Botswana, 2008

I am delighted, Sir,

to congratulate you on your assumption of the

presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-third

session. Your election to that high office is indeed a

clear reflection of the strong confidence and trust that

the international community has in you personally, and

also in your great country, Nicaragua. I am confident

that under your able guidance we will continue to build

on the achievements of the sixty-second session in our

efforts to advance our common global agenda towards

a more just, secure and prosperous world. I assure you

of the full support, cooperation and goodwill of the

delegation of the Republic of Botswana in the

discharge of your mandate.

I wish also to pay tribute to your predecessor, His

Excellency Mr. Srgjan Kerim, President of the

Assembly at its sixth-second session. We sincerely

commend him for his sterling work and leadership,

which enabled us to achieve critical milestones towards

our common goals.

This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is an

important event on our global human rights agenda. It

is an occasion for Member States to reflect,

individually and collectively, on how much progress

we have made in our efforts to build a more just world

order. The Universal Declaration embodies the

aspirations of humanity for liberty, freedom and

equality. It is a reflection of the human spirit to strive

for a more perfect society in which individuals

recognize the reality that creating the space for the

enjoyment of individual human rights expands the

horizons for society to realize its full potential.

In pursuance of this noble objective we must

continuously strive to improve our governance in order

to ensure that it is responsive to the wishes of the

people. It should be borne in mind that, in the final

analysis, it is the people in whom the sovereignty of

any nation is vested. In that respect, it is imperative

that the will of the people expressed in free and fair

elections be respected by all political leaders. Heads of

State or Government must avoid the temptation to

change constitutions in an effort to prolong their stay

in power, which often results in instability.

Botswana reaffirms its commitment to the ideals

and purposes of the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights. We are determined to contribute to the

promotion of respect for human rights at home and

abroad. In doing so we are conscious of the need for

international cooperation in the promotion of human

rights. It is for this reason that Botswana is a State

party to a number of human rights instruments,

including the Rome Statute on the establishment of the

International Criminal Court.

We fully support the work of that Court. As a

country that strongly believes in the rule of law, we are

convinced that there should be no political interference

in the work of the Court. The International Criminal

Court was established with the support of African

States. We felt that it was necessary to address

problems that confronted our continent. The Court is

meant to serve a specific purpose and there should be

no exceptions regarding what it can or cannot do.

21 08-53135

Botswana is pleased that representatives of

political parties in Zimbabwe finally signed an

agreement in Harare on 15 September 2008. We

welcomed that development, as it augurs well for

national reconciliation, economic reconstruction and

development in Zimbabwe. The effective

implementation of the agreement should have a

positive impact not only on developments in Zimbabwe

but also on Southern Africa and the wider African

region. This is a good beginning, and we encourage the

parties to do all they can to make the agreement work.

No party should attempt to obstruct the implementation

of the agreement, as the political crisis that confronted

that country following the 29 June 2008 presidential

run-off election can be resolved only through the

implementation of the agreement. Such a development

would not be acceptable to Botswana. We call upon the

international community to help the process to succeed

by extending their goodwill and support to the

Government and the people of Zimbabwe with much-

needed economic, financial and technical assistance.

We must commend the former President of the

Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Mr. Thabo

Mbeki, for his hard work, commitment and

determination in helping the Zimbabweans reach

agreement. We also wish to pay tribute to former

President Mbeki for his contribution to the attainment

of freedom and democracy not only in South Africa but

also in the wider African continent. We are grateful to

him for his visionary leadership and his people-centred

initiatives, whose primary objective was to build an

African continent that is free, peaceful, democratic and

economically prosperous.

As the international community, we have the

collective responsibility to equip and make optimal use

of our multilateral body, the United Nations, to search

for fair and just solutions to global problems in order

to contribute to the betterment of all humanity. Today,

more than ever before, the United Nations is required

to respond effectively and swiftly to the complex

challenges of the twenty-first century. Conflicts,

poverty, disease, natural and man-made disasters,

climate change, energy and terrorism are among the

myriad pressing problems that confront humanity and

require an urgent global response. It is thus imperative

that we continue to make concerted efforts to address

those challenges in pursuit of a better tomorrow. Their

magnitude clearly requires multilateral strategies and

solutions.

Botswana calls upon all Members to unite in the

search for solutions to those problems. It is imperative

that in our policies, actions and pronouncements, we

always seek to build greater international

understanding. In our approach to managing relations

between States, leaders are called upon to set a higher

standard. The language that we employ in international

forums should not be belligerent or provocative, nor

should it be calculated to shame or humiliate other

leaders. Member States should not host military or

rebel groups that operate from their territories against

their neighbours.

In our international discourse, we must aim to

build and facilitate agreement on common goals. In

that respect, we must exercise restraint by avoiding the

often frequent temptation to recall diplomats from each

other’s capitals, including purely for solidarity reasons.

Such action is unfortunate and outdated, as it only

leads to a breakdown in communication.

As we meet here, let us always remind ourselves

of the solemn commitments that we, as the peoples of

the world, have undertaken to end war and human

suffering. Botswana calls upon all States, especially the

major Powers, to set an example by refraining from the

use of weapons in resolving conflicts. Military

confrontation is, unfortunately, always a demonstration

of the failure of the will to use diplomacy, of the urge

to show off military superiority or of the inability to

employ resources and technological advances to

improve human lives.

Sustainable economic growth, development and

the eradication of poverty are central to our

development agenda as developing countries. Poverty

is undoubtedly one of the most critical challenges

facing our people. Achieving the Millennium

Development Goals and combating poverty in its many

dimensions are interrelated and mutually reinforcing

objectives. Thus, their attainment should be our

primary preoccupation.

Botswana welcomes the initiatives introduced by

some development partners that seek to take a more

focused approach to Africa’s economic and

development problems. Those initiatives include the

Lomé Conventions and the successor arrangements

between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States, on

the one hand, and the European Union, on the other;

the African Growth and Opportunity Act of the United

States; the Tokyo International Conference on African

08-53135 22

Development; the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation;

and the Africa-India Framework for Cooperation.

Botswana has always made effective use of the

resources made available by our cooperating partners.

It is important that more be done to help developing

countries embark on the path of sustainable

development. We are convinced that, as we receive

much-needed assistance, we must envisage a day and

time when there will be no need for such assistance

because we are all able to stand on our own.

This year marks the midpoint towards the 2015

target for attaining the Millennium Development

Goals. We thank the Secretary-General for his

analytical and informative reports regarding progress

in the implementation of our common commitments

and our shared future. We also welcome the work of

the high-level meetings held to take stock of progress

made. That will no doubt provide impetus for the

expeditious implementation of our commitments.

The Secretary-General’s reports indicate a mixed

and uneven score. It is clearly evident that while we

have made real progress in some areas, much remains

to be done over the next seven years if we are to

achieve our goals. In other words, we are seriously

behind schedule on every target, among countries and

within countries that need to eradicate poverty and

reduce human suffering.

In addition to revealing gaps, the process has

highlighted emerging challenges that hinder the

attainment of targets across the spectrum of human

development. It has also emphasized the serious need

to fast-track the pace of implementation if we are to

have any notable impact. The achievement of those

goals is our shared responsibility. It is thus imperative

that all of us, individually and collectively, do our part

to accelerate progress towards a better quality of life

for our people.

Our people deserve a life free from fear and want,

in an environment that offers equal opportunity for all.

That is not a privilege, but a fundamental human right

that each State has a duty to respect, protect and fulfil.

For our people, that should mean universal access to

education, health, shelter, clean water and

infrastructure, as well as living in a safe and secure

environment. Fully honouring our commitments is the

key to realizing those expectations.

The following facts should trouble our collective

conscience. More than one quarter of the children

younger than 5 in the developing world are

underweight. That amounts to 143 million underweight

children in developing countries. Children in

developing countries continue to die from preventable

diseases such as malaria. The approximately 4 billion

cases of diarrhoea per annum cause 2.2 million deaths,

mostly among children under 5. Approximately

6 million people are blind as a result of trachoma, a

disease caused by lack of clean water combined with

poor hygiene practices. In sub-Saharan Africa, a

woman’s lifetime risk of maternal death is a staggering

1 in 22, compared with 1 in 8,000 in industrialized

countries. Finally, HIV is spreading faster than we can

provide universal access to prevention, treatment,

support and care.

Clearly, closing those gaps will entail more than

our reaffirmations; it urgently necessitates sustained

and strong political commitment and leadership; sound

and appropriate national policies, matched with

increased official development assistance and technical

support from the international system; stepped-up

participation and combined efforts by Governments,

civil society and the private sector; fairer, transparent

and inclusive international trade regimes; more global

partnerships to assist developing countries; full

implementation of debt-relief initiatives; greater access

to markets; and other innovative international support

measures to finance development.

The search for global peace and security remains

a matter of vital interest to my delegation. While we

may have made significant strides in promoting peace

through conflict prevention and resolution, through

post-conflict recovery and through peacebuilding,

conflicts continue to flare up, thus making the

restoration of peace a remote possibility for some in

the world.

My own continent, Africa, plays host to a large

number of conflicts. The scourge of war has claimed

many lives and caused untold human suffering.

Substantial time, energy and financial resources have

been expended, with little or no success. The United

Nations Charter implores us, as the international

community, to save succeeding generations from the

scourge of war by employing all diplomatic efforts and

tools at our disposal.

23 08-53135

I am pleased to note that commendable strides

have been made in placing some countries, such as

Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau, on a firm

path of national reconstruction, post-conflict recovery

and peacebuilding. Regrettably, the peoples of Africa

continue to face hunger and death in the Darfur region

of the Sudan, Somalia and Chad, among other places.

My delegation is particularly concerned about the

ever-worsening situation in the Darfur region of the

Sudan. It is disconcerting that armed hostilities

continue, despite the efforts of the United Nations and

the African Union through the development of the

African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in

Darfur. We call on the parties to commit to political

dialogue in the search for lasting peace and to fully

utilize the good offices of His Excellency Mr. Djibril

Bassole, who has recently been appointed to facilitate

the peace process.

With respect to Somalia, Botswana welcomes the

signing of the Djibouti Agreement on 9 June 2008 by

the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and

the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia. We call

upon all Somali political forces to commit to an all-

inclusive political process so that the long-suffering

people of Somali can also live in peace.

My delegation further calls on the international

community to continue assisting the people of Somali

with much-needed humanitarian aid. In the same vein,

we remind the political leaders of the Somali people to

put the interests of the people of Somalia above their

own, so that the focus can be on the search for a lasting

political settlement to the problems facing their

country.

The success of the United Nations in delivering

on our expectations and common ideals must be

matched by adequate resources, appropriate mandates,

structures and policy guidance. Botswana strongly

believes in the instrumentality of the United Nations.

In that regard, we are committed to paying our

assessed contributions in full and on time. We therefore

call upon all Members to do the same, so that this

machinery, which is the motor that powers

multilateralism, does not run out of steam.

There can be no doubt that any organization —

and the United Nations in particular — must be

constantly reformed or renewed if it is to continue to

be relevant and responsive to the needs of its members.

We are pleased that there has been some measure of

progress in implementing the set of reforms mandated

by the 2005 World Summit.

Allow me to conclude my remarks by once again

calling on each and every one of us to live up to the

high expectations of this Organization by honouring

our commitments. Botswana reaffirms its abiding faith

in this body, which unites the peoples of the world for

a higher purpose. It is our hope that as we meet here,

we will succeed in building greater international

understanding across regions, cultures, language and

faiths, because we are all human and because of the

humanity of others.