Rusternberg, 10 SEPTENBER 1999
Distinguished Guests/ Ladies and Gentlemen:
Thank you for inviting me to this important gathering of scientists, scholars, government officials from all over the world in a unified spirit to forge appropriate use of science to develop our countries. I am pleased to be able to share some ideas with you, and I am grateful that you kindly re-arranged your programme so that I could speak today and not on Wednesday as originally planned.
The theme "Confronting the challenges of the 21st century", is very relevant and comes at a time when the whole world is preparing itself for the new millennium. It is a time when we all are concerned about international security, peace, stability, sustainable economic growth and development. These are global challenges.
We are living today in what has been called "the global village". We are all linked to world developments. The events on the other side of the world concern us as never before. We share a common fate; what is a threat to others is a threat to all of us. We must therefore rise up to the challenges of the global village. We must act now and decisively. Our version must be one that is driven by our firm determination to act together as we strive to raise awareness about the importance of science and technology and the significant role it can play in the 21st century.
I believe that Science and Technology are important assets to economic growth and infra-structural development of all nations. There are splendid achievements of science and technology, which we have witnessed in our lifetime. It is through Science and Technology that we can bridge the gap between the wealthy nations of the North and the poor nations of the South. I believe that Science and Technology should be the possession of all of us. However, scientific discovering and inventions also have come to be identified with death and destruction due to the lethal weaponry that has been invented by some scientists. I think of the nuclear weapons, which have caused untold human suffering and deaths to many people. Hiroshima is a classical example of this.
We must therefore call upon scientists in all countries to refrain from creating, developing, improving the manufacturing further nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. They are a menace to our society and pose a serious danger to socio-economic development and human life.
I believe that resources acquired through science must be used for socio-economic development. They should not be used to inflict suffering on innocent children, women, elders and society in general. Science and technology must be used in socially responsible ways, - ways that will guarantee a world that is safe for all of us.
There is, at present, a great emphasis on the economic benefits that should be extracted from our scientific base. It seems quite consistent with this shift that we as responsible nations of the world should be trying to divert some of our scientific resources from military to civilian purposes. We must be seen to be highly involved in medical advances to save lives and in social upliftment.
Ladies and Gentlemen, as we pursue our vision of development through integration with other countries, especially our Southern African region, and the path of sustained growth, which will enable us to eradicate poverty, diseases and unemployment, we must act sooner rather than later, lest the world leaves us behind. In South Africa, which is regarded as a developing nation, it is our aim to asset ourselves with confidence in the global economy. One of the critical conditions for doing so is that we should embrace and adapt, for our own use, the latest in technological and scientific knowledge.
Information technology is one of the principal forces making our world an integrated and interdependent one. We are determined to ensure that our region is able to exploit this technology in such a way that we can draw advantage from the process of globalisation. But substantial investment in science and technology will bring us benefits only if we also invest in our most precious asset, the development and enhancement of the scientific skills of our people. South Africa, since it became a democratic state, has undertaken to promote peace and stability in the Southern African region, in Africa as a continent and in the rest of the world. This is illustrated by our involvement in bringing about solutions to political crisis in our region.
We believe that there is no military solution to conflicts between the peoples of the world. We also believe that trying to find a diplomatic solution to internal problems through talks and negotiations is the key to peace and stability. We are all aware how destructive war can be. Any war leaves behind many casualties No people can truly say they are blessed with happiness, peace and prosperity, where others, as human as themselves continue to be afflicted with misery, armed conflict, terrorism, and deprivation. Thus we can say the challenge posed by the next century is to ensure that violations of human rights shall never be tolerated. All of us are familiar with these, which range from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Sierra Leone and the Sudan here in Africa, to the Balkans in Europe and Afghanistan, East Timor and Sri Lanka in Asia.
Clearly, the Pugwash movement, together with people of goodwill around the world, has a responsibility to act decisively to contribute to the termination of these destructive conflicts. Continuously, we have to fight to defeat the prevailing tendency towards the glorification of arms, the adulation of force, born of the illusion that disputes are necessarily best resolved by violent means.
We are determined to find practical ways in which to increase mutually beneficial co-operation among countries of the South, in all spheres of human activity and informed by a spirit of solidarity, shared interests and a common destiny. At the same time, we seek closer co-operation with the countries of the North, on the basis of respect for the sovereignty of all countries, equality among the nations and mutually beneficial co-operation.
To achieve this, we need to focus on the critically important questions of the restructuring of the United Nations Security Council. Representativity needs to be balanced so that all countries, rich and poor, have a say in international security matters. At this stage, the developing nations do not have permanent membership to the UN Security Council. Re-organisations is necessary to ensure that it addresses the aspirations of all countries.
We must face the fact that after countless initiatives and resolutions, we still do not have concrete and generally accepted proposals supported by a clear commitment by the nuclear-weapons States to the speedy, final and total elimination of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons capabilities.
We live in an era where disarmanent and dismantlement of nuclear weapons should be seen as a human right. The challenge facing Scientists is to bring an end to this destruction by selectively using their skills in a manner which is true to their work ethic. We all have a moral obligation and responsibility to adhere to international security laws for peace and stability in all countries.
As we move into the next century we must focus more on matters of economic development and sustainable growth. We must all follow the example of the Pugwash movement, which has shown itself well able to adapt to the new world order, and unequivocal support for disarmament and dismantling of various lethal weapons.
At another level, a distressing reality is that humanity has tended to use technological advances against itself in all societies. Information technology, which has had such an important impact in all spheres of our lives, has left us almost defenceless against hackers and other criminals. All companies, big or small, are vulnerable to this type of criminality. Once again we see positive advances being turned into our downfall.
As we close the chapter on the 20th Century, moving into the next millenium, we look forward to an era of uplitment for the poor of the world, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, the renaissance of Africa and the sustained progress of all nations.
I am pleased that forums like this Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs bring together committed people and grouping from all over the world to exchange ideas and discuss matters of world importance.
It is true that the future of our Continent depends on the countries of Africa working together. I believe it is equally true that the future of the world depends on committed organisations, committed people and nations of the world, coming together on matters of global concern - for this is the only way we can truly say we are building a better world, ensuring a higher quality of life for citizens of the world.
I would like to pay tribute to the Pugwash Movement for the work they have done and all the dedicated organisers and delegates present at this conference. may you and we - through you, and in partnership with other similar groupings - grow from strength to strength.
I thank you.