Permit me, Sir, on behalf of
the Government and people of Barbados, to express our
profound appreciation of the high honour which the
international community has done to our region by your
unanimous election to the presidency of the forty-eighth
session of the General Assembly. As I join all those who
have offered you congratulations from this rostrum, I feel
bound to note with pride the considerable diplomatic skill,
experience and commitment which you bring to the Chair
and which allow my delegation the confidence to anticipate
a most successful and satisfactory session.
May I also commend your predecessor, Mr. Stoyan
Ganev, for having safely guided us through the demanding
deliberations of the forty-seventh session.
We particularly thank the Secretary-General for his
valiant efforts to secure international peace and security.
Barbados welcomes Andorra, Eritrea, the Czech
Republic, Monaco, Macedonia and Slovakia to membership
of this great Organization, which we are sure will benefit
from their participation.
It augurs well for the outcome of this session of the
General Assembly that it has started against a backdrop of
some success - however tenuous - in Haiti, in South Africa
and in the Middle East. The cases of the Middle East and
South Africa, especially, represent triumphs of diplomacy
and patient negotiation. In this regard, no praise is too high
for Norway’s outstanding contribution in guiding seemingly
intractable enemies along the difficult and daring path
towards peace. As we in Barbados laud such a remarkable
achievement, we hope fervently that it will lead soon to the
long-sought goals of an Israel within secure boundaries and
a homeland for the Palestinian people, goals envisaged in
Security
Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). We dare to
hope, too, that that reality, once achieved, will lead to a
lasting peace in the region.
In South Africa, despite the carefully orchestrated
campaign of violence and terrorism aimed at subverting
every effort to create a non-racial, democratic South Africa,
President de Klerk African National Congress President,
10 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
Nelson Mandela have, with truly remarkable courage and
foresight, brought their country to the point where the
transition to democracy has now been enshrined in the laws
of South Africa. Barbados rejoices that a date has been
fixed for the holding of universal elections, and we welcome
the establishment of the Transitional Executive Council to
prepare for those elections.
In praising those two leaders, we must not overlook the
significant contributions of the President of the Pan-
Africanist Congress, Mr. Clarence Makwetu, and the many
patriots on all sides, present and past, who have made and
continue to make their various contributions, sometimes even
to the extent of the supreme sacrifice. The encouraging
progress in South Africa demands and deserves, no less than
the process in the Middle East, the wholehearted support of
the international community.
The issue of Haiti is a matter of extreme importance to
the peace and security of the people of the Caribbean. You
are well aware, Sir, that the Heads of Government of the
Caribbean Community were long convinced that the
unfortunate and unacceptable state of affairs resulting from
the overthrow of the elected President of Haiti could be
resolved only through the intervention of the Security
Council, the valiant efforts of the Organization of American
States notwithstanding.
The fact that the Governors Island Agreement was
signed so soon after the adoption of Security Council
resolution 841 (1993) would seem to justify our consistent
position. Today we continue to be apprehensive over the
level and nature of the widespread turmoil in Port-au-Prince,
turmoil which seems designed to delay, if not derail, the
return of President Aristide to his rightful place. The
international community in general, and the Security Council
in particular, must not sit idly by, merely expressing regret
at the sorry state of affairs in that unhappy country. The
Security Council - indeed, all of our countries - must be
prepared to take whatever action is necessary to ensure that
the murders and assassinations cease. All parties must be
made to honour the Governors Island Agreement and the
results of the 1991 elections.
There is another issue which the people of the
Caribbean have contemplated with more or less trepidation
during the past 34 years. And although none of them might
have an immediate solution to offer, many believe that
nothing would bring more joy to the people of the region
than the announcement of an impending rapprochement
between the Republic of Cuba and our great neighbour to the
north. In the light of recent international events, Barbados
refuses to believe that only between these two countries can
no path to a peaceful resolution of their conflict be found.
Four years ago in Barbados we celebrated the 350th
anniversary of parliamentary practice. And it is in that
context that we applaud the United Nations for its role in the
conduct of successful elections in Angola and Cambodia.
While we are pleased at the post-election progress being
made in Cambodia, we are concerned about the deterioration
in Angola. We urge the international community to be more
vigilant in monitoring events in Angola. The comity of
nations has a duty to ensure that the results of free and fair
elections are accepted and respected by all parties - in Haiti,
in Angola, in Cambodia or wherever else there is
involvement by the United Nations in any such process. No
party anywhere should ever be allowed even to think that the
international community would tolerate the frustration of
properly conducted election exercises.
Barbados remains convinced that the international
community must adopt an integrated approach to peace, an
approach which concentrates on building and preserving
peace rather than on mere peace-keeping. Barbados
therefore appreciates the attention currently being paid by
this Organization to international security and peace-keeping.
Indeed, we welcome the recent adoption of General
Assembly resolution 47/120, endorsing the Secretary-
General’s "Agenda for Peace". We recognize that, in the
search for consensus, the interests of all parties have not
been fully addressed, but we consider that the reforms
recommended represent a useful first step towards the
enhanced role the United Nations is called upon to play in
the promotion of international peace and security.
International peace and security can hardly be attained
if the global environment continues to be sullied by rampant
human rights abuses. Barbados welcomes the advances
contained in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of
Action of the World Conference on Human Rights,
particularly the re-emphasis of the universality of human
rights and the right to development as a human right.
However, we must here reiterate that the widespread
resurgence of racism, xenophobia, religious intolerance,
ethnic conflicts and various other forms of human rights
abuses pose a most serious threat to the peace and security
of all of us.
The proposal to create a post of high commissioner for
human rights was such a contentious issue at the World
Conference for Human Rights that it has been referred to
this session for action. Barbados considers that before such
a post is established the following considerations should be
taken into account. First, the mandate of the high
Forty-eighth session - 12 October l993 11
commissioner should be satisfactorily defined. Secondly,
there should be adequate safeguards to ensure the
commissioner’s independence and neutrality. Thirdly, the
office of the high commissioner should not be manipulated
to achieve the political ends of any State. Fourthly, the high
commissioner should be empowered to investigate alleged
human rights abuses across all borders, and not on a
selective basis.
Barbados believes that preventive measures taken to
guarantee international peace and security must also include
efforts to safeguard basic social and economic rights.
However, we are equally convinced that not enough is being
done to address development problems. We concur in the
Secretary-General’s view that respect for human rights, the
rule of law and democracy cannot survive outside a
framework of adequate development. Where access to food,
clothing, shelter, education, health and the opportunity for
gainful employment is denied, democracy cannot flourish.
In spite of 50 years of unprecedented technological
progress, in many parts of the world abject poverty still
persists. An estimated 1.1 billion persons, or one-fifth of
humankind, are unable to afford even minimally acceptable
levels of food and shelter. This problem, though
concentrated largely within the developing world, has
transcended national boundaries and now affects persons in
the developing and developed countries alike. Low
commodity prices, lack of investment capital, the inability to
secure access to world markets, and high unemployment and
low productivity have contributed to the marginalization of
millions of unfortunate persons.
Particularly hard hit are our young people, among
whom disillusionment and despair have already begun to
take their toll, driving a growing number of them to resort
to various forms of anti-social behaviour, including drug
trafficking and drug abuse. This desperate situation will not
disappear because of speeches denouncing poverty, or the
adoption of resolutions calling for its elimination. Rather,
we must urgently adopt radical measures designed to attack
and eliminate the conditions which fuel the growing and
unacceptable levels of poverty in our societies.
Barbados considers that social development will be
among the greatest challenges facing the United Nations in
the twenty-first century. We therefore regard the
convocation of the World Summit on Social Development,
scheduled for Copenhagen in 1995, as a clear signal that
social development has become a priority issue on the world
agenda. Barbados believes that that Summit will provide the
international community with an opportunity to direct
attention to the acute problems relating to development. Our
conviction is that the focus of the development debate must
be shifted to human development and that bold initiatives
must be taken to combat poverty and to lighten the burden
which structural adjustment places on the most vulnerable in
our societies - our women and our children.
Barbados is heartened by the Secretary-General’s
"agenda for development" proposal and looks forward with
interest to reviewing the report requested in General
Assembly resolution 47/181. We also welcome the timely
initiative taken by the Government of Papua New Guinea, an
initiative in which I understand you yourself, Mr. President,
have no small interest. My delegation hopes that this matter
will be given the serious and urgent consideration it merits.
Among the deterrents to development, drug trafficking
remains one source of grave concern to the Governments of
the Caribbean. Apart from the tragic consequences that drug
addiction has for the health of our people, illegal drugs
constitute the single most pervasive ingredient of increased
crime in our societies. In Barbados, for example, the
majority of criminal cases brought before the courts involve
directly or indirectly some linkage to drugs. Penal and
health systems are being stretched to their limits, while the
financial implications of enforcement and rehabilitation are
staggering. Not even developed countries have yet been able
to eradicate from their societies drug abuse and its
mirror-image, drug trafficking. Developing countries are
still further disadvantaged by their chronic inability to take
on the powerful drug cartels and the narco-terrorists with
any hope of real success. The problem is transnational in
scope.
It is therefore imperative that the Global Programme of
Action adopted at the 1990 special session on drugs be
implemented as soon as possible and that cooperation at the
bilateral, regional and multilateral levels be enhanced. The
role of the United Nations Drug Control Programme is vital
to this process. Barbados looks forward to the four
high-level special plenary meetings scheduled to take place
during this session. We expect that further measures to
combat the universal scourge of drug abuse will emerge,
along with the provision of the adequate funding necessary
to achieve these ends.
It has been a year now since the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development was convened
in Rio de Janeiro. Since that time, other matters - primarily
matters of peace and security - have helped to push
environment and development issues out of the limelight.
The meeting of the Commission on Sustainable
Development, charged with the responsibility of monitoring
the implementation of Agenda 21, served to remind us that
12 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
sustainable development must continue to receive serious
attention from the international community. The
Commission succeeded in generating the necessary political
will to impart a powerful impetus to national action for the
implementation of Agenda 21. We can ill afford any loss in
momentum.
This brings me to the Global Conference on the
Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States,
which the Government of Barbados has offered to host. The
Conference will take place in Barbados from 25 April to 6
May 1994. The Government and people of Barbados are
honoured that the international community has, in accepting
our offer, placed its confidence in our capacity to host
successfully a conference of this size and importance. The
Conference will be the first of the follow-up activities of the
United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED) to be completed. It presents an
early opportunity for the implementation of the commitments
reached at the Rio Earth Summit. As such, the Conference
also represents a test of the political will of the international
community to match the solemn commitments of Agenda 21
with real action towards more sustainable development.
My colleague the Minister of the Environment, Housing
and Lands of Barbados recently briefed the Preparatory
Committee of the Global Conference on the Sustainable
Development of Small Island Developing States on the
progress of preparations for the Conference. My delegation
will submit details on further progress when the item comes
up for discussion in the substantive Committee. However,
let me at this stage put on record my Government’s
appreciation of the spirit and atmosphere which prevailed in
the Preparatory Committee. Unfortunately, the meeting of
the Preparatory Committee fell victim to the emergency
conference-servicing measures announced by the
Secretary-General on 26 August 1993 and for that and other
reasons the preparatory process did not go as far as it might
have. Barbados shares the view, expressed by many
delegations attending the meeting of the Preparatory
Committee, that it would be dangerous to leave finalization
of the preparatory process until April 1994 in Barbados.
Given the number and complexity of the issues left
outstanding from the Preparatory Committee, Barbados is
convinced that some arrangements must be put in place to
continue the preparatory process. We therefore look forward
to working with interested delegations towards reaching
agreement on an appropriate mechanism for continuing the
preparatory process prior to the commencement of the
Conference.
The Barbados Conference will provide the basis for the
building of a partnership for the implementation of the
decisions taken at Rio. The international community will be
afforded the opportunity to signal its commitment to move
forward towards more sustainable patterns of development
in a pragmatic, realistic manner, based on practical,
achievable goals. The people of Barbados look forward
eagerly to welcoming representatives of each and every
Member State in April 1994.
The threat of natural disasters to the sustained
development of small developing countries must not be
underestimated. Barbados applauds the efforts of all those
associated with the International Decade for Natural Disaster
Reduction, to lessen the vulnerability of those communities
most susceptible to such disasters. We consider it essential
that response capabilities in this area be improved with all
deliberate speed.
Barbados is collaborating closely with the Caribbean
Disaster Preparedness Agency, the Caribbean Regional
System, and with the Pan American Health
Organization/World Health Organization to continue to
improve its capacity to bounce back from the effects of a
grade five-hurricane or to be able to come to the aid of any
of our Caribbean neighbours who may fall victim to any
natural disasters. I am happy to be able to report that across
our region we have succeeded to some degree, at great
expenditure of effort and resources, in improving our
capability to mitigate the effects of natural disasters.
Barbados supports wholeheartedly the current initiative
of the United Nations to fashion a safer environment for all.
The Organization is now called upon to expand its activities
over wide areas of the globe. The new freedom of action
reflects the current geopolitical reality. A new configuration
of power is taking shape. While it is too early to determine
the outcome we must seek to mould this new phenomenon
into an instrument for the preservation of peace and security
and for the alleviation of human suffering everywhere.
The Secretary-General has not missed an opportunity in
recent times to highlight the dichotomy with which he is
faced. He continues to point out that additional mandates
are being heaped upon the Organization as a result of the
new climate without a corresponding willingness to provide
adequate resources for their execution. Barbados strongly
supports the expressions of concern by the Secretary-
General. We urge all Member States to do the best they can
to correct this unsatisfactory situation. It is clear that there
are some States whose capacity to pay may temporarily
outstrip their actual ability to pay, but it is unconscionable
for those who can pay not to do so. I trust, Mr. President,
that under your expert guidance the General Assembly will
finally be able to take appropriate measures to address the
Forty-eighth session - 12 October l993 13
financial crisis threatening the very existence of the
Organization.
Barbados accepts that the Security Council must always
be allowed to function without unnecessary hindrance. We
recognize equally clearly the principle of accountability.
The Council has served its purpose well in the past, but
changing times and circumstances dictate the need for an
enhanced participation.
Twenty-seven years ago as a member of my country’s
first delegation, I sat in this Hall and listened to the then
Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Errol Barrow, deliver
his inaugural address to the Assembly at its twenty-first
session.
In the intervening years though much has changed
much has remained the same. Small countries like mine still
belong to the submerged two thirds of the world’s
population, and where we manage by our own painful efforts
to raise our living standards we are faced with the prospect
of graduation. To be faced with graduation on the one hand
and structural adjustment on the other is to be caught
between Scylla and Charybdis. Once again Barbados would
urge with all the power at its command that the constant
threat of graduation be lifted from the vulnerable economies
of small, developing countries.
In looking back over those 27 years with their ups and
downs, their triumphs and disappointments, through
prosperity and adversity, graduation and structural
adjustment, as Mr. Barrow was on that day, I too am
reminded of John Bunyan’s Mr. Valiant For Truth when he
said:
"Tho with great difficulty I am got hither,
Yet now I do not repent me of all the trouble I have
been at to arrive where I am."


I deem it a special pleasure
and honour to extend my cordial congratulations to the
President on his election to preside over the General
Assembly at its forty-eighth session. I also wish to express
my high esteem for the excellent way in which the former
President, Mr. Ganev, presided over the proceedings of the
forty-seventh session of the General Assembly.
May I hail the Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and in particular for his dynamic
role and valuable personal contribution.
The Albanian delegation takes this opportunity to greet
the six newest Member States. In particular, we welcome
the presence here of our neighbour, the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, whose stability, territorial integrity
and international recognition are of great importance for
stability in the Balkans.
Since the last session of the General Assembly we have
seen many important events. We have witnessed the
endeavours of peoples for progress, prosperity, harmony and
understanding, peace and cooperation, as well as for
survival. The end of the cold war paved the way for the
attainment of the peoples’ denied aspirations to
self-determination and national identity, democracy and
equality. It brought their national and spiritual assets closer
to each other and enhanced their endeavours to occupy their
rightful place in the list of civilized nations of the world.
But these endeavours were also accompanied by crises
and conflicts, which have grown and are now among our
most serious challenges. We hail with the greatest pleasure
today the impressive progress made by Israel and the PLO,
as manifested in the historic agreement to put an end to
years and years of hostility. This remarkable achievement
is the best proof that if willingness is shown by all parties,
a suitable and acceptable solution can always be found. This
is the right moment to recall the worthy contribution made
by the major actors in world diplomacy to this end and
express our conviction that with such a commitment they
will continue to deal with other similar crucial questions.
At last year’s session of the General Assembly the
Albanian delegation had the pleasure to declare in this Hall
44 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
the victory of the democratic forces and their commitment
to Albania’s reintegration into the community of democratic
and civilized nations. Today, from the same rostrum, I have
the honour and the obligation to state that my country’s
democratic transformation has been successful, embracing all
fields and spheres of human activity. This transformation
has once and for all determined the direction in which
Albanian society will go, and it is forging ahead fast. After
more than a year of such government, Albania has taken big
steps in the setting up of qualitatively new political and
social structures and institutions, as well as in the
observation and legal guarantee of the rights and freedoms
of individuals.
We can truly speak now of an overall democratic
restructuring of Albanian society. Our goal is to consolidate
the constitutional democratic political order by setting up
democratic institutions with a view to taking action on
various political subjects and non-governmental organizations
with a view to guaranteeing participation by all citizens in
the running of the country. Albania is being led by people
possessed of new aspirations, ideologies and ideas. The
Government and its programme enjoy general approval,
which ensures political stability at home.
Making headway in Albania along with general
democratic reform is economic reform, aimed at a total
restructuring of a closed and inefficient economy on the path
to a free and open market economy. This restructuring is
difficult and truly painful, given the conditions of a country
that had known no reform or any kind of cooperation. The
economic recession the world is experiencing today has a
considerable bearing on the outcome of reform in Albania.
Furthermore, the strict implementation of United Nations
sanctions, and the considerable economic losses consequent
upon it, have influenced the rhythm of Albania’s economic
recovery. To be successful, Albanian economic policy also
counts on assistance and cooperation through programmes of
such important world economic institutions as the
International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the
European Community, and on specific programmes of aid
and cooperation with member countries of that Community
and a number of other States. Albania has surpassed the
stage of emergency aid and is working intensively to carry
out capital-producing projects, in which an important role is
also played by United Nations agencies such as the United
Nations Development Programme and the United Nations
Children’s Fund. In spite of the fact that the Government
has been in power for only a short time, positive results are
evident.
Application of a strict monetary policy has reduced
inflation from a monthly rate of 15 per cent in 1992 to 0.9
per cent in March 1993. Since August of last year, the
Albanian currency has shown a fairly fixed exchange rate in
relation to hard currencies, and the budgetary deficit has
been reduced significantly. As result of the massive
privatization of agricultural land, production has increased by
25 per cent.
It is only natural that at this time Albania has to cope
not only with the difficulties of transition and world
economic recession, but with those caused by the long war
in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other complex political
developments in the region, which negatively affect our
efforts to restore our ruined economy and hinder the
promotion of the democratic process not only in Albania but
in the entire Balkan region. We consider the creation of a
democratic space and a climate of peace, security and
stability in the former Yugoslavia and all over the Balkans
to be factors of decisive importance for the future of this
region, which has been overburdened with so many conflicts.
We are resolved to contribute constructively to the
establishment of such a democratic space of peace,
understanding and cooperation among the Balkan countries.
The priority of Albanian foreign policy is the creation
of favourable conditions for the democratic transformation
and total revival of the country. We see the solution of all
our problems precisely in the creation of this democratic
space in the Balkans and the full incorporation of this region
in the European process of integration. In this context,
Albania’s permanent political goal remains step-by-step and
overall integration in Europe by encouraging parallel
cooperation with the European collective economic, political
and security forums and structures. Reliable guarantees of
accelerated integration are advanced democratic legislation
worked out in compliance with European standards and the
institutional restructuring of State administration and local
government, along with total privatization of the economy
and the general encouragement of local and foreign private
initiative and activity in Albania. Reference should also be
made at this point to direct assistance from an important
forum of European democracy, the Council of Europe.
Albania regards the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
as an institution of effective vitality, which is indispensable
to organized concrete inter-State cooperation towards a real
collective security system in Europe and the entire
Euro-Atlantic area. Our relations with this important
political and military organization for security in Europe are
intended to constantly enhance cooperation towards full
integration in its structures. In close cooperation with other
Forty-eighth session - 27 September l993 45
Euro-Atlantic institutions, the Conference on Security and
Co-operation in Europe and the North Atlantic Cooperation
Council also have a very important role to play in
safeguarding peace, not only through confidence-building
measures and increased understanding among the
participating states, but also in the prevention of conflicts
and the peaceful settlement of disputes. We are confident
that only a common security policy is conducive to a climate
of mutual confidence, capable of coping with new
challenges. Through the position we have expressed at these
forums, Albania has proved that it consistently abides by this
assessment.
The protection and observance of human rights, one of
the fundamental issues of the new world democratic order
today, are closely linked with stable development,
democratic transformation, political stability and international
security, especially of the underdeveloped and turbulent
regions of the world. Human rights are indissolubly
interwoven with the aspirations of mankind to well-being
and socio-economic and political progress, freedom and
democracy. It is imperative for all members of the
international community at present to commit themselves,
according to their respective domestic conditions, to joint
efforts to translate these aspirations into reality for the sake
of a civilized and advanced world. The Albanian people,
who will never forget the high price paid during half a
century of brutal dictatorship, attaches a high value to human
rights and political and civil freedoms. In compliance with
this assessment, our Government considers support for
democracy and human rights to be the guide of its political
orientation. It is determined to build a modern State and a
civilized society, based on respect for the human rights of all
strata of the population without exception or discrimination.
Albania has adhered to two basic United Nations pacts on
human rights and is making preparations to adhere to a
series of other conventions. Not long ago, for the first time
in the history of the country, the Albanian Parliament
endorsed the Constitutional Law on Fundamental Rights and
Freedoms, thereby testifying to our determination to put
human rights at the forefront of the stable foundations of the
new Albanian democratic society we are building.
We consider respect for minority rights to be an
important and indivisible aspect of human rights. Albania’s
policy in this field rests on the principles of full equality and
non-discrimination, the creation of a broad democratic space
so that persons belonging to national minorities can assert
their own national identity, and the creation of a climate of
exemplary trust and coexistence. Minorities are an integral
part of the political, social and economic life of Albania; as
protagonists of the democratic development and
transformation of the country, they have access to real
representation in all socio-political structures, at State and
local levels of administration. Their situation in economic
and social domains will improve hand in hand with that of
the rest of the population.
The end of the cold war freed mankind from the fear of
global confrontation, even though peace and security are still
seriously threatened by a number of regional conflicts. In
some regions of the world, the actions and practices of some
States where totalitarian and ultranationalist regimes are in
power run counter to the aspirations and endeavours of the
peace-loving international community. More than 30 armed
conflicts, accompanied by savage crimes and great suffering
for the civilian population, are currently ablaze in various
regions of the world. These conflicts, which are a flagrant
violation of human rights and which are attended by all the
inevitable consequences, have seriously shocked mankind.
The conflict in the former Yugoslavia, especially in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is the bloodiest and most
dangerous conflict known in Europe since the Second World
War, has not yet found a stable solution. The monstrous
massacres carried out against the innocent civilian
population, "ethnic cleansing" - that barbaric form of
genocide - and all the other inhuman acts associated with
this conflict have once more testified to the fact that it is
impossible to reform totalitarian and ultra-nationalist
societies. This conflict is a challenge to civilized Europe, to
the conscience and humanitarian sentiments and passions of
the whole of peace-loving mankind. That is why a firm
collective answer from mankind is required. We have seen
that the imposition of sanctions, despite the effect on the
Serbian economy, was not the only or the most effective
means to put an end to the war and restore peace. This is
because the practical commitment of some countries did not
match their verbal statements in support of the sanctions.
That is why sanctions failed to paralyse and seriously
damage the Serbian war machine. Time has proved that the
sanctions needed to be accompanied by other, simultaneous,
measures of pressure.
We think that a convincing example should be set for
everybody, demonstrating that the reaction and the stand of
the United Nations will always be the same in cases of
aggression. It is the Organization’s duty to use all means at
its disposal to implement the principles of the Charter, to
make peace, and to fulfil the hopes of mankind.
But we understand that the United Nations sanctions, as
the only means based on the world community’s consensus,
will continue to be applied, putting the necessary pressure on
46 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
the Belgrade authorities until a final solution of the whole
Yugoslav crisis is found, including an overall improvement
of the situation in Kosovo.
The Yugoslav crisis is multidimensional and
complicated because of many interlacing factors and
interests. It is evident that its most tragic and bloodiest
manifestation is the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
which for more than a year has been the centre of the
attention and the efforts of public opinion and of the
diplomacy of the major Powers of the world. I would like
to stress that my country has condemned the Serbian
aggression, and has hailed and unreservedly supported all the
endeavours of the international community to establish peace
in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Republic of Albania will
support any solution to the Bosnian conflict which is based
on a free and fair agreement. Solutions which legalize
territorial annexation and "ethnic cleansing" at the expense
of other peoples such as the Muslim population in Bosnia
can hardly be heralds of peace.
Moreover, we would like to remind this important
international forum that the other aspects of the Yugoslav
crisis should not be neglected either, for these could have
consequences of tragic proportions not only within the
former Yugoslavia but also in the Balkans and beyond.
In that light, I would like to point out that the Albanian
factor in the former Yugoslavia, especially the Kosovo issue,
is of a crucial importance to finding an equitable and lasting
solution to the crisis. Therefore, we insist that this problem
has to be properly addressed. If, in assessing this factor,
there is insistence on the rigid position that Kosovo is an
integral part of Serbia, that it is annexed to Serbia and that
the Albanian people in the former Yugoslavia are a minority,
then nothing will be achieved, but the idea of creating a
"Greater Serbia" will be reconfirmed and legalized at the
expense of other peoples.
We think that the breakup of the former Yugoslavia -
which was also the cause of what is now called the
Yugoslav crisis - puts the issue of succession in the former
Yugoslav federation in an entirely new light: it brings up
the question of considering the peoples’ right of
self-determination, and the expression of their free will as to
their political status. If this means war, as some people
think, then it is up to the United Nations and the Security
Council to intervene and guarantee respect for the principles
of the Charter. We firmly maintain that no forcible change
of borders or territorial gains through aggression and "ethnic
cleansing" will be recognized.
The choice is clear: if we want people to believe in the
new world order, we must create all the legitimate
international conditions needed to realize and defend their
aspirations, by setting up an entirely new type of system of
United Nations protection for defenceless countries and
peoples.
As to the national question of the Albanians, we see its
solution in the creation in the former Yugoslavia and all
over the Balkans of a broad democratic space that would
allow freedom of communication and freedom of movement
among the more than 7 million Albanians who live, in
territorial continuity, in that space. We are against territorial
fragmentation and division, and the hermetic sealing of a
single people within the borders of neighbouring countries.
I believe that I am also expressing the opinion of many
countries represented here when I say that the outbreak of a
conflict in Kosovo would be the start of a great tragedy.
Albania expresses its profound gratitude to the international
community for all the efforts it has made to prevent a
spillover of the conflict to Kosovo and to support the denied
rights of the Albanian people there. I also express my
gratitude to the United Nations, which has clearly warned
that any warlike act by Serbia in Kosovo will pose a threat
to international peace and security. We highly appreciate
this support and call for a serious commitment by the
international community to take all the necessary urgent
measures to prevent the Bosnian tragedy from recurring in
Kosovo.
Albania has long made it clear that placing Kosovo
under the control and protection of the United Nations is the
only guaranteed way of preventing conflict and discouraging
the silent "ethnic cleansing" that Serbia is practising there.
It would also create a favourable climate for dialogue
between the legitimate Albanian representatives of Kosovo
and the Serbian authorities on the political status of the
province and on any other issue linked with the question of
succession to the former Yugoslavia.
Therefore, we reiterate our stand that only the United
Nations, and primarily the Security Council, should
expeditiously take the necessary measures to prevent conflict
in that region.
At a time when the concept of using peace-keeping
forces prior to a conflict has been consolidated in theory and
has been put into practice, preventive deployment is fully
justified in the case of Kosovo, because of the threat that the
outbreak of an intra-Balkan armed conflict would pose to
international peace and security.
Forty-eighth session - 27 September l993 47
We are profoundly concerned about the issue of
Kosovo and the grave situation created there since the
elimination of its autonomy in 1989 and its complete
annexation and subjection to Serbian military and police
authority, and we call for proper attention to the fact that a
peaceful settlement of the Yugoslav crisis should cover the
entire space of the former Yugoslavia and all its aspects and
problems. Any partial settlement without the necessary
international safeguards would be unstable and would not do
away with the germs of new conflicts.
To sum up, I would like to reiterate that the Republic
of Albania sees in the United Nations an organization
capable of implementing the principles of its Charter and
coping with all the challenges that result from the dynamic
developments of our time, especially serious problems in the
fields of security, disarmament, sustainable socio-economic
development, environment and so on.
We see the United Nations also as the primary
institution responsible for the collective safeguarding of
peace and security in the new era. Albania will render
unreserved support to all initiatives aimed at enhancing the
efficiency of this universal Organization.


I am delighted and honoured to
have this opportunity once more to address this distinguished
gathering.
I bring with me from the Kingdom of Swaziland the
greetings and good wishes of Her Majesty Indlovukazi and
the whole Swazi nation to our fellow Members and friends.
Before I begin my remarks, I should like, on behalf of
the Kingdom of Swaziland, to express my deep condolences
to the people of India, who have suffered so much in the last
24 hours. Our thoughts and prayers reach out to the families
and friends of the victims of the tragic earthquake as they
struggle to overcome the effects of disaster. May Almighty
God protect all in the region from further suffering.
Mr. President, on behalf of the Swaziland delegation,
let me offer my sincere congratulations on your election to
the presidency of this forty-eighth session of the General
Assembly. Many issues of vital importance to the world
will be discussed during this session, and we are entirely
confident in your ability to lead us to a successful conclusion
in all our deliberations.
We should also like to express our deep appreciation to
your predecessor, Mr. Stoyan Ganev, who guided the
proceedings of the forty-seventh session to such great effect.
We are meeting at a time when our Organization is
faced with a number of concerns, whose challenge to our
resources, and to our unity, is perhaps without parallel in the
48 years of our existence.
We Members are fortunate that our success in meeting
these challenges lies to a large extent on the shoulders of our
Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros-Ghali, whose performance
over the last two years has fully justified our confidence in
him. The Kingdom of Swaziland pays a tribute to his skill,
vision and leadership, as we face increasing challenges -
internal as well as external - to our Organization. We are
confident in his ability to act on behalf of us all, as the
United Nations strives to maintain peace and security
throughout this troubled world and as we continue to fulfil
the hopes and wishes of our peoples, through the promotion
of social and economic development in all Member States.
We offer our Secretary-General the fullest support and
encouragement in the difficult times ahead.

Swaziland is delighted to extend the hand of friendship
to our six new Members, including our own African
continent’s newest nation, Eritrea. Earlier this year, we
praised the United Nations-sponsored elections, which
allowed Eritrea a peaceful transition to independence, and
we welcomed it to the Organization of African Unity family
of African nations. Now, that welcome is extended to this
larger family.
The admission of these new countries is further proof
of the importance we place on embracing all peoples within
our Organization: the principle of universality - of
representing all the nations of the world - is one that has
been at the very centre of the United Nation’s existence,
since our establishment in 1945.
All groups of people, all nations, regardless of size or
history, have a contribution to make towards ensuring a
safer, more prosperous world, in which we can live and
work in peace and provide the promise of economic and
political security for future generations.
Just one month ago Swaziland celebrated an event of
great importance in the history of the Kingdom. Twentyfive years ago, on 6 September 1968, we regained our
independence and resumed our rightful place in the world
once more, as a free, sovereign nation.
To mark such an historic occasion, we hosted a large
number of Heads of State and other representatives of
countries from every corner of our globe for three days of
celebration and rejoicing.
While the event was one of great national jubilation,
and an opportunity to give thanks to God for the many
blessings he continues to bestow on us, it was also a chance
to review the progress of the nation’s development; to
examine our successes and failures; and to learn from the
lessons of our first 25 years as a nation reborn.
We were also able to confirm the steps we are taking
to continue in our quest to bring all Swazis once more under
the protection of our leadership. A committee has been
established and negotiations are under way to restore the
land and the people that have been lost to us over the last
century. We shall be keeping this Organization fully
informed of developments.
Most prominent among Swaziland’s blessings have
been the peace and stability we have continued to enjoy
throughout these times of great change and disorder. As a
nation, we confirmed how important a role our unity plays
in preserving the conditions for our stability, and
demonstrated what we could do to ensure that those
conditions will be enjoyed by future generations.
We acknowledged that two factors have contributed
most to our unity: first, the emphasis we have always
placed on those aspects of our national character that make
us unique from others - our traditions, our customs and our
culture; and, secondly, our policy of always acting in
consensus, wherever possible, on issues of national
importance.
These traditional values which continue to guide and
lead us today may seem old-fashioned and out of date in
today’s world. But they have served Swaziland well and
will continue to bind the Swazi nation together for many
generations to come.
I do not wish to give the impression that time has stood
still for us in our remote corner of the African continent -
far from it. Swaziland, too, has felt the winds of change
which have blown throughout the world; and together, as a
family, we have bent to accommodate them, for the good of
the nation as a whole.
One current example is the process of political reform
on which we are embarked.
As I mentioned a few moments ago, Swaziland is
governed by the principle of rule by consensus of the people.
Through the ages, our leaders have ruled with the consent of
the nation, and this principle continues today. So when the
effects of global political reform began to be felt in the
Kingdom, all Swazis were given the opportunity to offer
their individual opinions on the need for change.
The result was a series of recommendations by the
majority of the Kingdom to bring about a number of
democratic reforms, of which the most important concerned
changes in our electoral system to allow direct and
accountable representation in Parliament.
The decision by the people to implement the changes
was announced last October, and the first stage of elections
under the new system was successfully conducted a week
ago. The final stage will take place in 10 days’ time.
Our new-found political maturity has also resulted in
the lifting of certain restrictive measures which, for various
reasons, had been thought necessary in the past.
Forty-eighth session - 1 October l993 3
These moves, and indeed the process throughout, has
been warmly welcomed and supported wholeheartedly by the
international community. More importantly, it has fulfilled
the wishes of the vast majority in Swaziland.
Ahead of us lies the implementation of the other
recommendations made by the Kingdom. We shall take
these steps forward in the way we always conduct business -
quietly, peacefully and with the consent of all our people.
I give this outline of recent reforms in Swaziland not
from any need to justify our actions to the outside world, nor
indeed to gain the approval of the international community.
No, I simply offer it as an example of the importance we, as
a nation, place on our unity, and on the principle of meeting
fresh challenges together, as a family.
Swaziland’s internal policy is mirrored in our dealings
with the outside world. Throughout our history, we have
consistently pursued a policy of encouraging the settlement
of all disputes through peaceful dialogue and negotiation.
We are heartened that this principle is shared by the United
Nations in its attempts to maintain global peace and security.
It is a distressing fact that the challenges facing the
United Nations in this regard have reached a level perhaps
without equal since its establishment at the end of the last
global conflict.
The consequences of the breakup of the former Soviet
Union, in particular, have focused world attention on
continental Europe, where the situations in the former
Yugoslavia and Georgia continue to give us all great cause
for concern.
The horrors of the war in Bosnia reinforce the belief
that we need some way of limiting the effects of tension
before they are allowed to expand and explode.
Swaziland has fully supported the efforts of the United
Nations and the European Community to bring about a
negotiated settlement to the conflict; and we recognize the
work of those involved in the process towards peace.
Special mention must be made of the contribution of
the members of the United Nations Protection Force
(UNPROFOR) in Bosnia, who risk their lives daily in their
courageous attempts to bring relief to the suffering of so
many. We urge the leaders of the three sides to find the
basis for a peaceful settlement before the start of a winter
which many thousands will otherwise not have a chance of
surviving.
Not far away, in Georgia, we have witnessed with
concern the unfolding of another tragedy whose
consequences may well be felt for some time to come.
Swaziland urges those involved, with the support from those
having influence in the area, to learn from the suffering of
Bosnia and to find a peaceful, negotiated settlement to the
dispute that has ruined the stability of a nation which so
recently rejoiced in its new-found independence.
The last two weeks have seen the internal political
struggle in Russia reach a critical point, constituting a very
serious threat to the stability of that great country.
Most countries in the world have learned from bitter
experience that there is no easy path to reform, no certain
blueprint, no overnight success.
As a country with enormous strategic and historical
importance, Russia has held our attention throughout its
often painful transition, and our thoughts are with its people
during this latest internal crisis. Swaziland joins the rest of
the international community in supporting a peaceful
resolution to the constitutional struggle on whose outcome
the peace of the entire region may depend.
Cyprus continues to give cause for concern to my
delegation, fully 19 years after the short but destructive
conflict that brought division to that unhappy island.
Swaziland shares with Cyprus membership in the British
Commonwealth of Nations, and we support the untiring
efforts of our Secretary-General to promote dialogue
between Greeks and Turks so that a lasting settlement,
acceptable to all, may be found.
Closer to home, for many of our brotherly African
countries conflict and internal strife continue to be the
major obstacles in the way of the development of the
continent as a whole. Of particular distress to us in southern
Africa is the appalling disaster which has overtaken our
brothers in Angola, where more tragedies occur each day
than anywhere else in the world. If any country has suffered
enough it is surely Angola. No reason can possibly justify
the scale of the disaster suffered by so many. We therefore
support the measures taken by the United Nations to bring
about an end to the conflict, and we appeal to those
responsible for the continuation of the suffering to allow
sense and reason to prevail. The elections last September
were judged free and fair by organizations of which we are
a member and whose views we respect. We appeal to both
4 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
sides to come together in a spirit of understanding and
compromise to achieve a lasting peace for the whole
country. The efforts of our United Nations Special Envoy
in this difficult and dangerous assignment deserve our fullest
support.
On the other side of our continent, we continue with
grave concern to look on the situation in Somalia, where,
despite the efforts of the large United Nations force and a
large measure of success at the start of the operation, a
formula for lasting peace still cannot be found. Swaziland
gives due praise to the members of the peace-keeping force
as they attempt to maintain the conditions in which food and
medical relief can reach those most in need. Clearly, the
support of the international community will be necessary for
the foreseeable future - despite the enormous drain this will
mean on our limited resources - as efforts are made to help
establish suitable political conditions in the country to
encourage sustainable development.
Despite these setbacks to global peace, the last 12
months have seen considerable successes recorded in other
areas, many of which owe much to the efforts of the United
Nations. In this Hall on Monday, President Clinton spoke
of the determination of his Administration to continue with
the policy of encouraging an end, once and for all, to the
spread of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
Swaziland supports any measure to limit the ability of all
countries to make political use of weapons of mass
destruction, and we call on all the nuclear Powers to give the
initiative the support it deserves.
Of perhaps greatest immediate significance in the area
of global peace, however, was the recent signing of the
peace accord between Israel and the Palestine Liberation
Organization. Swaziland joins the rest of the world in
welcoming with enormous relief this sign of real progress
towards peace in the Middle East. We acknowledge those
who have contributed to this first, vital step towards a
settlement of the crisis which has afflicted the region for so
long. In particular, the determination of the two leaders,
Prime Minister Rabin and Chairman Arafat, to bring about
the conditions for a settlement deserves the praise of us all.
Meanwhile, along with the rest of the world, we
recognize that many challenges lie ahead in the process of
reconciliation and peaceful resettlement. Above all, there
must be a firm commitment to the process from all nations
in the region. The responsibility for a successful future lies
as much with the neighbouring countries as it does with
Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Swaziland therefore welcomes the immediate favourable
response to the treaty from many in the region, and we offer
our wholehearted support to the process begun with that
historic handshake. Our hopes and prayers for lasting peace
are with the people of the Middle East.
The successful conclusion of another long-running
conflict owes much to the efforts of the United Nations and
is worth highlighting. The free and fair elections in
Cambodia have, hopefully, brought an end to many years of
suffering by the Cambodian people and fully justified the
support we, as Member States, gave to the process.
Challenges to peace in that country remain, however,
and, while welcoming the moves to unite the people behind
a newly established monarchy, Swaziland is concerned that
any remaining differences be resolved through negotiation,
and not by the means that, in the past, gave rise to such
hatred and division among the Cambodian people.
Africa, too, has experienced encouraging developments
over the past 12 months. Of particular relevance to
Swaziland have been the ongoing peace processes in the
neighbouring countries of Mozambique and South Africa.
Later this month we shall formally begin the process of
returning the tens of thousands of Mozambican refugees to
their homeland. Swaziland has hosted these unfortunate
victims of civil war for many years, with the assistance of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. We
praise all those who have contributed to the peace effort.
Above all, we recognize the willingness of both sides to
bring an end to the suffering of so many fellow-countrymen.
We therefore acknowledge the commitment to peace of
President Chissano and Mr. Dhlakama, who have given an
example to the leaders of other countries experiencing
internal struggles. We pray that the peace process will be
allowed to run its course, with the assistance of the United
Nations force that is stationed in the country. Swaziland
stands ready to help Mozambique to regain its significance
in the region.
The situation in South Africa - our other neighbour -
too gives some reason for long-term hope of a peaceful
transition to majority rule and the birth of a new South
Africa. This view has been strengthened by the speeches
that President De Klerk and Mr. Mandela made in the
United States last week. The negotiation process has
proceeded in accordance with a tight timetable, and
important successes have been recorded. I refer, for
example, to the recent agreement concerning conditions for
the establishment of the Transitional Executive Council.
Forty-eighth session - 1 October l993 5
The setting of a date for elections - April 1994 - is of
particular importance as it provides a focus for the black
community, which has been denied the vote for so long.
However, major obstacles remain if next year’s election date
is to be met. Prominent among these is the distressing
continued violence in many sections of South African
society. This has resulted in widespread loss of confidence
in the peace process. We appeal to the leaders of all parties
in South Africa to impose the maximum restraint on those
who threaten the real progress that has been made so far.
We pray that reason will prevail and that the existing forum
for peaceful negotiation will be used for the resolution of
any differences.
A matter of equal concern, and with the potential to
give rise to greater problems in the long term, is the absence
from the negotiations of representatives of large sections of
the country. Empty chairs at the negotiating table will result
in an incomplete solution to the problem of creating a new
South Africa. All South Africans must be represented at the
talks, so that each may feel that he is a part of the solution.
Conditions must be found to give all in South Africa,
regardless of race or belief, a voice in the transition process.
In the meantime, in accordance with the wishes of the
majority of South Africans, Swaziland supports the call for
the lifting of the remaining economic and trade sanctions
against South Africa, to enable the country to begin the long
and difficult process of resolving the many development
challenges it faces.
Swaziland looks forward to welcoming a new South
Africa as a major force in the development of the region.
Further north in our continent, the recent signing of the
peace accord in Liberia will, we hope, bring to an end a
long and painful chapter in the history of that unhappy
country. Swaziland endorses the offer of the United Nations
earlier this year to assist in the electoral process. We appeal
to all Liberian leaders to respect the peace process and to
put their faith in the electoral system, so that the country
may begin the task of rebuilding in an atmosphere of
national unity and conciliation.
As we examine the extent of United Nations
involvement in peace-keeping operations around the world,
it is clear that we face major questions about our ability to
cope with future conflict situations. While Swaziland salutes
the courage and dedication of the 80,000 men and women of
the various United Nations forces on assignment in 17
separate operations throughout the world, we support the call
of other Members for a full examination of the way in which
our peace-keeping operations are managed, with a view to
securing the maximum benefit from our limited resources.
We are approaching our fiftieth anniversary, and this is
a suitable moment to review our past performance in this
area and to draw on our collective experience so that in
future peace-keeping roles we may make the most efficient
use of our resources. Swaziland therefore welcomes the call,
in the Secretary-General’s report "An Agenda for Peace", for
discussion of these vital issues during the current session.
At the beginning of my address I expressed the Swazi
delegation’s welcome for the accession of six new Members
as an indication of the Organization’s respect for the
principle of universality. We confirmed that it is a basic
human right of all peoples to be represented at the United
Nations so that the widest possible range of opinions and
experience may be pooled, and the benefits of the
Organization shared by all countries.
The President returned to the Chair.
Yet the Kingdom of Swaziland has enjoyed a long and
happy relationship with 21 million people who believe that
they have had no representation here since 1971: I refer to
the people of the Republic of China.
For the past 25 years the Republic of China has shown
itself to be a true friend of Swaziland. We have benefited
from the experience of development which has lifted the
Republic of China to a position high on the list of
industrialized nations. The rest of the world has been
excluded from that experience and from the positive
contribution that we feel the Republic of China can make to
the international community. It is a contribution that the
Government and the people of that nation have demonstrated
their will and desire to make. And 21 million people feel
that they are denied the right of representation here in the
United Nations by men and women of their own choice. In
the interest of equity and justice, their collective voice
deserves to be heard.
Swaziland therefore supports the call from other
Member States for the establishment of an ad hoc committee
to look into the issue of the Republic of China’s re-entry
into the United Nations.
Following from the issue of basic human rights among
nations, Swaziland attached great importance to our
attendance at the Conference in Vienna last June. We made
6 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
clear the priority we attach to the promotion and protection
of human rights in our own country and the important role
we believe that plays in the maintenance of peace and
stability throughout the world.
The principle of equality among nations is one that has
guided our foreign policy since independence, and we join
other Member States in welcoming the Conference’s
Declaration and Programme of Action. We look forward to
the discussion here in the General Assembly of proposals
agreed at the Conference, and we stand ready to implement
them where necessary.
For many years after independence the Kingdom of
Swaziland enjoyed a period of steady growth and reasonable
prosperity, despite the difficulties experienced by other
developing nations in our region. The world-wide economic
recession and the drought years of 1991 and 1992 meant an
end to the expansion of our economy, and the Kingdom
braced itself for some tough times ahead. As a developing
country we are heavily reliant on the economies of nations
that are more industrialized than ours, and the failure of the
projected world-wide recovery in 1993 has added to our
despair.
We have recognized that there are internal measures we
must take ourselves, and we are active in attempting to
strengthen our industrial and agricultural base; but we
remain dependent on outside support to finance programmes
to help achieve our objectives.
The Kingdom has begun a programme of action for our
own economic development, based on the principle of
national consensus that was so successful in our political
reforms. The United Nations continues to support us in the
planning and coordination of our efforts, and we will need
that support for some time to come if we are to experience
the growth we need for the economic security of future
generations.
One area in which we have been concentrating much
effort is the expansion of our export markets and our trade
relations with other countries. We have therefore been
following anxiously the prolonged process of concluding the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) talks. We
have a saying in Africa: "When the elephants fight, the ants
get squashed." For our small, developing nation, much
depends on the successful outcome of the talks. We are, in
particular, looking forward to an international trade package
which will take full account of the needs of the developing
nations and will make allowances for current trade
agreements between us and the first world. Another
deadline is just two months away. We appeal to the world’s
major economic Powers to consider the long-term fate of our
people and not to be seduced by the short-term political
advantage to be gained from indecision and delay.
Although we will be heavily reliant on the outcome of
the GATT talks, Swaziland and the other countries in the
Southern and Eastern African regions have followed the
example of other major trading blocs around the world and
formed our own regional common markets. The Southern
African Development Community (SADC), of which
Swaziland is currently Vice-Chairman, and the Preferential
Trade Area (PTA) for Eastern and Southern African States
are models of inter-nation cooperation. Our objective is the
improvement of all our peoples through closer economic and
trade cooperation and development between member States.
Through our membership in these trade organizations, we are
trying to open up more regional markets to complement
those we have established overseas. Our long-term target is
to achieve a measure of regional self-reliance, and it is one
that deserves the support of the developed world. SADC,
the PTA and other arrangements like them will succeed as
long as we can count on the support and commitment of
organizations such as the United Nations. I commend them
to this Assembly.
Swaziland fully agrees with the United Nations in
attaching importance to the concept of sustainable
development among Member nations, and we welcome your
call, Mr. President, for an agenda for development to have
priority focus in this session. In this regard, we intend to
take a full and active part in next year’s conference on
population and development, and the Heads of State summit
on social issues in 1995.
The concept of a holistic approach to development -
taking into account issues such as the environment, human
settlement, population management, productive employment
and the easing of poverty - is one that forms the basis of our
own nation’s policies.
We are working hard to ensure that our development is
sustainable for the benefit of future generations of Swazis -
just as our forefathers made sacrifices to ensure a secure and
prosperous heritage for us.
We therefore welcome any initiative that places
population concerns at the centre of all social, economic,
political and environmental activities and we look forward to
a worthwhile output from Cairo next year and from the
social Summit in 1995.
Forty-eighth session - 1 October l993 7
It has been an eventful and exciting year. The first
steps have been taken towards the resolution of many
long-standing problems, but many challenges remain.
The need for internal adjustments in the administration
of the Organization has been clearly identified and we look
forward to monitoring more effective operations as a result
of the initiatives taken by the Secretary-General. Despite
these, the United Nations can be proud of its record over the
past twelve months and the Kingdom of Swaziland salutes
all those who have contributed to the many substantial
achievements we have recorded.
I should like to give my personal assurance that
Swaziland will demonstrate its confidence in the
Organization by paying its dues on time and with great
willingness in the firm expectation that they will be put to
the best possible use. We urge all other Member States to
take the same attitude so that the Organization might have
the funds available to undertake the programmes of
assistance that are so desperately needed throughout the
world.
In conclusion I should like to take this opportunity, on
behalf of Her Majesty, the Indlovukazi, and the whole Swazi
nation, to express my deep gratitude to the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) and all its sister agencies,
for the many programmes of assistance undertaken in
Swaziland since its independence.
We believe that the United Nations remains the only
truly global forum for confronting the challenges facing the
world today, and the only body with the resources and the
commitment to implement the solutions. The world would
indeed be a more troubled place without the combined
efforts of all of us here.
We take pride in reaffirming our commitment to the
principles and ideals contained in our founding Charter.


I am particularly pleased to offer my warm
congratulations to Ambassador Insanally, both on my own
behalf and on behalf of the Government of the Republic of
Tunisia, on his election to the presidency of the General
Assembly at its forty-eighth session. I am delighted to see
him directing our work and I am convinced that in the
choice it has made, the General Assembly intended to
honour his country, which has been devoted to the cause of
peace and international cooperation.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank his
predecessor, Mr. Stoyan Ganev, for the contribution he made
to the work of the forty-seventh session and for the great
skill he evinced at that time.
It is also a pleasant duty to pay tribute to the Secretary-
General of the Organization, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for
his efforts and the determination in implementing the
objectives and decisions of the United Nations aimed at
resolving conflicts throughout the world. His is far from an
easy task, particularly since those conflicts have multiplied
and the activity and role of the United Nations today have
increased as well.
I should also like to congratulate the new Member
States that have acceded recently to membership of our
Organization and to welcome their delegations here present.
I am quite certain that they will make their own valuable
contributions to what is being done by the United Nations to
promote peace and cooperation between nations.
After the spectacular upheavals that the world has
undergone, the current session provides us with a propitious
opportunity to take a close look at the circumstances and the
prospects offered by these changes and to consider ways and
means of strengthening our Organization and its new fields
of action, particularly on the basis of preventive diplomacy
and on building relationships of trust and cooperation
between States.
Starting from 7 November 1987, Tunisia has been
engaged in laying the foundations of a modern and advanced
State capable of adapting to the changes that have taken
place and continue to take place in the world. Tunisia hopes
that after the era of dogmatism and ideology, the world will
be able to evince greater maturity by putting more vigour in
striving for cooperation between nations and solidarity
between peoples.
One of the signs of such maturity is undoubtedly the
dynamic peace process in the Middle East. There can be no
doubt that the premisses of peace in the Middle East which
are now attracting the attention of the entire international
community are an indication that an end to decades of
confrontation, destruction and suffering is now in view.
The historic mutual recognition between Israel and the
Palestine Liberation Organization and the declaration of
principles relating to the occupied territories are all
important signposts along the road towards recognition of the
legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, and are a cause
for hope that a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle
East is in the offing.
Tunisia, while welcoming these developments, would
like to voice the hope that Israel will show the necessary
courage to reach agreement with the Arab parties concerned
in order to achieve a just and lasting peace that will
guarantee that all the peoples of the region will live in
security and stability, and that in the place of strife and
conflict there will be good-neighbourliness.
Devoted as it is to the universal values of peace and
justice, Tunisia will continue to endeavour to give impetus
to this dynamic peace process in the Middle East with a
view to undoing the knot of the crises and conflicts that
beset the world today.
In line with this stance, Tunisia has made a point of
being associated with the efforts of the international
community and with the work of the United Nations in the
service of peace, security and stability.
It is in this context that we should view Tunisia’s
participation in the operations involving supervision of the
elections in Cambodia, despite the enormous difficulties that
were encountered.
Forty-eighth session - 27 September l993 17
Also, Tunisia recently responded to the United Nations
appeal to take part in the Somali operation; unfortunately,
the situation seems to indicate that a return of peace in the
short term seems rather unlikely.
Tunisia also responded to the United Nations appeal to
be associated in United Nations efforts in the Western
Sahara, the purpose of which is to lay the groundwork for
holding a referendum.
Regarding the tragedy of the people of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Tunisia once again appeals to the conscience
of the world to work determinedly towards seeking a just
settlement based on law and international legality rather than
on the basis of fait accompli politics, so that a swift end may
be put to this tragedy, particularly as winter is near.
Since it remains faithful to its Arab and Islamic
identity, and since it also belongs to the Maghreb, Tunisia
will do everything it can to strengthen the ties of
brotherhood and cooperation in order to achieve our
objectives so that we may be able to realize the aspirations
of our peoples of a better future. It is in this spirit that
Tunisia and Algeria have recently concluded an agreement
on the demarcation of the borders between our two fraternal
countries. The agreement will be deposited shortly with the
United Nations.
In this context, we should like to express our sincere
hope that all the problems in the Gulf region will be
properly and rationally resolved, including the boundary
disputes between Iraq and Kuwait and between the United
Arab Emirates and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and that this
will be achieved by peaceful means in line with existing
agreements and the norms of international legality, in
keeping with the new spirit which now inspires international
relations as well as with the aspirations of our world after
peace and stability in this particularly sensitive region.
Tunisia’s efforts on the Arab Maghreb’s level in its
capacity as current president of the Arab Maghreb Union
aim at creating the necessary conditions that would enable
us to make progress in building the Maghreb and
strengthening its role in the international arena. Building the
edifice of the Maghreb is part and parcel of the current
development of international relations, which favours
regional groupings. We for our part are doing everything we
can to ensure that the Arab Maghreb Union keeps pace with
events in a way that will make it possible to establish
fruitful relations in the international context and more
particularly with the regional Arab, European and
Mediterranean groups so that, as a group it may serve as an
instrument of peace and cooperation and a bastion of
security and stability.
The dispute between Libya, a member of the Arab
Maghreb Union and three Western countries is a source of
deep concern for us. Tunisia has worked hard within the
Maghreb framework and at the Arab level to find a
negotiated and honourable settlement that would safeguard
the interests of all parties and spare the region the risk of
any escalation of tension and instability.
Tunisia has always worked for strengthening peace and
cooperation in Africa. It is our hope that in future Africa
will reap the beneficial side-effects of the profound
international political and economic changes that have taken
place, so that it may devote its efforts to development.
Tunisia, which has welcomed the process of change in
South Africa, and looks forward with optimism to seeing the
April 1994 elections restore this great African country to a
place worthy of its standing within the African family, calls
upon all political parties to respect the agreement that has
been concluded, and to implement it in good faith so that the
peoples of Azania can see an end to racism and the advent
of a new era of democracy.
The establishment, at the most recent Summit of the
Organization of African Unity, of machinery for the
management and settlement of conflicts in Africa is also a
source of great satisfaction. In our view, this is evidence of
the determination of the African Heads of State to turn the
page once and for all on wars and disputes and to embark
upon a new era based on dialogue and fruitful cooperation.
Henceforth, Africa will have to rely essentially on its
own resources. However, it does need the support of the
international community so that its efforts may succeed in
achieving the goal of African development and African
stability.
Attention should be drawn to the suffering of many
African States as a result of upheavals and conflicts such as
those witnessed by Somalia, Liberia and Angola, which have
now become sources of major concern for the entire
international community. The international community must
not remain unmoved by such events, which undermine whole
States and sap their potential. We believe that the
international community is capable of contributing genuinely
to national reconciliation in those countries, and that by so
doing it will make it possible to eliminate all the other
sources of tension in the continent.
18 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
The profound changes in international relations have
undoubtedly imparted a global dimension to the problems of
the world. International solidarity and cooperation in the
new shape they have taken, have become an absolute
necessity whether the issue in question has to do with the
maintenance of peace, disarmament, the upholding of human
rights, or with addressing problems relating to the
environment, demography and development.
On November 7th, Tunisia charted for itself an
unswerving course in that area and boldly has taken several
decisive steps toward laying the foundations of a State that
functions under the rule of law, through institutions that
uphold fundamental freedoms. Thus the concepts and
principles of human rights, freedom, pluralism, the rule of
law and State institutions, have become constants on which
all Tunisians unite around their President Ben Ali, in order
to devote themselves to laying the foundations of our
society.
Tunisia has spared no effort to ensure the success of the
International Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, to
facilitate the successful elaboration of a common approach
and to identify the appropriate machinery to ensure respect
for human rights.
My country remains convinced that development,
combatting poverty, the settlement of disputes that arise from
foreign occupation, the elimination of racism and fanaticism,
are all absolute imperatives in defending human rights of
people, ensuring the stability of States and enabling their
peoples to progress.
In this respect, I should like to highlight one particular
scourge namely the dangerous phenomenon of extremism
and terrorism, especially that type of extremism which dons
the garb and mask of religion while, in spirit and action, it
constitutes a total negation of democracy and human rights.
Tunisia, which unmasked in time the doublespeak of
that type of extremism, has been able, through an overall
strategy of political, economic, cultural and social
achievement, to contain this phenomenon and thwart its
designs. Consequently, our country now enjoys safety,
stability and continued progress.
We have listened with great attention to President
William Clinton when he spoke this morning of the risks
which continue to threaten security and stability throughout
the world, particularly extremism - racial extremism above
all - and religious extremism, which breed hatred and
terrorism. Tunisia continues to appeal to the international
community to intensify its efforts to contain this
phenomenon which sows anarchy and chaos in the bosom of
the international community and hampers the development
process.
It is high time for the international community as a
whole to give serious thought to this phenomenon, to define
its various forms and manifestations and to devise an
international course of action and a legal framework to
combat it. We should also look for just foundations that
would reinforce the laws of asylum now in force in all
States.
It is obvious that while the right of asylum acquires a
humanitarian character and is essentially a part of State
sovereignty, the granting of asylum should be in accordance
with certain ethical rules and principles which must be
respected.
Tunisia believes that the right of asylum is one of those
common human values which must not be used for the
purposes other than those for which they were created.
The persistence of old problems and conflicts which
drag on in various parts of the world, delays in development
which plague a considerable segment of mankind highlight
the fragility of peace and security. Consequently, it is
essential to work for genuine disarmament. It was in
keeping with this thinking that Tunisia acceded to the Non-
Proliferation Treaty, the Treaty banning the development of
biological weapons and signed, in January 1993, in Paris, the
Convention on the Prohibition of the Development,
Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their
Destruction.
I hardly need to recall that the concept of security
transcends the purely military aspects and embraces various
elements that encompass political stability and economic
security. This means we have to draw up an agenda for
development as a necessary prerequisite for the success of
An Agenda for Peace.
The right of both present and future generations to live
in a healthy environment is today at the very centre of the
concerns of the international community and is one of the
main concerns of my country.
To this end, Tunisia adopts a policy that combines
preventive and remedial environmental programmes. That
policy has yielded so far, many tangible results, in areas
such as the conservation and safeguarding of natural
resources, the protection of fisheries and coastlines, and the
Forty-eighth session - 27 September l993 19
improvement of the quality of life. Ratification of the
international conventions which followed the Earth Summit
and the creation of a national Commission on Sustainable
Development are all tangible facts which reflect Tunisia’s
commitment to the implementation of the decisions of the
Rio de Janeiro Summit.
It goes without saying that steps taken at the national
level can only be viable to the extent that the international
community succeeds in identifying the interrelationships
between the problems of the environment and those of
development.
In this connection, there is need for a new approach in
addressing the issues of North-South relations. This means
moving towards strengthening of a multilateral economic
system in order effectively to respond to the priorities of the
poorer countries.
Tunisia has constantly given concrete expression to
cooperation between the North and the South in its various
aspects because it is convinced of the interdependence of the
interests of the two groupings and the link between the
growth and volume of assistance provided by the countries
of the North. That is why it would be judicious to formulate
a new approach to international cooperation which would
encompass development assistance, trade, investment and the
transfer of technology.
To avoid a North-South schism, the developed countries
must take account of the economic problems of the countries
of the South, especially those problems that relate to the
development process as well as the problems relating to the
restructuring of their economies and to indebtedness.
We cannot deal with international trade without taking
up one vital question, namely the necessity of establishing a
link between the transfer of technology to the developing
countries and capital flows.
In this connection, it must be recalled that indebtedness
and debt-servicing, in the case of the developing countries,
in most cases is the main obstacle that impedes further
development and hampers full participation in the world
economy.
Although Tunisia has always honoured its financial
commitments I should like in this connection to reiterate
some proposals we made earlier on this subject: in
particular regarding the rescheduling of debt by creating a
special fund to finance job-creating development projects.
There is no doubt that such projects, in addition to their
direct return which would be beneficial to the recipient
countries, will have the effect of settling populations in their
original regions and thus contribute to reducing migratory
flows to wealthier countries.
In this very Hall, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
proposed a contract for peace and development that in our
estimation, would strengthen the existing capabilities and
enhance potential in the States of the North and of the South
alike.
In his recent address to the European Parliament at
Strasbourg in June 1993, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
further proposed organizing a conference on the development
of the Maghreb States with a view to establishing a new
political, economic, social and cultural partnership between
the Maghreb and the European States.
Before concluding, I wish to touch on the question of
the restructuring of the organs of the United Nations. I want
again to welcome the initiatives of Mr. Boutros Boutros-
Ghali to adapt the universal Organization’s structures to the
ongoing changes in international relations, to rationalize the
activities of the United Nations system and to reorganize the
methods of its functioning. The elements of the proposed
reform package should be carefully considered and discussed
by all Member States with a view to making the
Organization’s new structure more efficacious.
The projected reforms - whether involving enlargement
of the Security Council, redeployments in the Secretariat or
cuts in spending - deserve our attention to the extent that
they take account of the interests of the developing
countries. We think the reforms should emphasize the
principle of equality among Member States and guarantee
decision-making balance among the Organization’s various
organs, and particularly with respect to the Security Council
and the General Assembly.
Let me conclude by reiterating my wishes for the
success of the work of the forty-eighth session; we count on
it to realize the hopes of the peoples of our world.


I have the honour to convey
to all members of the Assembly the warm greetings and
good wishes of His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, King
of Bhutan, for the success of the forty-eighth session of the
United Nations General Assembly.
I begin by congratulating you, Mr. President, on your
unanimous election. We are confident that with your wide
knowledge and experience you will provide proper direction
to our discussions. We would also like to pay a tribute to
our outgoing President, Mr. Stoyan Ganev, for the exemplary
manner in which he led the Assembly at the last session.
We extend a warm welcome to the peoples and
Governments of Andorra, the Czech Republic, Eritrea, The
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Monaco and the
Republic of Slovakia on their joining the family of nations.
We are confident that their membership will add to the
strength and vitality of the Organization.
We would like to pay a special tribute to our Secretary-
General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for his dynamic
leadership. His initiatives have already started to steer the
course of the United Nations into new and bold directions.
His report to the Assembly is clear and concise and provides
a good basis for the work of this session.
Forty-eighth session - 6 October 1993 19
The momentous events taking place around us in this
new decade continue to pose challenges and offer
opportunities of an unprecedented scale. The handshake on
the White House lawn between Prime Minister Rabin and
Chairman Arafat opened a window for peace and tolerance
in the Middle East after a century of hatred and suspicion.
When President Clinton called the agreement the "peace of
the brave", he paid just tribute to their courage. Deep-seated
emotions will continue to blur reason and not all groups will
take to the road of healing at the same pace. We join those
calling on extremist factions on both sides to desist from the
use of force. My delegation hopes that the agreement will
lead to a comprehensive and durable peace on the basis of
relevant Security Council resolutions. We appeal to the
international community to give even stronger support to the
implementation of the agreement in all its aspects.
With regard to the situation in the Persian Gulf, we
urge all parties to abide by Security Council resolution 833
(1993). It is our view that for the full recognition of
Kuwait’s sovereignty, the boundary as demarcated by the
United Nations must be internationally respected.
My delegation is happy with the progressive
dismantling of apartheid and the process towards universal
franchise in South Africa. We have recently heard in this
forum Mr. Mandela’s historic call to end all sanctions
against South Africa, a call which must be speedily
honoured.
We applaud the positive results of United Nations
involvement in Cambodia, El Salvador and Haiti. These
successes, however, have not yet been replicated in Somalia
and Bosnia. My delegation strongly condemns violence
against United Nations peace-keeping and humanitarian
workers. As the need for peace-keeping in other parts of the
world grows, it is clear that in future the terms of every
intervention must be carefully defined.
My delegation welcomes the reduction in the
international arsenal of nuclear and other weapons and we
support the continuation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty
beyond 1995.
With regard to the nuclear situation on the Korean
peninsula, we urge the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea to comply fully with the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) Safeguards Agreement in order to avoid any
suspicion and speculation.
In an age focused on reducing the world’s nuclear
arsenal, further testing is unnecessary and inconsistent. We
urge all nuclear States not to carry out further tests and to
continue negotiations towards a comprehensive test ban.
While the world’s nuclear arms and other weapons of
mass destruction are being dismantled, we are aware that
conventional weapons are used in all present-day conflicts.
No country which supplies arms can dissociate itself from
the moral responsibility for the use of such arms. We fully
support the United Nations Register on Conventional Arms
and urge the reduction of the international arms trade.
Over the past two years, considerable emphasis has
been put on streamlining the United Nations Secretariat and
making it more efficient. At the last two sessions the
General Assembly has directed its attention not only towards
reforming and revitalizing the United Nations but also
towards making the General Assembly a more effective and
responsive forum. While some progress has been made, the
discussion on reforming and restructuring the United Nations
continues. We cannot expect the United Nations, formed
nearly five decades ago with just 50 members, to remain
unchanged and yet be able to fulfil the hopes and
expectations of the current 184 Members in a vastly different
world. Clearly, the reforms and revitalization cannot be
limited to managerial and organizational changes: the roles
and responsibilities of all the principal organs of the United
Nations must be taken into account.
My delegation believes that during our discussion on
reforming the United Nations, the time is opportune to
enlarge the Security Council. The expansion of its
membership must be taken up together with the issue of
accountability. While it is necessary to preserve the Security
Council’s new-found effectiveness, it must always be made
accountable for its actions to the General Assembly.
The need for reform and restructuring seems in recent
months to have been somewhat overshadowed by the
Organization’s financial difficulties and questions of
effective operations and proper accountability. We fully
agree that it is necessary to minimize waste and streamline
operations. These issues, however, must be pursued
independently of the concerns over the financial health of the
United Nations. We urge all Members to pay their assessed
contributions promptly. We are of the view that the current
level of assessment has fully taken into account both the
financial capacity of Member States to contribute and the
role they have assumed in the Organization. There is a
saying in my country that one must load the pony according
to its ability to carry the burden. Although the United
Nations has travelled far in the last three years, it is clear
20 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
now that we cannot keep overloading it without putting the
necessary means and resources at its disposal.
The Second World Conference on Human Rights, held
in Vienna this year, clearly recognized that social progress
and political stability cannot be ensured without respect for
human rights. The Conference also recognized that human
rights and social progress can be promoted and preserved
only in a healthy economic and natural environment. For
our part, we are fully committed to advancing the human
rights of all our people.
This year, as agreed to in Agenda 21 of the Earth
Summit, the Commission on Sustainable Development has
been established. The work of this Commission will provide
a new direction for the preservation of the environment and
give added impetus to developmental activities. We
recognize that while all development must take place at local
and national levels, there are clearly regional and
international dimensions for which solutions must be found
at the global level. Bhutan looks forward to participating in
the upcoming global conferences on population and
development, the World Summit for Social Development and
the Fourth World Conference on Women.
The recession that has afflicted much of the world
economy in the past year has not shown any signs of
improvement. In such conditions, it is hardly surprising that
the economic performances of most of the world’s least
developed countries have continued to be dismal. Per capita
income for the one tenth of the world’s population which
lives in these countries has fallen in the past three years
despite the adoption of the United Nations Programme of
Action in 1990. While the least developed countries have
begun to initiate bold and painful structural reforms in their
economies, budget constraints on donor nations and
competing claims on aid resources have continued to slow
down the flow of official development assistance to the least
developed countries. While expressing our gratitude to
donors who have met and even exceeded official
development assistance targets, my delegation would like to
appeal to the others to follow suit so that the reforms can be
sustained and promoted.
The sluggish international economic climate in the last
two years has been further compounded by a spate of
unusually harsh natural disasters that have affected many
parts of the world. We would like to express our heartfelt
sympathies to all those in the United States of America,
Japan, Nepal, and India who have suffered heavy loss of life
and property because of recent natural calamities. The
capacity to respond to such disasters should be placed high
on the international agenda. This includes long-term
investment in environmental conservation and other
measures, including early warning facilities, to protect
against natural disasters.
Bhutan continues to make considerable progress in the
field of social and economic development. We are currently
in the process of decentralizing the administration in terms
of decision-making and implementation of development
projects. We are also giving priority to the development of
human resources. In all our nation-building activities, we
have sought to protect our rich natural environment and
distinctive national identity. In our efforts, we have
continued to receive generous support from India, Japan,
Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Kuwait, Austria,
Norway, Germany, the United Kingdom and Australia, and
from various specialized agencies and bodies of the United
Nations, particularly the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF), the United Nations Fund for Activites (UNFPA),
the United Nations Capital Development Fund, (UNCDF),
the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD),
the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations
Volunteers (UNV), the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization
(WHO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD), and the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO). I take this opportunity to express the sincere
gratitude of the people and Government of Bhutan to our
development partners.
This is an age of multilateralism, and the United
Nations is the centre around which this new age will
revolve. The United Nations is no longer just the
Forty-eighth session - 6 October 1993 21
preserver of world order but an active promoter of peace and
human advancement. Increasing cooperation among its
Members since the end of the cold war has made it possible
for the Organization to become more effective in pursuing
these objectives. The long-term success of the United
Nations, in our view, will depend on how democratic it
becomes in its functioning and to what extent it will involve
all its Members, large and small, in the decision-making
process. We hope that the United Nations will become the
centerpiece of a more just and equitable world order and will
speak for the whole of humanity rather than just for a
privileged few.