2022 Speech - Burundi
| Session Number | 77 |
|---|---|
| Year | 2022 |
| Country | Burundi |
| Country Code | BDI |
| Speech |
Praise be to God the Almighty and Merciful, who has allowed
us to meet in the magnificent city of New York to participate in our Organization’s current session under the best conditions. At the outset of my remarks, allow me to express my sincere thanks to the Government and the people of the United States of America, and more particularly to the people of New York, for the exemplary welcome and hospitality extended to me and my delegation. I would also like to express my warm and heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Csaba Korosi, for his auspicious election as President of the General Assembly of the United Nations at its seventy-seventh session. Burundi, through me, assures the President of its full support and cooperation throughout his mandate in the service of humankind. I would also like to express my deep gratitude to his predecessor, Mr. Abdulla Shahid, for the remarkable work he has done under extremely difficult conditions marked by the ongoing crisis resulting from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and by security crises in several regions of the world. In that context, I pay a well-deserved tribute to the Secretary- General of the Organization, Mr. Antonio Guterres, who has spared no effort in accomplishing his mission well despite a difficult situation involving various crises and paradoxes. As the Burundian adage states: “In a climate of peace, a pruning knife can serve as a lawnmower” — in other words, where there is peace, anything is possible. The world today should take inspiration from this. Unfortunately, the world has become an immense tower from which we witness, with tears in our eyes, gruesome acts in some nations due to war, horrible massacres, refugee flows, food insecurity and the destabilization of world economic systems. The countries of the world are experiencing the knock-on effects of the situation in Ukraine. In Africa, terrorism and violent extremism continue to strike in the Sahel region, the Horn of Africa and in Central Africa, with a tendency to spread to the southern region of Africa. The same is true in other parts of the world — as has been noted, terrorism has no borders and climate change, which causes famine, has no limits. However, together, with political will, I am confident that we can overcome these scourges. I am confident because my country, Burundi, has seen all too much, with repeated political crises that have destroyed not only human lives, but also the environment. Today we have recovered, and the country is well on the way to socioeconomic development. Burundi is striving to make progress in this direction, using the dividends of peace, security, stability and the social cohesion that has re-emerged thanks to Burundians themselves and to the contribution of the international community. We therefore hope that everyone will embrace the spirit of peace, fraternity and justice so that all the peoples of the world may fully enjoy their right to live well and in dignity. On the humanitarian level, Burundi has welcomed on its soil, with warmth and dignity, thousands of refugees of all ethnicities from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Peace is a topic that is close to our hearts; its absence weighs heavily on the lives of our peoples. It is in this spirit that we will never allow ourselves to shy away from implementing security decisions taken by this important, dignified international Organization, the United Nations. With this in mind, Burundi continues to fight tooth and nail to contribute to the return of peace in countries in which it has been disrupted, in the framework of the United Nations, the African Union or the region. Our interventions in Somalia and the Central African Republic are testimony to this. Similarly, Burundi is committed to contributing to the return of peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the framework of the East African Community initiative. I take this opportunity to ask the international community to support the Nairobi process to help the Congolese people in distress. With further regard to peace and security, by participating in this meeting, I am led to humbly request the involvement of the United Nations in tracking down the terrorist groups that are beginning to infiltrate our subregion, not to mention those already active in other parts of the world. The East African Community, of which Burundi holds the presidency, has just welcomed a new member, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and, together with the other heads of State of the member countries, we have set ourselves the goal of stabilizing the entire community, so that our countries’ populations can finally focus on socioeconomic development projects. That is why the Government of Burundi is developing transport infrastructure, including road, rail, air and water transport, in order to achieve the interconnected, multimodal approach at the national and subregional levels that is imperative for my country. Burundi is working closely with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Republic of Tanzania to achieve the ambitious Uvinza-Musongati- Gitega-Bujumbura-Uvira-Kindu railroad project that will link the three countries, as well as the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. This megaproject will not only boost the economies of the three countries, but will also facilitate the movement of goods and people in the subregion. We would like the States Members of the United Nations to stand as one to protect and promote all the rights that humankind must enjoy without distinction. While we appreciate what is already being done, work remains to be done in order for people to fully exercise all the rights to which they are entitled as human beings. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to warmly thank the international community for its efforts to restore peace and stability in my country. In that regard, I should like to inform this august Assembly that equitable justice for all is today a reality, and that human rights, including freedom of expression and freedom of the press, are respected throughout Burundi. Unfortunately, however, some officials, under the banner of some of the Organization’s entities, are discouraging this positive development by politicizing democracy and the fight against impunity. In some countries, including my own, when democracy, as defined, takes root, some United Nations officials distort that democracy, calling it untrustworthy and non-inclusive to perpetuate unnecessary tensions. Whereas we fight on a daily basis against impunity, some of these officials still seek to disqualify our actions. It is therefore high time that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights align itself with our countries to enable a common understanding of the direction of our countries’ policies, instead of trying to control their actions at a distance through committees and offices of special rapporteurs. The time has come for the United Nations to recognize the progress made by my country over the past 17 years and to understand that the status of “fragile country” no longer applies to Burundi. People are at the heart of the economy, from the family to the global level. We must therefore contribute to the development of human capital by providing our peoples with appropriate tools, experience and knowledge adapted to the demands of contemporary life. We must find solutions to counter the threats to our economy, health, education system and peaceful coexistence — in short, threats to our way of life within our countries and among the countries of the world. We know that the United Nations seeks to improve the living conditions of the world’s population through access to sufficient household income to ensure a decent standard of living. Education is a key element in achieving that. In terms of education, I could not be more explicit than Nelson Mandela when he said: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” So many years after this famous line was spoken, this idea for effecting positive change in our communities remains relevant. Education creates aspirations and ambitions for the future in young people and is an effective tool in the fight against violence and terrorism. That is why, in my country, we are initiating reforms that rethink policy regarding the education system in order to turn our youth into members of, rather than tributaries to, the public service. We are pleased to note that, in my country, making education free has significantly increased enthusiasm towards school among girls and boys alike and that the dropout rate in elementary grades, which is often linked to food insufficiency, distance from schools and inability to afford school fees, has decreased significantly. In order to turn youth into agents of peace and inclusive development in Burundi, we have put in place an ambitious programme of youth economic empowerment and employment with the aim of reducing unemployment by creating jobs for young people through entrepreneurship. Alongside this programme, we have set up a youth investment bank and an accelerator, guarantee and support fund to facilitate access to credit. The same is true for women, who account for a high percentage of Burundian youth. We have established a women’s investment bank and are pursuing reforms to improve women’s health and education. The Office of the First Lady of Burundi has opened a hospital to treat obstetric fistulas and, together with Burundi’s development partners, continues to innovate to greatly improve the lives of Burundian women. Meanwhile, managing the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is an urgent task. To that end, I would like to make a strong appeal to all development partners of the African continent to take courageous measures to support the economies of African States, which have been hard hit by the various current crises. As no country in the world was created with the idea of forever receiving assistance, this support should be done through mutually beneficial strategic partnerships focused on, among others, investment, trade promotion and technology transfers. In order to develop human capital and to make the population dynamic and productive, my Government is providing each commune with at least one hospital and health centres to prevent and treat diseases, including from epidemics and pandemics. While we are proud of having been able to effectively combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the fight continues. Furthermore, free health care has been provided for children under five years of age and pregnant women who give birth in public hospitals and health centres, which has significantly reduced infant mortality. The efforts aimed at my country’s economic development must primarily focus on developing the agricultural sector. To that end, my Government has declared 2022 as “Year of Agriculture in Burundi” under the general theme “Agriculture, source of the national economy”. Our agricultural development programme is all about changing mindsets and practices. We are encouraging the population to aim higher by producing not only for local consumption but also, and especially, for export, to join forces to work together in agricultural cooperatives and to progressively replace hoes with modern tools and agricultural technologies. Concerning the environment, Burundi has not remained idle, especially since we have experienced drought in some regions, the flooding of rivers and lakes and landslides that sometimes carry away human lives, houses and crops, thus leading to food insufficiency. In the light of this, Burundi has joined the global consensus by carrying out environmental protection, conservation and management works through various activities throughout the country. Furthermore, Burundi is learning about climate change resilience, not only through the practice of hill irrigation but also through soil protection efforts, such as the drawing of contour lines and generalized reforestation, under the government project entitled “Ewe Burundi urambaye”, or “Covering Burundi”. Every Thursday is dedicated to this purpose throughout the country. We must also ensure that we progressively develop the infrastructure, in particular energy and transport, to support production and better ensure the growth of other sectors that drive growth and employment. The Government of Burundi is working on a huge project to develop the energy sector by mobilizing resources through co-financing and private-sector investment. The aim is to develop the potential of hydroelectricity, solar energy, peat, geothermal resources and municipal waste. The two sectors I have just highlighted also provide crucial support for the exploitation of mining potential. We want to forge a mutually advantageous and balanced technical and financial partnership in the exploration, exploitation and processing of mining and geological products, as surveys have revealed a subsoil that is very rich and as yet untouched. For peace and development to become reality, we have to prioritize good governance and the sound management of public finances, which not only helps to relieve the people’s frustrations, which are at the root of social conflicts, but also enables us to plan the national economy properly. I want to point out that we have strong national mechanisms for combating corruption and related activities. Acts of corruption are dealt with effectively and our citizens are satisfied with our performance in this area. In terms of economic activity, Burundi is on the right track, leveraging mining resources as well as road, sea and, soon, rail transport routes for economic actors. Investors should know that the Lake Tanganyika shoreline is being developed for tourism and new tourist sites are being created in the interior of the country. Before concluding my remarks, I would like to once again reaffirm my country’s determination to maintain good diplomatic relations and mutually beneficial, win-win cooperation with all States and international organizations in order to confront the fundamental challenges that are a threat to us all. We welcome our resumption of good political, diplomatic and economic relations that had previously been frozen with various States and international organizations. Our ardent wish is to maintain strong relations with States and international organizations towards a bright future for Burundi and every country in the world. |