Botswana

I congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the General Assembly and on the very effective manner in which you are presiding over its proceedings. I also pay tribute to your predecessor, Mr. D’Escoto Brockmann, for his leadership and commitment and for the very able manner in which he guided us throughout the past session. Under his leadership, a lot was achieved and we also weathered a number of turbulent storms. The global economic environment has experienced many challenges since our last session. Never before has our common goal of advancing the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter for the betterment of all mankind been so tested. The challenges confronting humanity have since grown tenfold, both in scope and magnitude. The sheer enormity of these fast-evolving challenges threatens the very existence of the human race and the security of our planet. I am convinced that these challenges are neither beyond our collective capability to address, nor are they insurmountable. Our moral imperative is to ensure 09-53165 40 that the United Nations has the requisite resources, the tools and the capability to respond to the ever-changing environment in a timely, effective and decisive manner in order to help Member States address the many complex and multidimensional challenges. It is important to remind ourselves of the decision we adopted at the World Summit in 2005 to “strengthen the United Nations with a view to enhancing its authority and efficiency, as well as its capacity to address effectively … the full range of challenges of our time”. (resolution 60/1, para. 146) In that respect, my delegation welcomes the progress made in implementing ongoing reforms of the United Nations with a view to streamlining rules, mandates and policies in order to promote transparency, coherence and efficiency in the system. The global economic crisis that has besieged us has accentuated existing challenges and made them more complex. The crisis has been felt more seriously in developing countries. Human, financial and other resources are severely overstretched as countries seek creative and innovative ways to mitigate what has become the greatest economic threat of our time. The crisis therefore warrants a concerted effort involving both developed and developing countries. We should emerge from the crisis stronger and wiser, with new thinking about a new global financial architecture. In the present circumstances, poverty levels in many economies appear to be spiraling out of control. Our poverty reduction strategies therefore need to be revised to face the new challenges. That goes for the commitments we signed on to at the 1995 Copenhagen World Summit on Sustainable Development and at the 2000 Millennium Summit. The new strategy should focus on raising the living standards of all people the world over. In dealing with those challenges, we should deploy all the resources of nature and technology to better life on the planet. But in doing so we should avoid any actions that could endanger the very lives that we want to uplift. The devastating HIV/AIDS pandemic is among the myriad challenges to which we committed ourselves to tackle through international cooperation and assistance. HIV/AIDS undoubtedly continues to be one of the most daunting challenges of our time. In June of last year, our leaders gathered in New York for the midterm review of the implementation of the goals and targets of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, which was adopted in 2001. The review revealed that, despite heightened political momentum and national and global responses to HIV/AIDS, not much progress had been made towards mitigating its effects. Only a handful of countries were reported to be on track to achieving some of their commitments, while the majority of countries were found to be lagging far behind in implementing them. That situation underscores the urgent need to accelerate the momentum for universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support. The ongoing global economic crisis has already placed people living with HIV/AIDS at great risk, as many countries have had to cut down on some HIV/AIDS programmes due to budgetary constraints. Budget reductions in HIV/AIDS programmes, in particular, in developing countries, will obviously result in increased loss of life, as well as an increase in the cost of health care in the future. We need to redouble our implementation efforts as we draw closer to the 2010 deadline for achieving the goal of ensuring universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support. To that end, it is essential that as Governments we renew our commitment to put our people first when it comes to the kind of policies and programmes we formulate and implement. The adverse impact of climate change and global warming is another problem that requires our urgent and sustained attention. Our collective response to the challenge of climate change and global warming necessitates pragmatism and decisive action. History will judge us harshly if we cannot muster the political will and commitment to put in place measures required to save planet Earth. The Copenhagen meeting scheduled for December of this year provides an opportunity to galvanize the efforts of the international community to address the challenges of climate change. More important, the Copenhagen meeting will be a defining moment in the negotiations on the global commitments to be made with regard to the Kyoto Protocol after 2012. Botswana is strongly committed to those negotiations. We will do everything in our power to ensure their successful and timely conclusion. We 41 09-53165 therefore call upon Member States to ensure that no effort is spared in giving the issues under negotiation the priority attention that they deserve. Turning to international peace and security, my delegation is deeply concerned about the deterioration of the global security situation. We are convinced that the security of our world is dependent upon the entire membership of the United Nations working in unison. The number and intensity of conflicts still raging in some parts of the world, in particular in Africa, is a cause for grave concern. It is sad that Africa appears — at least in my estimation — to have experienced more incidents of civil strife and violent confrontation than any other part of the world. In that regard, it is worth noting that the Security Council remains seized of conflict situations and developments in a number of African countries and regions, including Chad, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Great Lakes region, Eritrea and Ethiopia, Somalia and the Sudan, to name but a few. Somalia remains the most dangerous place in the world, and a blemish on the conscience of the international community. Incidents of violence, kidnapping, banditry and piracy abound. Peacekeepers have also not been spared that barbarity. We commend Burundi and Uganda for the courage and heroism of their troops in support of the peace effort. International support and assistance is urgently required to deploy a stabilization force to strengthen the African Union Mission in Somalia and to support long-term peace and stability in that country. With regard to the situations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Great Lakes region, it is thanks to the collective efforts of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and former President Obasanjo of Nigeria, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region, as well as other international initiatives, that there are now prospects for positive developments. However, we should not underestimate the gravity of the challenges that continue to hamper the achievement of lasting peace, stability and sustainable development in that region and many more in Africa. Apart from finding lasting solutions to conflicts, we should put in place measures to deal with post- conflict situations, as there is a danger that countries emerging from conflict could easily relapse into it. Regional bodies such as the African Union, as well as the United Nations, must stay focused on assisting countries to deal with both conflict and post-conflict situations. We all know the causes of conflict and instability. They are the result of bad governance, mismanagement of national resources and the absence of democracy. In that respect, we cannot simply demand the full and active support of the international community in efforts to achieve lasting peace and stability. We must do more to consolidate the democratic process, respect for human rights and the rule of law. In that way, we would be more deserving and worthy of assistance. Botswana is disturbed by the emerging trend of coups and of the unconstitutional transfer of power in Africa and in other parts of the world. We had thought that the era of military coups was now history. We unreservedly condemn the coups that took place in Mauritania, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar and Honduras. We would have been very disappointed if one such as Rajoelina, who masterminded the overthrow of a democratically elected Government in Madagascar, had been allowed to address this Assembly. We therefore applaud the decision taken by the General Assembly in that regard. The Southern Africa Development Community correctly decided to suspend the regime in Madagascar from participating in the councils and structures of the subregional organization. Our continental organization, the African Union, has also maintained a principled position of automatically suspending any regime that comes into power by overthrowing the constitutional order. The international community must be united in its determination to isolate the regime in Antananarivo. We must not give it any comfort by embracing it in international forums. We are also witnessing a disturbing development that undermines democracy and subverts the will of the people. There is a growing resort to changing constitutions in order to prolong the grip on power of leaders and political parties that have lost elections. In that regard, Africa, and indeed the world at large, must collectively and in one voice reject the extra- parliamentary transfer of power and isolate illegal regimes until constitutional order is restored. Embracing them in any small measure would be immoral and would perpetuate those hideous acts throughout the globe. 09-53165 42 The world can be a better place for us and for future generations if we persistently nurture democratic practices, good governance and respect for the rule of law. As leaders, we should commit to building fraternity and greater mutual understanding among peoples across cultures and faiths. We have the responsibility to lead by example. We must desist from using inflammatory language that promotes tension and conflicts. We cannot and must not condone leaders who, for their own selfish interests, change the constitutions of their countries in order to ensure their continued stay in power. At the same time, we should ensure that our elections are credible and that they reflect the sovereign will of the people. Governments should not be allowed to conduct elections and then tamper with the outcomes in order to suit their interests. People must be allowed to freely choose their leaders. Botswana reiterates its position that it is fully committed to respecting the integrity and impartiality of the International Criminal Court so that it can freely carry out its judicial mandate. We equally support the principle of universal jurisdiction under international law and practice. However, we object to situations wherein its abuse becomes blatant. In conclusion, I wish to reiterate that the daunting challenges facing our world today, as stated previously, cannot and should not be tackled by any one country or by a group of countries alone. They require a strong multilateral approach that needs the commitment and unyielding support of the international community as a whole. Let us join hands together in an effort to address those complex challenges. Our timely, coordinated and effective action will go a long way in securing a better future for generations to come.