Lesotho, 2009

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

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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.