The ceremony of greetings from the diplomatic corps accredited to Yaoundé, which was held on January 5, 2024 at the Unity Palace, was an opportunity for Paul Biya to once again propose the path of dialogue for the resolution of conflicts in the world .
The Cameroonian president is convinced that the United Nations (UN) is well placed to prioritize dialogue between the belligerents. “In a world that seems to be drifting, in a world that seems to be wallowing in the paths leading to its perdition, we continue to believe in the United Nations. We continue to believe in the values that founded it and in the dreams that inhabited those who founded it. We continue to believe that our common Organization is best able to lead humankind to overcome passions, selfishness, antagonisms, to refocus on the essential: its survival,” declared Paul Biya.
To clearly motivate his interest in world peace, the tenant of the Etoudi palace reminded the foreign diplomats, who were listening to him, that the multiplication of conflicts in the world has negative consequences on the well-being of populations. He therefore hopes that the UN will spread peace. This is also what pushes Cameroon to seek the presidency of the 79th General Assembly of the UN by proposing the candidacy of former Prime Minister Philemon Yang.
This exit by Paul Biya clearly contrasts with the anti-UN discourse in vogue on the continent. This discourse is maintained by activists on social networks. This is the case for Cameroonian Nathalie Yamb. In February 2023, in a widely shared video, she declared that “the UN system is used to maintain insecurity and destabilization of the African continent”. But it must be said that the Cameroonian president speaks from experience, having experienced the importance of the UN in the peaceful resolution of the dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria over the Bakassi peninsula.
SBBC