YouSaid · the spoken record

KING MSWATI III

lines on the record: 188
first: 1989-09-24
most recent: 2019-09-24
sittings or episodes: 12
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“We want to recognize the Secretary-General and his entire staff for continuing to steer the affairs of the Secretariat with a focused commitment to United Nations efforts in pursuit of global peace and security, equity, justice and inclusiveness in all matters of the Organization. We are firmly convinced that together we will overcome every issue that seems impossible, as we continue to strive for unity, solidarity and mutual benefit and, above all, to galvanize all our efforts to achieve a better world for everyone, everywhere.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Like other middle-income countries, one of the challenges we face is a decline in official development assistance due to our categorization, which has worked against our development and poverty-reduction efforts. To that end, we strongly advocate for a reassessment of realities on the ground when official development assistance is allocated to the countries most in need. Finally, we pledge our support to an effective multilateralism aimed at ensuring inclusion, promoting quality education, peace and security for all and lifting countries up from all forms of poverty. Addressing all the challenges that the United Nations family is facing is our first commitment.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“The United Nations bid to leave no one behind will remain elusive if we continue to deprive other nations of the world the opportunity to play a pivotal role in the affairs of this universal Assembly. We firmly believe that Taiwan is essential to the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Its inclusion is a crucial step in realizing the pledge stipulated in the preamble to resolution 70/1, adopted on 25 September 2015. We once again call on the United Nations to uphold the principle of universality, continue its multilateral efforts towards total inclusion and allow Taiwan to participate in relevant efforts on a dignified and equal footing. I want to reiterate how keen my Kingdom is to prioritize the overall implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Africa’s Agenda 2063.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“I am pleased to share with the global community that the Kingdom of Eswatini has embarked on those initiatives, and we are seeing positive results. As we all know, young people face a variety of challenges that require a comprehensive, coordinated and multilateral response. We are a youthful world, with more than half the global population aged under 30. We therefore need strategies to encourage the labour market to absorb the growing young working class and ensure that it is appropriately trained for the needs of our markets. We also have to develop programmes aimed at increasing the opportunities for our young people to start their own businesses.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“The road map outlines five key sectors based on their ability to grow our gross domestic product, create employment and mobilize revenue — manufacturing, agriculture, mining and energy, tourism and education, and information and communications technology. No nation can develop beyond its educational capacity, particularly that of its teachers. As we all strive to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all, we must also give the necessary assistance to countries that need help in developing their educators’ capacities. In that regard, we must guarantee access to free and quality primary and secondary education, as well as affordable and inclusive vocational and technical education, while working to make opportunities available to disabled boys and girls.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We remain confident that the SDGs and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 will continue to give us the proper guidance and the impetus we need to eradicate poverty and create inclusive and sustainable development for all. We commend the close partnership between the United Nations and the people of Eswatini, which guarantees that the SDGs are fully integrated into our planning processes. In that regard, we have launched a five-year strategic road map for the period from 2019 to 2023 that will ensure sustainable economic development, financial stability and growth, with a view to improving the quality of life of Emaswati.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“The Kingdom of Eswatini is fully involved in working towards a knowledge-based economy through science, technology and innovation infrastructure in a bid to facilitate research and enhance development. Our Royal Science and Technology Park is doing notable work in advancing scientific research and also promotes start-up enterprises and innovation labs. We appreciate the friends of the Kingdom of Eswatini who support us in those initiatives. We are still seeking more support to strengthen our knowledge-based programmes, as they will help us to attain our national Vision 2022 and the Sustainable Development Goals. We are committed to becoming a leading pioneer and role model in achieving the SDGs in Africa.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“As we have witnessed in the Southern African Development Community region, natural disasters know no boundaries, and the worst affected countries lack the resources and capacity adequate to ensuring preparedness and responding to the devastation and impact of such disasters, including with respect to infrastructure and lives lost. It is Eswatini’s view that countries should work together to devise sound contingency plans aimed, first, at establishing a permanent regional disaster fund to help create a cushion against the effects of natural disasters, and secondly, at setting up subregional humanitarian hubs that will be equipped to respond swiftly to disasters. That will mitigate the impact, save lives and ensure that the countries affected can recover rapidly. The price of not taking prompt action to address climate change is too high.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We are grateful to the friends of the Kingdom who continue to support us in addressing those challenges, particularly the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. They support our initiatives to eliminate AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, while building stronger health systems that will enable us to achieve universal health coverage. Climate change has serious implications for development prospects everywhere, and even more so on the African continent, where climate extremes have continued to intensify.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“In my capacity as Chair of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance, I am delighted to announce that early this year we launched the End Malaria Fund, a public-private partnership aimed at closing the funding gap and putting an end to the disease by 2022. We are pleased to note that in the wake of Eswatini’s establishment of a malaria fund, many more African countries have followed suit and are actively launching similar funds. We are also proud to inform the world that the Kingdom continues to make progress in ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2022. However, we still need support in our prevention efforts and in prolonging the lives of those who are already living with the disease.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Yet our vision as African States is that all those epidemics should be eliminated so that we can focus on our development goals. Unfortunately, developing countries continue to face significant gaps in funding, making it difficult to adequately detect and respond to problems while still providing basic health services and building the capacity of the health sector. Africa carries a high burden of malaria cases. Although there have been improvements, Africa needs additional funding if it is to make progress in eradicating malaria on the continent. The Kingdom of Eswatini is among 21 countries globally with the potential to reverse indigenous malaria transmission by 2020, thereby achieving the goal of malaria elimination.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“As a continent, we are focusing on building and growing our economies, and with those new initiatives well established, we will be able to increase our trade with the entire world and become self-sufficient. We therefore urge the United Nations to lend its full support to the initiatives launched by Africa to ensure that the continent improves the lives of its people and becomes the Africa we want. The African continent continues to face challenges beyond conflict, and those are health issues, including diseases such as Ebola, HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and many others, and to overcome them we need significant funding. After making some progress in our fight against those pandemics, we are unfortunately sometimes confronted with new outbreaks, reversing the gains made.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“It is evident that the integration of African economies, through innovative approaches, creates many opportunities to achieve the SDGs. Such efforts are important in generating new ideas, projects and ways to enable voices to be heard and to drive innovation and promote development. The recent launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area will greatly assist in the fight to eradicate poverty on the continent. Likewise, with the launch of the African E-trade platform anticipated in the next few weeks, we are confident that steps such as these will usher in a new era in the lives of our people. They will bring the impetus we need to change the landscape and economies of Africa.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“While we have a responsibility to channel a significant proportion of national expenditures into social protection programmes, developing countries actually need financing for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in order to transform their economies and social fabric. As an example, financing development for a country such as Eswatini may become challenging over time with global economic austerity. That reality places constraints on the extent to which our nation can mobilize resources for development at a time when massive investments are needed to achieve the SDGs by 2030. Eswatini is enhancing its resource mobilization strategies by exploring cooperation with the global community, and we seek the support of the United Nations in that endeavour.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“That can be achieved only through close coordination and collaboration with the Organization and all its agencies to address all international issues that deserve our attention. Globally, eradicating poverty remains our priority and a daunting challenge, especially in the face of climate change and food insecurity, to mention but a few obstacles. We acknowledge and appreciate the actions taken by the international community to mitigate the situation. We want to stress that more investment is required to build strong societies and social protection systems that will ensure the inclusion of special-interest groups affected by poverty.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We encourage the Secretariat to note the proposals made by the leaders of the world and put them into action. Humankind is looking to us to change its living landscape for a better future. It is imperative that we take up the multilateral agenda with a renewed commitment to ensuring peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies for future generations. Most contemporary challenges such as terrorism, climate change, migration, transnational organized crime and many others, cannot be effectively addressed without multilateral cooperation. That will require the inclusion and participation of all Member States through cooperation, dialogue and the reform of existing organs where needed. We therefore implore the General Assembly to play its role in bridging the gaps and promoting collective action.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“The States Members of the United Nations must speak in one voice to defuse all tensions, while encouraging dialogue and protecting civilians and the innocent victims of conflict. My plea is particularly directed to the regions of the world where there are still pockets of conflict. We should all work towards an integrated, prosperous, peaceful and multilateral world. The urgency of the theme of the general debate for the seventy-fourth session of the General Assembly, “Galvanizing multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion”, cannot be overemphasized. In effect, the theme underscores and reiterates the inescapable need to make the United Nations even more relevant to all people at times like these.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“It is that collective endeavour that has brought about cooperation and supported a global economy aimed at lifting more than a billion people out of poverty. However, as we are all aware, threats to peace and violent conflicts, including mass atrocities, still exist in different regions of the world. We note with sadness that some of those conflicts and other inhumane suffering are sponsored by those who believe they have the right to dictate and impose their ideologies on other nations of the world. We call upon the Secretary-General to act swiftly and discourage such behaviour because it is against the objectives of our Organization. We are all equal, irrespective of country size and economic power.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“It is an immense honour for me to address the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session. When the United Nations was established by our predecessors back in 1945 the main purpose was to reduce tensions and avert another conflict after the Second World War. Today, our Organization faces the multiple challenges confronting humankind. The United Nations should give hope to the people of the world and be alive to the multifaceted issues through the promotion of safety, peace and security. The past seven decades have shown us that multilateralism is an essential ingredient of a peaceful world. In pursuing that mandate over the years, the United Nations has developed into an important organ for fostering collective action to respond to today’s global challenges.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We commend the General Assembly for having such confidence in her as to choose her to serve as only the fourth woman President of the General Assembly in its 73 years of existence. I would like to assure her of my Kingdom’s full support as she executes her duties and responsibilities during her term of office. We further appreciate the Secretary- General and all his staff for their continued support and hard work to improve the working mechanisms and relevance of the United Nations system for all Member States. We hope to come out of this session with meaningful goals that will chart a better future for our respective countries.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“The Kingdom of Eswatini reiterates its unwavering stance as it calls on the United Nations to afford the people of the Republic of China, Taiwan, the opportunity to contribute to and partake in the United Nations development system. Taiwan’s experience in fields that are vital to various dimensions of sustainable development would go a long way towards contributing to the work and well-being of the membership of the United Nations. We wish to make a strong appeal for the people of Taiwan not to be left behind, with a view to keeping the United Nations relevant to all people, in line with the spirit of universality. In conclusion, I would like to extend my congratulations to the President of the General Assembly on her election to preside at the seventy-third session of the Assembly.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Answering those questions will go a long way towards making the United Nations more relevant to all peoples of the world. We would like to draw the attention of the Assembly to the negative impact that being categorized as a middle-income country has had on our access to external resources. Our designation as a middle-income country has come at a time when we need even more resources to be able to inject innovation into the development programmes that we have undertaken pursuant to the SDGs. We sincerely hope that the commendable reform efforts of the Secretary-General will help to support and strengthen our efforts aimed at gaining access to external resources and securing sustainable funding mechanisms so as to enable us to move towards fully realizing the SDGs by 2030.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“That legislation will give effect to the relevant international legal instruments, including, inter alia, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. We are pleased to inform the General Assembly that, earlier this year, our Kingdom celebrated 50 years of independence. We are grateful that the country has been able to champion its development agenda as a free nation for 50 years. During the celebration, the nation decided to revert to its original name, Eswatini. Since time immemorial, the name of the Kingdom has always been Eswatini. I would like to emphasize that the call of the United Nations to leave no one behind requires identifying them, knowing where they are and understanding how they live, as well as determining how they can be assisted and brought to par with the rest of the world.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“During the elections, the people nominated candidates in their chiefdoms to compete at the constituency level, using a system we call Tinkhundla. The system ensures direct participation and promotes participatory democracy among our people. It is home grown, part of our customs and traditions, and enshrined in our Constitution. We fully support the participation of women in political decision-making positions and have recently enacted the Election of Women Members to the House of Assembly Act in order to ensure their representation in Parliament. We have also successfully enacted the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act, a legal framework to protect women from domestic violence and sexual assault.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We would like to express our profound gratitude to the friends of the Kingdom who are supporting us in our endeavour to develop those fundamental initiatives. However, as innovation, research and development are constantly evolving, such efforts are a work in progress. The Kingdom therefore continues to seek additional support so as to further strengthen initiatives that contribute to attaining our national Vision 2022 and the Sustainable Development Goals. Only a few days ago, the people of the Kingdom of Eswatini held a very peaceful national election that was free and fair. We are glad that international observers were in attendance to monitor the elections and that their conclusions were in line with our expectations.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“The Kingdom of Eswatini has made significant strides in adapting the SDGs at the local level and integrating them into its national planning processes. We have finalized a review of our 1997-2022 national development strategy and will soon be launching a revised national strategy with the theme “Development strategy for Eswatini: promoting sustainable development and inclusive growth”. The strategy is expected to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs in the Kingdom. In a bid to facilitate research and development, the Kingdom of Eswatini is fully committed to working towards a knowledge-based economy through the development of science, technology and innovation infrastructure. The Royal Science and Technology Park continues to be a key entity aimed at advancing research in the scientific and related fields.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We therefore make the appeal for Africa not to be left behind. Its voice must be heard and featured prominently and permanently at the United Nations. As negotiations of reform of the Security Council progress, the Kingdom of Eswatini calls for the favourable consideration of the African common position, as well as the support of those countries that are not members of the Security Council. Africa calls for the allocation of no less than two permanent seats on the Security Council, with all of the prerogatives and privileges of permanent membership — including the veto power — and five non-permanent seats. We remain confident that the SDGs and Agenda 2063 of the African Union will continue to give us the proper guidance and impetus needed to eradicate poverty and create inclusive and sustainable development for all.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Addressing those issues is becoming increasingly challenging given the decline in donor funding, which means more hardship for our people. We should therefore seek alternative means of fundraising so as to avoid the undesirable situation in which people have to resort to self-help in order to cope with the global challenges. Such an approach threatens peace, as it could lead to the diversion of resources from efforts in place to address already existing challenges, such as diseases. It is unfortunate that the African continent continues to attract more United Nations peacekeeping missions than any other region in the world, which qualifies Africa for proper representation in the peace and security arena and makes it a key player in discussions on issues of peace and security in all structures of the United Nations.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“It would be remiss of us not to thank and commend the support lent by members of the United Nations family to countries in need, especially for health issues in Africa. We need to ensure that every citizen has access to basic services, such as clean water, health care and free primary education. We commend those countries that have reached the level of being able to provide free education. It is only by investing in education that nations may produce the highly qualified citizenry that enables them to realize their full development potential. Reducing unemployment is a global challenge, so too is caring for the elderly, a group that has contributed immensely to the development of each country. They deserve to be cared for once they have done their part.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“There are numerous successful countries that can share their experiences of success. Their insights could assist developing countries in ensuring that no country is left behind as we strive to achieve our development objectives. The African continent remains challenged by various diseases, including Ebola, HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and many others, each of which requires large amounts of funding if they are to be overcome. Africa has resolved to eliminate those diseases in a short amount of time. However, without funding, that will remain a challenge. Some of those health issues require further analysis given that, in some cases where we have had success, we subsequently had to deal with their re-emergence in a more virulent form.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We urge successful blocs to meaningfully support developing countries that have adopted good programmes to transform their economies but lack the means to do so. The slow process of development in such countries adds to the burden resulting from their failure to provide for the needs of our people and our society. We need to find ways and solutions to speed up the process of developing sustainable economies by removing the stumbling blocks to development, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. It is perhaps time that we engage researchers to find out what developing countries need in order to fast-track economic growth and identify high-turnover capital projects that would be best suited to catalyse such an endeavour. No country deserves to go for a whole year without any investment.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Our approach should always be, for the greater good of humankind, to search for and find an amicable way forward to address all the challenges we face. Another great concern is the imbalance between rich and poor, which continues to deepen by the day despite our efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals, which were designed to bridge that divide. As the United Nations family, we need to pay serious attention to those imbalances, as they contribute to terrorism and social strife in the world. The African Union has also set out to improve lives with the goal of realizing a well-developed Africa for all by 2063. It is important to support such programmes, which are similar to initiatives undertaken in other regions of the world, some of which have shown great progress in that regard.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We appeal to the countries experiencing conflict situations to come up with home-grown solutions to address their differences. We urge these nations to avoid the use of force in an attempt to impose change. Where they do not see eye to eye, they need to adopt dialogue as the best way to find lasting solutions. Where there is no loss of blood, unity prevails, whereas violence begets instability. Those who have lost lives and property in conflicts do not forget, and their bitterness makes nation-building efforts much harder to achieve. States Members of the United Nations are strongly urged to avoid fuelling tensions in troubled countries with a divided approach to intervention, as that defeats the purpose of the establishment of the United Nations.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Since then, we have converged as a family at the General Assembly to renew this commitment and analyse how we address challenges affecting the world. It is a time to assess whether we are still living up to the ethos of the founders, who sought to ensure that the world would never again endure another world war, but rather find peaceful solutions to resolving possible conflicts. We are all aware of the pockets of tension existing in different regions of the world, which require that States Members of the United Nations speak with one voice when offering possible peaceful solutions. Since a fragmented approach would render peaceful solutions elusive for affected countries, it is imperative that we engage and resolve issues together as the United Nations family in order to ensure that we end up with lasting solutions.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“It is a great honour for me to address the General Assembly at its seventy-third session, where we have come to renew our commitment to creating an enabling environment for all humankind. The theme of this session, “Making the United Nations relevant to all people: global leadership and shared responsibilities for peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies”, has great resonance with resolution 72/279, adopted on 31 May, which aims at the repositioning of the United Nations development system to better support countries in their achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under strong national leadership and with international cooperation. When the United Nations was established in 1945, its main purpose was to reduce tensions and avert another conflict following the Second World War.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“However, it is worth noting that while our Goals may be universal, we do not all have the same capabilities and capacities for implementing them. As we recognize those resource and capacity constraints, therefore, we need to enhance resources, capacity-building, technology transfer and South-South cooperation so as to support lower middle-income countries, along with the least developed countries, in achieving our ambitious and transformative Agenda.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We appreciate our partners’ support and also appeal to financial institutions, development partners and donors to join us in this fight, since it will pay handsome dividends for the people of our beloved African continent. Among the political issues that have continued unresolved for too long is the denial of the right of the people of the Republic of China on Taiwan to participate in the United Nations system. Taiwan has shown significant commitment to the ideals of the United Nations and has aligned its priorities with those of the Organization. Humankind could therefore benefit a great deal from Taiwan’s experience in the framework of our global agenda as Member of the United Nations. I reaffirm the full commitment of the Government of the Kingdom of eSwatini to implementing the Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“While we are encouraged by these results, we will continue to do everything in our ability to ensure that there are no new infections. We are also pleased to mention that our efforts to tackle malaria eradication are being recognized. We were honoured that during the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa in January, Africa’s Heads of State and Government elected us Chair of the African Leaders’ Malaria Alliance. Tomorrow we will hold a side event on malaria here at United Nations Headquarters. Malaria is a scourge that requires our concerted efforts to eradicate from the face of the Earth. We aim to partner with our private sector in Africa and beyond to mobilize resources to combat it.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“It is stretching our health resources to the limit and calls for collective action on the part of the Government, international donors and other stakeholders to address it. As a nation, we have decided to work to reach AIDS-free status by 2022, a vision in line with Sustainable Development Goal 3, ending AIDS by 2030. We are pleased to be able to inform the Assembly of the positive results we have attained through our concerted policies in tackling this scourge. Key findings from Swaziland’s second HIV incidence measurement survey show that we have achieved a more than 70 per cent viral load suppression among adults living with HIV. We also reduced HIV incidence by nearly half 17-29407 11/29 between 2011 and 2016, a major achievement.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“I have full confidence in our innovative and educated workforce, which has demonstrated an indomitable spirit and resilience in overcoming the severe social, economic and environmental challenges of recent times. As a result, our national guiding theme for 2017 is “Rising above adversity to create prosperity for all”. The critical importance of the demographic dividend to Africa’s transformative development has been acknowledged by African leaders. They have recognized the urgent need to accelerate the implementation of the African Union Roadmap on Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investments in Youth. The HIV and AIDS pandemic remains one of our priority areas, as it continues to undermine our sustainable development objectives.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The Kingdom of eSwatini will host the SADC University of Innovation and Technology, which is expected to produce highly skilled manpower and provide solutions for transforming economies, thereby enabling countries in the SADC region to close their skills gap. We are seeking the support of highly educated facilitators and the international community to make that project a reality. Tackling poverty, hunger and the disease burden and improving our people’s basic standards of living have been at the centre of our Vision 2022 and national development strategy. The importance of human capital investment and promoting the interests of vulnerable groups represent crucial steps towards economic growth and prosperity.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The Government also provides grants to the elderly as a way of supplementing their livelihoods. The Kingdom is also developing innovation parks that will equip our young people with creative skills that can enable them to contribute to the country’s sustainable development. We would like to forge partnerships with well-established international parks to leverage and learn from their experience, and we have urged our private sector to take advantage of that initiative. We believe that together with many others, this initiative will help to nurture a future generation that is skilled and well equipped to provide solutions to the socioeconomic challenges and youth unemployment that our nation is facing.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The net enrolment ratio in primary schools in the Kingdom increased significantly from 79.2 per cent in 2000 to 97.7 per cent in 2015, in a reflection of my country’s efforts to ensure that all children have access to education, irrespective of their socioeconomic status. The Government is also providing for our children’s needs by placing greater focus on assisting those who are orphaned and vulnerable through various programmes that ensure that they too can access free primary-school education and have adequate nutrition through school feeding schemes. In our quest to achieve a decent life for all, and in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Africa’s Agenda 2063, the Kingdom of eSwatini has put in place several all-inclusive initiatives that are aimed at ensuring that no one is left behind.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We are grateful to the United Nations, our development partners, the international community, non-governmental organizations and other local organizations for supporting us during that period. The Government will continue its programme of farming input subsidies for our farmers, and developing adequate water-harvesting infrastructure to enhance food sufficiency will always remain one of our top priorities. We urge donors and all nations not only to fulfil their pledges to the Green Fund but also to adopt policies that strike a correct balance between the production of essential products and the environmental sustainability we need to protect and preserve the world for future generations.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Appropriate institutional arrangements are now in place for properly monitoring the implementation of the Goals at all levels. Sustainable Development Goal 13 calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. That urgency is now a global reality, and recent weather episodes around the world, such as hurricanes, floods and mudslides, have shown that no nation is immune to its effects. The Kingdom of eSwatini is no exception. In 2015 and 2016, the southern African countries, including our Kingdom, faced a severe drought. Its devastating effects, aggravated by the fall armyworm, adversely affected crop production. Funds from other projects and activities were diverted to mitigate the challenges. The scale of the drought led the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region to declare it a natural disaster.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We are also firm believers in the principle of consultative decision-making, which is a transparent and all-inclusive undertaking and grants all citizens an opportunity to voice their views so as to constructively contribute to our country’s social, economic, cultural and political development. We are committed to the SDGs, as they provide a development framework within which the global community is able to strive for the inclusive and sustainable development of its respective countries. We have taken several initiatives to mainstream and localize the SDGs through public-awareness campaigns, consultations, education and training at all levels. The Kingdom of eSwatini has also integrated the Goals into its national development strategy, which has been revised to ensure that it is linked to the SDGs and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“It calls on all of us to work to create peaceful countries, continents and a sustainable world in which people can lead peaceful and prosperous lives. In that regard, we wish to urge Member States to join hands in addressing the issue of nuclear threats, which have the potential to disrupt world peace. No country has the right to make the world an unsafe place to live in, and we owe it to our people and future generations to put a stop to nuclear threats. Terrorism remains a threat to the safety of our peoples in various parts of the world. It is a setback to key development issues that deserve the priority attention of the United Nations. The Kingdom of eSwatini is committed to peace and a decent life for all.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We are confident that under the able leadership of the Secretary-General, the United Nations will reach greater heights in its support for countries in implementing the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The United Nations staff are also to be congratulated on their remarkable work in supporting inclusive and sustainable development, tackling diseases, promoting peace and stability and creating a conducive environment for humankind to live in, sometimes under extremely inimical conditions. The theme of this session — “Focusing on people: Striving for peace and a decent life for all on a sustainable planet” — resonates perfectly with the motto of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of leaving no one behind. The theme is indeed cross- cutting in nature, as it affects every aspect of life.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Reform of the United Nations and its attendant bodies has been under discussion for a long time. My delegation believes that fresh impetus must be given to this process and tangible progress made. We are therefore encouraged by the Secretary-General’s intention to refocus our attention on the reform agenda. Reform of the Security Council is a key aspect of the process, and no transformation could be complete without its fundamental change. To that end, the Kingdom of eSwatini wishes to reiterate Africa’s call for a permanent seat on the Security Council, in accordance with the Ezulwini Consensus. The United Nations is urged to listen to the voice of the millions of Africans who want to contribute to the welfare of the global community as equal partners.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Allow me to express our sincere congratulations to you, Mr. President, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy- second session. We commend you for immediately identifying six overarching priorities for your tenure, which touch on attaining peace, giving impetus to the Sustainable Development Goals, climate change commitments, equality and human rights for all, among others. These priorities truly capture several of the current troublesome global challenges and we look forward to working closely with you on these issues. The Kingdom of eSwatini would also like to commend the leadership of the new Secretary-General, who is committed to transforming the United Nations into an Organization fit for the twenty-first century.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)