Swaziland

I come with the greetings and warm wishes of His Majesty King Mswati III, Her Majesty the Indlovukazi, the Queen Mother, the Government and the whole Swazi nation to all our fellow members of the United Nations. On behalf of the Kingdom of Swaziland, I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Mr. Opertti on his unanimous election to the presidency of the fifty- 9 third session of the General Assembly. We have the fullest confidence in his ability to lead the deliberations of this session, and I can assure him of my delegation?s full support and cooperation. I would like to congratulate his predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, on the skill with which he presided over the fifty-second session. I would also like to commend the work done over the past 12 months by our Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and the staff of the United Nations Secretariat. We have been impressed by the strength of their commitment to meet the many challenges facing our Organization, and we take pride in their considerable achievements. The Kingdom of Swaziland is encouraged by the progress that has been achieved in the reform of the United Nations. Much credit is due to the Secretary-General and his staff for their implementation of cost-cutting measures and the commitment they have shown to creating a more efficient Organization. For our part, we believe the membership must provide the financial resources for the Organization to carry out the tasks that we ourselves have set. We surely cannot expect the United Nations to meet its existing obligations, let alone take on the new challenges we present to it, if we lag behind in the payment of our dues. The Kingdom of Swaziland makes every effort to keep up to date with its financial obligations in full, on time and without conditions — and we appeal to all our fellow Member States to do the same. The Kingdom of Swaziland is nevertheless concerned at the painfully slow rate of progress in the debate on the restructuring of the Security Council. The delay is especially frustrating when we know that there is global consensus on the need to make the permanent membership of the Council more democratic and representative of the developing world. This issue has been central to discussions during Non-Aligned Movement summit meetings and successive meetings of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). There continues to be unanimous support for change. In this regard, the Kingdom of Swaziland continues to support the African common position, which calls, among other things, for membership of the Security Council to be based on an equitable geographical formula. Africa is calling for two permanent seats, with the full voting and veto rights that are enjoyed by the current membership. However, in the longer term, we believe that the right of veto should be the subject of review, as it is not in accordance with recognized democratic practices since it gives unequal weight to the minority view. As we celebrate the thirtieth year of our independence and the thirtieth birthday of our monarch, the Kingdom of Swaziland is continuing quietly and peacefully to develop all aspects of life according to the wishes and expectations of our people. Our overall aim is to raise the living standards of all our people and to ensure that access to all the basic requirements of decent human life is available to all. We have conducted a number of initiatives aimed at identifying the areas of highest priority for action and we have asked the people themselves to contribute their ideas and views on how we can overcome the challenges we face. We have always believed that sustainable development will be best achieved in our country when there is the involvement, support and understanding of the whole nation. It is for this reason that we continue to consult the people on issues of national importance at open forums, thus giving all Swazis the opportunity to make their views known and have them considered. The implementation of our development aims involves a twin-track approach, with an economic and social reform agenda covering the shorter term, and a national development strategy to provide an action plan for the next 25 years. Both are the result of the recommendations of the Swazi people themselves and reflect the wishes of all Swazis. In a similar vein, and again in response to the people?s request, we are conducting a review of our Constitution. His Majesty informed the General Assembly last year of the establishment of the Constitutional Review Commission. The whole nation is engaged in this vitally important exercise, and I am pleased to inform our fellow Members that substantial progress has been made over the past 12 months. The end result will truly reflect the will of the people themselves, and we are confident that we will have in place a Constitution that will serve the best interests of all Swazis for many generations to come. We have been most grateful for the support we have received from the United Nations towards these important nation-building processes, and we value highly the continued support and encouragement from many of our friends and partners in the international community with respect to our development efforts. 10 In common with almost every country, we find that the issue of unemployment remains our greatest challenge. We recognize that, with the global economic situation deteriorating and the gap between the developed and the developing countries widening, the task of creating jobs is becoming more and more difficult. In response to this, we have introduced incentives to attract investment from both internal and external sources, and we have established an investment promotion authority to act as the catalyst for rapid investment growth. Such national initiatives are aimed at creating favourable conditions for our people to gain a decent standard of living and to continue to enjoy the peace and stability with which we have been blessed throughout our history. We have noted with regret that the past 12 months have seen an alarming rise in situations of internal conflict and external aggression among many of the Member States. Furthermore, there are many instances of situations where internal conflicts have spilled over borders, creating the potential for regional instability. The situations in the Kosovo region of Yugoslavia, and the heightened tension on the border between Iran and Afghanistan, are just two examples which are of great concern to the international community. This worrying trend has resulted in valuable global resources being channelled away from economic and social development priorities, and has undermined our collective efforts to achieve peace and stability throughout the world. All too many of our fellow human beings are caught up in a spiral of seemingly unending violence, with millions forced into exile from their own homes, thus becoming the latest statistics among the unfortunate numbers of refugees. In this respect, we urge the international community to continue to improve its response mechanisms so that appropriate action is taken quickly and decisively to prevent conflict and to repair the misery caused by it. In a similar vein, the stalling of the peace process in the Middle East continues to frustrate the efforts of those who desire a genuine, lasting peace in that troubled region. The Kingdom of Swaziland applauds those nations which are working hard to get the process back on track, and we continue to urge those involved to respect the terms of the Oslo peace accord as the only basis on which to rebuild the atmosphere of trust which is so necessary for the process to move forward. Meanwhile, on our continent of Africa, the conflicts in areas including the Horn of Africa and in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Lesotho and Guinea-Bissau, are challenging to the full the diplomatic skills of all of us in the international community who hope to bring lasting peace to our continent. Of particular concern to us in the southern African region has been the renewal of civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the resumption of hostilities in Angola and the very recent disturbances in Lesotho. Our fellow members will recall the efforts of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), among others, to find a solution to the distressing situations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola, which are hampering cooperation between member States of the community. In the case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Kingdom of Swaziland believes that the United Nations has a role to play as peacemaker to complement the efforts of SADC and the OAU. In all cases, we pray that a solution may be found to end the bloodshed, establish a lasting ceasefire and allow negotiations between the opposing sides. We pray that sustainable solutions may soon be found to all of Africa?s conflict situations and that all our fellow Africans may be free from the sufferings endured by so many for so long. The Kingdom of Swaziland applauds the remarkable progress made towards a lasting settlement in Northern Ireland. We know there is still a long way to go, but, given the centuries-long history of the Troubles, the achievement has been all the more impressive. We also commend those who have contributed to the process, and we salute especially the people of Northern Ireland, who chose to take their destiny in their own hands and voted for peace. This provides an excellent example of what is possible when there is true commitment to peace from all sides in a dispute. Our continent?s fresh crises have shown once more that Africa needs to be better prepared to head off potential conflicts through timely dialogue and negotiation, and to have available a pool of peacekeepers to act where necessary. The Kingdom of Swaziland welcomes the Secretary- General?s report to the Security Council regarding the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa. 11 In this regard, we support the concept of an integrated approach to conflict resolution on our continent as a way of enhancing closer cooperation between Africa and the rest of the world and making the best use of the resources at our disposal. The Kingdom of Swaziland is already engaged in efforts to become more involved in conflict resolution. To this end, we have welcomed the support of the United Kingdom and of the United States of America towards the preparation of our defence force for participation in peacekeeping operations in Africa and around the world. Of particular concern has been the evidence in the past year of the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and their use as instruments of aggression and intimidation. We in the Kingdom of Swaziland reaffirm the view of the Non- Aligned Movement that there can be no moral justification for the ownership, manufacture or use of such weapons. We join the majority of States Members of the United Nations in calling for real commitment by all countries to global disarmament and to the creation of a world that will be free and safe for future generations. In this respect, we urge all nations that have not done so to become parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). It may be said that the crises we have mentioned so far have been the result of man?s worst qualities and therefore unnecessary and avoidable. The same is not true of the many natural disasters that have struck hard at nations across the globe, irrespective of development status. The “El Niño” phenomenon has resulted in a series of natural disasters, the latest example being widespread flooding throughout the Americas, Asia, Africa and parts of Europe. Meanwhile, ironically, we in southern Africa must wait once more to see if we will receive sufficient rain for our crops this year. The establishment by the United Nations of the Office of Humanitarian Affairs could not have come at a more opportune time, and the Kingdom of Swaziland gives its full support for its operations. We hope that its role will include assistance to Member States to develop emergency relief mechanisms so that we may all be better prepared to cope with disasters of all kinds in the future. The Secretary-General recently gave warning of the deteriorating global economic situation and the widening gap between rich and poor nations. The crisis in Asia has had a devastating effect on the people of that region, and now all the indications are that the economies of the rest of the world will also be adversely affected. The two certainties are that the worst is yet to come, and that it will be the developing world that will be hardest hit. In this interdependent world of ours, the Kingdom of Swaziland recognizes the importance of the concept of partnership between nations. We agree that no nation can afford to remain isolated and that there is an obligation — and an economic necessity — for the more developed countries to support and assist those of us in the developing world. We believe that the underlying principle of any partnership should be one of mutual respect and understanding of each partner?s views, beliefs and position. We look forward to working with our partners in areas that our people have chosen as their development priorities, in an atmosphere of trust and openness, and free from the imposition of conditions that can impact negatively on our capacity to improve. The process of globalization is now well advanced. The Kingdom of Swaziland believes that a good deal more time and preparation are needed before we in the developing world are ready to cope with the additional responsibilities that globalization will bring. The United Nations provides the ideal forum for discussion of these matters; let us make full use of our Organization, in an atmosphere of true respect between partners, so that the positions of all may be understood and appreciated. As we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Kingdom of Swaziland appreciates the efforts of the United Nations to integrate human rights issues into all its policies and programmes. The Kingdom of Swaziland has taken and continues to take seriously its obligations to its people on human rights issues. Furthermore, we support all initiatives aimed at improving the status of women, youth and children. They have a vital role to play in the development of a nation in all aspects of life. The ongoing constitutional review is, inter alia, promoting the debate on human rights issues. It is unfortunate to note that, even as we celebrate 50 years of existence of the Universal Declaration of Human 12 Rights, there is one nation of 21.8 million people that we believe is denied the right of membership of the United Nations. I am referring to the question of the Republic of China on Taiwan. The Kingdom of Swaziland continues to raise this issue because of our conviction that the United Nations Charter provides for the representation of all nations of the world. Furthermore, the Republic of China on Taiwan has shown very clearly that it is a nation with the willingness and capacity to play a prominent and responsible role in global development affairs, and yet it remains excluded from the activities of the one truly global development organization. The principle of universality, as contained in our founding Charter, provides that all citizens of the world have the right to be heard in these chambers, and yet it is a fact that as I speak the people of the Republic of China on Taiwan are not represented here and therefore cannot contribute their resources and expertise for the benefit of the international community through the medium of the United Nations. The Republic of China on Taiwan has shown itself to be a peace-loving nation, with a high level of political, economic and social development. It has an excellent record of supporting development activities throughout the world. The Kingdom of Swaziland believes that the time has now come to restore its rightful membership of the United Nations to the Republic of China on Taiwan. We join the rest of our fellow members in proposing a review of this issue, with full regard for the change in circumstances since the decision was taken in 1971 which led to the expulsion of the Republic of China on Taiwan from our Organization. The problem of drug abuse and trafficking is a relatively new phenomenon among the people of Swaziland, but it is fast becoming a major threat to the development of our country, particularly among our youth, who seem to be the easiest target. The Kingdom of Swaziland welcomed the special session of the General Assembly on drugs, held in June this year, as a timely and necessary initiative. We therefore have high expectations of the recommendations that emerged from the special session, and we commit ourselves fully to their implementation. We recognize, though, that the drug trade is cross-border and international in nature, and we are working closely with our neighbours and regional partners to share ideas and resources in a combined effort to prevent the spread of the drug trade. The Kingdom of Swaziland condemns international terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We believe there can be no justification for the type of outrage that was witnessed recently in Nairobi, Kenya; Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania; and Cape Town, South Africa. The deaths of so many innocent people can surely bring no credit to — and win no support for — those who planned and committed the deeds. Our prayers are offered again for the victims and their families and to all whose lives have been affected by the evils of terrorism. We support all moves to bring the perpetrators to justice and to prevent the spread of the use of terrorism tactics. In this regard, the Kingdom of Swaziland welcomes the establishment of the International Criminal Court following the Rome Conference. We believe it to be well timed and justified, and we are of the view that the international nature of terrorism and drug-trafficking make it essential that they be included as crimes that will fall under the jurisdiction of the Court. We are confident that the General Assembly will give urgent priority to the establishment of the Preparatory Commission so that the Court itself will become operational in the shortest possible time. The United Nations remains the only global forum in which the world can have any hope of achieving the goals we all strive for. Peace and stability among all nations, promotion of sustainable development for all, and the hope of future prosperity and security for all our peoples: these are the wishes and expectations of those we represent here. Our peoples look to this Organization to create the right conditions for these things to be possible. We cannot let them down. I give my assurance that the Kingdom of Swaziland will work hard to support the Secretary- General and his staff in their efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the United Nations operations. We are deeply grateful for the assistance given by the United Nations in support of the initiatives we are undertaking in our country. Finally, on behalf of His Majesty the King, Her Majesty the Indlovukazi, the Queen Mother, the Government and the whole Swazi nation, I am proud to take this opportunity to reaffirm the Kingdom?s commitment to the ideals and aims of the Charter of the United Nations.