General Assembly Session 52 meeting 34

The President

I call on the representative of France to introduce draft resolution A/52/L.1.

Mr. Dejammet (France)

Two years ago the General Assembly adopted without a vote resolution 50/3, entitled "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation".

I have the honour, on behalf of the francophone group in New York, to submit another draft resolution under this agenda item. This draft resolution demonstrates that the cooperation engaged in for two years under resolution 50/3 has been fruitful and has great potential for development.

May I add that the 41 sponsors of the draft resolution have been joined by Cape Verde, Poland, Seychelles and Tunisia.

The relationship begun in 1978, with the granting of observer status to the Agency, has flourished remarkably over the last two years. The pattern was set by several firm commitments, in particular a first cooperation agreement between the Agency and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1976. Then there was an agreement with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in 1990. Participation by the Agency in United Nations activities, and vice versa, has made it possible to better ascertain and appreciate resources available to serve common interests and objectives. We welcome the opening of an office of the Agency in New York in May 1995, which has contributed a great deal to this harmonization.

Following the adoption of resolution 50/3, on 16 October 1995, a cooperation framework agreement was concluded with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on 26 October of that year, and in October 1996 an agreement was concluded with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), an agreement containing several development projects and programmes for implementation.

Since then the seal has been set on these agreements by the signing, on 25 June 1997, by the Secretaries-General of the United Nations and the Agency of a cooperation agreement between the two organizations. On 8 September 1997 a similar agreement was signed between the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Agency.

These agreements signal new, encouraging prospects. On the ground, joint actions taken by the Agency and UNICEF or UNDP make possible the creation of a synergy, of resources and personnel, in the service of development.

Action with UNICEF includes an education and literacy programme for girls and young women in rural areas in Benin, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Mauritania and Viet Nam; a plan for basic education for displaced or poor families in Djibouti; a primary education programme in Viet Nam; and a technical assistance programme in Haiti to train teachers and principals and to provide teaching materials and resources.

The cooperation agreement with UNDP is intended, in particular, to strengthen the rule of law; to promote and protect human rights; to support the democratic process and good governance; to organize and strengthen national capacities; and to improve the economic development of the countries of the South, with, among other things, support for the establishment and management of small and medium-sized enterprises.

We must welcome this complementarity, through effective coordination, whose fruits are being seen on the ground, to the benefit of the people that need them. This enhances the visibility and credibility of the promoters of these projects.

The partnership between the United Nations and the Agency has taken on a new dimension with the signing on 25 June of the cooperation agreement by the Secretaries-General of the United Nations and the Agency. The agreement expands cooperation to new fields, such as preventive diplomacy, the maintenance and consolidation of peace and, pursuant to paragraph 4 of resolution 50/3, all subjects of common interest in the political, economic, social, scientific and cultural fields. The agreement also covers exchange of information and documentation.

Finally, we welcome the most recent agreement, concluded with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on 8 September, which puts the emphasis on joint actions to strengthen the rule of law, and protect human rights -- particularly the rights of women and the rights of the child -- and wage the campaign against racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia. This agreement gives concrete expression to, and strengthens, cooperation which has existed for several years already, particularly through training seminars, where the expertise acquired by the Agency can be put to good use.

The types of cooperation developed between the Agency and the United Nations are not limited to these agreements. Dialogue and reciprocal representation, in particular, have a part to play.

Here I should like to stress the contribution made by the francophone group during the preparations for the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly, on sustainable development, which made it possible to achieve consensus between countries with very different political, geographical, cultural and social circumstances, since that is the mission of francophonie. We hope that this positive and profitable experience can be repeated during the preparations for the ministerial conference on water to be held next spring in Paris.

May I also mention the expansion of this cooperation to electoral assistance to francophone countries, which led to a very productive meeting a few weeks ago.

However, we have not exhausted all the possibilities for partnership. New interests have recently emerged in the Department of Political Affairs, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and the Department for Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat. The prospects for cooperation have much to offer.

As I speak before the General Assembly, and on the eve of the Hanoi summit which will bring together many of the States represented in this Hall, it gives me great satisfaction to stress the contribution to the objectives pursued here made by bodies that represent French-speaking countries, in particular, their Agency which, I might add will adopt in Hanoi the title of Agency for the French-Speaking Community.

Undoubtedly, the success of this cooperation is partly due to the rationalization and synergy of the resources it is creating. This cooperation helps avoid any useless and costly duplication.

Also, such is the dynamism of multilateralism when it harnesses a network of solidarity to work for the same ideals and when it thus nurtures cooperation. The resolution on cooperation between the United Nations and the Agency has borne fruit and still contains an abundance of new projects.

We therefore hope that these promises will materialize in the next two years. For this reason, we thank all the Member States for supporting the draft resolution so that a review of these new achievements can be included in the report that we call upon the Secretary-General to submit to us at the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly.

Mr. Kittikhoun (Laos)

The Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation (ACTC), which was established on 20 March 1970 in Niamey in the Republic of the Niger, was born of an ideal -- that of bringing together countries that use French as a common language in a joint endeavour, and seems to express a new solidarity and a further element in rapprochement between peoples through constant dialogue among civilizations.

Today, 27 years after the ACTC was established, it has a membership of 47 States and Governments. As a meeting point for dialogue between Africa, America, Asia and Europe, the primary mandate of this unique intergovernmental organization for French-speaking countries is to affirm and develop multilateral cooperation between its members in the fields of education and training, culture and communications, energy, the environment, agriculture, economic development, scientific information, and support for democracy and the rule of law.

The relationship between the Agency and the United Nations is not a new one. It already goes back a number of years. In 1978, the ACTC was granted observer status by the General Assembly, thus enabling it to take part as an observer in all the conferences and meetings held under the auspices of the United Nations.

Since then, the ACTC has participated in the regular sessions of the General Assembly and the meetings of its subsidiary bodies that deal with issues of particular interest to its activities. In addition, it has also taken part in several major conferences, namely the World Summit for Children, the Earth Summit, the World Summit for Social Development, the World Food Conference, and so on.

At the same time, while we, the French-speaking community are actively preparing for the forthcoming francophone summit in Hanoi, we welcome the fact that the relationship between the Agency and the organizations of the United Nations system continues to develop.

In the field of education and culture, the Agency and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) are collaborating closely to implement programmes of interest to both organizations, such as basic education, teacher training, distance learning and so forth. The Agency signed a framework agreement with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in 1990 which provides for the implementation of joint projects in the areas of energy, industrial technology, the establishment and management of small and medium-sized enterprises, feasibility studies, the promotion of investment, and so forth.

The Agency has also concluded cooperation agreements with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) in areas where they have specific interests in common.

In short, cooperation between the ACTC and the United Nations has developed considerably, particularly in the last two years since the adoption of General Assembly resolution 50/3. We very much hope that this cooperation will be strengthened even further, in the interest of both organizations and of peace and international cooperation. For its part, the Lao People's Democratic Republic will spare no effort to promote this fruitful cooperation.

Mr. Boisson (Monaco)

The Principality of Monaco, as a member of the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation since it was set up in 1970 in Niamey, particularly welcomes the development and strengthening of cooperation between this institution which brings together States and Governments that use French as a common language, and the United Nations, which has from the outset accorded the French language its due status as a language of diplomacy. As one of the two working languages of the United Nations Secretariat and one of the six official languages of its bodies, the French language, which is also the language of the Agency, has paved the way for the establishment and subsequent development of cooperation between these two intergovernmental organizations.

In 1978, in its resolution 33/18, the United Nations General Assembly had already taken account of this special feature and the potential it offered by inviting the Agency to participate in its sessions and the meetings of its subsidiary bodies as an observer.

In this capacity, the Agency has been able to be associated with and contribute to the major world conferences convened by the United Nations, such as the World Summit for Children in 1990, the Earth Summit in 1992, the World Conference on Human Rights and the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in 1993, the World Conference on Population and Development in 1995, the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, HABITAT II, in 1996 and the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly in June this year.

In each case, preparatory meetings and working groups enabled the francophone world to speak with one voice on a series of questions, which facilitated our search for compromise on texts that were often essential, because of their nature and their scope.

This cooperation is fully in keeping with the constitutional mandate of both organizations: the promotion of peace, international security, democracy and economic and social development.

The Agency's objectives, defined in article I of its Charter, revised and adopted in Marrakesh last December, include assisting in the establishment and development of democracy; the prevention of conflicts; support for the state of law and human rights; enhancement of the dialogue between cultures and civilizations; bringing peoples together through enhancing their knowledge of each other; and, finally, strengthening the solidarity of its members through multilateral cooperation in order to promote their economic expansion.

The cooperation agreement, officially signed on 25 June 1997 by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, and the Secretary-General of the Agency, Mr. Jean-Louis Roy, has, by making it official, confirmed the determination of the two institutions to work together.

The Agreement has already led to consultations -- in Paris last June, and in Libreville last July -- between the two organizations on the crises in certain African countries, primarily in the Great Lakes region. With regard to electoral assistance, the Agency has developed a well-known expertise, based both on its own experience and on that of the non-governmental organizations with which it has worked for many years with confidence and effectiveness. It has also provided regular assistance, along with the United Nations and regional organizations, to the States that request it.

Along the same lines, and given their athletic and cultural nature, the francophone games -- the third round of which has just been held in Madagascar -- have been the occasion for young athletes and artists from 36 countries of the francophone community to come together in peaceful and friendly competition, designed to develop among them trust and solidarity beyond borders. The regular holding of these games, which are held in a different State each time, undoubtedly enhances mutual understanding among the participants and thus promotes peace and international understanding.

This cooperation also extends to activities of prime importance to my Government, namely, good governance, the promotion and protection of human rights and the establishment of the state of law, as well as support for the democratization process and the improvement of judiciary systems and interparliamentary cooperation.

The Agency and its International School play a considerable role in this respect through training and awareness programmes for political authorities, magistrates, policemen, teachers and students, in workshops, seminars and internships. Their actions, which support and are complementary to those of the United Nations, deserve more than ever to be emphasized and encouraged.

On 8 September last, a framework agreement for cooperation was drawn up between the Agency and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. It will certainly lead to the further development of common initiatives in these key areas.

Harmonious and lasting economic and social development with respect for the dignity of humankind and its deepest aspirations is one of the basic objectives the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation shares with the United Nations.

The well-targeted and practical activities developed in this regard in the fields of new and renewable sources of energy, the transfer of technologies and the management of natural resources in order to protect the environment should also be increased in the future through strengthened cooperation between the two institutions.

The human dimension of development and of intergovernmental cooperation is broadly taken into account, and often in a very original way, by the Agency, which promotes initiatives to bring its partners together on the basis of multilingualism and multiculturalism.

The Market for African Art and Entertainment, which the Agency launched in 1993, is an example of the determination of those involved in cooperation among francophone countries to see their projects not only in economic terms but also from the perspective of cultural and intellectual enrichment.

The draft intergovernmental convention on culture is another example, as well as a symbol, of this. The first truly standardizing measure to be taken by the States and Governments that are members of the Agency, it was carefully drawn up in accordance with the mandate delivered by the summit of Heads of State and Government in Cotonou in December 1995 and by the Conference of Ministers of French-speaking Countries in February 1996.

The text provides, in particular, for the commitment of signatory countries to provide financial and technical assistance for the creation and collective management of royalties and related rights, in order to facilitate the dissemination of works by authors, interpreters or performers, in keeping with the Rome Convention of 1961, as well as by any individual deemed to be such by the legislation of a signing State.

This matter naturally leads me to emphasize that cooperation between the United Nations and the Agency takes place at several levels and across the whole of the United Nations system, including specialized agencies as different as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) or the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

UNESCO and the francophone Agency work together very closely, for example, on implementing certain programmes of the International Fund for the Promotion of the Study of African Languages and Cultures, programmes which recognize the place and role of vernacular languages alongside a lingua franca, as a factor of development and identity.

On the basis of the cooperation agreement signed in 1976 between the two intergovernmental institutions, and strengthened in 1990 by an additional protocol creating a joint consultative commission, joint operational activities are regularly carried out by UNESCO and the Agency in the areas of basic education, education for adults, and after-school education -- the very foundations of an economic and social development that truly takes into account the human dimension of progress.

For the Agency as well as for UNESCO, development is multidimensional; it cannot be reduced to economic growth alone. Economy, culture, education, science and technology are individual elements, certainly, but they are complementary and interdependent, and development per se, centred on men and women and their true needs, can be ensured only by focusing on all those elements together.

As we commemorate today the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and pay tribute to those who suffer from it, we cannot overlook the fact that development and progress cannot be reduced to the implementation of macroeconomic theories but must, as a priority, be directed, through concrete and tangible actions, towards the neediest and most deprived on every continent. That is the message transmitted to us by Father Joseph Wresinski, the founder of ADT Fourth World, which promoted this International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

That is the message that the principal figures in development assistance today have understood in undertaking to promote simple, practical and workable projects in tune with the daily demands of the communities with which they are concerned. That is the option that the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) have unreservedly chosen.

The cooperation agreement that has bound them together since 1990 has facilitated the implementation of practical projects in the spheres of crafts, agriculture, fishing, animal husbandry and even the use of solar energy.

Nor have poor urban areas in both North and South been overlooked. The most vulnerable populations, living in critically precarious conditions, described by Father Wresinski as the "fourth world", and which can be found in every major city, are the focus of studies and seminars and of projects for training and social integration designed to improve their standards of living and environment. Linked to the creation of economic and commercial activities adapted to the various areas concerned, microeconomic and microfinance projects supported by the Agency and often carried out with the assistance of local bodies like Environmental Development Action in the Third World (ENDA) have had beneficial, rapid and lasting results. We must therefore promote them by encouraging this timely interagency collaboration.

Respecting as they do human diversity and its contribution to man's progress and the natural solidarity that is based on a shared history, these programmes, we feel, are good reflections of the philosophy that underlies the cooperation between the United Nations system as a whole and the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation.

I think I could find no better argument for urging the General Assembly, which is always eager to improve the lives of today's men and women -- and particularly the neediest among them -- on both the material and the intellectual levels, to adopt the draft resolution before us, which is devoted to such cooperation and of which the Principality of Monaco is a sponsor.

The adoption of this text will send a welcoming and encouraging message to the Agency's partners, who are also members of the United Nations and who will in the very near future be meeting at the level of Heads of State and Government in Hanoi, Viet Nam, to renew, inter alia, the framework of their cooperation and strengthen their institutions by electing, for the first time, a secretary-general of the francophone countries.

Mr. Tanasescu (Romania)

It is my honour today to speak on behalf of a country whose francophone tradition goes back to the beginning of the nineteenth century. When it became a full member of the movement of countries that use French as a common language in 1991, Romania sought to ensure the continuity of its modern cultural tradition, which is deeply imbued with French spirit and values.

Today's discussion on cooperation between the United Nations and the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation is taking place at a specific juncture for cultural developments on the world scale. In the two years since we last discussed this subject, the process of the expansion of global communications and data networks has accelerated. That development has created both opportunities and challenges for the universal culture of the next millennium and for the prospects for cultural diversity, as well as for our cooperation as francophone countries. It is our common duty and responsibility to transmit over the information superhighway and airwaves the traditional and modern values that are strongly linked by the French language.

The Secretary-General's report on this agenda item (A/52/299 and Add.1) provides a detailed and comprehensive picture of the progress made in recent years in cooperation between the United Nations and the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation. I should like to indicate a few factors that we feel have made a decisive contribution to strengthening that cooperation.

First, there is the political support given by the Heads of State or Government of countries that use French as a common language to the work of the United Nations and their determination to enter into a new partnership with the various components of the United Nations system. This is an example that demonstrates that political will can bear fruit to the benefit of both organizations and their memberships.

Secondly, we have in mind the existence of areas of action and interest that are common to both organizations. The complementary nature of certain activities and programmes in which the Agency and the United Nations are engaged has led to the holding of periodic discussions between their secretariats to identify subjects, measures and procedures to facilitate their cooperation and coordination.

Thirdly, we believe that the creation of a legal framework for such cooperation, through the elaboration and conclusion of cooperation agreements between the Agency and several bodies within the United Nations system, has provided a guarantee of the continuity and long-term stability of their relationship. We believe that the agreement signed on 25 June 1997 by the Secretaries-General of the two organizations is essential to the strengthening of such cooperation. Pursuant to the provisions of the agreement, the United Nations and the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation may decide to act jointly in the implementation of projects that are of mutual interest, to set up committees or commissions to advise them on specific matters, and to exchange information and documentation.

We welcome the framework cooperation agreement signed between the Agency and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and are convinced that the 1998 fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be celebrated throughout the French-speaking countries. This is a moral duty we all owe to Jean-Jacques Rousseau and to all the heroes who have died over the course of time defending his ideals.

The last factor that has contributed to the current level of cooperation between the two organizations is the ongoing and sustained work of the ACTC office in New York, for which we congratulate it most heartily. The continuing consultations begun by the office have facilitated the exchange of information and views between the French-speaking countries and have allowed several documents of interest to those countries to be drafted. The preparations for the General Assembly's special session on the mid-term review and appraisal of the overall implementation of Agenda 21, including the drafting of a document as our group's contribution to the session, was a defining moment for the office's activities.

In early September, Bucharest, the capital of my country, hosted the Third International Conference of the New or Restored Democracies on Democracy and Development, organized jointly by my Government and the United Nations Development Programme. The Conference's special topic was the relationship between democracy and development. High-level representatives of Governments, non-governmental organizations and academic and university circles from 77 countries -- including several French-speaking countries -- presented their experiences and thoughts on the topic and adopted a Conference document that is already available as an official document of the United Nations.

We wished to share this information for two reasons. The first was to thank the ACTC for its generous contribution to the process started by the Conference. The second was to suggest as one possible sphere of cooperation between us, both as French-speaking countries and as United Nations Members, the study of our experiences in the democratization process. The drafting of such a study, which could be submitted to the next Conference, to be hosted by an African country in the year 2000, would offer a new area for cooperation, not only between our countries, but also between the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation and the United Nations. Our permanent mission in New York, in cooperation with the ACTC office, could initiate consultations in that respect.

Mr. Hachani (Tunisia)

The consideration of agenda item 22, entitled "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation", has given Tunisia the pleasant opportunity to speak on this subject.

The relationship between the Agency and the United Nations is quite exemplary and dates back to 1978, when the General Assembly adopted resolution 33/18, which gave that institution observer status, enabling it to take part in the work of the Organization and its subsidiary bodies. This has allowed the Agency to reaffirm its presence by taking part not only in the activities in New York, but also in major events in the life of the Organization and its principal agencies over the past six years. Whether at the World Summit for Children in New York in 1990, the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993, the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994, the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, or the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in 1996, I would stress that the Agency has played an effective and important role in ensuring coordination and rapprochement between the positions of its states members. The Agency is indeed a unique organization, bringing together countries that, while dispersed throughout several continents, share a common language and the noble objectives that unite them despite their cultural and geographic diversity and their level of development.

United around a common ideal, the country members of the Agency see themselves as the expression of a new solidarity and an additional factor for bringing peoples closer together for ongoing dialogue among civilizations. The member countries of the Agency try to reflect this ideal of global solidarity through specific activities in such diverse areas as education, training, culture, communication, energy, environment, agriculture, economic development and scientific information, as well as in support for democracy and the state of law.

The ambitious civil and development project that underlies the Agency's activities cannot be carried out properly without increased international cooperation. That is why this institution established cooperation agreements with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1976, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in 1990, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in 1995 and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1996.

With UNESCO, in the area of education, the two organizations focus their activities on basic education and the production of teaching materials and manuals. With UNIDO, cooperation is focused, inter alia, on creating and managing small- and medium-sized enterprises and promoting appropriate technologies for developing countries. UNICEF and the Agency have established, among other things, an education and literacy programme for young girls and women living in rural areas in countries. With UNDP, the framework agreement signed in 1996 led to cooperation in such varied fields as cooperation assistance among developing countries, education, culture, environment and energy.

The multifaceted cooperation developed by the Agency with the specialized agencies was crowned with success through the General Assembly's adoption in 1996 of resolution 50/3, which institutionalized cooperation between the Agency and the Organization. In accordance with that the resolution, the United Nations and the Agency have worked together on diverse subjects: the development of the situation in Central Africa and initiatives undertaken on all sides to achieve a settlement to the crisis in the region; electoral assistance to French-speaking countries; and sustainable development, including preparations for the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly devoted to the implementation of Agenda 21.

At the same time, the mutual representation of both organizations at meetings organized by each has increased. Thus, the United Nations Secretary-General took part in the work of the fifth summit of Heads of State and Government of French-speaking countries, held in Cotonou, Benin, in December 1995. The United Nations was also represented at the Conference of Ministers of French-speaking Countries working with the information highway and new information technologies, held at Montreal, Canada, in May 1997, as well as at the meeting of the Francophone Contact Group on the situation in the Great Lakes region, held in June 1997.

Today, the Agency and the French-speaking community are preparing together to enter a new phase, the outlines of which will be defined at the upcoming summit in Hanoi next November. At a time when the United Nations itself is preparing its own reforms in order to meet the imminent millennium with the best assets for success, it is essential to strengthen cooperation and coordination between the two institutions for the good of all parties. The cooperation agreement signed last June by our two Secretaries-General aims at that end. The draft resolution before the Assembly, which was submitted this morning by the Permanent Representative of France, confirms that happy convergence.

Tunisia is happy to reaffirm its support for cooperation between the United Nations and the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation. That cooperation highlights the identity of views and objectives of the two organizations and carries on and consolidates the activities of our Organization at the regional level, particularly in the area of development and development cooperation.

Mr. Ngo Quang Xuan (Viet Nam)

I have the honour to speak in support of the valuable ideas contained in the statement made by the Ambassador of France in introducing draft resolution A/52/L.1, designed to strengthen cooperation between the United Nations and the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation (ACTC). Viet Nam highly appreciates the effective work done by the Agency, which is why it decided to become a co-sponsor of the draft resolution, on cooperation between the United Nations and the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation.

Over the last 27 years the ACTC has played an increasingly important role in economic and social development, which is making a great contribution to the common goals of the countries that have French as a common language. The ACTC is becoming a meeting point and focus of cooperation between Africa, America, Asia and Europe. It brings its members together within the great French-speaking family, thus creating an important community which participates in the global dialogue. It is also an intergovernmental instrument of a special kind which guarantees the success of cooperation between States and Governments of the francophone community.

The relationship between the Agency and the United Nations goes back a number of years. In 1978 the General Assembly adopted resolution 33/18, inviting the ACTC to participate as an observer in its sessions and in all conferences convened under its aegis of the Assembly, as well as in meetings of its subsidiary organs. Furthermore, a series of cooperation framework agreements in areas of common interest to the ACTC and the subsidiary organs of the United Nations established the relationship between the two parties. The adoption by the General Assembly of resolution 50/3 gave special impetus to that relationship and further strengthened cooperation between United Nations bodies and the ACTC.

Viet Nam is pleased to note that cooperation between the United Nations, its specialized agencies and other United Nations bodies and programmes and the ACTC over the last two years has produced encouraging achievements in many areas. We are convinced that the strengthening of cooperation between the United Nations and the ACTC serves not only the purposes and principles of the United Nations, but also the current reform process of the United Nations.

Mr. Ngo Quang Xuan (Viet Nam)

In particular, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Secretary-General of the ACTC signed a cooperation agreement on 25 June 1997 to strengthen relations between the two intergovernmental organizations, an agreement marking a new stage in their cooperation. Viet Nam is convinced that it will establish a very solid basis for concrete action and the establishment of cooperation projects in the common interests of member countries.

Benefiting from close coordination between the conseil permanent de la Francophonie, the ACTC and other francophone countries, Viet Nam is preparing to host the seventh Francophone Summit in Hanoi in November. This will be the first time the French-speaking community has held its Summit in Asia, a turning point in the history of francophone solidarity. Viet Nam undertakes to do all it can to make the Summit a success and to welcome Heads of States and delegates coming from 49 member countries of the francophone community.

In conclusion, Viet Nam hopes that the United Nations and the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation will continue to enjoy the new spirit of cooperation created by resolution 50/3 in order to deepen and expand cooperation in areas of common interest. My delegation therefore hopes that draft resolution A/52/L.1 will receive the support of all Member States of the United Nations.

Mr. Lelong (Haiti)

The delegation of Haiti is pleased to co-sponsor draft resolution A/52/L.1, entitled "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation". This is an important question, in which we have a great interest.

Allow me to recall that Haiti was present at the Niamey meeting when a group of 21 States and Governments with French as a common language concluded on 20 March 1970 the Convention establishing the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation. Today, 27 years later, our Agency has grown to become the meeting point for 49 States and Governments from five continents.

Next November the seventh biennial conference of Heads of State and Government of the French-speaking countries will be held in Hanoi. The holding of this conference in Asia is a new symbol of the diverse membership of our community and of the fact that our ranks continue to grow with every summit.

This growth is proof of the Agency's strength and its capacity to accomplish its mandate, which is to support and to develop multilateral cooperation between its members in such areas as education and training, culture and communications, energy, the environment, agriculture, economic development, scientific information and supporting democracy and the rule of law.

The Agency makes its contribution to peace and development along with the United Nations and other organizations. It was in order to highlight the clear complementarity between United Nations and ACTC action for economic, political and social development that in 1978, at the thirty-third session of the General Assembly, the Agency was granted the status of observer, by resolution 33/18.

In line with the spirit of its Charter, the ACTC has established a broad and diverse network of relationships with the United Nations system. It has played an active role in all the conferences and summits organized by the United Nations. For a number of years now it has closely cooperated with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in all its wealth of events and activities.

A framework agreement concluded with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) led to the establishment in 15 French-speaking countries of industrial development programmes designed to aid peoples and sustainable human development, with due regard for conservation of the environment. The ACTC also has cooperation agreements with UNICEF and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in areas of interest to those two institutions. It has cooperated with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for several years now, and recently -- last September -- the two institutions decided to give fresh impetus to their relationship by signing a new agreement.

It can be seen that the range of the ACTC's activities is broad, with many aspects. The scale of the new challenges facing the international community calls for increased coordination of development policies, and to this the cooperation between the United Nations and the ACTC continues to contribute effectively.

We are convinced that adoption of the draft resolution before the Assembly will strengthen this cooperation.

Mr. Reyn (Belgium)

Two years ago this Assembly adopted for the first time a resolution formally recognizing the cooperation between the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation (ACTC) and the United Nations. The resolution inaugurated a new partnership, which we welcomed. The ACTC then opened an office at the United Nations, thus making its presence more visible and making it possible to increase cooperation between the French-speaking countries at the United Nations.

The Agency, which is the organ of the French-speaking countries, and which is also called the Agency for the French-Speaking Community, now includes 44 States and Governments from four continents. This guarantees that within this centre of francophonie there is a diversity of cultures and views, which only further highlights the solidarity that emerges from the dialogue.

The primary mission of the ACTC is to promote this dialogue and to ensure cooperation in education, culture and communications, energy, the environment, agriculture, economic development, scientific information and the rule of law. As the United Nations mission is to deal with these problems at the global level, it is logical that there should be an exchange between the ACTC and the United Nations to take advantage of their complementarities.

This partnership is of long standing. The ACTC has enjoyed observer status at the United Nations since 1978, and certain bodies, such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) already had cooperation agreements with the ACTC. We are pleased that other bodies have expressed the desire for such agreements.

The ACTC does not have a political mission as such. However, the ideal of francophonie, as formulated in the preamble to the French-Speaking Community Charter, adopted in Marrakesh last December, is freedom and human rights; justice and solidarity; democracy, development and progress.

We believe that in the area of technical support, as well as in the organization of seminars bringing together French-speaking countries, the Agency's contribution can be very valuable and open up promising cooperation. The Agency's existing legal and judicial cooperation in the Great Lakes region is an example of this, and we encourage the Agency to pursue this work in close cooperation with the other actors in the field. We are particularly pleased by the activities undertaken in the field of human rights and by the cooperation agreement with the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Agreements have been concluded with the United Nations Children's Fund as well as the United Nations Development Programme. We welcome this, as well as the ongoing cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which, because of the two bodies' mutual focus on culture and their long collaboration, is one of the best examples of such cooperation.

Belgium is a sponsor of the draft resolution that France introduced on this item. We are pleased by the impetus that has been given over the last two years to the cooperation between the Organization and the Agency, these two bodies particularly by the signing last June of the cooperation agreement, which seeks to strengthen consultations on all matters of common interest in the political, economic, social, scientific and cultural fields.

We hope that this cooperation will continue to develop, thus making it possible to define areas of specific action where the ACTC can act in support of the United Nations, helping it to accomplish its often difficult tasks. This cooperation will contribute to promoting their common goal, which is to serve the international community.

Mr. Ka (Senegal)

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