Lesotho, 1997

Allow me to extend to Mr.

Hennadiy Udovenko the sincere congratulations of my

delegation on his election to the presidency of the fifty-

second session of the General Assembly. It is with great

pleasure that I assure him of Lesotho’s support and

cooperation as he conducts the deliberations of this body.

Let me also take this opportunity to pay a special tribute to

his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Razali Ismail, for the

skilful manner in which he guided the work of the fifty-first

session. My delegation truly appreciates his leadership and

tireless dedication to the heavy responsibilities entrusted to

him during the past year.

On the eve of a new millennium, the United Nations

is poised on the threshold of an era of momentous changes.

During the first 52 years of its existence, the Organization

witnessed several changes in the configuration of

international relations. Some of them were traumatic, others

benign. The survival of the United Nations through all these

tribulations bears testimony not only to its resilience, but

also to the enduring validity of its mission.

But the continued success and relevance of the United

Nations in the new millennium will depend in large

measure on its capacity for self-renewal and on its

readiness to meet its challenges in the environment of

changed global circumstances.

The Secretary-General has demonstrated his

willingness and resolve to bring about the much-needed

change. We applaud, at the outset, his bold and far

reaching proposals on the reform of the United Nations.

Many of his proposals, indeed, meet with the approval of

my Government, and it is our hope that the General

Assembly will see its way clear to receiving them in the

same manner. Some, however, do need careful scrutiny to

ensure that the ideal of cost-cutting can still be achieved

without compromising the overriding objective of

realizing higher efficiency and effectiveness of the

Organization in the execution of its mandate.

We urge that the totality of these proposals should

be subjected to serious scrutiny at the appropriately high

intergovernmental level, with a view to implementing

those that enjoy wide support as expeditiously as possible.

Our hope is that this can be done in a spirit of frankness

and mutual understanding without the acrimony that so

often characterizes our intergovernmental deliberations.

During the last two sessions of the General

Assembly, we have debated and arrived at a clear

understanding of the United Nations reforms that will best

serve the interests of the world community in the next

millennium. The reform initiatives of the Secretary-

General, which cover diverse aspects of the functioning

of the Organization, are therefore a timely and welcome

response to our collective call for a reoriented and

revitalized United Nations.

Lesotho, like other States of southern Africa, has

gone through difficult political problems, which have

largely been resolved. The outstanding problem is

economic underdevelopment. We thus attach great

importance to the United Nations role in development

cooperation. We recognize the need to strengthen the

capacity of the Secretary-General in this area by

providing him with a deputy whose principal role, in our

view, should be to coordinate the Organization’s efforts

and to give direction to all entities of the United Nations

involved in development cooperation.

We fully support the initiative aimed at facilitating

the unified and cooperative functioning of all the United

Nations funds and programmes involved in development

operations at the field level, while at the same time

reinforcing and maintaining the distinct nature of these

entities. The specialized funds and programmes within the

United Nations system continue to constitute an important

vehicle for advancing international development

cooperation, particularly in the developing countries. The

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enhanced coordination and pooling of resources and

services among the specialized funds will not only lead to

better planning but will also maximize programme impact

and minimize administrative costs.

Indeed, Lesotho has already made its own

contribution, however small, towards reaching the ideal of

a unified United Nations presence in the field. The

Government of Lesotho, using its own national resources,

has constructed a United Nations House office complex,

which will accommodate all field representatives of the

funds and programmes as well as other United Nations

agencies in our capital. This House was inaugurated and

handed over to the United Nations Resident Coordinator

only five days ago, on 25 September 1997.

The suggestion by the Secretary-General for the

establishment of a $1 billion revolving fund also has its

own merits. Let me, however, hasten to emphasize that

there can be no substitute for a demonstrable commitment

by all Member States to honour their treaty obligations by

paying their assessed contributions on time, fully and

unconditionally, in order to ensure the financial health of

our Organization. We nevertheless believe that the proposed

revolving fund can only be a short-term palliative. But such

a fund should serve neither to exculpate those who renege

on their treaty obligations nor to place an additional burden

on countries that are already making sacrifices to honour

their obligations in accordance with the Charter.

As we approach the fiftieth anniversary of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in 1998, the issue

of the protection of human rights is assuming an increasing

importance to all our countries because of its close linkage

with democracy, peace and stability. My Government

therefore welcomes the Secretary-General’s proposed

reforms regarding the strengthening of the Organization’s

role in the field of human rights. In this connection, we

wish to urge that the consolidation of the Office of the

High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Centre for

Human Rights into one entity should not lead to the

blurring of the distinction between the political functions of

the High Commissioner and the purely technical functions

of the Centre.

The increasing globalization of organized crime,

including trafficking in illicit drugs, continues to be a

source of concern to the international community. It is for

this reason that in our subregion, the countries of the

Southern African Development Community are taking

cooperative measures to combat the scourge of transnational

organized crime. Lesotho believes that the proposal to

establish in Vienna a high-profile United Nations office

whose main focus would be on drug control and crime

prevention should be given favourable consideration.

With regard to the reform and restructuring of the

Security Council, I can only reaffirm the view of the

Lesotho Government that only equitable representation on

the Security Council and an increase in its membership to

no less than 26 can satisfy our aspirations. We share the

view held by the majority of members of this body on the

need for true democratization of the Security Council and

the reform of its working methods, including the issue of

the veto power. Such reform should take into account the

principle of sovereign equality of States, as well as the

need for transparency and accountability in the decision-

making processes of the Security Council.

Since the last session of the General Assembly, we

have witnessed a number of developments in the

international arena that augur well for world political

stability and peace. Recently we all shared in the

universal joy at the peaceful reunification of Hong Kong

with its motherland. The United Kingdom and the

People’s Republic of China ought to be congratulated for

their significant contribution to world peace and for the

valuable lesson that they have imparted to the world

community in the sphere of resolution of disputes through

dialogue.

In our region, we have witnessed the birth of a new

Democratic Republic of the Congo from the crucible of

one of the most vicious dictatorships ever recorded in the

annals of history. It is now for the international

community to assist the people of the Democratic

Republic of the Congo in their efforts aimed at economic

reconstruction and the consolidation of democracy and

accountability in their country. The acceptance of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo into the Southern

African Development Community at the beginning of this

month was a signal of the determination of the countries

of southern Africa to make their own positive contribution

to the reconstruction efforts of the Congolese people.

We are also greatly encouraged by the recent

restoration of stability and democracy in Liberia through

the assistance of neighbouring countries in that region.

However, the reversion of Sierra Leone to a state of

anarchy and chaos after the selfless efforts made by the

international community to bring about stability in that

country remains a source of great concern. Lesotho joins

in the call by African States for the international

15

community to withhold recognition of the military junta in

Sierra Leone and to remain steadfast in its resolve to

restore democracy and constitutional legitimacy in that

country.

In Angola, the recalcitrance of the UNITA leadership

continues to unravel the gains that had been made in the

search for peace. The United Nations owes it to the people

of Angola to enforce, through the Security Council,

appropriate punitive measures against UNITA as a signal

that those who stand in the way of peace can no longer be

allowed to succeed.

The recent events in the Middle East have cast a

shadow on a future that seemed to hold promise for a

negotiated peace. False moves have escalated tension in the

region rather than abating it. We call upon Israel, as we

have always done in the past, to fully implement all

Security Council resolutions aimed at the peaceful

settlement of the conflict in that region. All the parties to

the conflict must recommit themselves to the peace process

and refrain from any acts which might jeopardize a

negotiated settlement.

The continuous eruption of armed conflicts throughout

the world, particularly in the developing countries, is a

source of concern to all of us. These conflicts put a

tremendous strain on the resources of the United Nations

and on the Organization’s capacity to maintain international

peace and security. Thus, we are encouraged by the positive

attitude and the interest that some of the developed

countries have in the recent years shown in cooperating

with the Organization of African Unity towards enhancing

Africa’s capacity in the field of conflict prevention. We

also welcome Japan’s initiative to host an international

conference on conflict prevention in Tokyo in January

1998. Taken in their totality, these initiatives underline the

moral responsibility that rests on humanity to ensure that

peoples everywhere enjoy the right to peace, development

and the sanctity of life.

Lesotho is generally encouraged by the progress that

is being made in the field of disarmament with the recent

signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and

the ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Despite the current relaxation of tension in international

relations, disarmament must continue to be accorded high

priority on the agenda of the international community with

a view to achieving the total elimination of nuclear

weapons. Africa has already contributed positively to the

disarmament process by the signing, in Egypt, of the

Pelindaba Treaty declaring Africa a nuclear-weapon-free

zone.

The recent international negotiations in Oslo

regarding a ban on anti-personnel mines are also a step in

the right direction. Lesotho fully supports the Ottawa

process and urges all nations to associate themselves with

it so that a truly global treaty banning the production and

use of anti-personnel mines can be successfully concluded

in December this year.

Last year, the Assembly demonstrated the

widespread and growing international support for a

permanent international criminal court when it

unanimously adopted resolution 51/207, which set mid-

1998 as the date for a diplomatic conference to finalize

and adopt a convention on the establishment of such a

court. We have been encouraged by the progress made

during the last two sessions of the Preparatory

Committee, held in February and in August.

We appreciate the generous offer by the Italian

Government to host the conference. The time has now

come for the necessary arrangements for the convening of

such a conference to be put in place, and reaffirming the

June 1998 date will enable the Italian Government to

proceed with the necessary logistical arrangements and

ensure that the court is established before the end of the

century. Lesotho fully and unreservedly supports that

date. We remain convinced that the early establishment of

the court will offer the advantage of a system that aims

to serve the common global good by preventing local

outbreaks of violence from becoming security crises with

global repercussions, and to deter the continued

recurrence of the genocide and other massive crimes

against humanity that have haunted the world since

Nuremberg and Tokyo.

Members will recall the ninth session of the United

Nations Conference on Trade and Development

(UNCTAD IX), held two years ago in South Africa,

whose main agenda item was on promoting growth and

sustainable development in a globalizing and liberalizing

economy. In the post-UNCTAD-IX period, a major

challenge before us is to maximize the developmental

impact of this globalizing and liberalizing world economy.

This can be achieved only by ensuring that the risk of

marginalizing and even excluding weaker nations from

participating actively in international trade and commerce

is avoided at all costs.

16

When we met during the nineteenth special session of

the General Assembly, held only four months ago, we all

expressed our deep concern that, compared to 1992, the

overall trend regarding sustainable development in

developing countries is worse today. Poverty and

environmental degradation continue to afflict the lives of

millions of people in many parts of the world. The

staggering statistics only underline the need to strengthen

the capacity of the United Nations to improve the lot of our

disadvantaged peoples. In particular, they reaffirm that

United Nations operational activities for development have

a critical and unique role to play in enabling the developing

countries to continue to lead the management of their own

development process, and that the funds and programmes

within the United Nations system continue to constitute

important vehicles for advancing international development

cooperation. It is in this spirit that we would support those

efforts that are aimed at enhancing the effectiveness and the

capacity of the funds and programmes in the area of

development assistance.

In conclusion, allow me to observe that with the vision

that the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, has brought to

the Organization within his short period in office, the

United Nations can and will come to terms with the

challenges that lie in the years ahead. The rationalization of

the structures and working methods of our Organization

will surely allow us to achieve our objectives.