Lesotho draws UN’s attention to inconsistent approaches to conflict resolution

Lesotho today at the United Nations drew the world’s attention to the lack of consistency in global conflict resolution, pointing out that the international community through the Security Council was quick to authorize military intervention in some disputes while preferring mediation in others.

“And yet still in others, it has turned a blind eye, at best, leaving the mantle to some members of the international community to unilaterally threaten the imposition of sanctions,” Lesotho’s Prime Minister, Pakalitha B. Mosisili, told the annual general debate of the General Assembly, whose theme this year is the role of mediation in the settlement of disputes.

Mediation by a group of African eminent persons and the UN produced the desired results and brought Kenya’s post-election conflict to an end in 2008, while facilitation by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) led to the formation of a national unity government in Zimbabwe in 2009, Mr. Mosisili said. African Union’s mediation in Burundi ended over a decade of bloody conflict.

Peace brokered through mediation also ended two decades of warfare between northern and southern Sudan and led to the creation of a new State, South Sudan.

“It is our humble but considered opinion that where mediation has been given a chance, lives have been saved. The cost in resources, be they financial or human, has been minimal, and the destruction of infrastructure spared.”

Mr. Mosisili noted that the African Union (AU) had developed a comprehensive roadmap that would have led to a peaceful settlement to the conflict in Libya, but the bloc was deliberately sidelined and military intervention hastily adopted.

“The UN and AU must work together to bring about the consolidation of peace, national reconciliation, and the establishment of an all-inclusive Government in Libya. The UN, not just a few countries with vested interests, should take the lead in reconstruction of the country,” said Mr. Mosisili.

The Prime Minister of Swaziland, Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini, in his address to the General Assembly urged the UN to find a suitable way for Taiwan, Province of China, to participate meaningfully in UN specialised agencies and mechanisms, including the UN International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

“There is no doubt that the people of Taiwan have a functional need to be included in the UN system, and that their inclusion is in the common interest of the international community as well,” he said.