It is a pleasure for me to address
the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session.
We meet following the historic review summit on
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the High-
level Plenary Meeting of the Assembly, which gave us
the opportunity to review progress and share
experiences and ideas on how best to achieve our set
goals and objectives for 2015. As we return to our
respective countries we go with renewed commitment
to keep working harder to meet the MDGs.
I would like at the outset to extend our thanks and
appreciation to the Secretary-General and the United
Nations agencies for their presence around the world.
We commend the active participation of the United
Nations in various missions, such as efforts to restore
peace in conflict areas, and its role in disaster relief
and in various exercises to fight hunger and poverty.
We pledge ourselves to continue to support the
United Nations in its primary role of ensuring that all
the nations of the world live peacefully with each other
while supporting nation-building through development
projects.
The theme for this sixty-fifth session,
“Reaffirming the central role of the United Nations in
global governance”, came at a most opportune time in
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the life of the United Nations, since we have been
calling for all our voices to be heard. I must hasten to
state that all the wars and conflicts that we see around
the world can only be resolved through peaceful
dialogue and negotiations. The United Nations is the
organization best positioned for this task. There is no
place for unilateralism.
It is on this basis that the Kingdom of eSwatini
reaffirms our call for the finalization of the United
Nations reforms, with particular reference to the
Security Council. It should be appreciated that the
world today faces a new set of challenges, different
from those that it faced when our Organization was
founded in 1945; thus the urgent need for the United
Nations to remain dynamic and transform itself to meet
today’s challenges.
One of the major organs that require immediate
reform is the Security Council, which has seen a
number of regions expressing a desire to gain
membership, to ensure wider representation. The
Kingdom of eSwatini stands by the African position, as
clearly stated in the Ezulwini Consensus, that Africa
should have two permanent and five non-permanent
seats. We hope that during this session this matter will
be finalized.
We in the African continent are committed to
resolving all conflicts through peaceful dialogue. The
coordination and cooperation between the African
Union and its various regional blocs is beginning to
pay handsome dividends. We now approach issues as a
collective for better results. We are happy that the
United Nations continues to work and cooperate with
us in effecting our programmes for peacebuilding and
peacekeeping.
The General Assembly will know that the African
Union declared 2010 to be our Year of Peace and
Security. We have made it clear that all perpetrators of
coups and civil wars and all forms of conflict should be
dealt with squarely and decisively. Indeed, we are
committed to the promotion of lasting peace, because it
is a prerequisite for achieving sustainable development.
We appreciate the support of the United Nations in our
resolve to ensure that peace prevails in the continent
and, indeed, the whole world.
I am happy to say that I personally had the
honour of lighting and hoisting the African flame of
peace twice this year. The Swazi nation prides itself on
this, because we are a peaceful nation, which is telling
the world that peace is the best formula for
development.
Another issue that touches upon global
governance is that of the Kingdom of Morocco. It is
our considered view that the United Nations, working
with relevant regional organizations, should work on
the issue and find a lasting solution.
We note with concern the continued conflicts in
Madagascar, Somalia, Darfur, the Middle East and
Afghanistan, to mention just a few. We call for the
restoration of peace in all those areas, as it is always
disturbing to see people undergo so much suffering due
to conflicts.
While Afghanistan is still undergoing its process
of reconciliation and the reconstruction of its
institutions, it is depressing to note that there are at
times pockets that seem to disturb the peace process in
that country. We must continue to work hard to find
lasting solutions, because such instability affects peace
and prosperity, not only in Afghanistan, but also in
neighbouring States and the region.
The Kingdom of eSwatini draws hope from the
promising developments in Iraq, as that country
continues on the road to peace through restoration of
its important institutions for self-determination.
Furthermore, we are also following with keen
interest efforts to ensure peace between Israel and
Palestine. We are pleased to note the concerted
mediation efforts led by the United States of America
in bringing the parties together in pursuit of peace in
the Middle East. We support this process, and remain
optimistic that it will reach its desired conclusion, so
that the Israelis and Palestinians can live together in
harmony. In order to concentrate all their efforts
towards development and peaceful coexistence, we call
upon them to reach a compromise and place the best
interests of peace and security above everything else.
Developments in cross-straits relations between
the Republic of China on Taiwan and the People’s
Republic of China continue to be a source of
inspiration to us all. We note with appreciation that the
Republic of China on Taiwan and the People’s
Republic of China have made impressive strides to
promote mutual understanding leading to more trade
and interaction between them. I am happy to say that
Taiwan highly appreciates being allowed to participate
as an observer in the World Health Organization.
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Hopefully, this will also lead to Taiwan’s participating
in a similar manner in all other United Nations
agencies. Of particular interest is the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Our world today continues to be concerned about
nuclear proliferation and the threat that weapons of
mass destruction pose to human existence, world
peace, economic development and the environment.
The spread of nuclear weapons makes a mockery of
our efforts for world peace and protection of the
environment.
It is a disheartening fact that currently efforts to
ensure accountability and compliance with United
Nations resolutions are hindered by an apparent lack of
impartiality in the processes meant to completely rid
the world of deadly nuclear weapons. I call upon the
United Nations to strengthen the capacity of the
International Atomic Energy Agency to enable the
inspectors to do their work more effectively, with the
involvement of all the countries with nuclear
capability.
The United Nations must never compromise the
implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons; it must ensure that all countries,
without exception, comply. Countries must be made to
comply and be accountable within clear time frames.
It is my suggestion that we eliminate all weapons
of mass destruction, because they present an uncertain
future. Indeed, we need a fresh start so that we may
regain the moral high ground in deterring whoever may
have ambitions for nuclear capability in the future. For
example, if we compel everyone to dismantle their
nuclear capacity we will be able to rein in other
countries which may still be developing their arsenal,
without being accused of unfairness or bias.
A world free of nuclear and other weapons of
mass destruction will allow us to concentrate on issues
of sustainable development.
As a developing nation, the Kingdom of eSwatini
is following with keen interest the issues surrounding
the effects of climate change. As an agriculture-based
economy, the Kingdom is also a victim of
environmental degradation. We therefore look forward
to the climate change Conference to be held in Mexico
later this year. I trust that the ongoing negotiations will
result in agreements acceptable to all parties. What is
of paramount importance is for the developed world to
honour pledges to assist developing countries in their
mitigation and adaptation efforts.
It is a known fact that access to international
markets for our products is one of the ways to grow our
economies in our quest to eradicate poverty. We are
encouraged that the developed nations have opened
their markets for some products from developing
countries. We look forward with optimism to an
amicable conclusion of the Doha Round of talks, an
outcome essential to boost global trade and economic
recovery for the developing world.
As part of our development and poverty
alleviation strategy, the Kingdom is ready to explore
and exploit existing and emerging markets. Our focus
is on limiting exportation of raw material by
emphasizing the production of finished goods.
The Kingdom continues to promote equality in all
sectors of our development spheres. We therefore
welcome the recent establishment of the new United
Nations entity for gender equality: UN Women.
Women the world over continue to play key roles in
contributing to the socio-economic and political
development of our nations.
We are meeting as a family of nations that seeks
to promote peace and coexistence among all nations of
the world and bring hope for the future. Our people
look to us, as leaders, to take the lead in promoting
peace, as enshrined in the Charter.
We must find lasting solutions to all the
challenges. They include poverty, unemployment,
disease and global warming, but the major challenge is
to make peace within and among all nations happen.
By finding solutions, we shall indeed guarantee a clear
road towards the achievement of sustainable
development by all the nations of the world. We shall
achieve that noble goal if we all reaffirm and adhere to
the central role of the United Nations in global
governance.