A/31/PV.36 General Assembly

In connexion with this item a draft resolution has been submitted in document A/31/L.3 and Corr.l.

"The best way to take the passion out of a debate is to analyse the facts rather than yielding to the temptation to engage ~ polemics." This statement by French politician, Mr. Maunce Schumann, former French Minister for Foreign Affairs, is very applicable to the discussion of the question of the Comorian island of Mayotte, which is the item at present before the General Assembly of the United Nations. 3. The facts are sufficiently clear to obviate any need to dwell on them. They show clearly that, by amputating a part of the territory of the Comoros after that young African State had acceded to independence, the French Government committed a wrong which it should put right if it wishes to restore its prestige in the world and to avoid uselessly tarnishing the sincere friendship which many delegations here feel for the people of France. 4. let us simply recall that Comoros is an independent State, and it was with its territory intact that the United Nations warwJy welcomed that new State to the interna- tional community on 12 November 1975. That fact must be underlined, because the United Nations cannot welcome to membership in the Organization a nation which is both independent and partially colonized. Furthermore, it was in order to put an end to the ambiguity created by the referendum organized by France after Comoros had become independent that the French delegation was placed in a minority position in the Security Council on 6 February 1976. 5. In fact the vote taken at the Security CounciJl was unequivocal. Eleven countries expressed themselves in favour of the immediate withdrawal of France from NEW YORK Ma~otte and three a.bstained (naturally they were the Umted States of Amenca, the United Kingdom and Italy). !he .only way out France thought it could take was to use tts nght of veto by casting a negative vote. That is in itself an edifying fact. 6. After more than a century of colonization France had curiously enough just recognized that the people of Mayotte were not full-fledged Comorians, but a quite separate kind of Comorians. 7. Furthermore, status granted to the population of Mayotte could not be more ambiguous. Are they French? "Yes" is the French representative's reply, and he hastens to add that France is now studying a special provisional and evolving status for the people of Mayotte. Nothing can be more uncertain. 8. One of the arguments raised by France in attempting to legitimize its occupation would seem to be the will of the population of Mayotte to remain French. That argument is not too convincing. We know in fact that everywhere in the world the problem of the minorities exists. Every State endeavours to solve that problem in the best interests of the nation and its population. We mean each independent State and not each mother country. 9. To proceed purely and simply to annexation or to the attachment of a national minority to the former colonial Power is both a danger and a practice which, were it to become an example, would completely change the political map of nations Members of the United Nations. The French State, to cite only one example, would not stop at its present geographical limits, which no one would in any case challenge, but would incorporate other mini-States made up of minority entities scattered throughout the world and owing their existence· and their regrouping into certain former colonies purely to the hazards of history. In doing so, France could use the linguistic factor as a basis for its actions. 10. However, cultural and linguistic reasons cannotjustify such an undertaking. 11. In effect, we believe that language, specifically in international relations, is a means of communication and not a means of enslavement. Furthermore, 1n quite a number of countries several languages are used. The people of Switzerland, for example, use French, English, German, Italian, Romansh and other languages. The populations of that beautiful country have, none the less, not lost their Swiss nationality or identity. 12. We can very clearly foresee the dangers to which the international community as a whole may be exposed as a result of the implementation of such principles. 14. That is why, as soon as we knew the measures which France intended to use to deprive the Comoros of part of its territory, my country firmly opposed such secession manoeuvres. 15. What does France want by making this gesture? Is it the increase of its population, or the exploitation of the wealth of the Comoros? 16. The facts in our possession enable us to state that what essentially is at stake for France is the maintenance of its presence in the Indian Ocean, a zone much coveted today by the great Powers. 17. As the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Congo, Comrade Theophile Obenga stated on 18 October: .. Africans consider the Indian Ocean to be a zone of peace. However, the NATO countries today retain large naval forces in the Indian Ocean. The total control of the international lines of communication is thereby assured." 18. Thus, going beyond the question of Mayotte, which some believe to be limited in its scope and its implications, we have here before us the entire problem of the security of the African continent, and we have already said that the United Nations cannot ignore it completely. 19. The United Nations must consequently take more effective action to eliminate all crises which may lead to armed confrontations. 20. The States Members of the United Nations are in duty bound to respect and to convince each other that they are all equal despite the vulnerability and the poverty of some of them. We in fact are certain that the question of Mayotte would not have come up in the form it has had the Comoros been a "great Power". 21. In conclusion, the question of the Comorian island of Mayote has repercussions on the entire international community. That question is such as to disturb interna- tional peace and could create a new area of tension in the world. 22. That is why the delegation of the Congo considers that Mayotte must be decolonized without delay. If the volun- tarily hybrid nature of its status still reflects some hesitancy on the part of France, we would ask France to reconsider the matter and to complete decolonization without delay. 23. Mr. OYONO (United Republic of Cameroon) (inter- pretation from French}: I asked to speak on the question of the Comorian island of Mayotte, which is on the agenda for our discussion, first, because my country, Cameroon, takes an active interest in the problems of decolonization and 25. Almost a year ago, the General Assembly, in its resolution 3385 (XXX) of 12 November 1975, admitted the Republic of the Comoros to membership in the United Natiqns, reaffirming the necessity of respecting the unity · and territorial integrity of the Comoro archipelago, composed of the islands of Anjouan, Grande-Comore, Mayotte and Moheli. 26. This resolution reflected the concerns already ex· pressed by the General Assembly at its previous session in resolution 3291 (XXIX) of 13 December 1974, which referred to the aggressive attitude of the administering Power towards the unity and territorial integrity of the Territory of the Comoros on the eve of its independence, independence for which a very large majority of the Comorian people were to express their support on 22 December 1974. 27. The threats of dismemberment which have never ceased to be made against the Comorian State have since then become clearer and have been given concrete form by a series of foreign actions designed to bring about the secession of the Comorian island of Mayotte, in violation of the unity, independence and sovereignty of the Republic of the Comorus. 28. Thus, everything ~eems to be happening as though the former administering Power had not given sufficient con· sideration to the young State's status as a subject of international law and a Member of the United Nations. 29. Mr. Olivier Stim, a member of the French Govern· ment stated on 21 February last, in contradiction to the assur~nces given by France through the most authoritative of sources concerning the preservation of the unity and indivisibility of the Republic of the Comoros-and I quote Minister Stirn-that "the island of Mayotte will become a fully-fledged departement after a short temporary period of adaptation". Indeed, on 24 February, the French franc became the legal currency of Mayotte. 30. Such a situation, apart from giving rise to grave uncertainties as to the context in which the young State is to assume control of its own destiny, has a serious impact on its efforts to consolidate its independence and preserves a state of instability and dangerous tension which is threatening peace in this region of the Indian Ocean, because public opinion is highly sensitive to anything affecting the territorial integrity of States. 31. This situation is all the more regrettable in that the independence acquired by the Comorian State was the 32. As was so pertinently recalled by the head of the . Comorian delegation in his statement yesterday-and I quote-" ... during 130 years of colonization, the single and indivisible entity of the Comoro archipelago was recognized by all French laws" [ 33rd meeting, para. 55]. 33. It is cause for regret that the former administering Power, which had played a decisive role in the process of ~he geopolitical unification of the Comoro archipelago and Its accession to independence, should have failed to complete its work to the point of guiding the first steps of the young State in international affairs and to have resolutely set forth with it in the path of wisdom and renewed fruitful co-operation. 34. Cameroon sincerely hopes that the French Govern- ment, which has earned praise from the international community for its decolonization work over the last 15 years, will agree to enter into negotiations with the Comorian Government to safeguard the unity and integrity of its territory. 35. My country, which has ties of fraternal friendship with the Republic of the Comoros and which is an old and good friend of France, is still convinced that France is capable of showing the political will to overcome its internal contra- dictions on the question of the Comorian island of Mayotte and will heed the unceasing appeals of its friends to respect the unity and territorial integrity of the Comorian State. 36. It was in this spirit that the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Cameroon, Mr. Jean Keutcha, speaking very recently from this rostrum and after commending the French Government for its wisdom in deciding to grant independence to the Territory of the Afars and the Issas in the very near future, expressed the sincere hope that "the same wisdom will prevail with regard to the Republic of the Comoros "in its legitimate claims for the unity of the country and preservation of the integrity of the territory under which it was administered in the past" [1Oth meeting, para. 231]. 37. It is on behalf of the African group of States that I now have the honour to introduce draft resolution A/31/L.3 and Corr.1, a draft resolution dealing with the question of the Comorian island of Mayotte. 38. This draft resolution has three objectives. The first is to reaffirm the unity, independence and sovereignty of the Republic of the Comoros, a Member of our Organization since 12 November 1975, against which France seems to be acting as though the young State was not a subject of international law or a Member of the United Nations. 39. The second objective is to restore international law- fulness safeguarding the unity, sovereignty and indepen- dence of the Republic of the Comoros, which consists of the islands of Anjouan, Grande-Comore, Mayotte and. Moheli. That is why the African group is condemning the 40. Lastly, we invite all Members of the United Nations to render support to the young State of the Comoros to help it consolidate its independence and to preserve its unity and its territorial integrity. This is the concern expressed in the text which I shall now read to you: "Recalling that the people of the Republic of the Comoros as a whole, in the referendum of 22- December 1974, expressed by an overwhelming majority its will to accede to independence in conditions of national unity and territorial integrity, "Considering that the referendums imposed on the inhabitants of the Comorian island of Mayotte constitute an encroachment on the sovereignty of the Comorian State and a violation of its territorial integrity, "Considering that the occupation by France of the Comorian island of Mayotte constitutes flagrant aggres- sion against the Comorian State, a Member of the United Nations, "Considering that such an attitude on the part of France constitutes a violation of the principles of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations, which, inter alia, confirm the inviolability of the frontiers inherited· from the colonial administration, "1. Condemns and considers null and void the referen- dums of 8 February and 11 April 1976 organized in the Comorian island of Mayotte by the Government of France, and rejects: "(a} Any other form of referendum or consultation which may hereafter be organized on Comorian territory in Mayotte by France; "(b) Any foreign legislation purporting to legalize any French colonial presence on Comorian territory in Mayotte; "2. Strongly condemns the presence of France in Mayotte, which constitutes aggression encroaching on the national unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the independent Republic of the Comoros, on the indepen- "3. Ozlls upon the Government of France to withdraw immediately from the Comorian island _of Mayotte, an integral part of the independent Repubhc of the Como· ros, and to respect its sovereignty; "4. Jm·ites all Member States to render effect!ve assistance individually and collectively, to the Comonan State and' to co-operate with it in all fields with a view to enabling it to defend and sa_feguar_d its indepe~denc~, the integrity of its territory and Its natiOnal soveretgnty · 41. The measures advocated in this draft resolution are a minimum in view of the gravity of the situation in that country. 42. The African group hopes that the General Assembly will give all the necessary support to this text which, and I am happy to stress this, respects the letter and the spirit of resolution 3385 (XXX) of 12 November 1975.

The people of the Comoros have carried on protracted struggles against the colonialists in order to achieve their national Independence and liberation. With the sympathy and support of the African people, OAU and the people of the world, the Comoros finally attained independence on 6July 1975, became a member of OAU and was admitted to membership in the United Nations. This is an important victory of the Comorian people and the entire African people in their struggle against imperialism and colonialism. 45. The Chinese Government and people have always sympathized with and supported the Comorian Govern- ment and people in their just struggle to defend State sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity. We hold that the State sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Comoros must be protected and respected ·and that the island of Mayotte, an inalienable part of the territory of the State of Comoros, must be returned to the Comorian people. We are opposed to any solution that is detrimental to the unity and territorial integrity of the State of Comoros.