Eswatini, 2008

I am pleased to address this

Assembly on behalf of my delegation from the

Kingdom of eSwatini. The Assembly gives us the

opportunity as Heads of State and Government to share

ideas and experiences. It enables us to shape the future

of our countries and pave a way for a better world,

where we can all live with each other in harmony. Let

me extend our appreciation to Secretary-General Ban

Ki-moon and to the entire staff of the United Nations

for their efforts in carrying out the vision and

programmes of the United Nations.

The world continues to face many challenges,

which include the catastrophic effects of climate

change, complicated diseases such as tuberculosis,

malaria and the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and food

shortages. That situation is further compounded by

high prices for fuel and food and the instability in

international finance, which slow down our efforts to

fight poverty and attain sustainable development.

It is encouraging to note that the United Nations,

in particular the Food and Agriculture Organization

and the World Food Programme, continues to assist

developing countries to find lasting solutions to the

food crisis. In the light of that, my country has put in

place various strategies to ensure food security. The

nation continues to hold consultations on those issues.

For instance, we had a national agricultural meeting

last year and the Sibaya — the people’s parliament —

this year, which looked at ways of increasing our food

production and other issues of national interest. The

nation came up with different suggestions, and we are

in the process of implementing them.

We developing countries were looking forward to

positive results from the Doha round of negotiations,

particularly on agriculture. Developing countries were

hoping for secure and increased market access for their

agricultural products. Unfortunately, that has not been

the case. We hope those talks will be concluded soon

for the benefit of the developing countries.

Swaziland fully supports the global dialogue to

ensure that the world is rescued from the dangers of

global warming and other damage to the environment.

It is true that global warming is a major contributor to

the many calamities such as earthquakes, flooding and

persistent droughts that threaten the very existence of

the human race.

Swaziland, like many other countries of the

world, continues to be a victim of the devastating

effects of climate change. We continue to suffer from a

persistent drought. We continue to be hit by strong

winds that cause wildfires. Those fires often destroy

vast acres of our man-made forests, resulting in

economic disruption, the waste of many years of

investment and loss of life and property. We fully agree

with the United Nations that failure to respond in a

timely way and decisively to that threat will undermine

national and international efforts to achieve the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which aim to

improve the living standards and welfare of all our

peoples.

The high-level meeting on Africa’s development

needs came at the most opportune time. We are pleased

with the adoption of the declaration (resolution 63/1)

and we are looking forward to its effective

implementation. There is indeed urgency in addressing

Africa’s special needs, in particular economic

development, poverty reduction and issues of peace

and security.

It should be noted that the cooperation and

support of the international finance institutions is

pivotal, for instance by ensuring improved accessibility

to finance for Africa. That should also include making

grants and loans available to African countries under

preferential rates to fund infrastructure development,

technology transfer, tourism and other projects that are

meant to create wealth and economic growth.

As we pass the midpoint to the 2015 deadline for

the MDGs we still face many challenges. This is more

so because many of our people are still living in

poverty and we continue to face a high unemployment

rate. Notwithstanding, the commitment of the Kingdom

of Swaziland to the achievement of the MDGs is

unwavering. The MDGs are anchored within our

national development strategy and the poverty

reduction strategy and action plan, which aspire,

among other things, to reduce poverty by more than

half by 2015. All Government programmes are geared

towards that vision and are being implemented with the

guidance of all stakeholders and the nation at large.

Like many other countries, the Kingdom of

Swaziland is on track for some of the MDGs. We are

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doing everything possible to achieve universal

education and are providing resources for every child

to go to school. Efforts are being made to achieve

gender equality and the empowerment of women,

ensure environmental sustainability, reduce child

mortality and to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and

malaria, among other targets.

Peace, stability and security, which form the

primary goals of the United Nations, remain key pillars

of meaningful development. When those conditions

prevail, our peoples can concentrate their energies and

resources on the pursuit of productivity and wealth

creation.

Members of the Southern African Development

Community (SADC) are committed to upholding those

pillars for a better life for all. We have put in place

structures such as the SADC Organ on Politics,

Defence and Security to ensure their preservation and

promotion. For that reason, we applaud the recent

signing of the power-sharing agreement and the

establishment of a Government of national unity in

Zimbabwe. We look forward with optimism to the

rebuilding process and the removal of all bottlenecks.

In that regard, we urge the international community

and the developed world to fully support the people of

Zimbabwe. In the same spirit, we wish to see

peacefully negotiated settlements for all conflicts that

prevail in Africa and in different parts of the world.

The Kingdom of eSwatini joins the rest of the

world in condemning all forms and acts of terrorism.

We support efforts for the full implementation of the

Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in order to send a

clear message to all perpetrators of terrorism. In line

with the United Nations convention on terrorism, our

parliament has recently promulgated the anti-terrorism

act.

If the United Nations is to have a more effective

role, its structure must be reformed to adapt to a world

that has been constantly changing since the adoption of

the Charter. These reforms should of course take place

in a fair, just and balanced manner. It has been

observed in the past that one of the most important of

the reforms that require urgent attention is that of the

Security Council. The widely held view is that the

Security Council as constituted at present falls short of

proper demographic representation of United Nations

Members. The Kingdom of eSwatini looks forward to a

speedy conclusion to the discussions on the reform of

the United Nations.

We welcome the recent handshake between the

senior leadership of the Republic of China on Taiwan

and that of mainland China. This handshake gives us

hope that the two are now talking to each other.

Hopefully, this might lead to an amicable resolution of

the cross-Strait relations, such that perhaps one day we

might see them sitting next to each other here at the

United Nations. It should be noted that the people of

Taiwan have expertise and experience, which they are

ready to share with the United Nations family. That is

why Swaziland requests the United Nations to allow

Taiwan to participate in its specialized agencies.

The Kingdom of Swaziland has just held a

successful parliamentary election under a new

constitution. The voter turnout was most impressive as

the people exercised their right to vote for a

government of their choice. As the nation continues to

appreciate the power of parliamentary representation in

a complex globalized world, we note that the electorate

understands the importance of choosing candidates of

high calibre with the capacity to handle the issues at

hand. That gives us confidence that the new Parliament

will assist with strategies that will further improve our

socio-economic climate for the betterment of the living

standards of our people.

The Kingdom of eSwatini reaffirms its

commitment to the purpose and preservation of the

central role of the United Nations in multilateral

affairs. We treasure peace and development and

amicable regional and international relations and,

together with all nations, will work towards a peaceful

and prosperous future for all humankind.