Lesotho, 1993

On behalf of the Lesotho

delegation and on my own behalf, I wish to congratulate

Ambassador Insanally on his election to the presidency of

the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session. His

election is a well-deserved tribute to his great personal

qualities and also to the dynamic role that the Republic of

Guyana has always played within the United Nations and in

world affairs. We are also indebted to the dedication and

the effective manner in which his predecessor, His

Excellency Mr. Stoyan Ganev of the Republic of Bulgaria,

guided the deliberations of this lofty body during the forty-

seventh session of the General Assembly.

Allow me also to extend our congratulations to that

distinguished son of Africa, His Excellency Mr. Boutros

Boutros-Ghali, Secretary-General of the United Nations,

whose untiring global efforts for peace continue to inspire us

all. My delegation wishes to reiterate once more its

readiness to continue to cooperate with him in every way

that would promote international cooperation and

understanding, in conformity with the Charter of our

Organization.

On behalf of my delegation, allow me also to express,

like those who have spoken before me, deepest condolences

to the Government and the people of the Republic of India

for the tragic loss of human lives resulting from the recent

earthquake in that country.

Since 1945 the membership of the United Nations has

increased dramatically, lending credence to the universality

of this Organization and bearing out the wisdom of the

founding fathers. Today we welcome the new Members to

a United Nations whose numerical strength is matched by

the broadened scope of its vision, the depth of its

commitment to global issues and the capacity of its

operations world wide which, more than ever before, it

behooves us all to enhance further. We also look forward to

welcoming back into the fold a free, democratic and

non-racial Republic of South Africa in the very near future.

With the emergence of the new world order, we are

today at a high tide of opportunity to realize the vision of

global peace that inspired the United Nations Charter in

1945. The original design for peace, as outlined in the

Charter in 1945, seems to be in sight with the emergence of

that new world order.

Forty-eighth session - 8 October l993 11

The commendable efforts made by the

Secretary-General towards the promotion of international

peace and security and for the consolidation of peaceful

coexistence among nations are about to bear results.

Following the period characterized by international relations

of confrontation between the military blocs of East and

West, we see around us today an increasing recognition

among nations of the need for the settlement of international

and regional problems by peaceful means, that is, through

negotiation and dialogue. All these developments augur well

for the realization of the goals and objectives we set for

ourselves in San Francisco in 1945.

Recent developments, however, continue to test our

Organization’s capacity to make the initiative of 1945 a

reality. New challenges have emerged and continue to

confront us. Though different in nature and content from

those of the past, they are no less important in their bearing,

scope and influence on peace and the future of mankind.

The beginning of this last decade of the century held

out hope for international peace and stability. The world

community lifted itself from the trenches of the cold war,

pledging to build for mankind a new world order firmly

based on legitimacy, cooperation and respect for the rights

and dignity of the human person. The residual tendencies to

confrontation were also collectively suppressed by the united

world action in the Gulf.

The euphoria of a world finally at peace has not,

regrettably, been universal. From Angola to Somalia to

Bosnia and Herzegovina and, recently, in the political

standoff in the Russian Federation, we witness a world

haunted anew by disputes originating from legacies of the

past. The destructiveness and brutality of internal wars are

threatening to unweave the very tapestry on which

civilization is based.

As it stands on the eve of celebrating the golden jubilee

of the Charter, the world body must recognize the need for

increased resources and more balanced burden-sharing

among Member States in order to strengthen the capacity of

the United Nations to fulfil effectively its peacemaking and

peace-keeping obligations. It must continue to pursue more

resolutely the objectives of the Charter, all of which stipulate

that the realization of peace and development are legitimate

aspirations of all peoples.

In the past we have talked about the urgent need for the

democratization and restructuring of the United Nations. In

this regard, we take note of the commendable efforts which

are being made by the Secretary-General to strengthen the

structures of the other organs of the Organization within the

context of "An Agenda for Peace" and through regional

commissions.

In the aftermath of the cold war and at a time when

international relations are being reshaped, it is necessary that

the imbalances inherent in the present United Nations system

be reviewed and corrected. Such an exercise should take

into account the principles of decentralization of resources

and equitable geographical representation in the decision-

making organs of the world body. Like a world parliament,

the United Nations must reflect in its structures the same

democratic values that it advocates, the values of fairness,

transparency and equitable representation, in order to

validate the principle of equality of States.

The need for democratization extends, in particular, to

the Security Council. The African continent accounts for

almost one third of the United Nations membership. In the

spirit of reflecting the regional diversity of our Organization,

we must consider positively the interest of Africa in being

allotted at least two permanent seats on the Security Council

and an increased number of non-permanent seats.

Never before in the history of the United Nations has

the world been presented with a greater opportunity for

peace. The challenge of this opportunity will require us to

conduct international relations with the vision and realism of

people who recognize how near, in the past, the world has

been to the edge of the precipice.

The United Nations global peace-keeping missions are

a beacon of hope and a source of inspiration to peace-loving

communities world wide that are ravaged by war and strife

and in many cases have nowhere else to turn. But even in

these trying times, a great opportunity exists, an opportunity

possibly greater than any the world community of nations

has seen since the founding of this Organization for the

creation and maintenance of global peace.

Notwithstanding the positive initiative taken by the

major nuclear Powers since the end of the cold war, there is

still a need to establish a close link between disarmament

and international peace in the years ahead. This is the ideal

formula to fulfil the aspirations of mankind for a life that is

free from the threat of war. To be effective towards this

end, disarmament must be universal and embrace all

categories of weapons, including conventional weapons.

We also recognize that the global reduction of military

expenditures could enable the world to redirect its resources

to development and to meet the challenge of reversing the

12 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

environmental degradation of our planet on the eve of the

twenty-first century.

The hopes of the world were placed last year in the

United Nations Conference on Environment and

Development (UNCED). The Earth Summit broke fresh

ground in addressing global environmental and development

crises. While it did not solve these problems, it at least

succeeded in building a large amount of goodwill for the

global economic partnership that is so vital if addressing the

many environmental problems that the UNCED process

recognized and, indeed, highlighted, are to be addressed.

More than a year after the Rio Conference, the

establishment of the high-level Commission on Sustainable

Development remains the most tangible development so far.

The majority of the commitments made by world

Governments in Rio are yet to be matched with actual deeds.

The global trends towards the reduction of aid budgets by

the developed countries and the intensifying commercial and

political pressure on aid administration contrast sharply with

the commitments made by these countries in Rio to reach

the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of gross national

product in aid towards assisting the developing countries

make a transition to sustainable development.

Another source of great disappointment is the

continuing decline in voluntary contributions to the United

Nations operational activities. The United Nations system

has a central role to play in channelling assistance to

developing countries, capitalizing on its comparative

advantages of neutrality, widespread field-level presence and

rapid response.

The least developed countries are continuing to

experience a deterioration of their socio-economic situation

owing to profound structural constraints and handicaps which

reduce their ability to overcome the negative impact of

external factors. The issue of the stalemate in multilateral

trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs

and Trade (GATT) is a matter of great concern to the

developing countries. Further delays towards successful,

balanced and comprehensive GATT negotiations will render

the principle of trade as the engine of growth and

development an illusion. These basic economic structural

problems, coupled with a proneness to natural disasters,

seriously hamper these countries’ efforts towards meaningful

economic growth.

The recent drought which struck the countries of

eastern and southern Africa was the worst ever. In Lesotho,

the Government has had to declare a state of continuing

drought emergency and to extend provision of drought-relief

measures for another year, until June 1994. We wish to

express our gratitude to the Secretary-General and his team

for their efforts in convening, jointly with the Southern

African Development Community, a donors’ conference in

Geneva last year to address the drought problem. Similarly,

we wish to thank the international community for its

demonstration of solidarity with our region at a time of

desperate need.

The Kingdom of Lesotho welcomes the Secretary-

General’s report entitled "An Agenda for Peace" (A/47/277).

This document contains far-reaching recommendations on

peacemaking, peace-building and peace-keeping. However,

the implementation of these recommendations will fall short

of attaining the intended results fully if they are not

complemented with efforts to harness and reverse the further

deterioration in peoples’ socio-economic situations. It is on

this basis that my delegation lends its full support to General

Assembly resolution 47/181 on the "Agenda for

Development". We stand ready to engage in constructive

debate on the Secretary-General’s preliminary report on "An

Agenda for Development".

The world today faces profound changes, which are

fuelled by the deep desire of people across the globe for

respect for their basic human rights, for democracy, for

public accountability and good governance. The

democratically elected Government of the Kingdom of

Lesotho embraces the idea and concept of national

reconciliation, for which the people of Lesotho have yearned

for so long. The Government has also embarked on a

vigorous campaign to inculcate and nurture the culture of

democracy, respect for basic human rights and popular

participation, which should, in turn, have an impact on social

mobilization for development, democratic institution-

building, political stability and national prosperity.

The new Government views the 1993 general election

and the overwhelming popular mandate it received for the

stewardship of the nation’s affairs as a golden opportunity to

address, with fresh impetus, the urgent national issues of

poverty, ignorance and disease. We therefore wish to make

a special appeal to the donor community to lend a helping

hand to our efforts in this regard, in the considered belief

that democracy and development are complementary.

On behalf of the Government and the peace-loving

people of Lesotho, I wish to express our gratitude for the

prompt and generous support and assistance we received

from the international community towards the success of our

return to democratic civilian rule.

Forty-eighth session - 8 October l993 13

The situation in South Africa is always a cause for

concern in Lesotho, as South Africa is our only immediate

neighbour. Despite our concern with the ever-rising levels

of violence and the increasing resolve by the right-wing

elements to engage in sabotage in South Africa, we are

encouraged by what has been achieved through negotiations

in that country. In particular, we applaud the agreement

reached by the negotiating parties on the date of the end of

April 1994 for the holding of the first democratic elections

as well as the establishment of the Transitional Executive

Council to oversee the transitional arrangements prior to

elections. While we acknowledge and support the call for

the lifting of economic sanctions against South Africa, we

urge the United Nations to upgrade the United Nations

monitoring team in South Africa in order to give effective

meaning to the Secretary-General’s report "An Agenda for

Peace" and its central message of preventive diplomacy,

peace-building and peacemaking.

It is our fervent hope that the lessons of the Kingdom

of Lesotho’s peaceful transition to democracy will not be

lost on the citizens of South Africa, whose own chance to

elect a Government of their choice for the first time seems

within reach.

The people of Angola, another sister country in the

subregion, continue to be denied a chance for peace by

UNITA. We condemn UNITA for the escalation of the

military actions and for the continued massacre of innocent

civilians and the destruction of the infrastructure in Angola.

We appreciate the efforts of the Secretary-General and take

note of Security Council resolution 851 (1993), which

imposes a number of sanctions intended to limit the ability

of UNITA to continue with its war effort.

We also wish to applaud the decision by the United

States to recognize and establish diplomatic contact with the

Government of Angola, as well as the subsequent positive

initiatives for peace taken by the United States in Angola.

Mozambique is currently enjoying relative peace. The

General Peace Agreement signed in Rome is holding, and

the parties have continued to exercise restraint. We appeal

to the parties concerned to implement the peace accords

without delay and to cooperate with the Secretary-General’s

Special Representative in full, including the timely

implementation of the mandate of the United Nations

Operation in Mozambique.

In Liberia, we are optimistic that the collaboration

between the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia

(UNOMIL) and the Economic Community of West African

States (ECOWAS) Military Observer Group (ECOMOG),

together with the Peace Agreement signed in Cotonou in

July 1993, will bring lasting peace and that the warring

factions will stop hostilities and agree on a transitional

arrangement to lead the country to democratic elections.

Last, but not least, it is heartening to see real hope of

a solution to one of the bloodiest, most impassioned and

most obdurate conflicts of our time in the Middle East. The

signing last month of the peace accord between the State of

Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization is a victory

for common sense and the validation of peaceful methods in

resolving disputes between States. The virtue of this mutual

achievement is that it puts coexistence to a test in reality and

not in mere exchange of rhetoric.

None of this, however, should distract the world from

the reaffirmation of the right of the Palestinian people to

nationhood in accordance with the relevant Security Council

resolutions.

During the World Conference on Human Rights, held

in June this year, the whole world converged in Vienna to

discuss human rights issues. Although the World

Conference was inundated with diverse interpretations of

human rights, a great deal of progress was made. My

delegation believes that the international community should

rededicate itself to the Vienna Declaration and Programme

of Action as the central document in the effective

implementation of existing human rights instruments and

commit itself to the principles enshrined in the Charter of

the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights.

In conclusion, my delegation would wish to emphasize

once again that it remains for us to join hands and strive

resolutely in all spheres of human endeavour to ensure the

very survival of current and succeeding generations. Let this

Organization remain the burning light of hope and

inspiration for all mankind. For all its differences, and for

all its diversity, ours is a world of interdependence and

destinies inextricably joined. Let us renew our resolve to

pursue to the end the lofty purposes and principles of the

Charter of our Organization.