Eswatini, 2001

It is an honour and

privilege for me to deliver this statement on behalf of

His Majesty King Mswati III. I wish to convey the

greetings and warm wishes of His Majesty, Her

Majesty The Queen Mother, Ndlovukazi, the

Government and the entire Swazi nation to all our

friends and fellow Members of the United Nations.

The Kingdom of Swaziland offers her warmest

congratulations to the President on his election to the

presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth

session. We are confident that with his proven abilities

and leadership, he will guide us to success in our

deliberations at this time of crisis in global affairs.

Allow me to express our appreciation to his

predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Harri Holkeri, of

Finland, who, by his astute and judicious leadership,

brought to a successful conclusion the work of the

fifty-fifth session.

The Kingdom of Swaziland would further like to

commend the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for

leading our Organization so effectively through his

tenure thus far. We will continue to depend on his

highly developed sense of diplomacy and his

undoubted commitment to achieve global peace,

stability and equitable development. The recent award

of the Nobel Peace Prize to both the Secretary-General

and the United Nations attests to the aforementioned

attributes.

We are also grateful for the continuing dedication

and hard work of the staff of the United Nations, whose

efforts are needed all the more in these challenging

times. In this regard, we call upon all our fellow

Members to demonstrate their support for the

Secretary-General and his staff by honouring their

financial obligations, so that our Organization can have

sufficient resources with which to meet the widening

scope of its activities.

We are meeting one year after the historic

gathering of world leaders, when the international

community sought to redefine and articulate a common

vision for the future of all its citizens. The goals to be

achieved were clearly set out in the Millennium

Declaration as an outcome of the Millennium Summit.

Today we have the opportunity — indeed, the

responsibility — to evaluate just how far we have come

in that mission which we set for ourselves through this

Organization. We need to address honestly our

shortcomings in commitment and action and to further

devise practical and realistic strategies that will result

in measurable progress in areas identified for urgent

action.

The Kingdom of Swaziland therefore believes

that the promotion of sustainable international peace

and security must be one of the main priorities of the

United Nations, because it is clear that our collective

aim of raising the living standard of our peoples is

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possible only in conditions of global stability and with

nations living harmoniously alongside one another.

The Kingdom of Swaziland joined the rest of the

world in condemnation of the tragic terrorist attacks of

11 September, to which the international community

must respond because such acts are an assault on

human decency and humanity. These acts cannot be

justified under any circumstances. The Kingdom of

Swaziland repudiates such acts and aligns itself with all

peace-loving people around the world not only in

condemning such acts, but also in calling for their

complete eradication. To that end, the Kingdom of

Swaziland will do all in its power to prevent acts of

terrorism and to ensure that the support and financing

of terrorism cannot take root on Swazi soil. We once

more offer our sympathy and prayers to the families

and friends of those who lost their lives in the tragedy.

Future global stability is threatened by the spread

of weapons of mass destruction, as well as the

unabated proliferation of small arms and light

weapons. Vigorous and urgent efforts are needed to

eliminate these weapons. In this regard, we welcome

the successful conclusion of the United Nations

Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, as well as of

the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in

Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects. We

deem their outcomes timely and necessary.

While much has been done through the process of

reform effected by the Secretary-General, it is also

recognized that there has been very little progress made

so far by the Open-ended Working Group to address

the most important aspect of the reform: the

restructuring of the Security Council. More intensified

efforts should be made to bring to a conclusion the

deliberations on this issue, and we look forward to the

leadership of the President of the General Assembly in

advancing negotiations towards a lasting solution. The

Kingdom of Swaziland is still committed to the process

of the reform for the expansion of the Security Council

in both categories of its membership. In that regard, we

continue to support the African position in favour of

two permanent seats and three non-permanent seats

being allocated to the African continent.

The Kingdom of Swaziland believes that the

United Nations, in conjunction with regional

organizations, must take on a more proactive role in

preventive diplomacy to head off potentially explosive

situations. We need an effective early warning

capability to deal with emerging conflicts and much

closer collaboration between the Security Council and

the Office of the Secretary-General in our efforts to

meet security challenges wherever they may occur.

At this time, our Organization is understandably

focused on global security. The crisis in the peace

process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority is

a component of the overall challenge and continues to

pose a significant threat to security in both the Middle

East and the wider world at large. The Kingdom of

Swaziland believes that the only solution to the

continuing instability in that region is through peaceful

dialogue and a return to the spirit of compromise and

understanding that has characterized the relationship

between the two sides in the past. We commend the

efforts of all who are trying to bring lasting,

sustainable peace to the Middle East, and we offer our

encouragement and support for the achievement of this

goal.

On the African continent, security challenges

continue to cause suffering and restrict the

development of many millions of our people. While

this is undeniable, it is also clear that Africa itself is

taking on the responsibility to find solutions to the

crises affecting a number of its nations. The peace

processes in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the

Congo, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and Eritrea and Angola

all have benefited from the involvement of our regional

and subregional groupings and from the efforts of

dedicated African men and women. The Kingdom of

Swaziland supports unequivocally these efforts, and we

join our fellow African Member States in calling for

continued and enhanced support from the United

Nations and individual countries and for commitments

in word to be followed up by action.

In developmental terms, there is a new wind

blowing through all the African countries, bringing

fresh hope to our peoples for improved standards of

living and the removal of the burdens of the past. A

series of historic agreements by all African countries

indicates a new era of optimism for the continent, as

well as the start of a new relationship with the rest of

the world. The continent will no longer tolerate the

notion of unconstitutional Governments, and we have

all confirmed our belief that transparency and

accountability are the watchwords of governance that

places people at the centre of development.

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We also believe that trade with the rest of the

world is the lifeblood of our developing economies,

encouraging the creation of businesses and inward and

local investment and increasing employment. We

therefore commend those countries and trading blocs

that recognize the importance to Africa of freeing up

their markets for our goods and services and encourage

others to follow suit.

The birth of the African Union is a signal to the

rest of the world that Africa means business and is

ready to back up its words with action. The New

African Initiative proposes a partnership that is based

on support for an Africa that recognizes and accepts its

responsibilities from a world that understands our

priorities for development. We commend the initiative

to those who are in a position to help Africa emerge

from the disappointments of the past into a prosperous

and secure future.

We are on the edge of a global recession, and its

effects will be felt hardest among those of us in the

developing world. After a decade of encouraging talk

of the benefits of globalization, we are discovering the

hard truth: that we are nowhere near the stage of being

able to gain advantage from a world of liberalized

trade. This must now surely be plain for anyone to see.

Globalization in its unfettered form is likely to do

more harm than good to the small, vulnerable

economies unless measures are put in place to protect

them in the short to medium term. There must be

agreed ground rules to regulate the conduct of free

trade in goods and services to ensure an equitable

exchange between unequal partners.

Considering the intrinsic link between peace,

security and development, the United Nations has an

even bigger responsibility to increase its efforts to

secure resources to finance development, especially for

those of us most at risk in these times of economic

uncertainty. We believe it is the responsibility of the

wider international community to continue to provide

resources to assist developing countries to fight their

way out of poverty.

The Kingdom of Swaziland continues to develop

confidently and peacefully, according to the wishes of

its people. Our review of the Constitution was

completed earlier this year, and the recommendations

of the people will now be drafted into a legal document

for final approval by the Swazi nation next year. This

vital nation-building process will result in a

Constitution that is based entirely on the wishes of the

people themselves, and we are confident that it will

serve the best interests of the Kingdom for many

generations to come.

Poverty alleviation remains the top priority for

the Kingdom, and we continue to make great efforts to

achieve this aim through a series of economic

measures, such as investment attraction, increased

trade and the stimulation of local entrepreneurship. We

are embarking on an ambitious programme to

maximize the potential of our tourism and industry

sectors, and in this we need the support of the

international financial institutions, as well as the

United Nations Development Programme.

Despite our best efforts, and in common with all

developing countries, the Kingdom is finding progress

difficult to achieve in the face of huge obstacles, with

the greatest undoubtedly being the threat to our future

posed by the HIV/AIDS crisis. During the United

Nations special session on HIV/AIDS held here in

June, we made clear the scale of the disaster facing our

nation. There is no doubt that the spread of HIV among

the population represents our greatest development

challenge, and we are working hard in a combined,

national effort to overcome the devastating effects of

the pandemic.

However, we cannot do this alone. We need

substantial support to implement our strategy of

education, prevention, care and counselling. Finances,

drugs, expertise and guidance are all urgently required.

The very survival of our nation is at stake, and we

appeal once more to the United Nations and to the

international community at large not to abandon us at

this moment of supreme necessity.

It could be said that there has been an

inauspicious start to the twenty-first century, with the

globalization of terrorism and the reality of a global

economic recession at the forefront of our minds. This

places all the more responsibility on the United Nations

to harness the resources and commitment of the

citizens of the world for the benefit of humankind. In

this regard, there is a compelling need to include all

peoples of the world, as envisaged by our founding

fathers and as enshrined in the principle of universality.

Acknowledging the importance of this principle,

the Kingdom of Swaziland raises once more the

question of the inclusion of the Republic of China on

Taiwan in the activities of the United Nations and its

38

associated agencies. We appeal on behalf of the 23

million people of the Republic of China on Taiwan for

their right to representation in the United Nations

Organization. The Government and people of the

Republic of China on Taiwan have shown themselves

to be wholly committed to observing the principles and

spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

and of the Charter of the United Nations.

In addition to the peaceful democratic transition

that took place last year, the recent admission of the

Republic of China on Taiwan to the World Trade

Organization attests to the significant contribution the

Republic of China has made and will continue to make

to international trade. The Republic of China on

Taiwan has shown time and again its willingness to

participate in efforts to bring about true global peace,

development and security, and its commitment to

utilize its resources for the benefit of mankind.

The Kingdom of Swaziland has been at the

forefront of efforts to support the readmittance of the

Republic of China on Taiwan to the United Nations.

Our position on this important issue remains

unchanged. We therefore appeal to our fellow Members

to support the establishment of a working group to

examine in detail the exceptional international situation

relating to the Republic of China on Taiwan, with a

view to ensuring that its 23 million people can

contribute actively to the international community

through participation in the United Nations and its

related agencies.

At the Millennium Summit, we the Member

States of the United Nations agreed to seize the

opportunity to forge a new era of optimism for the

world, based on equality, peace and prosperity. That

opportunity is fading fast, and we need to redouble our

efforts and determination to make that vision a reality.

The Kingdom of Swaziland renews its commitment to

the Charter and aims of the United Nations and offers

to its fellow Members assurances of continued support

for all activities that will help the world to achieve a

better future for all its peoples.