A/37/PV.21 General Assembly

On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations Mr. Spyros Kyprianou, President ofthe Republic ofCyprus, and to invite him to address the Assembly. 2. Mr. KYPRIANOU (Cyprus): I should like at the outset to congratulate you warmly, Sir, on your election to the high post of President of the thirty- seventh session of the General Assembly and to assure you of our full co-operation and support. Having known you personally for a long period of time and being in a position to appreciate your out- standing qualities, I am confid~nt that under your most able leadership the Assembly will conduct fruitful deliberations and that it will successfully pursue the many important issues which are pending before it. In paying a well-deserved tribute to you on this occasion, I recall the excellent relations we maintain with your ~untry, Hungary. 3. At the same time I should like to express our sincere feelings of appreciation to your predecessor, Mr. Kittani of Iraq, for the exemplary way in which he presided over the deliberations of the thirty-sixth session of the General Assembly and the resumed and special sessions. 4. Almost four decades ago, following the deliber- ations at Dumbarton Oaks, representatives ofSO coun- tries assembled in San Francisco to draft the Charter of the United Nations, an organization which was established with the objective of saving future genera- tions from the scourge of war. As a culmination of man's historic yearning for peace and justice and having just witnessed the ravages of the Second World War, the founding fathers manifested a new spirit of unity and co-operation in their noble pursuit of upholding mankind's lofty ideals of peace, freedom and justice. s. As we approach the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations, the peoples of the world would naturally expect us to renew our commitment to the letter and spirit ofthe Charter, which should guide our thoughts, our deliberations and above all our actions. A total, unequivocal and unconditional commitment by all States to the principles enshrined in the Charter would undoubtedly contribute to the strengthening of the effectiveness of the United Nations which is so much needed, particularly as regards the paramount goal of promoting international peace and security. NEW YORK 6. It is in this spirit that the Republic of Cyprus is participating in the deliberations of the thirty- seventh session ofthe General Assembly. We strongly believe in the United Nations and, in spiteofits present weaknesses, we trust tht11t the day will come when its principles will prevail all over the globe. We regard the principles of the Charter as the cornerstone of our political credo and the main shield ofour security, for we hold that the only assurance of peace and survival is freedom and justice. 7. Beyond the p!edges of dedication, however, each new session also gives an opportunity to take stock of the world situation. The attention of the world community is focused on the m~or problems which are debated here, especially in these days when international peace and security are in serious jeopardy owing to the confrontations and hostilities which we have witnessed this year. The situation is grim and the prospects ominous. Never before since the coming into existence of the United Nations has the world slid into such a predicament. 8. We are in the midst ofsuch a depressing deteriora- tion of the world political and economic situation that the possibility of general conflagration looms men- acingly on the horizon. Detente is not nowadays a feature in the international situation. It is the opposite that now prevails. We are living in a world charac- terized by continuous insecurity and crises, where the use of force is the order of the day. And what is even worse is that aggression, violation of human rights and terrorism remain unpunished and unreme- died because of the failure of the Members of the United Nations, and in particular those that are members of the Security Council to give the Council the necessary means for the enforcement of its resolu- tions. The failure of the United Nations to deal effectively with world problems causes a serious crisis of confidence which erodes the very usefulness of the Organization. 9. The remarks ofthe Secretary-General in his report on the work of the Organization are very pertinent, he said: UCertainly we have strayed farfrom the Charterin recent years. Governments that believe they can win an internationalobjective byforce areoftenquite ready to do so, and domestic opinion not infre- quently applauds such a courne. The SeCUrity Council, the primary organ of the United Nations for the maintenance of international peace and security, all too often finds itself unable to take decisive action to resolve international conflicts and its resolutions are increasingly defied or ignored by those that feel themselves strong enough to do so. Too frequently the Council seems powerless to generate the support and influence to ensure that its decisions are respected, even when these are 12. It has all along been our position that disar- mament cannot be achieved in isolation, without simultaneously setting into motion the system ofinter- national security through the United Nations. Only after collective security establishes confidence and States are no more victims of aggression, can disar- mament be effectively dealt with. Such confidence is at present lacking and, as a result, the arms race con- tinues unabated. The world lives constantly under the threat of a holocaust. Mankind is confronted with new, more sophisticated and more destructive weapons, posing an unprecedented threat of annihila- tion and extinction. 13. The colossal amounts laid out on armaments is an additional important element of strain and also a continuous drain on the economies of nations. A considerable part of mankind, living under conditions of deprivation and starvation, is compelled to watch helplessly while vast amounts and resources are diverted to the accumulation of deadly nuclear weapons. Thus we have the paradox of man adopting and fostering the means of destruction in his effort to survive. 14. The nuclear arms control talks between the two super-Powers, which were resumed last week in Geneva following their two-month summer recess, justifiably attract the attention of all peoples in all continents, for upon their outcome lies to a consider- able extent the greatly desired return to detente and consequently to the securing of conditions for 'the peaceful solution of international problems. Their sqccess would be a majorcontribution to peace. That is 30. I wish to reiterate once again our solidarity with the people of South Africa, and inrleed all oppressed peoples under colonialist regimes and foreign domination who continue to struggle for freedom, equality and justice. \\'e also reiterate our whole-hearted support for the people of Namibia and express our conviction that their just struggle will succeed. To this end it is necessary that Security Council resolution 435 (1978) be strictly and urgently implemented as a whole, to enable the people of Namibia to take its rightful place as an independent State. We also voice again our solidarity with the front-line States in southern Mrica and condemn South Africa's acts of aggression against those coun- tries, which are shouldering a m~or part ofthe struggle for the eradication of the evil of apartheid. 31. Despite the formidable achievements and the concerted efforts continuously exerted to bring about decolonization, there are still territories under colonial or neo-colonial rule. I take this opportunity to declare once again that Cyprus fully supports all the efforts of the United Nations for the eradication of the last vestiges of colonialism in various parts of the world, as well as for the adoption of measures aimed against the revival of colonialism. 32. In that context I would mention the case of Western Sahara, where the principle ofself-determina- tion has not yet been applied. Contrary to the numerous General Assembly resolutions on this subject, the Sahraoui people have not yet been allowed to exercise their inalienable rights. 33. I do not propose to refer specifically to the many other cases of destabilization, conflict, dispute and confrontation which are scattered all over the globe. The increase in their number, extent and intensity simply points to the fact that man's future is in the balance. 34. Perhaps in no other United Nations activity do we observe such a degree of discrepancy between the resolutions we adopt and the realities we witness as in the field of human rights. It is really frustrating and·saddening to note the ever-increasing gap between rhetoric and real human attitudes and action. Even more saddening is the helplessness or passivity with which the international community watches mass, flagrant and horrible violation of basic human rights and fundamental freedoms, unable or unwilling to do anything decisive and effective about it. That is why we should concentrate on ways and means to ensure effective and strict respect for human rights. That is ' why we should welcome and strongly support the trend which has appeared in recent years towards conventions which have a built-in machinery for the implementation of their provisions. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination [resolution 2106 A (XX), annex] and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex] are such cases, and they must be followed by others. 36. We salute the agreement reached on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,1 despite some negative votes, after eight years ofintensive con- sultations and negotiations, to which Cyprus made its modest contribution. The importance of this achieve- ment can hardly be over-emphasized. It marks the advent of a new era in which the nations of the world, old and new, rich and poor, from the entire political spectrum, have agreed to set the rules that should govern the use and exploitation of the resources of our common heritage in the seas and oceans. The successful completion of the Convention, which also regulates the many other aspects of the law of the sea, enhances the prospects for international co-operation and makes a very necessary contribution to the prestige of the United Nations. 37. The problem of Cyprus continues to be one of the most serious international problems, threatening peace and security in the sensitive area of the eastern Mediterranean. This situation is yet another example of the inability of the United Nations to act by implementing its own resolutions. Eight years have elapsed since Turkish troops invaded Cyprus and occupied more than 36 per cent of its territory;·eight years of agony, after the devastation and pillage, in which all human rights have been and continue to be violated by Turkey; eight years of the crude act of occupation. 38. Cyprus has come through many tribulations during its proud 7,OOO-year history but has never before experienced such a sinister operation: an operation whereby the occupation is coupled with the systematic attempt to change the ri~mographic character of the occupied part; an operation whereby the indigenous population of the occupied territory was savagely ousted from its birthplace. A birthplace does not belong to any given generation of people. It is perennial in character; it belongs to history. So the aggression of Turkey against Cyprus is not only a present-day violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity: it is also a sacrilegious trespass on one ofthe oldest recorded histories of the world. The Turkish aggression and occupation brought upon Cyprus many scars which cannot be healed as long as the violation of our sovereignty and territorial integrity persists, as long as the Turkish army of occupation is on our territory. 39. Eight years have elapsed and we are still trying to trace the fate of more than 1,600 persons, missing since the invading forces set foot on Cyprus. In spite of unflagging efforts, in spite of a number of resolu- tions adopted by the Assembly, no progress has been made on this purely humanitarian issue. We caU upon the international community to make its Noice heard more clearly and loudly in Ankara, so tbat a wh~n it blatantly violated the Beirut agreement, solution to the Palestinian question, which remains underwhich the Palestinianfighters leftBeirut, leaving the ~ore of the Middle East conflict. This solution thousands of Palestinian civilians under the sole must guarantee the achievement of the inalienable protection of the guarantees contained in that rights of the Palestinian peopie, including their right agreement. to self-determination, sovereignty and independence 52. Israel is committing all these atrocities under and to the establishment of their independent State the pretext of defending its security. What kind of on their land. This will not be achieved without security is Israel referring to? Is it the indefinable ensuring Israeli compliance with the resolutions of security that was the pretext for bombing the Iraqi the Security Council and the General Assembly nuclear research centre, hundreds of miles away and calling for the total and unconditional withdrawal of across the territory oftwo sovereign countries ata time Israel from all Arab territories occupied since 1967, when the Israeli nuclear reactor in Daymona operates including Arab Jerusalem, and for the realization ofthe outside the obligations contained in the Treaty on the legitimate ri~hts of the Palestinian people. Non-Proliferation ofNuclearWeapons [resolution 2373 56. At the Fez Conference the Arabs were unani- (XXll), annex] and outside the monitoring and safe- mous concerning peace based on justice, and con- guards oflAEA? Is it the security that was the pretext firmed their genuine desire for it. In our view, the Fez for annexing Arab Jerusalem and declaring it the decision has created, for the first time in the history eternal capital of Israel over the objection of the of this issue, a favourable climate for all parties con- world and against the resolutions of the General cerned to bring about a just settlement of the conflict Assembly andofthe SecurityCouncil? Is itthe security in the Middle East, especially bearing in mind the new, that was the pretext for occupying and then annexing positive development in the American attitude.'This is the Syrian Golan Heights, the strategic heights that reflected in President Reagan's initiative and his Unemp.:a.~yment has broken an the records ('f the past SO years. Growth rates are becoming slower than ever and ir~lation is not yet under control. Trade restrictions and barriers threaten the world wilt. new trade wars that would complete the similarity between the current crisis and that of the 1930s. 73. The most dange~'ous aspect of the present crisis is its deva~:ating imp~lct on the economies of the developing countries, particularly the least develop1ed and the African countries, and Ils negative impact on international economic co·operati~n, which is characterized at present by a diminished commitment to multilateralism and a decline in official develop- ment assistance, which is essential to the development efforts of ',he least developed countries. The financial crisis in UNDP and the difficulties connected with the sixth replenishment of the International Develop- ment Association and other international development institutions are clear proofs of this dangerous trend. 74. The Sudan and the Qther least developed coun- tries are the hardest hit by the international economic crisis, and the least capable of cushioning the recur- rent international economic §hocks. D~,spite this unfavourable international economic climate, ~.he Sudan is endeavouring to ov~rcome its econ~mic problems with a two-pronged approach. The first is self-reliance and the mobilization and involvement of. its citf.:ens and resions in the pmcess ofdevelo1:iment. The second is the utiHzatimt of bilateral, regional and international econfJm~c co-operation for its benoiit and that of its partners. 75. The most outstanding achievement internally is the implementation of t.he new regional government system in the Sudan, a CGU:ltry with a territory of 1million square miles, which must broaden the political 79. As a result of that conviction, and with the aim of achieving such objectives, a charter of integration between Egypt and the Sudan has been drafted and will be signed in the next few days. This charter represents the organizational framework for steering the development process in the two countries through ~he implementation of a number of projects of eco- nomic, social and cultural integration. By establishing such an interaction, the Sudan and Egypt are attempting to create an example of regional co-oper- ation. The charter of integration between the Sudan and Egypt constitutes a serious step towards the achievement ofregional co-operation and integration in Africa, in accordance with the Lagos Plan of Action adopted by the OAU Assembly of Heads of State and Government in April 1980.2 80. The OAU was created as an embodiment of African wisdom insl!'::redl by a heritage deeply rooted in history and as a manifestation of Africa's ability to overcome all the obstacles in its path. Since its incep:ion in 1963 the organization has uphela the organ~zation to overcome those differences and to • attain the objectives for which it has been created. 8S. At the thirty-sixth session [22nd meeting) I con- cluded my statement to the Assembly by reaffirming 81. Unlike otherleastdeveloped countries, the Sudan the Sudan's unequivocal belief in the role of the suffers not only from the impact of the international United Nations, particularly with respect to the economic crisis but also from a continuous influx of maintenanceofinternationalpeace and security. Today refugees, which adds an additional burden that drains I shall conclude by reiterating our call for the con- resources !'4nd efforts already earmarked for financial, solidation and strengthening of the United Nations, ec.onomic and social development. The refugees especially the Security Council, so that the Orgaid.; registered by the United Nations in the Sudan total zation can fuIrd its basic role in the maintenance more than a half million, although the number actually of peace. The Secretary-General's report on the work entering the country across the borders with its eight of the Organization has courageously and frankly neighbours far exceeds that. In spite of this heavy reflected the concerns of the majority of the Membet burden and its disruptive consequences, the Sudan has States about what has become of the Organization succeeded in developing a unique experiment in the and of its role in the maintenance of international field of receiving and caring for refugees. Our peace and security. We hope that the Secretary- experience in rehabilitating r~fugees, in an exemplary General's ideas and proposals will be seriously manner commended by the international community, considered by all Member States, and particularly hasenriched the experience ofthe Sudaneseauthorities by the Security Council-perhaps at a high-level concerned and created an able cadre in that field. meeting, as the Secretary-General has proposed. As a result, the problem of the refugees in the Sudan In this regard it suffices to submit the following has gone from the stage of immediate relief to a observations. system of planning for the relocation of refugees in 86. First, we agree with the Secretary-General that well-prepared accommodations, together with basic the establishment of the collective security system educational and health services and employment provided for in the Charter is the only way for·. the, opportunities, which 3110w the refugees to become United Nations to carry out its basic task. Reinforcing independent. the collective security system would protect the small and weak nations and save the vast resources now 82. To implement these projects, the Sudan made wasted on armaments in a world that respects only considerable efforts to mobilize resources from force. Governments, international organizations and volun- tary agencies. In this context, in June 1980 the Sudan 87. Secondly, the reluctance of some States to organized the International Conference on Refugees, resort to the Security Council for the settlement in Khartoum, and declared 1980 the Year of Refugees of disputes or the maintenance of peace, or to do sO. in the Sudan. In continuation of those efforts an inter- only when it is too late, defeats the main objective national seminar was held in· Khartoum on 11 Sep- behind its creation. 1t is worth mentioning here that tember of this year. Participants in that seminar adjudication by the Council must be coupled with included international experts in the field of refugee an absolute commitment on the part of Council problems as well as representatives of the refugees members, especially its permanent members, which themselves. The seminar discussed a number of have a special responsibility in this respect, just issues, the most important being the integration of as they have special rights, to fuIrd their respon~ibility. the refugee projects into local and national develop- 88. Thirdly, the Security Council must consider ment plans. Tha Sudan has always pursued pos~tive appropriate ways of making Member States observe policies on refugee questions, for humane and ethical and respect its decisions. The Council will have to reasons, and also in compliance with regional and be ready to deal with those States which viobite international instruments-to which the Sudan is a its decisions. ~congratulate you on your election to your high office at this thirty-seventh session ofthe General Assembly. We are convinced that your election reflects both an appreciation of your personal abilities and an expres- sion of the wide international prestige enjoyed by the people of your country, whose contribution to the strengthening of peace and internatgonal security is wen known. We wish you and the Secretary- General full success in your respOnsible work. 92. This is the second time in the last four months that we have met to consider developments throughout the world and seek ways ofjoiningforces as effectively a~ possible for the implementation of the noble prin- ciplesofthe Charter. However, this time again it is with a feeling of considerable con;ern that we are forced to ·note that the current international situation con- tinues to be alarming and complex. We are deeply convinced that this cooling of the political climate did not have to occur at all. There are not nor can there be any rational grounds for it. The policy of detente, after all, has asserted itself as a clearly demonstrable historic achievement of nations. 93. Unfortunately, for certain circles of imperialism and reaction the departure from such a generally beneficial policy Clnd attempts to return to the practices of the cold war have become virtually a line of policy. What inventions they manage to come up with! Just as in, -the years of the witch hunts, today, again, their agents 'are trying to resurrect the spectre of com- munism, looking for its long arm in everything bad; and, not unlike inquisitors, they are accusing the socialist countries of all the deadly sins, with the absurd intention of getting them to the stake reserved for heretics. They are doing their utmost to disrupt the military-strategic balance-that basis of stability in today's world-and to shift it to their benefit. They are constantly launching new rounds of the arms race. They are inventing monstrous concepts of a preventive nuclear strike, or the so-called limited or protracted nuclear war, which they even assert can be , won. They are also reviving the discredited policies ofembargoes, boycotts and sanctions. They are using methods of pressure, blackmail, force, aggression, barbarity and genocide wherever circumstances still permit them to do so. 94. The deterioration of the international situation is therefore not the result offorces beyond our control. It is determined by quite concrete deeds of quite 105. The normalization achieved between Czecho- slovakia and the Federal Republic of Germany and the continuing fruitful development of mutually advantageous relations ba~ed on it have become an important factor in the system of European security. This is true also with respect to the normalization of relations with Austria: since pending questions have been resolv~d, a rich structure of mutual con- tacts, including political contacts at the highest level, has been created and peaceful co-operation on our continent has thus been strengthened. Our com- prehensive co-operation with Finland represents a logical implemen:ation of the Fina! Act. Our joint seart;:h with France for new ways of developing relations also offers hope. Our relations with Greece, the Republic of Cyprus and Luxembourg are unde- niabiy of benefit to detente. 106. After many years of negotiations with other sig~atories to the Helsinki documents-the United States and the United Kingdom-negotiations began immediately after the Helsinki Conference, the question of Czechoslovakia's monetary gold has been resolved. Agreements were signed last January between Czechoslovakia and the United States and between Czechoslovakia and the United Kingdom on compensation for claims and the settlement offi~,ancial issues which had encumbered our relations with those countries sinc.e the end of the Second World 'Var. In February part of the 18.4 ton gold treasure stolen during the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Hitlerites was returned by Washington and London to Prague. Thus one of the last outstanding issues remaining from the time of the Second World War was resolved and a serious obstacle removed from the path to the normalization of our relations, in particular with the United States. In this, too, we see confirmation of the fact that, given good will on both sides, there are no insoluble problems. 107. In the past we have constantly pointed out the mutual benefits resulting from what we have come to call the materialization of detente. This is borne out by facts. Suffice it to mention that there has been a more than sixfold mutually balanced increase in trade between the socialist and the capitalist States in the last 10 years. Czechoslovakia's share in this useful exchange with advanced capitalist countries repre- senteda trade turnoverlastyearofmore than$6billion. 108. A simUar picture is to be seen in cultural, educational and scientific contacts. We have 113. We value equally highly yet another new Soviet proposal for invigorating the efforts of States to eliminate the threat of nuclear war al?d safeguard the secure development of nuclear energy. The General Assembly should qualify the deliberate destruction of a peaceful nuclear facility, even if carried out with conventional weapons, as a nuclear attack and thus, in keeping with the Declaration on the Prevention of Nuclear Catastrophe [resolution 36/100] this would be qualified as the gravest crime against humanity. 114. We attach exceptional importance to the successful conduct and positive outcome of Soviet- American negotiations on the limitation of nuclear weapons in Europe. As a central European country directly threatened by existing-and even more so by the Pentagon's envisaged-nuclear missile systems for NATO we believe that it is necessary to follow up the sincere expressions of good will with which the Soviet Union bas so significantly encouraged the talks so far. 115. We hold the view that the question of whether progress will be achieved in nuclear disarmament and whether peace can thus be strengthened depends largely on whether Soviet-American agreement is reached on the limitation and reduction of strategic weapons. That objective can be attained only on the basis of full respect for the principles of equality and equal security, while preserving everything positive that has already been achieved by the two sides in negotiations so far. 116. Wc are also profoundly disturbed by the devel- opment ofbinary and other types ofchemical weapons gf mass destruction, as wen as by the unprecedented. plans {If the United States for their deployment in previousiy unheard-of amounts to the west of the borders of our Republic. The prompt achievement of a ban on llbese dangerous weapons in the spirit of the Soviet draft of the basic provisions of a con- vention on the prohibition of the development, pro- duction and stockpiling of chemical weapons and on their destruction3 is, in our opinion, one of the most urgent tasks of all. politic~, military and economic support within the the leadership of SWAPO for self-~etermination framework of the agreement on so-called strategic and independence. co-operation. 127. The proposals of the Government of the 123. We feel profoundly indignant at the gross Democratic Republic of Afghanistan for a political intervention against Lebanon which culminated in the settlement of the situation around Afghanistan.are recent gory massacre of Palestinian and Lebanese viewed by us as a constructive contribution to a civilians in west Beirut. As one of the members, peaceful settlement of the situation in that region. along with Bolivia, Denmark, Panama and the Philip- We also highly value the efforts undertaken in this pines, of the former United Nations Commission on respect by the Secretary-General. In addition, the set Palestine which was established by resolution 181 of proposals by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of (11) of 29 November 1947 and which was called upon the People9s Republic of Kampuchea, the Socialist to supervise the termination of the British Mandate Republic of Viet Nam and the -Lao People's Demo- in Palestine and the establishment of independent cratic Republic, including the initiative proposing the Arab and Jewish States on its territory-a resolution convening of an international conference to consider as yet regrettably unimplemented-we state with the the situation in South-East Asia [see A/37/334], utmost clarity that Israel must immediately and constitute in our view an important step towards unconditionally withdraw its troops beyond the changing South-East Asia into a region of peace, internationally recognized borders of Lebanon. The stability and co-operation. sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and political independence of Lebanon must be strictly ll!spected, 128. We see the withdrawal of a part of the Viet- as is required by the decision of the recently resumed namese troops from the People's Republic of Kamplll- seventh emergency special session of the General chea as an expression of_good will and a desire to Assembly. resolve the situation in that region by peaceful means. 124. As for the overall solution to the situation, We declare once again, most resolutely, that the seat the only possible way to a just and lasting peace in the in this Organization rightfully belongs to the legitimate Middle East is the consistent observance of the prin- representatives ofthe People's RepublicofKampuchea ciples which correspond to the general norms of and to nobody else. international law and the relevant resolutions of the 129. From the very beginning we have held the Security Council and the General Assembly. These view that the continuing senseless conflict between demand the return of all Arab territories occupied Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran can and must ~ince 1967, including east Jerusalem, the implemen- be terminated as soon as possible by peaceful meant tation of the inalienable right of the Arab Palestinian with respect for the legitimate rights of both parties. people to self~etermination and the establishment We have on several occasions expressed our position of its own independent State on the territory of on the matter to both sides. We support the peace Palestine, free from Israeli occupation, on the West mediation efforts by the countries of the non.aligned Bank of the Jordan and in the Gaza Strip, the safe- movement. guarding of the right of the Palestinian people to return to their homes or to receive appropriate compensation for the property which th~y have abandoned, the safeguarding of the right of all States in the region to a secure and independent existence and to development, and the preparation and adoption of international safeguards for the settlement, which could be guaranteed by the permanent members of the Security Council or by the Council as a whole. 125. We note with satisfaction that this position of ours is substantially in accord with the conclusions of the Twelfth Arab Summit Conference. These objectives, however, cannot be ac:tained through the compromised Camp David deals, but only by multi- lateral collective efforts, preferably by an int.ernational conference on the peaceful settlemen! of the situation in the region, with the participation of all interested parties, including the PLO, the sole legitimate repr~~ sentative of the Arab people of Palestine. 130. We hold unswervingly to the position that the inalienahle right of peoples to self-determination and to decide independently on their own fate must be fully respected in Central America and the Caribbean region also. n4~ threats by American imperialism against Cuba, Nicaragua, Grenada and other States ofCentral Americaand the Caribbean, like the ruthless suppression of the struggle of the patriotic forces in El Salvador, have no other result than the exacerba- tion of tension and the endangering of peace in t.;nse regions. We sympathize with the efforts of the Carib- bean States to transfonn the region into a zone of peace, independence and development. 131. We advocate the settlement of the decoloniza- tion problem which came to a head this year in the South Atlantic-by means of negotiations on the basis of United Nations resolutions and of the deci- sions adopted by the non-aligned mov~inent, parti- 135. Czechoslovakia values highly the activity of the non-aligned movement against war and for disar- mament anQ; social progress. We are convinced that by proceeding consistently on the basis ofprogressive, peaceful and anti-imperialist position~ the non-aligned movement can play a significant positive role, parti- cularly in the current complex international situation. NOTES I Official R~cords oftht Third Unittd Nations Conftrtnc~ on tht Law ofth~ StD, vol. XVII, document A/CONF.62/122. Z Lqos Plan of Action for the Implementation of the Monrovia StrateD far the Economic Development of Africa. SCe A/S-11/14. annex I. :I see A/S-12/AC.1/12 and Corr.1. .. OjJicial Records oftht Gtntral Asstmbly, Thirty-sixth Session, Ann~x~s, aaenda item 128, document A/36/192. annex. 5 see A/36/~%.