UN General Assembly
1997

Agenda for Development four years to reach consensus. Mobilization of resources for its implementation is of the utmost importance, for those who are to benefit from it cannot wait another four years. Development must be one of the centrepieces of United Nations activities. In this context, we welcome the proposal to appoint a Deputy Secretary-General. In our view the Deputy Secretary- General should concentrate on United Nations development activities. Namibia is one of those countries seriously affected by desertification and drought. In a few days, the first Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, will take place in Rome. We underscore the utmost importance of establishing an independent financial mechanism to make arrangements conducive to the implementation of this Convention. To this end, we look forward with great expectation to the outcome of the first Conference of the Parties. Namibia supports the establishment of an international criminal court, with its jurisdiction being limited to “hard-core crimes”: crimes of genocide, serious