A/33/PV.15 General Assembly
THIRTY· THIRD SESSION
Page
9. General debate .1. Mr. RAJARATNAM (Singapore): Mr. President, may 1 congratulate you warmly on your election to the presi- dency of the General Assembly. I should like to thank the outgoing President, Mr. Lazar Mojsov, and also our Secre- tary-General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, for another successful year at the helm of our Organization. 2. The two greatest threats to international peace and security are the unresolved problems of the Middle Eost and southern Africa. 3. On the Middle East, 1 wish to reiterate Singapore's position. First, we believe that the Government of Israel must recognize the right of the Palestinians to a homeland of their own and that the Palestinians must recognize the State of Israel and respect its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Secondly, we believe that the issue of borders must be settled by negotiation on the basis of the principles of non-acquisition of territory by the use of force and the rights of States to live within secure and recognized borders. Thirdly, we remain convinced that Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) provide the framework for an over-all settlement of the problems of the Middle East. We ..welcome the two agreements! concluded between President El-Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Begin of Israel at Camp Davidas being a step forward. The two leaders have shown great courage. They deserve our support and commendation. We wish also to pay a tribute to President Carter of the United States for his remarkable statesmanship. 4. On the question of Namibia, we are dismayed by the decisions of the Government of South Africa to reject the 1 A Framework for Peace in the Middle East. Agreed at Camp David, and Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty -between Egypt and Israel, signed at Washington on 17 September 1978. ' NEW YORK proposals of the Secretary-General? and to hold elections in Namibia without United Nations involvement. We hope that the new Government of South Africa will reverse those decisions and resume co-operation with the United Nations for the peaceful transition of Namibia to independence. 5. On Zimbabwe, we hope the time for a peaceful transition to majority rule has not run out. We make an urgent appeal to the United Kingdom, the United States and the front-line States to make one last effort to bring about a negotiated settlement acceptable to all the parties involved. As for South Africa, unless the abhorrent system of apartheid is rapidly dismantled, the prospects of a bloody racial confrontation will become inevitable. 6. Reflecting on the sorry state of our contemporary world, Antonio Gramsci, and Italian Communist ideologue, offered humanity this piece of advice: "We need", he said, "the pessimism of the intelligence and the optimism of the will." 7. I can think of no better formula for survival for humanity. It is one that I would commend to this Organization and to political leaders who are also states- men. I have therefore attempted in this address to reflect the necessary' spirit of hopeful pessimism about human prospects. Though the United Nations was formed for the specific purpose of addressing itself to the problems of humanity as a whole, in practice most of us have generally avoided manifesting any earnestness about humanity lest we be thought somewhat eccentric and unpragmatic, 8. So I hope members will bear with me if for a change I dedicate this address to the cause of global problems. 9. I begin with a quotation from :l speech by a man we all knew well and who cannot be charged with having been intemperate -in either his choice of words or his expression of ideas, the late U Thant; for many years our Secretary- General: . "I can only conclude from the information thatis available to me as Secretary-General that the ~tembers of the United Nations have perhaps ten years left in which .to subordinate their ancient quarrels and launch a global partnership to curb the arms race, to improve the human environment, to defuse the population explosion, and to supply the required momentum to world development efforts. If such a global partnership is not forged within the next decade, then I very much fear that the problems 1 have mentioned . will have reached such staggering I J. As for U Thant's hope that what he called "ancient quarrels" would disappear, there has been not only a more vigorous revival of ancient feuds since 1969 but also the proliferation of new enmities. The arenas for these expand- ing contests- are almost wholfy in the third world. Accord- ing to the SIPRI World Armaments andDisarmament Year Book for 1976, there have been, between 1945 and 1975, in all. 119- civil and international wars, involving the territory of 69 States-that is, nearly half the United Nations' membership-and the armed forces of 81 nations.s There have also been more than 300 coups and attempted. coups in the third world duringthe same period. Moreover, the authors,of the year book also estimate that these wars have killed more people than did the Second WorldWar. 12. Has the arms race abated since 19691 Has the tenth special session ofthe GeneralAssembly, which was devoted to disarmament, had any visible impact on the arms race? The- answer to both questions is unfortunately in the negative. From 1970 to 1978 world military expenditures increased from S200 billion to the current $400 billion. After allowing for price inflation, the world's military spendinghas increased at an annual rate of 15 per cent. From 1970 to 1978 the total strength of the world's armed forces increased from 21 million to 23 million; exports of major weapons to third-world countries reached an esti- mated S8 billion annually, in constant 1975dollars, almost three times such exports in, 1970; and the strategic nuclear stockpiles of the United States and the Soviet Union increased. by 8,000 to a total of 14,000 war-heads. Governed by these facts and. figures, one is driven to the inescapable conclusion that, to borrow U Thant's words, the. "mad momentum of the arms race" continues unabated. 13. As for defusing the population explosion, though there has been deceleration of population growth in some of thedeveloping countries. generally the situation is worse. Most developing countries are caught in a bind in which even a: most dramatic upsurge in the economy would be negated by a still higherrisein population. 14. The old belief that the vast untapped resources ofthe earth and technological miracles could cope with any pepulation increase- has been in recent years shattered. by contrary evidence. There are, we now realize, limlts to technological miracles. The planet's resources are finite and 3 ~u Qffititll Record: of tire General Anembly. Twenty-foruth Stssi<)lt.PlelltlryMeetingf. 1788th meeting. para, 34. 4 $» World Ar."."mattt and l)iwm4ment: SJPRJ YeM Book 1St76(lJppsala,. A1mqvis.t &; WikseU. 1976), p. 48. 16. Great hopes were placed in the so-called miracle rice developed in the Philippines and on the high-yielding wheat strains developed in Mexico. But that optimism turned out to be short-lived. In ]972, for a varietyof complex reasons, total food production fell for the first time in more than 20 years. 17. We now realize that the comfortingstatistics ofearlier years concealed a number of unpleasant facts about world grain production. The food demands of the third world were met less by the output of the developing countries themselves than by the increased output of wealthy countries like the United States, Canada, Australia and Argentina. Those countries were able to do this because their farming was on a vast scale, highly scientific, highly capitalized and highly organized. It was elso energy- intensive so that, say, one American farmer could feed 57 people whereas a farmer in a developing country would be hard put to it to feed' his own family. 18. Unfortunately, the production processes of those few advanced agricultural grain producers involving the use of fertilizer, machinery, freight, processing, marketing and pumping for irrigation depended on one crucial product: cheapoil. Andwe all know that suddenlyand unexpectedly the era of cheap oil came to an end, and with it hopes of cheap food. 19. The rise in the price of oil has invariably made for dearer grain. Let me add that in stating this fact I am not giving credence to the: somewhat misleading thesis that dearer oil is, at the root of the global economic crisis, including the food crisis. The drift towardsworld recession and inflation had begun well before the rise in the price of oil. 20..So the prospects for developing countriesof maintain- ing steady growth simultaneously with a population explo- sion are pretty bleak. Because the resources of the earth are finite, both rich and poor nations must now reshape plans for economic growth on the basisthat mankindhas entered an age of resource scarcity. We must develop, therefore, neweconomiclife-styles. 21. Mankind, in particular in the affluent North, has been consuming raw materials at a rate which could leave posterity with little or nothing. The contemporary attitude of what is called in the Westthe "consumer society" to the warnings of the ecologists is best summed up in a quip by the American comedian, Groucho Marx, in connexion with another matter: "So what? n he said. "What has posterity done for me'! to Our technology has madeit possible for the first time in human history for one generation to deprive future generations of their due inheritance. For example, there is considerable evidence to show that at current rates of growth raw materials like a~uminiumJ lead, manganese, nickel, tungsten and platinum could be exhausted within a 22. The biggest consumers of world resources are the nations of the North. They consume nine-tenths of the world's oil output, most of its minerals, four-fifths of its fertilizers and three-fourths of its fish catch. The average Northerner consumes perhaps 50 times more of the world's resources than the average consumer ,,);' a developing country. All these estimates would have ,0 be revised drastically should the third world, the deprived two-thirds of humanity,start consuming at even half the Northern rate. For a start, so I am informed, should this happen, nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers, among other things, would run out within a few generations. 23. Some people look with hope to the oceans to provide the resources the earth is incapable of providing in the near future. As I will attempt to show in a moment, this, too, may turn out to be an illusion. Going on the available evidence, the oceans of the world, too, must be listed in the category of endangered environment. 24. So long as our economic activities are directed towards satisfying human greed rather than human needs there is no way of reversing wasteful consumption of the earth's resources. To avert it, we need to recover the traditional reverence mankind has always had for what it calls "Mother Earth". Our attitude to it today is more akin to, more like, that of the locust swarm which consumes without conserv- ing. 25. I therefore commend an old farmer's saying as suggesting a possible way out of our dilemma. "One should live", so the saying goes, "as if one would die tomorrow, and farm as if one would live for ever". This is the essence of ecology in one simple, irrefutable sentence. 26. I referred a short while ago to the hopes that the ocean will be the new economic frontier. After all, the ocean covers some 70 per cent of the earth's surface and must contain enough untapped resources to sustain a permanent age of affluence for all mankind, or so it is hoped. 27. Sensibly treated, the oceans can no douht add considerably to our resources. But then, so could the earth if economics became a science of balancing consumption and conservation, which at the moment it is not. 28. In 1969 some 63 million metric tons of fish came from the sea. This is estimated to be approximately one- fifth of what the ocean can yield. The catch can be tripled within :1 short time without damage to the ocean provided fishing methods are changed. At the moment fish are hunted down. We "catch" fish, we do not "farm" fish. We have yet to move from the hunting stage to a farming stage in respect of the sea. Given the modern technology of fishing it is more than possible, if there are no restraints, that within a short time fish resources could be so depleted as to preclude our ever being able to move to a farming stage, to look to the ocean to provide us with alternative sources of food. Unfortunatel)' -for mankind, fish, despite 29. Now that we have abandoned this concept in favour of territorial frontiers on' the sea it is problematical whether the oceans will be as rich in marine resources as they have been. Unless we' can 'persuade fish to cultivate strong national loyalties the chain of life in the oceans could be broken. Excessive harvesting at one point of the ocean, or the disruption of the migratory routes, or the destruction of the spawning grounds of fish through pollution or other causes could soon deplete the organic wealth of the seas. Because of the close interdependence of marine life, an act by one nation within its territorial waters could destroy the vital assets of other nations thousands of miles away. 30. Apart from being a source of food, the ocean is a photosynthesizer that provides 70 per cent of the world's oxygen supply, the basis of all living life. Ocean currents follow established pattemsand convey immense'quantities of heat and moisture thousands of miles, and in the process regulate the climate from the equator to the poles. It is also a highway for world trade, provided free by nature for all nations. A carve-up of the oceans into sovereign zones could disrupt the global function oceans have performed from time immemorial. 31. Moreover, even as we debate how the oceans should be divided, we, mankind, are also gradually converting them into global sewers. The oceans are now recipients of millions of tons of industrial waste and poisonous chemicals discharged by increasingly polluted rivers as well as by oil slicks, which are likely to multiply through unregulated oil exploration and sea mining. Here, too, these pollutants, like the sea creatures they have already killed off by the thousands, move without regard to frontiers to injure the culprits as well as nations not responsible for these offences. 32. Not only the sea, but soil, forests, rivers and the atmosphere itself are being progressively degraded. All these constitute the basics for any kind of life on earth-what ecologists call the "biosphere", 33. The problems I have dwelt upon so far are problems that transcend national frontiers and, if left unresolved, will, as the pessimists prophesy, bring disaster on all nations-the developed and the developing, the rich and the poor. 34. Is such a disaster inevitable? It is only inevitable' if we refuse to face the facts that make it inevitable. We, not the stars, are the authors of the human predicament. Since we are the authors, we can rewrite the story to make for a happier ending. 36. But, given the intensity of contemporary nationalism, some would argue,it is not pragmatic to suggest approaches that require constraints on national interests on behal f of global interests. On the contrary, J believe that the global approach is the only pragmatic policy in a shrunken world. 37. The authoritative definition of pragmatism is the adoption of ideas, policies and proposalswhich are "useful, workable and practical". In other words, pragmaticpolicies. must produce the desired results, and the whole of my address has been devoted to showing that, so far, policies based on narrow national interests not only have failed to resolve national problems but also arc helpless before the accretionof the global problemsthat threaten us all. 38. However, I take courage from the fact that narrow nationalism is already being undermined by the counter- forces of globalism. Even where this is not acknowledged publicly, quiet concessions are in practice made to global- ism as a pragmatic convenience. The three majorbastions of national sovereignty-autonomy in respect of the national economyJ culture and defence-are increasingly being forced to come to terms with the reality of global interdependence. There is a growing realization that solu- tions to national problems have to be sought outside national frontiers. Year by year the areas where global co-operation has to be acknowledged are growing remorse- lessly, even though the concessions are made ungraciously. 39. This i~ reflected in the phenomenal growth of inter- governmental and non-governmental international organi- zations to co-ordinate and regulate functions of national importance. In 1910, according to the Yearbook of International Organizations, 19785 there were 250 such international organizations, by the early 1970sthe number had increased to 2,500, and there must have been further additions since then. Their concerns range from com- mercial, industrial, financial, scientific and technological matters to co-ordinating matters relating to commodities, trade, health, aviation, shipping, communicetions, weights and measures and, I understand, even refrigeration. 40. In theory, it is\true, we continue to behave as if, and possibly even believe that, we are sovereign, but in practice weare increasingly caught in a web of interdependence. 41. The cumulative and incremental expansion of global partnership is a process which can avert the disasters we fear. It is a slow process; it is undirected; but it is there. I take comfort from the fact that all the great historic transformations in history have also occurred through cumulative increments. This is how humanity evolved from a society of hunters to a society of agriculturists, from feudalism to capitalism and socialism, from autocracies to democracies, from savagery to civilization of a sort. In none of those instances was the change instantaneous. What is now required, therefore, is leadership which allies itself 43. What is really required to help the new force of globalism struggling to be born is what our Secretary- General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, has referred to as the "political will". Although we live in an era of growing interdependence, the Governments of Member States are primarily motivated by the pursuit of national interests. The pursuit of national interests by 150 Member States does not equate with global interest. Global partnership is the only alternative to global disaster. The achievement of a global partnership will be a long and difficult task; but, for those of us who may feel intimidated by that task, I offer the following quotation from' another Secretary-General, Dag Hamrnarskjold: "Those are lost who dare not face the basic facts of international interdependence. Those are lost who permit defeats to scare them back to a starting-point of narrow nationalism. Those are lost who are so scared by a defeat as to despair about the future."
First of all may I congratulate you, Sir, as a representative of Latin Amer:ca and Colombia, a country of noble traditions and respect for the rule of law and international understanding, on your unanimous election to the presidency of this session of the General Assembly. We are sure that you will be as successful in directingour work as you were at the head of the Ministry for ForeignAffairs of your country.
45. To the outgoing President, Mr. Lazar Mojsov of Yugoslavia, we express our congratulations and gratitude.
46. The sad news.from Vatican City this morning, which has caused such deep consternation, impelsme to make. use of my presence at this rostrum to extend our deepest condolences to the Holy See through Archbishop Giovanni Cheli, its Permanent Observer to the United Nations,on the death of His Holiness John PaulI. . ,:. <7. Today we welcome with satisfaction the admission of Solomon Islands as a new Member of the United Nations.
48. Uruguay is aware of it~ position and responsibilities in the international arena. We know that the world is undergoing a period of transition and a crisis of values, an age in which the acceleration and diversification of every relationship, be it cultural, political, economic,or technical, make our planet a one-way circuit, where no one can ignore anyone else'sfate.
49. Interdependence and, consequently, solidarity, which, after all, are the only valid answers, have ceased to be an option and have become a necessity and an Imperative
50. The change from an age characterized by the existence of a plurality. of States and centres of Power living in relative isolation, where the framework of political, eco- nomic and legal options covered a wide range of possi- bilities, to an age of increasing interdependence and unavoidable solidarity is not carried out without conflicts and pain.
51. We should always bear in mind when we think and when we act that respect for national individuality should run parallel to the fundamental notion of equal parti- cipation by all peoples and regions in the production and enjoyment of our planet's resources.
52. Uruguay considers that in this complex labyrinth of conflict, aspirations and claims, the rule of law is the landmark and the essential requirement for any progress as such; namely, that which ensures and promotes the reign of civilization and peace and a full and dignified life for all individuals, peoples and nations.
53. Uruguay respects the rule of law including, naturally, human rights, and has a long and deep tradition in our laws and practices that constitutes an essential and indispensable part of our profile as a national community. That is why at this session of the Genera! Assembly, which commemorates the thirtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the delegation of Uruguay emphatically reaffirms its respect for and adherence and obedience to norms that undoubtedly constitute a fundamental stage in ' the long march of mankind towards the realization of its aspirations, takes part in the celebration of the anniversary with full conviction, and sincerely desires that human rights become an authentic and living reality the world over.
54. My country has given special attention to the question of disarmament. This is a question that must engage very specially the efforts of our Organization. That is why at the tenth special session of the General Assembly our dele- gation joined its efforts with those of other delegations which, like ours, sincerely desire the, achievement of satisfactory solutions. The results obtained thus far should be encouraging for they augur well for a future agreement, the importance of which cannot be ignored.
55. While one of the primary goals of international law is the maintenance of peace, its fundamental requirement is obviously general and complete disarmament. The stag- gering figures involved in armament transactions in them- selves show with sufficient eloquence the gravity of the armaments problem and remind us of a ieality which is sad and depressing, for it constitutes a negation, of the noble and sem theoretical goal of disarmament.
56. We cannot but refer to international terrorism, that ruthless form of violence that threatens the right to life, freedom and tranquillity of all citizens, especially in those
57. Uruguay has undergone a tragic experience in con- fronting terrorism and subversion, against which it had to defend itself energetically. The country has learned a hard lesson and will not accept a repetition of the situation under the pretext of respect for the human rights of those who ignore any right, to the detriment, precisely, of the prerogatives, attributes and dignity of those law-abiding citizens who cherish liberty and freedom and scrupulously respect the juridical order as the supreme guarantor of peaceful coexistence.
58. Furthermore, it cannot be accepted that human rights can be invoked for political ends, transforming the so-called defence of those rights into an instrument of aggression and intervention, especially when this is promoted by those countries with a record of intolerant and authoritarian international behaviour.
59. The United Nations has tried year after year to find appropriate means of combating international terrorism. Uruguay is a member of the Committee appointed by this Assembly to find solutions to this questlone and we should' like to stress, once again, our disenchantment with the lack of specific results. My delegation would like to insist once again on the adoption of collective measures against terrorism, trusting that such measures will cover all its excesses and aberrations, a subject to which there was vel)' fittingly special. reference in the report of the Secretary- General on the work of the Organization IA/33/1, sect. VI.
60. Furthermore, we have publicly expressed our support for the recent statement adopted at" the Bonn Economic Summit Conference, which we consider as a seriousattempt to combat some very important aspects ofintemational violence." Similarly, we shall continue to provide assistance in the work of this Assembly aimed at drafting a con-: vention on the taking of host-ages.
61. Our country favours the adoption of comprehensive and far-reaching measures to combat terrorism and to this end has presented concrete proposals, being acutely con- scious of the difficulties and obstructionism in thiscon- nexion caused by certain sectors of the international community.
62., Uruguay attaches special significance to the next session of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, to be convened during 1979, at which the decision-making stage will have to be reached.
63. Unfortunately, this year the work of the Conference was influenced by the crisis surrounding the presidency. We repeat on this occasion the reservations of a .Iegal and poHHcal nature expressed at the time' by the delegation of Uruguay with reference to the decision adopted by ,the.
6 Ad Hoc Committee on International Terrorism. 7 Sec "International Terrorism: Joint Statement. July 17, 197&", Weekiy Compilation of Presidential Documents (Washington. D.C'., Government Printing Office, 1978), vol. 14, No. 29. pp. 1308-1309.
64. The expectations of all the peoples and Governments of the world concerning the development of the negotia- tions on the law of the sea, which have already lasted five . years, cannot be indefmitely postponed. The feeling of frustration that this would create would be most harmful to the attainment of the vital goal of establishing a new legal order that would be an authentic guarantee of peaceful coexistence with regard to the seas, mutual respect for the sovereignty of all, full recognition of the rights and obligations of all States, the protection of the marine environment, the rational exploitation of its resources and effective administration of the common heritage of man- kind.
65. We are now reaching the final stage of informal negotiations.
66. Finally, the Conference should concentrate its efforts on the attainment of compromise formulas conducive to the settlement of those important questions which are still pending, and avoid the insistent and stubborn presentation of amendments to those parts of the informal composite negotiating text 8 which was so long and arduously dis- cussed and so carefully balanced, and which reflects a generally acceptable basis for agreement.
67. We particularly emphasize that any text not originat- ing in the concept ofa status sui generis for the exclusive economic zone has no possibility of success. The juridical sui generis nature of the exclusive economic zone-sthat is, as a part neither of the territorial sea nor of the high seas-represents the true balance of all legitimate rightsand interests involved and expresses the true characteristics of an institution already in the realm of international common law.
68. We also consider that the establishment of the outer limit of the continental shelf in those cases wher- this extends beyond 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the width of the territorial sea is measured is one of the most important questions among those that are pending, and that in this respect the formula advanced bOy lreland? and supported by a large majority of States participating in the Conference represents an acceptable compromise, since it has a scientific basis and offers a [uridically viable and politically realisticsolution.
69. We should like also to reaffirm the applicability of the Declaration of Principles Governing the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor, and the Subsoil Thereof, beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction. contained in General Assembly resolution 2749 (XXV), and especially the principle that the sea-bed and ocean floor beyond the limits of national
70. We also reaffirm the applicability of resolution 25740 (XXIV) concerning a moratorium on the exploration and exploitation of the sea-bed, strict compliance with which is a necessary condition, from the ethical and juridical points of view, of any honest negotiation on the establishment of the international regime, including the international author- ity for the sea-bed. Therefore Uruguay is deeply concerned at the attitude of certain States which seek the unilateral adoption of national legislation to govern the exploitation ofthe resourcesof the sea-bed beyond national jurisdiction. That legislation and the actions initiated under its protec- tion violate the above-mentioned General Assembly resolu- tions and, therefore, are contrary to intemationallaw and devoid of any legal value.
71. Faced with these threatening prospects and the diffi- culties still confronting the Third United Nations Con- ference on the Law of the Sea, Uruguay expresses the earnest hope that in the end common senseand the spirit of international co-operation will prevail. In this spirit, my country reiterates its sincere readiness to help to establish among all States and peoples on earth a true order of justice, peace and mutual and fruitful co-operation in the seas.
72. Together with these major issues of a general nature to which we have referred and which affect international politics as a whole, there are several concrete problems of specific significance because of the principles involved and their obvious or latent danger to peace. Because of their importance they should be faced in the most fair, equitable and restrained manner possible, for only in this way will we be able to arrive at a more efficient pattern of action.
73. One of the oldest and most bitter problems is that of the Middle East. Its origins go back to the-earliest days of the United Nations and the partition of the territory of Palestine.
74. The delegation of Uruguay has argued, and still argues, that all conflict can and should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation, in the light of the principles of justice and the precepts of the Charter.
75. We consider that Israel, born as a State' through a resolution of our Organization, is an irreversible reality and that its right to exist as such demands the recognition of safe and secure borders.
76. My delegation also considers; in accordance with the principles guiding the thought and philosophy of Uruguay, that the Palestinian people have cl right to self-deter- mination, namely, to the recognition of their individuality and autonomy in the international arena, and consequently to form a free and sovereign State.
77. It is because of all the foregoing that Uruguay views with satisfaction the steps taken and the ones being taken in this direction and enthusiastically supports the efforts being made in the international arena to bring the parties
79. The last great problem of a general political nature that we should like to mention here is that. of racism, and specificallyapartheid.
80. The policy of Uruguay on this question is too well known to require a detailed explanation. My country has been and is against all forms of racial discrimination and will support those measures adopted by the United Nations to combat this remnant of colonial barbarity as long as the means to do so are compatible with the legal principles of the Charter. .
88.: Weshould face courageously the problems of structure and circumstance that beset us: the increase of protec- tionist trends in the developed countries, the slowing down of the North-South dialogue and the existing world inflationary situation.
89. My country is deeply preoccupied with the increase of protectionism on the part of the industrialized countries, since the prejudicial effects of this affect us directly. It is evident that this type of protectionist measure constitutes the greatest obstacle to a healthy development of inter- national trade and a rational mobility of production factors, and is also a grave impediment to progress towards a new international economic order.
81. Discrimination has become historically untenable, and we see no reason why an understandable but misplaced impatience should encourage resort to blind and indscrim- inate violence that will make it impossible in the future for the different groups to coexist peacefully and harmoni- ously.
82.· On another subject, the environment crisis, with the dacgerous deterioration of ecosystems, the accelerated extinction of animal species, the rapid exhaustion of natural resources, the insurmountable advance of deserti- fication and the extremely disquieting pollution of all the livingenvironment, is not an accident unconnected with the general crisis we are experiencing. The key to the successof our efforts liesin achievingthe adjustment and adaptability that can reconcile man with nature.
90. For this reason we cannot but stress the serious repercussions in the international field of the barring of beef imports by the European Economic Community, a measure which, although applied in the middle of 1974, following the new rules adopted by the Community, has since 1 April 1977 had serious practical consequences.
91. Furthermore, my country, which is not a producer of oil, was seriously affected by the oil crisis, not only directly because of the increase in price, but also indirectly because the nations more seriously affected, such as Uruguay, were also barred from exporting those commodities which traditionally carry the most weight with industrialized buyers, since the recession they were suffering served as a pretext to strengthen their protectionist barriers. All this was aggravated by competitioa from other markets because of the subsidies policiesapplied by the developed countries, which has led to a drop in prices and consequently affected our ability to compete.
83. As regards this question, my delegation supports the report of,'the Governing Council of UNEP, whose detailed study [A/33/25} we shall present to this Assembly. We consider that this is a high-priority item and trust that the implementation of the projected programme will not be subjected to delays and difficulties of any kind.
84. We consider that the ;oJopiiUjl of measures aimed at stopping the process of soil erosion is especially urgent. The gravity of this problem was stressed by the United Nations Conference on Desertification, held in Nairobi in August of last year. I 0
92. Attention should be especially drawn to the so-called "voluntary agreements" through which quantitative restric- tions are placed on imports, disregarding the clear decisions contained in international trade agreements to benefit developing countries. This is why we look forward to the neutralization of these tendencies through the fruitful results of the multilateral trade negotiations, as well as UNCTAD'sIntegrated Programme ofCommodities.t I
8S. These questions are, furthermore, very closely related to the food problem, which is one of the most distressing problems confronting the world today.
86. Uruguay must express its special concern at the situation of the world economy, and especially the position of the developing countries, which are most seriously affected by this crisis. All the achievements of this institution would be seriously challenged if the increasing needs of the developingcountries were not to be met.
93. The slowing down of the North-South dialogue dis- courages us, a feeling which is increased by the limited implementation of the resolutions of the sixth and seventh
87. The industrialized countries must realize that world economic interdependence is not a one-way affair. If the
11 Sce Proceedings of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Fourth Session, vol. 1, Report and Annexes (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.76.11.0.10 and corri- gcndum), part one A, resolution 93 (IV).
10 For the report of the Conference, see document A/CONF.74/36.
95. In order to function as it should, that Committee must negotiate guidelines on problems of general policy, as well as agreements on pending problems that have been funda- mentally related to international economic co-operation, The results of these negotiations will take tne form of action-oriented conclusions and will provide a framework for this to be initiated by the competent bodies.
96. The inflation affecting the maininternational currency has a serious impact on the developing countries, and makes it essential to find solutions to this financial problem.
97. The erratic fluctuation of exchange rates isone of the inhibiting factors in international trade. If we have to face factors limiting trade it will be difficult to recoverfrom the present recession.
98. The consequent uncertainty about export prices is something which discourages investment. and if any two things are closely connected they are the rate of investment and the rate of growth of the gross national product.
99. Uncertainty about exchange rates is an inflationary factor in itself. The producers and exporters try to protect themselves against losses by marking up their stock of products. .
100. Monetary uncertainty also affects the long-term or slow-yield investments such as investments in major indus- trial plants.
101. The developing countries are doubly affected by the drop in value of the dollar. In the first place they import inflation and in the second place the value of their exports in terms of a stable currencyis alsoaffected, increasing the cost of inputs they must import.
102. My country views with satisfaction the constructive results of the United Nations Conference on Technical Co-operation among Developing Countries, recently con- cluded in Buenos Aires with the adoption of the Buenos
Ai~s Plan of Action1 3 being submitted for consideration by this Assembly.
103. We look forward to the approval and rapid imple- mentation of this Planof Action within the United Nations economic system. We also look forward to the prompt implementation by all States here of the undertakings
12 Committee Established under Genera! Assembly Resolution 32/174. 13 Report of the United Nations Conference on Technical Co-operation. among Developing Countries. Buenos Aires. 30 August to 12 September 1978 (tlni ted Nations publication. Sales No" E.1IULA.l1l. chap. 1.
104. We should not like to close this statement without making reference to the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization IAI33/l/. We must admit to being greatly impressed by its frankness, objectivity and outstanding precision in its treatment of the various topics it discusses. It likewise bringsout clearly the enormous task faced by the services in charge of the functioning of this Organization. We therefore wish to congratulate the Secre- tary-General and, through him, the United Nations staff members.
105. In conclusion, we should like to express our faith, virtually religious faith, in the final advent of peace to the world,in the eradication of poverty and in the development of a solid and efficient United Nationssystem whichenjoys the trust and support of its Member nations and wins respect for the wise and good principles of the Charter.
Mr. President, on behalf of che delegation of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. I congratulate you or your election to the presidency of the thirty-third session of the General Assembly of the United Nations and wish you success in this responsible post. I should like also to extend my congratulations to the newly-admitted Member of the UnitedNations-Solomon Islands.
107. In spite of the complicated and conflicting inter- national situation, the period following the thirty-second session of the General Assembly has abounded in vigorous action aimed at the further deepening of the process of detente and at the strengthening of peacein the world. The countries of the socialist community and the peace-loving forces have continued their efforts for the elimination of international conflicts, and for enriching the specific content of the policy of peaceful coexistence between States with different social systems. In a number of regions in the world aggressors havesuffered defeat. There has been further intensification of the struggle for the self-deter- mination and national independence of the oppressed peoples and for the elimination of racism, racial discrim- ination and apartheid.
108. There have been positive results in the European continent, where the process of reconstruction of inter- national relations in conformity with the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, adopted "at Helsinki on r August 1975 goes on. It is particularly important now for all States which participated in the Conference to adhere to and implement strictly the principles and agreements that have become the foundation of detente and co-operation on the continent.
109. The situation in the Balkan peninsulaisalso develop- ing favourably. Co-operationamongStates is becoming ever richer in content, and its forms are becoming ever more diversified. The People's Republic of Bulgaria is striving,0
"Our deep and sincere desire is to look towards the future, to buiid up on new foundations the political, economic and cultural relations between the Balkan peoples and States, and to move forward along the road to good-neighbourly relations and co-operation. Our policy towards all Balkan States is one of principle, consistent and lasting. It does not depend on short-term considerations. It is in keeping with the interests of neighbouring countries and peoples and, of course, with the vital interests of the Bulgarianpeople"
110. Alcng with the undeniable successes which have occurred in easing confrontation and strengthening peaceful coexistence among States with different social systems, some negative events l.ave occurred in international rela- tions during the past year. The opponents of detente are trying to return the world to the dark days of the "cold war" and tu speed up a new round in the spiralling arms race. The long-term programme the North Atlantic Treaty Organization approved at its last session, which it is estimated will cost another $80 billion, will lead to a colossal increase in the scale of armaments, That pro- gramme is an open challenge to the will of the peoples of the whole world who desire to see genuine results promptly obtained in curbing the arms race. In order to justify that policy, member States of that Organization have time and again resorted to the worn-out and well-known allegation about the presence of a military threat on the part of the States signatories of the Warsaw Treaty. We are convinced that, despite this zealous and biased propaganda, world public opinion will not allow itself to be misled and that it is well aware of the real designs of the militaristic circles to tip the existing military balance in their favour.
111. It is necessaryto do away once and for all with the anachronistic pattern of thinking on questions of peace and security as well as the outmoded stereotypes engendered by the inertia of the past and based on military superiority. There can be no doubt that the policy of the position of strength is not in keeping with the realities of the present-day world. In a nuclear age, that policy has become increasingly unfitted as a means of settling disputes among States. It is particularly sterile to pursue it vis-a-vis the countries of the socialist community and the sooner that truth is grasped the better it will be for mankind and for world peace.
113. With the unanimous adoption of the Declaration on the Strengthening of International Security {resolution 2734 (XXV)/ the States Members of the United Nations have reaffirmed their desire to apply the principles of the Charter as well as the other generally accepted principles and declarations whose aim is to strengthen international peace and security and I.,J promote good-neighbourly relations and co-operation.
114. In recent years, however, certain circles in the West have assumed the role of an international judge for the observance of human rights in various countries and have been interfering in the internal affairs of those countries. It is to be noted that the most zealous "champions" of human rights apparently do not deem it necessary to concern themselves with the rights of citizens of their own countries, although they are in the case of many of them in a sorry state. Exploiters, aggressors, colonialists and racists have no moral grounds whatsoever to talk about human rights. The People's Republic of Bulgaria rejects any attempt to interfere in the domestic affairs of States on any pretext whatsoever..
115. In our view, the main task today is to strengthen detente and not to allow a return to the "cold war"; to prevent the launching of a new round of the arms race and to make a start on genuine disarmament. That would be in keeping with the aspirations and interests of all nations in . the world.
116. The development of the international situation strengthens our profound conviction that the maintenance of peace and security in the world and the ensuring of normal conditions of life and creative work for its peoples and for their well-being and progress are inseparable from the struggle to end the arms race and bring about disarmament.
117. The tenth special session of the General Assembly, which was devoted to disarmament, confirmed the urgent necessity to take prompt co-ordinated measures to- bring about military detente. The Final Document which it adopted [resolution 8-10/2/ defines the basic areas on which the concerted efforts of States Members of the United Nations should be focused. In our opinion, now is the time to take, without delay, practical measures to halt the arms race and give an impetus to real disarmament,
118. We share the view that the principal and most urgent task before us now is to prevent the outbreak of a nuclear war. An important step along the road leading to that goal would be the initiation of talks, with the participation of all nuclear States, for the conclusion of a treaty on the discontinuance of the production of nuclear weapons and the destruction of existing stockpiles.
119. A new contribution to the stabilization of the international situation and the reduction of the danger of a thermonuclear war would be the conclusion of a con- vention on the strengthening of guarantees of the security of non-nuclear States. In this connexion, the proposal set
120. A particularly important role on the European continent could be played by the acceptance of a proposal, made by the States signatories of the Warsaw Treaty, to the effect that States participants in the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe would undertake not to be the first to use nuclear weapons against each other.
121. The conclusion of an international treaty on a general prohibition of the development. and production of new types of weapons and systems of mass destruction would do a great deal to contribute to the discontinuation of the arms race.
122. One of the immediate tasks of the Committee on Disarmament should be the preparation of a treaty banning the manufacture and the use of the neutron weapon. We hope that common sense and far-sightedness will prevail and that the resolute condemnation of plans for the production of this barbaric weapon, as well as the demand for its unconditional prohibition, will be taken into account.
123. At the present time an extremely positive role could be played by the successful completion of negotiations which are now being conducted on various questions of disarmament. The proposals submitted by the socialist countries in Vienna at the talks on the reduction of arms and armed forces in Central Europe have provided an opportunity for achieving results which would in no way impair the security of any State and which would reduce military confrontation in this region that is so vital for the security of the entire continent. Taking into account the great significance of the Soviet-United States negotiations on the limitation of strategic offensive weapons, we hope . that the artificial barriers being set up throughout these talks will be lifted. All the necessary conditions exist for the successful completion also of the talks on the cessation of nuclear weapons and on the prohibition of chemical, radiological and other types of weapons.
124. The question of the universality of the international treaties and agreements concluded thus far in this field is of great importance for curbing the arms race. The People's Republic of Bulgaria has signed and ratified all basic documents in this area. It is in the interests of the peace and security of nations that all States should follow suit, particularly the nuclear States and those countries which possess a considerable military potential.
125. Our country is in favour of reducing the military budgets of States, above all those of the permanent members of the Security Council. Such a measure would have a beneficial impact on the development of all countries, particularly the developing ones.
126. We whole-heartedly support the decision of the special session to convene a world disarmament conference as early as possible, because we believe that this session of
127. As a participant of long standing in the negotiations on disarmament in Geneva, the People's Republic of Bulgaria highly appreciates the contribution of that impor- tant forum to efforts to resolve the problems of disarma- ment. We are convinced that the Committee on Disarma- ment can produce even more substantial results provided that there is sincere interest and that all participants make serious and unswerving efforts.
128,. There are dangerous hotbeds of tension and war conflicts which continue to be whipped up in some parts of the world and exert a negative influence on international relations and pose a serious threat to world peace.
129. The task of solving peacefully and justly the Middle East problem is becoming increasingly urgent in nature. There has been complete confirmation of the truth that the road of separate talks can only serve to aggravate the conflict, to impede the just cause of the Arab peoples and to make even further removed a comprehensive settlement of the Middle East crisis as a w"lole. In our view, the Camp David agreements lead precisely in that direction, despite the attempts of the countries which participated in those talks to convince the world of their success.
130. The Government of the People's Republic of Bulgaria is convinced that the establishment of a lasting peace in the Middle East requires above an a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from all Arab territories occupied in 19,67, the implementation and guaranteeing of the legitimate rights of the Arab people of Palestine, including their right to self-determination and the creation of their own State, and the guaranteeing of the independent existence of all States in the area. The most effective forum for a comprehensive peaceful settlement of the Middle East problem is the Geneva Peace Conference on the Middle East under the eo-chairmanship of 'the Soviet Union and the United States of America, with the participation of all parties to the conflict, including the Palestine Liberation Organization.
131. It is our view that the Cyprus question must be resolved in a way which would be in keeping with vital interests of the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots, and with the interests of peace in thearea of the Balkan peninsula and the eastern Mediterranean. The attainment of these objectives requires apolitical solution of the question which would ensure the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus.
132. The "international community is and has recently been seriously concerned with the hegernonistic course-of the policy of the leadership of the People's Republic of China, which is creating ever-increasing difficulties for the strengthening of peace and detente. In order to achieve its great-Power goals, it stops at nothing and is resorting to all kinds of pressure, from the cessation of the so-called selfless assistance right up to the instigation of armed conflicts and direct participation in them. This dangerous policy. which is inimical to the interests of peace and international co-operation, has also found expression in the provocative
134. The Government of the People's Republic of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian people support the struggle of oppressed peoples for national liberation and the elimination of racism and racial discrimination. We have been rendering, and will continue to render, assistance and support to the newly-liberated countries struggling against aggression and neo-colonialism, for the independent and democratic development of those countries.
135. The United Nations and its Member States devoted considerable attention in the past year to the problem of the restructuring of international economic relations. The promotion of international economic co-operation on a just and democratic basis will promote the elimination of inequality in international economic relations, as well as of the exploitation of developing countries by developed capitalist States and the economic dependence of the former upon the latter.
136. We are categorically opposed to discrimination in international economic relations, just as we are opposed to attempts to link the promotion of economic. relations between States with th.e fulfilment of certain conditions. Such attempts have nothing in common with international co-operation and are doomed to fail.
137. In conclusion, I would like to emphasize, that as a member of the socialist community, the People's Republic of Bulgaria will continue to make its contribution to the strengthening of the United Nations so as to make it an active and efficient instrument for the preservation of world peace' and for the security and well-being of all peoples.
First of all, may I express the emotion felt by my delegation and by me on learning this morning of the sudden death of His Holiness Pope John Paul I. I should like to associate myself on behalf of my delegation with the feelings of sadness of the whole Christian community.
139. Next, Mr. President, I wish to thank and congratulate your predecessor, Mr. Lazar Mojsov, who so competently
140. A member 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 since its inception, my country cannot but welcome the accession to independence of Solomon Islands. We salute the struggle of that valiant people. The admission of that country to our Organization brings the United Nations closer to its ultimate objective of universal- ity. My delegation welcomes the sister delegation of Solomon Islands, and through me, wishesto assure it of our loyal and brotherly co-operation.
141. Turning now to this, the thirty-third, regular session of the General Assembly, which has brought us together here, I should like, on behalf of the people and authorities of Mali, to convey my warmest congratulations to the great people of Colombia on the signal tribute which the international community has paid to it by electing to the presidency of the General Assembly of.. our Organization one of its best sons in the person of Mr: Lievano, the Colombian Minister for Foreign Affairs. Your great per- sonal attributes, Mr. President, your broad experience of international affairs, based on your long and brilliant career and the quality of the officers of the thirty-third session of the General Assembly, together with the competence of the Secretary-General and his devoted colleagues, ensure the sound and efficient guidance of our work.
142. Our Assembly will have need of such trump cards in order to deal with the many delicate questions of concern to the populations of the 150 States represented in this Assembly.
143. These concerns are, on the one hand, international peace and security and, on the other hand, something without which that international peace and security can never be guaranteed-J refer to the world economic and social situation.
144. Indeed, we are among those who believe that it is just as important for the international community to deal with economic and social questions as with the dangerous situations that exist in some countries and regions of the world.
145. With regard to these explosive situations, we are unfortunately bound to admit that this last year again saw serious tensions in international relations.
146. Outside the African continent, conflicts drag on eternally, particularly in the Middle East and in Asia.
147. The situation prevailing in the Middle East receives particular attention from my delegation, which reaffirms through me the unswerving position of my country.
149. A priori, the Government of Mali, for its part, is not opposed to any initiative designed to bring peace back to the Middle East.
150. However, my delegation wishes to reaffirm that any just and lasting settlement of the Middle East crisis must of necessity take into account the following considerations: first, the exercise by the Palestinian people of their national rights, including the right to self-determination; secondly, the immediate withdrawal of Israel from all the Arab territories occupied by force, including the Holy City of Jerusalem; thirdly, the guarantee of the sovereignty, terri- torial integrity, and political independence of all States in the region, which have all an equal right to live in peace within legitimate borders. 151. Of course, it goes without saying that only a comprehensive settlement associating in the peace process all the interested parties, and particularly the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole authentic representative of the Palestinian people, can resolve the crisis. 1.52. In this context, our country feels that the Lebanese question cannot be isolated from the Middle East situation in general, because of the struggle between the various factions at odds and because of the support they are receiving from abroad. Thus, detente in Lebanon has to come through an improvement in the Middle East situation as a whole. 153. Asia continues to be unsettled. In western Asia there is still a persistent arena of tension in Cyprus, where the situation is still of concern because there it has reached an impasse. 154. My country feels that any solution of the crisis in Cyprus must be based on the safeguarding of the sover- eignty, independence, territorial integrity and non-align- ment policy of that State. 155. To achieve this, intercommunal talks are the best means of getting out of the impasse. Hence an appeal should be addressed to both communities to restart those talks, with the assistance and under the auspices of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. 156. The Asian subcontinent can have only a precarious peace as long as Korea has not been properly reunified. 157. The Korean question, which has for too long been on the agenda ofthe various sessions of our Assembly, must be fmally settled in accordance with the resolution 3390 B (XXX) of the United Nations General Assembly, which, it should be remembered, has from the beginning been the guarantor of the integrity of Korea. My country continues to think that, as that resolution sets forth, the real solution 158. Respect for these requirements would make possible the peaceful reunification of the country on the basis of three principles of reunlflcation stipulated in the North- South joint communique of July 1972.1 4 159. There can be no doubt that as the result of such a measure we should see seated in our world Organization the true representatives of a people whose experience would surely be valuable. 160. In this world of torment and anguish the African continent remains, unfortunately the most afflicted, a victim of violence »nd of attempts at destabilization, with areas of outdated tensions and internal conflicts. 161. In its southern part, Africa is still suffering from colonialism and is still struggling against a system which is repugnant to human conscience-I mean the hideous system ofapartheid. 162. For many years our Organization has been devoting an important part of its time to the search for proper solutions to the explosive situations that persist in that part of cur continent, where people are still suffering from colonial domination in these fmal years of the twentieth century. 163. Concerning Namibia, our Assembly held its ninth special session this year. This session had to deal with recent developments in the situation. 164. After the successive victories of the nationalist forces, which have forced the South African enemy to come to the negotiating table, the heroic people of Namibia, under the clear-sighted direction and guidance of the South West Africa People's Organization[SWAPOJ , its sole authentic representative, has agreed to the proposal for a peaceful settlement of the Namibian question, put forward by the five Western Powers members of the Security Council.t! which, in its resolution 431 (1978), took the first steps towards the full implementation of the proposals of this settlement plan. 165. The sending to Namibia of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General "and the publi- cation of the report on his mission 1 6 concerning the best way of carrying out the mandate entrusted to him by the Security Council brought a glimmer of hope, which has unfortunately just been snuffed out with the unilateral decision- of the proponents of apartheid to carry out so-called elections, which would lead the Namiblan people to only nominal independence, whereas the Western plan 14 Sec Officiol Records ofthe General Assembly, Twenty-seventh Session, SupplementNo. 27, annex I. 15 See Officiol Records of the Security Council, Thirty-third Year, Supplement for April, May and June 1978, document 8/12636. ! 16/bid., Supplement for July, August and September 1978, document 8/12827. 167. For the Namibian people, with SWAPO at its head, and for the African peoples, this masquerade shows that there is only one choice: armed struggle. 168. My delegation dares to believe that the time devoted to the Western plan will not have been spent in vain. 169. Africa dares to hope that those who believedin the sincerity and serious-minded approach of the racist regime of South Africa will have heeded all the lessons to be learned from their sharp setback and will admit that it is high time for the international community to assume its responsibilities' by making every effort totally to isolate'a regime which has voluntarily put itself in the dock. In this respect my delegation associates itself with any measure of total and complete embargo against South Africa and harbours the hope that that decision wilt be vigorously observed by all Member States, including the five Western Powers that sponsored the plan rejected by Pretoria. 170. In Zimbabwe the situation is no different. Here'it is another racist minority regime, the illegal regime of lan Smith, which is opposed to any solution likely to leadto the application of simple democratic rule of the majority in that Territory. 171. We now see clearly that the so-called "internal settlement" has settled absolutely nothing at all, since it took no account of the real representatives of the sons of Zimbabwe in the Patriotic Front, which is and remains the only valid spokesman for any process of settlement of the Rhodesian question. 172. To these peaceful solutions put forward by the valiant freedom fighters Smith and his puppets reply by increasingly ferocious repression and give themselvesover in their arrogance to criminal acts of open aggression against the independent neighbour States of Botswana, Mozam- bique and Zambia. , 173. These military expeditions without a doubt are serious offences against the sovereignty of those States and dangerously jeopardize international peace and security in the region. ' . 174. In South Africa the dignity and freedom of 20 million blacks continue to be flouted by the unacceptable system of apartheid.' Our Organization has repeatedly denounced and condemned this odious policy which has been declared a crime against humanity. In spite of everything, far from improving the situation continues to 175. Faced with this tragedy the international community has reacted by taking measures designed to remove this scourge.: 176. The conclusions of the recent World Conference to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, held in Geneva in August last {see A/33/262], amply showed the need to step' up the struggle to eliminate racism, racial discrimi- nation and apartheid. . 177. It is in this same perspective that the peace-loving and justice-loving world celebrated the International Anti- Apartheid .Year in accordance with General Assembly resolution 32/105 B. . 178. In, application. of this resolution, throughout the length and breadth of my country democratic people's organization and organizations of young people, women and workers organized large-scale demonstrations designed to make public opinion as fully aware as .possible of the realities of apartheid and to show their solidarity with their oppressed brothers in South Africa and so to contribute in their own way to isolating the racist regime even more. 179. Whether it is a matter of Namibia; Zimbabwe or South Africa it is quite clear that these racist white minority regimes could not have stayed in power-let alone arrogantly pursued their policy of oppression, exploitation and racial segregation-had they not benefited from the complacence, the support and the complicity of certain Member.States of our Organization which, none the less, seek the friendship and the co-operation of the African peoples. 180. Recently serious revelations had been made on the violations by European transnational corporations of the economic sanctions instituted by our Organization against the rebel regime of Salisbury. These facts, which are established, show the international responsibility of certain States, and not those among the least, for the persistence of the crisesin southern Africa. . 181. From this podium, we appeal earnestly to those States to show greater understanding because our peoples cannot stand these serious' attacks on their dignity very much longer. Furthermore, it is the duty of every one to abide by.the purposes and principles of the Charter and the noble ideals enshrined therein. Human rights here, as elsewhere,must receivethe same solicitude, . 182. The rest of Africa also has been very rudely put to the test as a result of the colonial phenomenon. Africa has _been shaken by attempts at recolonization and destabili- zation. 183. Thus the Comoroshave seen unrest with the inter- vention. of mercenaries, those sworn enemies of the 184. In the north-west of the continent the conflict of Western Sahara is of concern on more than one count to the people and Government of Mali. Not only is that conflict being wagedon our frontiers but it also sets at odds fraternal neighbour States with which Mali has the best of relations. 185. That is why my country will spare 110 effort and will support any action-provided it is African action-to promote a proper solution to that conflict between brothers that would take into account the legitimate aspirations of the Saharan people and the no lesslegitimate stability of the States of the region. 186. Concerning other inter-African conflicts, people have sought to make us believe that they could be resolved by setting up a so-called inter-African force. Vigilance per- mitted us immediately to realize that such a force, if not established by the DAU within the framework of the liberation of Africa, might become a convenient instrument . for enslavement. 187. That is why on that very important question, President Moussa Traore, the Head of State of Mali, was at pains to clarify Mali's position at the fifteenth ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads ofState and Government of the OAU, held at Khartoum in July, by saying, among other things: "If tomorrow it were a matter of setting up a continental force to intensify our struggles for economic and political independence, Maliwould be among the first in line in Africa. But that force could only be African, . conceived by Africans to guarantee the freedom and security of Africans. An inter-African force would be an impregnable buttress against any foreign aggressor deemed to be such by the Africans. Its vocation would not be to entrench internal unrest or to serve as a protective umbrella for the maintenance of colonial privileges." 188. That is how the people and Government of Mali conceive the possible creation and function of an inter- African force. 189. The peace and security to which m,;;.oond aspiresare more than ever conditional upon the happiness and prosperity of all. 190. It is becoming clearer each day to everyone that the world cannot find real peace, and that even the richest countries ('IT' the richest strata of the so-called developed societies cannot find a secure future, as long as the huge imbalances between nations have not been overcome. 192. While 2,500 people are dying every day-I repeat "every day"-the resources made available to the develop- ing countries by the 17 richest countries in the world have gone from $59 billion in 1976 to $65 billion only in 1977-an insignificantIncrease--less than the rise in the cost of living. 193, Moreover, to be comprehensive, it should be stated that, according to the sources of the Organization for Economic Co-operation J'i.nd Development, whose Develop- ment Assistance Committee has just published its annual report, the total of $65 billion for 1977 includes only $21 billion for public assistance, of which an alarmingly increasing place is occupied by financing at very heavy interest out of a concern, as we know for ~~leer profit and a regression in the percentage of the gross national product which has not only not reached the target of 0.7, but has dropped from 0.33 per cent in 1976 to 0.31 per cent in 1977. 194. Whatis more, four-fifths of those credits for so-called public assistance contribute to the operation of the economic machinery of the donors in the form of wages and salaries of the famous cohorts of experts and.technical assistants of all kinds and the-orders to the enterprises of the industrialized countries. 195. The second terrifying aspect of the general economic situation lies in the devastating effects of the present crisis on the world economy, which is so severely affecting the economies of the developingcountries. 196. The slowing down -of generaleconomic activity has meant a curbing of international trade and has intensified protectionism againstdevelopingcountries. Those who have recourse to such restrictions imposed on the developing countries even forget that they may go against the aim they have in mind because they jeopardize a much higher rate of exports. 197. Furthermore, those protectionist-practices that are being observed in.the .,economic policies of some indus- trialized countries give a disquieting dimension to the" deterioration in the terms of trade and further stress the iniquity of the rulesof international commerce. 198. In-that general context, the African countries are becoming increasingly a sounding-board for those evils which affect the world economy. The 20 African countries which are among the least advanced of the world recorded in the 19705 an annual average growth of only 0.6 per capita of their gross internal product, while the annual average for all the developingcountries was 2.7 per cent. 199. Along the same line of thought, the aims defined by the World Food Conference, held in Rome in 1974 and the 200. Worse, throughout the W011d food has become a source of profit, an instrument for economic and political control, and a means of assuring effective domination of some over the rest of the world, particularly over the "damned of the earth". So the "green revolution" has aggravated the inequalities between the rich exploiters and the enslaved poor. 201. In order to meet the imperative needs of develop- ment, African countries are more and more becoming indebted to the privileged countries. 202. So that is "how the other half of the worid is dying". That is the disturbing picture we have of the world economic and social situation. 203.'. In that situation, the reactions of the industrialized countries are disquieting. 'their profound guiding philos- ophy remains that the world economic order should be based on a system at the centre of which is a minority er opulent countries and on the periphery is the majority of dependent countries providing raw materials. However, the serious crisis which has been troubling the world economy in the 1970s has shown how vain that doctrine is. The many attempts at various levels to neutralize this crisis have proved in vain. 204. Should we be pessimistic? It seems that we can discern some changes in attitudes, ~n sensitivity and even in the positions adopted. 205. Recently, in June, the Ministers of the countries members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development acknowledged for the first time the need for interdependence and the importance of the concept of the mutual interests of the industrialized and the develop- ing countries. 206. It is a fact that tha implacable law of inter- dependence, which today characterizes the international community, commits us to make a more appropriate reply to the legitimate aspirations of our world, which is faciJ!-g one of the greatest challenges of mankind. That is what :":\ at stake here-the very survival of. two-thirds ef the human race. 207. It is within our ability to act in such a way that a profound and thorough change can be made in inter- national economic relations without delay. The dualism of the world is not only a new scandal but also a serious threat because of the crisis of the North, which is growing weaker in the face of a considerable Increase in the power of the South. 209. Unfortunately, that last-chance dialogue Is at a standstill today. The responsibility falls particularly on the so-called d:iveloped countries, which persistently reject a proper interpretation of the mandate of the so-called Committee of the Whole, or the Committee Established under General Assembly Resolution 3'1./174, or which threatened to block the Third United Nations Conference on the Ll1\'! of the Sea by unilaterally enacting national legislation concerning the exploitation of the sea-bed in the international zone. Such attitudes, inspired by national selfishness, are contrary to the letter and spirit of General Assembly resolutions 2574 (XXIV) and 2749 (XXV). 210. As to the substantive rules of the new international order eo be established, they must be based essentially on justice and equity because what is unacceptable is the law of the strongest; what is unacceptable is the excessive advantages that some States still have while others stagnate in disadvantageous situations. 211. It is unacceptable that, in order to live in opulence and waste, some countries take advantage of the poverty and growing indebtedness of the ir.41jority of peoples. It is unacceptable that the poor should 1?0t recetve their proper share of the fruits of growth. It is unacceptable that, as the World Bank has just said so courageously in the conclusion of its annual report on development throughout the world "about 800 million people... still live in absolute poverty"2 0 and that this fact will for decades to come remain a gigantic problem. 212. Moreover there is no lack of means. Colossal sums are swallowed up daily in developing, manufacturing, perfecting and stocking more and more sophisticated and more and more murderous weapons because of the will to dominate and exploit which, unfottunately, has overcome the noble ideals of peace and justice in our common Charter. 213. The absurdity and danger of this disgusting waste increasingly shock the public conscience. 214. That is why, reflectingthe anguished voices raised, the non-aligned countries took the initiative in the con- vening this year of. the tenth special session of the Assembly, which considered this worrying problem of the mad arms race. 215. The first results obtained were very modest, but they must not be underestimated, and our Organization should pursue untiringly its efforts to achieve new progress oil the road to general and complete disarinament in order to save mankind from the spectre of war and preserve it from general destruction. 216. In so doing our Assembly will be fulfilling the hopes of the peoples of the United Nations who, after the Second World War, undertook the commitment through the United 217. This noble objective must remain our aim and to achieve it there is still time to build in the place of this "great disorder" the new order of peace. which must of necessity be based on two pillars; an order of security and an order ofjustice. ~18. Let us proceed carefully, Gentlemen. although we are in a hurry. ~19. Mr. DOS SANTOS ALVES (Mozambique) (inter- pretation from French):21 Mr. President, the message which the People's Republic of Mozambique wishes to address to this Assembly is the message of struggle: struggle which has been imposed on' us by the persistence within our borders of aggressive colonialist and racist regimes; struggle for the affirmation of our independence, our militant internationalism, our dignity and our African personality; struggle for the elimination of the vestiges of colonial exploitation and for the reconstruction of our ravaged country; struggle against the encirclement imposed by imperialism. ~ZO. We shall therefore be devoting particular attention to the positions of the People's Republic of Mozambique concerning the problems of southern Africa and the fight against colonialism. racism and imperialism. These positions of ours are dictated by our loyalty to the cause of the liberation of oppressed peoples" by our firmness in the affirmation of our revolutionary ideals in the service of peace, progress and the well-beingofmankind. 221. The existing circumstances in southern Africa are a source of great concern to the People's Republic of Mozambique and constitutea serious threat to international peace and security. Those circumstances stem from the colonial situation which prevails in Zimbabwe and Namibia. the oppression exercised by the minority racist regimes and the unbridled exploitation of the resources of those countries by capitalism and imperialism. 2~2. Minority and racist regimes in southern Africa have always enjoyed the sUPPQrt ofimperialist Powers. However, thanks to the success of the armed liberation struggles we have- witnessed in that area an offensive by means of inltiatives-said to be in the cause of peace-whereby those sasae Powers seek, if not to rescue.these regimes, at leas; to P~J'Ve tll~it1 political andeconoi.ac domination. 223. We must be clear: the proposals and initiatives of the imperialist Powers are aimed fundamentally ateliminating th~ araed struggle for national liberation, because imperial- is•• after its defeat: in Mozambique and Angola and after the eSl'lbJis1ull.ent of people's democracies in those two cQl.~tries~ has learned. the.lesson of the consequences of a prolonged people's war. 224_ In order to attain its ends imperialism resorts to a wiae- variety. of means. It seeks to divide the.liberation !l1QNIeme:titUi and the- African countries, P?ujcuhuly the. 225. In Zimbabwe imperialism is pursuing with diabolical perseverence a policy which offers two solutions, one internal and the other international, both always available and. ready to be used when the time comes either to neutralize international action which might bring about a solution or to save the situation when the progress of a national liberation struggle indicates. that there is an impending victory over the minority regimes. 226. It is in this context that we should analyse the so-called agreement on internal settlement2 " and the Anglo-Arserican i'rOpOl:als.2 3 227. In a recent statement that will be distributed as a United Nations documentwt the President of the People's Republic of Mozambique, Samora Moises Machel, exposed in detail the skilful operation stage-managed by the imperialist Powers, This document indicates how imperial- ism wishes to preserve the political and economic structures of colonial capitalism in Zimbabwe; how imperialism is aiming. at encouraging conflicts between the front-line countries and sowing confusion within the ranks of the OAU; and how it is trying to misrepresent the national liberation struggle asa civil war andis inventing.pretexts on which to intervene militarily in our region. 228. In the meantime, the odious lan Smith regin:~ survives and seeks to recruit accomplices for its massacres, hangings and acts.of aggression perpetrated against peaceful neighbouring States. 229. The imperialist woud exhibits the greatest possib" indifference to the daily murders of defenceless people, political prisoners and nationalist fighters. But the death of a single white man is sufficient to arouse tremendous agitation and give rise to threats of intervention. 23.0. Furthermore, the greatest possible scorn is evinced as regards- the international community. We should like to remind this Assembly that the United Kingdom encouraged meetings of the Security Council and that a resident commissioner and a military commander of United Nations forces have been designated. for Rhodesia. But where are' they and, what.are they beingused for? 23.1. Furthermore,.we axe well aware .of the correctness of the intentions underlying the appeal to the international community, but who set the example of the violation of sanctions. against the rebel regime of lan Smith? Who organizedthe conditions andmade it possible for petrol to continue to. flow into the Rhodesian economy? 23.~. These stakes of imperialism, the advances aud the retreats, the apparentIndecision, particularly on the part of 2~ Sef}-dQcument A/33/23/Rev.l. chap. VII, annex, paras. 58.63. 2~Sef} Official Recordeo] the Security Council, Thirty-second Year,Supplement for July, August and September 1977. document 233. In the various proposals that have hitherto been made known with a view to bringing about a solution it is possible to discern certain constants that indicate to us the imperialist manoeuvres against Zimbabwe. The proposals and solutions are always represented as initiatives for bringinB about a peaceful settlement of the question of Zimbabwe without ever taking account of the progress of the armed struggle and refusing to es'ablish any cause-and- effect relationship between that struggle and the proposals. Those proposals seek to legitimize the lan Smith regime and hence to maintain the power structure and the economic and social privileges of the privileged minorities, thus catering for the interests of the settlers without evincing the slightest concern for the rights and interests of the people of Zimbabwe. According to those proposals, independence flows from an act of concession on the part of either the colonial Power or Smith's rebel regime, but never from anything done by the people of Zimbabwe. The proposals always introduce alien elements into the Zimbabwean process-in particular, South Africa, which has suddenly become a decisive element in the agreemefitsproposed. 234. The People's Republic of Mozambique is keenly aware that 311 these manoeuvres are not only aimed at perpetuating the domination and exploitation of the people ofZimbabwe but are also directed against the independence and success'Of the Mozambican revolution. 235. Constant acts of aggression on the part of the minority acist regi.me of Ian Smith against our Republic, against the neighbouring peoples and against the economic objectives 'of our countries have found appropriate response from ourpeople's defence and security forces. 136. w~ :sbGuld here like to pay a tribute to the friendly Amcan andlt-o the socialist countries, which alone. with resolution411 (1917) adapted by the Security Council on 30 June U917" have supported the strengthening of QU! C0Dntty":s defence capacity, 23il. Notbing;can <div.ert us from consistency of principle and our iintemationalism. and we should like to reaffirm rthe steadfast :support ,of the People".s Republic of Mo.zam:blque for !the people of Zim'babv.re in their aimed national h"bent:1iion $lT:UWe 1UDder the leadership of their sole and au.tben1icJI.epreseniativ.e. the Patnot;'cFr,ont, 23~_ As JP,reSident ~amol.a Mo"i~s Machel said :in the statereent "[!have ,ilr~d)' men.t;"o,Red: ~W~ ~j~.c:t ~ ilh~oJ}' tlw-t ,y~S armed ,stJuWe and ne,goiiatio.n to tOe m1lt~y~x.YJ~sjy;~~ to (be contradlctions m a lP.r.o~jSpf;l,la.tion.~jj.~f§.t~on, ""W..e ~Q rnot ~ \WN~ ~lJt w,e f~,allz.e (that ·w.hen the iCDm.r:adictio.n ~S lM§QJy.gQj~~ WoW js the .o.oJy solution .to lb~g caPO\l.t t~~.~ 239~ Jlt its !high iQ.~~ fW ffl1.Venall.smto \l,J,UQerstand 'that it can InO 119J.1g.e..r 4.\iI:~ l~.. t4~t we wm ;t;l:O ao,nger .allow 240. Imperialism is repeating in Namibia the procedures and manoeuvres that it practices in Zimbabwe. There again South Africa has been allowed, in flagrant defiance of the international community, to prevent the genuine Indepen- dence ofthe country. 241. The so-called willingness of South Africa to negotiate has now been completely exposed with the decision announced by Vorster to reject theproposaIs made in the Secretary-General's report to the Security C01IDCiI and to continue with his own plan for an internal solution. 242. In fact, if we look back at the events that led to the Vorster declaration, there can be no doubt as to the bad faith of the so-called 'willingnessto negotiateon the part of South Africa. Throughout all these months South Africa has continued to raise new obstacles in an attempt to prevent the emergence of a solution to the problem of Namibia, whether by trying to make SWA.PO responsible for any possible fa'.d.ure in negotiations or by invoking absurd rights to Walvis:Bayor ;by having recourse to the pretext of the evolution of the lib.erationsiru;ggle to threaten rupture. In the meantime, South Africa has reinforced and <consolidated its military .arrangements and has prepared plans for conceding a puppet independence. 243.. The question 'Of Namibia has reached a point where prompt, energeticanddeclsive action 'by 'th.e ,intemational community is necessary, The five West.em 'Statesmembe,rs of the :Se.c.urity'Council must discharge'thejr responsibilities in fhe process leading to the independenceo;f Namibia.The iintemational community and the Security Council must ensure ithat the r~is.t iIegimeof Pretoria does ;J;lotgo unpunished.and should take the necessary measures to make irreversible the process already begun, which will ibringtrue independence to the Namibian people, 244. We wish to pay a tribute to the struggle of the Namibian people, led .by Itssole Iegitimaterepresentative, SWAPO, and .to the victories they have won. We reaffirm 'here the support of the People's Republic of Mozambique for SWAPO and the Namibian people in their struggle for 1h~irjust aspirations to sovereignty and completeindepen- denee. 245. To speak of the situation in southem Africa is tantamount to -speak also of the situation of oppression, 'poverty andhumiliation into which the vast majority of the people ofSouth AfEca has been plunged. 246. The minority and racist ·re~me of South Africa is committing the gravest possible crimes against mankind and .against.the South African people: it threatens.jnvades and attacks neighbouring countries, defies the decisions of the 'international-community, and thus constitutes.a threat to world.peaceandsecurity. 248. The long struggle of the South African people for dignity and respect for the human person merits our profound admiration and calls for condemnation and constant support so that the degrading system ofapartheid may be finally eliminated. 249. On behalf of the People's Republic of Mozambique and its delegation, we should like to pay a tribute to the President and to congratulate him on his unanimous election to the presidency of the thirty-third session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. We wish also to pay a tribute, through him, to the Colombian people,who, like us, lived through a long night of colonial domination, against whichthey waged a victoriousstruggle. 250. Yesterday as today, our peoples, the peoples of Africa and Latin America, were united in a single effort to put an end to imperialist domination and exploitation. The concern which the President expressed at the opening of our session [1st meeting) regarding the establishment of a new international economic order which wouldbe just and advantageous to our peoples is a guarantee that economic problems willbe amongthe prioritiesof the United Nations and that we shall be devoting our efforts to achieving significant progress in the solution of thoseproblems. 2S1. We should also like to associate ourselves with previous speakers in congratulating our friend, Lazar Mojsov, the outgoingPresident of the General Assembly, on the wisdom and far-sightedness with which he conducted our proceedings. During his term of office, sessions of great importance took place for the political and economic liberation of peoples and for the peace and security of the world. His election constituted a tribute to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. and a victory for the non-aligned movement, with which the name of Yugoslavia is intimately linked. 261. By dodging the solution of the fundamental ques- tions of the Middle East, imperialism is accentuating the instability there and creating conditions conducive to increased suffering and destruction. Lebanon is a tragic . example of this. 252. The People's Republic of Mozambique, having emerged victorious over the age-old domination of Portu- guese colonialism, is gratified at the independence of Solomon Islands and congratulates that State on its admission to the community of States Members of the United Nations. • 253. The independence of Solomon Islands is an encour- agement for all peoples still under colonial domination in the Pacific region; it gives a new momentum to the irreversible march of peoples struggling for their liberation and total emancipationfrom the colonial yoke. 254. Colonialism and imperialism, the prime enemies of the peoples of the world that love peace and freedom, are not present in southern Africaalone. 255. An alarming situation of conflict also exists in the north ofour continent, where the people of Western Sahara are continuing their difficult fight against attempts at the annexation and partition of their territory. We denounce 257. The victories which have been won, politically and militarily, by the Saharan people and the revolutionary .avant garde Frente POLISARI02 S deserve our admiration and make it incumbent upon the UnitedNations to assume responsibllity for implementing its principles, particularly that of the recognition of the right to self-determination and independence of colonized peoples. 258. Within the same context of problems regarding the annexation of territory by violence, there is the question of East Timor, where the occupation of the country and the cruel genocide of the Maubere people still continues. 259. The People's Republic of Mozambique appealsto the international community to demonstrate its support and solidarity with the Maubere people in their struggle under the leadership of FRETILIN,26 and also to reaffirm their right to self-determination and nationalindependence. 260. In the Middle East, imperialist intervention has gained fresh momentum and divisive manoeuvres are increasing with the clear objective of destroying the liberation movement and the fight for emancipationof the Arab peoples. Imperialism, faithfulas always to its strategy, wishes to perpetuate the exploitation of the peoplesof that region and to ensure control of its resources and communi- cation lines. 262. By fomenting conflicts between the Arab States and seeking to isolate progressive forces, imperialism willenjoy the transient illusion of having been successful. But until the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to a free, sovereign and independent fatherland under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization. its sole legitimate representative, is implemented" and until'.the territory occupied by force in 1967isreturned, there willbe no true peacein the Middle East. 263. In Korea and in Cyprus, division and the presence of military forces persist. We reaffirm our whole-hearted support for the Korean people and the people of Cyprus in their just struggle for the restoration of their unity and' territorial integrity. 264. We should like to draw the attention of States Members of the United Nations and of all peace-loving 25 Frente Popular para la Liberaeien de Saguia cl Hamra y Rio de Oro, 26 Frente Revoluclondria de Timor Lcste Independcnte. 265. The OAU, the non-aligned movement and the United Nations have adopted several resolutions reiterating the need to keep the Indian Ocean free of foreign military bases to ensure international peace and security. The People's Republic of Mozambique vigorously condemns the estab- lishment of new military bases and demands the disman- tling of those already in existence. 266. We are living at a time when the progressive forces and the forces of socialism are winning remarkable suc- cesses. However, while, on the one hand, thanks to the courageous struggle ofthe peoples, such progress has been made, on the other hand, ever more subtle and more perfidious manoeuvres are being resorted to in order to ensure domination and exploitation, in flagrant violation of the most elementary human rights, and in flagrant defiance of Cle deepest and most just aspirations of peoples. ~67. Imperialism is embarking upon concentrated acts of interference, which are nothing but a form of aggression against our peoples, and an attempt to keep us under constant domination, in a state of economic dependence and ofsocial and cultural alienation. 268. These interventionist actions are not only exem- plified by attempts at destabilizing newly-independent countries, but are also taking place within organizations to which the majority of the developing countries belong. 269. In accordance with its new tactics imperialism is resorting to economic pressure on countries where pene- tration has proved difficult, in order to provoke economic, financial and social instability. 270. Demands by the developing countries for the estab- lishment of more just and equitable economic relations are not new. 271. From Bandung to Buenos Aires, the developing countries have not ceased to put forward concrete pro- posals and feasible programmes of action with a view to defining and implementing international economic relations of a new type which will make possible'the elimination of poverty, of the exploitation of man by man, of injustice and of domination. 272. When the developing countries call for the establish- ment of a new international economic order, they do so as an expression of their political will and of their deter- mination to free themselves on the basis of principles of national and collective autonomy that will reduce their dependence on the developed countries. 273. In the present world economic context, international economic relations continue to be dominated by the same dialectic, with the result that the poor countries become ever poorer and the rich countries richer. Exploitation is 275. The conclusions to be drawn from the Conference on International Economic Co-operation in Paris in 1977 and from the so-called North-South dialogue are more than obvious, as are the embarrassing results so far achieved. 276. This situation of deadlock cannot go on. That is why we consider it necessary, even essential, that immediate resolutions should ~e adopted in the .light .of proposals made by the developing countries on economic questions; international trade, monetary matters, the development of productive forces and international co-operation. 277. The present situation of dependence and economic exploitation, together with the specific problems inherent ineach of our countries, can only curb the progress of our respective economies. . 278. With regard to our specific case, the economy of the People's Republic of Mozambique has suffered great losses as a result of its application of sanctions against the British colony of Southern Rhodesia in compliance with a decision of the international community. The situation has been aggravated by the fact that the racist forces of Salisbury have massacred our people and undermined our economy. All this has made It-necessary for us to establish other priorities, with the grave consequences that entails. 279. Calamitous floods have sorely afflicted our country and made difficult the accomplishment of our development plans and projects. 280. In certain cases our requests to the international community for aid have -rnet with a response, but that response has not always. measured up to what we might legitimately have expected~as a result of our efforts to apply the embargo imposed by the United Nations upon the British colony of Southern Rhodesia. 281. One of the essential objectives of our policy in the economic and social field is satisfying at all times the fundamental needs of our. people in accordance with the level ofdevelopment of our productive forces. .282. Immediately following the achievement of indepen- dence, the People's Republic of Mozambique initiated certain measures to cope with the serious situation of the time, measures which later created conditions for the application of our course of development. 283.·Thus began the process of recovery of the land and the collectivization of life and production in the country- side, where the greatest, concentration of manpower and of our principal resources is to be found. We also developed communal villages in order to improve the living conditions 284. At the same time, by the socialization of education and health, fundamental progress has been achieved for the well-being of our people. 285. In order to emerge from a state of under-develop- ment we have been drawing on the revolutionary experi- ence acquired during the armed liberation struggle and we seek to pursue our development by adopting solutions of and for the people. 286. The growing, but gradual and balanced, socialization and mechanization of agriculture, the promotion of the development of our natural resources, the creation of conditions for tile establishment of heavy industry and the consolidation of the role of the State in the economy at this stage constitute the bases for the building of socialism. 287. Until independence was proclaimed, the key sectors of our economy were controlled by international financial groups and the existing infrastructure essentially served the interests of neighbouring racist regimes, All the established colonial machinery favoured the export of profits and the provision of outlets for surplus production. Our country was fundamentally serving as a producer of primary commodities and a consumer of fmished products, a fact which served only to promote the accumulation of inter- national capital and to intensify our commercial and technologicai dependence. 288. In view of the situation we inherited from colonial and Fascist domination and consequently the concrete conditions in which our present struggle for national reconstruction is taking place, international co-operation is proving ofthe greatest importance. 298. The capitalist countries are striving to preserve rules and terms of trade which are advantageous to them in their . attempts to consolidate their monopolies in the economies and the external trade of developing countries. But the present sy.stem of international economic relations is disjointed and can no longer stand up to the constant pressure of the recently mdependent countries. 289. Within the sphere of technical and economic co- operation, the People's Republic of Mozambique has already had some rich and fruitful experiences, particularly witlh African countries and with socialist countries. That co-operation takes place on the basis of equality and mutual advantage, and in relations ofpeaceful coexistence, of respect for sovereignty, and of non-interference in the internal affairs of any of the parties concerned. Those conditions are fundamental if co-operation is genuinely to achieve its objective: socio-economic development. 290. Our relations of co-operation witlh regional and international organizations and tlhose with capitalist coun- tries also respect those conditions. 291. Witlh tlhe developing countries our co-operation repre- sents the union of our forces in order to face the economic imbalance we inherited from imperialism. 292. Our ties are those of our former subjection to exploitation and the pillagingof our natural resources. This is the tradition and the common experience of resistance and struggle. against colonialist-capitalist domination. We are united. in the defence of our peoples and countries against external attempts to establish neo-colonialism and new forms of domination and exploitation. 294. As a means of overcoming those difficulties which we, the developing countries, suffer at present, day after dayt the concerting of common efforts and the creation of a united front will make our just struggle for the imple- mentation of more equitable international economic relations ever more productive. 295. Within this context, we are pleased with the action that wet the developing countries, have taken with the aim of preserving experience, expertise and national capacity for the service of all of us as well as for our mutual development and for expanding this regional co-operation to the international level. 296. We are gratified also at the results recently achieved at the United Nations Conference on Technical Co-opera- tion among Developing Countries and we are sure that this will mark a new stage in co-operation. We are sure that this Assembly will unanimously adopt the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Co- operation among Developing Countries and that every effort will be made to find appropriate machinery for the application of that plan. 297. While on the one hand we can take pleasure in the progress achieved by developing countries in their will and determination to see their economic and social develop- ment problems resolved, progress at the international level is jeopardized by the policies of imperialism, by tlhe attitude of the industrialized and capitalist countries in their systematic refusal to comply with the conditions necessary for the establishment of a new international economic order. 299. The strategy pursued by the imperialist Powers on the question of the restructuring ofinternational economic relations is one of delaying and reducing the .numerous necessary changes, makin~ only minor and individual concessions while representing them as privilegesgranted to the "third world", and avoiding the repetition of an open confrontation with developing countries similar to that which was se~ off by the petroleum-producing countries. 300. The capitalist countries are 'striving to preserve as' long as possible the present basis of intemational economic relations. That is the kind of restructuring proposed by the imperialist States. 301. Such manoeuvres are aimed also at deterring the co-operation of developing countries with the socialist countries. In that way imperialism is attempting to ensure more stable conditions for the development of the capitalist 302. With regard to the law of the sea, the imperialist Powers are once again opposing a decision of the inter- national community, threatening to take unilateral measures with the aim of embarking right away on the exploitation of marine resources, thus frustrating the consensus of the negotiations which are under way. 303. The main concern of imperialist strategy consists in preventing the movement towards a new international. economic order becoming a struggleagainst the foundations of imperialist exploitation. That is why the imperialist Powers are seeking to conduct the dialogue within the capitalist framework. 304. The international community is on the eve of the third development decade, which will soon begin. The progress we had hoped for has not been made in the achievement of the stages and the objectives we set ourselves. 305. Faithful to the policy of the non-aligned movement and reaffinning its commitment to that movement, the People's Republic of Mozambique hopes that, in the defining of the strategy for the third development decade, the proposals formulated by that movement will be taken into account for the establishment of anew, just and equitable international economic order, based upon polit- ical independence, equality and economic justice, not forgetting that its fundamental objective is the accelerated development of the countries of the third world. Within this context, the adoption of appropriate measuresto bring about true disarmament will make it possible to free vast resources which now are being wasted in the arms race and which could well be used for the benefit of the develop- ment of the developing countries. At the same time, it would contribute to international peace and security. 306. We have brought before this Assembly the expression of the main concerns of the People's Republic of Mozam- bique with regard to the major problems which affect the world. The paths leading to the liberation of man are arduous and difficult. But we are firmly convinced that with every passing day decisive progress will be achieved towards the transformation and improvement of the life of the peoples of the world and that only with the total commitment of the whole of mankind in the struggle for these just causes will it be possible to achieve new and gloriousvictories. 307. The strugglecontinues.
Mr. Abdulah (Trinidad and Tobago), Vice-President, took the Chair.
At the outset, and on behalf of the delegation of Nepal, I express my heartfelt condolence on the passing of His Holiness Pope John PaulI.
309. It is my privilege to convey to the President of the General Assembly, and through him to the representatives assembled here, the cordial and best wishesof my Sovereign His Majesty King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev for the success of the thirty-third session of the General Assembly.
311. I should also like to take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation to Lazar Mojsov, President of the thirty-second session of the General Assembly, for the very able and effective manner in which he conducted the proceedings not only of the annual session, but also of the three special sessions that took place during his presidency.
312. We welcome Solomon Islands as a new Member of this Organization and extend to it our warm congratu- lations. With the admission of Solomon Islands, the United Nations has moved one more step forward towards the goal of universal membership.
313. Since the last regular session of the General Assembly, important international meetings and con- ferences, including the three special sessions of the General Assembly, have been held. We find ourselvesasking how far these meetings and conferences on Wide-ranging issues which affect the well-being of mankind have improved international relations so essential to the harmonious development of a new world order. Despite numerous resolutions, declarations and agreements, the international situation continues to be uncertain, plagued by unrest, new rivalriesand age-old tensions.
314. The explosive nature of the Middle East situation has been underlined in various statements made in this As- sembly. The clearly established stand of my country on the Middle East problem remains unchanged. We reiterate our faithful and strict commitment to the three essentials for lasting peace in the Middle East, namely, Israel's withdrawal within its 1967 boundaries, the right of all States in the region, including Israel, to livewithin secure and recognized boundaries, and the creation of a Palestinian homeland. Any solution that fails to recognize these rights and realities will pose a constant threat to peace and stability in the region.
315. The peace initiative of President El-Sadat of Egypt, hailed by many as bold and encouraging less than a year ago, aroused hopes for a dramatic breakthrough in the long-standing Middle East crisis. However, Israel's con- tinued occupation of Arab lands has frustrated efforts at a negotiated settlement. Moreover, the violation by Israellast March of the territorial integrity of Lebanon gave a setback to the already foundering peace process. Given goodwill, mutual trust and the willingness to compromise, the Middle East problem could be amicablysolved.
316. We appreciate the efforts made recently by President Carter of the United States towards .a settlement of the Middle East conflict by bringing together the leaders of Egypt and Israel. It is our hope that the Camp David agreements will prove a positive step towards creating a congenial atmosphere for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
318. It is regrettable that the. situation in Cyprus con- tinues to be grave and tense. The lack of progress in the solution of the Cyprus problem on the basis of the principles laid down in General. Assembly resolution 3212 (XXIX), further endorsed by the Security Council in resolution 36-5 (1974), is indeed a matter of deep concern. We have consistently held the view that the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and non-alignment of the Republic of Cyprus should be preserved and respected. We reiterate our conviction that meaningful and constructive negotiations between the Greek Cypriot ana Turkish Cypriot communities, without outside interference, could lead to a mutually acceptable agreement. We have noted with appreciation the continuing. efforts. of the Secretary- General to resume the intercommunal talks.
319. In southern Africa the racist and minority regimes are attempting to' perpetuate the system of colonialism, domination, oppression and exploitation. We have always sympathized with the vast majority of the people of South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe in their agonies and we have supported, their aspirations to majority rule and basic human rights.
320. In South Africa there is. no sign- that the criminal QPflltheid regime is turning away from its odious policies of institutionalized racial. discrimination. We have condemned South: African policy of so-called bantustanization as a pernicious. attempt to perpetuate racist domination. We have viewed with alarm South Africa's massive military build-up',including plans to develop nuclear weapons.
321. While the unanimous imposition by the Security Council, in its resolution 418 (1971), under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, of a mandatory embargo on military and nuclear collaboration with the racist regime of South Africa was. a positive move, we are convinced that the strongest measures, such as the imposition ofeconomic sanctions and the withdrawal of foreign investments, would contribute decisively to the total eradication of the system ofapartheid.
322·~ We express our total solidarity with the national liberation movements, as well as with: the oppressed people ofSouth Africa.
32;}. In Namibia. we have all along upheld the inalienable right of the people of Namibia to freedom, national independence'and territorial integrity, and have staunchly suppertedtheIegitimate struggle waged under the leader- ship- of SWAPO.. the sole and·legititnate representative of ~ peaple-of Namibia. for the liquidation of the illegal
oCeu:pa;ij~n"of Namibia;by South Africa. We welcome the
324. The Security Council, in a separate resolution, resolution 432 (1978) emphatically declared that Narnibta's territorial integrity and unity must be assured through the reintegration of Walvis: Bay within its terrttory, We have emphasized in the past, and emphasize again, the primary responsibility of the United Nations for ensuring early independence for Namibia through free elections under its own supervision and control. South Africa's threat to proceed with elections in total disregard of the United Nationsis most regrettable.
325. In Southern Rhodesia, the mounting unrest and violence demonstrate that there can be no lasting and viable solution until majority rule is established on the principle of "one man, one vote". The so-called internal settlement, which was another manoeuvre of the illegal racist minority regime to maintain its domination and oppression of the African people of Zimbabwe, has been categorically rejected by the Security Council. The Rhodesian settlement calls for a round table conference of all the parties concerned. In this respect we welcome the Angle-American initiative to try to arrange for all-party talks, including all Rhodesian leaders.
326. The increasingly frequent violation of the sanctions imposed against the racist regime by the Security Council is utterly deplorable. We stress the importance of maintaining the sanctions until such time as all parties directly concerned. negotiate an agreement which would bring about a constitutional conference on the' basis of majority rule for Zimbabwe. My delegation reaffirms its unequivocal com- mitment to support the struggle of the people of Zimbabwe until complete and genuine freedom and independence of the territory is achieved.
327. A crucial issue of paramount concern to mankind is disarmament. It is now widely recognized that the ever- escalating arms race poses a serious threat to the survival of mankind. It is disheartening to note that, despite the unremitting efforts of the United Nations, progress in disarmament negotiations has been woefully slow. While existing arms-control measures have created an atmosphere more conducive to fruitful negotiations on wide-ranging issues of disarmament, it has not been possible to make any significant breakthrough Oil the attainment of the goal of general and complete disarmament under effective inter- national control, which is the fundamental objective of the United Nations.
328. The present session has before it the results of the tenth special session on disarmament which wall convened at the initiative of the non-aligned countries. Weagree with the view that, disarmament being a complex issue, it would be unrealistic to' expect dramatic results with a single special session of the General Assembly. In spite of the fact that the Final Document of the session {resolution 8-10/2j was adopted by consensus, which is a remarkable achieve- ment, fundamental differences on approach, emphasis and priority concerning the whole gamut of disarmament issues remain unresolved. We· share the view expressed by the
329. It is 3 pity that many constructive proposals and suggestions could not be incorporated in the Final Docu- ment. HoweverI the strengthening of the machinery. and especially ofa negotiating body whichwillfacilitate further deliberation. harmonization and the conclusion of a number of measures aimed at disarmament. was no doubt a significant achievement of the tenth special session. We attach great importance to the participation of all nuclear- weapon States in the revamped negotiating body.
330. The establishment of a Disarmament Commission composed of all Members of the United Nations as a dehverative body is another welcome step. That these bodies will be closely linked to the United Nations is an explicit recognition of the role of this world body in dealing with all disarmament issues. In fact, my delegation has made it clear repeatedly that the United Nations is the only forum in which it is possible for all, be they nuclear Powers. medium-sized Powers or the powerless ones. to deliberate and take decisions on issues affecting the future of mankindon a footing of equality.
331. We have consistently held the view that the responsi- bility for ending the nuclear-arms race rests primarily with the nuclearPowers.We reiterate our conviction that nuclear Powers possessing the largest stockpiles of deadly and sophisticated weapons must proveby action their commit- ment to disarmament. We urge the super-Powers to agree immediately on significant reductions and qualitative limi- tations in strategic weapons as a prelude to the total and speedy dismantling of stockpiles of nuclear weapons. We hope that the inconclusive negotiationsat the second series of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks will be successfully concluded soon and that agreement on a comprehensive test banwill also be reached.
332. As a signatoryto the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Nepal is deeply concerned over the proliferation of' nuclear weapons, both vertical and hori- zontal. Whlle stressing the urgency of universal adherence to and strict observance of the Treaty and the necessity of strengthening safeguard measures in order to fortify the non-proliferation regime, my delegation shares the view that the transfer of nuclear technology and non- proliferation objectives are not contradictory. but comple- mentary. It is equally essential that adequate steps should be taken for the limitation and reduction of conventional weapons. We have strongly supported the proposal for the reduction of military budgets Qf the major militarily significant States, in particular, of the States members of the Security Council. We 1mbt on our proposal that the gradual reduction of mmtjrybJ)dset~ must be preceded by a freeze on thelevt! of ml1Uary 3pendJns,
333. Nepal Jw 'been an imJent ~b~mpjon of peaee in the world and has ~UPPPf~lJ tJu~ §§tlJbJi§hment of zones of
27 Sce o/fldal ReCUf!J§ of tllf! (ltmfJfBI Am:mbJy,Ttmh ~citiI Selsion, PlenaryMuliflRf, Z'Ith m~tint!i,
334. We appreciate the growing support extended to this proposal by friendly countries. It is our firm conviction that nationalinitiative for peace contributessignificantly to the maintenance of world peace and security. We further believe that Nepal as a zone of peacecould bea significant contribution to the establishment of a zoneof peacein the region as a whole. Nepal's participation iJ~ UNIFIL is further evidence of our sincere desire to see peace estab- lished in all parts of the world. Nepal is keen on maintaining and strengthening friendly relations with all countries of the world, and in particularwith neighbouring States. In our own region of South Asia, there has been significant improvement in relationsamongcountriesbased on goodwill, mutually beneficial co-operation. respect for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity~ and strict adherence to the principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs. We hope and trust that such goodwill, co-operation and mutual understanding will con- tinue to underline the relationship between and amongthe countries of the region. .
335_ The international economic situation is by no means sound, stable and promising.Whlle the struggle toestabliJh the New International Economic Order is assuming greater signffleance, developing countrieshave expressed concern at the slow pace of progress towards the establishmentof the New International Economic Order, The position of developing countries is deteriorating constantly, Contra- dictions stemming from the concentration of tremendous economic resources in a :Small number of ,developed countries have further widened the gap in the level of economic development and the :Standard of DYing jn developed and developing ,c6untries.DevelopUl:g countries are convinced that the muetunl 1nmsfonnation of the existing international economic:system is the ;Qn1yw.ay ;Qut of the present <crisis.
336. In the .fields of trade and finmcial uansfeIS~ 'the response ,ofdev..elope.d countrieshas;Dotbeena positiveone for the rapid developmentofdevelopinEcountries.. Exports of manufactures ad :Semi-mmufactures from .de¥.elopinB CoJmtries are !Clenie~i access to the markets.of,deYe1oped countries 11Ulder J:w:d~~ tatitI :.and llon-t.a!iff barriell.. Besides, mcreasin~ receerse iin ~deYeloped {~1IIltri~ to p!\otec.tienist measures lhas f1:1rther lIesulted lin \unfa¥Dumble terms loftbadefor ttbe :dewloping ~ol:Ultries. TheOlltCQIJ:le1S the steadUY!JFoMqgmde :and ib.a1an~f"'Pa.ymeats 4efiCit of tOe¥elopin~.:countries aad fue mevuable:growth(Of -,the:ir indebte.dness. iDe.spite a rise in the ilo.w oftPfficiaI11evelop·
337. It is regrettable that no headway was made on the establishment of the common fund at the two negotiating conferences and that, despite their verbal support, certain developed countries continue to oppose the fundamentals underlying the common fund. We hope that negotiations to find common solutions will successfully be brought to a conclusion before the end of this year. .
338. Since the Manila session of the World Food Council in 1977, no improvement has taken place in food produc- tion, food security and food trade. In order to enable the developing countries to achieve the agreed rate of growth for their agricultural sectors of at least 4 per cent per annum, the targets for external assistance which were established by the World Food Council should be reached as soon as possibleand not later than 1980.
339. It is of vital importance that the multilateral trade negotiations within the framework of GA'IT should come to a successful conclusion in 1978, and that these negotia- tions should take fully into account the interests of developing countries and their requirements on issues related to trade in agricultural products. We hope that the inconclusive negotiations to transform UNlDO into a United Nations specialized agency will be brought to a successfulconclusion without further delay.
340. Despite increasing international awareness of the serious and pressing problems of the hard core least developed countries, as evidenced in various resolutions of the United Nations, the special measures so far adopted in their favour have produced negligible results. Their growth rate in terms of gross domestic product per capita was only 0.4 per cent per year in the period 1970 to 1976, in contrast to the growth rate of 2.7 per cent per capita for the same period in all developing countries. Thus the position of the least developed countries ~s now worse than at the beginning of the decade.
341. Special measures in the fields of trade, fmance, technical assistance and infrastructural development which were unanimously agreed upon, including the relevant provisions of the International Development Strategy, for the Second United Nations Development Decade [resolu- tion 2626 (XXV)}, have not been fully implemented. Against this background, we urge the international com- munity, in particular the developedcountries, to undertake urgent measures so as to bring about significant improve- ment in the position of the least developed countries. At . least a doubling of the real flow of assistance to the least developed countries by 1980 in order to assist them to achieve the minimum growth target of 3.5 per cent per capita per year in real terms, as set forth in the Strategy, is essential. We sincerely' appreciate the decisions of the Governments of Sweden, Canada,the Netherlands, Switzer- land and the United Kingdom to alleviate the debt burden of the least developed among the developing countries and wish that others would follow their example.
342. As a land-locked developing country, Nepal is acutely aware that the lack of access to the sea, together with
343. The primary responsibility for the development of developing countries rests with the developing countries themselves. They cannot, however, carry out this responsi- bility unlesstheir efforts are matched by gradual realization of the basic objectives of the New International Economic Order. Developing countries have clearly defined their firm commitment to the settlement of all issuesin international economic co-operation and development through negotia- tions and talks. In this connexion, mention must be made of the Committee on economic matters known as the Committee Established under General Assembly Resolution 32/174, or the Committee of the Whole. In our opinion this Committee, set up to monitor and to give political impetus to the negotiations in various agenciesand organizations of the United Nations system until the special session of the General Assembly to review the results achieved in settling economic problems is held iQ. 1980, should be action- oriented and avoid the duplication of being another debating forum.
344. However, it is regrettable that the first session of that Committee, which resumed in the first week of tills month, ended in an impasse over the precise interpretation of the Committee's mandate. We reaffirm our belief that the Committee should be competent enough to reach agreed conclusions through negotiations.
345. We supported the resolution adopted by the General Assembly last year on the restructuring of the economic and social sectors of the United Nations system[resolution 32/197J which is an integral part of the larger effort at revamping the global economy to establish the New International Economic Order. We take thiJopportunity to congratulate the new Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation, and we wish him all successin the challengingtasks that lie ahead of him.
346. The recently concluded United Nations Conference on Technical Co-operation among Developing Countries, held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, offered new opportunities for a more comprehensive assessment of the scope for co-operation among developingcountries. Wehope that the Plan of Action and recommendations of that Conferences 9
29 See Report of the United Nations Conference on Technical Co-operation among Developing Countries, Buenos Aires, 30 August to 12 September 1978 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.78.II.A.11), chaps. I and 11.
347. My delegation also welcomes resolution 1978/61, adopted by the Economic and Social Council at its second regular session this year, on the convening of a United Nations conference on new and renewable sources of energy. It is hardly possible to over-emphasize the impor- tance of such a conference, as all countries, particularly the least developed ones, are severely affected by the rising costs of energy. .
348. The adoption of a comprehensive and universally acceptable international convention on the law of the sea is not yet within reach. My delegation has repeatedly empha- sized the fact that a new convention on the law of the sea, if it is to be just, fair and equitable, must reflect the concerns and aspirations of all countries which will later become parties to it. Progress so far achieved at the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea suggests that the contrary is taking place. The persistent refusal of the group of coastal States to recognize the right of the group of land-locked and geographically disadvantaged States to participate on an equitable basis in the exploi- tation of the Iiving resources of the economic zone of adjoining coastal States and States of the same region or subregion invalidates the concept of the common heritage of mankind.
349. The informal composite negotiating text, the product of four years of intensive negotiation, makes it crystal-clear that the control by coastal States of ocean-based resources is being substantially advanced and the needs and rights of land-locked and geographically disadvantaged States are being unscrupulously ignored. The so-called sovereign rights of the coastal States in the exclusive economic zone will result in a further growth of the already widening gap between rich and poor nations and create a fourth world of least developed and most-disadvantaged States.
350. With a view to reviving the eroding concept of the common heritage of mankind, my delegation took the opportunity to submit a draft proposal entitled "A com- mon heritage fund" at the seventh session of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea at Geneva.3'O It is our earnest hope that that proposal, which is in the interests of humanity.and by no means designed merely to promote the interests of.land-locked and geo- graphically disadvantaged States, will enjoy the support of all countries.
351. Furthermore, as a land-locked, developing country, Nepal has all along been drawing the attention of the intemational community to the fact that the disadvantage of being land-locked has had an adverse impact upon our
352. At the recently concluded resumed seventh session of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, we supported the statement declaring the position of the Group of 77 on unilateral legislation relating to the exploitation of the resources of the deep sea-bed being enacted or contemplated in several industrialized coun- tries. 3 1 We appeal once again to those countries to exercise restraint and to refrain from taking unilateral measures which could adversely affect current negotiations for the adoption of a comprehensive convention on the law of the sea.
353. The unanimous decision of the thirty-second session of the United Nations General Assembly to observe the thirtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this year brings out the importance attached by the world community to the valued principles of fundamental human rights and the °dignity and worth of the human person, as enshrined in the well-known Declaration and in the Charter of the United Nations. Nepal has profound respect for the principles of the Declaration and it is pertinent to point out that our Constitution guarantees the people of Nepal, irrespective of sex, caste, creed, colour or religion, their fundamental rights and liberties. My delega- tion is therefore happy to join the international community in observing the thirtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration.
354. Finally, the increasingly important role that the United Nations is called upon to play in world affairs, particularly in the domains of the establishment of the New International Economic Order, disarmament and the resolu- tion of potentially explosive situations is a vindication of the confidence and hope nations have reposed in this world Organization. While reiterating our commitment to the ideals ?~~d principles of the United Nations, we stress the importance of further strengthening this world body to make it an even more effective mechanism for safeguarding and consolidating peace arid security and for promoting international co-operation to usher in a new order based on equity, justice, peace and harmony of common interests. It is our firm conviction that the effective guarantee of international peace and security lies in a much stronger United Nations embodying the collective will and strength of its Member States.
.355. Mr. PATTERSON (Jamaica): Permit me on behalf of the Jamaican delegation to join with those who have spoken before me in congratulating Mr. Lievano on his election as President of this the thirty-third session of the United Nations General Assembly. We are proud that a representative of our region is presiding over this session at such a challenging period in international relations. The eloquent statement which he made after being elected/1st
357. To the Secretary-General of the United Nations we express our deep appreciation for his untiring efforts, often in the face of intimidating odds, to find solutions to those many critical issueswhich confront us all.
358. I wish to add my welcome to Solomon Islands as the newest Member of this world body. The United Nations has taken one more step towards the desired goal of univer- sality of membership. It is to be hoped that we shall soon be in a position to welcome as members of this world body, Territories in the Caribbean which earnestly aspire to attain their independence and to assume their international rights and responsibilities.
359. In the current state of international relations, there remain outstanding a number of major political and economic issues for which we desperately need to find solutions. At the same time we have to recognize that certain fundamental changes in the international system are increasingly necessary, if the world community as a whole is to survive and prosper in the years ahead.
360. The momentous changes brought about by the last phase of the decolonization process themselves mark a major turning-point in history. These developments have, moreover, occurred in a period marked by major advances in science and in technology, and in a rapid growth in the world economy. This has taken place against the back- ground of intense political and ideological rivalry generated by the major alliance systems in the cold war era.
361. DUring this period the world has also been shaken by new intellectual and moral forces. Against these trends we have seen countervailing forces 'as the old order seeks to resist the momentum of change.
362. We are, in short, at a critical period of world history. If we fail to turn with the forces of change we will write our own destruction. We can only move ahead if V'~ attain a new level of international co-operation.
363. In the field of human ..rights, bold and imaginative initiatives have been taken. But an essential ingredieni still remains to be established-that is, accepted international machinery for implementing human rights. This requires that we overcome the cleavages between differing political and cultural systems, and differing states of economic development and under-development. It requires the unequivocal recognition and application of economic and social rights, together with other fundamental human liberties.
364. Although these requirements should not prevent practical action in cases of obvious urgency, ad hoc responses are clearly no substitute for co-ordinated inter- national action. Only concerted action will eliminate the agonizing and dangerous divergenciesover, for example, the whole question of terrorism.
366. My own Government is extremely proud of our internal and .external policies, which are designedto ensure that all people enjoy the basic social and economic conditions which can make possible their fullest enjoyment of human rights.
367. The past year has been a period of particularly intensive activity in the field of economic and social affairs. This level of activity was compelled by the very serious global problems which have become more complex and intractable. The dimensions of the problems facing us and the implications for subsequent generations transcend the man-made boundaries between the rich and the poor of our world. Central to our efforts to resolve these problems must be the unqualified objective of the establishment of world peace and economic growth. We cannot attain this objective without a common understanding of, and commitment to, the new world economic structures and relationships which must be established.
368. There has been in recent times a marked contrast between the amount of discussion on economic issues and the expressions of grave concern in all quarters on the one hand, and the very limited extent of real agreement and constructive action to deal with them on the other.
369. This situation is most evident where the dialogue and negotiations on the New International Economic Order are concerned. We have reached a point of near stagnation in these issues-a dangerous state of inaction which could have the most serious consequences for the international com- munity. The record of all our .efforts over the past four years and the very lir-ited outcome of all the various discussions and negotiations indicate beyond a doubt that we have not yet come to the point of full and realistic negotiation.
370. My country has the highest confidence in the United Nations system; no other institution has its credibility or the capability to take'and"to implement decisionsdesigned to achieve economic justice in the relations between all countries. It was this conviction which underlay our efforts at the last regular session to set up the Committee Established "under General Assembly Resolution 32/174. The Committee on the New International Economic Order was established against the background of the deter- mination to place the dialogue on this issue firmly within the United Nations system and to fashion a forum which would be capable of ensuring effective discussion and negotiation.
371. We are deeply disappointed that that Committee has not been able to carry out its vital tasks. However, the
372. Following the break down of those meetings, re- actions throughout the capitals of the third world and within the industrialized countries for the most part have indicated concern for the future of the negotiations. This provides a basis for the hope that our efforts to establish a realistic framework within which we can proceed will be productive.
373. Recent statements suggest a narrowing of the gap in regard to the function of the Committee. The issue, however, remains one of substance and not of procedure. This Assembly as the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations must now proceed to clear the air once and for all, so that the Committee can exercise unquestioned competence in the performance of its task.
374. Th serious state of the global economy and the requirements of international co-operation and equity call for urgent, specific and concrete action, particularly in respect of issues that have been the subject of discussion and that relate to the establishment of the New Inter- national Economic Order. Such action would begin to dispel the growing conviction on the part of developing countries of the determination of some industrialized countries to stand in the way of the movement towards the restructuring of the global economic system.
375. It would help to remove the feeling ofhelplessness that appears to have infected so many in the face of critical national and global economic difficulties. The opportunity for such action exists. The proposed' resumption of the United Nations Negotiating Conference on a Common Fund under the Integrated Programme for Commodities, in November this year, provides the opportunity fora major boost to the intemational community: In this context we note with satisfaction the efforts of the Secretary-General of UNCTAD in seeking to harmonize the position of the developing and developed countries on the objectives and structure of the common fund. The gravity of the problems relating to commodity trade is now clear to the inter- national community, and there is growing recognition of the fact that urgent action needs to be taken to resolve them. This underscores the need for parallel movement on the Integrated Programme for Commodities. It is hoped) therefore, that agreement can now be reached on the common fund before the end of this year.
377. Another area calling for particular action that would have a dynamic effect in material terms is the transfer of resources.
378. We cannot at this General Assembly ignore the fact that) since our last meeting, official development assistance flows, which have remained well below the internationally established target, have actually declinedin real terms as a percentage of the combined gross national product over the last 12 months.
379. We are convinced tha" means must be found of making the activities of the IMF and the World Bank accord more closely with our development needs as set out in the relevant provisions of the proposals for the New Inter- national Economic Order.
380. At the same time, it is right that the movement that has taken place in some areas should be acknowledged. The outcome of the recent United Nations Conference on Technical Co-operation among Developing Countries, held in Buenos Aires, has brought some much needed faith in the prospects of co-operation in the international economic sphere. But technical co-operation among developing coun- tries is not a new phenomenon. It is not a new dimension in international co-operation for development, and it is not the breakthrough in North-South relations that some would like to suggest. Technical co-operation among developing countries .is in essence an activity of the developing countries for the creation and development of their reliance on each other and for their national self- reliance. To be sure, it will need the enlightened support of the developed countries if it is going to realize its potential; and it becomes of interest to the developed countries in so far as the United Nations machinery is to be used. as an integral part of the whole mechanism formaking technical co-operation among developing countries operational as indeed it must. The developed countries demonstrated in Buenos Aires a willingness to co-operate in these few areas.
381. Energy remains too important an issue in .the '. international development process for us to continue to ignore it. As my delegation pointed out last year,32 there is a need for effective conservation; there is a need to intensify the search for new conventional energy sources, as well as a need for intensive research into solar, wind and other renewable forms of energy. This must be done within a framework that will allow the benefits of such research to be accessible to the energy-deficient developing countries in
382. My Government attaches the greatest significance°to the negotiations being conducted in the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. We see this Conference as an integral part of the challenge to the international community in the creation of the New International Economic Order. We are committed to the realization of the establishment of an international sea-bed authority that would regulate the exploration and exploi- tation of the resources of the sea-bed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction as the common heritage of mankind.
383. The declaration of principles adopted by the United Nations on 17 December 1970 [resolution 2749 (XXV)], consecrating this common heritage to be utilized taking into particular consideration the interests and needs of developing countries, cannot be allowed ~.') remain an idle dream. Considerable time and effort, at great expense and sacrifice to developing countries, have been devoted to this Conference, and it is generally recognized by participants in tht.' negotiations that much of the difficult and intricate work for the completion of a comprehensive treaty, as mandated by the General Assembly, has already been accomplished.
384. The Jamaican Government therefore views with the greatest concern the taking of unilateral action for the exploitation of these resources in the midst of these negotiations. It must be clear that the consequences of any such action would seriously undermine the future conduct of the negotiations and prejudice their successful con- clusion.
385. My Government therefore appeals to all those States Y{hich have proposed and are contemplating unilateral action to think again and to refrain from unilateral action, so that the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea may have every chance of successfully concluding its work within a reasonable time.
386. There has been a gradual if somewhat reluctant acceptance in some quarters of the fact that the institu- tional machinery available to the international community is in important respects inadequate to serve its needs, and particularly the developmental needs of the developing countries.
387. Action is now under way in the United Nations system to restructure its social and economic sectors along the lines agreed on at the last General Assembly [resolution 32/197}. My delegation viewswith satisfaction the appoint- ment of the Director-General for Development and Inter- national Economic Co-operation, a position which we, along with other developing countries, see as most neces- sary. We trust that this office and the eminent official who
up~n~ remains a crucial requirement.
389. Jamaica views with concern what appears to be renewed efforts by some major Powers to re-establish and to consolidate nee-colonial relationships in Africa. But what the history of the anti-colonial struggles in Africa, and particularly those of this decade has shown, is a profound intolerance of imperialist domination and the courage, the capacity and the resolve to act against such domination. This is a time for the greatest unity of all those forces committed to the political and economic emancipationcf Africa.
390. The initiative of detente in Europe has been one of the few encouraging signs that the major Powers are inclined to co-operate to reduce tensions.
391. Yet such co-operation remains confined to Europe while the extra-European rivalriesof those same Powers are constantly generating new tensions in other areas of the world, particularly in Africa. '..
392. The limited progress made in the field of disarma- ment, and the need to confront this problem with a determined sense of urgency was recognized in the holding of the tenth special session on disarmament. The intensive preparations and the high level of representation encour- aged expec.ations that a real breakthrough would be achieved in a collective effort to halt and reverse the arms race. In several ways the results of the session did not match the hopes and expectations of most of us. In our view, a more concrete and substantive programme of action, especially with regard to nuclear disarmament, would have provided greater assurance of real progress. As
~t was, the studied ambiguity of some of the crucial paragraphs of the Programme of Action adopted [resolu- tion S-lO/2, sect. Ill} indicated the lack -of genuine compromise and the existence oflimited commitment. . . .;.
393. We feel, however, that the adoption of a consensus document was a real achievement. The issue now 'S whether the declared intentions contained in the Final Document will be translated into action. #
o 394. Removing the threat of nuclear war should now begin by the termination of the testing ofnuclear weapons as the first step towards nuclear disarmament and over-all progress towards the achievement of general and complete disarmament. The process should begin without delay.
395. We stress once again that the continuation of present trends in the escalation of the arms race jeopardizes peace
396. When the very existence of mankind is at stake only a determined application of political will can resolve seemingly intractable problems. The world has learned this from the recent'experiencein our own region, whenmutual understanding and political will produced the PanamaCanal Treaties. At the fifteenth ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the OAU in Khartoum and the Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Non-Aligned Countries in Belgrade explosive issues were defused through an exemplary display of international goodwill.
397. My Government hopes that a similar situation of accommodation will emerge in the Middle East, where one of the longest-standing and most complex international problems still faces the world community. A durable settlement requires from the parties involved at the very least mutual recognition of and respect for each other's legitimate aspirations. This means above all recognition of the Palestinian people's right to their own homeland, Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories and recognitionof the right of the State ofIsrael to exist.
398. Although the basic requirements of a Middle East settlement are perfectly well known, some wouldstillwish to believe that a settlement can be attained without all these issues being squarely faced. That cannot be done. Moreover, it is equally apparent that, despite courageous individual initiatives, no solution will be attained without the participation of, all concerned parties in the negotia- tions, and the support of the international community as a whole.
399. Jamaica continues to regard Security Council resolu- tions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) as providing the indis- pensable framework for a settlement of the dispute. Any agreement that does net accord with the principlesin those resolutions cannot secure a lasting peace in the region.
400. Another area of concern is the continuing stalemate in Cyprus. The United Nations resolutions are still unheeded and foreign occupation continues. The situation in Cyprus is rapidly becoming a model of the failure of the international community to translate its decisions into positive action. Renewed efforts at meaningfuldialogue are urgently required if the lines drawn within the country are not to become fixed in a permanent form.
401. It remains a matter of gravs concern to us that despite the efforts of the international community, Belize has not been able to achieve Its independence. [t is intolerable that the people of that country shouldhave for so long been deniedthe exercise of their inalienable right to self-determination. The advance of Belize to a secure independence with full territorial integrity is longoverdue.
403.. There is no more indictable failure in the s~~iere Of international co-operation than our inability to end that most odious system of human and racial degradation which isapartheid. The evil of racist oppression in South Afiica is evident to every decent individual: only the brutish can deny the duty of the international community to eradicate it. But instead, co-operation between South Africa and certain major interests has contributed to intensifying the oppression of blacksin South Africa.
404. Let those who have it in their power to change the system now recognize that only a concerted and unc-sm- promising effort will remove the disgrace of racist oppres- sion in South Africa.
405. Jamaica views the present situation in southern Mrica as one of the utmost gravity.Encouragingsignsthat international co-operation was achieving some progress in Namibiaand in Zimbabweare fast disappearing.
406. We meet while the storm clouds gather even more menacingly, for what do we find? We fmd, after another year of diplomatic efforts on the part ofsome members of the international community, after assurances of the viability of the "internal settlement", after more than a decade of appeasement and compromise-after.all this-that the people of Zimbabwe are faced today not with the promise of a just and .lasting peace but with the growing prospect of.a terrible conflict.
407. My delegation joins in the call for a meeting of all interested political groupings. We are equally concerned at the long delay in arriving at a solution. In tl-e meantime, the illegal minority regime continues to perpetrate aggres- sion not only against the people of Zimbabwe, but also against neighbouring States. The recent attack on Mozam- bique is but one more incident in a long seriesof events in .which the racist minority regime-has tried to intimidate its neighbours,·to deter them from assisting their brothers in Zimbabwe and to widen the scope of the conflict.
408. The international community can delay no longer. It must, before it is too late,.find the moral and political courage necessary to bring to bear that kind of inter- national pressurewhich the racist regimes cannot resist.
.409. In the absence of concrete progress towards a .solution, my country will continue to give its unqualified support to the armed struggle against racist tyranny, We wish to see a negotiated settlement, but we will not be fellow travellers with injustice.. A just settlement. in Zimbabwe must be uncompromisingly based upon a complete and absolute end to minority tyranny and the full accession to power of the majority of the people of the Territory. '.
410. At the sametime that our concern over the course of events in Rhodesiais growing by the day, we are faced with , .
411. The United Nations has the mandate and the obligation to ensure the effective implementation of its- decisions on Namibia. Now, more than ever, an overriding responsibility rests with the major Powers to enforce full South African compliance with the United Nations plan for Namibian independence in such a way as to guarantee the rights of effective majority rule of the Namibian people. Their action on the side ofjustice can be decisive.
412. The announcement that the Pretoria regime will go ahead with its plans for an election in Namibia without United Nations supervision and control is one more instance of its brazen and calculated defiance of the United Nations.. But. on reflection. why should not South Africa continue to hurl its defiance at the United Nations? For what has been the response of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council? Merely to administer the proverbial "slap on the wrist" to South Africa and to agree to meet again in the event of further acts of violation of the .sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbours. What else does South Africa need to do for some of the permanent members of the Security Council to see the necessity of the imposition of sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter?
413. My delegation remains firmly convinced that the .people of Namibia must be allowed to determine their own future; that free elections with the participation of SWAPO should be held under the supervision and control of the United Nations; that South African intimidation must be eliminated; and, above all. that Namibia must proceed to independence with its territorial integrity intact. All this and more is long overdue. The total isolation of the South African regime should be effectively pursued now.
414. One important step would be the early finalization of an international convention against apartheid in sports, in accordance with the relevant resolutions adopted by the General Assembly.
415. In dealing with various issues, I have referred to the need 10 maintain peace and security in the world. Let me say now that. in our view. peace cannot be merely the absence of military conflict. nor can it be just an interlude between wars. Peace, to. be real. must provide for the harmonious growth and development of peoples- politically. socially. culturally, economically-and it must be universal and indivisible. It cannot be achieved in an atmosphere of either political or economic domination.
424. Now a new, approach is being taken. both in the statement made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of ~ Venezuela, as well as in the message which the President of his country addressed to the President of this General Assembly [see A/33/275], We f~il to understand the reason for what is really a diplomatic offensive which. when it fails
416_ The issues facing this Assembly, in both the political and the economic sphere, have 'never been more grave or more threatening and the need to find solutions has never been more urgent. The key to those solutions is a greater commitment to international co-operation•. economic justice and peace. Is it t09 much to hope that this
The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela referred to the history of my country f 14th meeting], going back almost half a century. with a series of exaggerations and distortions. He even mentioned the assassination of a journalist, a non-political crime. which we all repudiate. I shall not comment on the history of his country during the same period.
419. As regards recent events, I shall not weary the Assembly. because those events have been widely publicized and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of my country referred to them in his address to this General Assemblyf 11th meeting].
420. I shall confine myself to saying that subversive and terrorist groups tried to disturb order and to usurp constitutional power. Those groups did not participate in the last public elections. They tried to obtain by force what they knew they could not have obtained in the electoral balloting.
421. The constitutional Government of Nicaragua had to resort to calling in the public forces to restore order. Those forces proceeded with the utmost moderation WIld the violations of human rights which occurred were committed not by them. but by the terrorist subversive groups. One cannot speak. lightly about the destruction of cities or about the machine-gunning of ancient sacred objects or the extermination of the civilian population and attribute these acts to the Government. And to speak of mercenaries being recruited in the United States is worse than light talk; it is false and it has been denied by the State Department of that country itself.
- 422. At the request precisely of the Government of Venezuela a few weeks ago. a meeting of consultation of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Organization of American States was convened, That meeting concluded its work by approving a resolution33 which my country considers to be balanced and free from passionate stri- dency. although apparently it did not satisfy Venezuela.
423. At the same time Venezuela requested an urgent meeting of the Security .COl~gcil of the United Nations to consider the situation in Nicaragua, alleging that it was a threat to peace and security in the region. The Security Council did not accede to the request.
33 Sce Official Recoras of the Security Council, Thirty-third Year, Supplement for July, August and September 1978, document 8/12861.
426. Possibly Venezuela is not interested in the main-
~enance of peaceand would prefer the friendly acts to cease and the disturbances to continue. Of course the President of Venezuelaloves peace in his own country and has known how to deal firmly with guerrillas. I have in my hand a Caracas newspaper containing statements made by Presi- dent Perez a few months ago in which he described how, when he was Minister of the Interior, he led the fight against guerrillas and won the battle. Further he said: "When I leave, I shall leave this clean. There will not be a single guerrilla remaining when I leave the presidency." But what he has done in his country he does not want to be done in other countries. This means duplicity for which there is no explanation.
427. My country agrees that a democratic and constitu- tional solution must be found so that the will of the majority of the people of Nicaragua may be made known. I do not believe that obstacles of any kind, for whatever reasons, should be raised,as some countries appear to wish, to efforts to find those solutions. My Government repu- diates violence and terrorism. And in this connexion I quote yet again from President Perez, from an interview I referred to earlier: "I had the courage to prove that our democratic governments cannot be overthrown by violence and guerrillas".
428. Mr.. -PONCE (Venezuela) {inierpretation from Spanish): The statements made in this Assembly by Rodrigo Carazo, the President of Costa Rica {11th 'fleet- ing], a country which has been the victim of the aggression of Somoza; the letter addressed to the President of the Assembly by the Heads of State of Venezuela and Colombia, on the mass violations of human rights in Nicaragua-a letter to which the President of the Assembly drew the attention of all Members of the Assembly yesterday {A/33/275]-the denunciations by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Panama and Cuba, and that by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela this morning, of the horrors and the extent of the massacre committed by Somoza and his lackeys against the brave Nicaraguan people-all these will stand for the reply of Venezuelato the words cf the representative of the Somoza
429. This document, the first of many testimonies that will come from respected Nicaraguan citizens, on the genocide tatting place in that country, contains denun- ciations which, with your leave, Mr.President, I shall quote so that it may appear in the recordsof this Organization:
"In the name of the people of Nicaragua, I condemn the disappearance of hundreds of unarmed Nicaraguan country people and the tortures and assassinations of which innumerable citizens have been victims in the dungeons of the dictatorship in Managua and other cities of the country.
"I condemn. the criminal and systematic repression unleashed by Somoza's regime for the purpose of stitling the indignation which filled the population after Somoza's executioners assassinated on Managua's streets Dr. Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, thus making him into a martyr of public freedomsin Nicaragua.
"I condemn the complicity of the corrupt judicial system of the dictatorship in concealing the real authors of such a repulsive crime.
"I condemn the pitilessslaughter of the inhabitants of the Monimb6area in the city of Masaya, the birthplace of national handicrafts, the indomitable redoubt of our Indian pride, and the sacred symbol of the purest Nicaraguan being.
"I condemn the profanations of our temples and the harassment of the ministersofChrist's Gospel, in flagrant opposition to the religious feelings of the Nicaraguan people.
"I condemn the indiscriminate machine-gunnmgs and bombings committed by the air force of the tyranny against the civil population of the cities ofMasaya, Le6n, Chinandega, Jinotepe, Diriamba, Rivas, Estelf y Mala- galpa.
"I condemn the almosttotal destruction of Masaya and Estelf, which latter city has earned the undesirablename of •America'sGuernica'.
"I condemn the shootings without trial of teen-agers, women and children on the streets of Leon, Chi'l1andega and Esteli.
"I condemn the cruel and inhuman action of the forces of repression, whose barbarism went so far as to machine-gun the Red Crossambulances while Jtey were in the midst of their assistance work.
"I condemn the silent complicity of those who over the last 44 years installed, supported and equipped the Somoza dynasty and in the middle of the current events proclaim a neutrality in which no self-respecting Nica- raguan can believe. 1 also condemn the false, groundless fear expressed by those same sectors to the effect that the civic and democratic movement supported by the people of Nicaragua may end up in an extremist situation.
430. Sooner or later the clarion call of the great Ruben Dario will sound from the Nicaraguan people to herald the advent of freedom won with the blood of its best sons.
"I condemn the puritan hypocrisy of those who talk of human rights and keep quiet about the genocide com- mitted by the Somoza tyranny against the people of Nicaragua.
"I condemn the apparent plans of dictator Anastasio Somoza to step down from power in 1.981 in order to
"Finally, we can ask ourselves, Will the world remain silent in the face of the frightful prospect that many more thousands of Nicaraguans may be exterminated by the atrocious scourge of war, to which the preamble to the Charter of the United Nations refers? Will it permit an unpunished repetition of the Dantesque situations of Masaya, Leon, Chinandega and Esteli so as to satisfy the ambition of a man who wants to continue governing Nicaragua as his personal property, shielding himself with a constitutionality which he only respects as far as it serveshis own interests? "
Themeeting roseat 7.45p.m.
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