NATIONS RECOVERING FROM CIVIL CONFLICT NEED EXTERNAL AID TO REPAIR RAVAGED ECONOMIES, GENERAL ASSEMBLY IS TOLD

8 October 1996

Press Release
GA/9122

NATIONS RECOVERING FROM CIVIL CONFLICT NEED EXTERNAL AID TO REPAIR RAVAGED ECONOMIES, GENERAL ASSEMBLY IS TOLD

19961008 Foreign Ministers of Chad, Haiti Review Requirements; Maldives, Grenada, Lesotho Also Highlight Special Problems of Poorest Nations

The socio-economic obstacles faced by countries recovering from years of internal conflict and the overall plight of the least developed countries were among the issues highlighted this afternoon, as the General Assembly continued its opening debate.

Saleh Kebzabo, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Chad, told the Assembly that a complete return to peace and security in his country necessarily involved controlling the army. While 21,000 soldiers had been demobilized, the country's efforts would be in vain if those men, trained in the handling of weapons, went back to the streets. A programme of social reinsertion was of capital importance to transform them into a real army in the service of development. External aid was still needed from the developed countries so that Chad would no longer be a burden to them.

In its efforts to establish a rule of law and civil society, the Haitian Government, according to its Foreign Minister, Fritz Longchamp, faced two major obstacles -- overall economic difficulties and the need to reform the judicial system. A bill just introduced in the Parliament was aimed at providing ways and means to achieve judicial independence. An economic plan would focus on agricultural and industrial development. The persistence of a high level of illiteracy and a severely damaged infrastructure were major handicaps in any attempts to improve the social and economic levels in Haiti.

It was ironic, said Fathulla Jameel, Foreign Minister of Maldives, that those most adversely affected by the worst financial crisis in the history of the United Nations were the smaller and poorer States who were obligated under the current scale of assessment to pay more than their fair share. He welcomed efforts by the Secretary-General to eliminate redundancy, duplication and waste in the Organization.

Raphael Fletcher, Minister for Legal Affairs and Local Government of Grenada, said a new global partnership between North and South meant three concepts: the alleviation of the debt burden of the poorest countries; the development of centres for investment and the training of human resources; and technical assistance to the smaller economies to allow participation in the

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global economy. He spoke of the continuing problems in the banana industry of the Caribbean nations.

Percy M. Mangoaela (Lesotho) said it was pertinent to inquire to what extent countries were fulfilling their commitments to the various global conferences, particularly the 1995 Copenhagen Social Summit, in alleviating the plight of least developed countries. Lesotho had made a serious effort to attain the 20 per cent target of its budget devoted to the health and education sectors, but there had not been a corresponding commitment on the part of the development partners as agreed in Copenhagen.

The Assembly will resume its general debate at 10 a.m. Wednesday, 9 October, as well as hearing addresses by the Prime Minister of Western Samoa and the Chairman of the Council of State of the Liberian National Transitional Government.

Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this afternoon to continue its general debate. The Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Haiti, Chad, Maldives and Grenada, and the representative of Lesotho were scheduled to make statements.

Statements

FRITZ LONGCHAMP, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Haiti, said almost two years had passed since the re-establishment of the rule of law and constitutional government in Haiti. Today, democracy and tolerance were part of the Haitian scene. If the success was to be complete, the country must now address other important issues. Haiti had always turned to the United Nations in times of need and would continue to do so during the current session.

Since the international community had invested in renewal in Haiti, he said he would report on the progress in his country. The elections of 1995 had successfully led to the forming of a new government. In its efforts to establish a rule of law and civil society, the Haitian Government faced two major obstacles -- overall economic difficulties and the need to reform the judicial system. On 3 October, a bill was presented to Parliament to reform the judiciary. It was aimed at assuring judicial independence and providing the necessary means for its proper operation.

Haiti faced major economic obstacles, he said. The country had a severely damaged infrastructure. Production, exports and other economic indicators had continued to drop. A programme supported by international financial institutions would enable the country to establish conditions for economic growth. The economic plan would focus on increased agricultural and industrial development. Haiti was working hard to create a favourable climate for business through close cooperation with various sectors of the country. Steps were also being taken to reverse the process of deforestation and soil degradation.

He said there was a basic and vital need to combat poverty, illiteracy and health-care shortages. The persistence of a high level of illiteracy in Haiti was a major handicap to any attempt to improve the social and economic levels. A programme of action was aimed at mobilizing all available resources to provide education for larger numbers of people. Haiti sought to make a complete break with a troubled past to create a more hopeful future for its citizens. SALEH KEBZABO, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Chad, said 1996 was a landmark year in the history of his country's democratization. Last March, the people of Chad received a new Constitution and then proceeded to hold free, democratic elections, the first in their history. The process was ongoing. At the end of the year, Chadians would vote to elect their first National Assembly.

A complete return to peace and security necessarily involved controlling the army, the Foreign Minister continued. Thanks to the help of friendly

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countries and the World Bank, more than 21,000 soldiers had been demobilized. The country's efforts would have been in vain if those men, trained in the handling of weapons, went back to the streets. So, a programme of "social reinsertion" for those men was of capital importance, to transform them into a real army in the service of development.

He said one of Chad's first tasks, after more than two decades of war, was the demining of an area equal to a fourth of its national territory and with enormous potential for mining and tourism. All initiatives tending to the elimination of these "death engines" were welcomed and had Chad's support.

Chad was seeking sustainable socio-economic development. It still needed external aid, but in the hope that eventually such external assistance would no longer be necessary. That was Chad's message to developed countries -- "help us so that we will no longer be a burden to you".

He said that, as a Sahelian country, Chad welcomed the entry into force of the United Nations Convention on Desertification. It was also hoped that the coming World Summit on Food would respond to today's challenges in that vital field. International cooperation was also indispensable to face other problems such as drug trafficking, organized crime, terrorism and religious intolerance. Those were issues that governments could not tackle singlehandedly.

FATHULLA JAMEEL, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Maldives, told the Assembly that his country was among the smallest and the least developed in the United Nations. The Organization was extremely important in safe-guarding the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of such nations. It was the protector of freedom and justice, particularly for the weak and the vulnerable. It was also the beacon of hope for hundreds of millions of people in the developing world for a better future free from hunger and disease. For that reason, Maldives felt the need to reform the Organization to make it more effective.

He lamented the "worst financial crisis" in the history of the United Nations, noting that by far the greater number of cases of arrears were those with the capacity to pay. It was ironic, he went on, that those most adversely affected were the smaller and poorer States who were obligated under the current scale of assessment to pay more than their fair share. He welcomed the efforts of the Secretary General to eliminate redundancy, duplication and waste in the Organization.

The world today had a great opportunity to address development problems, but unfortunately the ambitious programmes of the major conferences of the past few years had not been backed up by the necessary resources and the political will. He felt that activities of international economic and development cooperation must be coordinated and closely linked with the development strategies and programmes of the United Nations system. While the globalization and liberalization of the world economy had given the opportunity for some developing countries to assume a more prominent status,

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the least developed nations had continued to get marginalized. Steps must be taken to lift the debt burden from those countries.

He stressed the need for the international community to combat terrorism, and called for the strongest possible international action against drug traffickers. He said he was glad the Middle East peace process was continuing to move forward. The United Nations must continue to provide means to the Palestinian people in their struggle for the restoration of their inalienable rights. On Bosnia and Herzegovina, he said it was important to bring to justice those responsible for the atrocities and genocide.

RAPHAEL FLETCHER, Minister for Legal Affairs and Local Government of Grenada, told the Assembly the need of official development assistance and the transfer of real resources from the north to the south have never been as pronounced as today. The transfer of resources could be understood only through the concept of the new global order, which had been adopted by all the members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). There were basically three requirements: the alleviation of the debt burden by one means or the other; the development of centres for investment and the training of human resources; and technical assistance to the smaller economies to achieve the transition towards their participation in the global economy.

He said there was a direct correlation between the premature destruction of Grenada's banana industry and the well-being and integrity of the country. Bananas provided a livelihood for a significant percentage of the people of the Caribbean. The current challenge to the special arrangements for that fruit in Europe were "uncaring, if not hostile", towards those whose livelihood depended, to a significant extent, on that industry.

The Foreign Minister said the practice of transporting hazardous radio- active materials through the Caribbean Sea must be stopped immediately. The very "surreptitiousness" with which that business was conducted, and transportation effected, was "a tacit admission of wrongdoing".

He said Grenada strongly believed that the United Nations and particularly the Security Council should reflect the new geo-political and economic realities of today. Grenada supported the call by the European Union for the participation of the Republic of China (on Taiwan) in international organizations.

PERCY M. MANGOAELA (Lesotho) said his country shared Africa's deep disappointment at the demonstrable lack of interest on the part of the international community in extending the necessary material support to the countries of the Economic Community of West African States' Monitoring Observer Group (ECOMOG) that were engaged in the regional peace-keeping effort in Liberia. That called into question the world's commitment to the universality of the sanctity of human life.

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Not all was doom and gloom in Africa, he said. Throughout southern Africa, political stability, peace and democracy continued to be deepened. The establishment by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) of the Organ for Politics, Defence and Security reaffirmed the region's resolve to consolidate the gains that had been bequeathed by the demise of apartheid. Those measures had contributed to the strong performance registered by the national economies of southern Africa in 1995, as well as to the improvement in the overall investment climate of the region. The international community should continue to assist southern Africa in its reconstruction efforts, particularly by encouraging the flow of private investment as a contribution to regional efforts for economic recovery of the sub-continent.

He said the United Nations System-Wide Initiative on Africa, which was launched by the Secretary-General this year, promised to break new ground by assuring the cooperation of the whole system, including the Bretton Woods institutions. He stressed that the implementation of the several initiatives currently on the table must be carried out in close consultation with the African countries themselves. It was pertinent to inquire to what extent countries were fulfilling their commitments to the various global conferences, particularly the 1995 Copenhagen Social Summit which was significant in its goals of alleviating the plight of least developed countries. Lesotho had made a serious effort to attain the 20 per cent target of its budget devoted to the health and education sectors, but there had not been a corresponding commitment on the part of the development partners as agreed in Copenhagen.

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