YouSaid · the spoken record

Nassirou Bako Arifari

lines on the record: 45
first: 2011-09-24
most recent: 2013-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“I remain convinced that democracy can be viable and useful for the people only if it contributes to development, to promoting the dignity and fundamental rights of citizens, to strengthening social justice and to maintaining peace and international security. In conclusion, I would like to express the compassion of the people of Benin to the brotherly people of Kenya for the tragedy they have experienced following the recent terrorist attack. The same compassion goes out to all those people in the world who are suffering from intolerance and its attendant violence.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Governments must undertake to create more cohesion between stakeholders and to ensure understanding and consensus on essential matters and avoid internal divisions that undermine the State while negative forces are constantly striving to wreak havoc. My Government is committed to strengthening the principles of democracy and the implementation of effective local development policies. My Government remains convinced that promoting, developing and shoring up democracy, far from being a luxury, is a vital and unavoidable necessity for all African States. That is why Benin is striving each day to find the ways and means to strengthen and streamline its political system so as to permanently anchor it in universal values.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The Government of Benin is firmly committed to the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights, which it considers to be the third pillar of the United Nations system. They are considerations that govern our participation in the work of the Human Rights Council, where we strive to promote a correlation between the behaviour of States and the international obligations they have undertaken through a mutual open dialogue and mutually enriching cooperation as the most effective way for developing and protecting universally recognized human rights and the fight against impunity.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The delays in the establishment of a Palestinian State with all the attributes of an independent and sovereign State, including full membership in the United Nations, living side by side with the State of Israel within secure borders and with full international guarantees is still a subject of concern. In that regard, Benin welcomes the efforts of the Obama Administration that have led to the renewal of dialogue between the Palestinians and Israelis. Along the same lines, the paralysis in the United Nations with respect to different political and military crises shows how urgent it is to reform the international system, in particular the Security Council. Achieving that reform would be real proof of the commitment of the United Nations to inclusive and less polemic management of the great problems of today.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Strengthening regional cooperation means that we need to set up an international support mechanism to improve cost-sharing in order to guarantee lasting results. It is important for the Security Council to adopt a new resolution to that effect. More than ever, the United Nations must stand firm in its role as the best forum for a fruitful multilateralism, where different initiatives come together to give the necessary impetus for more inclusive and less unjust global governance that finds comprehensive, lasting solutions to crises of every stripe that trouble the world with disastrous repercussions on human security and human rights.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“That was the aim of the joint summit on maritime security of the Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Commission of the Gulf of Guinea that took place in Yaoundé on 24 and 25 June. That followed the meeting of Foreign Ministers and Defence Ministers of ECOWAS, ECCAS and the Gulf of Guinea Commission that took place in Cotonou on 18 and 19 March. After Yaoundé, there was the Malabo summit of the Heads of State of the Gulf of Guinea Commission held on 9 July, which took the historic decision to open the Gulf of Guinea Commission to all States in the area of the Gulf of Guinea, which gives the arrangements an inclusive technical consultation framework.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The case of the Central African Republic gives us pause, as it requires a commitment from the international community commensurate with seriousness of the current challenges. The resurgence of piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea has had an enormous impact on the economies of the countries of the Atlantic coast and in the hinterlands. The initiatives undertaken with the support of the United Nations and the backing offered by our bilateral partners have enabled us to set up information-sharing centres pursuant to resolutions 2018 (2011) and 2039 (2012) of the Security Council.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The election of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita is the start of a new era where Mali is returning to the family of free nations struggling to bring happiness to their peoples. In that connection, the policies adopted in the United Nations integrated strategy for the Sahel must be decisively implemented in order to transform challenges into opportunities for growth and progress for the peoples of the region for the certain benefit of international peace and security. We must also commend the efforts undertaken to stabilize the countries of the Great Lakes region, especially the Democratic People’s Republic of the Congo, as well as Somalia, where the African Union has shown its ability to restore and rebuild peace, with, of course, the support of the United Nations.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We would benefit from adopting a preventive and proactive, as well as healing, approach in order to improve the health of our planet and constantly expand the vital space necessary for ensuring that humans flourish, if we really want to ensure the universal access to peace and shared prosperity that we all so sorely want. The very encouraging way in which the crisis in Mali was managed is to the credit of the partnership between the United Nations and regional organizations. It proved what the international community can achieve if it uses its levers of our collective security system in time. Benin has been honoured to take an active part, alongside other African countries, in the noble mission of rebuilding the State in Mali.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We must reinforce the clout of the international regulatory regimes and make progress in the area of disarmament, whose paralysis carries great risk for humankind. In that regard, too, we welcome the conclusion of the Arms Trade Treaty. We must better harness the mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of disputes and conflict prevention. The partnership between the United Nations and regional organizations is a valuable tool for building a more integrated and solidarity-based world. That solidarity must be clearly displayed against the rise of a violent extremism that is increasingly dangerous when it takes root in our societiees by associating itself with transnational organized crime networks. All those all equally pressing challenges that the international community needs to address.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“At a time when we are thinking about the broad outlines of the post-2015 development agenda, we should also forge a consensus on the path to follow and the means to strengthen the bases of international law pursuant to respect for the essential principles of the Charter of United Nations, to which all States Member of the Organization have freely acceded. We must constantly strive to bolster the ramparts of peace; without them, any development will be in vain, in the light of the destruction that comes from conflicts triggered by their violation. I would take as an example the atrocities that we see, sometimes at a frightening level, such as what occurred in Syria with the use of banned chemical weapons, which we condemn in the firmest possible terms.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“I urge the international community to support that noble project, which is a guarantee of adequate, inclusive training for youth. I call on all countries to join the Initiative in order to contribute to the collective thinking and its efficient implementation. At Rio de Janeiro we affirmed the inextricable link that exists among the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development. However, that vision will not materialize if we set aside the existing relationship among peace, security and development. We should invest more in guaranteeing peace and security as an essential factor for sustainable development.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We must enhance the role of quality, relevant and transformative education at the heart of the social, economic and development agendas — an education system focused on the real needs of society and the modern world. In that regard, I welcome the establishment by the Secretary-General of the Global Education First initiative, which is a platform for leading an open debate on the aims of education in the current context and to prepare children for living active, productive and personally enriching lives. That is a prerequisite for meeting the challenge of social inclusion of young people. Benin has been honoured to participate actively since February in the work of the group of Member States championing the initiative.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“That effort already enjoys strong support from the United Nations and some development partners from diverse cooperation frameworks, whether they are North-South, South-South or according to other types of triangular partnerships. I appeal for goodwill to help make that voluntary initiative a decisive turning point in terms of mobilizing the necessary resources to help least developed countries make the leap to industrialization based on their competitive advantages. That route offers LDCs a possibility for creating decent jobs so they can make the most of their demographic advantages and turn that into a factor for stability and prosperity.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“In that regard, the Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020 is and should be perceived as an integral part of the post-2015 development agenda. Its main aim is to ensure the transition of half of the 49 least developed countries to a higher-income level by 2020. Against that backdrop, Benin is quite clear about its responsibility as the head of the global coordination bureau for the LDCs. We intend to propose the holding of an international conference on the theme “New partnerships for developing the productive capacities of LDCs in the context of the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action”, to be held in Cotonou in April 2014.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“From that standpoint, it is of crucial importance that the situations of greatest current concern to the international community should enjoy particular attention, as stipulated in principle 6 of the 1992 Rio Declaration. We should therefore strongly support what is stated in the Secretary-General’s report entitled “A life of dignity for all” (A/68/202), that the needs of the least developed and most vulnerable countries should form the basis for defining the goals of the programme. It is a welcome fact that the situation in those countries has already been the subject of significant thinking, with key action programmes that cover periods that go far beyond 2015.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Thanks to the meticulous clarification of issues and challenges by the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, appointed by the Secretary General to present recommendations to him, we have a galvanizing vision and appropriate materials to build a unique, coherent programme regarding all those points, and pragmatic enough to ensure that everybody on the planet is placed on a sustainable development path so everyone can have access to shared a prosperity that leaves no country or person aside. The post-2015 development agenda must be universal in nature. It must also be broken down into specific measures targeting reforms and corrective measures needed to re-establish any balances that have been upset or threatened.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“It is important to fully include in the post-2015 development agenda those MDGs that have not been achieved on time and give them top priority in order to ensure there is continuity with the new normative framework established by the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro and the demands that will result from the goals currently being developed. In that regard, the main theme for the general debate of the sixty-eighth session — “The post-2015 development agenda: setting the stage” — is quite timely and perfectly in line with the consultations that have taken place at various levels to develop that agenda.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We have reason to hope that the new dynamic and the new life that has been breathed into efforts of the international community will enable significant improvement in the performance of least developed countries. Benin has taken that opportunity to develop a road map that includes a stopwatch for the last 1,000 days in order to speed up the achievement of the Goals by 2015. My country is one of 16 African countries deemed able to achieve at least five of the eight MDGs by that date. I would like to commend the leadership of the United Nations and its relevant bodies, as well as other partner agencies, in mobilizing energies to assist States in achieving the Goals.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Two years from the 2015 deadline established for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), we can see that major efforts have been made by States to achieve the Goals. Assessments conducted at different levels have shown that least developed countries are falling far behind in implementing the Goals, in spite of the significant progress that has been made. Nevertheless, it is a fact that achieving the Goals has become a top priority of my Government’s work and mobilizes a significant share of available resources. We should therefore welcome the campaign started in April to commence the countdown of the last 1,000 days leading up to the 31 December 2015 deadline.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“I would also like to thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his efforts at the head of the world Organization, in particular since January 2012, as part of the implementation of his programme “The future we want” (resolution 66/288, annex). Benin fully supports the implementation of that programme, which focuses on issues that are fully consistent with the views and priorities of the Governments of the least developed countries (LDCs), in particular those of my Government with regard to governance matters, namely, sustainable development and preventing conflicts, disasters and violations of human rights, as well as ensuring the participation of all stakeholders in the management of public affairs.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“As he is not personally able to participate in this general debate, the President of the Republic of Benin, Mr. Boni Yayi, has asked me to represent him. At the outset, I would like congratulate the President on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session and, through him, to honour his country, Antigua and Barbuda, for that success, which demonstrates the trust that it enjoys within the international community. I would also like to congratulate the outgoing President, His Excellency Mr. Vuk Jeremi., who demonstrated great leadership in fulfilling his very busy term of office.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The peace that we all so wish for must be based on universal respect for the cardinal principles and fundamental values contained in the United Nations Charter.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“The United Nations today has the means to find a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian problem, and it must not fail to meet its historic responsibility. We support a free and independent Palestinian State living in peaceful coexistence with the State of Israel. Benin gives ongoing support to the one-land, two-State solution and calls upon the Security Council to facilitate the prompt resolution of the problem, to bring relief to the Palestinian people, who endure daily suffering. We believe in the virtue of mediation. The choice of that option as a way to resolve conflicts around the world in this sixty-sixth session of the Assembly offers a last chance for the two parties to re-engage in dialogue to finally bring lasting peace to the Middle East and to the world.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“The Anniversary Manifesto details, in the context of globalization, felicitous prospects with regard the challenges facing Africa in the coming 50 years, which will require new partnership approaches to promote development and more effective collective action for the renaissance of the continent. I firmly hope that the Manifesto will be taken to heart equally by the United Nations and lead to synergy and better coordination of efforts to mobilize the international community for the economic development of African countries so as to meet the legitimate aspirations of the people of the continent. In conclusion, I want to note that recent history teaches us that the greatest threats to international peace and security come from peoples who have long been frustrated. The Palestinian question makes the Arab nation a frustrated nation.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“11-51670 40 For us in Benin — and I quote the President of the Republic, Mr. Boni Yayi — “there is no doubt that only those societies that give young people opportunities will be able to meet the challenges to come”. From 16 to 20 November 2010, Benin hosted an international symposium on the fiftieth anniversary of the independence of African countries. That meeting culminated in the drafting of an important historic document entitled “The Fiftieth Anniversary Manifesto”. The African Union, at its most recent summit, held in Malabo on 30 June and 1 July, adopted the Manifesto as a reference document for the renaissance of the African continent.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Now that it has taken place, we need to do our utmost to ensure that its conclusions on youth are translated into specific actions as soon as possible. The great interest in that High-level Meeting shown by young people around the world reflects their will to become more involved in the search for appropriate solutions to the challenges facing humankind. The Government of my country also believes that it would be useful for the United Nations to hold youth hearings every year, or every other year, to enable youth from around the world to address a specific subject, with broad participation of young delegates and young leaders of non-governmental organizations. Such regular mobilization of the world’s young people in the heart of the United Nations would make our world Organization more inclusive and closer to our peoples.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“My country has always advocated strengthening conflict prevention as a means to ensure international peace and security at less cost. Efforts to that end must be tirelessly pursued. Prevention also includes effectively supporting young people to prepare them for their responsibilities, protect them from the risks they face and channel their energies towards participation in the development of their countries. We need to remove the obstacles that deter or prevent them from fulfilling their potential and divert them to risky behaviour of all kinds that harm public order and the stability of States. That is why my Government was firmly committed to the holding of the United Nations High- level Meeting on Youth.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“My sense is that 2015 could be considered a deadline for completing negotiations and establishing an inclusive Security Council that would redress the historical injustice done to Africa with respect to its permanent representation in that body, which crowns the collective security system established by the United Nations Charter. Benin says no, no, and a third time no. The time has come to put an end to an intolerable injustice that excludes an entire continent — the only one, Africa — from the supreme decision-making body with respect to international security. I am certain that completion of Security Council reform will lead to greater trust and less suspicion in the management of today’s great challenges in the realm of international peace and security.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Clearly, the fight against piracy requires technical and financial resources that a developing State cannot provide alone. Here I would like to thank the United States, France, China and other countries that have already shown spontaneous solidarity toward Benin. The matters to which we need to find solutions grow ever more complex. The United Nations must continually improve its ability to closely define the challenges facing humanity and to help States formulate appropriate responses while preserving the delicate balance of interests of all stakeholders, as evidence of its efficiency and efficacy. Along these lines, the negotiations to reform the Security Council must be intensified with the adoption of a specific timetable for their outcome, to be credible.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“That situation complicates Benin’s efforts to find the resources to handle the economic and financial difficulties related to external shocks, the repercussions of which severely impact the economy of small countries like ours. It also seriously hampers our ability to achieve the MDGs. The Government of Benin is working with our neighbour Nigeria to mobilize the countries of the Gulf of Guinea subregion for a coordinated response by developing and implementing a regional approach that involves joint manoeuvres to be launched shortly by the armed forces of Benin and Nigeria along the coast of Benin. I call for the effective solidarity of States with expertise in the area of maritime operations to come to our assistance. Our resources are laughable, given the magnitude of the threat.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“We hope those meetings will lead to robust 39 11-51670 measures and decisions that match the perils that await us. The threats that curtail our ambitions stem from other factors as well, such as the surge in transnational organized crime, which is quite pernicious. My country, Benin, has in recent months been the target of extremely serious and savage acts of piracy, armed robbery at sea and an influx of narcotics and counterfeit medicines. This scourge has not spared other countries of the Gulf of Guinea, which have also been affected to varying degrees. We are particularly distressed not only by the escalating number of such attacks and the increasingly sophisticated methods the pirates employ, but also and especially by the expansion of their field of action and the immediate effect of these attacks on port activities in Benin.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“There is no stable financial support for the development efforts of the LDCs without stable sources of financing. Therefore the Government of Benin strongly supports the innovative financing initiative for development. We call on the nations of the Group of 20 to take a closer look at that initiative so that taxation of financial transactions becomes a tangible reality during the weeks and months to come. Threats related to climate change — particularly the continuing deterioration of the environment and drought, a source of famine in some parts of Africa — and the recurrence of natural disasters greatly undermine the future prospects of the LDCs. Benin commends the United Nations preparatory work for the Rio+20 Summit planned for Brazil in June 2012.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“The developed countries and the countries of the South that are experiencing significant economic growth should establish facilities to that end, as was agreed at the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, held in Istanbul from 9 to 13 May 2011. The new programme of action adopted at that Conference clearly reflects our shared ambition to ensure that half those countries move to the category of middle-income nations by 2020. But however noble the goals set forth in the Istanbul Programme of Action may be, they cannot be achieved unless we respect the commitments already made. For that reason, despite the cyclical difficulties that characterize the current global economic situation, we must remain firm in our resolve to move forward.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“The economic indicators of those nations — which have made prodigious efforts and heavy sacrifices to emerge from underdevelopment — call for great prudence with regard to attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. Despite that rather bleak picture, we should continue our efforts to ensure that our countries can make progress in the spheres of good governance, development, health, water, sanitation, primary education for all and the empowerment of women and youth. The developing countries, particularly the LDCs, need more than ever the transfer of modern technology to increase and diversify production, take a greater part in international trade and build the infrastructure required for development.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Let us recognize the ongoing efforts made in past years by each of our countries, and collectively through international organizations both regional and universal, to manage the consequences of the various crises that affect the world, particularly developing countries — food, energy, financial, economic and environmental crises. However, the international economic situation remains sluggish and uncertain. Indeed, the long- awaited international economic recovery remains slow and tenuous, while financial and stock market turbulence continues to affect the international market. Even today, more than two thirds of the 800 million people in the least developed countries (LDCs) are living in poverty.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“That is why we see an ever greater need for the United Nations, which should be given a more assertive role in global governance — a United Nations that would spearhead and lead of actions aimed at promoting, within an inclusive framework, comprehensive and sustainable solutions to the manifold crises that are affecting the world and having direct repercussions for human rights. Our Government, throughout its term in the Human Rights Council, intends, together with other members of the Council, to work to promote and protect universally recognized human rights, in a spirit of cooperation. Benin firmly believes in the universality, the indivisibility and the interdependence of all human rights. It has faith in international cooperation as the most effective means for promoting and protecting all universally recognized human rights.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“The adoption in late August 2011 of a new law to fight corruption is in keeping with the national dynamic of ensuring transparency in the management of the State’s resources and in the resolute fight undertaken against any practices that deny citizens the ability fully to enjoy the fruits of their labour. That new law enables us to better combat the various forms of illicit enrichment, as today it is up to the accused to justify the source of his wealth, not the accuser. This is a revolutionary development in the context Benin’s judicial and legislative mechanisms. At the global level, we believe in the benefits of multilateralism.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Accordingly, far-reaching reforms have been undertaken to reorganize the State and rid the country of the structural and behavioural incoherence that has impeded the State in its efforts to govern effectively. The strengthening of democratic institutions and a fresh balance of powers is at the very heart of the constitutional review that is under discussion. Such a review must in no way affect the principal mechanisms that ensure the alternance of power, that is, the number of terms allowed the President of the Republic — strictly limited to two — and the age limitation of 11-51670 38 70 years, beyond which one cannot run for the highest office in Benin. The fight against corruption is a crucial aspect of that effort to streamline the State apparatus.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“In Benin, democracy has been strengthened by the tireless commitment of the United Nations to ensuring electoral transparency, which it accomplished through its support for the creation of a computerized permanent voters’ list, which prevents any manipulation or other fraudulent manoeuvres and thereby ensures fairness in our country’s elections. Based on the success of our young democracy in Benin, my Government has been working to consolidate cooperative governance at both the national and local levels, so as to maximize the impact of the resources that have been mobilized and earmarked for the promotion of the well-being of all the citizens of our country.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“At the national level, we require greater cohesion among the vital forces of the country and greater determination in the context of actions aimed at eliminating the obstacles that impede development. With respect to preserving democratic institutions, when the fundamental values enshrined in the Charter are at stake, the United Nations must be at the forefront of the efforts of the international community. In that regard, impartiality cannot be synonymous with neutrality, which would be unfathomable and make the United Nations a passive bystander to the triumph of aggression over the rule of law. I should therefore like to thank the Secretary-General for the courageous choices he has made.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“We would also like to commend the creation, at the regional level, of the Association of Ombudsmen of Member Countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, which Benin chairs; indeed, most of the countries in the Union are relying on this important tool for the maintenance of peace. Perhaps we should go even further and establish civil entities for mediation and the restoration of peace, whose members would meet with the parties to a conflict so as to re-establish dialogue among them and to prevail upon them to resolve their disputes peacefully. The current state of the world makes clear the urgent need to strengthen multilateralism, with a view to averting the collective collapse that could result if appropriate or consensual solutions are not rapidly found to the global problems afflicting the world today.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“We would therefore like to commend the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union within the context of the special political missions, which are an optimum framework for mediation. Such partnerships can help to avert redundancy and duplication, which can be counter- productive and doom mediation efforts to failure. Benin, for its part, which owes much to dialogue, very early on grasped the importance of that tool in the prevention and resolution of crises at the national level. In that respect, I believe it appropriate here to draw the attention of the international community to the fact that the Government of Benin has given high priority to the issue of mediation in its programme of action and, in that context, established the Office of the Ombudsman.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“I should like to commend the selection of the theme of the sixty-sixth session, “The role of mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes”. This reflects a recognition of the importance of dialogue and of the responsibility of third parties in the maintenance of international peace and security. Conflicts, crises and wars represent a large part of the challenges faced by humankind. They undermine poorer States, whose efforts are often undone by indiscriminate violence, as deadly as it is destructive. This legitimate interest in the use of mediation should serve as a catalyst for raising the awareness of stakeholders in all regions of the world as to the need to accord greater importance to dialogue in resolving problems, nationally and in the context of inter-State, bilateral, regional and international relations.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“I should like at the outset to convey to you, Sir, my heartfelt and sincere congratulations on your well- deserved election as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session and to wish you every success in discharging your mandate. I should like also to reiterate my heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Ban Ki-moon on his reappointment as Secretary-General. I assure him of the full cooperation of the Government of Benin and the personal support of its Head of State in the vast 37 11-51670 undertaking that is the modernization of the United Nations, which he has been working towards since he took the helm of the Organization. I should like also to pay a well-deserved tribute to Mr. Joseph Deiss for the outstanding manner in which he carried out his mission as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)