Geopolitics
Governance/Geopolitics
'The future of Africa is in unity', says Niger's President, among continental leaders at UN Assembly

26 Sep 2014, 06:43 am Print

'The future of Africa is in unity', says Niger's President, among continental leaders at UN Assembly
New York, Sept 25 (JEN) Addressing the United Nations General Assembly at its annual high-level debate, Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger warned on Thursday against attempts to balkanize Africa and underscored that the post-2015 sustainable development agenda need to be anchored in the “three D’s”: defense, democracy and development.

“The Pandora box of balkanization that is open in Africa needs to be closed again if one does not want the whole continent to go up in flames,” said President Issoufou, the first of several African leaders to address the General Debate of the 69th Assembly

“The future of Africa is in its unity. The move beyond the borders inherited from colonization is not to create new borders along ethnic or religious bases but to go beyond the current boundaries via integration,” he added.

Africa will be the continent of the 21st century with a strong middle class born out of good policy and economic governance that eases poverty through income distribution, the President noted.

The leader of the West African country highlighted conflicts in neighbouring Libya, Mali and Nigeria. He warned the international and local communities that it would be dangerous to let the insecurity grow instead of helping to bring about a peace, and called for a strategy that cuts off financing and blocks a terrorist strategy that uses propaganda heavily covered by the press adn social media.

In his address, Mohamed Moncef Mazouki, President of Tunisia, said that his country was moving ahead with a peaceful democratic transition though it and its people had had lived for many years under despotism.

“We are trying to grapple with the counter-revolution with moderation and ending the residue of despotism.” he said, emphasizing that Tunisia is also initiating socio-economic development that will be in harmony with the environment and in line with the sustainable development goals of the UN.

Yet, Tunisia’s progress was occurring “at the heart of a region that had witnessed political conflagrations” and the heinous activities of armed groups aimed at undermining the drive for democracy. For example, he was very concerned about the situation in neighboring Libya and hoped that the leaders there would soon agree on a peaceful democratic State without outside influence or interventions. The wise men in the country must preserve national consensus.

More broadly, he expressed deep concern about the activities of armed groups committing grave acts in the wider region and the Middle East. Tunisia was ashamed that such acts were being carried out in the name of Allah, who was for peace and humanity. Nothing justifies this violence, which has reached such unprecedented levels,  Mazouki said. Condemning the heinous killing of prisoners or hostages no matter what nationality they are, he said: “we are all human beings.”

He went on to say that regimes must rule in harmony with the will of the people. They must promote development, education and other polices which would lead to unifying societies and improving living standards. Some of the major powers had supported despotism for many years under the pretext of ensuring stability. Turning to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he called for lifting of all blockades on Gaza and throughout the territory. The Palestinian people are crying out for rebuilding their devastated lands, he added.

Finally, he reiterated his country’s call for the creation of an “international constitutional court” which would give advice on such issues as elections and adherence to international legal nor  Mazouki said that he hoped such a tribunal would soon “see the light of day”, bringing about the end of despotism. He hoped that process would not take as long as it taken to create the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Also addressing the Assembly, Hery Martial Rajaonarimampianina Rakotoarimanana, President of Madagascar, said that his country was home to five per cent of the world’s biodiversity. As such, when he took office, he had “declared war” on traffickers of rosewood, as well as on all those traded in protected species. He also established an inter-ministerial committee that monitored Madagascar’s “zero tolerance policy” on all trafficking of wildlife and natural resources.

Yet, the President continued, traffickers were able to thwart the stringent oversight measures, largely because of shortfall in resources. Madagascar’s location made it imperative to protect its natural environment and marine resource. It was a perilous region, vulnerable to piracy and all manner of trafficking. While addressing other pressing issues, the Government had been able to declare nearly 10 per cent of the country as protected natural reserves.

On other matters, he said that after years of political instability and crippling polices and measures such as sanctions, Madagascar will not reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. However, the country is undertaking a major drive to invest in its people, enhance its infrastructure, expand education opportunity and boost ICT use. Citing one major example, he said more than 100 basic healthcare centres had been opened in recent months.

In additions, President Rajaonarimampianina said tangible results had also been achieved on the security front including, curbing massive cattle theft in parts of the country. As for the post-2015 development agenda, he said that Madagascar was committed to creating a modern, open and transparent nation that respected human rights. “

“Our primary goal is to bring our people out of their precarious situation,” he said, citing major projects to boost Madagascar’s agriculture sector. The aim is not only to improve livelihoods at home, but to transform Madagascar into a “food hub” in the region. He added that his Government is also working hard to create jobs and enhance its tourism infrastructure, both of which are vital for development.

Since Wednesday, speakers have taken to the podium in the UN’s renovated General Assembly Hall to address the 193 Member State on the theme of “Delivering on and Implementing a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda” as well as urgent crises ranging from the ongoing conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Ukraine and South Sudan.

 

President Mahamadou Issoufou of the Republic of Niger addresses the General Assembly. UN Photo/Cia Pak