YouSaid · the spoken record

Basile Ikouebe

lines on the record: 101
first: 2007-09-24
most recent: 2013-09-24
sittings or episodes: 6
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

“Since its creation, the United Nations has put a great deal of effort into the noble endeavour of freeing peoples still under the yoke of colonialism and domination. The history of the United Nations is intertwined with the emancipation of peoples. The time has therefore come to do justice to the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people. The Congo hopes to see a sovereign Palestinian State emerge, master of its own fate, in this great universal family, within secure and guaranteed borders and living in peace alongside the people of the State of Israel in a spirit of good neighbourliness and cooperation. With respect to the situation in Libya, particularly as regards the consequences for the subregion, we agree that the restoration of peace and security remains a high priority.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Clearly, the conclusions that we reached at those meetings reflect not only the political will and commitment of Member States to provide collective responses to those concerns, but also corroborate our faith in multilateralism. In unison we have welcomed the Republic of South Sudan, and we congratulate them on concluding, after many years of patience, the long and laborious process of negotiation that brought us the 193rd State Member of the United Nations. In joining the warm words of welcome expressed by the delegations before me, I wish to reiterate the Congo’s support for this young brother country and to underscore the commitment of my Government to develop close ties of friendship and cooperation with it.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“I am honoured to take the floor from this rostrum on behalf of the President of the Republic, His Excellency Mr. Denis Sassou Nguesso. This past week, in this place, we took part in High-level Meetings that addressed the major concerns at the very heart of the actions of the United Nations and those of its Member States: non-communicable disease; the situation in Libya; desertification, land degradation and drought in the context of sustainable development and the eradication of poverty; the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance; nuclear safety; and terrorism.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“More than ever before, we must return to the ideals that inspired the founding fathers of the League of Nations and the United Nations. We must place the 57 10-54965 moral values and the deep aspirations of our peoples at the heart of our work. This is the world that we all aspire to. This is the world that we should strive to build in this Hall.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“On that occasion, the Government announced a number of socio-economic measures to benefit our people. Those measures were made possible by the release of additional financial resources following the significant foreign debt relief because of Congo’s accession to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Those measures are part of the Government’s resolve to move towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals. Such an enabling situation will allow my country to lay the foundations for an emerging economy. Indeed, it is President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s ambition to make Congo a modern and prosperous State that plays its part in the family of free modern nations. But that ambition, however legitimate, can be achieved only in a world that is safer, more just and with more solidarity.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“It should also help us speed up the implementation of recommendations of the universal periodic review, a Human Rights Council mechanism of which my country was the subject from 6 to 8 May 2009 in Geneva. My country is a candidate for membership in the Human Rights Council for the period from 2011 to 2014, and we thus reaffirm our commitment to fulfilling our international commitments and to supporting efforts of the international community to strengthening those rights. I therefore take this opportunity to appeal for the Assembly’s support for our candidacy in the elections, which will be held in May 2011. On 15 August 2010, my country celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its independence. The day was devoted to the theme of remembering, but also and above all, of responsibilities and action.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Domestically, besides promulgating a law on the protection of the child in the Republic of the Congo, our Parliament will shortly adopt a bill on promoting and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples, which the Government has just submitted to it. The Republic of the Congo has undertaken a number of initiatives in this field, thus taking an important step towards recognizing, defending and protecting the rights of minorities. Next November, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people will visit Brazzaville. That will be an opportune moment for dialogue and consultations on matters related to indigenous peoples.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“With our partners in dialogue and cooperation of the Forest eleven tropical rainforest countries, the Republic of the Congo reaffirms its will and determination to meet the challenges of conservation and the promotion of biodiversity. Such an effort can bring about lasting results only if it is supported by additional financing that is sustainable and predictable. The question of human rights is also on the agenda for this session. My Government promotes human rights because they are so closely related to peace and development. With regard to human rights, the Congo has always acted within the process of international legitimacy. That is evident in the philosophy underpinning our Constitution, in what we do on a day-to-day basis and in our extensive participation in the relevant international instruments.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“The President of our Republic, Denis Sassou Nguesso, holds the question of biodiversity to be of critical global importance, because tropical forests play a vital role in regulating and stabilizing the global climate and generally in providing environmental services. In this context, the Copenhagen Agreement, which took into account the process of reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation, known as REDD-plus, represented the culmination of major efforts deployed by the three forest basins, the Amazon Basin in South and Central America, the Congo Basin in Central Africa and the Mekong Basin in South-East Asia.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“10-54965 56 Here I would like to thank the all the bilateral and multilateral partners, namely France, Italy, the United States of America, the World Food Programme and the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, for all the assistance they have graciously given us. We have just dedicated a high-level segment to biodiversity in this year 2010, which has been proclaimed the International Year of Biodiversity. Yet another new challenge of our age, biodiversity is crucial to life on earth and holds especial interest for the Congo, since we are one of the countries that houses the Congo Basin, a major carbon sink. We have no doubt that the results of this segment will resonate into the upcoming meetings in Nagoya, Japan, in October and in Cancún, Mexico, in November and December.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Moreover, our good neighbour policy — a policy we have always advocated — is one of the pillars of our foreign policy. It is evident today in the way in which we are handling the humanitarian crisis resulting from the arrival in our territory of over 100,000 nationals from Équateur Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The signing this past 10 June of the tripartite accord among the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees should make possible an imminent resolution of the problem and contribute to stabilizing the situation in our brother country so in need of peace and security, especially on the eve of its elections.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“On the subject of Central Africa, the United Nations Office about to open will provide an additional tool, besides existing mechanisms, to promote good governance and build peace, cooperation and development. In the same vein of building confidence and peace in our subregion, from 15-19 November Brazzaville will be hosting the thirty-first meeting of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa. On that occasion the States of the subregion will seal their commitment to fight the traffic in small arms and light weapons, by signing the Kinshasa Convention. Since the tragic events that brought such suffering to my country in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Congolese Government has invested in the quest for peace and national reconciliation, and works to preserve that precious accomplishment.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“With that in mind, 2010 has been named a year of peace and security in Africa. Despite difficulties encountered here and there in carrying out electoral processes, in a general way democracy is undeniably making a home in Africa. In Gabon and Burundi, to mention only those two countries, the popular will has expressed itself freely. We nurture the hope that the elections upcoming in the next months, notably in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, the Niger, Nigeria, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will play out in a climate of calm. That is likewise our hope for the referendum to be held in South Sudan, as called for in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. In this connection we call on the international community to continue supporting that process until it is completed.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Indeed, we must unite to attain these Goals. As I said at that time, just two days ago, Congo’s commitment to reaching the MDGs remains firm. While ten years after the Goals were announced the overall results in achieving them are mixed, especially in Africa, it is nevertheless undeniable that major advances have been made in Africa during that same period in such other essential areas as peace, security and democracy. Africa as a whole is increasingly emerging from a cycle of armed conflicts that have greatly worked against its forward progress towards development and prosperity. Today, thanks to the efforts of the African Union, the backing of the international community and the involvement of African leaders themselves, many conflicts have been or are being resolved.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“In this connection, my delegation welcomes the new entity UN Women and the appointment at its head of the former President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet — a brilliant woman, to whom I wish every success. We will need to work with determination to bring about the reforms necessary to restore to the United Nations its operation as a global Organization and to make it a real instrument of world governance. The process must continue with reform of the Security Council, both in its membership and its working methods. Also we should continue to deal with the matter of how to strengthen the General Assembly and its role. The High-level Plenary Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that ended 22 September culminated in the adoption of an outcome document (resolution 65/1) that exhorts us to keep our promises. We welcome it.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“As we open this session of the General Assembly the world is still facing problems of peace and security, crises, conflicts, inequality among States, poverty, hunger and disease. To those recurrent problems are added new challenges, such as climate change, natural disasters, terrorism, piracy, transnational organized crime, human trafficking, nuclear proliferation and the world economic and financial crisis. All these many issues by their very nature call out to the whole of the international community and demand global, collective, coordinated solutions. The United Nations because of its global nature offers now more than ever the best framework for finding lasting solutions. To do that, we need a strong, reformed Organization that can respond to the new demands of our time.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Members may now easily understand why a modest member of the international community such as Congo is so deeply invested in the existence and the work of our collective home, the United Nations.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“By way of illustration, the principle measures taken towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals in the sensitive areas of education and health care focus on from free access to education and textbooks, the establishment of a drug purchase centre, the distribution of treated mosquito nets to the population, and free access to HIV/AIDS testing, checkups and anti-retroviral medication. Such efforts, however encouraging they may be, can bear fruit in the long run only with the support of external partners and in a favourable international context as regards such thorny issues as debt, trade, official development assistance, financing for development and, above all, international peace and security.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“With the irregularities corrected, it is in the same climate of calm and serenity that we are organizing the 2009 presidential election, in accordance with our Constitution. The climate of restored peace has led to an increasingly reassuring economic situation that is supported by improved budgetary planning and better debt management within the framework of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative and the rigorous measures that today have enabled Congo to focus more ambitiously on its development and on the progressive achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Within that framework and in a participatory manner, with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme, we drafted a poverty reduction strategy paper that was approved by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The sad memories of such other negative experiences as slavery, the slave trade and colonization are enough for us. President Kikwete was right to raise this issue here, in application of a decision taken during the summit of the African Union held in Sharma el-Sheikh in Egypt. The Republic of the Congo had a particularly rough patch in the 1990s and managed, thanks to the political will of the Government, all political actors and the civil society, to achieve national reconciliation. That climate of peace made possible the organization of legislative elections in 2007 and municipal and local elections in 2008 in an atmosphere of calm and serenity, despite irregularities identified during the voting process. Nevertheless, the transparency and credibility of the process were not disputed by the international observers.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Congo has voluntarily subscribed to the process, illustrating Africa’s devotion to the fight against bad governance, corruption, human rights violations and impunity. It is therefore inconceivable that certain foreign judges should confer upon themselves the right to drag African leaders to their national courts in the name of the principle of universal jurisdiction — a rule that seems to be applied exclusively to Africa since, as we have already seen, the same principle was soon dropped when it targeted leaders of powerful States. It is regrettable that international jurisdiction, while remaining respectable, seems to be following a path of judiciary spite against African leaders. In that regard, Africa has become an experimentation ground for dangerous and even hateful practices.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“We welcome the different partnerships that Africa has established with its traditional friends and with new ones. Here once again, the commitments need to be brought to fruition. 08-53135 28 Our continent is resolutely committed to the battle for progress, which has several facets. That is why we attach great importance to matters of democracy, good governance and respect for human rights in the framework of the African Peer Review Mechanism, a pillar of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. Several African countries have agreed to submit to periodic evaluations that represent a sort of right to positive interference in the affairs of other member States in matters that normally fall under national jurisdiction.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The analyses carried out here last week indicate that African States have made significant progress, with a rate of growth of approximately 6 per cent per annum, and that, as emphasized in the Secretary- General’s report, Africa is resolutely on the right path and should continue to pursue those commendable efforts, particularly since it varies between countries and regions. Nevertheless, such efforts and the promising outcomes they may yield require genuine, continuous and tangible international support. That is why our partners must keep their promises. The current Chair of the African Union, President Kikwete of the United Republic of Tanzania, brilliantly described to the Assembly the situation in our continent and indicated the way forward. We fully endorse the presentation he made here and on other occasions.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Those would include the creation of substitute economies to benefit the populations in the areas involved. In expressing those concerns, I take the opportunity to announce that Congo will host in Brazzaville, from 27 to 30 October 2008, the sixth World Forum on Sustainable Development, devoted to assessing the progress achieved in the implementation of Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, particularly concerning strategic, credible and pertinent partnerships towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. On the economic and social front, we welcome the focus at this session on sustainable development and implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“It is right that our present agenda includes the matter of the effects of climate change on the environment, which is one of the major challenges of our times. My country is particularly sensitive to that issue since it has within its borders a part of the enormous Congo basin, the world’s second ecological lung after Amazonia. The countries bordering the basin have a great responsibility to humanity in the management and sustainable exploitation of these ecosystems, which they are shouldering in a determined and encouraging manner. While endorsing the conclusions of last year’s Bali Conference, which laid the groundwork for the post-Kyoto period, the States of the Congo basin believe that global policies on the preservation of forest equilibriums should establish compensation mechanisms.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Congo remains fully committed to strict compliance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in all its facets. Congo calls on the international community to consider as a matter of urgency the resolution of the Middle East conflict on the basis of commitments already undertaken, particularly the road map of the Quartet and the Arab peace initiative. Our commitment to multilateralism leads us to believe that there is a pressing need to pursue the work of United Nations reform, and particularly that of the Security Council. In keeping with the African position on that issue, my country welcomes the decision to launch, before 31 January 2009, intergovernmental negotiations that should finally enable that matter to genuinely move forward.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“However, the international community should also work tirelessly to implement of the Abuja Agreement on Darfur. Non-signatories who are violating that Agreement must be strongly pressured to return to the negotiating table. In that context, we believe that it is counterproductive to carry out the indictment against the Head of State of the Sudan. With respect to Africa yet again, we welcome the settlement of the crisis in Kenya and the process of reconciliation in Zimbabwe, and call on African political actors in power and in opposition to respect the verdict of the ballot box. In its desire to participate in the collective effort in the area of peace and security, my country reaffirms its full commitment to the fight against terrorism, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, drug trafficking and human trafficking.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“As African Union co-mediator with Libya in that crisis, Congo will spare no effort in helping to bring those two brotherly countries to respect the engagements undertaken and to act always in good faith in order to establish a definitive peace between and around them. 27 08-53135 Solving the conflict in Darfur would contribute largely to that end. That is why we make an urgent appeal for the effective deployment of the troops of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), which should be supplied with all necessary equipment to become operational and efficient. For its part, my country recently completed the preparatory phase for a police unit composed of 140 personnel that is now at the disposal of UNAMID.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“My Government is committed to fully playing its role in that process, which will greatly contribute to stabilizing to the situation. With regard to the crisis between Chad and the Sudan, we encourage those two countries to pursue every effort to normalize their relations and consolidate peace in the region. In that regard, we welcome the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries — an initiative that must be consolidated through the establishment of military monitoring units along the common border. Those units need to be adequately equipped, in implementation of the Dakar Agreement signed in March 2008.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Thanks to all such efforts, the Central African Republic, to cite the example of our neighbouring country, is working to restore peace and security through dialogue among the Government, the opposition and rebel movements. Still with respect to our subregion of Central Africa, we call on the international community to step up its efforts to help stabilize the situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, particularly by supporting the Government of that country in its fight against rebel movements and other negative forces. In that context, the entry into force in June of the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region will usher in a new climate of confidence in that nerve centre of our continent.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The high-level meeting on Africa’s needs that was held on 22 September revealed that it is time to move from promises to sustainable action. That is why we welcome the adoption of the declaration that marked that important event. Similarly, we salute the high-level meeting for the MDGs that concluded here on 25 September. As we all know, the stabilization of the situation in countries in conflict and the building of peace in others would not have been possible without the sustained efforts of the United Nations and other bilateral and multilateral partners. The African Union and subregional African organizations continue to act resolutely and often with limited resources to meet those challenges.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Here, we reaffirm that the United Nations offers us the ideal framework to work together in search of lasting solutions. That is the meaning underlying our ongoing attachment to multilateralism. Recent events in different parts of the world, particularly in Europe, remind us that peace and security rest on a fragile foundation, even where such matters seem to have been solved definitively. Africa, still at the heart of the concerns of the international community and top of the agenda of the Security Council because of the conflicts that continue to jeopardize progress and to hinder implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), will not solve its problems with declarations of good intentions.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“His Excellency Mr. Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of the Republic of the Congo, who was unable personally to attend this general debate, has instructed me to share with the members of the Assembly a few thoughts on developments in our world. The challenges that we have to tackle immediately are numerous. They are related to peace, security, and threats to people’s lives and to nations, heightened by the food, energy and financial crises, as well as natural disasters and climate change. By placing emphasis on the notion of solidarity, which we fully support, you have certainly illustrated, Mr. President, the risk we run of losing our identity, an option that can only offer partial, even uncertain, solutions to the challenges that confront us.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“My delegation welcomes your inspired election, Sir, to the presidency of the General Assembly at this session, which is being held at a particularly important moment in the life of our Organization, given the numerous challenges that we have to face. The robust messages that you yourself have issued here clearly indicate that you are fully aware of the magnitude of what is at stake. As is so well suggested by the Secretary-General in his report on the activities of the Organization (A/63/1), more than ever before the world’s problems require concerted and coordinated actions. We commend the Secretary-General on the resolute action that he has undertaken since the beginning of his mandate. We highly appreciate his dynamism, his realism and the increasing interest that he brings to matters of peace, security and sustainable development.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The talks that these three areas held on 24 September, on the margins of the high-level meeting, have permitted our delegations to prepare for a common approach to be presented at the conference of the States parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bali this December. Our constant commitment to peace and international security today includes many aspects. Climate change merits this special attention that this Assembly, as the world’s conscience, must give to these great challenges confronting humanity.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“The President of the Congo personally participated in that meeting to show the commitment of the countries of the Congo Basin the world’s second ecological lung, after the Amazon Basin in the struggle for survival of our species and safeguarding the planet overall. On the basis of a strategic plan called the convergence plan, a ten-year plan, these countries have made a commitment to national and subregional actions having to do with sustainable management of forest ecosystems in the Basin. The awareness that we have a responsibility in this common fight has led us to cooperate with the two other great forest areas the Amazon and in Borneo to promote better forestry and commercial practices.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“In this respect, we are pleased with the evolution of negotiations with North Korea, and we encourage pursuing dialogue with Iran to make sure that there is no slippage in the programme that country is developing. My delegation is also pleased with the mobilization of the international community around a question crucial for the future of mankind: the real threat of climate change. Now, thanks to science, it has been clearly established that it is human activity that is at the origin of this scourge. We agree with the Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly that the time has come to act. Therefore, we welcomed the high-level meeting held here on 24 September on this theme.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“In this spirit, we have always supported a peaceful settlement to the Middle East conflict that takes into account the Quartet’s Road Map and the Arab Peace Initiative. We have also called for an international conference on the Middle East, with the participation of all countries in the region that can make a useful contribution. We therefore welcome with interest and hope the announcement of the November conference on the Middle East. In terms of nuclear non-proliferation, we have always called for compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty in all its aspects, including the right of all countries to develop nuclear technology for civil purposes. We have always insisted on the crucial role of the International Atomic Energy Agency and on the need for a political dialogue with the countries whose nuclear programs raise questions.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“And finally, still in Yaoundé, on the margins of the meeting of the Advisory Committee, a ministerial conference on cross-border security questions in Central Africa resulted in the adoption of a statement, which amounts to a political commitment, by the States in the subregion to implement organizational, administrative, legal and technical mechanisms of cooperation in border areas. This will allow us to tackle such phenomena as uncontrolled or forced movement of populations, criminal activities of armed groups, illicit flows of small arms and light weapons and the illegal exploitation of natural resources. My country also remains vigilant to the threats that weigh on other parts of the world and crises that shake several regions around the globe.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“The twenty-sixth meeting of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa, held in Yaoundé on 7 September 2007, resulted in a series of conclusions including, in particular, an appeal to the international community and the donors to help the Governments of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Chad secure their borders and improve general security conditions; support for the multidisciplinary operation to be deployed to secure the situation in the areas of Chad and the Central African Republic bordering the Sudan the subject of Security Council resolution 1778 (2007), adopted on 25 September and pursuing subregional cooperation on questions of security, including the announcement of the military exercise of a simulated peacekeeping operation, scheduled for Chad in November.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“The Somalis themselves, however, must assume their responsibilities and make a serious commitment to an inclusive political dialogue that will lead to genuine national reconciliation. Until the end of this month, the Congo is the President of the Economic Community of Central African States. Our subregion has always been involved in international initiatives concerning the situations in its various constituent countries. A contingent put together by some of those countries is therefore contributing to the stability of the situation in the Central African Republic.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“In that area, too, my Government has demonstrated its solidarity by deciding to dispatch a contingent, along with the military observers it sent earlier as part of the African Union Mission in Sudan. In that regard, my delegation vigorously condemns the recent attack on the African Union peacekeepers in Haskanita in southern Darfur. We ask that the perpetrators be actively sought and punished. Thirdly, humanitarian assistance and economic recovery are more than indispensable to stabilization and a return to normalcy in Darfur. With respect to African crises, we cannot ignore the tragedy of Somalia. As we all know, Africa has committed to deploying the Africa Union Military Observer Mission in Somalia, which should be vigorously supported and ultimately relieved by a United Nations force. Somalia must not become a forgotten crisis.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“First, political dialogue is to resume on 27 October in Tripoli, where all parties must participate, bearing in mind the exceptional open- mindedness of the Sudanese Government, which has decided to observe a ceasefire once the Tripoli talks begin. Sanctions should be considered for all reticent parties. To encourage the initiative of political dialogue, which will determine any possible success for the international community’s involvement in Darfur, my Government has decided to contribute to the special Trust Fund created by the Secretary-General to that end. Secondly, peace must be maintained via the deployment of UNAMID. The creation of the force was a most significant decision that must be implemented without delay in order to avoid any political setback and any deterioration of the situation on the ground.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“In the Côte d’Ivoire, after much uncertainty, it is comforting to note that the process engaged by the Ouagadougou agreement has opened prospects for a resolution of the crisis, which we need to encourage and assist. The same prospects for encouraging developments are now open to Darfur following the adoption of Security Council resolution 1769 (2007). In his statement to the Council summit of 25 September, the Congolese Head of State called on the international community to seize this opportunity to act with a sense of urgency. We must accelerate the pace of work in the following three areas, as emerged from the high-level meeting on Darfur held here in New York on 21 September.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“We encouraged the international community to remain involved in the Democratic Republic of the Congo through the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including after the elections, which clearly represented a great step forward but left unresolved the questions of peace in the East, the disarmament of armed groups, the repatriation of foreign combatants and economic reconstruction. Such developments could be facilitated in the context of the pact signed at the conclusion of the second summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, which is an appropriate regional framework.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“During the presidency of the African Union assumed by Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso in 2006, the Congo had occasion to speak on behalf of a continent whose issues occupy the lion’s share of the Council’s agenda. We made the case for strengthening the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in order to ensure that the Council’s decisions take the concerns of African countries into consideration and are thereby legitimate and viable. We called for ongoing dialogue between the Council, on the one hand, and the African Union, through its Peace and Security Council, and African States as a whole, on the other, as well as parties to conflicts.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“For the past 20 months, we have participated in the Council’s deliberations in a constructive spirit. We have always favoured the resolution of disputes through peaceful means and dialogue, seeking compromise and enhanced multilateralism. Our participation has strengthened our belief in the need and urgency of reform of that main organ of the United Nations, entrusted with the maintenance of international peace and security. Our position and that of Africa is well known on that question. We have also focused on improving the Council’s working methods in order to ensure greater transparency and inclusiveness in its decision-making process.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“We therefore plunged resolutely into difficult negotiations with the Bretton Woods institutions to elaborate a programme of debt relief, implementation of the Millennium Development Goals including the fight against poverty and economic recovery. In that context, in order not to exacerbate further the daily existence of the majority of our people already living without the basic necessities, we are trying to prevent the negotiations from being an intolerable burden on them. We therefore hope to bring the negotiations to a conclusion as soon as possible so as not to delay the implementation of the necessary reforms. The return to peace and stability has allowed my country to resume its place on the international stage. In less than three months, the Congo will end its term as a non-permanent member of the Security Council.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“Following the violent crises that shook our nation in the late 1990s, the Congo has gradually found peace and stability through political dialogue and national reconciliation, which remain our ongoing objectives. The return of a number of Congolese who left the country during the civil wars is part of that positive trend. The legislative elections that have just been held peacefully are indeed the sign of a democracy at peace. That favourable dynamic needs, of course, to be encouraged, assisted and supported by the international community. Despite enormous losses in human life and considerable material damage, at the end of the civil war the Congo was not considered to be a country in a post-conflict situation. We had to undertake at our own expense the vast task of restoration and reconstruction.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“He can rely on my delegation’s cooperation when we consider those issues. To Mr. Ban Ki-moon, in his first experience of the General Assembly’s general debate as Secretary- General, I reaffirm my Government’s commitment to assisting him in the direction he seeks to set for our Organization. My country is sensitive to the many displays of interest in us that he has demonstrated time and time again since his election last year. Proof of that, inter alia, are the visit he made to Brazzaville in January 2007 and his choice of a son of our country, Mr. Rodolphe Adada, former Foreign Minister of the Congo, to direct the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). We are very grateful to him for that.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)