The multiplicity of the problems with which the United Nations has to
contend is clearly reflective of its universality. Yet in the 37
years of its existence the Organization has shed light unto many.
Within this forum, great hopes have been realized, misery and despair
have been averted and a new generation of man has been moulded a
generation that recognizes the value of diplomatic intercourse over
the perils and degradation of warfare. It would not be wrong,
therefore, to suggest that the current worsening international
climate, characterized by grave economic imbalances and world wide
political turmoil, presents but simple trials which this world body
can readily contain. I trust that our unity of purpose, bold
determination and serene statesmanship will help us through the heavy
agenda ahead of us. In congratulating the President on his election
to preside at this session, I should like also to assure him and the
other officers of the Assembly of my delegation's firm support and co
operation. We are convinced that, as a distinguished statesman of the
Hungarian People's Republic, he will be able to steer our
deliberations to a successful conclusion. Permit me to congratulate
the President of the thirty sixth session, Mr. Kittani, who
discharged his obligations honourably. Since this is the first
regular session of the General Assembly at which we have the benefit
of the services of the new Secretary General, I should like to
congratulate Mr. Perez de Cuellar on his elevation to the high office
of guardian of international law and order and mentor to the world's
leaders. To him we have entrusted for the next five years the future
of the United stations. We are convinced that, as the son of a third
world country, he is better able than anybody else to articulate the
concerns and aspirations of the developing world. It is also fitting
at this stage warmly to thank his predecessor, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, who
steered the Organization through many a difficult time over the past
10 years. The success of the United Nations during those 10 years is
clearly demonstrated in the; increase in the membership of the
Organization, the marked decline in the suffering of the South East
Asian refugees and the high priority accorded by the United Nations
to various international problems. Regrettably, there have been
setbacks in the operation of the Organization, as evidenced in the
case of Namibia. One of the primary goals of the founding fathers of
the Organization is nearing achievement. I refer to the
decolonization agenda. While many countries have gained independence
in the years since the founding of the United Nations, we are still
waiting for Namibia to accede to independence. Namibia is a test case
which should give the United Nations the image of an international
arbiter. If it does not, the United Nations continues to be
characterized by cynics everywhere as a connotation of uselessness
and inaction. When the glorious day of independence finally arrived
in Namibia, a sad chapter in the struggle of a people to rid itself
of foreign domination will be closed. TM world has witnessed the
worst defiance of international opinion as South Africa has employed
one subterfuge after another to delay the attainment of independence
by the people of Namibia. We are heartened by the fact that progress
has been made on this issue in recent months, but we find it highly
disturbing that the withdrawal of South African troops from Namibia
is being linked with the withdrawal of Cuban troops from the People's
Republic of Angola. No one can question the right of any sovereign
State to determine its internal affairs, including its sovereign
right to seek technical and military assistance from any friendly
country. The presence of Cuban personnel in Angola is an extraneous
issue which should not delay Namibia's independence. In any case, it
has always been our stand that South Africa will delay the
independence of Namibia until such time as it may get a Government
amenable to dictates. One of the ploys it is using to delay Namibia's
independence is setting conditions such as the present one. That
condition is unnecessary and uncalled for, and it negates the
sovereignty of Angola.
The numerous obstacles which have been placed in the way of a
peaceful settlement of the Namibian issue have delayed the solution
of this problem. I have to express in the Assembly the genuine fear
of my Government that if this issue is made so drag on indefinitely,
it may bring about the very thing that everybody has been trying to
avoid for the last five years turning southern Africa into a constant
hotbed of tension and a new arena of East West conflict. The
President of the thirty sixth session of the Assembly, Mr. Kittani,
presided over the second special session devoted to disarmament, in
June July this year. That second global attempt to give disarmament a
special place in this grim catalogue of the ills that afflict mankind
clearly reflects the threat of universal annihilation that is posed
by the unprecedented arms build up. That is why we have to express
openly our disappointment that the session failed to produce any
results. The world political situation remains tense; old rivalries
have reemerged; the prospects of peace and tranquility have been
diminished and the probability of war has been enhanced. In this
decade of the 1980s we are facing a critical nation in which man's
lust for peace is being replaced by a lust fbr war. The world order,
on both the political and the economic front, continues to manifest
signs of decline and impending collapse. This point is all the more
poignant at this time when we are witnessing a resurgence of big
Power rivalry and a dangerous tendency to assume that superior force
is the final arbiter in international relations. This dangerous trend
in the conduct of foreign policy must be arrested before it is too
late. Lesotho will continue to participate in all efforts aimed at
bringing about a global consensus on the vital issues of
international peace and security, disarmament and the new
international economic order, on the basis of the principles of the
Charter of the United Nations. Lesotho, as a member of the non
aligned movement, places a high premium on international respect for
the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of States. We
are therefore alarmed at the increasing readiness of States to use
force to safeguard their proclaimed interests or to assert
territorial claims, without any regard for the interests of other
States, especially the weak and defenseless ones. I cannot comment on
the current international political situation without touching on
recent events in Lebanon, especially the human tragedies that have
unfolded in that war torn land. We witnessed earlier the brutal siege
of west Beirut by Israeli forces. No sooner had the siege been lifted
than a succession of tragedies began to befall the people of Lebanon
and the Palestinian refugees. The world learned with shock and dismay
of the dastardly assassination of President elect Jashir Gemayel,
only to witness a few days later an even greater human tragedy and
spectacle the massacre of Palestinian civilians in the refugee camps
of Sabra and Shatila. Those unfortunate events have irrevocably
placed the Palestinian issue at the centre of Middle East politics
and have once and fbr all crystallized its central position in all
peace efforts. The question of Palestinian rights and Palestinian
self determination cannot be treated merely as a political issue, the
solution of which is subject to Israel's security requirements. It is
an issue which has brought untold suffering upon the Palestinian
people. They have suffered the degradation of displacement and the
squalor of refugee camps in foreign countries. Today they have
suffered a tragedy which invokes the deepest human emotions and
disturbs the conscience and moral values of mankind. The Palestinian
issue has come to symbolize, in our time, the ills and deficiencies
which plague international diplomacy. We have maintained all along
that the Palestinian issue is the crux of the Middle East problem. We
do not need further massacres of Palestinian refugees to be reminded
that the issue of Palestinian self determination is the crucial item
on the agenda of peace in the Middle East. It is about time Israel
learned that its security lies not in the dispersal of the
Palestinian people and in war but in peace. Lesotho does not condone
the breach of peace in the Middle East and southern Africa, nor does
it countenance with complicity the presence of foreign troops in
Kampuchea and Afghanistan. We are fully aware of the complex
political and military relationships in South East Asia and South
West Asia, and particularly the strategic interests of foreign Powers
in those vital areas. In our humble view, the issue of peace in those
areas does not depend solely on Viet Nam's willingness to withdraw
its troops from Kampuchea and on Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan;
it depends also on an overall recognition of the security
requirements of each and every State in those regions. Another focal
point of tension is the Korean peninsula. We renew our call for
resumption of dialogue, without pre conditions or external
interference, between the two parts of Korea so as to bring about a
peaceful reunification of that artificially divided land. I also wish
to repeat the well known position of Lesotho on the question of the
Falkland Islands. The Falk larders should be allowed to determine
their own future in accordance with their inalienable right to self
determination as stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations and
General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV). The history of the human race
is replete with international efforts to accord man his rightful
place within the community of free nations. Over the past three
decades in particular, the international community has witnessed a
succession of attempts to codify legal instruments aimed at the
promotion and protection of the basic rights of man. Ironically,
world wide reports of flagrant and persistent violations of the
sanctity of the human person continue to filter into the already
heavy agenda of the United Nations. This is clearly reflective of
man's reluctance to conform deeds to words. In this respect, we
applaud once more the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
adopted at the eighteenth session of the Assembly of Heads of State
and Government of the OAU. Significantly, the Charter draws attention
to the distinctive nature of African values and morals, and also
provides fbr the respective duties and responsibilities of
individuals and groups to their communities. Lesotho is at present
engaged in moves to incorporate the provisions of the African Charter
on Human and Peoples' Rights into our municipal law. History will be
made in Kingston, Jamaica, when the United Nations Convention on the
Law of the. Sea is opened for signature in December. This will be the
culmination of nine years of patient negotiations and a firm
determination to accord land locked States access to the sear whose
resources are the common heritage of all. It is to be hoped that once
it comes into force good will will prevail upon the international
community to make the Convention a success. My Government is
satisfied that UNDP has played a very important role in the transfer
of assistance from the developed to the developing countries, and its
importance in this role has all the more increased, as revealed by
its latest reports. We also take cognizance of the interest UNDP
shows in the least developed countries. We, therefore, wish to pledge
our confidence in the manner in which the Administrator is handling
the affairs of UNDP, and we give him the assurance of our co
operation. We are aware that his task during the current cycle will
be made more difficult by the fact that resource prospects for the
period are gloomy and far from promising. However, we have reason to
believe that the newly created Inter sessional Committee of the Whole
will soon come up with specific proposals for recovery in the short
term and for the longer term to secure predictability, continuity and
assurance in the funding of the Programme. The developing countries
recognize that they are, in the first instance, responsible for their
own economic and social development and that external aid should only
be supplementary. They accept that the economic challenges of the
future demand a complete elimination of unhealthy competition among
them. At the same time, they are aware of their individual
limitations. It is for these reasons that the idea of economic co
operation among developing countries is increasingly gaining ground.
We, therefore, entirely support the Lagos Plan of Action for the
Implementation of the Monrovia Strategy for the Economic Development
of Africa, whose future projections are geared towards economic
integration of Africa by the year 2000. We recognize that ECA is
engaged in consolidating sub regional plans and strategies towards
the noble goal of economic integration. We support the
recommendations of the Joint Inspection Unit on the reorganization of
ECA recognizing the role of multinational programming and operational
centres. We applaud the signature last year of the Preferential Trade
Area Agreement for east and southern Africa in Lusaka, Zambia. The
significance of the PTA is seen in particular in its scope, spanning
as it does some 7.2 million square kilometres with a population of
about 140 million people. For our part, having overcome domestic
limitations imposed on us by our geography y Lesotho ratified the PTA
Agreement in March 1982. We view the PTA as a right step towards the
basic restructuring of the economic base of our continent. As the
Executive Secretary of ECA, Mr. Adebayo Adedeji, said at the December
meeting to launch the PTA, we see our continent as a boat in which
there is less to eat, where poverty and degradation is the plight of
the average person, a boat which may sink before long unless all
hands are on deck and a will to survive and eventually thrive
manifests itself. This will to survive has been adequately
articulated within the PTA and the Southern African Development Co
ordination Conference. This will to survive is further lucidly
elaborated in the Lagos Plan of Action, which maps out Africa's
economic strategy to the year 2000. We are, however, far from
realizing the fact that the search for a universally acceptable
formula of self reliance through the process of global negotiations
has not yet been achieved. We are concerned about the continuing
hesitation by some developed countries and we urge that an agreement
be reached to launch global negotiations not later than January 1983.
With respect to the special economic assistance programme for
Lesotho, I am proud to announce that the generous response of the
international community to the request for special economic
assistance for Lesotho has been most encouraging and has permitted
the implementation of a substantial portion of the programme. Some of
the projects have been fully funded and others have been financed in
part as revealed in the report of the Secretary General. On behalf of
the Basotho nation, the Lesotho Government and myself, I wish
sincerely to thank all donor countries and regional and
intergovernmental organizations, as well as United Nations bodies and
agencies for the assistance rendered under the special economic
assistance programme for Lesotho. They can all be assured that good
use has been made and will continue to be made of their
contributions. We urge to be donor countries to continue to respond
to the appeal made in the report just mentioned. The complexity of
the geo political situation, of which we are an integral part, hardly
permits us the equanimity to consider Lesotho's political and socio
economic problems without reference to the conditions which prevail
in South Africa. The Assembly will have noticed that stability in
South Africa is becoming more illusory and that the prospects of
eventual racial accommodation are dimmer. At no time since the
doctrine of apartheid became a way of life in South Africa has the
Government of that country faced as great an assault on their racial
policies as it does now. Within South Africa itself signs of
confrontation manifest themselves from all sectors of social life.
Pretoria faces opposition from students, church leaders and sections
of the white population, and the Nationalist laager itself is in
terrible disarray. In our strong and vociferous opposition to as
repeatedly stated in the past, we proceed from the moral position
that apartheid is dangerous, not only for South Africa itself but
also for its immediate neighbours and civilized humanity as a whole.
We seek not to preach to South Africa regarding the objectionable
tenets of its domestic policies, but we respond to a moral demand
which we can only ignore at our own peril. We have to call
continuously on South Africa to abandon the disastrous path of
apartheid, which leads to the dead end of racial confrontation, a
prospect too ghastly to contemplate. Lesotho will not watch silently
while the stage is being set for a confrontation which would reduce
southern Africa to ashes. For us the impending disaster with which
apartheid threatens southern Africa is as real and as terrifying as
the grim prospect of a nuclear holocaust hovering over mankind today.
Because of our geographical location within the borders of South
Africa, we cannot contemplate the prospect of violence and
destruction in that country with composure. Our primary
responsibility is to ensure the survival of our nation in peace and
tranquility. Even when the writing is on the wall and clear fbr South
Africa to read, the authorities in Pretoria continue to tinker with
the problem. The recently proposed constitutional dispensation for
Colourgds and Indians is a political force. It is meant to appease
public opinion while it shows the seeds of conflict and tribal
polarization. It is intended to put up a façade of political change,
to hoodwink world public opinion and to lessen pressure from abroad,
thus creating a breathing space for the Apartheid policies, which
have apparently run their course and outlived their usefulness to the
South African regime. This constitutional arrangement completely
ignores and circumvents the rights and legitimate aspirations of the
black South Africans that constitute the overwhelming majority of the
people of South Africa. It seeks to isolate the Coloureds and the
Indians from the mainstream of the political struggle inside South
Africa by turning them into allies of apartheid without giving them
any tangible benefits from such an unwholesome association. Finally I
should like to thank all those Member States that have stood by us
during our moments of great difficulty and all those that have
hastened to assure us of their solidarity in times of great trial.
The OAU, in particular, through the Secretary General, Mr. Kodjo,
has been a true custodian of the principles and purposes which guided
the founding fathers of the OAU. He has tirelessly kept the situation
in Lesotho under constant surveillance, an act which has assured us
that our plight in southern Africa is a matter of grave concern to
the community of free nations. This awareness has given us courage to
look forward with determination to a future in which southern Africa
will be rid of all racial discrimination and segregation. Lesotho
offers its firm pledge to contribute towards the evolution of a
southern Africa of peace, prosperity, tranquility and respect fbr the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of all States in the region. We
call upon South Africa sincerely to offer a similar undertaking.