156. Two years ago the Kingdom of Lesotho took its place in this Assembly as a sovereign member of the international community. Since then the Prime Minister of Lesotho, the Right Honourable Chief Leabua Jonathan, has had the opportunity of outlining for the information of the Members of the United Nations the salient features of Lesotho’s geopolitical situation and the general principles which determine the foreign policy of his Government. In view of the close attention which the Prime Minister gave to the circumstances dictating both the domestic and the international policies of Lesotho, I shall endeavour here merely to underscore those issues which are of paramount importance.
157. In any elaboration of Lesotho’s foreign policy, the status of our relations with the Republic of South Africa must assume priority. Indeed, the fact that Lesotho is an enclave totally surrounded by the Republic of South Africa leaves us no other choice but to come to terms politically and economically with that fact before we can realistically embark on any programme. Our forthright acknowledgement of this situation in no way makes us a party to the system of apartheid legally enshrined in the Republic. Moreover, there is no African State whose people are more intimately affected by its practice than ours. With as much as one fifth of our population working in South Africa at any one time, it means that the Republic and its policies have touched the lives of virtually all our people. Moreover, the situation of hundreds of thousands of black South Africans bound to us by ties of blood and language makes a particular claim upon our sympathies.
158. The observance of the International Year for Human Rights has, among other things, drawn our attention to the fact that discrimination is still a universal problem. We feel constrained to note that there are few States in the world without racial, linguistic or religious intolerance. That these inequities have no formal legal sanction is small comfort to those bearing the weight of oppression. Our belief is that, if civilization has any meaning, surely its primary element must be a quality of toleration which accepts the plural character of society. We consider that, whether it be minority groups in any particular State or States, in their relations with others, they must continuously respond to the challenge of creating a new society based on equality. We can see no solution in the retreat into the presumed safety of compartmentalized existence or isolation. In any event, the realities of our situation rule out any consideration of Lesotho’s being used as a staging ground against any of its neighbours.
159. It is with the greatest sense of joy that we welcome into the ranks of the international community the newly independent Kingdom of Swaziland. Together with Botswana and Lesotho, Swaziland shares a common legacy of colonial experience in the complex geopolitical matrix of southern Africa. Faced with many of the same problems of daily existence, we are all equally determined to preserve and advance our hard-won independence, and we hope that those nations which have condemned racialism will see in our present needs adequate reason to demonstrate their public profession of support for non-racial societies. Many States that have spoken in the international forum on the problems of southern Africa might well consider whether there is any way in which they can play a positive role in the area granting meaningful assistance to the former High Commission Territories. We who live in this part of the world are convinced that it is not enough to condemn and to criticize what has been done wrongly, but that we should, with the assistance of all well-meaning friends in the world community, embark on positive action to ensure that even in southern Africa truly non-racial societies can exist. It would be a tragedy if our efforts in that direction were frustrated by the ill-informed condemnation which we sometimes have to face; and we must reiterate our belief that a sympathetic attitude and material assistance would be more positive gestures of goodwill for the entire area.
160. The problems of South West Africa, Rhodesia and the Portuguese-administered Territories of Mozambique and Angola continue to becloud the prospects for the future peaceful development of southern Africa.
161. On the question of South West Africa, we start from the premise that the well-being of the majority of the people of South West Africa is of primary concern. The Government of Lesotho ardently hopes that the Republic of South Africa, far from feeling threatened by an orderly transfer of power to a unified South West Africa, will. regard such a development as the surest safeguard of continued peace and stability in the southern region of Africa.
162. In accordance with the proposal of the United Kingdom Government, which continues to bear the ultimate responsibility for restoring a legal government in Rhodesia, the Lesotho Government endorses the United Nations application of mandatory sanctions. We must confess, however, that any escalation of sanctions to South Africa would pose serious economic problems for my country. We note with regret that the violence which we previously deplored has resulted in South Africa’s presence in Rhodesia. It is our conviction that the deteriorating Situation in Rhodesia results in large measure from the continued detention of African leaders. It has, therefore, become imperative that the release of these leaders be given priority, as it is clear that no final solution can be reached without their participation.
163. The Government of Lesotho urges Portugal to discard at once the myths surrounding its presence in Africa. Portuguese insistence that Mozambique and Angola are merely overseas provinces obviously cannot stand the test of any objective enquiry. We urge Portugal to follow the commendable example of Spain, its sister Iberian State, and negotiate an orderly transfer of power to the indigenous populations. Given the nature of existing patterns of trade and cultural involvement, it is difficult to believe that independent governments in these Territories would not, if there were even a modicum of Portuguese co-operation, wish to promote fruitful relations with the metropole, and there must be many Mozambiquans and Angolans who would work towards a new, meaningful relationship with Portugal based on their independence and sovereignty.
164. The Government and people of Lesotho share the horror of all nations, and all Africans in particular, at the sufferings of the people of Nigeria. My Government associates itself with the efforts being made to restore peace in that troubled area.
165. It is with equal shock that we view the loss of life and tragic sufferings of the Viet-Namese people, and my Government hopes that the current efforts to achieve peace in Viet-Nam will succeed in restoring peace and ending the bloodshed which has for such a long time tortured the conscience of the world.
166. The Middle East continues to attract our attention as another threat to international stability. We note with alarm an almost automatic commitment of the two great Powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, to opposing sides in the conflict. In each instance, the projection of that external power or support encourages both Israel and the contesting Arab States in hardened positions which, in fact, are inconsistent with the political
realities of the region. That Israel is a political fact cannot be contested. That it has the right to transform an occupation based on force into a legal annexation must be denied. The continuation of fighting along the cease-fire line will not stop until the occupation is ended; nor is the situation helped by the flow of arms into the area. At the same time it is clear that Israel must have assurance that it can pursue an orderly and peaceful existence without fear of hostile attack.
167. We do not believe, however, that there is only one avenue leading to such an assurance, but inasmuch as it was through a resolution of this Assembly that Palestine was originally partitioned, surely it is possible for a modus vivendi to be arranged through the good offices of the United Nations. We must not forget that the problem of the displaced Arab refugees continues to cry for a solution. The Lesotho Government hopes that Israel and its Arab neighbours will accord serious attention to the interest of those hapless people.
168. My Government welcomes the healthy relationship that exists between the United Nations Organization and the Organization of African Unity. During the past five years, the two Organizations have dealt with numerous matters of common concern. Though successes by both Organizations have been modest, it is our firm belief that these Organizations, which are complementary, have significant roles to perform in promoting peace and assuring security. Another healthy development which has arisen from the Organization of African Unity is the growing receptivity to regional groupings in terms of common problems and interests. The Maghreb, west Africa, east Africa, central Africa and southern Africa have thus evolved as natural economic groupings. We believe that the Organization of African Unity like all other international organizations will fulfil its role only if its Charter is given rigorous respect by all its members.
169. Recent events in Czechoslovakia are sad evidence that moral imperatives and international sentiment are still all too easily flouted by those exercising power. As a small nation we are particularly concerned by this ruthless employment of force in the imposition of a big Power’s will on a small State. If such an approach were allowed to pass unchallenged, there would be no future for small nations. We have always maintained that small nations, like the big nations, have a right to determine their own course in peace and freedom. Surely the fate of Czechoslovakia demonstrates that imperialism has not been the exclusive characteristic of the Western Powers. Ironically, at a time when Great Britain was voluntarily stripping itself of its last African possession and Spain was negotiating for the independence of Equatorial Guinea, the Soviet Union chose to embark upon a blatant imperialistic enterprise without regard to international condemnation. We urge the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to withdraw immediately from Czechoslovakia and permit the Czech people to determine their own course. In any case, we seriously doubt that the power so ruthlessly exercised in Czechoslovakia will easily establish its credibility as a foe of imperialism and neo-colonialism.
170. Upon attaining independence, Lesotho was described by The Cristian Science Monitor as “the leading contender for the title ‘least likely to succeed’". We in Lesotho do not concede to this description. If we are at the bottom of the ladder of economic growth, there is only one way for us to go — up. Since attaining independence the entire nation, with a massive show of courage and goodwill, has surged forward to tackle its economic problems with a firm determination to succeed. The yardstick by which to measure our rate of progress should be not the height we have attained but, rather, the depths from which we have come.
171. We in Lesotho have become increasingly aware that political independence without the concomitant economic and social reforms is meaningless. As we approach the end of the 1960s we have Become all the more conscious that the United Nations Development Decade has been the decade of discouragement and disappointment. The closing days of the 1960s are, indeed, characterized by political instability, internal strife and economic stagnation in many developing countries. Even countries richly endowed with natural resources woefully lack trained manpower and technical skills to develop and apply them for their speedy development. Not only capital assistance is required. Assistance is necessary in manpower training and in the application of the large pool of scientific and technological knowledge to accelerate the pace of economic and social development.
172. My Government’s consideration of the activities of the United Nations would not be complete without reference to the extremely important work at present being undertaken by the United Nations Development Programme in the field of economic and social development among the developing nations of the world. As has been the case with other developing countries, the Government of Lesotho hopes to benefit as soon as possible from the resources of the United Nations Development Programme in the field of assistance in undertaking a feasibility study concerned with our proposal to build two dams at Oxbow and Pelaneng. The Oxbow Water Scheme not only would increase greatly the water resources of Lesotho but in addition would have a revolutionary impact on Lesotho’s economy through the sale of water to the Republic of South Africa. In recognition of the important work that has been done and can continue to be performed in developing countries by the United Nations Development Programme, my Government has decided, within the scope of its limited resources, to increase its contribution to the United Nations Development Programme beginning this year. We sincerely hope that other countries, both small and big, can do likewise.
173. My Government is appreciative of the noble efforts of the Secretary-General in trying to bring about peace in the troubled parts of the world. We sincerely hope that the big Powers will use their might in assisting him and co-operating with him to achieve this noble objective and not frustrate his efforts. In this way and only in this way can peace and stability be assured to all nations.