1. My delegation wishes to take this opportunity to congratulate the President on his appointment to this high office during the twenty-third session of the General Assembly.
2. It would be redundant to recite the compliments he has rightly received with regard to his distinguished legal and political career. Suffice it to say that we concur with them and hope that, under his guidance, this present session will move towards resolving some of those international problems which have been hardened by the perennial character they have already acquired.
3. My delegation wishes also to extend its warmest congratulations to the distinguished President of the last session, His Excellency Mr. Corneliu Manescu, for the able and impartial manner in which he conducted the business of the twenty-second session of the General Assembly, which was, to say the least, characterized by a variety of extremely grave and contentious issues.
4. May I address myself to the Secretary-General in no less complimentary terms for the way in which he has continued to discharge his onerous task. It has not been easy for him to decide on courses of action acceptable to all the delegations of this body, but his sincerity, integrity and wise judgement have confirmed the respect of my delegation for him.
5. Lastly, I wish to congratulate Swaziland on its attainment df independence and on becoming a Member of the United Nations. It is a special joy to Botswana that Swaziland has come into this community of nations and we look forward to its contribution to the varied problems which confront this Organization.
6. Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland have had a long history of association with common problems and aspirations under British protection. These three States occupy a unique position, both geographically and politically, in southern Africa and, by virtue of this fact, they have a claim to practical and intimate experience of the complex race relations and the resultant attitudes peculiar to that part of the world, which is one of the points of focus of international attention. The fact of geographical placement is absolute and we do not regret it, but the international community will do well to appreciate the problems which affect each of us, problems which derive from our situation at the southern tip of Africa.
7. Continual reassessment of the United Nations in terms of the principles and aims embodied in the Charter is vital to its continued existence, because from time to time the fulfilment of its aims is curtailed and even violated in various places for various reasons. The constant reiteration of the principles of justice, human rights, the dignity of man and respect for the integrity of autonomous States prods the conscience of the world. In this process of reassessment, my delegation wishes the undisputed place of the smaller nations to be recognized. It is they who can still keep the conscience of the world community alive.
8. Nowadays the greater Powers are, as they say, obliged to negotiate from positions of strength; hence the emphasis on “might”. Perhaps it is pertinent to sound a word of warning that “power corrupteth” and especially when political action is not necessarily guided by moral principles. There is a growing sense of doubt when problems of right and wrong remain unresolved.
9. My country is one of the smaller States whose contribution to the continued existence of this body is to Keep this conscience of the world community alive. For this reason, we believe in peaceful negotiation as envisaged in the United Nations Charter, and my Government will at all times support every effort that seeks to resolve disputes through peaceful negotiation and constructive dialogue. With this attitude, we do not shy away from contentious problems and issues, because we maintain that as long as there is a willingness to talk, peaceful solutions can be reached in some of the most difficult circumstances. It is therefore alarming to note that important moral issues have been omitted from the agenda; in fact, it fills us with apprehension. We ask ourselves: Does not the United Nations provide the opportunity for self-searching and recrimination because in any case we have an excess of condemnations and counter-condemnations which are not essentially synthetic processes? Does not the exclusion of Czechoslovakia and Viet-Nam from the agenda substantiate the apprehension of my delegation? Could it be possible that close scrutiny of the motives involved would reveal something that was undesirable and vacillation over moral issues?
10. The cosmopolitan community here present seeks through various ways to find and maintain unity in a common humanitarian conscience to which all Members subscribe. This conscience transcends physical and political boundaries as well as geographical or political pockets in which there is no exercise or limited exercise of the inalienable rights of the individual to freedom and self-determination. Because of that, some countries in southern Africa are the focus of world attention, for reasons well known to this body.
11. The views of my Government regarding the South African policy of apartheid are well known, as they have been clearly enunciated on various occasions in the past when it has been necessary to do so. But are there no other areas, in the rest of the world, which need to come under scrutiny for a similar contagion? In some areas the denial of the full expression of the individual’s rights is manifested in more subtle ways and is not openly publicized. However, the sin of commission remains a sin whether publicly known or not; whether statutory or not.
12. My delegation notes with concern a tendency to churn out recommendations and resolutions the implementation of which is doubtful. The futility of such decisions cannot be over-emphasized for they rather produce the opposite effect to the one intended. This sterility of resolutions and the expense in time and energy expended in debate proposing and adopting these resolutions undermine the respectability and authority not only of particular committees, but also of the whole decision-making machinery of this Organization. South West Africa (Namibia) is a case in point. My Government wishes to repeat its contention that the solution of the South West African (Namibian) issue must essentially be undertaken by a tripartite body representative of the United Nations, the Government of the Republic of South Africa, as the de facto administering authority, together with the people of South West Africa as a whole.
13. My delegation further asserts that it is futile to engineer impracticable recommendations which are provocative of the type of resistance South Africa has shown, and in order to resolve the stalemate that now exists would urge that the Secretary-General engage actively in a dialogue with the South African Government regarding the ultimate self-determination of the peoples of South West Africa, for it is our understanding that South Africa does not dispute the international status of South West Africa, and that its administration of that territory is on an interim basis. Furthermore, it is urged that, whilst the self-determination of South West Africa is under review, the South African Government should refrain from implementing its policy regarding the separate development of its inhabitants, as the international community on whose behalf the South African Government is administering the Territory has already made its pronouncements against the policy of apartheid.
14. Regarding Southern Rhodesia, my Government condemns the unilateral declaration of independence, as it has always done in the past. In accordance with my Government’s policy, we do not desire to invoke the use of military force because we maintain that the concerted use of the intensified mandatory economic sanctions in the spirit intended would still bring down the Smith régime. The hopes of my delegation have been raised by the resumption of talks between the United Kingdom Prime Minister and Ian Smith — although here I may be a little out of date — and we hope that there will be no abdication of the well-known six principles; we hope that, even if the mandatory sanctions did not succeed, the United Kingdom will still hold itself responsible for the overthrow of the rebel régime in Southern Rhodesia and the establishment of conditions for progress towards majority rule and self-determination.
15. We regret to observe that elements of racial segregation are already creeping into Southern Rhodesian legislation; if not halted, this may result in the free world witnessing the further complication of racial politics in Southern Africa.
16. My country has had long economic ties with Southern Rhodesia. The present situation affects our development programme adversely. Similarly, we have had to contend with a number of embarrassing situations stemming from the political turmoil in Southern Rhodesia. We are therefore anxious for the speedy solution of that impasse.
17. One outcome of the political instability in southern Africa is the continuing problem of refugees, and Botswana has had to act as the country of first asylum for refugees from States neighbouring it. At the twenty-second session of the General Assembly [1579th meeting], I made a statement on the refugees with a view to drawing the attention of the world community to the problems which, of necessity, derive from our receiving the refugees — those who are in transit and those who through circumstances beyond their control are compelled to stay. We are currently giving refuge to an alarming influx of Angolans who have fled from Portuguese oppression. Needless to say, our social amenities are being strained to the limit and we cannot adequately cope with the demands which such numbers impose. However, my Government is at present engaged in contingency planning aimed at the resettlement of these refugees.
18. Our refugee policy has continued to be humanitarian, and as supporters of the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees, we have passed legislation which basically accords with the spirit and import of the Convention. Therefore, I wish to refute very strongly the false allegations that my Government collaborates with the South African Government or Southern Rhodesia by deporting genuine refugees to those countries. There is not one such case on record. With the consent of my Government, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has sent a chargé de mission to investigate the welfare and assist in the placement of refugees.
19. My Government regrets the human suffering and loss of life that has come with the Nigerian civil war. Speculation has naturally centred around the right of Biafra to self-determination, and its extermination by the forces of Federal Nigeria. We feel that the attainment of independence is only the prerequisite for any State’s realizing itself through nationhood and solidarity. Whilst my Government would not support tribal secessionist movements, it deplores the extermination of a people. Now that the civil war
is virtually over, it is hoped that the Federal Government will earnestly engage in the task of reconstruction and rehabilitation of the war-torn areas of Nigeria, and endeavour to bring about measures that will ensure reconciliation and lasting peace in a unified Nigeria.
20. There has been no material change in my Government’s stand with respect to the Middle East situation. We note with concern, however, that tension still exists and attitudes have hardened largely due to the complete absence of dialogue between the belligerent parties. We regret that the Secretary-General’s attempts at negotiation through Ambassador Gunnar Jarring have been to no avail. We urge that every facility be given to him in his
peace-keeping mission.
21. An outstanding and rewarding task of the United Nations has been to secure self-determination and independence for the people under foreign rule. The USSR has been most vocal in denunciation of imperialist Powers and has decried any measures to impede the progress of decolonization. These very champions of the cause of the underdog not so long ago horrified the whole world by their armed occupation of Czechoslovakia, an act which is a flagrant breach of the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign State and a glaring example of the worst type of imperialism. It is not only heinous in this instance, but also a travesty of faith vis-a-vis those who have signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons [see resolution 2373(XXII)]. The USSR forces have remained in Czechoslovakia in defiance of world opinion, and we join in the call on the USSR to withdraw its forces from Czechoslovakian soil.
22. Regarding the Viet-Nam war, the position of my Government remains unchanged, and it is encouraging to know that attempts are being made to find a peaceful settlement in the Paris talks.
23. As we are all aware, this year has been declared the International Year for Human Rights and it is hoped that significant and commemorative activities have been undertaken or will be undertaken to make this year a historical landmark in the affairs of man, and that special efforts will be made, not only to alleviate human suffering, but also to eradicate it wherever it exists.
24. As regards economic and social conditions, my delegation recalls that, often in his statements to the nations of the world, the Secretary-General, U Thant, has emphasized the importance of the need to bridge the widening gap between the rich and the poor nations, and that the attainment of this objective would contribute to the establishment of peace and security in the world. My delegation holds the view that, whilst it is essential for the developing nations to intensify their own efforts in the execution of their development programmes, it would assist considerably if the developed nations would more readily make available aid which is so vital for the implementation of such development programmes. On the contrary, it is disquieting to note that, whilst the gap between the rich and the poor nations continues to widen, the sources of aid become drier and drier.
25. Asa developing country, our basic needs are needs of an infrastructural nature which are not shared by our immediate neighbours, namely, South Africa and Southern Rhodesia. Whereas Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland would be regarded as belonging to a common geographic region with generally similar needs, for purposes of aid which they would share under a regional basis, this concept does not operate in their favour because of the wide distances which separate them from each other.
26. We welcome the news that co-operative efforts among the developing countries during the past year have brought about close regional ties, especially in Africa where the previous trend has tended to be one of disintegration. We urge that effective measures be taken to intensify concerted action by the United Nations through its specialized agencies concerned with the training of national personnel for the purpose of economic and social development.
27. We would further urge that effective mobilization, channelling and utilization of available human resources be undertaken at national level. In this regard, my Government particularly welcomes and supports the Economic and Social Council’s recommendation that the United Nations Development Programme should continue to support education and training projects, stress manpower requirements for development projects and consider pre-investment training of the personnel required.
28. In Botswana, the World Food Programme has been increasingly associated with community development involving a variety of projects. Appraisal of these projects indicates that food aid under the programme has been a welcome supplement. The programme has encouraged collective efforts of the people to meet the needs of their own communities.
29. In conclusion, there continue to be persistent areas of tension and conflict which call for settlement, with the best intentions of Member States, in accordance with the spirit of the Charter. In the economic and social sphere, observable progress is made through the endeavours of the organs and agencies of this Organization to alleviate and relieve human suffering and to improve standards of living. Much too often, the prospect for peaceful human existence is bleak, but hope remains, held out by the ideals expressed in the Charter which recognizes the sovereign equality of autonomous States, also affording the continual expression of the rights and dignity of man.