Lesotho, 2002

My delegation associates

itself with compliments extended to the President

following his election to the presidency of this session,

to his predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-soo, and to the

Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi

Annan.

The admissions of the Democratic Republic of

East Timor and of the Swiss Confederation to

membership of the Organization are a joyous occasion

for my delegation. We welcome and indeed

congratulate those two countries and nations as they

join our family of nations.

As we meet here today, Lesotho and some other

countries of the southern African subregion are in the

grip of a most devastating and unprecedented food

shortage, as a result of a combination of floods,

unseasonable frost and drought, consequent upon

climatic changes that have hit the region in the recent

past.

On 19 April of this year, when the Government of

the Kingdom of Lesotho declared a state of famine, it

was evident that over half a million people, out of a

total of 2.2 million, faced a severe food crisis. Since

then, efforts have been made at the national level to

address the problem.

Let me take this opportunity, on behalf of the

Government and the people of the Kingdom of Lesotho

and, indeed, on my own behalf, to express our gratitude

for the rapid response of the United Nations and its

specialized agencies and programmes and that of the

donor community to the crisis facing my country.

HIV/AIDS, which has emerged as a major health

and development threat, continues to be a source of

grave concern in my country. Most of those who are

infected are between the ages of 15 and 45 and

constitute the potential and active workforce in

Lesotho.

Of equally great concern is the corrosive effect

that HIV/AIDS has on the family structure and on the

social fabric of our society. We now have a large

number of orphans and child-headed households. Those

who are sick not only lack adequate counselling and

medicine but also lack care and support.

My delegation therefore makes a special appeal to

the international community to provide adequate

financial support for the African countries, in order to

arrest and, indeed, to redress the spread of HIV/AIDS.

In this regard, the efforts of the Secretary-General of

the United Nations in establishing the Global Fund to

fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria are most

welcome. Indeed, Africa as a whole needs

unconditional support in many other areas, particularly

in the sectors of agriculture, health, nutrition, water

and sanitation and education. Undoubtedly, there is a

strong link between poverty and the scourge of HIV/

AIDS.

The Monterrey Conference on Financing for

Development, the Doha Ministerial Conference on

trade and the World Summit on Sustainable

Development provided useful forums for discussing

steps that must be taken to remove obstacles to

economic growth and sustainable development,

particularly in the developing countries. We are

hopeful that commitments made by our cooperating

partners mark a beginning of the process of helping the

least developed countries (LDCs) to translate goals and

targets of major global conferences and summits into

concrete actions. My delegation reiterates that the

marginalization of LDCs can be ended only if they are

assisted in integrating profitably into the global

economy.

Africa took a very bold and decisive step recently

in Durban, South Africa, in launching the African

Union. There is no doubt, as many may have observed,

that while the road to this Union was strewn with many

obstacles, there is now some light at the end of the

tunnel. This hope is premised on the principles that

have guided us in the last thirty-nine years of the

Organization of African Unity (OAU). The Africa of

today is committed to the principles of democracy,

stability, peace, security, good governance and the rule

of law. Above all, modern Africa is committed to good

economic management because it is, indeed, the

mismanagement of our economies that has often led to

conflicts on the continent.

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The New Partnership for Africa's Development

(NEPAD) is a home-grown African strategy and an

African Union programme for Africa's development. It

is a commitment by African leaders to eradicate

poverty and to place the continent on a path of lasting

growth and development. My delegation, therefore,

appeals for more international support for NEPAD. We

believe that the role of the entire international

community in supporting NEPAD, and the role of the

United Nations in the coordination and synchronization

of activities related to ensuring its success, would

indeed provide a fresh impetus for Africa's

development.

The right of a people to self-determination is a

human right and a fundamental principle enshrined in

the Charter of the United Nations. The peoples of

Western Sahara and Palestine, therefore, deserve no

less. Hence, my delegation urges that efforts to

emancipate these nations be strengthened and speeded

up.

Lesotho is gratified that one of the oldest and

longest running conflicts in Africa has finally come to

an end with the signing of the ceasefire in Luanda,

Angola, early this year, by the representatives of the

National Union for the Total Independence of Angola

(UNITA) and the Government of Angola. However,

Lesotho and other Southern African Development

Community (SADC) countries, as well as the

international community at large, are alarmed by the

harsh social and economic conditions that confront

internally displaced persons and refugees who return to

their homes in Angola.

We appreciate the efforts of the entire United

Nations system to address this situation. We are of the

view that a lot more still needs to be done for the

Angolan people, including the provision of significant

additional resources as called for by the United Nations

Secretary-General, in order to address the humanitarian

needs of the people of Angola.

Despite the temporary disruption of the ceasefire

negotiations, my delegation is convinced that the

Machakos Protocol signed between the Government of

the Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation

Movement and Army, remains a viable framework for

the realization of durable peace in the Sudan. We urge

the warring parties to return to the negotiation table in

earnest and in good faith.

The situation in the Democratic Republic of

Congo has also been a source of concern to us all. We

wish to congratulate the Governments of the

Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda

for the signing of the peace agreements, which should

pave the way for the withdrawal of troops from the

Democratic Republic of Congo. We believe that this

will also ensure that the security concerns of the

neighbouring countries are adequately addressed,

whilst at the same time creating conditions that are

conducive for the Congolese people to live in peace in

their own country.

Terrorism has become one of the most pressing

concerns of the international community in recent

times. The Government of Lesotho has joined other

peace-loving members of the international community

in waging war against this heinous crime.

The Government of Lesotho is committed to the

full implementation of Security Council resolution

1373 (2001), and, despite financial and technical

constraints, we will continue to discharge our

obligations, as stipulated in that resolution.

The shocking images of atrocities perpetrated in

Rwanda and in the former Yugoslavia will forever be

embedded in our minds. They have served as a painful

reminder to the international community that such

crimes should never go unaccounted for and their

perpetrators unpunished. In that spirit we hail the

landmark agreement reached between the United

Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone to

establish an independent special court for the

prosecution of those responsible for the serious decade-

long crimes against humanity committed in the

territory of Sierra Leone. We hope that the creation of

this special court will contribute greatly to the process

of national reconciliation and healing, as well as to the

restoration and maintenance of peace in Sierra Leone.

The Government of Lesotho reveres the coming

into force of the Statute of the International Criminal

Court, a momentous period when the countries of the

world affirmed their intolerance of those who commit

crimes against humanity with impunity. We therefore

invite those States that have not yet done so, to become

party to the Statute, so that we may embark on this

noble but difficult pursuit in solidarity.

I should not conclude this statement without

making reference to the issue of the reform of the

Security Council. The process of democratization is,

6

indeed, very difficult, and yet inevitable. It essentially

involves a lot of compromise and understanding on the

part of those who cherish and uphold the basic tenets of

democracy and equality of States. My delegation

therefore wishes to reiterate its concern that this organ

of the United Nations, which is charged with the

maintenance of international peace and security, has

itself not yet moved to be more inclusive and more

representative. Here again, efforts need to be redoubled

and the pace accelerated.