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STATEMENT OF THE ASIA PACIFIC GROUP (APG)

TRIBUTE TO THE LATE PRESIDENT OF THE 

29TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

HIS EXCELLENCY ABDELAZIZ BOUTEFLIKA

 

UN General Assembly Hall, New York, Tuesday, 14 October 2021

 

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Mr. President, 

 

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

We are here today to pay tribute to the life and leadership of the late His Excellency Abdelaziz Bouteflika. 

 

2.     On behalf of the Asia Pacific Group, I extend our heartfelt sympathies and deepest condolences to his family and to the Government and people of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria. 

 

3.     The late His Excellency Abdelaziz Bouteflika will be remembered for his consequential role in fighting for Algeria’s independence and notable leadership in his home country, the Arab world and Africa. 

 

4.     His advocacy and role in fostering peace and security at the regional and international level are appreciated by many of us.  His passion for championing the cause of post-colonial states and the developing world were among his many accomplishments during his lifetime.  

 

5.     We will also remember him for his demonstration of courage and statesmanship throughout his interaction globally. He challenged the hegemony of the world and brought Algeria to prominence as a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and a founding member of the African Union (AU).

 

6.     He will also be remembered for championing multilateralism, particularly in leading the United Nations General Assembly as the 29^th President of this august body. Under his leadership, the General Assembly adopted the Declaration and the Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order, at the Sixth Special Session of the General Assembly on Raw Materials and Development, accorded special treatment to the late Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestine Liberation Organization at the general debate on the Palestine question, adopted the resolution on the right of self-determination and the resolution giving observer status to the PLO. The suspension of apartheid South Africa’s participation at the UN General Assembly and the adoption of the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, also took place under his Presidency.

 

7.     He was also instrumental and played a key role in enriching the discourse on dialogue among civilisations from the early stage. In his own words, he stated ~ I quote, “A dialogue among civilizations can be seen as a dialogue between the individual and the universal”.  

 

8.     Let us celebrate his memory and legacy by committing ourselves to the founding ideals of this Organisation and further strengthen multilateralism in the name of humanity. 

 

May His Excellency Abdelaziz Bouteflika rest in peace and God bless his soul.