A/32/PV.5 General Assembly

The Assembly has before it the first report of the General Cummittee [A/32/250]. 2. We shall examine first section 11, which deals with the organization of the session. Paragraphs 2 and 3 deal with the schedule of meetings, and paragraphs 4 and 5 contain suggestions and recommendations concerning the general debate. 3. In this connexion, I should like to point out sub- paragraph 5 (c), which urges delegations to refrain from expressing congratulations to speakers in the General Assembly hall. As my eminent predecessor has said: "... the practice which has tended to develop, of large numbers of delegations queueing up to congratulate the previous speaker disrupts the work of the Assembly and is even discourteous to the following speaker." I I personally endorse the General Committee's recom- mendation and, if it is adopted by the General Assembly, I shall appeal to all members for their co-operation in this regard. 4. Paragraphs 6 and 7 contain recommendations con- cerning the exercise of the right of reply; paragraph 8 with the closing date of the session; and paragraph 9 with the records of the Main Committees. 5. May I take it that the recommendations made in paragraphs 2 through 9 of the report are approved by the General Assembly? NEW YORK

No action is required on paragraph 10, which referes to the seating arrangements ,during the session. 7. Paragraphs 11 and 12 concern, respectively, the use of the General Assembly hall and of the mechanical means of voting. Paragraph 13 deals with the financial implications of draft resolutions. May I take it that the General Assembly approves the recommendations made in paragraphs 11 to 13?

Paragraph 14 relates to the work of the Fifth Committee. May I consider that the General Assembly takes note of that paragraph?

Paragraph 15 concerns the reports of the Main Committees, and paragraph 16 deals with the balloting procedure. May I consider that the recom- mendations contained in those two paragraphs are approved by the General Assembly?

We turn now to section III of the report, relating to the adoption of the agenda. 11. May I just recall to members of the General Assembly rule 23 of the rules of procedure, which provides that: "Debate on the inclusion of an item in the agenda, when that item has been recommended for inclusion by the General Committee, shall be limited to three speakers in favour of, and three against, the inclusion." 12. I should like now to stress that at present we are not discussing the substance of any it.(~m, except when such discussion can assist the Assembly in deciding whether or not to include an item in the agenda. 13. Paragraph 18 relates to the report of the Economic and Social Council, item 12 of the draft agenda submitted by the Secretary-General in his memorandum [A/BUR/ 32/1 and Corr.l, para. 20]. May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of paragraph I8?

We now turn to paragraph 19, which proposes that the worqing of item 22 of the draft agenda should be amended to read: "Election of the members of the Board of Governors of the United Nations

In paragraph 20 the General Com- mittee recommends certain amendments to the wording of item 27, "Policies ofapartheid of the Government of South ' Africa". May I take it that the General Assembly adopts that recommendation?

We now turn to paragraph 21, which contains the General Committee's recommendation that item 93, "Question of East Timor", should be included in the agenda. 17. I call on the representative of Indonesia, who would like to make a statement at this juncture.

My delegation has asked for the floor to express and reiterate its strong oppostion to the inclusion of item 9:-:, entitled "Question of East Timor", in the agenda of the thirty-second session of this Assembly. I should like to request that our opposition be reflected in the records of this meeting.

I simply wish to say with regard to item 93, that my delegation is happy that the General Committee has agreed to recommend the inclusion of this item in the agenda.

The United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council have adopted a number of resolutions on the question of East Timor, but to date the Government of Indonesia has failed to implement the relevant resolutions, and as a result the question of East Timor has thus far remained unresolved. In addition to reaffirming the sub- stance of the previous relevant resolutions, resolution 31/53, clearly placed on the provisional agenda of the thirty-second session of the General Assembly an item entitled "Question of East Timor". Last August during the consideration of the question of East Timor, the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Imple- mentation of the Declaration on the Granting of Inde- pendence to Colonial Countries and Peoples authorized its Rapporteur to transmit all available information on this question to the thirty-second session of the General Assembly for further consideration. 21. Therefore the Chinese delegation fully supports the position taken by the representative of Benin. We maintain that the current session should continue to consider seriously the question of East Timor in pursuance of the resolution adopted at the previous session.

There are no further speakers on paragraph 21, concerning item 93, and there has been no request for a vote on the paragraph. Taking duly into account the report of the General Committee, I consider that item 93 is included in the agenda.

We turn now to the agenda that the General Committee recommends for adoption by the General Assembly, as contained in paragraph 23. 25. In' accordance with past practice, we shall follow the numbering given in paragraph 23 and consider together several items in groups where that seems appropriate. 26. I once again remind members that at present we are not discussing the substance of any item except when such discussion can assist the Assembly in deciding whether or not to include an item in the agenda. 27. I now invite representatives to turn to paragraph 23 of the report of the General Committee. 28. Agenda items 1 to 6 have already been acted upon in plenary meetings of the General Assembly. Therefore their inclusion has been approved. 29. In connexion with item 7, "Notification by the Secretary-General under Article 12, paragraph 2, of the Charter of the United Nations", the General Assembly is required only to take note of the communication submitted by the Secretary-General in document A/32/223. May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of that communication?

We turn now to items 8 to 125 inclusive. I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to include those items in the agenda. Items 8 to 125 inclusive were included in the agenda.

The last item recommended for inclusion, item 126, is entitled "Recent illegal Israeli measures in the occupied Arab territories designed to change the legal status, geographical nature and demo- graphic composition of those territories in contravention of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, of Israel's international obligations under the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and of Unnted Nations resolutions, and obstruction of efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle East". Are there any comments on the adoption of this item?

My delegation strongly endorses the General Committee's unanimous decision recommending the inclusion ofitem 126 of the draft agenda. The justification for including this item is explicit in the title itself. The facts of the situation and their dire impflct on current international efforts to foster a just and durable peace in the Middle East are well known. They are documented in detail in the explanatory memorandum

My delegation wishes to make the following comments concerning item 126. 34. First, the General Committee has recommended the inclusion of this item and it is customary for the General Assembly, unless there is serious objection to the substance, to endorse the recommendations of the General Com- mittee. 35. Secondly, there can be no substantive objections because the measures adopted by Israel are known to everyone and have been the subject of the unanimous condemnation of the international community, of which the United Nations should be a faithful reflection. 36. Thirdly, the procedural argument which might be advanced, that the item should first be considered in committee before being considered in plenary meetings of the General Assembly, does not hold water because of the urgency and importance of the question and the flagrant and inadmissible nature of the measures adopted by Israel in open contravention of the lundamental principles of our Charter. 37. For all these reasons my delegation supports the recommendation of the General Committee concerning the inclusion and allocation of this agenda item.

I rise to address the plenary meeting on this point because I sense a certain concern among Members of this Organization that the General Assembly has previously spent insufficient time attacking Israel. After all, the last two sessions of the Assembly devoted only 50 per cent of their time to discussing Israel. In order to help correct the balance of what they obviously considered a lop-sided allocation of priorities. those nations have now added a new item on Israel to the agenda of the current session of the Assembly. This year, it seems, they expect to surpass all previous records for time devoted to the subject and to produce a bumper crop of resolutions condemning Israel. One must assume that this is the only reason for the new item since its content adds nothing to the agenda and is already covered more than adequately by various existing items. 39. Let me remind the Members of this Organziation of the many opportunities they will have of discu'ssing Israel and indulging their passion for adopting anti-Israel resolu- tions even without the new item. 40. Two items directly related to Israel will be debated in plenary meetings of the Assembly: "The situation in the Middle East" and "Question of Palestine". Several other 41. Since these debates have never done more than whet the rhetorical appetites of Israel's enemies, we can be assured, based on past experience, that many other agenda items with no connexion at all to israel will be gratui- tously exploited by the Arab States and their supporters in order to divert attention from more pres'iing world problems. Primary examples will certainly include the deliberations in plenary meetings on the question of apartheid, as well as such committee and plenary debates as those in the Third Committee on human rights, on the elimination of racial discrimination, on the World Con- ference to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination and on the rights of peoples to self-determination, and the debate in the Sixth Committee on the question of international terrorism. This comes in all to more than 20 agenda items, with room for 12 to 15 anti-Israel resolu- tions, if the last General Assembly is to be our guide. 42. But, despite this surfeit of choice, the desire to accumulate anti-Israel resolutions is apparently insatiable, and we are now being treated to yet another item on the subject. However, the formulation of this item is note- worthy in itself. First, it runs through seven lines of print and amounts to the preambular part of a draft resolution. More seriously, it prej~dges the issue by asserting that the Israeli measures under consideration are illegal and an obstacle to peace. This puts us once again in the Alice-in- Wonderland situation with which we have become all too familiar: "Let the jurors consider their verdict," the King said. "No, no," said the Queen of Hearts, "sentence first, verdict afterwards! " 43. It may perhaps be too much to expect certain countries to accept here that a party is innocent until proven guilty. However, it should be unnecessary to remind those delegations which represent regimes with independent judiciaries that this is no way of administering justice. Furthermore, since this Organization has in recent years taken it upon itself to be prosecutor, judge and jury all in one, it is probably a lost cause to remind this Assembly that the United Nations is not a tribunal or a court of law. Its purposes, as set out in its Charter, are to mai- lin international peace and secu'rity, to develop friendly rela- tions among nations, to achieve international co-operation in solVing international problems and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of 44. The situation created by this new item would be ludicrous in the extreme if it did not at the same time represent a great tragedy. Last year the General Assembly's obsession with Israel was used in a cynical and callous attempt to cover up the brutalities and bloodshed of the Lebanese civil war. This year our critics appear determined to focus even more time and energy on Israel in order to divert attention from an overt Arab attack on a sovereign black African nation. In contrast with the foreign interven- tion and blood-letting occuring in the Horn of Africa at this very moment, not one life has been lost in the establish- ment of the Israeli settlements in question, nor has the stability of the area been undermined. 45. The Foreign Minister of Israel and the Arab Foreign Minister are here in the lintied State~, in this very city. Under the good offices of the American administration, crucial talks have begun in Washington and will continue here in New York. There are already favourable signs, and the possibility of reconv.ming the Peace Conference on the Middle East in Geneva remains real. 46. While Israel is in duty bound to place on record its reservations regarding the inclusion of this item and its formulation, it is also bound to express its regret that the Assembly cannot desist from its obsession with Israel, and is thus endangering the progress of the critical talks now taking place and spoiling the prospects of the Geneva Conference. 47. Having no illusions whatsoever about the nature of the automatic majority in this forum, I shall not make a formal proposal on this matter in the Assembly.

My delegation supports the inclusion of agenda item 126 in the agenda of this session. My delegation also supports the request of the Egyptian Government that this item be dealt with in plenary meetings a~ a matter of priority. 49. My country, the People's Republic of Benin, will never agree with those pursuing the disastrous policy of annexa- tion and colonization of territories under their occupation or domination. Israel's policy in the occupied Arab terri- tories violates all international rules and practices. At this stage it is natural that the item should be considered at this session from the standpoint presented by Egypt in order better to identify the dangers to the international peace and security of the region involved in the pursuance of such a policy.

The Assembly has heard four speakers on the inclusion of agenda item 126. One expressed reservations, but there has been no request for a vote. May I then take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to include item 126 in the agenda?

May I now invite members to turn to the list of items r ...commended for allocation to the plenary meetings. 53. With regard to item 24 on the list, I should like to invite the Assembly's attention to the recommendation of the General Committee in paragraph 24 (a)(i) that the Assembly refer to the Fourth Committee all the chapters of the report of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples relating to specific Territories so that the General Assembly might deal in plenary meetings with the question of the implementation of the Declaration as a whole. I take it the General Assembly approves that recommendation.

In connexion with item 27 on the list, "Policies of apartheid of the Government of South Africa", I invite the Assembly's attention to the recom- mendations in paragraph 24 (a) (ii). The General Com- mittee recommends that that item be considered directly in plenary meetings. It also recommends that the representa- tives of the Organization of African Unity and of national liberation movements recognized by it should be permitted to participate in the discussion in plenary meetings and that the organizations having a special interest in the question should be permitted to be heard by the Special Political Committee. May I take it that the General Assembly approves the recommendations of the General Committee?

In paragraph 24 (a) (ii) of the report of the General Committee concerning the organization of the thirty- second session of the General Assembly [A/32/250j, in connexion with item 27 (c) of the draft agenda, it is stated that "Organizations having a special interest in the question should be permitted to be heard by the Special Political Committee". Similarly, reference has been made in para- graph 25 of the memorandum by the Secretary-General / A/BUR/32/1], which was considered by the General Committee yesterday, to the permission given the represen- tatives of the World Peace Council to address the Special Political Committee at the previous General Assembly session. The Chinese delegation wishes to state our position on this matter. 56. As is known to all, the leading bodies of the World Peace Council and similar organizations have long been

The reservation made by the representative of China will be duly recorded in the verbatim record of this meeting. 58. In connexion with item 28 on the list, "Question of Cyprus", the General Committee recommends in paragraph 24 (a) (iii) that the item should be considered d:rectIy in plenary meeting on the understanding that the General Assembly would, when considering the item, invite the Special Political Committee to meet for the purpose of affording representatives of the Cypriot communities an opportunity to speak in t~e Committee in order to express their views, and that the Assembly would then resume its consideration of the item, taking into account the report of the Special Political Committee.

The recommendation of the General Committee to allocate the Cyprus question for discussion to plenary meeting is a repetition of the procedure followed at the thirtieth and thirty-first sessions. The Turkish delegation strongly objected to that procedure last year2 and maintains the same position this year. 60. According to that procedure the question of Cyprus would be considered directly in ,plenary meetings. The General Assembly would, however, when considering the item, invite the Special Political Committee to meet for the purpose. of affording the representatives of the Cypriot communities an opportunity to speak in the Committee in order to express their views, and would then resume its consideration of the item. 61. Three years of experience have shown that the procedure recommended by the General Committee is totally inadequate for a valid and constructive discussion of the Cyprus problem. 62. The meetings held by the Special Political Committee in the past have.proved to be just a perfunctory audition of the representatives of the two communities since the real debate took place exclusively in the plenary meetings. Furthermore, this arrangement magnified the unequal treatment accorded to the Turkish community by enabling the Greek Cypriots to double their voice and speak in yet another capacity-that of the Greek community-in addi- tion to that of the Greek-Cypriot delegation. As it will be recalled, at the thirty-first session this procedure forced the Turkish-Cypriot cOiThllunity to dissociate itself from the deliberations of the General Assembly on Cyprus. 63. There is no doubt that the procedure which is once again being recommended disregards the fact that there are today in the island two distinct administrations, that all resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council recognize the two communities as the principal 64. The Turkish community is rightfully demanding parti- cipation on the basis of full equality at all levels during the discussion of the question of Cyprus. This demand is undisputably in conformity with the principle of equity, the realities of Cyprus and the prerequisites of a peaceful settlement. There is no reason why the rights that have been justly accorded in the plenary meetings to national liberation movements and organizations shojld be denied to the Turkish community of Cyprus. The Turkish community in Cyprus is, like those movements and organizations, a political entity. It aspires to and struggles for partnership in the bicommunal R'epublic of Cyprus and the safeguarding of its legitimate rights in an independent, sovereign and non-aligned Cyprus. 65. However, my delegation, taking into account the procedural and poIitica! intricacies, limited itself in the General Committee to suggesting a compromise formula, which, while falling short of achieving equality between the two communities, would to a certain extent redress the unequal treatment suffered by the Turkish community at previous sessions. Our suggestion was simply that the item be allocated to the Special Political Committee or the First Committee. This would have enabled the Turkish com- munity to participate in the debate at the Committee level only. 66. But even this measured suggestion was not endorsed by the General Committee. 67. My delegation is firmly convinced that the procedure recommended by the General Committee is unjust, politi- cally unwise and that it constitutes an impediment to a constructive debate in the General Assembly. We strongly oppose it. 68. I would ask you, Mc. President, to put this recom- mendation to a vote~ I also request a recorded vote. 69. Mc. ROSSIDES (Cyprus): We have just heard the statement of the representative of Turkey, a statement which was a misrepresentation of the facts from beginning to end. I am sorry that it is necessary for me to contradict him. 70. He speaks about the problem of Cyprus, which is now to be discussed in the plenary meetings, as before, as a problem between the two communities. That is a downright negation of the fact that 40 per cent of the territory of Cyprus is under the oppressive military occupation of Turkey and that the indigenous majority population has been expelled from that portion of the territory, while there has been a massive importation of population from Turkey in an open attempt to change the demographic structure of Cyprus. 71. This is the problem which requires attention by the General Assembly. The representative of Turkey said that for three years this problem has been coming here without results. This is only because Turkey refuses to comply with resolutions of the General Assembly, and because the 72. Now, what does the representative of Turkey propose instead of that? He says that the problem is merely between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. and therefore it should go to a Committee, to be discussed between them. But the problem is, as appears from the resolutions, twofold. Originally: there was a problem about the Consti- tution, but that has become submerged now into the problem of the invasion and occupation of Cyprus with all the international crimes I have mentioned. This problem is coming before the General Assembly, where it belongs, and could be discussed nowhere else. It is one of the three serious problems, as declared by the Secretary-General, the other two being South Africa and the Middle East. This was also echoed by the President of the United States, Mr. Carter. Therefore, this problem must go to the plenary. 73. The other, the constitutional, aspect should go, as it is going, to the Special Political Committee, where it can be amply discussed on an equal footing. But the problem of the aggression and its victim belongs here and should be discussed in this hall. 74. I understood the representative of Turkey to say that he is making a proposal. Well, I know that his proposal is in direct contradiction with the recommendation of the General Committee, which says that the matter should go directly to the plenary, indicating some other details. He wants to alter that completely and take it to the Special Political Committee. This is, then, a different proposal. If it ever comes to the vote, it should be after the recqmn~en­ dation of the General Committee is put to the vote.

I do not think the difficulty is insurmountable. I must refer to what my colleague from the United Kingdom mentioned in the General Committee: that if we were to indulge in intermi- nable debates in the General Assembly-he did not say that, but I am paraphrasing-we might just as well do away with the Committees. 76. As you well know, Mr. President, I think that more constructive work can be achieved in the Committees than in the General Assembly. Of course, the General Assembly discussions are highlighted. Dealing with matters in the General Assembly confers a sort of prestige, if I may say so. But to what extent will such discussions be practicable? 77. I believe that we can work out a compromise if the two parties are willing to listen to the voice of reason on this question. Why not-I ask them both, both Cyprus and Turkey-agree that the representative of the Greek com- munity in Cyprus shall make a statement in the General Assembly and also allow the representative of the Turkish community to make a statement? I am not going into the substance. Then, after that, the whole question would be referred to the Special Political Committee or to the First Committee, whichever Committee has been designated for the discussion of this item. I believe this would be fafr play. 79. Let us have a General Assembly meeting at which the Cyprus question would be presented by the Greek side, in a statement, not a general debate. If we have a general debate, those of Turkish origin will also have to engage in the same debate and we might have acrimonious attitudes emanating from the debate which would undoubtedly exacerbate the situation in the Political Committee. 80. May I repeat my suggested compromise, which I hope will be acceptabte. Believe me, Mr. President, I did not consult with either of my good friends, Ambassador Tiirkmen or Ambassador Rossides. It occurred to me that that would be a reasonable method. To recapitulate, let the Cypriot Community put their case, in a statement, and then the Turkish element would also be represented by someone who would make their statement. Thus, the General Assembly would then take into account what they have said, and the whole question would be referred to the Committee, whether it is the First Committee or the Special Political Committee. But if we have to take a vote, I think it should not be now. You know, Mr. President, why we should not take a vote. I hope that our friend Mr. Rossides will accede to this solution, and I am sure that my Turkish friends will have no objection. Otherwise, I will go into the substance, because then, no doubt, the substance will have to be brought out. And God help us if I go into the substance!

As there are no further speakers, I now put to the 'fote the recommendation made by the General Committee in paragraph 24 (a) (Hi) of its report concerning the allocation of item 28, the question of Cyprus. The representative of Saudi Arabia has made an appeal and the representative of Turkey has requested a recorded vote on the allocation of this item.

We turn now to item 35 on the list, (item 91 on the draft zgenda), the question of Namibia. The General Committee in paragraph 24 (f) recommends that this item should be considered directly in plenary meetings immediately after the general debate, item 9 of the draft agenda. May I take it that the General Assembly adopts that recommendation?

May I now consider that the General Assembly approves the allocation of the other items listed for consideration directly in plenary meetings?

We turn now to the list of items which the General Committee has recommended for allo- cation to the First Committee. 85. Regarding item 19 on the list (item 51 of the draft agenda), I refer to the recommendation in paragraph 24 (b) (i) of the General Committee's report. May I take it that the General Assembly approves that recommendation?

In connexion with item 20 on the list (item 52 of the draft agenda), the General Committee has made a recommendation in paragraph 24 (b) (ii) of its report. May I take it that the recommendation is approved by the General Assembly?

May I consider that the General Assembly approves the allocation of the items listed for the First Committee?

We now come to the items recom- mended for allocation to the Special Political Committee. May I consider that the General Assembly approves that proposed allocation of items? 3"The delegations of Angola, Bolivia, Botswana, Cape Verde, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guinea, Sri Lanka and the Syrian Arab Republic subsequently informed the Secretariat that they wished to have their votes recorded as having been in favour of the recommendation: 90. In connexion with item 1 on the list (item 12 of the draft agenda), "Report of the Economic and Social Council", the General Committee has made a recommen- dation concerning chapter 11 of the report. That recom- mendation appears in paragraph 24 (d). May I take it that the Assembly approves that recommendation?

May I take it that the General Assembly approves the proposed allocation of the items to the Second Committee?

We come now to the items pro- posed for allocation to the Third Committee. 93. The General Committee has made a recommendation in paragraph 24 (e), concerning chapter 11 of the report of the Economic and Social Council. May I take it that the General Assembly approves that recommendation?

May I also take it that the General Assembly approves the proposed allocation of the items to the Third Committee?

Are there any comments on the allocation of the items to the Fourth Committe? If not, I shall take it that the General Assembly approves that allocation. . 96. The PRESIDENT: We turn now to the list of items recommended for allocation to the Fifth Committee. 97. Regarding item 3 on the list (item 100 of the draft agenda), the General Committee has made a recommen- dation in paragraph 24 (g) (ll). May I consider that the General Assembly approves that recommendation?

In connexion with item 15 on the list (item 12 of the draft agenda), "Report of the Economic and Social Council", the General Committee has made a recommendation concerning chapter VII, section C of the report That recommendation appears in paragraph 24 (g) (i). I take it that that recommendation is approved by the General Assembly.

May I consider that the General Assembly approves the allocation of the items listed for the Fifth Committee?

The General Assembly has thus adopted the agenda and the allocation of agenda items for .its thirty-second session [decision 32/402 A}. 103. I now call on the representative of Bulgaria who wishes to exercise his right of reply. The meeting rose at 12.10 p.m. 105. The World Peace Council is. an authoritative inter- national organization in which national organizations from countries in all continents are represented.