YouSaid · the spoken record

Joseph Kokou Koffigoh

lines on the record
47
first
1998-09-24
most recent
1999-09-24
sittings or episodes
2
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un-general-debate

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  1. “May this session strengthen us in our common struggle to consolidate peace, justice, freedom and progress in the world and foster more understanding between nations. Togo is ready to contribute to this effort.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  2. “Poverty is the enemy of democracy. The complexity of the issues and the many challenges to be taken up at the dawn of the third millennium call for a strengthening of international cooperation and, above all, greater solidarity with Africa. No nation, no country, whatever its resources and abilities, can tackle these challenges alone. Cooperation between the peoples of the United Nations is vital to us. We must therefore act together, consolidating our solidarity within the framework of our Organization, which, after half a century of existence, has proved that it is an irreplaceable tool at the service of mankind. Togo, which once again proclaims its faith in the United Nations, would encourage it to relentlessly pursue in the century to come the achievement of its Charter purposes.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  3. “For the implementation of the agreement, the Government has shown itself ready to make all necessary concessions that are in the national interest, it being understood that national reconciliation is vital to the continuation of the process of democratization and the consolidation of the rule of law in Togo, as elsewhere. We are sure that reason and the national interest will prevail, so that the hopes of the people of Togo and the international community are not disappointed. The Government regards the signing of the agreement as an important step in our resolute march towards building a democratic society and bringing about development. We therefore solemnly appeal to the international community to resume effective cooperation with Togo, in order to allow its population to enjoy the fruits of democratization.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  4. “On 19 July 1999, on the initiative of General Eyadema, President of the Republic, an internal dialogue bringing together all of the political actors of the country was organized following preliminary meetings held at Paris and Lomé between March and June 1999. The opportunity was given to representatives of the presidential leadership and of the Togolese opposition to freely express themselves on the major issues of political life in our country, under the arbitration of international facilitators. In this regard, I would like to renew our deepest gratitude to France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the European Union and the International Organization of La Francophonie for the important role they played during these negotiations, which led to the signing of a framework agreement on 29 July 1999.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  5. “Here I stress the fundamental role of the Security Council in maintaining international peace and security. My delegation reaffirms its support for all reforms to strengthen the effectiveness of the Council and provide representation for Africa, in the form of a permanent Member, in keeping with the will of the heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity. Throughout its long history, my country has never strayed from the purposes of our Organization. We have often expressed and shown our dedication to the ideals of peace and justice, as well as the principles of democracy and the protection of human rights. Going beyond the social and political crises that we have known in recent years, the people of Togo are resolutely engaged in a new process of national understanding and harmony, something I wish to emphasize.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  6. “I am pleased to take this opportunity to pay a well deserved tribute to the Secretary-General of our Organization, who has just provided this Centre with a Director, whose main task it is to revitalize its activities and mobilize the necessary funds to finance its operational expenses. Because of its important role in implementing the Programme for Coordination and Assistance for Security and Development, as well as in the destruction of arms collected during the peace process in Liberia, we feel that support for its work is urgently needed. In this connection, we thank the Italian, Japanese, Norwegian and Swedish Governments for their generous voluntary contributions and reiterate our appeal to the international community to provide financial and logistical support. I turn to the functioning of our Organization.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  7. “This is why we appeal for continued efforts to put an end to the proliferation of nuclear arms and the threats they entail. 22 The same applies to proliferation of and illicit trafficking in light weapons and small arms in Africa. My country welcomes United Nations initiatives to curtail and contain this phenomenon, and hopes that the international conference decided upon by the General Assembly in resolution 53/77 E of 4 December 1998, and scheduled to take place in Geneva in 2001, will make it possible to find effective solutions to this problem. I would also like to stress the role played in this context by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa, which organized in Lomé, from 2 to 4 August 1999, a workshop on illicit trafficking in light weapons.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  8. “In this context, the Government of Togo welcomes developments in that region, through steps recently taken by President Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Ehud Barak. We urge the parties concerned to continue to work tirelessly to find ways and means to allow the harmonious continuation of the peace process. One of the most important events that will have most deeply marked this fading century is undeniably the end of the cold war. Among other things, it resulted in averting the spectre of a nuclear holocaust; at least, we hope so. Deeply attached to the principle of general and complete disarmament under effective international control, Togo is still concerned about nuclear disarmament and the elimination of other weapons of mass destruction.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  9. “The Government of Togo believes that in placing the two Lockerbie bombing suspects at the disposal of the United Nations, Libya has met its obligations under Security Council resolutions and that the Security Council must immediately lift the sanctions imposed on that country. This will contribute to ending the suffering of our Libyan brothers, which has lasted too long. With regard to the Middle East, we reaffirm our strong conviction that an era of lasting peace, stability and security for all can come about only through the continuation of the peace process and the most resolute political will on all sides, based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978) and the principle of “land for peace”.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  10. “In Angola, we hope that the joint efforts of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity will allow the people of that country to achieve reconciliation and will encourage the restoration of peace and stability in that country. In any case, Togo is determined to apply the decisions of our United Nations with respect to the steps taken against the belligerent parties in Angola. As to the border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea, my delegation sincerely hopes that these two brotherly countries will truly embark on the path towards a peaceful solution of their dispute. It is comforting to note that real progress has been made with regard to the crisis stemming from the Lockerbie affair after many years of procrastination which penalized the fraternal people of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  11. “We also appeal to the international community to provide the necessary support to countries of the subregion that have borne the burden of refugees, Guinea-Bissau in particular, so that they may address that problem. Elsewhere, the perpetuation of armed conflicts, with their humanitarian consequences of all kinds, deeply concerns my delegation. In this respect, we welcome the signing in Lusaka on 12 July of the Ceasefire Agreement between the main parties to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and ardently call for a stronger commitment of the Security Council to assist the Southern African Development Community countries.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  12. “As for Liberia, the Ad Hoc Committee of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of ECOWAS met on 26 August 1999 in Lomé to study the destabilization of that brotherly country. My delegation makes an urgent appeal to the parties involved to respect the relevant provisions of the ECOWAS Treaty and the non-aggression protocol signed in Lagos on 22 April 1998 in order to allow the immediate restoration of a climate of peace, security and confidence in the subregion. In this respect, we were pleased by the recent signing in Abuja, on 16 September, of the understanding between the heads of State of Guinea and Liberia during the ECOWAS mini-summit, held in the capital of Nigeria.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  13. “I recall the fine spirit of solidarity that was manifest during the negotiations on the Lomé Peace Agreement, which allowed the representatives of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity, as well as the permanent representatives of the United Nations and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Sierra Leone to pool their efforts around the seven-member ECOWAS contact group, which worked tirelessly day and night for success in Sierra Leone. That is why we feel that the decision to embark as soon as possible on the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme with the dispatch of 6,000 United Nations blue helmets would put an end to this war.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  14. “That is why I am pleased by the Secretary-General’s proposal in his latest report on Sierra Leone to create a United Nations force of 6,000 in that country, in keeping with this Agreement. I am convinced that the Security Council, which has already begun to consider the matter, will authorize as soon as possible the deployment of that force, which, in compliance with its mandate, will help 21 the Government of Sierra Leone to implement the stalled disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme. We also wish particularly to thank the Government of the United Kingdom, which chairs the international contact group on Sierra Leone; the international organizations and humanitarian agencies; and all those who have variously contributed to restoring peace in that country.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  15. “We welcome the commitments undertaken that will ensure respect for the elections of November 1997. We expect that tranquility and security will return to Guinea-Bissau. In Sierra Leone, thanks to the initiative and determination of the ECOWAS heads of State and to the support of the international community, the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front signed, in our capital city of Lomé on 7 July 1999, a Peace Agreement whose implementation will, we hope, allow the people of Sierra Leone to embark decisively on the path of national reconciliation, stability and reconstruction. Thus, as I pointed out yesterday before the Security Council in the context of the open debate on the situation in Africa, the restoration is closely linked to the implementation of the Lomé Peace Agreement.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  16. “Following the crisis that erupted in Guinea-Bissau in June 1998, the efforts of the ECOWAS and the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries led to the signing of a ceasefire and a peace Agreement in November 1998. The subsequent deployment of an ECOWAS Monitoring Group contingent with woefully inadequate means did not allow us effectively to implement the provisions of the Abuja Agreement and the Lomé Protocol, nor did it entirely allay tensions. Despite the brutal upheaval of the peace process on 7 May 1999, the Security Council ratified the Secretary-General’s proposal to maintain the United Nations office in Guinea- Bissau with a new mandate. We hope that the Organization and the international community will continue to provide the necessary assistance to the people of Guinea-Bissau, who so desperately need it.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  17. “Thus, the Government of Togo, traditionally inclined to search for peace and stability, has spared no effort to try to reconcile points of view whenever discord arises, convinced that dialogue and cooperation should be emphasized in the settlement of disputes and that any conflict that may arise in any country of a subregion represents a tragedy for the entire subregion, and perhaps Africa as a whole. Inspired by the spirit of subregional solidarity that, under the President of our Republic, Mr. Gnassingbé Eyadéma, current Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), we have carried out actions and taken appropriate initiatives to find negotiated solutions to the crisis in Guinea-Bissau, the conflict in Sierra Leone and the border dispute between Guinea and Liberia.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  18. “In this respect, I would cite the United States initiative for a Partnership for Economic Growth and Opportunity in Africa and the Tokyo International Conferences on African Development. While this may be satisfying, there is still reason, in the name of efficiency, to call for some degree of coordination between these initiatives and those of the United Nations system. Efforts to promote development and eradicate poverty in Africa cannot be dissociated from our daily struggle to safeguard peace and security. For our countries again this year, preserving and consolidating a climate of peace and stability have been the major imperative, given the many real dangers.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  19. “We would like to see the international community take appropriate measures to integrate developing countries into the international-trade regime, through increasing access for their exports to the markets of developed countries, by supporting the diversification and strengthening of developing countries’ production capacities, and by improving terms of trade. We sincerely hope that the forthcoming negotiations at the World Trade Organization, the tenth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries will take into account the interests of the weakest partners. In recent years, many initiatives have been taken on the bilateral and multilateral levels to try to address the challenges faced by the African continent.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  20. “These steps might include the cancellation of all of the bilateral debt of the poorest countries, a significant reduction of the debt burden of middle-income and low-income countries, and increasing the flexibility 20 of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative so as to make its benefits more generally available. However, we should point out that the implementation of such measures should not be carried out to the detriment of official development assistance, which, unfortunately, continues to decline. As regards trade, it is generally acknowledged that the expansion of international trade is a true engine for growth and development.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  21. “They also acknowledge quite openly that the debt burden is the major obstacle to the development of poor countries and that the mechanisms that have been established to resolve the debt crisis have not been very effective. Within this context we can only welcome the commitment of the G-8 summit, held last June in Cologne, to cancel a portion of the debt of world’s poorest countries. My delegation encourages the international community to continue to take bold steps aimed at resolving the debt problem in an effective and lasting manner.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  22. “Although developed countries have benefited from this phenomenon, especially in the areas of trade and investment, developing countries are suffering the negative impact of globalization on their economies, which have already been rendered fragile by their unbearable debt burden, the plummeting of prices for raw materials and the steady decline in official development assistance. As regards the external-debt problem in particular, we can never stress enough how the accumulation of this debt hampers development efforts. The awareness of the extent of this problem and of its impact on development is such that the most industrialized countries and the Bretton Woods institutions and those of the United Nations system now acknowledge that most of the developing countries’ debt can never be repaid.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  23. “Given the current state of the world, we must acknowledge that, despite the significant progress that has been made, the world is still marked, unfortunately, by instability, raging wars and tensions that are most often due to widespread poverty and to the uneven distribution of resources, as well as to the legitimate aspiration of peoples for greater freedom, justice and well-being. Indeed, at a time when mankind is getting ready to embark on the third millennium, our world offers one of the bleakest pictures in its history from an economic and social point of view. All kinds of problems linked to underdevelopment, poverty and inequalities between developed and disadvantaged countries — problems long denounced in this and other forums — have worsened in recent years as a result of the globalization of the economy.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  24. “Kofi Annan, I would like to express the utmost appreciation of the Government of Togo for the perspicacity and tenacity he has shown in seeking solutions to the many problems facing the Organization. Finally, I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to warmly congratulate the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga on their admission into this great family, the United Nations. We have met once again this year to take stock of actions carried out in pursuit of our common objectives and to coordinate our views on what actions to take in order to address today’s challenges.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  25. “I am pleased to join those who spoke before me in expressing my warmest congratulations to the President on his election to lead this fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly. This choice reflects the great esteem in which the international community holds his country, Namibia, as well as being a tribute to his past as a freedom fighter and to his qualities as a statesman. I assure him of the wholehearted support of my delegation as he carries out his duties. I would also like to extend my most sincere congratulations to President Gurirab’s predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Didier Opertti, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, for the skill with which he conducted the work of the fifty-third session of the Assembly. To Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr.”

    1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)

  26. “My country is convinced of the need for solidarity among the Members of our Organization and is deeply committed to the noble ideals of peace, freedom and justice and of economic, social and cultural progress, which the United Nations has contributed to advancing. During this year of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Togo fervently hopes to witness the realization, for the benefit of all humankind, of the profound aspirations of peoples to greater freedom and to a world of peace in which the struggle against poverty, famine and illness grows is daily strengthened.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  27. “My delegation would like here once again to thank the Japanese Government for all of its efforts to strengthen cooperation between Africa and Asia, and congratulates it on the convening of TICAD II next October in Tokyo. Moreover, Togo believes that the combination of TICAD with other initiatives — in particular that of the United States on equitable partnership, known as 20/20 Vision; that of the European Union, within the framework of the Lomé Convention; and that of the francophone world, within the framework of the Hanoi Plan of Action — will help safeguard and consolidate the spirit of solidarity, which Africa wishes to see ever more active and ever more purposeful.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  28. “It is in this framework that an inter-parliamentary committee of the West African Economic and Monetary Union was created recently in Bamako; its work is already under way. Also in this framework, a parliamentary assembly was established in the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), in southern Africa. This shows that while, generally speaking, people tend to despair of the future of Africa, we young Africans have faith that Africa is on the right path as long as we have the unswerving support of the international community. Here I should like once again to welcome the commitment of the Japanese Government to Africa through the Tokyo Conference on the Development of Africa (TICAD), aimed at seeking solutions to the continent?s development problems.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  29. “In this respect, the entry into force of the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community serves as a good illustration of the will of African States to unite their efforts to ensure their own progress. 9 Togo, which is firmly committed to the policy of economic integration of the continent, wishes to take this opportunity to once again urge the international community to support the efforts of the African countries to achieve the goals of sustainable development which alone can promote prosperity and the well-being of their peoples. I should like here to underscore an emerging trend in Africa: inter-African parliamentary control of the activities of our regional and subregional organizations.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  30. “The industrialized countries are attempting to join forces. This shows clearly that today no country, regardless of how powerful it is, can alone provide for its own economic growth and cope with increasingly aggressive international competition. Given this state of affairs, the African countries have in recent years reaffirmed their will to pool their potential by establishing and strengthening subregional units. It is clear that the development policy of our countries must be considered within this framework, for this is the only way that Africa can become a fully fledged and reliable partner in the world of the twenty-first century.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  31. “Regrettably, at this time of economic globalization, the marginalization of Africa in terms of international trade is accelerating, even though today the development of trade appears to be the most effective means of managing the resources necessary for self-sufficiency. Indeed, the development and economic growth of African States requires as a basic condition sufficient currency inflows from the export of their commodities. Thus, in the view of my delegation, an open world system operating under just and equitable regulations should be established in order to ensure the active participation of African States in international trade. To that end, more liberal measures will be required in order to promote the transformation and diversification of their products as well as to attract and channel investments towards them.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  32. “With regard to the debt burden in particular, my country highly values the declaration of the eighth consultative meeting of the Organization of African Unity, the African Development Bank and the Economic Commission for Africa, which was held in Abidjan in January 1998. We believe that the efforts to alleviate the debt burden must be continued in conjunction with Africa?s partners in order to find appropriate solutions to this thorny problem. In this context, Togo would like to reaffirm the imperative need to hold an international conference on Africa?s foreign debt, and it requests the support of the international community to translate that proposal into reality.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  33. “This is particularly the case in Africa, where continued inequality and poverty, among other things, dangerously imperil the stability of States. It is true that African economies have performed remarkably well in the last three years; but it is also true that the consolidation of these gains still depends on the international economic environment. Global economic structural constraints — including the continuing burden of debt, the reduction in the flow of official development assistance, currency fluctuations, the inequality of investment flows, weak commodity prices and market protectionism practised by developed countries — still remain the major obstacles to the economic development of African countries.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  34. “Togo would therefore like to see the rapid conclusion of discussions to allow for the permanent representation of Africa in the Security Council, in accordance with the resolutions of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The democracy we are advocating at the national level must also be reflected in international organizations. The United Nations has always played an important role in the advancement of economic and social development and, when necessary, in providing the men, women and children of the entire world with the assistance on which their survival often depends. We are nevertheless obliged to recognize that despite the efforts made, the improvement of standards of living, full employment and the conditions for progress and economic and social development have not been realized.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  35. “The struggle for peace and the struggle for greater justice must be viewed as two complementary aspects of one and the same struggle for the realization of the deepest aspirations of all the peoples of the world. The positive outcome of the negotiations at the Conference resulted in the adoption of the Statute of the court, illustrating anew the vigour and ability of our Organization in dealing with the present and preparing States to face the issues of tomorrow. It is for that reason that my delegation favours all efforts to reform the Organization that aim to make it more effective, more concerned with the problems of mankind and more democratic, so that the views of all are better reflected and taken into account in all of its bodies.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  36. “Among the goals of the United Nations are vigilance over the maintenance of peace and security, the establishment of conditions for harmonious economic development to ensure the well-being of our populations and working for a just world in which the rights of individuals and peoples are not only recognized and consecrated, but above all respected. My delegation would like to take this opportunity to hail the holding of the United Nation Diplomatic 8 Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, which led to the adoption of the Statute of the court which was held in Rome from 15 June to 17 July. Togo believes that peace is impossible without justice.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  37. “The appropriate regional machinery necessary to give concrete form to this shared desire for collective maintenance of peace and security should be established. It is in that spirit that Togo — together with other countries of the West African subregion and in the framework of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) — is working to establish a viable and permanent mechanism for the prevention, management and settlement of conflicts and the maintenance of peace. It is also within this framework that we welcome the fourth extraordinary summit of ECOWAS, held in Lomé from 16 to 17 December 1997, and the holding of the joint military manoeuvres named “Cohesion Kompienga ?98”, held from 16 to 21 April 1998, in which the armed forces of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d?Ivoire, Ghana, the Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Togo participated.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  38. “The preservation of peace, security and stability for States and peoples continues to be an important priority. In that context, Togo is gratified to note that the United Nations is continuing to discharge its mission of peacemaking and peacekeeping. In this regard, I welcome the upcoming commemoration on 6 October of 50 years of United Nations peacekeeping operations, and I would like to pay tribute to the memory of all the men and women who have given their lives in the service of the Organization. My country, which firmly supports the ongoing quest for peace and security for all, would like to emphasize the need to strengthen cooperation in this area, in a spirit of complementarity, between the United Nations and subregional and regional organizations, in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  39. “We remain convinced that only the resumption of direct negotiations between the principals will make it possible to usher in an era of peace, security and prosperity in that region. We were relieved to see the contacts that have taken place between Mr. Yasser Arafat and Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu through the mediation of the American Government. Togo strongly supports this initiative. With regard to the other crises that assail the world and jeopardize the lives of so many millions of people — particularly in Afghanistan and Kosovo — my country hopes that through firm political will backed by candid and sincere negotiations, the parties to the conflicts will find appropriate solutions that are acceptable to all. The world?s concerns at the dawn of the third millennium are not linked solely to the effects of the phenomenon of globalization.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  40. “That report contains specific recommendations on means of preventing such conflicts and putting an end to them, as well as on measures to be taken to create conditions for lasting peace and economic growth. We hope that the implementation of his recommendations by the Security Council, by the relevant bodies of the United Nations system and by the Bretton Woods institutions will result in the effective prevention of conflicts and put Africa on the road to progress, stability and sustainable development. Elsewhere in the world, we were relieved to see the signing of an agreement between the Government of Iraq and the United Nations, which made it possible at the last moment to avoid a new confrontation in the Gulf. In the same region, my Government deplores the present deadlock in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  41. “Togo firmly supports the efforts of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to settle this dispute and end the suffering of the Libyan people. My country takes this opportunity to repeat its steadfast condemnation of terrorism in all of its forms and to emphasize the need for urgent and concerted action to combat this scourge effectively. As we are aware, the proliferation of conflict situations in Africa remains a real cause of concern for the international community. I would like to note in this regard the important report (A/52/871) presented by the Secretary- General last February at the request of the Security Council on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  42. “While we can be gratified at the end of certain conflicts — particularly in Liberia and Sierra Leone — and while solutions are in sight to relieve the tensions in Guinea-Bissau, we cannot fail to express our concern over the crisis in the Great Lakes region, the resumption of hostilities in Angola, the continuation of the crisis in Somalia and, finally, the armed confrontation between Ethiopia and Eritrea. 7 We cannot stress enough the advantages of dialogue and negotiation as the best paths to follow for settling disputes between States on the basis of respect for their territorial integrity. In that connection, the international community must put an end to the embargo imposed on Libya by implementing the jurisdictional solution accepted by that country and by ensuring a fair trial for the suspects in the Lockerbie bombing.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  43. “It is in this framework that the Constitutional Court of Togo declared the results of the presidential election of 21 June 1998 after having arbitrated the disputes that resulted from the election. Togo?s respect for institutions is the very foundation of democracy and peace. On behalf of my Government, I would like to invite all of our partners at the United Nations to support without distinction the efforts of all the countries of Africa that commit themselves to the difficult but rewarding path of building a State of law. This is the price of peace in Africa.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  44. “I am emphasizing these institutional aspects of building a new Africa because the respect and support of the international community for these institutions is a factor in favour of peace within the particular States, and therefore for peace in our regions. Experience has shown us that a domestic conflict, by giving rise to an exodus of people to neighbouring countries, also has a rapid and serious effect on the latter. I repeat, as the current situation in the Great Lakes region demonstrates, such domestic conflicts can lead to regional crises. Togo is among the States that voluntarily established institutions that safeguard the rule of law and that can arbitrate disputes that may arise in the new context of democratization.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  45. “The rate of economic growth of certain African States continues to make progress thanks to good management policies. A vast democratic movement has begun throughout our continent to build States based on the rule of law. This movement is being followed up by the adoption of new constitutions and the establishment of independent bodies to implement them. Numerous heads of State and of Government have had their mandates challenged in periodic elections. The majority and the opposition representatives of the people have seats in the new representative bodies — parliaments and national assemblies. The success of the functioning of these new constitutional bodies is ensured by independent legal bodies. The press is now free, as are labour unions in most of our States.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  46. “Africa is democratizing, but it needs peace and security if it is to succeed. Africa is the continent most affected by the great scourges of the planet, but its development is also part of a dynamic of progress. The scourges hampering its development are well known: endemic disease, drought, poverty, political instability, ethnic conflicts, civil wars and regional conflicts. These scourges have a tendency to eclipse the successes. Since the signing of the Abuja Treaty in 1991, Africa has set itself a timetable for integration in the framework of the African Economic Community, on the basis of strengthening regional groupings of western, northern, central, eastern and southern Africa. These groups are themselves actively engaged in seeking joint solutions to the challenges confronting its member States.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  47. “Allow me first of all, on behalf of the people of Togo and President Eyadema and his Government, to join in the congratulations extended to you, Sir, since the beginning of our work on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session. We would also like to congratulate his your illustrious predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, on the effective manner in which he conducted the work of the fifty-second session. I would furthermore like to pay tribute to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and his colleagues for their continuous efforts to champion the noble ideals of peace, justice, progress and solidarity embodied by the United Nations. By way of analysing the situation in Africa, I would like to present Togo?s perspective of the world?s problems in the context of improved international cooperation.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)