Botswana, 2013

Allow me, on behalf of the Botswana delegation, to join previous speakers

in congratulating President Ashe most sincerely on

his assumption of the presidency of the Assembly. His

election demonstrates the confidence and high esteem

in which he personally and his great country, Antigua

and Barbuda, are held by the States Members of the

Organization. We particularly admire his deep passion

and proven record of leadership here at the United

Nations on issues of sustainable development and

climate change. We are therefore confident that the vast

knowledge and experience of multilateral diplomacy

which he brings to this position will contribute

significantly to the success of this session. May I also

congratulate his predecessor, Vuk Jeremi., for his

effective guidance and sterling leadership of the sixty-

seventh session.

My delegation fully endorses the theme he has

proposed for this session, namely, “The post-2015

development agenda: setting the stage”, including

overcoming poverty and insecurity as well as ensuring

the achievement of the sustainable development goals.

This is quite relevant and fitting given the fact that

the international community is on the brink of two

major interrelated developments in the global arena:

the imminent target date of 2015 for the achievement

of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and

the evolution of the sustainable development goals,

which will constitute a significant part of the post-

2015 development agenda. We therefore pledge our full

support and cooperation to President Ashe in his efforts

to usher in a new development paradigm.

There is no doubt that the challenges of extreme

poverty, disease, lack of access to affordable energy,

potable water and sanitation, climate change and

gender inequality will continue to haunt millions of our

people, especially in developing countries.

It is on account of this that my delegation is of

the strong view that the formulation of the sustainable

development goals should be predicated on the

outcome of the current review of the implementation

of the Millennium Development Goals. To that end, we

believe that the sustainable development Goals should

complement the Millennium Development Goals rather

than replace them wholesale.

Botswana has made impressive achievements in the

implementation of the Millennium Development Goals,

and we have mainstreamed them into our national

development planning process. A substantial portion of

our national budget is allocated to health, education,

infrastructure, human resource development and the

empowerment of women and young people.

I am proud to report that we have achieved universal

primary education, as well as universal access to

HIV/AIDS treatment, care and support services.

We have drastically reduced the mother-to-child

transmission of HIV/AIDS. We are working tirelessly

towards achieving zero new infections and zero

HIV/AIDS-related deaths by 2015.

We reaffirm our commitment to the fight against

HIV/AIDS. Central to our efforts is the commitment

to ensuring respect for human rights and expanding

access to prevention, treatment and care support

services for affected populations, including those most

at risk. In addition, we remain committed to providing

a good quality of life for all of Botswana. In that regard,

we give the utmost priority to the implementation of

poverty eradication programmes, with particular focus

on vulnerable communities and vulnerable groups,

such as women, youth, the elderly and persons with

disabilities.

Despite all of the achievements we have made to

date, serious challenges remain. Permit me to briefly

address the vexing subject of climate change and the

situation of countries in special categories, including

middle-income countries. Botswana is among the

sub-Saharan African countries that suffer the most

from the adverse impact of climate change. Some of the

notable manifestations of climate change are extreme

temperatures, water shortages, land degradation,

desertification and persistent drought. Climate change

also has adverse impacts on health and food security.

While it is gratifying that progress continues to

be made in many countries in the implementation of

the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change, my delegation believes that more needs to be

done, particularly to assist vulnerable countries in arid

and semi-arid areas and landlocked and transit countries,

such as my own, that are also susceptible to drought

and desertification. Financial support, technology

transfer and capacity-building need to be generously

extended to that special category of countries in order

to assist them in adapting to and mitigating the effects

of climate change.

Last year, Botswana hosted the Summit for

Sustainability in Africa, whose outcome declaration

calls upon Governments to ensure that the contributions

of natural capital to sustainable economic growth and

the maintenance and improvement of social capital

and human well-being are quantified and integrated

into development and business practices. We wish

to commend the work done by non-governmental

environmental organizations worldwide in their

unremitting efforts to save the planet from climate

change and its negative effects.

Botswana welcomes the adoption earlier this year

of the long-overdue Arms Trade Treaty. The Treaty

establishes common international standards for the

regulation of international trade in conventional arms,

ammunition and parts and components, with a view to

strengthening international peace and security. In that

regard, I am delighted to report that arrangements are

under way to facilitate our signing and ratification of

that vital instrument in the very near future.

Botswana remains firmly committed to a strong and

effective international criminal justice system — hence

our continued strong support for the mandate and work

of the International Criminal Court. We believe that

the Court has a vital role to play in the fight against

impunity, genocide, war crimes, crimes against

humanity and the crime of aggression.

In that regard, last April, Botswana hosted a

regional workshop for African States parties to the

Rome Statute. The workshop was aimed at encouraging

African States parties to ratify the 2010 Kampala

amendments to the Rome Statute, which deal with

the specific question of the crime of aggression. I am

pleased to say that, following the workshop, Botswana

became the first African State party to ratify the

Kampala amendments. We can only hope that other

State parties will follow suit so that we can secure the

requisite number of ratifications for the amendments to

enter into force.

Turning now to issues of international peace and

security, it defies logic that, throughout the course of

history, humankind has unleashed untold suffering on

humankind. Conflict is raging in many parts of the

world, where innocent lives are being lost needlessly.

My delegation wishes to reiterate that States have a duty

and a responsibility to protect their populations from

war crimes and crimes against humanity and to see to it

that the perpetrators of such crimes do not benefit from

impunity. In situations where it is clear that States have

failed or are unwilling to exercise their responsibility to

protect, it is only fair and proper that the international

community should intervene. In that regard, I refer

mainly to the responsibility of the Security Council.

For slightly over two years now, the people of Syria

have been engulfed in a brutal civil war whose end

seems nowhere in sight. We remain deeply concerned

that Syria continues to be soaked in the blood of its

citizens. We therefore wish to note our disappointment

with those permanent members of the Security Council

that continue to frustrate resolutions authorizing

interventions seeking a lasting solution to the ongoing

carnage in Syria.

It is a cause for extreme sadness that, despite the

ever-worsening humanitarian situation in that country,

the international community continues to turn a blind

eye to the situation. We fear that, if the current state

of affairs continues, a humanitarian catastrophe of epic

proportions will unfold and haunt humankind for many

generations to come. Accordingly, we wish to reiterate

our position that punitive action in some form should

be taken against the Al-Assad regime for committing

crimes against humanity. We appeal once again to the

Security Council, the organ with responsibility under

the Charter of the United Nations for the maintenance

of international peace and security, to take decisive

action, once and for all, to end the human suffering in

Syria.

Let me take this opportunity to commend all

credible human rights and humanitarian organizations

for their efforts to relieve human suffering around the

world. We equally wish to commend those countries in

the region, especially Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, for

accommodating and positively responding to the plight

of refugees from Syria and trying to meet their needs.

The political upheaval in Egypt is also a cause

for grave concern. Naturally, we believe that former

President Morsi contributed to the present crisis by

attempting to promulgate his undemocratic and divisive

agenda, which resulted in an unfortunate military

coup. Urgent action is therefore required to restore

constitutional rule in that country.

We note with deep concern that, shortly after

celebrating the second anniversary of its independence,

Africa’s newest sovereign State, South Sudan, has

experienced developments in its relations with the

Sudan that seriously threaten its security and territorial

integrity. At the same time, we remain deeply concerned

about the further deterioration of the political and

humanitarian situation in Darfur. We therefore appeal

to the international community to assist in all ways

possible to restore peace and stability in that region.

My Government strongly condemns the recent spate

of terrorist attacks in Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan,

which have resulted in the loss of many innocent

lives. We wish to convey our sincere condolences and

sympathy to the affected countries and the families

of the deceased. Those acts of terror are a threat to

international peace and security and militate against

the international community’s efforts to build a secure,

peaceful and prosperous world.

Such terrorist acts are transnational in nature and

call therefore for a global response. To that end, we

appeal to the conscience and resolve of all members

of the international community to remain united and

steadfast, if we are to win that fight. There can be no

doubt that, if left unchecked, international terrorism

has the potential to undermine our global development

agenda.

We find it opportune to commend Secretary-

General Ban Ki-moon for the vanguard role he

continues to play in the maintenance of international

peace and security, as well as in addressing issues

of human suffering across the globe. The Secretary-

General should also be applauded for his continued

efforts to coordinate international efforts to advance

the post-2015 development agenda.

Let me conclude by reaffirming Botswana’s

continued commitment to playing its part in the quest

for international peace and security as well as in the

international community’s unrelenting efforts towards

making the world a safer, peaceful and more prosperous

place for both present and future generations.