt condolences to the people and Government
of Sweden as well as to the bereaved family. Mr. President, I have come to this Session as
a messenger of the peoples of The peoples of The peoples of Africa emulate experiences of countries
like my own, Indeed, in During these eleven years, we
are achieving continuous progress in consolidating peace and democracy.
We are now engaged in the preparation for the second municipal elections,
to be held in November 19, 2003. These elections will represent
an important momentum in the consolidation of our local government
experience. In 2004, The Mozambican economy has grown at an encouraging GDP
rate of 7.7%, last year, resulting in increased allocation of the
national budget to social sectors. This is all the more important specially given the fact
that Mozambique, like many other countries in Southern Africa, is
still facing a humanitarian crisis resulting from continued unfavourable
weather patterns which have stricken the whole region, over the
years. We urge the international community to respond favourably
to the recently launched appeal for humanitarian assistance to As part of efforts to fight poverty, the Government is
implementing its Plan of Action for the Eradication of Absolute
Poverty (PARPA), the Mozambican Poverty Reduction Strategy. The
target of PARPA is to maintain an average growth of 8%, and reduce
absolute poverty to below 50% by the end of this decade. With the objective of creating a national vision for development
in the next 25 years, the Government of Mozambique launched the
"Agenda 2025", a national initiative based on a constructive
dialogue with all political parties and other stakeholders on the
future of the country. Mr. President, I am a messenger of the peoples
of In July, NEPAD, adopted at the Lusaka
Summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), in July 2001,
as an African led, owned and managed initiative, is a serious commitment
to addressing the challenges before the continent in order to meet
the aspirations of its people. In The commitment and political
will of African countries to take effective and concrete measures
for the implementation of NEPAD, as expressed in the Maputo Declaration,
reflects the recognition that the primary responsibility for the
implementation of this initiative rests with the African Governments
and peoples. Within the framework of NEPAD,
we have prepared detailed and costed country
and region-specific agriculture projects for implementation under
the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme
(CAADP). We also discussed the implementation of infrastructure
high priority projects in energy, transport, water and sanitation,
and information and technology (ICT) identified under the revised
NEPAD Infrastructure Short-Term Action Plan (STAP), as well as progress in developing
Medium to Long-Term Infrastructure Action Plan. We considered, in
addition, steps to be taken to speed up
the implementation of programmes in the areas of health and education. Over the past two years, we have
placed emphasis on creating the institutional framework for overseeing
the implementation of NEPAD at regional level, integrating NEPAD
priorities into our national development programmes
and creating institutions to manage it, as means of bringing coherence
in NEPAD matters within African Governments. We must highlight that NEPAD incorporates
an African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) whose objective is to foster
the adoption of policies, standards and practices leading to political
stability, high economic growth, sustainable
development and accelerated regional and continental integration. We are happy to report that progress has
been made with respect to the APRM, in particular the accession
of a number of Member States of the African Union to the APRM as
well as the appointment of the Panel of Eminent Persons. The Maputo
Summit of the African Union has encouraged other Member States of
the African Union to accede to the APRM. Mr. President, International support for the implementation of NEPAD is
essential. NEPAD should be the framework within which the international
community, including the United Nations system, should concentrate
its efforts for Yesterday, President Chirac, in
his capacity as Chairperson of the G-8, convened an important meeting,
which enabled us to further discuss how
to operationalize NEPAD. We commend him for the initiative,
which provided us with an opportunity to review commitments undertaken
in previous meetings. This is, Mr. President, the main
agenda of the African Union, which seeks to build strong foundations
for democracy, good governance, peace and stability, sustainable
development, and to create better living conditions for all peoples
of We recognize that it is a colossal challenge for the present
and future generations of African leaders, as it was when we created
the Organization of African Unity forty years ago and Mr. President, In It is for this reason that we
have reiterated the importance of the entry into force of the Peace
and Security Council, an important organ of the African Union that
will deal with issues related to conflict prevention, management
and resolution. Step
by step, with the continued support of the
international community, In
Sao Tome e Principe, in keeping with
the OAU Algiers Summit decision of 1999 on unconstitutional change
of government, the coordinated action of the African Union, the
Community of the Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), the Economic
Community of Central African States (CEEAC), Nigeria, South Africa
and other key players, has enabled President Fradique
de Menezes to return to power, foiling
an attempted unconstitutional change of government. The recent positive developments
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), including the formation
of the Transitional Government and Parliament, the appointment of
the Army command structures as well as the deployment of MONUC forces
in Bunia, have brought a new momentum to the peace process
in that country. We must not allow this process to derail. All of
us, including neighboring countries, have an obligation to support
the Congolese people and its Government
in their long struggle for peace and stability. In Liberia, following the departure of President Taylor,
we witnessed on 18 August 2003, the signing in Accra, Ghana, of
the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Government of Liberia,
the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), the
Movement for Democracy in Liberia (Model) and the Liberian Political
Parties. The Agreement covers a wide range
of issues, including the cessation of hostilities and more importantly,
it provides for the establishment of a Transitional Government,
which will take its responsibilities as of 14 of October 2003, until
the holding of credible general elections in October 2005. In order to conduct free and fair elections
as envisaged in this agreement, all efforts must be exerted to ensure
that the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration of all Combatants
(DDR) is fully accomplished prior to elections. This must include
all combatants involved in the conflict in Let me pay a well-deserved tribute to President Kufour of With respect to We appeal to the Security Council to adopt a resolution
formally endorsing this The situation in In the Horn of Africa, we must continue to encourage We welcome the lifting of sanctions against The stabilization of the situation
in The peoples of This will be possible if, inter alia,
the international community continues
to seek viable and effective ways and means to address the debt
burden, low levels of ODA and FDI, and market access for African
products in developed countries. We are disappointed that the Cancun
Conference failed to produce positive results. Mr. President, We continue to follow with concern the deterioration of
the situation in the The recent tragic events, which
have claimed so many innocent lives, are a painful reminder that
international terrorism continues to represent a serious threat
to peace and security in the world. They further demonstrated that
no country is immune from the scourge of terror, and that it is
through concerted action that we can effectively address this issue.
The United Nations remains the most appropriate forum for the search
of the best ways and means of combating terrorism. In Mr. President, In recent times, some skeptical
people have wondered whether the United Nations had lost its credibility
and relevance. The answer is clear: The role of the United Nations
as the main instrument for the maintenance of international peace
and security has more than ever before been vindicated. It is through the United Nations that we can all find
the much sought legitimacy of action, as
it is rightly put by the Secretary-General, in tackling issues of
common concern, including threats to peace and security, as well
as in addressing the challenges of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria
and other Infectious Diseases, and sustainable development. The Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) remain the most outstanding targets
agreed by the international community, as they cover the major areas
of concern for the peoples of the world. When we adopted the MDGs
at the end of the Millennium Summit, we committed ourselves to meaningfully Since the adoption of the Millennium
Declaration, experience has shown that in order to attain this target
we require greater international solidarity and cooperation. The United Nations, by virtue
of its universality, has shown that it has the political and moral
authority to tackle not only the issues outlined above, but equally
all other issues of concern to mankind.
Therefore, it must be strengthened, safeguarded and adequately funded. The strengthening of the United
Nations must include the expansion of the Security Council to make
it more representative. The African continent deserves a fair representation
in this body with at least two Permanent Members. We equally wish
to see developing nations that have shown commitment to the maintenance
of international peace and security represented. In this regard
we support It is for these reasons that
we must continue to support the Secretary-General and the United
Nations as they shoulder their responsibilities in laying the foundations
for a just and lasting peace, as well as for socio-economic development
worldwide. We, in I thank you. |