Lesotho

At the very outset, allow me to congratulate Mr. Al-Nasser on his well-deserved election to the office of President of the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session. I assure him of my delegation’s full support during his tenure. Let me also pay fitting tribute to his predecessor, Mr. Joseph Deiss, for the commendable manner in which he led the work of the General Assembly during the sixty-fifth session. Mr. Ban Ki-moon also deserves our heart congratulations on his reappointment as Secretary- General. His unanimous re-election was a true reflection of the confidence that all Member States have in him. I also wish to express my profound joy at witnessing the Republic of South Sudan join the ranks of the Members of the United Nations. We welcome this new Member and extend our hand in friendship. This sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly once again provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the overall situation in the world. The world continues to experience numerous challenges. The target date for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals is fast approaching, yet the world continues to be overwhelmed by unending hurdles on the path towards their achievement. Despite globalization, the least developed countries are yet to be fully integrated into global markets. Rapid environmental degradation, compounded by the effects of climate change, continues to adversely affect ecosystems, agriculture, water resources and energy supplies. HIV and AIDS have not relented in decimating whole nations. The promotion of the principles of democracy and good governance, the protection of fundamental human rights, and the abuse of power in international relations continue to present challenges. As if this were not enough, terrorism continues to torment us. Along with the other challenges, this is a fight that we collectively must win. Terrorism is a 11-51360 2 transnational problem that cannot be left to one State alone to confront. All Member States must cooperate in addressing and eliminating this menace. The biggest challenge that we face in the post-Cold War era is to ensure that terrorists do not lay their hands on weapons of mass destruction. In this regard, we reiterate our call for the total elimination of all nuclear weapons. We urge the nuclear weapon States to remain faithful to their commitments under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). We further call on those Member States that have not joined the NPT to do so without further delay. However, it would be illogical to ask non-nuclear States to shun the proliferation of nuclear weapons, while States that possess them continue to perfect new generations of such weapons and to threaten their use at the slightest opportunity. Some States Members of this global Organization continue to experience either internal or external conflicts of significant proportions. The international community has not been consistent in its approach to the management of these conflicts. In some countries, the international community, acting through the Security Council, has been swift and decisive in intervening militarily. In other countries, the same international community has preferred mediation, and in yet still others it has turned a blind eye, at best leaving the mantle to some of its members to unilaterally threaten the imposition of sanctions. It is against this background that we welcome the theme of our general debate, “The role of mediation in the settlement of disputes by peaceful means”. Indeed, the relevance and appropriateness of this theme at the present juncture in international relations is beyond doubt. In addressing this theme, we start from the premise that the peaceful settlement of disputes through mediation lies at the heart of the work of the United Nations. However, the United Nations has not sufficiently used mediation as a tool for conflict resolution. The United Nations is charged with the maintenance of international peace and order through the Security Council. Consequently, the Council is expected to take a leading role in the settlement of disputes through mediation. In so doing, the Council must adopt the multilateral approach. Such an approach is the only way to guarantee transparency, impartiality and ownership of the process by the general membership of the United Nations. Mediation must have as its priority the peaceful settlement of disputes, the reconciliation of the parties and the future sustainability of peace and stability. Peace that is imposed without consulting all parties to conflicts cannot be sustainable. Bias and abuse of military power to influence the outcome of mediation in conflicts will quickly erode the credibility of the United Nations as an honest mediator and will reinforce perceptions of ulterior motives. The Kingdom of Lesotho is a strong believer in the principle of subsidiarity. It is common knowledge that the primary role in the maintenance of international peace and security reposes in the Security Council. However, cooperation and coordination between the Council and regional organizations, in terms of Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter, is key to resolving conflicts speedily. The United Nations must empower and support the efforts of regional structures and organizations, which in all cases have a comparative advantage in mediating. However, the Security Council can better discharge this function only if it is more representative of the membership of the United Nations. A more representative Security Council will take into account all our aspirations, and its decisions will command legitimacy. Consequently, we continue to call for the early and comprehensive reform of the Security Council in order to make it more representative of the Member States. It is simply baffling, if not appalling, to see how this all-important issue of Security Council reform is being deliberately stymied. The settlement of conflicts through mediation has been put to the test, and its successes are well recorded in the annals of history. The peaceful settlement through mediation of the conflict in the Republic of Kenya in 2007 is a typical example. It should be recalled that, in Kenya, a group of eminent persons from Africa worked together with the United Nations to broker a peaceful solution to the political stalemate that resulted from the disputed parliamentary and presidential elections of 2007. That solution resulted in the formation of an all-inclusive and stable Government. Secondly, a specific subregional mediation by the Southern Africa Development Community yielded fruitful results in Zimbabwe, as did that of the African 3 11-51360 Union (AU) in Burundi. Furthermore, we witnessed a successfully mediated solution bring an end to Africa’s longest civil war in the Sudan. The world rejoiced together with the people of South Sudan in July 2011 upon their attainment of independence as a sovereign nation. The remarkable mediation efforts of the African Union, with the support of the entire international community, helped in consolidating peace in South Sudan. Indeed, the mediation efforts are continuing in that sister country to ensure the maintenance of peace in the post-conflict period. It is our humble but considered opinion that, where mediation has been given a chance, lives have been saved. The cost in resources, be they financial or human, has been minimal, and the destruction of infrastructure avoided. Above all, reconciliation between the warring factions has been realized. Strangely, and despite having mediation at its disposal, the Security Council has at times preferred military intervention. I may also add that, at times, some members of the international community have unilaterally engaged in military interventions. Whenever military intervention has been preferred, it has not enjoyed the support of the general membership of the United Nations. Needless to say, the impact of military intervention in conflicts is catastrophic for innocent civilians, and it destroys infrastructure and the economies of countries. In this regard, Libya may be used as a case study. The African Union developed a comprehensive road map that would have led to a peaceful settlement of the Libyan crisis by the Libyan people themselves. Sadly, we witnessed the deliberate marginalization of the AU in the resolution of that crisis. Military intervention was hastily adopted as an option, and the results of this kind of intervention are a matter of record for all to see, and indeed will be with us for a long time to come. Nevertheless, the opportunity for all stakeholders to work together on consolidating peace in Libya has not eluded us. The African Union road map for peace remains as relevant today as it was at the beginning of the conflict. The United Nations and the African Union must work together to bring about the consolidation of peace, national reconciliation and the establishment of an all-inclusive Government in Libya. The United Nations, and not just a few countries with vested interests, should take the lead in the reconstruction of that country. This transparent and unbiased approach alone can ensure that there is no relapse into conflict in Libya. We must employ all assets at our disposal so as to fully exploit mediation as a tool for conflict prevention and resolution. The good offices of the Secretary- General in conflict prevention and resolution are an instrument that may be very effective in mediating conflicts. Those offices must be strengthened and given the human and other resources necessary to undertake mediation early enough to prevent conflicts and to deal effectively with those that are ongoing. In that regard, we encourage the mediation efforts of the Secretary- General towards the realization of a free and independent Western Sahara. By the same token, we are convinced that the solution to the settlement of the question of Palestine will be attained through genuine mediation. The stalemate in the negotiations is a source of grave concern to my country. We urge all the parties involved to resuscitate the negotiations between the State of Palestine and Israel without any further delay. Similarly, we must explore the possibility of a mediated solution to the problem between the Republic of Cuba and the United States of America. The international community has been unanimous in its call for the lifting of the economic and commercial embargo imposed upon Cuba, yet the problem persists. Indeed, Cuba, like all Member States, is entitled to freedom of international trade and navigation. I conclude by pointing out that the crises we face today provide us with an opportunity for introspection and to chart the way forward. The obstacles that lie ahead of us are not insurmountable. We must build a more robust multilateral organization that is responsive to the modern-day needs of our peoples. A United Nations that is able to work with its partners, including regional and subregional organizations, and all of its Member States will surely achieve much success in all of its endeavours. With renewed political will and determination, let us commit ourselves to the principles of mediation, as enshrined in the United Nations Charter, and to the peaceful settlement of all disputes and conflicts.