Botswana, 1992

I am pleased to extend to you. Sir, and to your

country, Bulgaria, the sincere congratulations of my delegation on your

election to the presidency of the forty-seventh session of the United Nations

General Assembly. I have no doubt that under your able leadership this

session will be a great success.

In the short space of time since he assumed office at the beginning of

the year, our new Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, has more than

justified the confidence reposed in him and his prodigious qualities and

abilities by his election to the highly demanding office of

Secretary-General. He has been, during these nine turbulent months, more than

a match for the daunting crises that have so far characterized the so-called

new world order. We salute him and his equally dedicated colleagues in the

Secretariat.

The forty-seventh session of the General Assembly is being held at a rare

moment in history. It is a moment so brilliantly captured in the language of

Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, wherein are written

these words:

"The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of

government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine

elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage ...".

(resolution 217 A (III), article 21, para. 3)

Peoples across the globe are marching triumphantly to seize control of

their own destinies through the ballot. This has been clearly manifested in

the admission of seven new Members during the forty-sixth regular session of

the General Assembly and many more at its resumed meetings. The membership of

those new States enhances the universality of the United Nations. We warmly

welcome their presence in our midst.

The end of the cold war has triggered an avalanche of demands on the

United Nations at a time when the Organization is tottering on the verge of

bankruptcy. The Organization is being called upon to be everywhere where

there is a problem and to carry out activities ranging from peace-keeping and

peacemaking in areas ravaged by civil wars to fighting natural disasters. It

is also required to play a role in areas where democracy is being embraced.

The financing of both the United Nations activities under its regular

budget and its peace-keeping operations has never been more crucial to the

role and function of the Organization. For many years the Organization was

paralysed by ideological confrontation, and it is unfortunate that it should

now be hamstrung in the performance of its functions by financial emergency

and crisis in an era when there is so much good will.

The issue is simple: the machinery of the United Nations cannot be

expected to function effectively and efficiently when it has run out of

financial steam. We can all bear testimony to the success of the United

Nations system when there is a common desire and will to put the system to

work. The assessed contributions have to be paid in full and on time, in

accordance with the Charter. All arrears have to be paid as a demonstration

of our commitment to the process of renewal and revitalization currently going

on in the world and within the United Nations itself.

Botswana has followed with grave concern the tragic events in Bosnia and

Herzegovina, the senseless killing and brutality visited on innocent men,

women and children. It is indeed unfortunate that while many States in

Eastern and Central Europe have experienced relatively peaceful transitions to

democracy and political pluralism, the people of the former Yugoslavia, the

founding champion and leader of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, should

be bleeding so hopelessly. Yugoslavia was a critical factor for stability in

Central Europe during the lark days of super-Power rivalry and military

confrontation.

However, we cannot be distracted from present reality by the past. The

international community has been rightfully outraged by acts of barbarism in a

world increasingly characterized by civilized conduct in inter-State

relations. The agreements reached at the London Conference, which enjoy the

overwhelming approbation of the international community, must be implemented

in full by all the parties involved in the brutal conflict. No effort should

be spared in ensuring the restoration of lasting peace in the Balkans.

In South-East Asia, the brave and courageous men and women of the United

Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) continue to work quietly

and tirelessly to bring about peace and stability in that country. It is

hoped that all parties to the Agreement on a Comprehensive Political

Settlement of the Cambodia Conflict will honour their obligations. The people

of Cambodia have long awaited the day when they can return to their homes,

walk in the streets and till the soil without fear of land mines.

The implementation of the peace agreement is a monumental task the likes

of which this world body has never before undertaken. It is vitally important

that the efforts of the United Nations succeed in timely and effective

fashion. A situation in which the United Nations Transitional Authority in

Cambodia (UNTAC) might be marooned in Cambodia, with the financial burden that

would entail, must be avoided at all cost.

The Middle East peace talks which opened in Washington, D.C., on

24 August 1992 and which have now been suspended have given us cause for

optimism. The atmosphere which has been created at the talks augurs well for

serious negotiations for a comprehensive political settlement. We fully

support the process under jay and encourage the parties to the negotiations to

ensure that this historic opportunity is not squandered.

In Afghanistan, it is our sincere hope that the establishment of a

transitional Government will silence the guns, which for 14 years wreaked

death, misery and disaster on innocent civilians and on belligerents alike.

The international community, in particular those Member States that have

strong ties with the parties to the conflict, should bring maximum pressure to

bear on the parties to refrain from resorting to the use of force in settling

their differences.

In Somalia, a human tragedy of unspeakable dimensions is unfolding before

our very eyes. According to a report of the Secretary-General contained in

document S/24480 of 24 August 1992, famine threatens the lives of 4.5 million

people. On a daily basis, many are dying a slow and painful death. It is

regrettable that the response of the international community was painfully

slow at the beginning of the tragedy. However, there were, and there continue

to be, men and women whose devotion to humanitarian service and reverence for

human life are unparalleled in their quality and dimension. The International

Red Cross was there when no one else was. Its dedication to alleviating human

suffering is truly extraordinary. The great son of a Lutheran pastor and 1952

Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Dr. Albert Schweitzer, once said

"There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common

good is the greatest creed."

The Red Cross deserves our gratitude and commendation.

In equal measure, we commend the efforts of the Secretary-General in

securing the agreement and approbation of the parties to the conflict, in the

face of immense difficulties, so that humanitarian assistance could reach the

suffering people. We also welcome the decision of the Security Council to

deploy an additional 3,000 observers in Somalia.

In South Africa, at the time of their suspension three difficult months

ago, the negotiations conducted within the framework of the Convention for a

Democratic South Africa (CODESA) had undeniably achieved positive results. A

substantial degree of consensus had been achieved within a relatively short

time, considering that less than two years ago the apartheid edifice was still

very much intact, barely shaken, and prospects for change in South Africa were

as bleak as they could be. Now, we have seen what the three-month hiatus has

wrought more massacres as brutal at that at Boipatong, which caused the

break-up of the negotiations in June. The recent one at Bisho in the

Bantustan of Ciskei, however, seems to have had a sobering effect on the South

African leaders. If anything at all, these massacres have shown that

negotiations are the only hope for South Africa, and it is with a sigh of

relief that we welcome the resumption of the negotiation process.

We welcome the keen interest the world community has shown in the South

African crisis, as evidenced by the adoption by the Security Council of

resolution 772 (1992) of 17 August 1992. The involvement of the international

community in the process of change in South Africa is a very crucial element.

It is our sincere hope that the United Nations observers mentioned in

operative paragraph 4 of that Security Council resolution- will be deployed in

full and kept in place throughout the process of negotiation, or as long as it

is deemed necessary and vital to keep them there.

Progress, if any, towards the resolution of the Western Sahara issue has

been too slow, to say the least. The people of Western Sahara should be given

the opportunity to exercise their right to national self-determination freely

and fairly under international supervision. No obstacles should be placed in

the way of the settlement plan.

Recent developments in Angola and Mozambique mark the dawn of a new era

in southern Africa. A situation of peace and stability is now gaining

momentum. The signing of the General Peace Agreement by the President of

Mozambique, Mr. Joaquim Chissano, and by the leader of RENAMO,

Mr. Afonso Dhlakama, is a major development in the process of bringing peace

to Mozambique. Botswana contributed in its small way to the process, and I

had the honour to witness the signing of the Agreement in Rome on 4 October.

I hope that the international community will extend political, diplomatic and

moral support to Mozambique in order to ensure that the Agreement is

translated into solid peace. Millions of Mozambicans face starvation and

death because of the war and drought. The signing of the General Peace

Agreement opens the door for the United Nations agencies and other

international relief agencies, and the international community as a whole, to

alleviate the suffering of the people of Mozambique, as well as to assist with

the means to reconstruct their country.

For the first time since it acceded to independence in 1975, Angola held

multiparty elections last week. The high turn-out for the elections indicates

the readiness of the Angolan people to use the ballot rather than the bullet

to resolve their differences. I hope that this high turn-out, coupled with

free and fair elections, will bestow legitimacy on the new Government. What

is of paramount importance however, is the agreement made by the Popular

Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the Union for the Total

Liberation of Angola (UNITA) to form a Government of national unity

irrespective of whichever party wins the elections.

This is the second time the United Nations has successfully supervised

multiparty elections in southern Africa. The role of the United Nations in

the peace process in Angola is therefore truly commendable.

There is an intricate relationship between peace and security and

economic and social development. There can be no doubt that the problems of

poverty, unemployment, huge foreign debt, budget deficits, lack of market

access, high interest rates and the environment are not the problems of any

one country or group of countries. No one country can solve them in isolation.

The macroeconomic management of the global economy should now be guided

by the need to serve common interests. There should be an end to the

perception of problems as being exclusively those of the North or of the

South. A new approach is required, one that will identify the common problems

of humanity and build on the consensus. We should put an end to mutual

distrust, and move away from perceiving the economic concerns of countries as

being mutually exclusive and permanently at loggerheads. This is not a

zero-sum game.

The lessons of our recent past should guide us. The world was united in

its opposition to aggression against Kuwait, and concerted efforts were made

to mobilize resources in support of the countries of Eastern Europe and the

Commonwealth of Independent States; all of this showed an acceptance of the

validity of the concepts of interdependence, partnership and the "global

village."

In 1993 a World Conference on Human Rights will be held, followed by the

1994 Conference on Population and Development. And in 1995, as the United

Nations celebrates its golden jubilee, the World Conference on Women will take

place. This attests to the fact that these are shared human problems and

therefore require our collective endeavours. There should be a move away from

the temptation to accord the highest priority to human rights and democracy,

to the detriment of other areas of primary concern. It serves no useful

purpose to have priorities based solely on political considerations and what

are perceived as strategic national interests.

Democracy is threatened when the legitimate expectations of the people

are frustrated by economic deprivation. In this regard, we strongly support

the proposal to convene a world summit for social development in 1995. It is

our fervent hope that a consensus decision will be reached on this matter of

critical importance to the world as a whole. The Summit should afford the

international community the opportunity to address in an integrated manner the

problems of poverty, illiteracy, disease, unemployment and poor living

conditions.

The economic situation in Africa is still bleak. Africa continues to

experience a crushing debt burden, falling commodity prices and painful

structural adjustment programmes. The economies of many African countries

have stagnated or retrogressed during the past year. The African economic

crisis is a development challenge to mankind's collective conscience.

Concerted efforts should be made to translate the United Nations New Agenda

for Africa into concrete programmes and projects that can put our continent on

the path to economic recovery and development. The Global Coalition for

Africa (GCA), which I have the honour to co-chair on behalf of Africa, has

made a significant contribution to the new consensus-building process since

its inception in Maastricht in 1990. As a forum that brings together, at the

highest level, policy makers from Africa and its international partners, the

GCA has great potential in the search for solutions to Africa's most critical

development issues.

The GCA is a forum for equal engagement, for openness to policy decisions

and for great seriousness. Our partnership with the North requires our most

determined leadership. It is important that the GCA be Africa-driven, and it

is in the interest of Africa to have a forum based on equal partnership.

As Chairman of the former Southern African Development Coordination

Conference (SADCC), I am pleased to inform the Assembly that the member States

recently signed in Windhoek, Namibia, a Treaty and Protocol establishing the

Southern African Development Community (SADC). This historic development is

part of the overall efforts of the countries of the subregion to enhance and

intensify inter-regional cooperation.

SADCC had been in existence for 12 years as a loose arrangement between

members. Those very fruitful years armed us with the courage, wisdom and

experience to transform the loose arrangement that was the SADCC into the

formal entity that is the SADC. The establishment of SADC is part and parcel

of continental efforts to create an African economic community; it is without

a doubt one of the community's building blocks.

The establishment of SADC takes place against the backdrop of a serious

drought crisis ravaging southern Africa. The response of the international

community has been very positive, but the magnitude of the crisis is

daunting. The scope and extent of its impact continue to unfold,

necessitating a revised estimation of the resources needed to alleviate the

plight of the most seriously affected populations. We appeal to the members

of the international donor community who have not yet done so to convert their

pledges into concrete contributions to avert a human tragedy.

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development adopted a

number of important decisions which are now before the General Assembly for

follow-up and implementation. We attach the utmost importance to the Rio

Declaration on Environment and Development and the Programme of Action

outlined in Agenda 21. In this regard, we fully support the recommendation to

the General Assembly on the establishment of a high-level commission on

sustainable development. The Rio Summit was the beginning of a process which

should now find concrete expression in the form of the commitment by Member

States to honour their obligations. Of particular importance is the need for

resources to implement Agenda 21.

Drought and desertification threaten the economic prospects of many

developing countries. It is imperative that urgent measures be taken to find

an integrated solution to the problem. We strongly believe that this can be

done within the framework of negotiations on a convention on desertification.

This is a matter of critical importance to many African States, and a positive

decision will contribute substantially to the search for solutions to the

economic malaise facing our continent.

I should like to conclude by reaffirming Botswana's abiding faith in the

United Nations and its Charter. We are ready to play our part in our common

endeavour to strengthen the Organization to enable it to face the challenges

of the twenty-first century.