Eswatini, 1998

I come with the greetings

and warm wishes of His Majesty King Mswati III, Her

Majesty the Indlovukazi, the Queen Mother, the

Government and the whole Swazi nation to all our fellow

members of the United Nations.

On behalf of the Kingdom of Swaziland, I would

like to extend our warmest congratulations to Mr. Opertti

on his unanimous election to the presidency of the fifty-

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third session of the General Assembly. We have the fullest

confidence in his ability to lead the deliberations of this

session, and I can assure him of my delegation?s full

support and cooperation.

I would like to congratulate his predecessor,

Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, on the skill with which he

presided over the fifty-second session.

I would also like to commend the work done over the

past 12 months by our Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan,

and the staff of the United Nations Secretariat. We have

been impressed by the strength of their commitment to

meet the many challenges facing our Organization, and we

take pride in their considerable achievements.

The Kingdom of Swaziland is encouraged by the

progress that has been achieved in the reform of the United

Nations. Much credit is due to the Secretary-General and

his staff for their implementation of cost-cutting measures

and the commitment they have shown to creating a more

efficient Organization.

For our part, we believe the membership must provide

the financial resources for the Organization to carry out the

tasks that we ourselves have set. We surely cannot expect

the United Nations to meet its existing obligations, let alone

take on the new challenges we present to it, if we lag

behind in the payment of our dues. The Kingdom of

Swaziland makes every effort to keep up to date with its

financial obligations in full, on time and without

conditions — and we appeal to all our fellow Member

States to do the same.

The Kingdom of Swaziland is nevertheless concerned

at the painfully slow rate of progress in the debate on the

restructuring of the Security Council. The delay is

especially frustrating when we know that there is global

consensus on the need to make the permanent membership

of the Council more democratic and representative of the

developing world. This issue has been central to discussions

during Non-Aligned Movement summit meetings and

successive meetings of the Organization of African Unity

(OAU). There continues to be unanimous support for

change.

In this regard, the Kingdom of Swaziland continues to

support the African common position, which calls, among

other things, for membership of the Security Council to be

based on an equitable geographical formula. Africa is

calling for two permanent seats, with the full voting and

veto rights that are enjoyed by the current membership.

However, in the longer term, we believe that the right of

veto should be the subject of review, as it is not in

accordance with recognized democratic practices since it

gives unequal weight to the minority view.

As we celebrate the thirtieth year of our

independence and the thirtieth birthday of our monarch,

the Kingdom of Swaziland is continuing quietly and

peacefully to develop all aspects of life according to the

wishes and expectations of our people. Our overall aim is

to raise the living standards of all our people and to

ensure that access to all the basic requirements of decent

human life is available to all. We have conducted a

number of initiatives aimed at identifying the areas of

highest priority for action and we have asked the people

themselves to contribute their ideas and views on how we

can overcome the challenges we face. We have always

believed that sustainable development will be best

achieved in our country when there is the involvement,

support and understanding of the whole nation. It is for

this reason that we continue to consult the people on

issues of national importance at open forums, thus giving

all Swazis the opportunity to make their views known and

have them considered.

The implementation of our development aims

involves a twin-track approach, with an economic and

social reform agenda covering the shorter term, and a

national development strategy to provide an action plan

for the next 25 years. Both are the result of the

recommendations of the Swazi people themselves and

reflect the wishes of all Swazis.

In a similar vein, and again in response to the

people?s request, we are conducting a review of our

Constitution. His Majesty informed the General Assembly

last year of the establishment of the Constitutional

Review Commission. The whole nation is engaged in this

vitally important exercise, and I am pleased to inform our

fellow Members that substantial progress has been made

over the past 12 months. The end result will truly reflect

the will of the people themselves, and we are confident

that we will have in place a Constitution that will serve

the best interests of all Swazis for many generations to

come.

We have been most grateful for the support we have

received from the United Nations towards these important

nation-building processes, and we value highly the

continued support and encouragement from many of our

friends and partners in the international community with

respect to our development efforts.

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In common with almost every country, we find that

the issue of unemployment remains our greatest challenge.

We recognize that, with the global economic situation

deteriorating and the gap between the developed and the

developing countries widening, the task of creating jobs is

becoming more and more difficult. In response to this, we

have introduced incentives to attract investment from both

internal and external sources, and we have established an

investment promotion authority to act as the catalyst for

rapid investment growth. Such national initiatives are aimed

at creating favourable conditions for our people to gain a

decent standard of living and to continue to enjoy the peace

and stability with which we have been blessed throughout

our history.

We have noted with regret that the past 12 months

have seen an alarming rise in situations of internal conflict

and external aggression among many of the Member States.

Furthermore, there are many instances of situations where

internal conflicts have spilled over borders, creating the

potential for regional instability. The situations in the

Kosovo region of Yugoslavia, and the heightened tension

on the border between Iran and Afghanistan, are just two

examples which are of great concern to the international

community.

This worrying trend has resulted in valuable global

resources being channelled away from economic and social

development priorities, and has undermined our collective

efforts to achieve peace and stability throughout the world.

All too many of our fellow human beings are caught

up in a spiral of seemingly unending violence, with millions

forced into exile from their own homes, thus becoming the

latest statistics among the unfortunate numbers of refugees.

In this respect, we urge the international community to

continue to improve its response mechanisms so that

appropriate action is taken quickly and decisively to prevent

conflict and to repair the misery caused by it.

In a similar vein, the stalling of the peace process in

the Middle East continues to frustrate the efforts of those

who desire a genuine, lasting peace in that troubled region.

The Kingdom of Swaziland applauds those nations which

are working hard to get the process back on track, and we

continue to urge those involved to respect the terms of the

Oslo peace accord as the only basis on which to rebuild the

atmosphere of trust which is so necessary for the process to

move forward.

Meanwhile, on our continent of Africa, the conflicts in

areas including the Horn of Africa and in countries such as

the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Lesotho

and Guinea-Bissau, are challenging to the full the

diplomatic skills of all of us in the international

community who hope to bring lasting peace to our

continent.

Of particular concern to us in the southern African

region has been the renewal of civil war in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, the resumption of

hostilities in Angola and the very recent disturbances in

Lesotho. Our fellow members will recall the efforts of the

Southern African Development Community (SADC),

among others, to find a solution to the distressing

situations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and

Angola, which are hampering cooperation between

member States of the community. In the case of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Kingdom of

Swaziland believes that the United Nations has a role to

play as peacemaker to complement the efforts of SADC

and the OAU.

In all cases, we pray that a solution may be found to

end the bloodshed, establish a lasting ceasefire and allow

negotiations between the opposing sides. We pray that

sustainable solutions may soon be found to all of Africa?s

conflict situations and that all our fellow Africans may be

free from the sufferings endured by so many for so long.

The Kingdom of Swaziland applauds the remarkable

progress made towards a lasting settlement in Northern

Ireland. We know there is still a long way to go, but,

given the centuries-long history of the Troubles, the

achievement has been all the more impressive. We also

commend those who have contributed to the process, and

we salute especially the people of Northern Ireland, who

chose to take their destiny in their own hands and voted

for peace. This provides an excellent example of what is

possible when there is true commitment to peace from all

sides in a dispute.

Our continent?s fresh crises have shown once more

that Africa needs to be better prepared to head off

potential conflicts through timely dialogue and

negotiation, and to have available a pool of peacekeepers

to act where necessary.

The Kingdom of Swaziland welcomes the Secretary-

General?s report to the Security Council regarding the

causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and

sustainable development in Africa.

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In this regard, we support the concept of an integrated

approach to conflict resolution on our continent as a way of

enhancing closer cooperation between Africa and the rest of

the world and making the best use of the resources at our

disposal.

The Kingdom of Swaziland is already engaged in

efforts to become more involved in conflict resolution. To

this end, we have welcomed the support of the United

Kingdom and of the United States of America towards the

preparation of our defence force for participation in

peacekeeping operations in Africa and around the world.

Of particular concern has been the evidence in the past

year of the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and

their use as instruments of aggression and intimidation. We

in the Kingdom of Swaziland reaffirm the view of the Non-

Aligned Movement that there can be no moral justification

for the ownership, manufacture or use of such weapons.

We join the majority of States Members of the United

Nations in calling for real commitment by all countries to

global disarmament and to the creation of a world that will

be free and safe for future generations. In this respect, we

urge all nations that have not done so to become parties to

the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

(NPT).

It may be said that the crises we have mentioned so

far have been the result of man?s worst qualities and

therefore unnecessary and avoidable. The same is not true

of the many natural disasters that have struck hard at

nations across the globe, irrespective of development status.

The “El Niño” phenomenon has resulted in a series of

natural disasters, the latest example being widespread

flooding throughout the Americas, Asia, Africa and parts of

Europe. Meanwhile, ironically, we in southern Africa must

wait once more to see if we will receive sufficient rain for

our crops this year.

The establishment by the United Nations of the Office

of Humanitarian Affairs could not have come at a more

opportune time, and the Kingdom of Swaziland gives its

full support for its operations. We hope that its role will

include assistance to Member States to develop emergency

relief mechanisms so that we may all be better prepared to

cope with disasters of all kinds in the future.

The Secretary-General recently gave warning of the

deteriorating global economic situation and the widening

gap between rich and poor nations. The crisis in Asia has

had a devastating effect on the people of that region, and

now all the indications are that the economies of the rest

of the world will also be adversely affected. The two

certainties are that the worst is yet to come, and that it

will be the developing world that will be hardest hit.

In this interdependent world of ours, the Kingdom of

Swaziland recognizes the importance of the concept of

partnership between nations. We agree that no nation can

afford to remain isolated and that there is an obligation —

and an economic necessity — for the more developed

countries to support and assist those of us in the

developing world.

We believe that the underlying principle of any

partnership should be one of mutual respect and

understanding of each partner?s views, beliefs and

position. We look forward to working with our partners

in areas that our people have chosen as their development

priorities, in an atmosphere of trust and openness, and

free from the imposition of conditions that can impact

negatively on our capacity to improve.

The process of globalization is now well advanced.

The Kingdom of Swaziland believes that a good deal

more time and preparation are needed before we in the

developing world are ready to cope with the additional

responsibilities that globalization will bring.

The United Nations provides the ideal forum for

discussion of these matters; let us make full use of our

Organization, in an atmosphere of true respect between

partners, so that the positions of all may be understood

and appreciated.

As we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the

adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

the Kingdom of Swaziland appreciates the efforts of the

United Nations to integrate human rights issues into all its

policies and programmes.

The Kingdom of Swaziland has taken and continues

to take seriously its obligations to its people on human

rights issues. Furthermore, we support all initiatives aimed

at improving the status of women, youth and children.

They have a vital role to play in the development of a

nation in all aspects of life. The ongoing constitutional

review is, inter alia, promoting the debate on human

rights issues.

It is unfortunate to note that, even as we celebrate 50

years of existence of the Universal Declaration of Human

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Rights, there is one nation of 21.8 million people that we

believe is denied the right of membership of the United

Nations. I am referring to the question of the Republic of

China on Taiwan.

The Kingdom of Swaziland continues to raise this

issue because of our conviction that the United Nations

Charter provides for the representation of all nations of the

world. Furthermore, the Republic of China on Taiwan has

shown very clearly that it is a nation with the willingness

and capacity to play a prominent and responsible role in

global development affairs, and yet it remains excluded

from the activities of the one truly global development

organization.

The principle of universality, as contained in our

founding Charter, provides that all citizens of the world

have the right to be heard in these chambers, and yet it is

a fact that as I speak the people of the Republic of China

on Taiwan are not represented here and therefore cannot

contribute their resources and expertise for the benefit of

the international community through the medium of the

United Nations.

The Republic of China on Taiwan has shown itself to

be a peace-loving nation, with a high level of political,

economic and social development. It has an excellent record

of supporting development activities throughout the world.

The Kingdom of Swaziland believes that the time has now

come to restore its rightful membership of the United

Nations to the Republic of China on Taiwan. We join the

rest of our fellow members in proposing a review of this

issue, with full regard for the change in circumstances since

the decision was taken in 1971 which led to the expulsion

of the Republic of China on Taiwan from our Organization.

The problem of drug abuse and trafficking is a

relatively new phenomenon among the people of Swaziland,

but it is fast becoming a major threat to the development of

our country, particularly among our youth, who seem to be

the easiest target.

The Kingdom of Swaziland welcomed the special

session of the General Assembly on drugs, held in June this

year, as a timely and necessary initiative. We therefore

have high expectations of the recommendations that

emerged from the special session, and we commit ourselves

fully to their implementation. We recognize, though, that

the drug trade is cross-border and international in nature,

and we are working closely with our neighbours and

regional partners to share ideas and resources in a

combined effort to prevent the spread of the drug trade.

The Kingdom of Swaziland condemns international

terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We believe

there can be no justification for the type of outrage that

was witnessed recently in Nairobi, Kenya; Dar-es-Salaam,

Tanzania; and Cape Town, South Africa. The deaths of so

many innocent people can surely bring no credit to —

and win no support for — those who planned and

committed the deeds. Our prayers are offered again for

the victims and their families and to all whose lives have

been affected by the evils of terrorism. We support all

moves to bring the perpetrators to justice and to prevent

the spread of the use of terrorism tactics.

In this regard, the Kingdom of Swaziland welcomes

the establishment of the International Criminal Court

following the Rome Conference. We believe it to be well

timed and justified, and we are of the view that the

international nature of terrorism and drug-trafficking make

it essential that they be included as crimes that will fall

under the jurisdiction of the Court. We are confident that

the General Assembly will give urgent priority to the

establishment of the Preparatory Commission so that the

Court itself will become operational in the shortest

possible time.

The United Nations remains the only global forum

in which the world can have any hope of achieving the

goals we all strive for. Peace and stability among all

nations, promotion of sustainable development for all, and

the hope of future prosperity and security for all our

peoples: these are the wishes and expectations of those

we represent here.

Our peoples look to this Organization to create the

right conditions for these things to be possible. We cannot

let them down. I give my assurance that the Kingdom of

Swaziland will work hard to support the Secretary-

General and his staff in their efforts to improve the

efficiency and effectiveness of the United Nations

operations. We are deeply grateful for the assistance

given by the United Nations in support of the initiatives

we are undertaking in our country.

Finally, on behalf of His Majesty the King, Her

Majesty the Indlovukazi, the Queen Mother, the

Government and the whole Swazi nation, I am proud to

take this opportunity to reaffirm the Kingdom?s

commitment to the ideals and aims of the Charter of the

United Nations.