Mr. President, the theme
that you have chosen for this session of the General
Assembly — “Effective responses to global crises:
strengthening multilateralism and dialogue among
civilizations for international peace, security and
development” — is both timely and relevant.
We meet against the backdrop of some of the
most serious challenges mankind has confronted in a
long time. The financial and economic crisis, climate
change and issues of international peace and security
are but some of these challenges. No other organization
is better placed than the United Nations to find
solutions to them.
In June, your predecessor, Mr. President,
convened a high-level Conference on the World
Financial and Economic Crisis. We all had the
opportunity then to identify and agree on the causes
and effects of and solutions to this crisis. I shall not
revisit the deliberations of that Conference. Suffice it
to say that it seems obvious that Governments can no
longer abdicate their responsibility of oversight and
regulation of the global financial systems to financial
institutions.
The least developed and developing countries
have been the hardest hit by the financial crisis. Their
exports have been severely reduced and their capital
flows choked. The impact of the crisis is felt in all
aspects of life, be it in the increase in unemployment,
illiteracy or the incidence of HIV- and AIDS-related
deaths due to the unavailability or unaffordability of
drugs.
Lesotho, as a small economy, is highly vulnerable
to external shocks and is therefore one of those
adversely affected by the financial crisis. Demand for
textile exports has dropped dramatically, resulting in
unprecedented loss of livelihoods and erosion of the
gains we had made in eradicating poverty.
However, all is not lost. I note in this regard the
efforts of the Group of Eight, which has pledged a
stimulus package of $1.1 trillion, the major part of
which will be made available to developing countries.
My concern is that this initiative seems to have stalled
and it is unclear how the funds will be distributed. It
will be fair only if the disbursement is informed by the
needs of individual countries, and I hasten to add that
the disbursement should be free of quotas and
conditions. While I remain optimistic that the pledge
will see the light of day, I appeal for the fulfilment of
commitments that have been made regarding overseas
development aid. I further appeal for the requisite
political will to complete the Doha Round of
negotiations as a matter of urgency. These negotiations
are the anchor of our hope for the dawn of a fair and
equitable international trade regime.
I congratulate the Secretary-General on
convening the just-ended Summit on Climate Change,
at which we were unanimous in our belief that the
challenges posed by climate change are beyond the
capacity of any individual country to deal with alone.
Response to the impact of climate change must be a top
priority for the whole of mankind, for at stake here is
the preservation of the very elements responsible for
the sustenance of human life on our planet.
Lesotho is hopeful that the Copenhagen
Conference will usher in a new global agreement that
will result in the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions. We must never forget that at the forefront of
those most affected by the impact of climate change
are the poor and the innocent. Our call for the
industrialized nations to help improve developing
countries’ capacity for mitigation and adaptation is
therefore not misplaced. Those who are responsible for
causing pollution of the environment have the
responsibility to make cuts in harmful emissions and to
help those adversely affected. We acknowledge that
climate change may not be our collective fault, but it is
surely our collective responsibility.
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Another challenge confronting us is that of
international peace and security. This challenge is a
matter of utmost interest to my delegation, for it
reminds Governments of their obligation to protect
their peoples from mass atrocities, including genocide,
ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against
humanity. I am referring here to the principle of the
responsibility to protect.
The Rwanda genocide is still fresh in our minds.
Though the wounds may have healed, the scars remain
pronounced and serve as a painful reminder of man’s
inhumanity to man. They also serve as a sad reminder
of how the international community can fail a people.
Beyond Rwanda, and I dare say even post-Rwanda, we
have witnessed mass atrocities committed with
impunity against the most innocent and vulnerable
populations. And sadly, the Security Council, in whose
purview the power to act is centralized, has failed to
act, thereby incapacitating the international
community’s ability to act also.
In our resolve never to fail any population again,
we adopted the principle of the responsibility to protect
at our 2005 World Summit. This principle seeks to
restore the confidence of populations in the United
Nations system. In July, the General Assembly held a
debate on the Secretary-General’s report on
implementing the responsibility to protect (A/63/677).
Lesotho welcomes that balanced report, especially the
proposed practical measures for its implementation. We
view the report as a good basis for negotiations in the
General Assembly on how to implement the principle.
It is true that the scope of the principle is narrow and
limited to genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and
crimes against humanity. I would nonetheless
discourage any reopening of the debates on paragraphs
138 and 139 of the World Summit Outcome Document
(resolution 60/1).
I find a linkage between this principle and other
critical issues that continue to feature on our
international agenda. Among these are reform of the
United Nations, especially the Security Council,
disarmament and the International Criminal Court.
Needless to say, the principle of the responsibility to
protect is meaningful only if it is grounded in
multilateralism and collective action by the
international community. The forums through which
the responsibility to protect may be achievable is the
Security Council and, beyond that, the General
Assembly. Unfortunately, the Council, as presently
composed, is not capable of exercising effective
leadership in this area.
The Security Council reflects the situation that
obtained 64 years ago. It is not a true reflection of the
current membership of the United Nations. Its
composition is therefore irrelevant and undemocratic.
For all intents and purposes, the Council lacks
legitimacy. For as long as it remains undemocratic, it
will continue to fail the vulnerable and defenceless. It
will continue to use double standards and remain a tool
of the foreign policies of certain States. The desired
multilateral path will continue to give way to the
unilateral one. It is imperative, therefore, to hasten the
United Nations reform process. The intergovernmental
negotiations that were held during the sixty-third
session of the General Assembly have advanced the
reform process a step or two. However, more still
needs to be done and rather urgently.
The United Nations was formed on the ashes of
the two World Wars. Its main purpose was and still is
to save succeeding generations from the scourge of
war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold
misery to mankind. But the continuing possession and
development of nuclear weapons cast doubt on whether
this objective can indeed be realized. At a time when
the world is hungering for nuclear disarmament, why
should some countries be testing, modernizing and
producing new generations of nuclear weapons?
It is our obligation as the international
community to strive for a world free of nuclear
weapons. We remain disappointed in those countries
that are engaged in the testing of nuclear weapons. We
must, however, reiterate the right of every country to
the development and use of nuclear technology for
peaceful purposes. The peaceful use of nuclear
technology can be beneficial to all mankind.
We are delighted that the third session of the
Preparatory Committee for the 2010 Review
Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons has adopted the
agenda for the 2010 Review Conference. This historic
achievement strengthens our optimism that our
commitment to the disarmament process will gain
renewed momentum and enthusiasm.
In 1998, the Statute establishing the International
Criminal Court was adopted in Rome. The Court is,
inter alia, an answer to war crimes and crimes against
humanity. It safeguards the rule of law in the
31 09-52586
international arena and is therefore well placed to
complement the implementation of the principle of the
responsibility to protect. Consequently, we should, as
the international community, unconditionally extend
our support to the Court. We must preserve its integrity
and independence. There should be no State or organ of
the United Nations that interferes with the Court’s
processes. Most importantly, the Court must uphold the
highest standards of impartiality, integrity and fairness.
Lesotho supports the principle of universal jurisdiction.
However, we reject selective application of that noble
principle because it erodes its acceptability and
credibility.
During the past year, we witnessed a resurgence
of piracy off the coast of Somalia. This development
has had a negative impact on maritime security and
safety. There is a need for the international community
to adopt a comprehensive approach to tackling the
phenomenon of piracy off the coast of Somalia and
beyond. In this regard, Lesotho joins the voices of the
heads of State and Government of the African Union in
calling for the convening of an international conference
to discuss the adoption of an international convention
on the phenomenon of maritime piracy and to eradicate
its underlying causes.
I would be remiss not to refer to the plight of the
peoples of the State of Palestine, the Saharan Arab
Democratic Republic and the Republic of Cuba. These
are peoples who continue to experience untold
suffering, ranging from war to political, economic and
social injustices. We call on Israel to cease all
settlement activities, including the so-called natural
growth in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. By the
same token, we call on both sides to cease all acts of
hostility and attacks. In particular, Palestine must halt
the indiscriminate launching of rockets on Israeli
civilians, while Israel must desist from the use of
disproportionate force against Palestinian civilians.
We welcome the intensified efforts of the Quartet,
the Arab League and other members involved in
brokering peace in the Middle East. We are mindful of
the fact that the quest for peace in the Middle East
should be the responsibility of all of us. We express our
solidarity with the people of Palestine. At the same
time, we reiterate the inviolability and, indeed, the
right to exist of the State of Israel.
The struggle of the Saharan people is a struggle
for self-determination based on the principles of
decolonization and sovereignty of nations. Both the
General Assembly and the Security Council have
recognized the inalienable rights of the Saharan people
to self-determination and independence. We urge the
Saharan Arab Democratic Republic and the Kingdom
of Morocco to continue with their negotiations on an
equal footing and without any conditions. The
aspirations of the Saharan people to self-determination
must take paramount priority in these negotiations.
We also hope that the positive signals of
engagement between the Republic of Cuba and the
United States of America will bring an end to the
unfortunate financial and economic embargo imposed
on the Republic of Cuba. Lesotho shall continue to
support the call for the lifting of the economic embargo
against the people of Cuba as a matter of principle and
of urgency.
I wish to conclude by saying that no obstacle can
beat the might of the United Nations. We must continue
to pursue and indeed to cherish the purposes that have
brought us together. The responsibility to secure the
future of mankind relies heavily on our ability to use a
collective approach to resolving the challenges of the
world. We cannot ignore our responsibility to build a
better and more united world, for the future
generations.