YouSaid · the spoken record

Koba

lines on the record: 39
first: 1995-09-24
most recent: 1997-09-24
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

“The immediate effect of that decision was to deter open attempts at destabilization, and to enable — as it continues to do — the Inter-African Mission to Monitor the Implementation of the Bangui Agreements (MISAB) better to ensure peace and security in the capital and the provinces of the Central African Republic. The peace is still fragile and precarious, and on behalf of the entire people of the Central African Republic we urgently appeal to the United Nations to enable the mandate of MISAB to be extended until the Central African Republic possesses a loyal national army that can guarantee the survival of our republican institutions. I wish the Assembly full success in its work on the basis of the principle of universality which is so dear to our Organization.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Ange-Félix Patassé, President of the Republic and Head of State and of Government, and of the people of the Central African Republic, I reiterate our thanks to the entire international community, and most particularly to France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the United States of America, Japan, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Gabon, Chad, Senegal, Togo, Mali, Burkina Faso, the United Nations, the Organization of African Unity and the European Union, for the support and invaluable assistance they are graciously according us. I take this opportunity also to convey particular thanks to all the States members of the Security Council, which on 6 August last unanimously adopted resolution 1125 (1997) on the Central African Republic.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“And beyond the praiseworthy support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), my landlocked country must be given the wherewithal to continue to be — as we already are out of a sense of moral duty — a land of welcome and hospitality for Sudanese, Rwandan, Burundian, Congolese and other brothers and sisters who are paying a heavy price for our world’s intolerance, ethnic tensions and deadly political wrangling. The fact is that it is in adversity that one knows one’s true friends. Our own adversity has enabled the people of the Central African Republic to gauge the sympathy and solidarity they have enjoyed during the most trying times of their history. On behalf of His Excellency Mr.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Ange-Félix 5 Patassé, President of the Republic, has issued a powerful call for the restoration of peace and national unity as a foundation for the genuine economic recovery of our country — it is only appropriate for our partners and the entire international community to stand with us and not against us. For it is the intention of the Central African Republic to continue and consolidate the democratic process to which it is resolutely committed.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“The upshot of this crisis was all but catastrophic because the damage done by the tragic events of April, May and November 1996 gravely undermined our country’s potential for economic and social development. The technical committee set up to take stock of the damage concluded that for the first two cases of mutiny alone, it would cost some 41.9 billion CFA francs to make up for the losses experienced by the State, businesses, projects and individuals — not to mention the cost of the measures needed to help the many victims of that conflict. Beyond the necessary mobilization of all our compatriots — to whom His Excellency Mr.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“The mutinies — which, tragically, lasted a full year and have thrown the entire country into near-civil war — occurred against the backdrop of a tribally motivated attempt at regaining power and as the result of manipulation by outside forces seeking to put an end to our democratic process. But none of this would have been possible had it not been for the very difficult economic and social situation of our country. The joint impact of a terrible legacy, the free-fall devaluation of the CFA franc and the chronically meagre revenues coming into the public treasury had for all practical purposes created a situation in which the State could no longer regularly pay its civil servants.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“This is especially true in the case of the Central African Republic, long known, owing to its long-standing commitment to peace, as the Switzerland of Africa. Its President, Ange-Félix Patassé, rose to the highest office in the land through free and transparent elections and daily preached peace and dialogue in the Central African subregion. Nonetheless, the world was recently witness to the sad spectacle of the Central African Republic’s being assailed by what have come to be known as the serial mutinies of Bangui, simply because of its inability to consolidate its still fledgling democratic experience through sustained economic and social development. The case of the Central African Republic casts light on the root causes of the wave of violence that is sweeping our subregion.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“As we see it, this alarming situation calls for a pragmatic approach to cooperation between Africa and its partners, in particular the international financial and monetary institutions, which should not lose sight of these factors in determining modalities for cooperating with the continent and providing it access to global resources. We cannot overemphasize the urgent need for a greater sense of responsibility and for a far stronger commitment on the part of the entire international community vis-à-vis this continent, which is foundering economically and socially. It is this new awareness that will help Africa emerge at last from the chaos and anarchy that continue to engulf it. Without economic and social progress, there can be no talk of peace nor of democracy, because peace, democracy and development go hand in hand.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Worse yet is the case of the least developed countries, most of which are located on the African continent and whose situation remains abysmal notwithstanding the timid steps forward taken here and there. Though globalization has given rise to a new social contract, the principle of partnership and of shared responsibility between the least developed countries and the international community, with the goal of reversing socio-economic decline and speeding up the process of sustained growth and sustainable development, should guide both sides in their commitment. Now the question is how to become competitive without the support of official development assistance, which is continuing to decline.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“However, we are not underestimating the scope and the complexity of the crucial problems facing the international community at century’s end. To resolve these problems, a new type of cooperation is urgently needed so as not to exclude three quarters of humankind from the march towards progress and the common weal. Africa continues to experience immense economic difficulties because of its lack of control over certain external factors affecting its development, such as the collapse in the prices fetched by its commodities, its debt burden and the inadequacy of its capital flows, which have prevented it from achieving sustained economic growth and raising the living standards of its peoples.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“The 4 recommendations emanating from those deliberations should be translated into reality. The delegation of the Central African Republic nonetheless welcomes the fact that significant progress towards peace has been achieved in Angola, Liberia and Haiti. But we continue to believe that a great deal of work remains to be done by the parties concerned to overcome the obstacles standing in the way of reconciliation and the restoration of peace in the Middle East, in Afghanistan and in Cyprus. Unlike in other regions of the world, where renewed economic growth is henceforth irreversible, Africa’s lack of good performance and its economic and social situation remain a cause for concern in this era of globalization.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“I believe that it is time to call upon the international community and our Organization — which in this alarmingly serious case seems not to be fulfilling its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security — to tackle resolutely the internal conflicts that are unfolding within our own States. We must address these new conflicts, which entail serious violations of fundamental human rights and which we are ill-prepared to prevent and manage, because what is at stake is the very existence of our States, along with the balance and cohesiveness of the international community. The Central African Republic had cause to welcome the convening on 25 September last of the ministerial- level meeting of the member States of the Security Council devoted to the situation in Africa.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“These were supposed to build confidence among nations and facilitate the quest for compromise on most of the questions of concern to the international community. Regrettably, we were overly optimistic. In reflecting on the sad realities of the day, I have in mind particularly the many human lives lost in vain in Algeria and the thousands of women and children forcibly torn from their homes and who, in the neighbouring Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Somalia and elsewhere, are still paying a heavy price for our imperfections, our contradictions and our intolerance.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“As regards reforming the Security Council, the Central African Republic hopes that the Council will be expanded so as to provide equitable geographical representation. But what about the ever-widening gap between three quarters of humankind and the remainder? What about the proliferation of armed conflicts against a backdrop of intolerance, ethnic tension and deadly political confrontations that jeopardize international peace and security? Our Organization does not seem to be able to come to grips with these problems. And yet, a few years ago, after a series of major events radically transformed the old post-war order, we believed that the world was at last poised to move into a new era because of the ensuing clear-cut improvement in the international political climate and the new possibilities for cooperation that emerged.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“His brilliant report presented on 16 July 1997 is perfectly in tune with the Member States’ expectations, because it not only highlights the challenges facing us on the threshold of the first century of a new millennium, but it also, and above all, puts forward proposals for the longer term. The United Nations has a very important role to play in the areas of safeguarding and maintaining international peace and security and promoting social and economic development, democracy, human rights and justice. The Organization must be reformed and strengthening so as to better confront the new realities of today’s world. The Central African Republic will make its own modest contribution to this very important endeavour in close collaboration with the member States of the Organization of African Unity and the Non-Aligned Movement.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“And we assure His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, whose election was only a just reward for his many years of service to the United Nations, of the renewed support of the people and Government of the Central African Republic. This session is being held at a delicate time in the history of our Organization, because it is faced with many different political, economic, social, cultural, legal and institutional problems which call for the appropriate reforms. To renew the United Nations, to turn it into a dynamic, democratic and effective organization, is a major challenge for this session, which the Secretary-General quite rightly described as the Reform Assembly.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“First and foremost, Sir, I would like to echo the eminent speakers who have already addressed you from this rostrum in conveying the warm congratulations of the Central African delegation on your resounding election to the presidency of this, the fifty-second session of the General Assembly. The fact that you, Sir, have been chosen bears witness to the fact that your country, Ukraine, continues to play an important role on the world stage. Your wealth of experience and your abilities as an experienced diplomat augur well indeed for the success of our work, and I can also assure you that you can count on our support and our availability to assist you. I would also like to express our fullest satisfaction with the work of your predecessor, Mr. Razali Ismail, for the talent and skill with which he so wonderfully discharged his duties.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“In conclusion, the Central African Republic firmly believes that only respect for and observance of the spirit and letter of the Charter of the United Nations will truly enable us to solve the problems that confront us as this century draws to a close. We hope that this session will 19 mark a new stage on the way to effective cooperation for progress and peace for the international community as a whole.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“We regard this as the only approach capable of taking proper account of geopolitical and economic specificities. In any event, this session should provide an opportunity to draft a new organizational chart for the United Nations and to adapt the Organization’s structures and functions in the light of our stocktaking and relevant comments by Member States. For its part, the Central African Republic reserves the right to speak out in the debates in the Committees and during the ceremonies commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations. Whatever the case, everything should contribute to make the twenty-first century the century of Africa.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“7) The Government of the Central African Republic also believes that dedication to international peace and security should prohibit our engaging in any form of intimidation or confrontation that can damage rapprochement among States or, especially, weaken security. This requires the highly desirable admission of the Republic of China to the United Nations. With regard to the restructuring of the Organization at the end of its half century of life, the Government of the Central African Republic is firmly convinced that the only remedy to the delays experienced in intervening in or contributing to the resolution of tensions or open conflicts is to be found in a decentralization of the system. That decentralization should begin with the democratic and equitable representation of Member States in the Security Council and at all levels.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“the United Nations has ceased to be an intergovernmental organization with a limited membership and has become the only international organization that is universal. Efforts must be made to ensure that all States that are not yet Members should seek to be admitted in the near future. For the same reason, the most serious penalty imposed on a Member State should never be expulsion, but rather suspension, for the United Nations must, as a matter of principle, include all the world’s countries.” (Official Records of the General Assembly, Fiftieth Session, Plenary Meetings, 1st meeting, p.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“As His Excellency Mr. Ange-Félix Patassé, President of the Central African Republic, noted in his appeal last year, under the Charter of the United Nations there are no large nations and there are no small nations, for all must contribute to peace and universal progress towards a just, humane and democratic world. Democracy and respect for fundamental human rights have and will have no meaning so long as the hard-working population of the Republic of China on Taiwan is not represented here in the Assembly. In this connection it would be fitting to take into account the precedents that exist with regard to the parallel representation of States in the United Nations. We would recall the following words of the President of the General Assembly at the opening meeting of this fiftieth session of the Assembly on 19 September: “...”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“And, as President Ange-Félix Patassé said here last year, “What we need to save the continent is a real Marshall Plan, because at the present time multilateral and bilateral assistance remain insufficient to promote sustained and lasting growth.” (Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-ninth Session, Plenary Meetings, 19th meeting, p. 5) My delegation is among those that would strongly urge the most powerful Member States to commit themselves to working towards the achievement of the goals set forth in the Charter in order to ensure that the world does not drift ineluctably towards chaos and disaster. Finally, with regard to the advancement of democracy, the efforts of the United Nations will never be sufficient so long as the Republic of China on Taiwan is not admitted as a Member of this prestigious institution.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“My delegation therefore believes that trade must be urgently liberalized through a 18 substantial reduction in tariffs and other trade barriers, through the elimination of discriminatory treatment in international trade relations and by stimulating world economic growth and sustainable development in the interests of all countries, the developing countries in particular. Indeed, the entry into force on 1 January 1995 of the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization could not have been more timely, for were it to be fully implemented it would solve a great many of the problems of the land-locked developing countries, the Central African Republic among them.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“In a few days the United Nations will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, without having brought into being the long-sought new world economic order. The countries of the North continue to be powerful while those of the South continue to mark time with an official development assistance that has declined from 0.38 per cent in 1980 to 0.33 per cent in 1993. Some donors are no longer meeting their commitments, so Africa continues to live through a time of poverty, natural disasters, migrations and all kinds of other misfortunes.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“With regard to the situation in Kashmir, we call upon our friends in India and Pakistan to come to an understanding and work out a negotiated solution to the problem, in the name of justice. Turning to the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Central African Government hails the praiseworthy efforts of France and the United States to calm troubled waters. The international community too should exert every effort to restore peace and security to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where ethnic, nationalistic or religious tendencies pose a dangerous threat to the tranquillity and stability of that part of Europe. No one is immune to these ancient sources of conflict, and the Central African Republic sympathizes with the countries and peoples enduring such tragic trials.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“We would cite in particular the Middle East, where significant progress has been achieved in the peace process in the region and where real, praiseworthy efforts are being made daily by the parties concerned, despite occasional difficulties encountered in implementing the commitments that have been entered into. This gives me an opportunity to congratulate the peoples of Israel and Palestine on their persistent efforts, which were crowned with success by the signature, on 29 September at Washington, of agreements pertaining to the second phase of that peace process. Congratulations should also be extended in respect of Chechnya, where the Peace Agreement recently concluded between the parties will contribute to consolidating a true and lasting peace in the region.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“However, we welcome the positive turn of events in Liberia, where all of the armed factions have understood the need to lay down their weapons and to sit down around the table to negotiate a peace — for this war, which has lasted all too long, will have known no victors and no vanquished. The Central African Republic welcomes the fact that our Organization has been able to affect the course of some events that were major sources of concern to the international community. Despite the many situations of tension that are sometimes difficult to control, we must welcome the fact that in the two years preceding this fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations we have witnessed Africa’s complete political liberation, the end of apartheid and the gradual introduction of democracy, notwithstanding isolated setbacks from time to time.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“On the one hand, my delegation encourages a return to normal democratic life in that kindred nation and on the other the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) and the international community as a whole are urged to become even more concerned with the question of security and with the questions of refugees and displaced persons. Along this line of thinking, my delegation highly appreciates the farsightedness of Angola’s President, Eduardo dos Santos, and of his brother, Mr. Jonas Savimbi of UNITA, who, thanks to the commendable mediation of President El Hadj Omar Bongo of Gabon, agreed definitively to conclude peace through the Franceville agreement. My delegation is concerned at the situation in Sierra Leone, where war has been raging for four years, with great loss of life and property.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“However, my delegation commends the Joint Declaration of Peace signed between the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, which, I am sure, will make it possible to reduce the tension and the threat to security in Burundi, where problems of humanitarian assistance to refugees are becoming a source of constant concern to all of the international community. In Rwanda, the machinery of the Organization of African Unity for the prevention, management and settlement of conflicts will become fully operative with a view to bringing to an end the many sufferings of the people of Rwanda.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“At a time when the efforts of the international community are being speeded up in order to relax tensions in the world, it is more specifically in the low- income and poor countries that we are increasingly seeing armed conflicts producing massive destruction. Witness the case of Somalia where, after the withdrawal of the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM), the acute problem of repatriating and resettling some 500,000 refugees and 400,000 displaced persons calls for the efforts of all of the international community. 17 Witness also the case of Burundi where the situation is of concern to my Government, which constantly encourages that neighbouring Government to secure the peace.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“A land-locked country whose present Government is burdened with a heavy and multifaceted legacy, the Central African Republic is constantly searching for logistical means to support the economic development efforts in order to promote an increase in production and strengthen the fight against poverty. That is why the future programmes of structural adjustment should necessarily include social dimensions because, as has been stated by our Prime Minister, our Head of Government, the Central African Republic cannot create new social outcasts, new disadvantaged classes resulting from these structural reforms, which are often very restrictive.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The second phase of the programme pertains to other major challenges such as the regional development, the opening up of the country from its land-locked status both internally and externally; agriculture and livestock- breeding; the development of natural resources; and agricultural and forest management. All of these ambitious plans can be carried out only if there is a climate of confidence and peace in our subregion — Central Africa. My country has fully understood this and has pursued a policy of good- neighbourliness to bring about peace both within and outside the Central African Republic. Thus, we consistently contribute, through preventive diplomacy, to efforts to prevent international conflicts.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Strengthened by that achievement, my country is practising a policy of preventive diplomacy and development and has just completed the first phase of this change, notably through the restoration of public confidence and establishing democratic institutions, re-establishing fiscal health and control, health measures, training and education and by the adoption and promulgation, on 14 January 1995, of a new and truly democratic constitution. The Constitution, which was adopted by an overwhelming majority, introduces a policy of decentralization, with its corollary of regionalization aimed at involving the population in the tasks of development and at mobilizing all local resources for the enhancement of the standard of living of the rural masses.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The tireless efforts of the international community to achieve this have been most praiseworthy despite the difficulties encountered in some cases in achieving peace and security, which are indispensable in the economic, social and cultural development of nations. In this regard, we should therefore, once again, express thanks to the international community, which took part in the emergence of a true democracy in the Central African Republic, a democracy whose day-to-day practice is acknowledged beyond its own borders.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Amara Essy, the outgoing President, I wish to convey my sincere congratulations for the dynamism, competence and effectiveness with which he so brilliantly conducted the work of the last session of the General Assembly, thereby doing credit to all of Africa. Allow me also to express again my sincere congratulations to the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for the outstanding competence, constant dedication and unmatched efficiency with which he is directing the work of our Organization. Since the end of the cold war, all nations have rightly looked forward to an international environment that is more conducive to cooperation and dialogue than to confrontation as was the case in the past.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“And so, this session, more than any other, is of special importance for my country, the Central African Republic, because our universal Organization will need to ask itself whether it has fully achieved its goals. I am therefore very pleased to convey to the Assembly the best wishes of His Excellency, the President of the Central African Republic, Ange-Félix Patassé, the Head of State, for complete success. Together with all of the Central African people, he places deep confidence and unshakable faith in the future of our Organization. I feel certain that the great personal abilities of Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral will enable us to look forward to the complete success of our work. To Mr.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“My country, at that time, looked forward to a new era of peace and security such as once existed in the Garden of Eden, and we welcomed the idea of fair and fruitful cooperation, especially for the benefit of the least developed countries such as the Central African Republic. But what do we see today? It is a tradition for the United Nations to meet in the General Assembly to reflect on the way in which it 16 intends to assume its responsibilities in guiding the fate of mankind, but there can be no doubt that this collective endeavour can only be pursued in the light of the objectives we have set — that is to say, international security and sustainable development.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Just last June we celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the San Francisco Charter, which to this day still governs our Organization. On that occasion, all Member States were able to take stock of the road we have travelled in 50 years of endeavouring to transform our planet Earth into one enamoured of peace, freedom and justice. Not so long ago from this rostrum, through Mr. Ange-Félix Patassé, President of the Central African Republic, my country pondered the scope and significance of the important events that are continually shaking the world and touching the conscience of one and all.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)