Eswatini, 1992

May I begin, on behalf of His Majesty King

Mswati III, Her Majesty the Indlovukazi - the Queen Mother and the whole

Swazi nation, by conveying to you all the greetings and good wishes of the

Kingdom of Swaziland.

I offer my country's sincerest congratulations to Mr. Ganev on his

well-deserved election to the presidency of the United Nations General

Assembly at this forty-seventh session. We are most confident in his ability

to guide deliberations in this distinguished gathering towards successful

conclusions.

Allow me also to express Swaziland's gratitude to his predecessor,

Ambassador Samir Shihabi of Saudi Arabia, for his extremely effective

leadership as President at the forty-sixth session, during which much valuable

work was conducted.

Our thanks and admiration are also due to the members of the Bureau,

whose role in the day-to-day activities is central to the success of the

Assembly.

I should also like to take this opportunity to express Swaziland's

appreciation of the outstanding service given this Organization by the former

Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, whose diplomatic experience

and dynamic leadership contributed so much to the re-emergence of the United

Nations as the only international institution with the influence to improve

social, economic and political standards throughout the world.

Our congratulation, too, go to his successor, our new Secretary-General,

Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who has already shown the experience, diplomacy and

wisdom necessary to make a success of this most important and challenging post.

We wish him strength through God's held and blessing as he continues to

lead us in these difficult times.

This year has seen the admission of new Member States, once again

demonstrating the principle of extending the advantages of membership to all

who desire to embrace our founding Charter. We welcome our new Members, and

we are confident that their presence will contribute substantially towards

this new age of international understanding and cooperation, as we strive to

attain universal harmony.

Many obstacles remain in the way of true international peace and

stability but, as has been shown in the past, with the release of East-West

tension and the subsequent removal of the atmosphere of fear and mistrust

which had so clouded past deliberations, this forum remains our one hope in

our search for acceptable solutions to the many challenges that confront us.

Although the Kingdom of Swaziland remains, thankfully, peaceful and

stable, it is a fact that, in these times of global interdependence, we are

subject to, and affected by, the pressures or events occurring outside our

borders; not just in our own subregion but also by the tragedies and crises

occurring throughout the world.

The role of the United Nations as the most powerful and influential body

for immediate humanitarian aid, and as the most acceptable international

broker for peace, continues to stretch our collective resources to the

utmost. The priorities for our efforts become ever harder to define, as the

incidence of disaster and conflict, with their corresponding calls on our

resources, appear to increase.

We in Swaziland accept our responsibility, through our membership of the

United Nations, to lend our support wherever the call for humanitarian aid,

and assistance to end the bloodshed of a conflict, is made, regardless of our

direct or indirect involvement in those situations.

Our regular and prompt payment of dues testifies to our commitment to

this policy, and we are proud of our record.

The various unresolved conflicts on our own continent are, of course, of

primary consideration to us, and of immediate concern is the situation

affecting our neighbour. South Africa.

We have watched as the momentous changes of the last two years have

brought the inevitable ebb and flow of hope and despair. We have been

constant in our support of a peaceful process, through negotiation, towards

the establishment of a new South Africa whose guiding principles would be

acceptable to all partners, and we have been reassured by the words and

actions of the United Nations in its acceptance of that goal.

We have suffered along with the victims, many of Swazi origin, of the

terrible violence that continues to plague the peace process; and we welcomed

the initiative of the United Nations in dispatching a team of observers, under

the capable leadership of the distinguished Special Envoy, Mr. Virendra Dayal,

to assess the violence in the townships. We are confident that they will

successfully bring to bear their collective expertise and experience in

helping to resolve this most distressing problem.

Swaziland now urges all political leaders in South Africa to put aside

their differences and to return to the negotiating table in a spirit of

compromise and conciliation for the sake of their country and for the future

of their children.

We in southern Africa can only pray that there will be an early, peaceful

conclusion of the process, so that we too can benefit from the advantages that

closer social and economic links with a new South Africa will inevitably bring

us and the other countries of the subregion.

The situation within the borders of our other neighbour, Mozambique,

offers at last some ray of hope for an early resolution, and our support for

the processes of peace there seem finally to have been rewarded. Swaziland

wishes to express its deepest admiration and praise for all those involved in

the peace negotiations between FRELIMO and RENAMO, which resulted in the

momentous accord signed in Rome last month. In particular, the efforts of the

Governments of Italy, Portugal and the United States, and the individual

contribution of His Excellency President Robert Mugabe, deserve our applause.

But without the commitment of both sides of the dispute to peaceful

settlement, the assistance and advice of these international friends would

have been worthless. We salute the initiatives of both parties and entreat

them to carry through the undertakings of the accord without further bloodshed

and with a determination to regain the peace which has so long been denied the

Mozambican people.

The crisis in Mozambique has a great and direct bearing on our own

situation. At least 80,000 Mozambican refugees currently enjoy Swazi

hospitality at continuing great expense to our national economy in the

form of resources in land, finance, employment opportunities and other social

services. We, and indeed the refugees themselves, look forward to the

resumption of a secure and peaceful atmosphere in Mozambique so that

repatriation can reasonably take place and thus relieve the pressure of the

substantial burden that is being carried by us.

Just as we continue to rely on the efforts of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian agencies for help in coping

with these unfortunate victims, so we shall be looking for assistance when the

time comes for them to return home. We are confident that we, and the

refugees, deserve such aid.

Swaziland welcomed the end of hostilities in Angola, and we would like to

express our appreciation to those whose efforts brought the crisis to an end.

We now join the rest of the international community in praying for a

successful election process so that all Angolans will be able to reap the

benefits of peace.

The horrifying situation in Somalia continues to give us cause for grave

concern. The almost unbelievable proportions of the disastrous effects of

famine and the continuing interfactional fighting beg action on an

international scale. We fully support all United Nations efforts to bring

relief to the starving, suffering millions. Words mean little in such

circumstances, but the people of Somalia should know that our prayers are with

them; with God's blessing and with positive assistance from us, they will pull

through this dark episode in their country's history.

The situations in Chad, the Sudan and Liberia also give little cause for

hope for early solutions. Again, we pledge our full support to all efforts to

bring about peaceful and lasting solutions to these problems which affect the

stability of our continent.

In Europe, too, the ravages and upheaval of war and social change have

had their devastating effect. The situation in former Yugoslavia in

particular gives immediate cause for concern, with the ongoing war in Bosnia

and Herzegovina and the crises of uncertainty in the other newly-independent

States. The efforts of the United Nations and the European Community to bring

about peace are to be applauded and they deserve our fullest support. We pray

that sense will prevail amongst the leaders of different factions and that use

will be made of the negotiating table in bringing about an early end to the

horrific bloodshed in this unfortunate corner of Europe.

We applaud the work of the United Nations Special Envoy, Mr. Cyrus Vance,

and that of the European representative. Lord Owen, in their extremely

difficult task as intermediaries. The performance of the multinational

monitoring force, operating under the most frustrating and challenging

conditions, is also in the best United Nations traditions and deserves our

admiration and praise.

Swaziland has been watching with great interest, and not a little

optimism, the developments over the last year in the Middle East. The

disputes and conflicts in this important area have for too long been the cause

of international concern, and we welcome all efforts to bring about an

atmosphere in which all parties can resolve their differences. The Government

of the United States of America, in particular, deserves mention in its

determination to get the Middle East peace initiative up and running.

Moreover, the latest conciliative remarks by His Excellency, the new Israeli

Prime Minister, with the correspondingly constructive responses from the

affected countries, give cause for encouragement that our prayers for positive

steps towards the achievement of lasting peace in the whole region may at last

be answered. Much, of course, remains to be done, but we can only support and

encourage all initiatives towards the achievement of this aim.

Swaziland is distressed to hear of the latest disasters which have

afflicted some areas of Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, the United

States of America and other countries in different parts of the world. The

disasters which have caused so many thousands of deaths and destroyed the

homes of millions constitute a crisis of unprecedented proportions. We join

others in the international community in pledging our moral support for

immediate substantial aid to relieve the suffering and to help rebuild the

shattered economies of these areas.

Swaziland joined the rest of the United Nations last year in welcoming

the two Koreas as Members of our Organization. The resolution of the crisis

between these two countries has been on our agenda for a long time, and

Swaziland welcomes and supports any initiative to bring about an atmosphere of

conciliation and peace between them.

We call on the people of Afghanistan to use the present opportunity for

peace to bury any divisive differences between them and to move on with the

task of national reconciliation and economic development so that all may enjoy

the hard-won fruits of peace.

In Cambodia, we have welcomed the efforts of our sizeable United Nations

presence in assisting with the consolidation of positive trends towards peace

and stability. We look forward to having a unified Cambodia add its

influential support in the restoration of peace throughout the region of

Indo-China.

In these and other conflicts around the world, the United Nations has

distinguished itself in trying to act as brokers for peace and as the provider

of humanitarian aid. This has been achieved, often in the most hazardous and

difficult circumstances, but with an increasing rate of success and with the

noblest intentions of creating a safer, more stable world. To that end, the

initiatives towards limiting proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are

of paramount importance in our efforts to bring about true international peace

and harmony, and Swaziland gives these efforts its fullest support.

The pressing issue of the environment was important enough to attract all

members of the United Nations family to the Earth summit in Brazil earlier

this year.

The commitment shown there by all participants, and ratified by a number

of far-reaching treaties, to address the multiple problems posed by man's

thoughtlessness and ignorance was fully justified and was a timely reminder of

how much irreparable damage we have already caused. For us in Swaziland, the

Summit served as a catalyst in our efforts to become more aware of our

environmental responsibilities, and we are now taking those responsibilities

very seriously indeed. In fact, no greater reminder of our own reliance on

our natural resources was needed, as we found ourselves in the middle of the

worst drought on record.

It is ironic that, as we strive as a nation to develop along the right

paths and as our economic base becomes more and more dependent on increasingly

sophisticated industrial development, it takes the failure of a basic natural

resource to make us realize how complete our reliance still is on the basic

gifts of nature and how carefully we must nurture our country's precious

resources to ensure that future generations inherit a fruitful and productive

land.

We are indebted to the United Nations for its prompt response in

convening the successful pledging conference in Geneva in June to benefit

those who have been hardest hit by the drought, and our gratitude is also due

those in the international community that responded so generously.

But a short-term response is not enough. We in the region have

recognized that our emphasis must now be on ensuring that we are adequately

prepared for any such natural disaster in the future. We shall be looking to

the Organization for advice and assistance so that our people may never again

suffer as they have this past season.

One principle to which Swaziland is attaching increasing importance is

the linkage of our nation's development, both social and economic, to a

dependence on closer cooperation with our regional partners. Social

development is inextricably linked to economic performance, and the

eradication of many of our national social problems, such as poverty,

unemployment, crime and the like, depends on improvement in our economic

situation.

Our membership in such regional organizations as the Preferential Trade

Area Authority and the Southern African Development Coordination Conference

and the Treaty signed recently at the Organization of African Unity (OAU)

summit in Abuja, establishing the African Economic Community, point out our

strong commitment to improving our economic performance through closer

economic and trade cooperation with the rest of our continent. Those

organizations and initiatives are serious attempts by Africans, for the

benefit of Africa, to pull themselves out of the economic and social quagmire

of recent years. We deserve and expect the support, encouragement and

positive assistance of the international community if we are to make a success

of it and thereby reduce future dependence on the developed world.

Africa is disturbed to see much-needed developmental funds being diverted

to other targets, and while Swaziland, for one, is making every effort to

prepare itself to stand on its own, our country and others in our subregion

are still in desperate need of continuing assistance in many areas, precisely

so that we shall be able to establish the mechanisms and organizations that

will allow Africa to be self-sufficient in the future.

Swaziland hopes and prays that Africa will not be neglected now at a time

when assistance is most needed. That fact has been driven forcefully home to

us with the production of the latest World Economic Survey, which, as is

inevitable in the midst of an international economic recession, has once more

painted a miserable picture for developing countries. For Africa, in

particular, the litany of depressing economic news makes for distressing

reading.

One area of particular concern to us as we strive to become less

dependent on the developed world is the widening gap between North and South,

between the primary-commodity producers and the manufacturers of finished

products, a situation exacerbated by the protectionist trade policies employed

by some and by the inability to bring to a successful conclusion, so far, the

Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

Those are some of the areas which inhibit the release of the developing

world from the chains of dependence on the developed countries. We appeal to

all to address these problems in the only way that will produce results: in

the spirit of true international brotherhood within this family of nations.

Our Organization has much to be proud of and much still left to do. The

United Nations remains the only truly global forum in which the world's

problems can be discussed and from which the collective experience and

expertise of all our Member nations can be pooled to find solutions.

Swaziland is proud to count itself one among this illustrious company and, on

behalf of His Majesty King Mswati III, Her Majesty the Indlovukazi and the

whole Swazi nation, I have the honour of once more reaffirming my Kingdom's

commitment to the guiding principles enshrined in the Charter of the United

Nations.

May almighty God watch over the deliberations of the Assembly and reward

it with the success it deserves.