Lesotho, 2011

At the very outset, allow

me to congratulate Mr. Al-Nasser on his well-deserved

election to the office of President of the General

Assembly at its sixty-sixth session. I assure him of my

delegation’s full support during his tenure. Let me also

pay fitting tribute to his predecessor, Mr. Joseph Deiss,

for the commendable manner in which he led the work

of the General Assembly during the sixty-fifth session.

Mr. Ban Ki-moon also deserves our heart

congratulations on his reappointment as Secretary-

General. His unanimous re-election was a true

reflection of the confidence that all Member States

have in him.

I also wish to express my profound joy at

witnessing the Republic of South Sudan join the ranks

of the Members of the United Nations. We welcome

this new Member and extend our hand in friendship.

This sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly

once again provides us with an opportunity to reflect

on the overall situation in the world. The world

continues to experience numerous challenges. The

target date for the attainment of the Millennium

Development Goals is fast approaching, yet the world

continues to be overwhelmed by unending hurdles on

the path towards their achievement.

Despite globalization, the least developed

countries are yet to be fully integrated into global

markets. Rapid environmental degradation,

compounded by the effects of climate change,

continues to adversely affect ecosystems, agriculture,

water resources and energy supplies. HIV and AIDS

have not relented in decimating whole nations. The

promotion of the principles of democracy and good

governance, the protection of fundamental human

rights, and the abuse of power in international relations

continue to present challenges.

As if this were not enough, terrorism continues to

torment us. Along with the other challenges, this is a

fight that we collectively must win. Terrorism is a

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transnational problem that cannot be left to one State

alone to confront. All Member States must cooperate in

addressing and eliminating this menace. The biggest

challenge that we face in the post-Cold War era is to

ensure that terrorists do not lay their hands on weapons

of mass destruction.

In this regard, we reiterate our call for the total

elimination of all nuclear weapons. We urge the

nuclear weapon States to remain faithful to their

commitments under the Treaty on the

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). We

further call on those Member States that have not

joined the NPT to do so without further delay.

However, it would be illogical to ask non-nuclear

States to shun the proliferation of nuclear weapons,

while States that possess them continue to perfect new

generations of such weapons and to threaten their use

at the slightest opportunity.

Some States Members of this global Organization

continue to experience either internal or external

conflicts of significant proportions. The international

community has not been consistent in its approach to

the management of these conflicts. In some countries,

the international community, acting through the

Security Council, has been swift and decisive in

intervening militarily. In other countries, the same

international community has preferred mediation, and

in yet still others it has turned a blind eye, at best

leaving the mantle to some of its members to

unilaterally threaten the imposition of sanctions.

It is against this background that we welcome the

theme of our general debate, “The role of mediation in

the settlement of disputes by peaceful means”. Indeed,

the relevance and appropriateness of this theme at the

present juncture in international relations is beyond

doubt. In addressing this theme, we start from the

premise that the peaceful settlement of disputes

through mediation lies at the heart of the work of the

United Nations. However, the United Nations has not

sufficiently used mediation as a tool for conflict

resolution.

The United Nations is charged with the

maintenance of international peace and order through

the Security Council. Consequently, the Council is

expected to take a leading role in the settlement of

disputes through mediation. In so doing, the Council

must adopt the multilateral approach. Such an approach

is the only way to guarantee transparency, impartiality

and ownership of the process by the general

membership of the United Nations. Mediation must

have as its priority the peaceful settlement of disputes,

the reconciliation of the parties and the future

sustainability of peace and stability. Peace that is

imposed without consulting all parties to conflicts

cannot be sustainable. Bias and abuse of military

power to influence the outcome of mediation in

conflicts will quickly erode the credibility of the

United Nations as an honest mediator and will

reinforce perceptions of ulterior motives.

The Kingdom of Lesotho is a strong believer in

the principle of subsidiarity. It is common knowledge

that the primary role in the maintenance of

international peace and security reposes in the Security

Council. However, cooperation and coordination

between the Council and regional organizations, in

terms of Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter, is

key to resolving conflicts speedily. The United Nations

must empower and support the efforts of regional

structures and organizations, which in all cases have a

comparative advantage in mediating.

However, the Security Council can better

discharge this function only if it is more representative

of the membership of the United Nations. A more

representative Security Council will take into account

all our aspirations, and its decisions will command

legitimacy. Consequently, we continue to call for the

early and comprehensive reform of the Security

Council in order to make it more representative of the

Member States. It is simply baffling, if not appalling,

to see how this all-important issue of Security Council

reform is being deliberately stymied.

The settlement of conflicts through mediation has

been put to the test, and its successes are well recorded

in the annals of history. The peaceful settlement

through mediation of the conflict in the Republic of

Kenya in 2007 is a typical example. It should be

recalled that, in Kenya, a group of eminent persons

from Africa worked together with the United Nations

to broker a peaceful solution to the political stalemate

that resulted from the disputed parliamentary and

presidential elections of 2007. That solution resulted in

the formation of an all-inclusive and stable

Government.

Secondly, a specific subregional mediation by the

Southern Africa Development Community yielded

fruitful results in Zimbabwe, as did that of the African

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Union (AU) in Burundi. Furthermore, we witnessed a

successfully mediated solution bring an end to Africa’s

longest civil war in the Sudan.

The world rejoiced together with the people of

South Sudan in July 2011 upon their attainment of

independence as a sovereign nation. The remarkable

mediation efforts of the African Union, with the

support of the entire international community, helped

in consolidating peace in South Sudan. Indeed, the

mediation efforts are continuing in that sister country

to ensure the maintenance of peace in the post-conflict

period.

It is our humble but considered opinion that,

where mediation has been given a chance, lives have

been saved. The cost in resources, be they financial or

human, has been minimal, and the destruction of

infrastructure avoided. Above all, reconciliation

between the warring factions has been realized.

Strangely, and despite having mediation at its

disposal, the Security Council has at times preferred

military intervention. I may also add that, at times,

some members of the international community have

unilaterally engaged in military interventions.

Whenever military intervention has been preferred, it

has not enjoyed the support of the general membership

of the United Nations. Needless to say, the impact of

military intervention in conflicts is catastrophic for

innocent civilians, and it destroys infrastructure and

the economies of countries.

In this regard, Libya may be used as a case study.

The African Union developed a comprehensive road

map that would have led to a peaceful settlement of the

Libyan crisis by the Libyan people themselves. Sadly,

we witnessed the deliberate marginalization of the AU

in the resolution of that crisis. Military intervention

was hastily adopted as an option, and the results of this

kind of intervention are a matter of record for all to

see, and indeed will be with us for a long time to come.

Nevertheless, the opportunity for all stakeholders

to work together on consolidating peace in Libya has

not eluded us. The African Union road map for peace

remains as relevant today as it was at the beginning of

the conflict. The United Nations and the African Union

must work together to bring about the consolidation of

peace, national reconciliation and the establishment of

an all-inclusive Government in Libya. The United

Nations, and not just a few countries with vested

interests, should take the lead in the reconstruction of

that country. This transparent and unbiased approach

alone can ensure that there is no relapse into conflict in

Libya.

We must employ all assets at our disposal so as to

fully exploit mediation as a tool for conflict prevention

and resolution. The good offices of the Secretary-

General in conflict prevention and resolution are an

instrument that may be very effective in mediating

conflicts. Those offices must be strengthened and given

the human and other resources necessary to undertake

mediation early enough to prevent conflicts and to deal

effectively with those that are ongoing. In that regard,

we encourage the mediation efforts of the Secretary-

General towards the realization of a free and

independent Western Sahara.

By the same token, we are convinced that the

solution to the settlement of the question of Palestine

will be attained through genuine mediation. The

stalemate in the negotiations is a source of grave

concern to my country. We urge all the parties involved

to resuscitate the negotiations between the State of

Palestine and Israel without any further delay.

Similarly, we must explore the possibility of a

mediated solution to the problem between the Republic

of Cuba and the United States of America. The

international community has been unanimous in its call

for the lifting of the economic and commercial

embargo imposed upon Cuba, yet the problem persists.

Indeed, Cuba, like all Member States, is entitled to

freedom of international trade and navigation.

I conclude by pointing out that the crises we face

today provide us with an opportunity for introspection

and to chart the way forward. The obstacles that lie

ahead of us are not insurmountable. We must build a

more robust multilateral organization that is responsive

to the modern-day needs of our peoples. A United

Nations that is able to work with its partners, including

regional and subregional organizations, and all of its

Member States will surely achieve much success in all

of its endeavours. With renewed political will and

determination, let us commit ourselves to the principles

of mediation, as enshrined in the United Nations

Charter, and to the peaceful settlement of all disputes

and conflicts.