2022 Speech - Central African Republic
| Session Number | 77 |
|---|---|
| Year | 2022 |
| Country | Central African Republic |
| Country Code | CAF |
| Speech |
As I take the floor on behalf of the Central African Republic at the seventy-seventh session of the General Assembly, I would first like to congratulate Mr. Csaba Korosi on his outstanding election as President of the Assembly. His flawless knowledge of the international arena and his personal qualities are an asset and a guarantee of the success of our work and are undeniably a source of pride for Hungary, his beautiful country.
I would also like to commend the excellent work done and the results achieved by Mr. Abdulla Shahid at the seventy-sixth session. I reiterate my gratitude to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his tireless commitment to international peace and security and the United Nations ongoing support for my country. Allow me to pay a sincere tribute to Her Majesty Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and of the Commonwealth realms, a true icon of peace, who, during the seven decades of her reign, maintained excellent relations of friendship and cooperation between the United Kingdom and the countries of the Commonwealth and Africa, in particular with the Central African Republic. The seventy-seventh session of our Assembly, convened under the theme “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges”, provides us with a solemn opportunity to reflect on the challenges we share, which are causes of serious concern for the future of humankind. More than ever, the questions of security, peace, the environment and health are entering a critical phase. However, the warning signs are being ignored in favour of economic, geopolitical and geostrategic interests. Is it not the role of the United Nations to transform the world, to make it more just and secure, and to ensure the dignity of each and every one of us, regardless of the global context? Indeed, the many hotbeds of tension and crisis in the world challenge our collective conscience and also show us that our Organization is the product of a bygone era. The Central African Republic therefore reiterates its support for the African Union Common Position, which calls for profound reform of the United Nations and an increase in the number of Security Council members to ensure a more just and more representative participation of all continents. The protection of the environment — that is, protecting the place where we live — is one of the interdependent challenges that we must absolutely address. It is time for the biggest polluters to honour their commitments, in particular the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and international solidarity for climate justice for the most vulnerable populations. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has taught us that global health security is essential to all nations without exception. My country welcomes the paradigm shift that is occurring in the health sector and the unprecedented outpouring of solidarity accompanying it, including access to vaccines to protect against polio, COVID-19 and, soon, malaria. It is therefore with pride that my country has achieved the status of a polio-free country and vaccinated 50 per cent of its national target population against COVID-19. I commend and encourage the health and emergency preparedness initiative implemented by the World Health Organization. The Central African Republic is proud to be the instigator and the first pilot country, with tangible benefits for the improvement of its capacity to manage epidemics. The Central African Republic has seen its march towards development slowed in recent years by serious security and health crises, which have been exacerbated by the persistent lack of financial support from the international community, resulting in the disruption of agricultural, forestry and mining production. As a fragile State faced with food insecurity and a glaring shortage of material and human resources, the Central African Republic continues to make enormous sacrifices to improve its macroeconomic management and fiscal governance. With the support of its partners, my country has implemented ambitious reforms to strengthen the mobilization of revenues and optimize public spending. My country is waiting for the re-establishment of the Extended Credit Facility programme, which has been suspended by the International Monetary Fund, to support an increase in domestic resources in order to cope with the lack of budgetary support from technical and financial partners and the digitization of minor revenue. Solutions still need to be explored through regional and international mechanisms, in a spirit of interdependence, to overcome the challenges of physical infrastructure — transport, energy, water, education and health care — through the implementation of adapted programmes and the mobilization of financing through the public-private partnerships; access to capital markets for the financing of development projects through public-private partnerships; the development and coordination of trade policies and economic relations with other regions; support for education system through the training of trainers and the creation of professional training centres; the development of a resilient economy able to withstand internal and external shocks through economic diversification and the adoption of new technologies; the creation of innovative financing mechanisms to address both agriculture and climate change so as to improve access to the financial capital needed to develop the agropastoral sector; and the promotion of smart solutions and approaches to climate change that are adapted to the national context. The Central African Republic was the first country in Africa to adopt Bitcoin as a digital payment reference currency and the first in the world to unanimously adopt a law governing cryptocurrencies. That ambitious and innovative initiative has enormous potential to reposition the economy, improve prospects and change the destiny of Central Africans at a time when we need to be open to new horizons and solutions that go transcend convention. It is an established fact that the Central African Republic is contributing to the search for transformative solutions to address interdependent challenges with greater commitment and conviction. In that respect, several bold reforms and initiatives have been undertaken, with the support of international partners, to strengthen the rule of law and restore the authority of the State throughout the country. Moreover, the courageous measures taken by the Government in the fight against impunity, the implementation of the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in the Central African Republic of 6 February 2019, the Joint Roadmap for Peace in the Central African Republic, adopted in Luanda, and the recommendations of the republican dialogue have helped to ease sociopolitical tensions in the country. In keeping with its international commitments, the Central African Republic abolished the death penalty on 1 June and adopted, on 31 August, a law on combating trafficking in persons and a child protection code. It is with particular interest that I note the Security Council’s firm condemnation, in its recent resolution 2648 (2022), of 29 July, of the attacks perpetrated against peaceful civilian populations by armed groups. I also note with satisfaction the Council’s position against the transnational trafficking networks that continue to supply armed groups with weapons of all types. In welcoming the significant progress that has made it possible to substantially lift the arms embargo imposed on our defence and security forces, I would like to convey the gratitude of the Central African people to all the friendly and brotherly countries that firmly support our request for the total lifting of the embargo. I deplore, however, the manoeuvring aimed at legitimizing the armed groups and insidiously maintaining the embargo. Who stands to benefit from that crime? The Central African Republic has suffered a great deal from miscalculations and disinformation, which have, unfortunately, gone on for too long. The Central African youth is made up of a pool of high achievers whose only obstacle to developing their country is a lack of peace and security. I would like to denounce the disinformation and spin campaigns aimed at coercively discrediting and destabilizing the democratic institutions of the Central African Republic. Those campaigns, which are being conducted by certain international media outlets on the basis of a thinly-veiled and threatening neocolonialism, are successful not because they are true but because of their tried-and-tested manipulative rhetoric. They are based solely on preserving the geostrategic and geopolitical interests of certain States that have little to do with the vital interests of the Central African people. The Central African Republic calls on its partners to engage in a relationship of trust and mutual respect. We are always ready to cooperate with every country in the world, provided that our vital interests and sovereignty are respected. I wish our work every success. Long live international solidarity. |