I am pleased to address this
Assembly on behalf of my delegation from the
Kingdom of eSwatini. The Assembly gives us the
opportunity as Heads of State and Government to share
ideas and experiences. It enables us to shape the future
of our countries and pave a way for a better world,
where we can all live with each other in harmony. Let
me extend our appreciation to Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon and to the entire staff of the United Nations
for their efforts in carrying out the vision and
programmes of the United Nations.
The world continues to face many challenges,
which include the catastrophic effects of climate
change, complicated diseases such as tuberculosis,
malaria and the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and food
shortages. That situation is further compounded by
high prices for fuel and food and the instability in
international finance, which slow down our efforts to
fight poverty and attain sustainable development.
It is encouraging to note that the United Nations,
in particular the Food and Agriculture Organization
and the World Food Programme, continues to assist
developing countries to find lasting solutions to the
food crisis. In the light of that, my country has put in
place various strategies to ensure food security. The
nation continues to hold consultations on those issues.
For instance, we had a national agricultural meeting
last year and the Sibaya — the people’s parliament —
this year, which looked at ways of increasing our food
production and other issues of national interest. The
nation came up with different suggestions, and we are
in the process of implementing them.
We developing countries were looking forward to
positive results from the Doha round of negotiations,
particularly on agriculture. Developing countries were
hoping for secure and increased market access for their
agricultural products. Unfortunately, that has not been
the case. We hope those talks will be concluded soon
for the benefit of the developing countries.
Swaziland fully supports the global dialogue to
ensure that the world is rescued from the dangers of
global warming and other damage to the environment.
It is true that global warming is a major contributor to
the many calamities such as earthquakes, flooding and
persistent droughts that threaten the very existence of
the human race.
Swaziland, like many other countries of the
world, continues to be a victim of the devastating
effects of climate change. We continue to suffer from a
persistent drought. We continue to be hit by strong
winds that cause wildfires. Those fires often destroy
vast acres of our man-made forests, resulting in
economic disruption, the waste of many years of
investment and loss of life and property. We fully agree
with the United Nations that failure to respond in a
timely way and decisively to that threat will undermine
national and international efforts to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which aim to
improve the living standards and welfare of all our
peoples.
The high-level meeting on Africa’s development
needs came at the most opportune time. We are pleased
with the adoption of the declaration (resolution 63/1)
and we are looking forward to its effective
implementation. There is indeed urgency in addressing
Africa’s special needs, in particular economic
development, poverty reduction and issues of peace
and security.
It should be noted that the cooperation and
support of the international finance institutions is
pivotal, for instance by ensuring improved accessibility
to finance for Africa. That should also include making
grants and loans available to African countries under
preferential rates to fund infrastructure development,
technology transfer, tourism and other projects that are
meant to create wealth and economic growth.
As we pass the midpoint to the 2015 deadline for
the MDGs we still face many challenges. This is more
so because many of our people are still living in
poverty and we continue to face a high unemployment
rate. Notwithstanding, the commitment of the Kingdom
of Swaziland to the achievement of the MDGs is
unwavering. The MDGs are anchored within our
national development strategy and the poverty
reduction strategy and action plan, which aspire,
among other things, to reduce poverty by more than
half by 2015. All Government programmes are geared
towards that vision and are being implemented with the
guidance of all stakeholders and the nation at large.
Like many other countries, the Kingdom of
Swaziland is on track for some of the MDGs. We are
7 08-51851
doing everything possible to achieve universal
education and are providing resources for every child
to go to school. Efforts are being made to achieve
gender equality and the empowerment of women,
ensure environmental sustainability, reduce child
mortality and to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and
malaria, among other targets.
Peace, stability and security, which form the
primary goals of the United Nations, remain key pillars
of meaningful development. When those conditions
prevail, our peoples can concentrate their energies and
resources on the pursuit of productivity and wealth
creation.
Members of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) are committed to upholding those
pillars for a better life for all. We have put in place
structures such as the SADC Organ on Politics,
Defence and Security to ensure their preservation and
promotion. For that reason, we applaud the recent
signing of the power-sharing agreement and the
establishment of a Government of national unity in
Zimbabwe. We look forward with optimism to the
rebuilding process and the removal of all bottlenecks.
In that regard, we urge the international community
and the developed world to fully support the people of
Zimbabwe. In the same spirit, we wish to see
peacefully negotiated settlements for all conflicts that
prevail in Africa and in different parts of the world.
The Kingdom of eSwatini joins the rest of the
world in condemning all forms and acts of terrorism.
We support efforts for the full implementation of the
Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in order to send a
clear message to all perpetrators of terrorism. In line
with the United Nations convention on terrorism, our
parliament has recently promulgated the anti-terrorism
act.
If the United Nations is to have a more effective
role, its structure must be reformed to adapt to a world
that has been constantly changing since the adoption of
the Charter. These reforms should of course take place
in a fair, just and balanced manner. It has been
observed in the past that one of the most important of
the reforms that require urgent attention is that of the
Security Council. The widely held view is that the
Security Council as constituted at present falls short of
proper demographic representation of United Nations
Members. The Kingdom of eSwatini looks forward to a
speedy conclusion to the discussions on the reform of
the United Nations.
We welcome the recent handshake between the
senior leadership of the Republic of China on Taiwan
and that of mainland China. This handshake gives us
hope that the two are now talking to each other.
Hopefully, this might lead to an amicable resolution of
the cross-Strait relations, such that perhaps one day we
might see them sitting next to each other here at the
United Nations. It should be noted that the people of
Taiwan have expertise and experience, which they are
ready to share with the United Nations family. That is
why Swaziland requests the United Nations to allow
Taiwan to participate in its specialized agencies.
The Kingdom of Swaziland has just held a
successful parliamentary election under a new
constitution. The voter turnout was most impressive as
the people exercised their right to vote for a
government of their choice. As the nation continues to
appreciate the power of parliamentary representation in
a complex globalized world, we note that the electorate
understands the importance of choosing candidates of
high calibre with the capacity to handle the issues at
hand. That gives us confidence that the new Parliament
will assist with strategies that will further improve our
socio-economic climate for the betterment of the living
standards of our people.
The Kingdom of eSwatini reaffirms its
commitment to the purpose and preservation of the
central role of the United Nations in multilateral
affairs. We treasure peace and development and
amicable regional and international relations and,
together with all nations, will work towards a peaceful
and prosperous future for all humankind.