Botswana, 1996

I am delighted to extend

to the President and his country, Malaysia, the sincere

congratulations of the Government and the people of

Botswana on his assumption of the presidency of the

General Assembly at its fifty-first session. His record as

an accomplished diplomat has the admiration of my

delegation. He can therefore count on the full support and

cooperation of the delegation of Botswana in the

discharge of his demanding responsibilities.

We salute his predecessor, His Excellency

Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral, for his successful

stewardship of the fiftieth session and the Special

Commemorative Meeting.

The last five years have been the most momentous

in the history of the United Nations, imposing on the

world body enormous responsibilities, which the

Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros-

Ghali, and the Secretariat have carried out with a deep

sense of commitment and dedication. We assure them that

they continue to enjoy the confidence and full support of

Botswana in the execution of their duties.

The African continent continues to make

commendable progress in the consolidation of freedom

and democracy. This year the continent witnessed the

successful holding of multi-party elections in Benin,

Sierra Leone and the United Republic of Tanzania.

The right of citizens to organize themselves and

participate freely in the political processes of their

countries, and respect for human rights, form the basis for

stability, democracy and development.

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Indeed, the continent has increasingly embraced these

universal values, which are an integral part of a democratic

culture. Not only has Africa embraced political pluralism,

accountability and good governance, it has also

demonstrated its readiness to defend these principles.

A year ago we expected that the people of Angola

would by now have started a new chapter of peace in the

history of their country. It is regrettable that to date the way

forward remains unclear. We strongly call upon those who

have contributed to the current stalemate in Angola to see

reason and show more commitment to the peace process.

Two days ago the Heads of State and Government of

southern Africa met in Luanda, Angola, in an effort to

persuade all concerned to ensure the speedy implementation

of the Lusaka Protocol.

We are deeply concerned about the situation in

Burundi. The country is wallowing in a quagmire of self-

destruction. No amount of reasoning and persuasion has

thus far succeeded in drawing the political leaders in

Burundi away from a path of mutual annihilation and to the

path of accommodation and reconciliation.

We salute the efforts of the regional leaders and of the

international community aimed at ensuring the restoration

of democracy and constitutional order in Burundi. That

sister country deserves some reprieve from the traumatic

experience it has recently gone through. Burundi needs

peace and stability now, not tomorrow.

While the situation in Rwanda remains tense, there are

some encouraging signs that the country is making steady

progress towards normalcy. Preparations for next year’s

general elections seem to be well under way.

We urge the international community to spare no

effort in encouraging that country towards national

reconciliation. Key among the necessary measures to be

undertaken is the safe return of refugees to their homeland.

Despite all efforts by the international community, and

by West Africa in particular, the political crisis in Liberia

has so far eluded solution. We call upon all the parties

concerned to ensure that elections are held in May 1997 as

scheduled.

In our view, and in reality, Western Sahara poses a

major political and moral problem. Botswana is committed

to the holding of a free, fair and impartial referendum for

the people of Western Sahara, in accordance with the

Settlement Plan. We are deeply concerned that the

identification process has been in a state of paralysis for

several months now.

Somalia continues to haunt the conscience of the

world. The situation in that country is a tragic

demonstration of how a disparate assortment of gunmen

can hijack and destroy a nation. The United Nations

should not consider Somalia a lost cause. We should

therefore persevere in the search for a comprehensive

settlement to the political crisis in that country.

Recent developments in the Middle East are a matter

of profound concern to Botswana. Starting in September

1993 we were pleased to witness the dramatic unfolding

of a promising peace process between Israel and the

Palestinians, on the one hand, and between Israel and

Jordan, on the other. We looked forward to the

resumption of negotiations between Israel and its Arab

neighbours, Syria and Lebanon, which, hopefully, would

have ushered in a lasting solution to the conflict in the

Middle East.

Recent events in the occupied Arab territories are a

stark indicator of what can happen to the peace process if

things are allowed to drag on and on. We appeal to the

Government of Israel to fulfil its obligations under the

agreements it signed with the Palestinians.

Developments on the Korean peninsula have also

been a matter of grave concern. Botswana is committed

to the peaceful reunification of Korea.

Botswana follows developments in Cyprus with keen

interest. The continued division of Cyprus is a serious

violation of the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity

of a Member State of the United Nations.

Land-mines, particularly anti-personnel land-mines,

are a major threat to humanity. Botswana strongly

believes that the solution to the menace of anti-personnel

land-mines lies in a total ban on production, stockpiling,

export and use. Existing protocols have provided only a

partial solution to this problem. There is a glaring need

for a binding international legal instrument for the

progressive and ultimate elimination of these weapons.

The production, stockpiling and proliferation of

weapons of mass destruction, of which nuclear weapons

are the most lethal, is also a matter of deep concern to

my delegation. For far too long, non-nuclear-weapon

States have been calling for an international legal

instrument to safeguard them against the threat or use of

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these weapons. The response of the nuclear Powers has

been less than reassuring, to say the least. Unilateral

statements on security assurances, which have been

transmitted through a Security Council resolution, do not

meet the demands of the overwhelming majority of the

membership of this Organization.

The security of non-nuclear-weapon States from the

threat or use of these dangerous weapons can only be

guaranteed by the institution of a legally binding

international instrument. Botswana is committed to the early

conclusion of such an instrument, and we hope that the

nuclear-weapon States will demonstrate the necessary

commitment to meet the concerns of non-nuclear-weapon

States.

Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of

Nuclear Weapons commits parties, inter alia, to reach

agreement

“on a Treaty on general and complete disarmament

under strict and effective international control”.

Unfortunately, the nuclear-weapon States are resolutely

opposed to the total elimination of nuclear weapons. Not

only are these States resistant to this noble ideal, but they

continue to develop new types of weapons. What

conclusions are we expected to draw from this state of

affairs?

It is difficult for nuclear-weapon States to claim the

moral high ground to dissuade any State from acquiring the

same weapons for the defence of its supreme national

interests, while they themselves consider such weapons a

reliable means of self-defence. Nuclear-weapon States

should accept their responsibility to enter into and conclude

negotiations for the elimination of these weapons.

The General Assembly has repeatedly called upon the

Conference on Disarmament to accelerate consideration of

the question of the expansion of its membership. We thus

call upon the Conference on Disarmament to address

speedily the question of its expansion to the satisfaction of

the general membership of the United Nations.

Five years have passed since the United Nations New

Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s was

adopted by the General Assembly. While we all applauded

the adoption of the New Agenda, it has to be accepted that

the necessary operational framework was never put in place

to ensure effective mobilization and disbursement of the

target resources.

Concerned about the poor performance of the United

Nations New Agenda, in March this year the Secretary-

General launched the United Nations System-wide Special

Initiative for Africa, which has the backing of the World

Bank, among others. The Initiative envisages an

expenditure of some $25 billion over a 10-year period to

address identified sectoral development priorities. This is

a laudable Initiative which should afford Africa the

opportunity to address effectively the critical nexus of

food security, population and the environment.

For their part, most African countries have met their

obligations as spelled out in national structural adjustment

programmes, in addition to the efforts made in the fields

of democracy, human rights and good governance.

Although southern Africa today enjoys relative peace and

stability, it will continue to need special assistance in

order to address the problems of reconstruction and

development of the economic, physical and social

infrastructures which were destroyed or adversely affected

by many years of war and racial injustice. We have no

doubt that the international community will complement

our efforts so that we can launch our region on a firm

road to regional integration and economic development.

Botswana is a strong proponent of the reform and

restructuring of the United Nations. My President, who is

a member of the Secretary-General’s United Nations

Panel of High-level Personalities on African

Development, firmly believes in a more action-oriented

and streamlined United Nations system that is able to

deliver. But we do not agree with those who advocate a

“cut-cut” approach. There could be areas where additional

staff could be the catalyst to enhanced effectiveness and

efficiency. What the world needs is a United Nations that

has the capacity to implement its programmes and

projects effectively and efficiently, a United Nations that

can put to better use the human and material resources at

its disposal and one that can better guarantee international

peace and security and promote international

understanding.

It should be noted that the responsibility for the

reform process, to a large extent, lies squarely with

Member States and not with the Secretary-General,

although he has a contribution to make in the whole

process. Member States should therefore take full

responsibility for their inability to reach agreement on

various aspects of the reform process and desist from

seeking scapegoats for their failure to reach consensus on

a multifaceted international and structural reform of the

Organization.

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Botswana and other countries in southern Africa have

not been spared the scourge of illicit drug trafficking and

consumption. The Heads of State or Government of the

Southern African Development Community recently signed,

among other instruments, a protocol on illicit drug

trafficking. The aim is to pool our resources — such as

police forces, customs authorities and drug enforcement

agencies — to fight drug trafficking and other cross-border

crimes effectively. We look forward to continued

international cooperation in this regard. We are hopeful

that these efforts will be crowned with success and will

receive the full support and cooperation of the

international community.

The human immunodeficiency virus and acquired

immune deficiency syndrome pandemic is another scourge

of our time and a serious threat to humanity. The socio-

economic consequences of the disease are a matter of

grave concern, and the international community should

make concerted efforts to address this human tragedy —

which affects the young and the productive sectors of our

societies in particular — before it is too late.

To conclude, my delegation reaffirms its total

confidence in the stewardship of the President of the

General Assembly and pledges its loyalty and

cooperation. We reaffirm our commitment to work with

other delegations towards the strengthening of the United

Nations. We reaffirm our confidence in the manner in

which the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Boutros

Boutros-Ghali, manages the affairs of our Organization.

We salute him for his visionary leadership and untiring

commitment to duty.