Botswana

I am delighted to extend to the President and his country, Malaysia, the sincere congratulations of the Government and the people of Botswana on his assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-first session. His record as an accomplished diplomat has the admiration of my delegation. He can therefore count on the full support and cooperation of the delegation of Botswana in the discharge of his demanding responsibilities. We salute his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral, for his successful stewardship of the fiftieth session and the Special Commemorative Meeting. The last five years have been the most momentous in the history of the United Nations, imposing on the world body enormous responsibilities, which the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros- Ghali, and the Secretariat have carried out with a deep sense of commitment and dedication. We assure them that they continue to enjoy the confidence and full support of Botswana in the execution of their duties. The African continent continues to make commendable progress in the consolidation of freedom and democracy. This year the continent witnessed the successful holding of multi-party elections in Benin, Sierra Leone and the United Republic of Tanzania. The right of citizens to organize themselves and participate freely in the political processes of their countries, and respect for human rights, form the basis for stability, democracy and development. 23 Indeed, the continent has increasingly embraced these universal values, which are an integral part of a democratic culture. Not only has Africa embraced political pluralism, accountability and good governance, it has also demonstrated its readiness to defend these principles. A year ago we expected that the people of Angola would by now have started a new chapter of peace in the history of their country. It is regrettable that to date the way forward remains unclear. We strongly call upon those who have contributed to the current stalemate in Angola to see reason and show more commitment to the peace process. Two days ago the Heads of State and Government of southern Africa met in Luanda, Angola, in an effort to persuade all concerned to ensure the speedy implementation of the Lusaka Protocol. We are deeply concerned about the situation in Burundi. The country is wallowing in a quagmire of self- destruction. No amount of reasoning and persuasion has thus far succeeded in drawing the political leaders in Burundi away from a path of mutual annihilation and to the path of accommodation and reconciliation. We salute the efforts of the regional leaders and of the international community aimed at ensuring the restoration of democracy and constitutional order in Burundi. That sister country deserves some reprieve from the traumatic experience it has recently gone through. Burundi needs peace and stability now, not tomorrow. While the situation in Rwanda remains tense, there are some encouraging signs that the country is making steady progress towards normalcy. Preparations for next year’s general elections seem to be well under way. We urge the international community to spare no effort in encouraging that country towards national reconciliation. Key among the necessary measures to be undertaken is the safe return of refugees to their homeland. Despite all efforts by the international community, and by West Africa in particular, the political crisis in Liberia has so far eluded solution. We call upon all the parties concerned to ensure that elections are held in May 1997 as scheduled. In our view, and in reality, Western Sahara poses a major political and moral problem. Botswana is committed to the holding of a free, fair and impartial referendum for the people of Western Sahara, in accordance with the Settlement Plan. We are deeply concerned that the identification process has been in a state of paralysis for several months now. Somalia continues to haunt the conscience of the world. The situation in that country is a tragic demonstration of how a disparate assortment of gunmen can hijack and destroy a nation. The United Nations should not consider Somalia a lost cause. We should therefore persevere in the search for a comprehensive settlement to the political crisis in that country. Recent developments in the Middle East are a matter of profound concern to Botswana. Starting in September 1993 we were pleased to witness the dramatic unfolding of a promising peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, on the one hand, and between Israel and Jordan, on the other. We looked forward to the resumption of negotiations between Israel and its Arab neighbours, Syria and Lebanon, which, hopefully, would have ushered in a lasting solution to the conflict in the Middle East. Recent events in the occupied Arab territories are a stark indicator of what can happen to the peace process if things are allowed to drag on and on. We appeal to the Government of Israel to fulfil its obligations under the agreements it signed with the Palestinians. Developments on the Korean peninsula have also been a matter of grave concern. Botswana is committed to the peaceful reunification of Korea. Botswana follows developments in Cyprus with keen interest. The continued division of Cyprus is a serious violation of the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of a Member State of the United Nations. Land-mines, particularly anti-personnel land-mines, are a major threat to humanity. Botswana strongly believes that the solution to the menace of anti-personnel land-mines lies in a total ban on production, stockpiling, export and use. Existing protocols have provided only a partial solution to this problem. There is a glaring need for a binding international legal instrument for the progressive and ultimate elimination of these weapons. The production, stockpiling and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, of which nuclear weapons are the most lethal, is also a matter of deep concern to my delegation. For far too long, non-nuclear-weapon States have been calling for an international legal instrument to safeguard them against the threat or use of 24 these weapons. The response of the nuclear Powers has been less than reassuring, to say the least. Unilateral statements on security assurances, which have been transmitted through a Security Council resolution, do not meet the demands of the overwhelming majority of the membership of this Organization. The security of non-nuclear-weapon States from the threat or use of these dangerous weapons can only be guaranteed by the institution of a legally binding international instrument. Botswana is committed to the early conclusion of such an instrument, and we hope that the nuclear-weapon States will demonstrate the necessary commitment to meet the concerns of non-nuclear-weapon States. Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons commits parties, inter alia, to reach agreement “on a Treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control”. Unfortunately, the nuclear-weapon States are resolutely opposed to the total elimination of nuclear weapons. Not only are these States resistant to this noble ideal, but they continue to develop new types of weapons. What conclusions are we expected to draw from this state of affairs? It is difficult for nuclear-weapon States to claim the moral high ground to dissuade any State from acquiring the same weapons for the defence of its supreme national interests, while they themselves consider such weapons a reliable means of self-defence. Nuclear-weapon States should accept their responsibility to enter into and conclude negotiations for the elimination of these weapons. The General Assembly has repeatedly called upon the Conference on Disarmament to accelerate consideration of the question of the expansion of its membership. We thus call upon the Conference on Disarmament to address speedily the question of its expansion to the satisfaction of the general membership of the United Nations. Five years have passed since the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s was adopted by the General Assembly. While we all applauded the adoption of the New Agenda, it has to be accepted that the necessary operational framework was never put in place to ensure effective mobilization and disbursement of the target resources. Concerned about the poor performance of the United Nations New Agenda, in March this year the Secretary- General launched the United Nations System-wide Special Initiative for Africa, which has the backing of the World Bank, among others. The Initiative envisages an expenditure of some $25 billion over a 10-year period to address identified sectoral development priorities. This is a laudable Initiative which should afford Africa the opportunity to address effectively the critical nexus of food security, population and the environment. For their part, most African countries have met their obligations as spelled out in national structural adjustment programmes, in addition to the efforts made in the fields of democracy, human rights and good governance. Although southern Africa today enjoys relative peace and stability, it will continue to need special assistance in order to address the problems of reconstruction and development of the economic, physical and social infrastructures which were destroyed or adversely affected by many years of war and racial injustice. We have no doubt that the international community will complement our efforts so that we can launch our region on a firm road to regional integration and economic development. Botswana is a strong proponent of the reform and restructuring of the United Nations. My President, who is a member of the Secretary-General’s United Nations Panel of High-level Personalities on African Development, firmly believes in a more action-oriented and streamlined United Nations system that is able to deliver. But we do not agree with those who advocate a “cut-cut” approach. There could be areas where additional staff could be the catalyst to enhanced effectiveness and efficiency. What the world needs is a United Nations that has the capacity to implement its programmes and projects effectively and efficiently, a United Nations that can put to better use the human and material resources at its disposal and one that can better guarantee international peace and security and promote international understanding. It should be noted that the responsibility for the reform process, to a large extent, lies squarely with Member States and not with the Secretary-General, although he has a contribution to make in the whole process. Member States should therefore take full responsibility for their inability to reach agreement on various aspects of the reform process and desist from seeking scapegoats for their failure to reach consensus on a multifaceted international and structural reform of the Organization. 25 Botswana and other countries in southern Africa have not been spared the scourge of illicit drug trafficking and consumption. The Heads of State or Government of the Southern African Development Community recently signed, among other instruments, a protocol on illicit drug trafficking. The aim is to pool our resources — such as police forces, customs authorities and drug enforcement agencies — to fight drug trafficking and other cross-border crimes effectively. We look forward to continued international cooperation in this regard. We are hopeful that these efforts will be crowned with success and will receive the full support and cooperation of the international community. The human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome pandemic is another scourge of our time and a serious threat to humanity. The socio- economic consequences of the disease are a matter of grave concern, and the international community should make concerted efforts to address this human tragedy — which affects the young and the productive sectors of our societies in particular — before it is too late. To conclude, my delegation reaffirms its total confidence in the stewardship of the President of the General Assembly and pledges its loyalty and cooperation. We reaffirm our commitment to work with other delegations towards the strengthening of the United Nations. We reaffirm our confidence in the manner in which the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, manages the affairs of our Organization. We salute him for his visionary leadership and untiring commitment to duty.