A/33/PV.23 General Assembly

Mr. President, I wish to congratulate you on your unanimous election to the presidency of this Assembly. I trust that your judgement, skill and, even more, your renowned integrity in your country's political life and in intemational relations will . facilitate the achievement of our obj<..:ctive of reaching the right decisions on most issues on our long agenda. My country enjoys excellent relations with your greatcountry, Colombia. The bonds of friendship between our two nations and our common commitment to peace in the world and to the promotion of the universal well-being of mankind should assure you of the full co-operation of my delegation. 2. May I also take this opportunity to extend our congratulations to Mr. Lazar Mojsov of Yugoslavia, the President of the thirty-second session of the General Assembly, for the excellent manner in which he handled the responsibilities of his high office. Duringhis tenure of office the Assembly held a number of sessions at which Unportantdecisions were taken. We are all indebted to him for his inspiring leadership. 3. Our Secretary-General continues to enjoy our admi- ration for his relentless searchfor a just, equalandhate-free world in which all States and peoples willlivein peace and harmony on the basis of Interdependence. Nigeria is encouraged by his dedication to the fulfilment of these hopes and aspirations in conformitywith the Charterof the United Nations. We are convinced that he will continue to enrich the Organization in hisleadership role. 429 A/33/PV.23 4. We seize this opportunity to welcome among us the new Str"'~ of Solomon Islands. We congratulate the leaders of t~ • new State. We hope that the United Nations,and in particular its specialized agencies, will assist the new State and thus enable it to consolidate its independence. 5. At the same time, we regret that, almost 18 years after the overwhelming adoption by the General Assembly in its resolution 1514 (XV)of the Declaration on the Grantingof Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, some States remainunder colonial domination.Allpeoplesofthe world, regardless of race, colour or religion, should by now have been able to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination, freedom and independence. 6. The General Assembly cannot justifIably claim that it has fulfilled the hopes and yeamings of the founding fathers of the Organization. We recall that they did "reatfirm faith in ... the dignity and won't of the human. person, in the equal rights of men and women and of netions largeand small". 7. We are at a crossroads. The question is, Where do wego from here? The signposts are clear: to disasterand chaos; or to peace,securityand co-operation. 8. Fortunately, the lessons of history are abundant and dynamic. The options have always been there. The choice should now have become clear. Mere hope is transient, while existing fears by a few appear precisely articulated. The divisive consequences of the extant concept of three worlds are real but they are redeemable. We can march together,like soldiers on parade,eventhough sometimes we areout ofstep one with another. 9. Bquality and equity should therefore be the dynamic instruments for change and direction. Our goals should be peace and prosperity for all based on universal and mutual confidence; their attaimnent demandsan enlightened modi- fication of self-perpetuating national goals and policies. These modifications will, no doubt, pose severe challenges to the dedication of an nations, largeand sman, weak and strong, to the objectives of the Charter of the United Nations. 10. During the past year important strides have been taken. The General Assembly concluded three special ses~ions on major issues ranging from peace-keeping and decolonization to the attempt to achieve a new world wUhout war. In addition, two global conferences were convened within the framework of the United Nations further to arouse the conscience ofmankindagainst racism and racial discrimination. A third se~ out to mobilize the capacities of developing countries for collective self- reliance. Those gatherings were designed to steer humanity 11. My delegation observes with concern the vicissitudes experienced in our efforts to establish a NewInternational Economic Order. We in Nigeria fully appreciate the enormity of the real development problems facing develop- ing countries. There is clear evidence that these problems are, in fact, getting worse and are threatening stability, order and good governmentin some countries. 12. It has been claimed that the countries of the world are making their best efforts within the bounds of existing national socio-economic constraints. But it is also true that there are now at hand the economic and technological means in the world to end the progressive and definitely controllable drift to chaos in international economic relations. 13. That suggests that abject poverty and its effects on the quality of life of the peoples in developing countries can and 'should be effectively attacked globally. Ir should become the priority issuerequiring international action that is sufficiently responsive to the needs of the developing countries as determined by them on the basis of mutuality ofinterests. .. . 14. The tragic paradox of unmitigated want in the midst of increasing affluence in developed countries has been recognized. it has even provided the motive force for the spontaneous expression of generalized goodwill concerning the establishment of the New International Economic Order. In the view of my delegation, that is not"enough. Developing countries need more than mere commitments. They want a' fundamental change in the structure of international economic relations.They want effective parti- cipation in the decision-making processes, particularly as regards international economic negotiations on all issue.. bearing on the New Intemat.onal Economic Order. They reiterate that these negotiations should be conducted within the framework of the United Nations system. In short, they want a clear voice in the decisions that affect the.management of the world economy. 15. I have dwelt advisedly on the need for discussions and negotiations on the fundamental issues of the New Inter- national Economic Order because the alternative is con- frontation, which is divisive and may not be results- oriented. Mere palliatives, along the traditional lines of donor and recipient, not only are peripheral to the structural economic problems of developing countries, but also inhibit.their self-reliance and sustained growth. These negotiations, therefore, should not degenerate into semi- nar-type sessions inconclusive in nature and replete with frustrations. 16. It is. in this context that my delegation feels gravely concerned at the apparent difficulties which have not allowed the Committee on the- establishment of the New International Economic Order, the Committee Established under General Assembly Resolution 32/174, which was adopted unanimously, to settle down to its business of 17. My delegation feels that all the outstanding obstacles to the effective mobilization of the full potential of that Committee should be removed at this current session. Accordingly we urge all countries to co-operate in ensuring that agreement is reached when the matter is considered after the conclusion of the general debate. We fear thst unless that is done the authority of the General Assembly could be severely eroded. 18. It seems that there were somesilverliningsmentioned in the statements of some delegations more directly involved in the development of international co-operation bearing on the New International Economic Order. I also hope that those expressions of intent will be translated into concrete proposals to promote negotiations on the estab- Iishrnent of the New International Economic Order. In relation to this question, we feel that the ongoingdialogue between tile centrally planned and market economy coun- tries in Europe will generate the necessary commitments of all parties to it in order to ensure the active participation of every industrialized country in Europe in major global negotiations bearing on developments and international economic co-operation in accordance with the Declaration and Programme of Action (In the New International Economic Order [resolutions 3201 (S-VI) awl 3202 (S-VI)J. 19. We note with regret that certain developed countries are contemplating unilateral legislation affecting the explo- ration and exploitation of the deep sea-bed beyond the national jurisdiction of Member States. That would certainly be a violation of United Nations General As- sembly resolution 2749 (XXV) in which this Assembly solemnly declared, interalia: "The sea-bedand ocean floor, and the subsoil ... as well as the resources of the area, are the common heritage of mankind." We join the Group of 77 in appealing to those concerned to respect the wishes of the majority of mankind on that particular issue. 20. The first special session of the General Assembly on disarmament that was ever held marked a new stage in the efforts of the United Nations to -save mankind from self-destruction. That session was convened because of the arms race and the development and deployment of new weaponsof mass destruction. 21. Military research and development in the nuclear- weapon States continue to consume vast human and flnancial resources. We" note the competing reaction among nuclear-weapon States in order to achieve nuclear parity. This locks up funds which otherwisewould havebeen used for development. As stated in the Final Document of the special session [resolution S-10/2J, disarmament has clearly become an imperative and most urgent task facing the international community. The United Nations, therefore, must be in vanguard of efforts towards general and complete disarmament. 22. In this regard we welcome the decision of the special session to establish the United Nations Disarmament Commission. We are happy that this new Commission will 23. My delegation is also encouraged that the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament has now, in effect, been streamlined and democratized. We are glad that the institution of eo-chairmanship that has in the past caused irritation has now, by unanimous decision, been discarded. I am happy that, like France, all other countries will now find the stage more propitious for participating in the new Committee on Disarmament. It is also our hope that the ambiguities in the language of the Final Document of the special session concerning the Committee on Disarmament will not create any problems and that the procedure of decision by consensus will not hamper the decision-making process and inhibit progress. 24. It is in this light that my delegation looks forward to the early implementation of the Programme of Action [resolution S-10/2, sect. Ill], so that the options presented and the enthusiasm generated by the special session will not be whittled away. It is our hope that an early conclusion of an agreement at the second series of the Strategic Arms limitation Taiks would give impetus to the new disarma- ment programme. 2S. The issue of the universal protection and enjoyment of human rights has become so emotive and embroiled in East-West confrontations as to becloud the real essence of the role of the United Nations in this regard. 26. Viewing the issue from this standpoint, the Nigerian delegation will neither seek nor participate in purely political interpretations of the concept of human rights. Rather, we shall actively join hands with other countries in arriving at a workable arrangement, whereby General Assembly resolution 32/130 would be accorded the central position it should occupy in all the deliberations on this issue in the Third Committee. WE: shall also continue to support new efforts to strengthen the United Nations's capacity for the promotion and protection ofhuman rights at national and regional levels. 27. In the Middle East, despite all efforts and some new elements, real peace still eludes the region. The situation in the region, for a mixture of compelling reasons, vitally affects not only international peace and security, but the interests of the world community as a whole. There appears to be no respite from the mounting wave of the violence that has plagued the entire region for more than three decades. 28. Turning to the Camp David accords,' my delegation welcomes all initiatives in the direction of peace. All the same, we must remember that what we have is a frame- work, and that the road to final peace is still both long and arduous. However, I wish to emphasize the fact that 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. 29. In short, our goal will be to find a comprehensive solution that will obtain broad support from all peoples directly concerned so that, in the end, we do not merely exchange another Middle East war for a dangerous esca- lation in tension or, indeed, an increasingly violent situation of "no war, no peace" brought about by the failure of the international community to solve the Palestinian problem. 30. The major area of serious concern to my delegation is southern Africa. The situation In Zimbabwe is still very explosive. Since the thirty-second session, we have wit- nessed fresh steps taken by the rebel leader, lan Smith, further to consolidate his illegal regime. 31. Early this year the f.ib-Is established a so-called multiracial transitional administration in preparation for majority rule. Yet the hardships and sufferings of the majority African population continue. Indeed, the brutal killing of defenceless Zimbabweans has not abated. Smith explains away these killings and other related atrocities by his notorious Selous Scouts as casualties resulting from "cross-fire" or breaches of curfew. At the same time, the acts of aggression against independent African States have been stepped up. 32. We state once again that no solution of the Rhodesian problem will bring lasting peace unless it has the support of all the principal parties to the conflict. They must include, in particular, the Patriotic Front, which has borne the brunt of the struggle for majority rule. 33. An arrangement that seeks to hand over power to black surrogates of white minority rule is doomed to fail. Only simpletons or people without any interest in genuine independence for Zimbabwe can givesupport to this fraud. 34. We support those who believe that an all-party conference holds out the last, best hope for securing a peaceful settlement. However, there is clear evidence of deliberate sabotage of such a conference by the illegal regime of Ian Smith. In the past few weeks, there has been an intensification of mass arrests and the disappearance of hundreds of the supporters of the Patriotic Front. The nationalist forces, however, continue to break the backbone of rebel resistance. Together with the front-line States. we have been working on borrowed time to ensure that the end-result will not be to divide the country into camps of victors and vanquished. We envisagea settlement acceptable to all the elements central to the issue. We remain convinced that an all-party conference could provide the best forum for resolving outstanding differences so as to pave the way to genuine democratic rule. 35. In this regard, it is a matter of grave concern to the Nigerian delegation that some members of the United 36. I now turn to Namibia. The international community is once again faced with the intransigence of the Pretoria regime, which continues to maintain its illegal presence in that Territory. 37. After 18 months of intensive negotiations, we have taken decisive action, as is ovident from the adoption by the Security Council of resolution 435 (1978). We con- gratulate the South West Africa People's Organization [SWAPOj for exercising restraint and for its co-operation. We hope the five Western Powers who initiated the plan for a settlements will continue to give full support to the Secretary-General for the implementation of the settlement proposals in accordance with Security Council resolution 435 (1978) and within the context of the norms of resolution 385 (1976) of the Security Council. 38. The fact that I have highlighted matters of concern to my delegation, mainly in the Middle East .and southern Africa, should not be construed as showing a lack of sensitivity on our part ill respect of other areas of tension in the world. In Cyprus, for example, we remain concerned that the presence of foreign troops, in violation of the territorial integrity of the country, still persists in spite of resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council. We deplore all manoeuvres by outsiders to divide the country and we demand the Unconditional withdrawal of all alien forces to permit genuine reconciliation between the two major communities on the island. 43. For its part, Nigeria will be unrelenting in its support .for the oppressed people of South.Africa. Weshall continue to' give diplomatic, political, financial and material assist- ance to the national liberation movement. We shall con- tinue to press for the isolation of South Africa and its allies and friends in all interuational forums. As for the people of Nigeria, their concern for the oppressed is reflected in their continued and generous donations to our national relief fund for southern Africa. 39. Similarly, we call on all peace-loving countries in the world, and especially those that have the requisite political leverage on Guatemala, to use their influence and persuade Guatemala to comply with resolution 31/50 of 1 December 1976 by allowing Belize to proceed to independence in security, with its territorial integrity intact. 40. To us in Nigeria, and I believe to all people of African descent and all freedom-loving nations of the world, the situation in the southern part of our continent, especially in South Africa, is a festering sore. It is a constant reminder of the indignity and inhumanity to which the black man has been subjected. It has its roots in colonialism. It is sustained by political and economic interests from outside the continent. It reflects the pervasive nature of racism in the world. The central theme of the'problem of southern Africa isapartheid. The culprit is the racist regime in Pretoria. 42. We in Nigeria are convinced that the longer the racist regime in Pretoria exists, the more grave and bloody the racial conflagration will be. We believe that increased and continuous pressure must always be brought to bear on Pretoria, whether on the battlefield or in international forums. It is our belief, first, that South Africa should be further isolated in all-and I StH:SS "all"-areas of inter- national endeavour; secondly, that South Africa should be treated as a culprit and not as a partner in any negotiation aimed at resolvingthe problems of southern Africa; thirdly, that as a matter of extreme urgency the Security Council should impose, as a minimum, sanctions on new loans to and investments in South Africa, and thereafter impose full and mandatory economic sanctions; and fourthly, that the international community should step up assistance to the national liberation movement in South Africa. 44. It would be difficult for me to conclude this statement without recalling some of the tragic events that took place on our continent during the past year. There were, to say the least, crude attempts by neo-colonialist forces at the recolonization of Africa, in the guise of humanitarianism. Those blatant attempts led to considerable loss of life and - property and have demonstrated to a great extent the weakness inherent in individual African countries, which is being exploited to the limit by those who wish us no good: - . 45. I cannot reflect this better than by referring to a portion of the statement which my Head of State, Lieutenant General Olusegun Obasanjo, made at the fifteenth ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of Scate and Government of the Organization of African Unity [OAU] in Khartoum in July of this year: It is my hope that those events will not be repeated in future.

Barbados conveys to you, Sir, sincere congratulations on your election as President of this thirty-third session of the United Nations General Assembly. Your distinguished record of achievement eminently qualifies you to guide the deliberations of this body and my delegation pledges its full support to you as you discharge the responsibilities of your high office. 47. Fully subscribing to the principle of universality of membership in the United Nations, Barbados warmly welcomes the admission of the Solomon Islands to member- ship iri this Organization. The independence of this new State is but another manifestation of the inexorable process of self-determination and decolonization, which represents the most outstanding achievement of the post-war era and of the United Nations. 48. But there is still much left to be done to rid the world of colonialism in accordance with the landmark resolution 1514 (XV) of 1960. The situation In-southern Africa continues to be a deadly threat to world pear-e. There, particularly in South Africa, minority governments without the support of millions of Africans continue to maim and murder and commit acts of repression against their citizens, both black and white. Time and time again that conduct has met with the verbal disapproval and condemnation of all reasonable people in our community of nations, as shown by the various resolutions of the United Nations. Yet, year after year, the United Nations is thwarted in its attempts to rid the world for all time of these senseless acts of criminality and this deliberate defiance of the conscience of the world. . 49. If the world is to be rid once and for all of the evil doctrine and practice of apartheid, then we must change 50. Nothing that has happened within the past year convinceJ us that the racist Government in South Africa will willingly desist from its uncivilized course of action. We must reflect that it is only the continued pressure exerted by international opinion and by the five Western members of the Security Council and the courageous efforts of the liberation fighters under the leadership of SWAPO that have forced the South African Government reluctantly and half-heartedly to concede the right of the United Nations to participate in bringing Namibia to independence. SI. The Government of Barbados is in complete agree- ment with the establishment of the United Nations Transi- tion Assistance Group and the appointment of a United Nations Special Representative to ensure that free and fair elections on the principle of adult suffrage should take place as a preliminary to Namibian independence. The Security Council should not hesitate to use the full strength of the enforcement provisions of the Charter to ensure that South Africa fully complies with the decisions agreed upon by the Council for the early independence of Namibia. Barbados repeats its call, uttered a year ago, for the imposition of economic sanctions egainst South Africa. 52. The Western Powers especially have a duty to the international community not to resile from principle in their approach to this matter. Too often the impression is given by those countries that morality in world affairs takes second place to their own economic interests and advan- tages. Barbados is fully aware of the importance of South Africa as a major source of supply of mineral resources for some ofthe Western industriala.ed nations. Their reliance on that country, based as it is on purely economic con- siderations and naked self-interest, should not provide a pretext for an abandonment of principle and for delaying the true independence of Namibia and the fmal liberation of the black people of South Africa. 53. In the case of Zimbabwe, too, Barbados feels equally strongly that pressure must be brought to bear on the illegal Smit~ regime so that early independence can be achieved. The Anglo-American plan 3 still offers a real hope for the achievement of genuine majority rule. Here, too, the Western Powers have a duty to ensure that a satisfactory solution is achieved. For our part we will continue, wherever possible, to give support to the front-line African States and the Patriotic Front in their heroic struggle for the eradication of colonialism from Zimbabwe and the establishment of genuine democratic government and fun- damental freedoms there. 3 Ibid., Thirty-second Year, Supplement for Jui», August and September 1977, document 8/12393. 5S. Barbados continues its principled support for the struggling Maubere {'eople of East Timor. We deplore the decimation of large segments of the population of East Timor by Indonesia. As a small State, Barbados feels a special abhorrence at the way in which a more powerful country is trampling upon the rights of the people of a small and weaker one. Weare appalled that so many people, so many nations, have chosen to be silent regarding the plight of the people of East Timor on grounds of political expediency. We are confident that the people of East Timor by their courage and pertinacity will emerge victorious from their grim struggle for independence. Barbados calls on Indonesia 110 adhere to General Assembly resolutions 3485 (XXX) of 1975 and 32/34 of 28 November 1977 and Security Council resolutions 384 (1975) and 389 (1976) and to terminate the invasion of East Timor at once. 56. In other areas ofthe world, manifestations of colonial- ism still continue. In the Caribbean, for instance, we witness the wilful obstruction of the inaependence of Belize by Guatemala. The Government of Guatemala persists in its inttansigent postulation of a spurious claim to the Territory of Belize, in defiance of world opinion and United Nations resolutions. The Government of Barbados cannot concede that Guatemala has a right to so much as a square inch of the Territory of Belize. There is grave danger . that the yielding to Guatemala of any part of the Territory of Belize, no matter how small, would trigger a plethora of other territorial claims in Latin America resulting in instability and threats to the peace and security of Latin America and the Caribbean. 57. While some colonial Powers have at last accepted the historical imperative to push forward with plans to lead Territories under their administration. to independence, there are others which hesitate to recognize the right of self-determination. Some also persist in acts of recoloni- zation, .while others maintain the illusory position that overseas Territories are part of their metropolitan centres. Those attitudes are prevalent in the Caribbean. They pose the danger that that area, which was first on the path to decolonization with the attainment of independence by the Republic of Haiti, may well be the last bastion in the world to be rid of colonialism. 58. This Assembly should not be lulled into believing that the seeming. semblance of somnolent tranquillity in the sunny Caribbean is a sign that the area is truly free and rid of the inevitable tensions arising from colonialism. Those of us who live in the Caribbean must renew our call·to the colonial Powers and the neo-colonialists as well to hasten 59. Very often when countries achieve formal indepen- dence they inherit institutional structures bequeathed by the departing colonial Power-structures which the ex- colonial Power continues to use to manipulate the deci- sion-making of its erstwhile colony. These imperialist and neo-colonialist structures often stunt the economic develop- ment of third-world countries. Proposals for a trans- formation of these structures have been made and discussed at the sixth and seventh special sessions of the United Nations, at UNCTAD and at the Conference on Inter- national Economic Co-operation, and, recently, in the Committee Established under General Assembly Resolution 32/174, otherwise known as the Committee of the Whole. 60. Barbados deplores the lack of progress in those bodies and attributes this to a dominance of obsolete mercantilist thought. We cannot accept that relations among nations should continue to be conducted on the basis of a "zero-sum" principle, which assumes that the extent of a country's increase in the enjoyment of goods and servicesis equal to the loss of goods and services enjoyed by other countries. These assumptions, while dismissed by modern economic thought, still continue to motivate the behaviour of negotiators from the developed countries. 61. Developed countries, in the negotiations for a new international economic order, are still preoccupied with looking at quantifiable variables. Consequently they con- clude that, since the relationship between the developed and the developing countries is asymmetrical, with a preponderance of economic power weighted in favour of . the developed countries, then it is possible to continue ad infinitum an international system of dependency without full and fair participation by the developing countries of the third world. 62. This myopic view amounts to a serious miscalculation on the part of the developed countries. Harvey Leibenstein in his book Beyond Economic Man4 -has reminded us of Tolstoy's -critique in War and' Peace of those military experts who predicted the outcome of battles by looking at the quantifiable elements of the strength of the opposing systems only. Historically, however, it has been proved that in such situations fighting spirit and morale often prove to be the more decisivefactors. 63. By the same token, developing countries, fired by the desire for better living standards, willensure by their efforts that there is a transformation of the world economic order; but it will be a transformation whereby the terms oftrade are more equitable, whereby jechnological development becomes the common property of all mankind and whereby those countries now overburdened by debt-the result of a system which places producers of manufactures in a superior position to the producers'of primary products and raw materials-will be relieved' of their anxieties. We third-world countries must ourselves; however, recognize 4 BeyondEconomic·Man: A New Foundation for Microeconomics (Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1976). 64. The Government of Barbadosacknowledges the inesti- mable benefits which the presence of the United Nations in a troubled world has brought to all the peoples of the world. Its role in preventing another international confla- gration within the P2St three decades is well known and recognized by all. Its specialized agencies have rendered yeoman service which has not attracted the same attention and publicity as certain political issues 0.... which the United Nations has been seizeJ. The Govemmen, of Barbados believes that, despite these achievements, there is still room for improvement and that the specialized agencies of the United Nations could have been more effective in solving certain problems permanently had different approaches to the allocation of technical assistance been employed. I 6S. As is well known, the quantum of assistance which a country receives is largely determined by its gross national product per capita. This results in a totally artificial and unrealisticevaluation of ~ country's wealth, with the absurd classification of certain .countries with vast natural resources as poor and others with limited resources as wealthy. The application of this criterion to countries such as Barbados militates against the achievement of relative self-sufficiency, since, on the attainment of a certain level of development, vital assistance is withdrawn or inade- quately distributed. 66. Barbados recognizes that the fmancial resources at the disposal of the United Nations agencies are not boundless, b...t my Government contends that they may be more effibaciously and rationally used if criteria such as the size of the country, ~ts potential for developmentand the finite nature of the problems confronting smallisland developing countries are properly taken into account in determining the quantum of assistance a country receives. Let us concentrate on curing, and not merely on alleviating, problems. 67. Like other small island countries which have spoken before us, such as Iceland, Barbados places the greatest emphasis on the importance of the sea to the future of its economic well-being. The sea constitutes one of our most vital resources. That is why the Government of Barbados, despite a heavy fmancial burden and limited human resources, has faithfully participated in all sessionsof the Third United Nations Conference on the Lawof the Sea. It is therefore cause for regret that progress at that Con- ference has been slow. Too many issues still remain undecided. 68. The position of Barbados is and always has been that the resources of the sea beyond national jurisdiction 69. Barbados accordingly supports the view of the Group of 77 expressed during the resumed seventh session of the Conference on the Law of the Sea,s which pointed to the dangers oi unco-ordinated action by individual countries. Barbados therefore categorically rejects plans now being hatched in the legislatures of certain developed and industrialized countries to take unilateral action in exploit- ing the resources ofthe sea-bed.We reiterate our conviction that the current deadlock between parties to the negotia- tions on the law of the sea must be ended to the satisfaction of the peoples of the world if we are to move one step further towards the achievement of an environ- ment of peaceand security. 70. The appropriate specialized agencies of the United Nations alsohave a duty to assist smalldisadvantaged States to prepare adequate plans and take appropriate steps for policing and safeguarding the limited resourceswithin their national jurisdictions. Many States in the developing world have passed legislaticn for the regulation of fishingand the exploitation of other resources within their territorial waters and exclusive economic zones and yet are unable to enforce such laws because of the absence of machinery to monitor adequately the areas of national jurisdiction. 71. Within the Caribbean, we have had to stand idly by while rich nations, such as Japan, exploit our scarce sea resources without making any contribution to the eco- nomic well-being of the region and without any regard to the ecological and environmental damage to the area. We urge all Caribbean countries to take cognizance of the urgency of devising adequate combined protective measures to ensure the proper exploitation of the region's resources for the benefit of the region's peoples. We call on the world community to assist us in these endeavours. 72. Barbados welcomed the conveningof the tenth special session of the General Assembly, which was the largest and most representative meeting ever convened to consider the problem of disarmament. That session demonstrated the recognition that the arms race is a problem for all mankind and that its solution requires the widest range of inputs from every region in the world. This principle must be applied with vigilance, for all too often there willbe the temptation to treat the problems of armaments as a private matter between nuclear States. The Final Document emanating from the tenth special session took cognizance of the role of the United Nations in the field of disarmament, although it represented a pot-pourri of 74. Barbados believes that the establishment of the Dis- armament Commission as a deliberative body and subsid- iary organ of the General Assembly i~ a significant advance towards the achievement of the goal of general and complete disarmament under effective international con- trol. A blueprint for general and complete disarmament must be implemented without delay. This requires a supreme act of statesmanship on the part of the countries of the world. We must work through the United Nations to rid the world of the kind of insecurity that propels nations into the arms race under the misapprehension that the more arms they acquire the greater the security they will enjoy, 75. Many developing countries have unfortunately been caught in the vortex of a race for the acquisition of armaments, albeit conventional. A major cause of the arms ~,...e in the developing world is the attempt: by superior Powers to treat developing countries as spheres of in- fluence. It behoves us all in the United Nations to strive to eliminate outdated geo-political concepts, such as the theory of the spheres of influence, by ensuring that the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of countries is respected. 76. In this connexion, small States, such as Barbados, must view with alarm the proliferation of mercenaries recruited from abroad, sometimes with the connivance of a foreign Government, to disrupt and dislocate governmental functions in other countries. Barbados deplores the use of mercenaries in certain parts of Africa and in Nicaragua not only as unwarranted interference in the affairs of those countries but as an attempt by undemocratic and unwanted regimes to silence the voices fighting for human rights and true liberation. 77. We in the developing world should ourselves be aware that the sale of conventional arms is another means by which the transfer of resources is effected from the undeveloped tothe industrialized and developed world. It is the self-interest of the latter group of nations that continues to lead to the misuse ofscarce resources and to a still greater widening of the gap between the "haves" and the "have-nets", Developing countries should not mis- takenly continue to believe that their true interests are served by ready access to military assistance. For these reasons, we support the initiative of the Government of Mexico in undertaking a study of the, build-..:>., of conven- tional arms in an effort to arrive at a convention for their limitation. 78. Barbados believes that nations cannot fulfil the aspira- tions of their people in an atmosphere ofviolence, and that is why the Gorernment of Barbados has resolutely sup- ported action to eliminate international terrorism of all 79. There are other areas of the world where the attain- ment of peace and security is still an intractable problem, I now make mention of two in particular. 80. In the Middle East, disorder remains of the kind that can easily spread to the rest of the world, The Government of Barbados believes that negotiations should take place between all the parties involved to bring a just, comprehen- sive and lasting peace' to the region. Security Council resolutions 242 (J967) and 338 (1973) constitute the basis of any such solution. 81. Barbados applauds the efforts made at Camp David by Egypt and Israel, because we are convinced. that any dialogue helps to increase the possibility of understanding between the protagonists in the Middle East. However, the Cam? David talks in themselves cannot bring in the region the peace that is hoped for, for just as it is unrealistic to talk of a solution that does not include the recognition of the right of Israel to exist within secure boundaries, so it is equally idealistic to contemplate a solution that does not recognize the rights and aspirations of the millions of Palestinians at present forced to live in other countries, on the West Bank and in Israel, without a real homeland of their own. Barbados believes that the Palestinians and their just claims cannot be wished out of existence, and that their right to determine their destiny is inalienable and must be respected. . . 82. I am sure that everyone in this Assembly who listened this morning to the eloquent and moving speech by Mr. Kyprianou, the distinguished President of the Republic of Cyprus [22nd meeting], must have been moved by the sincerity of his remarks about his country's problems. His challengeto the world community to assist in re-establishing a demilitarized Cyprus, with its independent sovereignty intact, is one that this Assembly should accept. Barbados regrets that that country remains occupied by foreign troops, with its two great communities still locked in antagonistic - postures. Barbados supports the United Nations resolutions on Cyprus and hopes that negotiations between the two communities will lead to the development of an uuderstanding that will result in the early withdrawal of foreign troops from Cypriot territory, for only in this way will tension be eased and peace and security in this area secured. 83. The Secretary-General's report on the work of the Organization [A/33/1] stresses the importance of a highly 84. But within the bureaucracy itself the lofty principles adumbrated jn the Secretary-General's report often seem not to be applied. There are far too many Secretariat employees who tiptoe in fear atound the corridors of the United Nations whisperlng that they are victims of racism -and sexism but are afraid to seek redress because they are terrified of any reprisals that such action may incur. 85. The Secretary-General's report refers to difficulties in recruiting women at senior levels in the Secretariat and expJains that the problem stems from finding "suitable and available women candidates" [see A/33/1, sect. XI}. Baroados is flabbergasted at this claim, inasmuch as my Government has submitted the names of well-qualified Barbadian women to the United Nations Office of Person- nel Services during the past year and up to now there has been no positive action taken by the Secretariat to recruit these women. Barbadian and Caribbean women have successfully completed their studies at some of the most reputable universities in the world, work in all of the professions inour countries and have demonstrated the capacity to shoulder responsibilities as well as any man. I make bold to say that there is no work in the Secretariat for which vacancies exist that women in the Caribbean cannot undertake. 86. My Government believes that the time has come for the United Nations to work our precise guidelines to be used in the recruitment of women and other persons from developing countries in order to ensure the elimination of the cultural bias which has historically minimized the chances of candidates from the developing world. The Government of Barbados stands by the principles in General Assembly resolution 32/17 B of 1977, which Barbados took the initiative of sponsoring at the thirty- second session of the General Assembly, as the most effective way of ensuring that regional imbalances in the Secretariat are corrected and the principle of equitable geographical distribution fully implemented. 87. With these qualifications, my Government thanks the Secretary-General for the excellent report he has produced. The world is grateful for the characteristically outstanding serviceshe has rendered throughout the past year. 88. Let me, in conclusion, restate some of the principles which my country applies in the conduct of foreign affairs. Small as we are, we are irrevocably committed to morality in international affairs. We reject duplicity, double-talk and subterfuge as ,constituting a primitive approach to diplo- macy. The practice of primitive diplomacy is one of the major obstacles to the solution of the world's problems.

Mr. President, on behalf of my delegation I take great pleasure in extending to you our warmest congratulations on your well-deserved election to the office of President of the thirty-third session of the General Assembly. We are confident that under your wise direction the outcome of the present session will prove both fruitful and successful. 91. I wish to express also to your predecessor, Ambas- , sador Lazar Mojsov of Yugoslavia, our appreciation of the competence and dedication which he displayed in directing the work of the thirty-second session and the three special sessions of the General Assembly. 92. I take this opportunity to extend to Solomon Islands our congratulations on their assumption of its rightful place in the community of nations as the one hundred and fiftieth Member of the United Nations. May I assure tl-.e Government of the new independent State of Solomon Islands our readiness to co-operate with it in all fields for the benefit of our two peoples. 93. This thirty-third session has been convened at a time when world peace and security continue to be threatened by dangerous and persistent issues and problems which have remained for far too long on the agenda of the General Assembly. Our deep preoccupation with the Middle East question, with the intransigence of the racist regimes of southern Africa and with the lack of real progress towards nuclear disarmament has not diminished; and our sense of frustration continues to be exacerbated at the failure of the international community satisfactorily to resolve these seemingly intractable problems which pose a serious threat to international peace and security and hamper the pursuit of those goals and objectives to which we all aspire. The General Assembly has so far been unsuccessful in facing up to these challenges. This inadequacy may have prompted the Secretary-General, in his report on the work of the Organization [A/33/1}, to call for the channelling of positive forces in the right direction and for the provision of a place where all can agree to work together for the solution of international problems. 94. I shall venture to address myself to those problems, notable among which are those concerning the African continent, since this year and the year ahead will un- doubtedly prove to be crucial ones for Africa. 95. The Namibian people have undertaken great sacrifices in the struggle for the independence and freedom of their country. SWAPO has demonstrated in the negotiations and demarches of the past few months a sense of responsibility, maturity and restraint. The Secretary-General is to be congratulated for having exerted many efforts in fulfilling the United Nations mandate regarding Namibia in a responsible and dynamic manner. It is indeed unfortunate that the international effort to resolve the Namibian 96. The racist regime of South Africa should not be allowed to sabotage the long-drawn-out efforts of the international community at this crucial stage in the independence process. The modalities for independence which the Secretary-General has proposed are neither more nor less than the normal procedure required for accession" to genuine independence. The Security Council has already approved the report of the Secretary-Generals by resolu- tion 435 (1978). We hope that the stipulations and pro- visions of this resolution will be heeded by all concerned. Should the Pretoria regime remain unresponsive to this call to reason and go ahead with its illegal unilateral action in defiance of world opinion it will bear sole responsibility for the untoward consequences which will no doubt result from its action. 101. The most recently expressed international consensus on the Middle East, contained in General Assembly resolution 3236 (XXIX). goes to the heart of the issue by reaffirming the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and national sovereignty. We believe that a comprehensive settlement of the Middle East question must make specific provision for the attainment of those rights. My Government hopes that the world community win continue to work for the full implementation of that resolution. 97. With regard to Zimbabwe, it is now abundantly clear to everyone that an internal settlement which excludes the patriotic forces is doomed to failure. The selective nature of the internal arrangement stands in the way of the achieve- ment of truly representative and broadly-based majority rule. Therefore my Government feels that its conviction. that genuine independence cannot be achieved without the full participation in all arrangements for such independence of the Patriotic Front is vindicated. 102. Overshadowing the political conflicts which endanger regional and international peace and security is the larger threat posed by the arms race, particularly the arms race in nuclear-weapon systems. 10:'.. The tenth special session, on disarmament. while falling short of our expectations, was an important begin- ning of the task of dealing with disarmament problems in a comprehensive and specific manner. My Government recog- nizes that certain achievements were registered at the special session in establishing disarmament priorities, reach- ing consensus on a programrr> of action and establishing machinery that reinforces the central role of the United Nations in the field of disarmament. These are positive and desirable gains; but general and complete disarmament is possible only if the nuclear super-Powers are willing to act in good faith in giving practical expression to the desire of mankind for a nuclear-free world. 98. My Government hopes that the world community will also maintain its solidarity with the people of South Africa who continue to intensify their liberation struggle. The spotlight of international condemnation must remain fixed on the uniquely inhuman policy of apartheid until that crime against humanity and that threat to international peace and security is eliminated. The racist regime's criminal violation of the human rights of the majority of the population and its aggression against the Territory and the people of Namibia and against neighbouring States call for further measures under Chapter VII of the Charter. We hope that the Security Council will take action to enforce more strictly its mandatory arms embargo and consider the imposition of other punitive measures against that regime. 104. W~ hope that the Programme of Action on disarma- ment [resolution S-1'o/2; sect. Ill] will not have the same fate as other internationally approved action programmes which have been widely accepted in principle but largely ignored in practice. No Government is unaware of the terrible implications of a failure of the international will concerning nuclear disarmament. Therefore it is the solemn responsibility of the nuclear Powers to respond positively to the principles and objectives stipulated in the Decla- ration [ibid., sect. Il] and Programme of Action of the tenth special session. which accorded the highest priority to the implemeniation of effective measures of nuclear disarm- ament and the prevention of nuclear war.. 99. My Government is deeply con-: '1led over the con- tinuing danger to world peace posed by the volatile Middle- East situation. In our view, the issues here are clear-cut. Israel cannot continue to occupy the territory of others and pursue its expansionist aims at the expense of its neigh- bours and at the same time expect to have peace. Nor can it ask for acceptance in the Middle East when it arrogantly denies to the Palestinian people, whose land it has usurped, their right to self-determination and nationhood. 105. The General Assembly has long called for the conclusion of a comprehensive test-ban treaty and for agreement by the nuclear super-Powers on a significant reduction of their nuclear missile systems and stockpiles. Prompt agreement on these measures would be welcome evidence that the nuclear Powers are.responsible to the will of the intemational community. 100. Over the past three decades the United Nations has never tired in its search for a just peace in the Middle East 107. In his inaugural address [1st meeting] the President of our Assembly made a realistic and edifying analysis of the international economic situation. The situation of the developing countries continues to deteriorate, while in all international forums there is unanimity on the need to replace the old economic order by a spectrum of more coherent and better organized relationships that effectively reflect the concerns of the large majority of mankind. The solutions advocated thus far remain inoperative because the wealthy countries continue to endeavour to safeguard their selfish interests' by putting a brake on any attempt to speed up the establishment of anew, more equitable and hence more just international economic order. 108. There has been intensive activity and research has been undertaken in many areas, making it possible to identify possible areas for the development of the world in the next few years. The majority of the conclusions arrived at in those studies show an accentuation ofthe imbalances between the "haves" and the "have-nots". As long as this imbalance continues, peace; unity and solidarity among peoples will not exist. 109. As quite rightly pointed out in the declaration by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77 at the Headquarters of the United Nations on 29 September 1978, the lack of progress in negotiations for the restructuring of international economic relations [see A/33/278, annex], particularly those in the main areas, such as the integrated programme, the common fund for commodities, multi- lateral trade negotiations, the transfer of resources, inter- national monetary reform and the debt burden of the developing countries, to mention but a few, is a major set-back to the hopes of the third world for Cl just and equitable share in the international economic system. There are, of course, retrograde trends which run counter to the principles upon which a New International Economic Order must be established. One example of these trends is the withdrawal of the developed countries into a systematic policy of protectionism, which further undermines efforts to achieve the liberalization of world trading patterns. We hope that the technologically advanced countries will show willingness to accept the need for collective action to solve economic problems of global significance. 111. My Government notes with concern that the failure of the principles of collectivity and interdependence of States, apparent in many areas in the search for a new world economic order, is a feature also of the negotiations for a treaty on the law of the sea. 112. The key problem of reaching agreement on arrange- ments for exploiting the .riches of the sea-bed particularly illustrates the predominance of narrow and selfish interests. 113. Just as the rich resources of the new world were plundered centuries ago on the basis of the superior military technology of the old world, so today the industrialized nations would use their technological ex- pertise to secure for themselves a monopoly over the riches of the sea-bed, even though the United Nations, in a solemn declaration, has declared the sea-bed and its resources to be the "common heritage of mankind" [resolution 2749 (XXV), para. 1J. 114. We call on all States to refrain from actions which would endanger the negotiations for an internationally approved regime and which would put obstacles in theway of the successful conclusion of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. 115. I now turn to a matter which has serious implications for the peace and stability of the African continent and, indeed, for international peace and security. I refer to the current situation in the Horn of Africa, which remains highly tense and critical. The massiveweaponry supplied by a super-Power and by Cuban mercenary troops are being used to perpetrate violence, havoc and destruction against innocent people and to suppress their legitimate aspirations for justice and self-determination. The deployment of mercenary troops with sophisticated armaments-which of late have been supplied in alarming proportions-has brought about inhuman tragedies, mass killings, torture and the loss of human lives and property. Despite the wave of violence which characterizes the situation in Western Somalia, the liberation struggle goes on and the people of Western Somalia are determined more than ever to fight for their freedom and human dignity. Havingfailed both at the fifteenth ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the OAU, held at Khartoum and the Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Non- Aligned Countries, held at Belgrade, to gain sympathy and support for their armed intervention, the super-Power 7 See Report of the United Nation» Conference on Technica Co-operation among Developing Countries, Buenos Aires, 30 August to 12 September 1978 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.78.I1.A.11), chap. 1. 116. It is necessary to draw the attention of the General Assembly to the fact that the people of Africa, who have only emerged in recent times from colonial rule, are being faced once again with the subversion of their independence through the demarcation of spheres of influence by outside Powers. 117. It is a matter of grave concern and profound disappointment to my Government that that super-Power, once the self-proclaimed champion of third-world causes, is now an active and prominent participant in the new scramble for Africa. The direct intervention of such a Power, with tuba as its surrogate, in the affairs of the Horn of Africa is the most dangerous example of this recent trend. 118. My Government has no illusions about the nature of the driving force behind the recent foreign-intervention in purely African conflicts. We believe it to be motivated by the desire for world hegemony and the Power concerned is blatantly using opportunist policies in pursuit of that end. This is the reality that underlies an apparent wish for detente and peaceful coexistence. The opportunism of the super-Power concerned was clearly illustrated by its inter- vention, in alliance with other countries, in the Horn of Africa, where those countries had been the very countries which had actively supported the liberation movement of Western Somalia before their abrupt withdrawal ofsupport. The unleashing of a Cuban mercenary force, backed by a super-Power, against freedom fighters who had almost achieved victory in their struggle for self-determination was a treacherous betrayal of a just and legitimate liberation struggle. 119. In these circumstances, my Government cannot shirk its duty to sound a warning that, under the pretext of defending certain African interests, a super-Power with Cuba as its surrogate is turning the African continent into a new cold war arena. Neither African States nor the international community should view with equanimity the recent escalation and internationalization of limited African conflicts for the sake of the strategic or economic interests of foreign Powers. 120. In the context of the real threat to African indepen- dence posed by recent and current attempts to recolonize our continent, it is pertinent to recall the view of the Somali Government as explicitly stated by my President at 121. The recent OAU Assembly held at Khartoum con- demned attempts by outsiders to impose their own solu- tions of African problems, of which they had little understanding. Such attempts demonstrate their utter contempt for African aspirations and only serve to compli- cate difficult situations. 122. It is a sad task for me to express the disappointment and dislllusionment felt by my Government over the large-scale foreign military intervention in African affairs. 123. We cannot be silent when policies of certain foreign Powers harmful to African interests are undermining the authority of its regional organization, when Cuba's shame- ful role as the military surrogate and mercenary of a super-Power makes a mockery of its avowed adherence to the principles of non-alignment, and when those countries deliberately frustrate the legitimate aspirations of the oppressed Western Somalia peoples. 124. As to the issues involved in the conflicts in the Horn of Africa, there should be no mistake about their nature. If the world community does not recognize the reality of these situations today, it will inevitably come to realize that the people of the region are engaged in just struggles for their inalienable right to self-determination and indepen- dence guaranteed under the United Nations Charter. 125. International law has long established the pre- eminence of the right of peoples to self-determination and independence. Three decades of United Nations history have surely demonstrated that attempts to deny those rights to peoples dedicated to the cause of freedom will certainly engender regional and international tensions and conflicts. The circumstances leading to Abyssinian colonial occupation of Western Somalia and the ensuing long and heroic liberation struggle of the people of Western Somalia for self-determination and freedom are too well known and need no further elaboration. 126. Suffice it to point out that the people of Western Somalia have a distinct history and geography, and that their ethnic, cultural and linguistic characteristics are completely different from those of Abyssinia. They were linked to Ethiopia only through armed conquest imposed at the height of the "scramble for Africa" with the collusion of the European colonialists. They have never accepted this colonial status. 127. Today, the vast majority of the people who came under colonial rule at the same time as the people of Western Somalia have attained full independence through the process of self-determination. It would be a travesty of justice if the people of Western Somalia were denied the same right simply because their colonizers are not Euro- pean. 129. In an attempt to confuse and disguise the basic issues at stake Ethiopia, assisted by the powerful propaganda machinery of a super-Power, has spared no effort to distort the case of Western Somalia. In support of its illegal colonial claims, Ethiopia had repeatedly accused Somalia of violating the principles of the DAU Charter and DAD resolutions.-referring in particular to principles of territorial integrity, non-intervention in the internal affairs of other States and the resolutions on the inviolability of frontiers. 130. The import and application of those principles is clear and explicit. We believe that reference to DAD Charter principles and OAU resolutions on frontiers is completely out of place and irrelevant to the core issue at stake, which is one of decolonization and self-deter- mination for the people of Western Somalia. The Somali Democratic Republic respects lawful boundaries and the principles of territorial integrity as it considers itself bound by the right of self-determination and by other relevant United Nations and OAU resolutions. Let it be emphasized, however, that the mere fact that Somalia is bound by the Charter provisions does not imply the validity of illegal colonial claims. It is a well-known fact that Ethiopia had gone so far as to attempt to use misleadingly DAD principles and decisions to legitimize the colonial injustices of pecples under its domination. The international com- munity cannot be influenced by such a blatant distortion of well-known established principles. 131. Much has been said about the interest of the Somali Democratic Republic in championing the liberation struggle of the pecple of We~tern Somalia. Our policy towards the people of the ...rea is the same as the policy we demon- strated clearly in the case of Djibouti. We were, naturally, in the forefront of the long political struggle in inter- national forums to achieve self-determination for Djibouti. In addition, we openly supported the efforts of legitimate liberation movements to gain independence for that Ter- ritory. Our main concern was to ensure that the exercise of self-determination would take place without variation and under impartial international and regional observation. When we welcomed our brothers of Djibouti as fully- fledged members of the world community all the calumnies about our intentions towards the Territory were exposed. It became evident that the attacks against us were last-ditch efforts by colonial-minded special interests to prevent.the peaceful accession of Djibouti to independence. 132. Similar attempts have been made to disguise the issues in Western Somalia but it is the hope ofmy Govern- ment that the international community will come to have a better understanding of the aspirations of these peoples and will accord them the support and sympathy they deserve. 133. Since the inception of the DAU the Somali Govern- ment has tried to seek a just and peaceful solution to the 134. As a result of the internationalization of the conflict in Western Somalia, there are now over half a million refugees in the Somali Democratic Republic. Their plight must be seen as a human tragedy of vast proportions. Our Government is trying to meet the basic needs of these people as best it can, but their presence in our country places a heavy burden on the Somali economy. In that connexion my delegation would like to register its pro- found appreciation to the United Nations High Commis- sioner for Refugees for providing assistance to these needy people. 135. With regard to the threatening situation on its border the Somali Democratic Republic is prepared, of course, to defend its sovereignty against invasion from any quarter, but my Government is equally prepared to work for a durable, just and peaceful settlement. Such a settlement must of necessity include the withdrawal of all foreign and particularly extra-African troops from Western Somalia, the cessation of acts of aggression against the Somali Demo- cratic Republic, guarantees that the population of Western Somalia will not be subjected to genocidal reprisals and the granting of their right to self-determination. My Govern- ment would welcome the start of negotiations between all the parties concerned on the basis of these principles. 136. Of one thing we are certain. If the legitimate aspirations of the liberation movements of the Horn of Africa are not recognized this region will be added permanently to the list of areas where tension and conflict are endemic and constantly threaten international peace and security. 137. There is a temptation at this stage of the General Assembly session to dwell on the failure of the inter- national community to take collective action under the Charter so that it can resolve the many serious problems that confront the world today. We could perhaps place greater emphasis on the ever-widening and increasingly effective network of valuable services to mankind that has been established under the United Nations umbrella. I believe, however, that our preoccupation with political and economic r:-,blems of global significance illustrates the continuing validity of the United Nations as an instrument for furthering international co-operation, for safeguarding peace and for strengthening international security. The nations of the world must continue to strengthen and enhance the unique and essential role of the Organization in 147. Thirdly, the Sultanate of Oman supports the right of the Arab Palestinian' people, wherever they may be, to self-determination and to the exercise of the full rights, ~ stipulated by United Nations resolutions, in the Arab territory of Palestine. 148. Fourthly, the Sultanate of Oman, in the light of the present circumstances in the region, gives its blessing to all efforts that may lead to salvaging the situation of the Arabs and the restoration of Arab unity, and it welcomes the idea of an Arab meeting at summit level to deal with that situation. It favours all efforts to consolidate the Arab position on Jerusalem in the Arab and Islamicworld with a view to establishing a just, honourable and durable peace. 139. I wish also to commend the presidency of his predecessor, Mr. Lazar Mojsov of Yugoslavia, who directed the deliberations of the thirty-second regular session and the three special sessions held since. 149. My country, being geographically close to the African continent and because of the historical links between it and the peoples of that continent, shares their aspirations for the complete elimination of racist systems, which we hope the world will witness very soon. At the same time we are following with great interest the various efforts deployed to avoid confrontation and to settle all disputes by peaceful means. No matter what difficulties are involved, it is incumbent upon us to fmd the means to achieve peaceful settlements of disputes, to work for unanimity of effort, to strengthen our solidarity and to maintain our sovereignty, independence and good-neigh- bourly relations, in order to attain the desired objectives. But this can only be achieved, in our opinion, by putting an end to foreign intervention and its harmful impact on the sequence of events in the African continent. The OAll has proved its ability to tackle the problems of that continent and to find appropriate solutions, in order to preserve and maintain security and stability for its peoples. We are confident that the OAU will continue its efforts to bring about a better life, an independent and noble life, for the sons of the Mrican continent and put an end to allinjustice and oppression. , ..> 140. Also, I should like to praise the continued efforts made by the Secretary-General, Mr.Kurt Waldheim, in the service of this Organization in order to promote its effectiveness and to ensure the discharge ofits role and the responsibilitiesthat it bears. 141. I also wish to seize this opportunity to express my country's welcome to the newly-independent Solomon Islands as it joins OUI Organization, assuring it of our co-operation in our joint efforts to realize the objectives upon which the .Charterof this Organizationis based. 142. At this time every year we meet together to reassess the international situation and exchange viewson the most important international issues. We reviewour contributions and intensify our efforts to find appropriate and just solutions to the issues and problems that we face. 143. The Middle East problem is one of the most important, and consequently over the past 30 years it has been one of the major preoccupations of the Organization. 150. My country regards with grave' anxiety overt inter- vention in the affairs of the African continent by foreign forces intent on the domination and control of 'it$ resources. Such foreign intervention does not in any way help to solve existing problems in Africa, but drags Africa into the disputes of the great Powers. This deprives the African continent of Teal peace and prolongs the bitter sufferings of its peoples, depriving them of liberty and equality. 144. The Sultanate of Oman, under the leadership of His - Excellency Sultan Qabus-may God preserve his life-has been careful to clarify its position throughout this period through which the Arab nation is passing, and it sum:, marizesits attitude as follows. 145. First, the Sultanate of Oman has called and will continue to call for the establishment of a just, honourable and durable peace for coming Arab generations. It will always support courageous Arab efforts to defend Arab rights, which are clear to the whole world, and to eradicate the impact of hostileefforts to blur the clarity of rights. 151. The J\frican Assembly held recently in Khartoum realized this, namely, that the problems and preoccupations of Africa are the responsibility of Africa, and the OAU at that Assembly, denounced foreign intervention in the African continent, which sows seeds of dissension among the peoples and exploits regional disputes, furthering plans for domination and hegemonyover African resources; 146. Secondly,the Sultanate ofOman is determined that a just and comprehensive solution to the problems of the area must be based upon total Israeli withdrawal from all Arab territories occupied in 1967, foremost among which is the 152. At successive General Assembly sessions, and else- where in other international forums, the Sultanate of \ .... 1 I q 153. The tenth special session of the General Assembly, devoted to 'disarmament, reaffirmed the need to intensify efforts to bring about general and complete disarmament under effective international control. 154. We are all aware of the great dangerswhich mankind faces as a result of the continued development and manufacture of nuclear weapons in quantities and with destructive potentialities unprecedented in the history of mankind. We join others in expressing our anxiety over the fact that progress was not made towards ending nuclear experiments and the development and manufacture of nuclear weapons and towards the destruction of existing stockpiles. \ \ 155. We hoped that the result of the special sessionof the General Assembly devoted to disarmament would be the beginning of a new stage in United Nations efforts in this field. For the first time in the history of this Organization the General Assembly was giving special and well-merited attention to the problem of disarmament. We hope that the Final Document approved by the special session{resolution 8-10/2/ will be implemented, that agreements will be formulated for the non-proliferation and use of nuclear weapons, and that the nuclear-weapon States, particularly the two super-Powers, will participate in such efforts, since they shoulder the major responsibility for achieving real, authentic progress towards that end. 156. The two super-Powers bear special responsibility for maintaining international peace and security but, unfortu- nately, we note that the split between them still-exists,and its impact spreads beyond relations between them and their allies to other countries and regions which are linked to them by relations of a different kind. That leads, as we have witnessed during past years, to the aggravation of some regional disputes. We join others in calling upon the super-Powers to refrain from extending their differences to the rest of the world and to work for the solution of their regional problems instead of exploiting them in order to extend their spheres of domination. 157. My country has' taken part in all the sessions of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, because it is convinced of the importance and vitality of . those deliberations for ensuring the formulation of a comprehensive international convention which would serve as a sound legal basis for all.activities relating to the sea. .. .~. . . 158. Despitethe fact that patience is almost exhausted as a result of the slow progress in the work of that Conference 159. In this connexion we welcome the achievements of the negotiations on subjects relating to the control of production and protection of the rights of the developing countries to the utilization and exploitation of their resources and to equitable arrangements for their distri- bution. We hope that the negotiating groups will be able to reach agreement regarding the transfer of technology to and the training of cadres from developing countries, a matter which is no less important than the necessity of safeguard- ing the sovereignty of the littoral States. 160. I turn now to the international economic situation. There is no doubt that a certain amount of economic and technical co-operation exists among countries today, but at the same time we realize that there is scope for wider co-operation for development and progress and we call for the intensification of efforts, particularly on the part of the developed and industrialized countries. We also call upon those countries to increase, or double, their aid to promote the rate of growth of the developing countries, to work for the fixing of prices of their manufactured goods and to put an end to inflation and alleviate the burden of debt of the developing countries, for fairer prices for their products, and other aims and objectives expressed by the Group of 77. 161. We call for the intensification of efforts in those fields as that would permit the attainment of the objectives of development, particularly in the developing countries. In this connexion we must affirm the necessity of continuing the constructive dialogue regarding the establishment of a new, more equitable world economic order. We deplore the failure of the Committee Established under General As- sembly Resolution 32/174, we appeal to all parties to re-examine the reality and the practical effect of the harmful results that will be inflicted on the whole inter- national community in the case of the failure of those negotiations. We also hope that the political determination exists in the industrialized world to permit those negotia- tions to be effectively and seriously pursued within the United Nations framework, so that we may be able to achieve the desired results and to adopt decisions during a special session of the General Assembly in 1980. 162. Similarly, we cannot forget that the developing countries, for their part, should redouble their efforts, by focusing upon development and production in the pursuit of vigilant practical policies, because social and economic development should be based on firm foundations of stability and self-reliance.As we can see, there is wide scope for the promotion of economic, trade and technical co-operation among the developing countries themselves, and particularly at the regional level. We believe that through pursuit of regional co-operation we can create greater potential for Lite expansion of international co- operation in general. The regional framework provides opportunities for co-ordination, and economic and cultural 170. The main objective of international organization remains the same as that determined upon the defeat of fascism and nazism and the establishment of the United Nations. It is the creation of an international order which advances growth, development and the fulfilment of all the peoples of the planetary community. Such an order must be firmly rooted in equity and justice. 163. In view of all this, my country has always called for the promotion of such co-operation in our region and has worked for this end in all sincerity. It still continues to hope for further co-operation amongthe different countries. in our region in various spheres for the well-being of those countries and their peoples. 171. This Organization has never abandoned its quest for that order. However, as each new Member State has brought to our deliberations insight and perspectiveswhich derive from its history and national experience, perceptions of the meaning of justice and equity have been deepened and enriched. It is this constellation of perceptions which now informs the appropriate and necessary measures for the attainment of that objective. 164. The Sultanate of Oman, under the leadership of His MajestySultan Qabus-may God preserve his life-extends a hand of sincere friendship and fruitful co-operation to all peoples and countries of the world, regardless of their different economic, social and political systems, on the basis of respect for sovereignty and the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of others. Further- more, it will make every effort for self-development in co-operation with all, for the welfare of all and in complete commitment to the fullest possible implementation of the principlesof the United NationsCharter. 172. The key essentials of international organization are outlined in our Charter. Foremost among them is the creation of conditions which will facilitate the construction of a secure peace. The attainment of such a regimeof peace is premised on the promotion of the principle ofself-deter- mination, nationally and individually,and on the expansion of the parameters for increasinginternational economic and political co-operation. At the heart of the search for that secure peace lies international action which has as its central concern the rights of man.

The history of the United Nations is a mixture of success and disappointment. The' arrangements now necessary for accommodating represen- tatives of States in this chamber are a testimony to an undeniable area of achievement. It is success in advancing the processes of political self-determination which has brought us nearer to universal membership. In this context Guyana is happy to welcome Solomon Islands into our midst. 173. The Secretary-General has observed in his report on the work of the Organization: 166. But, in the area of self-determination, much still remains to be done. The need to eradicate the cancer of apartheid. to defeat the arrogant resistance of the racists in Zimbabwe and Namibia, to restore the national rights of the Palestinians and the people ofWestem Sahara and East Timor, and to secure the independence of Belize cries out for effective action by the international community. Self-determination remains a primordial and abiding con- cern. But there are other fundamental issues on which desirable change is no lessurgent. Mr. Waldheim, who has served us with such distinction, went on to'say: 167. The persistence of underdevelopment over large areas of the globe serves as a sharp reminder of the mag- nitude and scope of the tasks which confront us. As we- seek to grapple with these problems and to bend our collective will to their solution, Guyana feels particularly pleased that Ambassador Lievano, a distinguished son of Latin America, an eminent scholarand statesman, has been chosen to superintend our deliberations and guide our consultations. 174. In this respect the views of non-aligned countries consistently articulated over the years and expressed most recently at the Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs, held in Belgrade in July of this year, have manifested their' enduring validity. Indeed, it has been the special vocation of the non-aligned countries to initiate those ideas and elaborate those programmes which have so greatly facili- tated the search of the wider international community for global consensusin accordance with the Charter. 168_ May I take this opportunity to acknowledge how greatly we are in the debt of Ambassador Lazar Mojsov of non-aligned Yugoslavia, who ' so ably and graciously presided over our activities, not only during the last regular session of the General Assembly, but also at the three .special sessions at which we sought to resolvemajor issues. 175. As we ponder the reasons for limited success in fully realizinga universally accepted regime ofjustice and equity, the conclusion is inescapable that, whilejustice remains the "The United Nations was intended, among other things, to be the guarantor of justice and peace for all nations, and most especially for defenceless or small countries which would otherwise have no recourse in a world dominated exclusively by power politics." [See A/33/l. sect. II.] "... there are many situations in which military power and political influence are far more significant factors than the principles of justice and the rights of all nations as expressed in the Charter." [Ibid.] 176. The real conflict lies between those of us who call for restructuring and fundamental change and others who insist on the absolute validity of arrangements and institutions which, even though embodying important elements of justice, leave out of their consideration those wider aspects on which human growth, development and fulfilment depend. In an inequitable world, change is of the essence in the search for justice. 177. The extent of our success at this and succeeding Assembly consultations in creating a situation of peace will be measured against the bench-mark of our individual and collective capacity to acknowledge the need for funda- mental change and to institute the systematic reordering dirt<Jted by that necessity. Nowhere is the need for harmonization of action more clearly demonstrated than in the area of international economic co-operation. 178. In this field, new perspectives of the meaning of justice and equity have been articulated in the blueprint for the New International Economic Order solemnly pro- claimed during the sixth special session of this Assembly {resolutions 3201 (S-VI) and 3202 (S-VI)]. The implemen- tation of that blueprint must continue to be a primary focus of our concern. 179. During the four years that have elapsed since the promulgation of the principles and the Programme of Action for the establishment of that order, which has such direct relevance to the attainment of full human rights by the majority of mankind, there has been only faltering and uneven progress-and this despite the extensive discussions which have taken place at a large number of international conferences on its various aspects. 180. As is well known, two negotiating conferences held during 1977 failed to establish the common fund under the Integrated Programme for Commoditiess adopted at the fourth session of UNCTAD, the verbal commitment of developed countries to such a fund notwithstanding. It is vitally important, therefore, that the forthcoming con- ference scheduled to take place in November this year? should produce positive results. 181. Similarly, on the- question of debt relief, it is true that the Third (Ministerial) part of the ninth special session of the Trade and Development Board, held in March this year in Geneva, adopted a number of useful guidelines for deding with specific aspects of the problem{see A/33/1SJ. Relief has been accorded by some developed countries to the least developed countries, but further measures need to be adopted to include the most seriously affected and other developing countries. 8 See Proceedings ofthe United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Fourth Session, voI. I, Report and Annexes (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.76.II.D.I0 and corrigendum), part one A, resolution 93 (IV). 9 United Nations Negotiating Conference on a Common fund under the Integrated Programme for Commodities. 183. Indeed, there is a resistance to structural change in the whole international system. In keeping with this position, some developed countries have sought to empha- size the "basic needs" approach to the problem of underdevelopment. While this approach embodies a com- mendable humanitarian purpose, it nevertheless, either by design or effect, leaves essentially intact the existing exploitative order which derives from imperialism, the true cause of underdevelopment. 184. International economic co-operation it, in a state of deep crisis. Unless confidence in its future can be sustained by meaningful responses, even those who are now the beneficiaries of the present exploitative order may fmd their present privileged positions no longer secure. 185. It is significant that, while the North-South dialogue languishes, advances are being made by the developing countries in promoting economic and technical co- operation among themselves. The results of the recent Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Non-Aligned Countries held in Belgrade and the United Nations Con- ference on Technical Co-operation among Developing Countries, held in Buenos Aires, attest to this reality. 186. In this connexion, my own country, Guyana, as a co-ordinator of the trade, transport and industry sector of the non-aligned Action Programme for Economic Co- operation {A/33/206, annex IIJ, has sought to promote an effective programme of co-operation among the developing countries in these areas. We remain fully committed to the pursuit of this objective as an integral part of the wider effort to build a new structure of international economic relations. 187. In the global order that we seek the developed countries, socialist and non-socialist, must assume their full role. We reiterate our conviction that the establishment of the new order will benefit both the developing countries and the developed countries-the market economy no less than the centrally planned economies. 188. At the midpoint of this debate we have heard proposals by several delegations bearing on the establish- ment of the new order. Guyana stands ready to examine all these proposals on their merit. But there are other priority tasks. Since wa met last year certain trends have emerged that should give UScause for deep reflection. 189. The limited results of the tenth special session on disarmament fell far short of the expectations of the vast majority of the world's peoples. There were dangerous portents of the rekindling of the embers of the cold war. New dimensions of tension have been added to persisting situations of crisis, notably in southern Africa and the 190. The search for a settlement of the Middle East situation and the Palestinian question has been long and arduous. Nevertheless, the principles for a comprehensive settlement leading to a just and lasting peace in the area have been clearly enunciated. 191. In keeping with Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), as well as other relevant United Nations resolutions, Guyana has consistently main- tained that a solution should be based on the following three principles: Israeli withdrawal from all Arab lands occupied since 5 June 1967; the restoration of the national rights of all the Palestinian people, including their right to a homeland; and the right of all States in the area to live within mutually recognized boundaries. Any initiative that stands aside from those principles cannot hope to succeed. On the other hand, any initiative informed by them cannot fait to attract the support of the international community. 196. Central to the problem of southern Africa lies that bastion of institutionalized racism, South Africa itself. The apartheid regime continues viciously to repress the people of South Africa, denying them their most basic rights-in particular, their fundamental and decisive right to freedom. 192. Guyana has noted the lack of harmony in responses by parties to the conflict to recent developments. The absence of a common favourable reaction among the parties raises doubt, in our minds about the potential of these developments to usher in the era of peace which the international community so anxiously seeks. 193. As we heard so clearly this morning in the address by the President of Cyprus [221ld meeting}, the threat that the continuing. unresolved situation in that country poses to regional stability, and the difficulties of making meaningful progress towards a solution, are underlined by the Secre- tary-General In his report on the work of the Organization. It is a matter for regret that resolution 3212 (XXIX), unanimously accepted by this Assembly in 1974, remains unimplemented, for that resolution continues to provide the only valid framework for a just solution. The present stalemate quite clearly serves the interests of aggression and occupation. We therefure feel that the urgency of a solution of the Cyprus problem requires fresh initiatives for the implementation of the relevant United Nations resolutions. In this regard, we are of the opinion that the Security Council should consider adopting an appropriate response in the light of the lack of progress towards the solution of the question. 199. Reviewing the long record of South Africa's refusal to implement decisions of this Organization one wonders how much longer the United Nations-the Security Council in particular-can desist from adopting the necessary measures to induce its compliance. 194. Korea still remains artificially divided in spite of the long-expressed wishes of the Korean people for reunlfi- cation. This situation constitutes a potential threat to peace in the area. Guyana continues to support the stand of the Korean people in their efforts for the independent and peaceful reunification of their country free from outside interference. We hold the viewthat the principles set out in the 1972 North-Southjoint communique of4 July 1972,10 as well as the programme enunciated by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea towards that end, form an adequate basis for an acceptable solution to the problem of Korea. . ~O.()fficiaI Records of the General Assembly, Twenty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 27, annex L 197. The determination of that regime to survive must be countered by correlative action individually and collectively by all members of the international community. The rhetoric of condemnation is not enough. We must complete the isolation of South Africa and apply the necessary pressures in support of the majority of the people of that territory, who so valiantly struggle to end their oppression. 198. Earlier this year we met in the ninth special session to consider the situation in Namibia and agreed on concrete steps for the termination of the illegaloccupation by South Africa of that international Territory. Meanwhile, efforts by "ve Western countries to bring about a negotiated settlement continued. South Africa's attitude to all these efforts has been characteristically deceptive and defiant. 200. The recent Security Council meetings on Namibia represent the latest attempt to advance the cause of freedom and independence for Namibia. If this effort is thwarted by South Africa there will be no alternative to mandatory sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter. Meanwhile, SWAPO, the legitimate representative of the people of Namibia, and the United Nations Council for Namibia must continue to receive our full and unstinted support. 201. In Zimbabwe, the Smiths, white and black, cling desperately to diminishing power. Their internal settlement plan, hastily put together, is virtually in tatters. Pressure (or liberation by the forces of the Patriotic Front mounts daily, while the prospects for a negotiated settlement are increas- ingly uncertain. 202. Now, more than ever.ithe international community needs to intensify its assistance to the liberation movements in southern Africa, so that justice and freedom may prevail in that troubled region. Guyana, for its part, will continue to provide every possible means of assistanceuntil victory is finally won. 203. In Latin America we witnessed the successful con- clusion of negotiations in relation to the Panama Canal. 205. Likewise, Guyana has actively participated in the efforts to "achieve a settled order of the oceans. We have done so since the early days of the international sea-bed Committee.l l It is therefore with deep concern that we note that unilateral action on deep sea-bed mining is contemplated in certain quarters. Guyana feels that the pursuit of such action would inhibit the processes of consultation and the search for understandings upon which a successful outcome of the final negotiations of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea depends. We should neither foreclose by unilateral action nor render more difficult by the pursuit of narrow national interests the achievement of an all-encompassing agreement on the remaining issuesregarding the law.of the sea. 206. All the issues I have raised, and others which are on our agenda, are relevant to the fundamental question of human rights, viewedsynergistically. 207. It was'essentially this broad vision which informed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, whose thirtieth anniversary we celebrate this year. Among the significant contributions to that Declaration was the tradition which articulated the importance of the political and civil rights of the individual. The Charter, for its part, insisted on a wider conception of human rights, by, interalia, providing for the adoption of positive measures for the abolition of poverty and unemployment "to promote social progress and better standards of life in largerfreedom". 208. The Universal Declaration and the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights have prcvided us with textual imperatives. Indeed, through the pooling of experience in the specialized agencies and specialconferences, our percep- tions have been enriched, and new and important rights have been identified and formulated. Thus, the World Food Conference held in Rome some four years ago solemnly proclaimedin its Universal Declaration on the Eradication of Hungerand Malnutrition: "Every man, woman and child has the inalienable right to be free from hunger and malnutrition in order to develop fully and maintain their physical and mental faculties." I 2 214. We wish to share in the responsibility, incumbent . upon us all, of debating in this forum the topics that we believe to be fundamental for the progress of mankind. Collective security'.peace and development are topics which concern all peoples in this world in which interdependence is becoming an increasingly clear reality. It is with pleasure that we note the consolidation of the principles for which we have always fought and the increasingacceptance of the 11 Committee on the Peaceful Uses of the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction. 12 See Report of the World Food Conference. Rome. 5-16 November 1974 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.7S.II.A.3), chap. I, para. 1. 210. Implicit in that approach to human rights is the conviction that the maintenance of structures which thwart life itself constitutes their denial. Inherent in imperialism and its manifestations, these structures buttress an inter- national order based on unequal relations, which in perpetuating patterns of dependency, imposes conditions of underdevelopment, with its concomitants of persistent poverty, hunger and disease, and harms and maims and diminishes at every moment the life-chances of a majority of the world's peoples. 211. It is in Guyana's view a contradiction that the spiralling war-system which consumes a major share of the world resources-resources which should serve the purposes of life-threatens the most fundamental right of all: the right to life. This culture of violence, involving the harnessing of advanced technology to the development of instruments of mass destruction has spawned practices, including the use of mercenaries,which assault the fabric of human rights. The test, therefore, of a universal commit- ment to human rights is our capacity to maintain and expand global consensus and to continue the process of the enrichment of the condition of man in terms of the full development of the human personality.

The Assembly will now hear a statement by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Cape Verde. I have great pleasure in welcoming His Excellency Mr.Pedro Verona Rodrigues Pires, Prime Minister of the Republic of Cape Verde, and invitinghim to address the GeneralAssembly.

13 The opportunity we have at this time to address this illustrious Assemblyof the United Nations-the symbol for all the peoples represented here of hope for a future marked by harmony, respect, equality and co-operation among nations-enables us to express cur satisfaction at noting that some progress has been made towards such a future despite the fact that these objectives are still far from being embodied in international practice. 13 Mr. Pires spoke in Portuguese. The French text of his statement wassupplied by the delegation• 216. Mr. President, your recognized qualities as a states- man and a diplomat experienced in international affairs convince us that the work of this session will be directed with all the skill required by the complexities of the problems we are going to discuss. 217. We should also like to pay a tribute to the outgoing President, the representative of a country which for many decades has given an example of a consistent policy in defence of international legality. We must recognize that Mr. Mojsov guaranteed the success of the thirty-second session of this Assembly. 218. It would be no more than simple justice to take advantage of our presence in this Assembly to draw attention .to the tireless and skilful work of the Secretary- General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, who, by his consistent activity in the service of international peace and security and healthy co-operation among nations, has contributed undeniably to the strengthening of the credibility and effectiveness of our world Organization. Therefore we wish to offer to Mr.Waldheim all our suppdrt in his efforts to give concrete form to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and we reiterate our constant readiness to take part in joint action by nations in favour of the freedom, independence. development and the well- being of peoples. 219. We have just left a world in which a fierce struggle was necessary to ~ain recognition of the rights of peoples to be independent and to choose the ways they consider most suitable for their development. 220. We are the beneficiaries of this new legality which allows us to believe in the possibility of increasingly peaceful coexistence among countries at different levels of development and with different social structures. We are the beneficiaries of this struggle, which has been our struggle too for a very long time, since it can be asserted that our diplomatic history began, like that of Guinea- Bissau, at the moment when the PAlGCI4 began the struggle for the independence of our peoples. However, our struggle in fact was merely a concrete expression of the principles which have been reiterated year after year in this Assembly and which are embodied in all the fundamental documents of this Organization. 221. Webelieve that we have contributed by our efforts to the effective recognition of these principles, which con- stitute the basis of the international law of our time. 14 Partido Africano da Independencia da Guine c Cabo Verde. 223. Thus we reaffirm that the Republic of Cape Verde will never shelter foreign military bases or serve as a liaison or support centre for aggressive operations against sovereign peoples and States. 224. We believe that peace, the necessary condition for development, will become a reality only when the rules established by all are implemented by all and guide the daily relations among nations. That is how we view our partici- pation in the international community. 225. This Assembly, as in the past, continues to be a forum for repeated condemnation of attempts to perpet- uate in Africa anachronistic situations marked by colonial and racist domination and apartheid. The praiseworthy 'md patient efforts of the international community, an echo of the liberation struggle ofthe peoples of Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, which are reflected in the many resolutions of the United Nations condemning the minority regimes of southern Africa, have merely prompted the intensification of the terror inflicted on defenceless popu- lations, the aggression against independent African States, the absolute lack of respect for and permanent defiance of the international community and the desire of the peoples of southern Africa for a life of dignity and peace. The indisputable evidence of this defiance of our world Organi- zation is the recent decision of the South African Govern- ment to proceed unilaterally with a process leading to elections in Namibia which will inevitably be falsified, deliberately and dangerously disregarding the legitimate claims of the people of Namibia and its authentic represen- tative, SWAPO t and flouting with barefaced arrogance every initiative aiming at a peaceful transition to independence. 226. We have always been convinced that the racist and apartheid regimes, since they are working against the tide of history, aave never been ready to accept dialogue or to abandon the savage methods by which they trample underfoot the most fundamental human rights and resort systematically to vioience against sovereign peoples and States, and this conviction has been reiterated year after year in this Assembly. Recent events persuade us that it is necessary and urgent that the international community multiply, diversify and centralize its efforts to assist SWAPO, the liberation movement fighting for the national independence and the territorial integrity of Namibia. 227. The people of Zimbabwe today are compelled to try to deal with a new farce: those who practise colonial oppression and defend apartheid have now taken up the banner of majority power and are claiming to lead the process for the transfer of power to the majority, oblivious of the freedom fighters united in the Patriotic Front. The kind of solution that neglects the profound aspirations of the people of Zimbabwe to genuine independence amounts to nothing but ad hoc concessions to the pressure brought . to bear by the liberation struggle, which, we solemnly reaffirm, deserves our complete solidarity. 229. The growing isolation of that bastion of colonial- ism-to which the efforts made in the, United Nations have contributed significantly and were certainly consolidated by the decisions of the recent WorldConference to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination and the heroic resistance of the people of South Africa, led by their liberation movements, are driving the regime to exasperation, and, becoming even more defiant,it is systematically com- mitting aggression with impunity against neighbouring countries. 230. We pay a tribute to those true interpreters of noble objectives who presided over the creation of the highest international body. It is the duty of the international community throughout the International Anti-Apartheid Year and the Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination to try to find effective ways of further isolating the anachronistic Pretoria regime and wiping out the historic shame of apartheid. Experience shows that this requires the strengthening of the capacity for action of the liberation movements. 231. In keeping with our experience of the national liberation struggle and as a country recently liberated from colonial oppression after two long decades of political and armed struggle, we understand the true dimensions of the immeasurable suffering imposed on the people of the Western Sahara in its struggle for the liberation of that Territory, which is illegally occupied and divided. Our solidarity with the peoples struggling against all kinds of oppression and opposition to the exercise of their right to self-determination and independence in accordance with General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) reinforces our conviction that the dispute between the Saharan people and those who occupy its national territory can be peacefully and justly resolved only by the effective exercise by that people of their right to determine their own destiny in sovereignty and freedom. 232. In the same way, we stand shoulder to shoulder with the peoples of East Timer who are fighting for the total realization of their desire for freedom and independence. 233. In the Middle East, a situation persists which defies the general feeling of the international community, which has been clearly, repeatedly and unambiguously expressed in this Assembly and in other bodies of our Organization. The persistence in a policy of aggression, occupation and expansion, accompanied by attempts to transform demo- graphic, economic, cultural and religious structures of regions conquered by force, represents a flagrant violation of the principles of the United Nations and furthermore constitutes a serious threat to international peace and security. 234. Since our country is one of the youngest Members of this great family of sovereignand independent nations, and 235. As stubborn defenders of the ideals of the United Nations, of the ..,ovements of the non-aligned countries and of the OAU, we note with great concern the acts of aggression committed against Lebanon and the frequent violations of its territorial integrity and sovereignty. All States of the region are entitled to live in peace, indepen- dence and security. But a just and lasting peace will never be achieved until Israel decides to withdraw completely from all the Arab territory which it has occupied since 1967 and until it recognizes the legitimate, permanent and inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people and agrees to the effective exercise of those tights, including the right to establish a national and independent State. 236. We should like to reaffirm our unstinting support of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of that martyred people, and our conviction that a definitive solution of the problem of the Middle East cannot be found without th~ active participation of the freedom fighters of the Palestine Liberation Organization on a footing of equality with all other parties directly involved in the conflict. Meanwhile we are following with keen interest the continuing efforts that are being made to try to establish suitable conditions for negotiations which, while respecting the' basic and inalienable claims of the Palestinian people, would point the way to a peaceful and just solution. 237. As we commemorate this year the thirtieth anniver- sary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we should like to take this opportunity to express our satisfaction at the positive role which the United Nations has played in the field of human rights. Indeed, the establish- ment of norms of international law in this connexion, the consecration of the right of peoples to self-determination and independence, and the initiatives taken in the field of the struggle against discrimination, racism, apartheid, tor- ture and crimes against peace and humanity, as well as the special attention accorded to cases of the flagrant violation of human rights, are results of unquestionable importance to the credit of United 'Nations activity in this field, and it is a pleasure for me to emphasize them here. 238. The Republic of Cape Verde, the fruit of a genuine battle for human rights consisting in the long and hard political and armed' struggle successfully carried out by PAIGC against Portuguese colonialism, can only rejoice at the visibly positive balance-sheet of the activities of our . world Organization on behalf of' human rights and frecdoms. . 239. After independence a new administration was set up in our country based on broad popular participation, which is being restructured and consolidated and which is dedi- cated to guatanteeing to all citizens fundamental political and civil rights and freedorns. However, we feel that the struggle is continuing beyond the time of national indepen- dence, because the question of human rights cannot he 240. The struggle for human rights is therefore in our country a process that is still continuing. Internally we are establishing the basis for economic development without which it would be impossible to free man from the spectre of hunger, poverty, disease, ignorance and illiteracy.. 241. On the other hand, the question of human rights goes beyond the purely national sphere and is closely tied to certain questions of an international nature which are among the most important of our time. The effective exercise of human rights is not possible while the present international order persists and while colonialism, racism, apartheid and foreign domination and occupation prevail. However, the extension to the international level of problems of human rights must not make legitimate their use as a means of pressure, which might give rise to a climate of tension in relations between States. 242. We think that the United Nations should continue to play an important role in the promotion and safeguarding of human rights through the organs that it has set up, whose possibilities have not yet been exhausted and whose effectiveness has already been demonstrated on several occasions. 243. We should also like to express our solidarity with those who deplore the incongruity of the fact that in a world where the spectre of hunger afflicts millions of human beings, nations continue year after year to spend enormous' sums of money on the manufacture and stock- piling of arms. It is also to be deplored that an increasing part of the trade between nations is made up of the buying and selling of military equipment, while a large part of the population of the world remains without support in its struggle for the protection of the environment and the production of food and against ignorance, disease and natural disasters. 244. The continuance of a system where peace is merely the result of the permanent fear of reciprocal destruction cannot but contribute to increase tension in international relations and to divert States from their main task, which is to guarantee the weIJ-being of their peoples, The need to put an end to the arms race and to initiate a procedure that will lead to real disarmament is felt very deeply by the whole of the international community. In this process at different regional levels great progress has been made, and laudable initiatives have been teken for the conclusion of agreements on the limitation of strategic weapons and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. In this process the United Nations, as the sole body capable of giving a universal dimension to the struggle for peace, security and development, should play an important role. . 245. The fruitful results of this kind of thinking have already been confirmed by the tenth special session of the 247. It is a fact that the existence of large stocks of weapons, particularly of non-conventional weapons, is a constant threat to the survival of all mankind. 248. In such condhions we think that through the United Nations all countries will be able to participate actively in the creation of a lasting policy for international security. I 249. International economic relations are still hampered by the contradictions that arise from the imbalance that exists today between the rich and industrialized countries on the one hand and the poor underdeveloped countries on the other. 250. It is that system of international economic relations, the mechanisms of which contribute to the accentuation of this imbalance and hinder efforts towards development, which has been and continues to be the subject of debate in the United Nations, particularly, in the sixth and seventh special sessionsof this Assembly. . 251. In this context we are witnessing a growing awareness of the need to create a new order with values that will govern international economic relations. The various ses- sions of UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Technical Co-operation among Developing Countries, held at Buenos Aires, and the agreements between the African, Caribbean and Pacific group and the European Economic Community, among others, are examples of such concern. 252. The pursuit of this objective, we must admit, has met with obstacles which give rise to doubts and ques.ionings and might make a really constructive dialogue more difficult to achieve. The existing monetary disturbances, the growing monetary erosion, in particular in countries with relatively weak economies, the deterioration in the terms of trade between countries supplying raw materials and industrialized countries, together with the protec- tionism practised by certain countries, justify our concern. 253. We are at astage in the history of mankind when the existing basis of the international economic order is being questioned and it is our great responsibility to reflect on and consider the principles which should govern future international economic relations. 254. In our opinion the creation of a new international economic order should comprise: first, the recogni 'ion of the objective needed to alter the existing economic order and to achieve the participation of all countries on an equal footing in the solution of the problems which afflict mankind, and, with that recognition, the political will to give it effect; secondly, an increase in the technical and 255. We are convinced that the United Nations has a considerable role to play in the realization of the objectives that we have mentioned. 256. We"expect, moreover, the constructive co-operation of members of the Committee of the Whole so that that Committee may fully exercise the functions which we consider to be. extremely important in defining the new international economic order. 257. We are an island country, a small territory with limited natural resources, and consequently we attach particular importance to questions concerning the appro- priation and distribution of maritime resources and, gener- ally, to all problems relating to the law of the sea.When in December 1970 General Assembly resolution 2749 (XXV) was adopted, it was welcomed as an invaluable instrument for the definition of a new international economic order and as a legitimate expression of the hope of countries which, like our own, do not have the necessary techno- logical means successfully to exploit the resources of the sea-bed on their own. 258. However, the results of the latest session of the Third United Nations Conference 'on the Law of the Sea have cast a shadow on the promising prospects that had opened in the course of continuing negotiations towards a definition of international law in that field. Indeed, at that session we heard talk of unilateral legislation, an idea which, if maintained, would run counter to the positions previously adopted by the international community. 259. We are certain that an understanding of the impor- tance of a successful conclusion of the work of that Conference will ensure that our efforts will not end in a failure which would seriously affect international relations. 260. In Cape Verde we are now totally involved in the struggle for national reconstruction,' a struggle that is particularly difficult if one considers the chaotic situation which we inherited. 261. We are reduced to constituting, almost inch by inch, the land that we shall have to work, to creating out of nothing the conditions for the survival of our people and to building the structures of a democratic State on what was left us by the ruinous inertia of a colonial Power. '- . 262. W~.:have to waste a great deal of energy and effort to reverse the situation of impoverishment created in our country by centuries of neglect. Desertification, emigration and social imbalance are still the deep-rooted signs of the system which we fought and abolished. 264. We shculd like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to all those who have given our country timely and much-needed assistance. We are certain that, duly enlightened by this document, the United Nations and the donor countries will then be in a position to increase their co-operation with our country. That co-operation continues to be an invaluable aid in the solution of the many very urgent problems which we face and .is a significant contribution to the establishment of suitable infrastructures for the economic and social development of Cape Verde. 265. Before concluding, we wish to express our ever- growing confidence in the activities and the future of ine United Nations which, while consolidating year by year both it.s prestige and its representativeness with the admis- sion of a growing number of States, is also making praiseworthy efforts to improve its structure and inculcate new dynamism into its bodies in order to be able to resolve the many serious and complex problems that afflict mankind. 266. We are convinced that the United Nations provides the appropriate and privileged forum in which to find solutions which will meet the fundamental concerns of our time, and in which the nations which emerge in future from the struggle legitimized by the noble purposes which inspire this Organization will be heard. 267. As the head of the Government of the Republic of ::' Cape Verde, I wish to reaffirm our support for the principles which have always guided our actions, in partic- ',<" ular those of the non-alignment, self-determination and •. :.,{ independence of peoples, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-aggression and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, mutual respect, reciprocal advantage and peaceful coexistence among all the peoples of the world. 268. We sincerely hope that the work of this session will constitute a step towards the consolidation of the progress already made in the building of a future which promises freedom and happiness for all people, and will lead to the progressthat we all so earnestly desire.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank His .Excellency the Prime Minister of the Republic of Cape Verde for the important statement he has just made.

Mc. President. first of all I should like to offer you my warm congratulations on your election to the presidency of our Assembly. Nor can I forget your predecessor as 272. Without succumbing to euphoria or to gloom, we can say that the year has indeed been a full one, but what have we achieved? 273. There can be no doubt that those meetings kindled sparks of hope, with regard to both the fundamental questions of the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples and the establishment of the new international economic order, and the questions of peace and security. 274. No doubt, too, it would be difficult to ignore 1)r disregard the slow and laborious effort at understanding made by parties completely divided, both with regard to social life and with regard to political and economic interests. In some almost intractable cases, like it or not, there has been a reawakening ofinterest in.the approach to solutions, although their fundamental political dimensions have not yet changed. This applies to the problems that trouble more than ever before southern Africa and the Middle East. . 275. Moreover, when we take up the economic relations between rich and poor countries we become lost in abstractions in trying to understand the reluctance to change of certain great economic Powers when faced with the necessity for a fundamentally new approach in a deadlocked world which cannot flourish without the active participation of the peoples of the third world. 276. A year of work, even of fruitful work, certainly does not mean a year of security. The Secretary-General recalls in his report on the work of the Organization: "One of the main reasons for setting up the United Nations was to replace the struggle for spheres of influence with a more civilized and more representative system of world order in which the nations of the world governed their relations and tackled their common problems with the agreement and participation of all, the weak as wellas the strong." [See A/33/1, sect. ILl 277. Thirty-three years later it is no longer a question of struggle: it is a question of wars of influence and the desire for acquisition. Fifty-two nations met at San Francisco in 1945 and laid the basis for a Charter that no one disputes but that is daily violated by all those who are moved by the spirit of domlnation and the bitter need to exploit, in their insatiable desire to enrich themselves. Today, 150 coun- 278. This underlines the gravity of the deadlock in which we find ourselves and to resolve which we must persist in the collective struggle in order to see the ideals of equality, liberty and justice triumph. 279. Security, which remains the major concern of the Government of Niger, will be the keynote of my statement this evening. The Assembly will easily understand my anxiety because, asan African, I can hardly remain silent in view of the vast conspiracy which is planned daily in the back rooms where the continent of Africa, that last stronghold of true innocence and genuine humanity, is bemg remodelled into ideological or economic units to reinforce a system or to ensure an increase of power. Hence the difficulties that are deliberately created to prevent regional groups from forgingthe necessary strength and solidarity for the development of their peoples; hence the abandonment of development programmes in order to pursue a more urgent need-security; hence the backward- ness imposed on the peoples of Africa by their subordinate role as producers and suppliers of raw materials; hence the threats and intimidations that slow down the education effort needed to liberate the masses from the cultural and economic alienation to which they have always been subjected throughout the decades;hence the diabolical plan to destabilize by internal or external force; nence the fratricidal wars which are sparked off as if by magic; and hence the support given to racist South Africa to enable it to continue to trouble the rest of Africa. 280. We know from experience that this phenomenon is not peculiar to Africa. It has long existed in Latin America and Asia, where it has succeeded in stifling whole genera- tions. Since then it has taken more sophisticated forms but it keeps the same name: interventionism. In whatever disguise interventionism imposes on the Governments and institutions of our States' major concerns that go beyond their capacity to control events and which have no relationship with the normal" options and priorities of logical development. By thus thwarting all efforts, interven- tionism imposes its laws, which are designed to create an atmosphere of insecurity, an atmosphere of permanent destabilization, an atmosphere of despair. 281. Many hoped that the African continent, which had just emerged from the black night of colonialism, after millions of its sons had known slavery,exile and dehumani- zation, would finally, at the moment of its rebirth, know the joy of existence and of preparing its future in accordance-with principles recognizedby all charters. 282. Quickly, alas, those charters were abandoned. The OAU, which very early revealed the determination of the continent to cope with events, after several successes is moving towards impotence and unfortunately tending to become bogged down in paralysing contradictions, nullify- ing its capacity to damp down even the tiniest flash-point. In this general disarrayindifference takes roofand the door is opened to interference and insecurity. 284. Africa, subje~ted to the stubborn will of a band of pariahs, has no choice. A canceris a cancer. It must becut out, but no one can disregard the consequences of an operation of that kind. The many companies which feed the bonfires in that camp of hell are, we are told, slowly beginning to understand that they cannotplay with human life with impunity. There is a time for everything. Perhaps we may express the hope of seeing the Western Powers persevere in the effort they have begun in Namibia and Zimbabwe? Perhaps we may merely express the hope of seeing them finally assume their historical responsibilities in the face of the scourge of apartheid and itshenchmen-and I am referring to the Vorsters, the Ian Smiths, the Pik Bothas and the other BobDenards. 285. The security of the continent requires that,just asit requires that the.umbilical cord that links Pretoria to Tel Aviv be cut. That connexion is another two-way mirror created by the nature of things to perpetuate insecurity in the Middle East and Africa. That is a cancer, like any other. 286. In addition to the structures of insecurity and the blocking of development in Africa, Africa has to face the demons of ideology which flatter men's minds with sweet-sounding arguments conceived for a kind of intel- lectual guerrilla warfare. How many men of goodfaithand goodwill have those sirens enticed to themselves? But Africa, built in an age-old mould, made of patience and attentive tolerance, has always succeeded in regrouping and rejecting thinking which is nothing more than a basely mercenary intention thinly veiled with a few philosophical ideas. Imperialism remains "imperialism, in whatever dis- guise. It costs the same price, the price of the freedom to exist. 287. How can we make clear the dedication of our countries to liberty and our profound desire to be ourselves, the deep meaning that wegive to our solidarity? It is no longer possible to live in a closed community, within a wall. Change, whatever its nature, is always enriching and none of our States rejects it-quite the contrary -but change- should in no way be an occasion for flagrant interference, alienation and destruction. 288. Many of those who discover Africa or think.they know it well enough to have praiseworthy feelings of friendship. for it hope to see their own image every time they look deepinto Africa's eyes. Thesimple reality isthat 289. To respect our cultures, our customs, our ways of living andour conceptof the presentand future isto give us our chance of development. It is a necessary conditionof the security of the continent which we dream of achieving in the bestinterests of our peoples. 290. In this connexion, we know that the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe produced the Final Act, signed at Helsinki on 1 August 1975, which has the merit of providing, inter alia, for a code of peaceful and friendly relations among European States, aswell as for the establishment of measures of confidence in the conductof their relations. 291. But the Final Act of Helsinki will have no value unless its ethic and scope are extended to other, non- European States;in other words, if its signatories, aswell as their allies, complete 'their historic action by prohibiting any intervention or military interference in Africa in particular, whatever the reason or justification. It is against that background that my country will encourage any initiative for the convening of a conference on peace and security in Africa which would give our nations the tranquillity that neitherancientnor modem history has yet succeeded in giving themcompletely. 292. Security problems are great and worrying. We followed attentively the workof the tenth special session of the General Assembly devotedto disarmament, a session to which we brought our inmost convictions. The balance of terror which maintains the worldunder a permanent threat of destruction creates a situation which is both unjust and inadmissible. The stake hardly justified the persistence required to gather together such a quantity of deadly weapons. Whatever the desires of one side or the other, we believe it was impossible to resolve the problems of disarmament and international security during that special session. The background may have changed, but nothing essential changed. We must hope that the super-Powers and those which hope to be super-Powers will be wise enough to respect each other and recognize the uselessness of accumu- lating weapons whether sophisticated or not. What is the good of having weapons that can destroy the world 10 or 100 times overwhen the worldcan die only once'! 293. Mankind can expect a lot from the nuclear field and disarmament as a whole; it has a right to. So much wealth and intelligence could do much better in the service of development programmes. 294. But although that elementary truth isoftenrepeated no one thinks of appiying it. There is no satisfaction to be gained from the special session on disarmament so long as the notion of development has not superseded that of the strategy of destruction. 295. I referred to security and development. These con- cepts, which closely affect the life of all the nations which we represent here, are practically indefmable historically. Theirbasic content deserves greaterstudy. 297. Unfortunately that phenomenon is extending to Africa, where certain States are accumulating weapons on a scale quite out of proportion to their internal security requirements. 298. For young countries such as ours, it is obvious that security and development are two words that go together in theory but are separated in fact. There is no development without security. That is required by the notion of the nation-State, As for economic development, if it is trans- lated. in terms of investment programmes and efforts to improve the standard of living it turns its back on security. The two are difficult to reconcile in one budget, partic- ularly when it is a tight budget. 299. This concern, I was going to say this balance which it is very difficult to establish, is not, unfortunately, the only handicap on certain developing countries, particularly those of the Sahelian region, of which my country is a part. Climate fluctuates and often causes catastrophes in an economy that has no cushion against such shocks. Econ- omies based mainly on agriculture and animal husbandry survive with difficulty the destruction caused by an uncertain climate, particularly when this is spread over a long period. 300. As the President of the Supreme Military Council, Head of State, Lieutenant-Colonel Seyni Kountche, addressing the nation on t 5 April last, said: "We are always on the alert, always listening to the needs of villages which have difficult food situations, a water problem, a problem with medicines or a school problem•. _. We are continually absorbed, continually attentive and continually impatient for the reconstitution of our herds and for the realiz.ation of our projects which ale delayed ... "And you know that in that area our determination has not flinched. You know that the food problem, which is one of our first concerns, is stilI paramount among our objectives and guides our choices.... Because self- sufficiency in food production is essential for us, it must be achieved if Niger is to control its growth and begin to move towards development at last." 30L It is indeed very disturbing that in this era of abundance and waste, this era of advanced technology in which man is reaching out to the conquest of space, millions of other men on earth are daily facing hunger, and 302. It is agreed, then, that the problem of food on a world level is no longer one of technology; it is a political question which the whole of the international community and particularly the richest of its members must attack with swift radical measures in order to forestall the risks ef a generalized catastrophe whose victims, it is calculated, would be some two-thirds of the world population. 303. We hardly need point out that these millions of human beings over whom the threats looms so dose are mainly members of developing countries, and most partic- ularly of African countries-for Africa is still behind other regions in the development of the production and distri- bution of food. It does not even produce enough either to compensate for the chronic deficits it suffers year in and year out, or to meet the needs of a growing population, whose rate of growth is the highest in the world. This is an unjust situation for Africa, particularly as this continent has sufficient potential to increase its food production to the point of self-sufficiency and-to maintain it there. 304. It has often been said and repeated that over- population and the demographic explosion of the third world will be at the root of the world food crisis; that being so, it is considered that the solution of the crisis would be to slow down or, indeed, to halt population growth. This is obviously a Manichaean vision of third-world problems, of African problems, for Africa remains one of the most under-populated areasof the globe. 305. Reports from FAO, the World Bank or other specialized sources on questions of economic and social development show that there are enormous possibilities for growth in the agricultural sector, if accompanied by the requisite transfer of technology adapted to African struc- tures. 306. Thus, these reports also indicate that, by bearing in mind available scientific and technological factors for increasing agricultural production, on the one hand, and all factors which could objectively limit world food produc- tion, on the other, we could achieve a world agricultural production capable of feeding 76 billion human beings, that is, a population some 15 to 18 times greater than the present population of the world. 307. However serious and precise- this study may be, its conclusions remain and will long remain vain hopes, as long as the political will for their implementation is not present. 308. It is to this that my delegation-a delegation from a land-locked developing country in the Sahelian region whose constant efforts to mobilize its forces are well known today-once again draws the attention of the delegations here, representatives of States or international organizations, so that our Assembly, individually or collec- tively, may assume its historical responsibility in the face of the challenge posed today by the world food problem. 309. My delegation, like many others, believes that, within the framework of efforts for the establishment of the new 310. That, in our view, is one of the many, but funda- mental, aspects of the security which our nations have a right to claim. This is an elementary need which must first be satisfied, together with the other primary needs of health and education. 311. It is with this in mind that my country has supported and continues to support the setting up of the International Fund for Agricultural Development and, in general, the activities of the FAO and other agencies of the United Nations family. 312. The efforts made by Mr. Saouma, the Director- General of the FAO, to implement a strategy and open up long-term prospects for a rapid increase in food production in Africa merit attention. We dare to hope that this analysis will contain a genuine plan of action for a radical struggle against drought' and other permanent dangers posed by locusts and other enemies of the crops in numerous parts of Africa today. 313. My delegation would also make an urgent appeal to our respective Governments to respond more fully to the plans of action adopted in Nairobit s with regard to the struggle against desertification and in Mar del Plata for the development and exploitation of potential water resources.1 6 314. That is the contribution I wished to make, on behalf of my country, to the debate of this thirty-third regular session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Security, in its numerous aspects, is at the heart of the concerns of all States, particularly the young States, which are the most vulnerable. However, the main task incumbent on everyone is above all to feed, care for and educate our populations. Consequently, let us look beyond the inten- tions which we sometimes read into the activities of others, let us cultivate a spirit of universal detente and let -us together resolutely take the beneficial path of genuine international co-operation-ethe only path likely to relieve humanity of its sufferings and thus to solve the many problems confronting it.

I shall now call on those representatives who have asked to speak in exercise of the right of reply.

In exercising his right of reply yesterday [21st meeting] the representative of Afghanistan once again made certain serious assertions, to which I am obliged to respond. 317. The Pakhtun and Baluchi population of Pakistan, like the rest of the people of my country, freely determined their destiny in 1947, when they voluntarily and democrat- ically decided in favour of being part of the independent

The delegation of 15 Seedocument A/CONF.74/36, chap. I. 6 11 16 SeeReport ofthe United Nations Conference on Water, held at Pakistan has deemed it fitting once more to exercise its Mar del Plata, from 14 to 25 March 1977 (United Nations right of reply in connexion with the only political ~~~~.~~-~~=~ 318. There is no "national issue of the Pakhtun and Baluchi people". The welfare of the Pakhtun and Baluchi citizens of Pakistan is the exclusive concern of the Government of Pakistan. There can be no "political difference" between Pakistan and Afghanistan on this issue. The population of Afghanistan itself comprises various ethnic groups. Would Kabul consider it permissible for another country to raise the national issue of the Tadzhiks, Uzbeks or Khazars, who live in Afghanistan? 319. The "basic lines of the revolutionary duties" of the ruling party of Afghanistan is no more than a political manifesto it has adopted for itself. It confers no right whatsoever on it to interfere in the internal affairs of another State. 320. The Afghan representative has stated that tney have "always endeavoured to resolve the single political differ- ence" by "friendly and sincere dialogue". We wish this were so. The President of Pakistan, General Zia-ul-Haq, has said that we have no difference with Afghanistan; if Afghanistan has any difference with Pakistan, we are prepared to discuss this bilaterally and amicably. WhileAfghanistan has declined to discuss this so-called political difference directly with Pakistan, despite our initiatives, the Afghan Government chooses to raise this "issue" in international forums. How can we-or this Assembly-construe this as "a demon- stration of goodwill" on the part of the Afghan Govern- ment? 321. I am sure that the General Assembly would find it impossible to accept the Afghan representative's contention that his country's actions, which impinge upon the terri- torial integrity of a neighbouring State and constitute a flagrant interference in its internal affairs, are in any way consistent with the United Nations Charter and the principles of peaceful coexistence. 322. In conclusion, I should like to echo once again the desire expressed by the leader of the Pakistan delegation yesterday [21st meeting] for the establishment offriendly relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan on the basis of the principles of peaceful coexistence. Relations between States are based on reciprocity. Pakistan, for its part, is desirous of continuing and expanding its friendship and co-operation with Afghanistan and is providing all the facilities required by it. 324. The position of the Democratic Republic of Afghan- istan regarding the question of the Pakhtun and Baluchi peoples, as described in the statement by the leader of'my delegation [18tll meeting}nnd reaffirmed when exercising our right of reply at yesterday's meeting {21st meeting}, is '-- TI,e meetingrose at 7.45 p.m.