General Assembly Session 56 meeting 74

Mr. Rivas (Colombia)

The delegation of Colombia appreciates the opportunity to participate in the debate on the implementation of the recommendations that the Secretary-General presented to the Assembly three years ago in his report on the causes of conflict and the promotion of development in Africa.

We wish to express our gratitude to the Ambassadors of Spain and Pakistan for guiding so well the activities of the Working Group during the last three months and to the Office of the Special Coordinator for Africa and the Least Developed Countries for the support it has offered. We also noted with satisfaction the efforts of the Secretariat to make available to the public through the United Nations Internet portal the ample information existing in the Organization on programmes focusing on Africa.

United Nations efforts for Africa in the areas of education, conflict prevention and post-conflict peace-building -- the object of our examination this year -- have produced positive though insufficient results considering the great challenges for peace and development that the continent faces.

That appears to be the main conclusion of the Working Group, and we agree with it. However, we find it discouraging that the attention given to Africa in the various organs, funds and programmes of the United Nations has not functioned in a way that more decisively supports peace and development on the continent.

This year, in addition to the deliberations in the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council dealt with the problems of sustainable development at its ministerial-level segment. The Security Council has also followed closely the performance of various peace missions in the region. Its members visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring countries and had various meetings at the ministerial level in New York with the signatories of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement and the Arusha Peace Agreement.

The delegation of Colombia, as a member of the Security Council, has had the satisfaction of contributing to the Council's efforts and has promoted greater cooperation with existing regional organizations in Africa. Last August, during our presidency of the Council, we promoted an examination of the regional approach to conflict management in Africa, in response to the findings of the United Nations Inter-Agency Mission to West Africa, headed by Mr. Ibrahima Fall, the Secretary-General's representative. We believe that the views expressed at the meeting on that subject can contribute to the management of conflict prevention and post-conflict peace-building in Africa.

Allow me to express some views that are widely shared on the regional approach. First, the regional approach must be seen as a complement to and not a replacement for national or global efforts in conflict management. Secondly, the success of the regional focus depends, inter alia, on the main protagonists being in agreement on the definition of the region and having a positive perception of the role of external actors. Thirdly, the differing perceptions among the regional and external actors, including the Security Council, may limit the effective management of prevention, peacekeeping or peace-building activities. Fourthly, despite the usefulness of regional efforts, respect for the sovereignty of each country must continue to guide the external actors.

That said, my delegation is pleased with the decision adopted by the Secretary-General to establish a United Nations Office in West Africa, with headquarters in Dakar, for an initial period of three years. We consider to be important its objective of promoting a regional strategy for dealing with the problems relating to peace and development, in close cooperation with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), with emphasis on conflict prevention and peace-building in countries that are emerging from a conflict.

In this connection, we should welcome the ECOWAS decision taken last July to extend, for a new three-year period, the Moratorium on the Importation, Exportation and Manufacture of Small Arms and Light Weapons in West Africa. This is a measure that, if supported by the main arms-exporting countries in the world, could have a favourable impact on peace and development throughout the region. We are aware that there are similar initiatives being undertaken in other regions on the continent, in particular by the countries of the Southern African Development Community and in the Horn of Africa.

It is obvious to my delegation that the African countries themselves should provide orientation for efforts to create a favourable environment for peace and development. This is part of the process of shouldering the responsibility for their own destiny, as all peoples have done once they have freed themselves from colonialism -- in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean alike.

We are therefore pleased with the decision adopted by the African countries during the thirty-seventh Summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), held in July in Zambia, to establish the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). In addition, we support the appeals for the United Nations to respond more efficiently and in a more coordinated manner to the hopes expressed by the New Partnership and for it to consider the possibility of convening a special session of the General Assembly on options for continued solidarity with and support for the African continent.

We believe that the United Nations is in a very good position to focus the attention of the international community on the needs for peace and development in Africa, and to work on an agreed basis with regional organizations on the continent and assist countries in strengthening their Governments' own management capacity, with the broad participation of African civil society organizations.

My delegation supports the terms of the draft resolution before us this year regarding the implementation of the recommendations made by the Secretary-General to the Assembly in 1998. We feel it is appropriate to suspend the deliberations of the Working Group in order to provide time for next year's assessment of the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. Our commitment to peace and development in Africa will remain unwavering.