17 December 1981

Assistance to Botswana

The General Assembly,

Recalling Security Council resolutions 403 (1977) of 14 January 1977 and 406 (1977) of 25 May 1977, concerning the complaint by the Government of Botswana regarding acts of aggression committed against its territory by the illegal regime in Southern Rhodesia,

Recalling also Security Council resolution 460 (1979) of 21 December 1979, in which all Member States and specialized agencies were called upon to provide urgent assistance to Zimbabwe and the front-line States,

Recalling General Assembly resolutions 32/97 of 13 December 1977, 33/130 of 19 December 1978 and 34/125 of 14 December 1979, in which the Assembly, inter alia, recognized the special economic hardship confronting Botswana as a result of diverting funds from current and planned development projects to effective arrangements for security against attacks and threats by Southern Rhodesia, and endorsed the assessments and recommendations contained in the notes by the Secretary-General dated 28 March 1977 and 26 October 1977 and in his reports of 7 July 1978 and 28 August 1979,

Having examined the report of the Secretary-General of 23 June 1981, to which was annexed the report of the mission which he sent to Botswana in response to General Assembly resolution 35/98 of 5 December 1980, Noting the need of the Government of Botswana to rehabilitate and develop effective road, rail and air communications, both internally and with the rest of the world, in view of the uncertain political situation in the region, Botswana's vulnerability as a land-locked country and its dependence on externally controlled railway systems for the transport of its principal exports and imports,

Noting with appreciation Botswana's desire to establish its own railway system,

Noting also the urgent need to complete speedily the projects that have been identified in the annex to the report of the Secretary-General,

1. Notes with satisfaction Botswana's efforts in implementing its development projects;

2. Endorses fully the revised programme of assistance contained in the annex to the report of the Secretary-General and calls the attention of the international community to the outstanding needs for assistance identified therein;

3. Notes that, while the response from some Member States and international organizations to the appeals of the Secretary-General has been encouraging, there is urgent need to maintain the flow of contributions to carry out the remainder of the emergency programme, the implementation of parts of which remains a critical necessity;

4. Draws the attention of States and international and intergovernmental organizations particularly to the projects in the field of transport and communications, as well as to the priority requirements to rehabilitate the border areas most adversely affected by the war, in accordance with the recommendations contained in the annex to the report of the Secretary-General;

5. Reiterates its appeal to all States and intergovernmental organizations to provide generous assistance to enable Botswana to carry out the remainder of its planned development projects, as well as those made necessary by the current political and economic situation;

6. Appeals to all Member States, regional and interregional organizations and other intergovernmental bodies to provide financial, material and technical assistance to Botswana to enable it to carry out its planned development programme without interruption;

7. Urges Member States and organizations which are already implementing or negotiating assistance programmes for Botswana to expand them, wherever possible;

8. Invites the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development to bring to the attention of their governing bodies, for their consideration, the assistance they are rendering to Botswana, for which the General Assembly has requested the Secretary-General to implement a special economic assistance programme, and to report on the results of that assistance and their decisions to the Secretary-General in time for consideration by the Assembly at its thirty-seventh session;

9. Appeals to the international community to contribute to the special account established by the Secretary-General for the purpose of facilitating the channelling of contributions to Botswana;

10. Requests the appropriate specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system to co-operate closely with the Secretary-General for the purpose of facilitating the channelling of contributions to Botswana;

11. Requests the Secretary-General:

(a) To continue his efforts to mobilize the necessary resources for an effective programme of financial, technical and material assistance to Botswana;

(b) To keep the situation in Botswana under constant review, to maintain close contact with Member States, regional and other intergovernmental organizations, the specialized agencies and international financial institutions concerned and to apprise the Economic and Social Council, at its second regular session of 1982, of the current status of the special economic assistance programme for Botswana;

(c) To arrange for a review of the economic situation of Botswana and the progress made in organizing and implementing the special economic assistance programme for that country in time for the matter to be considered by the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session.