Eswatini, 2005

It is an honour and

privilege for me to present my country’s statement, as

commanded by His Majesty King Mswati III.

I am happy to convey the greetings and best

wishes of His Majesty King Mswati III, Her Majesty

the Queen Mother, and the entire Swazi nation.

On behalf of my delegation, I wish to

congratulate Mr. Eliasson on his election as President

of the General Assembly at its sixtieth session. The

Kingdom of Swaziland is confident that his diplomatic

skills and vast experience in international affairs will

guide the work of the General Assembly to a

successful conclusion as it faces the daunting task of

reform and change.

We wish also to recognize the work done by his

predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping, Minister of Foreign Affairs

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of Gabon, who ably steered the last session so as to set

the stage for change in the year 2005. He hands over

the leadership of this body at a crucial time — a time

when we have to take concrete and firm action to effect

such change. We wish him well and every success in

his future endeavours.

This is a momentous occasion, as we are

celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the United

Nations at a time when we are charting a course and

adopting clear guidelines for adapting the Organization

to the effective role it must play in the new century. We

have also taken on the responsibility and challenge of

ensuring that the United Nations of the twenty-first

century can make real improvements in the lives of the

peoples of the world.

Given the contributions of the United Nations to

world peace, economic and social development and the

observance of human rights, we are reaffirming our

faith in the Organization, and we will continue to work

to achieve the objectives of the Charter through the

strengthening and revitalization of the United Nations

system.

In the last five years, the international community

has witnessed a mixed bag of successes, trials and

tribulations whose consequences have been felt across

the globe. The scale of some of these man-made

problems and natural disasters — such as terrorism,

war, the tsunami and Hurricane Katrina — was

unprecedented.

It is because of some of these incidents that, for

the first time in its existence, the United Nations has

been challenged in its pivotal role of maintaining

global peace, security and safety. Fortunately, the

United Nations has remained undeterred, and that is

due in particular to the astute leadership of our

Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, whose diplomatic

skills and efforts to unite — tested as they have

been — have managed to keep the Organization

focused as it deals with the critical issues confronting

the international community today.

For those reasons, the Kingdom of Swaziland

believes that this session presents an opportunity for us

to advance further the reform process in order not only

to make the Organization efficient and effective, but

also to ensure that the programmes of action adopted at

past global conferences are fully implemented.

We therefore welcome the decisions taken at the

recently concluded Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs) review summit. These will indeed set us on

course to have a significant impact on each and every

country’s socio-political and economic development.

Our quest for a safer and secure world continues

to be challenged. The recent spate of terrorist

bombings in various parts of the world is a clear

indication that we have to fight that growing scourge

with urgency. The adoption of the 13 conventions

covering different aspects of terrorism demonstrates

our unwavering commitment to this course.

The Kingdom of Swaziland supports the

Secretary-General’s call for the drafting of a

comprehensive instrument that will enable us to

collectively and effectively fight terrorism.

Tensions and conflicts within and among States,

which are detrimental to development and productivity,

continue to affect many parts of the world. Such

conflicts are fuelled by the ever-growing illicit trade in

small arms and light weapons, which cause the death

and displacement of thousands of innocent people

every year.

In that regard, the Kingdom of Swaziland

supports United Nations efforts to enhance

international cooperation to prevent, combat and

eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light

weapons. We further call for stern action to be taken

against the mass production of such arms and weapons,

in the same manner as we would deal with drug

producers.

In this age of globalization, collective action will

be necessary given that no single nation can find its

own solutions to the challenges that we face. In that

context, we welcome the various initiatives currently

under way that are aimed at engaging regional

organizations to do their part in responding to

challenges within their regions.

These partnerships have been taking shape, and it

is now up to us to give them substance by establishing

appropriate frameworks, harmonizing methods and

pooling capacities and resources for our work.

We in Africa consider cooperation between the

African Union and the United Nations as being of great

value. For example, peacekeeping and peacebuilding

missions continue to enhance peace initiatives in our

region. However, I would like to stress here that

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peacekeeping operations must go hand in hand with

humanitarian efforts, with all of the urgency such

situations require.

African leaders have demonstrated their political

will, but they lack the resources to resolve crises in

Africa. It is for that reason that we appeal to the

international community to increase its support for the

African Union, so as to enhance its capacity and

response mechanism.

The Kingdom of Swaziland supports the call for

an integrated approach to conflict resolution on our

continent, and we also support the idea that the African

Union is the organ best suited to mobilizing the efforts

of its members, and, most important of all, to

undertaking preventive action before a situation

deteriorates.

The Kingdom of Swaziland remains concerned,

however, by the conflict in the Middle East, which

continues to threaten international peace and security.

We believe that the road map holds the key to a

positive outcome on the matter and urge the Quartet to

continue its efforts to bridge the differences between

the parties.

While welcoming the positive efforts by the

Government of Israel to withdraw from some parts of

the occupied territories, we would urge both parties to

make a commitment to a comprehensive cessation of

all violence, particularly that aimed at civilians, or else

real progress will remain elusive. We remain hopeful

that a solution to the conflict is imminent and continue

to urge both parties to remain pragmatic and

constructive in their quest for a solution.

The recent MDG follow-up summit succeeded in

highlighting the plight of Africa with unprecedented

clarity. The paradox of Africa is the extreme and

increasing poverty of its people, who face many

problems, including ill health, in a land so richly

endowed with natural resources. This has become

increasingly visible over the past decade, while we

have seen evidence of a decline in poverty in other

parts of the world.

In much of Africa, one of the major causes and

consequences of poverty is disease, mainly malaria and

HIV/AIDS. These diseases continue to compromise the

health situation in African countries, halting and even

reversing health gains achieved in earlier years. The

poor are caught in a complex poverty trap in which low

income leads to low consumption, which in turn results

in low capacity and low productivity.

The Kingdom of Swaziland believes that there

are relatively affordable technologies in our modern

world that can mitigate the effect of disease on the

poor. Experience has shown that proven strategies and

health interventions can effectively and dramatically

reduce the toll of these killer diseases. Fortunately, the

MDGs point the way forward.

We believe that the creation of a world solidarity

fund to eradicate extreme poverty and an accord within

the framework of the World Trade Organization on

patents are imperative and would be steps in the right

direction, so that our countries can provide medicines

to all.

Health is a strong entry point for poverty

reduction, and alleviating the disease burden on the

poor will contribute to the improvement of their social

status.

This year also marks another milestone in the

calendar of the movement for gender equality and the

advancement of women: the 10-year review of the

Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. In 1995

women gathered in Beijing and took a giant step

forward. At that point, gender equality came to be

recognized as a critical element of development and

peace for each and every country. Some progress has

been made. For example, many more girls are now

enrolled in primary education. Investing in women is

paramount for ensuring sustainable development.

During this session, we must strive to meet the

challenge that the Charter, established 60 years ago,

articulated: the equal rights of men and women.

As we note this progress, we acknowledge the

newer challenges that have emerged, such as the effects

of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on both women and girls.

The HIV/AIDS scourge continues to plague our

communities in Africa. The pandemic is as much a

medical crisis as it is an economic, social and political

crisis. With no cure insight, it will continue to deplete

the essential financial and human resources so critical

for development. For its part, my Government has been

collaborating with local communities to find home-

grown solutions to this problem. We continue to be

grateful to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,

Tuberculosis and Malaria and other international

agencies for the assistance and support they continue to

provide us in our fight against this killer disease.

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There is no doubt that developing countries are

determined to fight poverty by creating jobs for our

people. As we play our part in the mobilization of

domestic resources, I would like to appeal to the

developed world to meet its commitments by

supporting us. Effective assistance by the international

community to enhance the quality of economic choices

is necessary, as is firm commitment without

conditionalities.

The Kingdom of Swaziland believes that the

Doha Development Agenda needs to be seriously

advanced, with industrialized countries addressing the

needs of developing countries. We call for better access

to markets, in particular preferential markets with

lowered tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade with

industrialized countries.

On the question of reform of the United Nations,

the Kingdom of Swaziland supports the wide range of

proposals put forward to revitalize our Organization in

its management of our affairs. We are of the view that

the role of the General Assembly must be significantly

strengthened to enable it to fulfil the tasks originally

assigned to it by the Charter. The General Assembly, as

the most democratic and representative body of the

United Nations, should seize this opportunity to take

the lead and thus demonstrate that it can express the

political will of the people of the world.

In this regard, the Economic and Social Council

too should be strengthened and given decision-making

powers to implement the United Nations development

agenda. We also believe that the Council should

continue to be the overall coordinator of all

development activities, including the Millennium

Development Goals.

As we discuss greater representation and wider

participation in the United Nations system, and as we

celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the Organization,

allow me to remind all of us gathered here that the

more than 23 million people of the Republic of China

remain hopeful that their voice in quest of participation

in the very important United Nations system will soon

be heard and positively responded to, so that they too

can make their valuable contributions to the

management and prosperity of world affairs. In the

meantime, it is our continued hope that the existing

issues between the parties will be resolved peacefully.