A/39/PV.1 General Assembly

I am deeply honoured to be elected President of the thirty-nmth session of the General Assembly. My election to this high office is first and foremost a tribute to my country, Zambia, and to my President, Mr. Kenneth David Kaunda, who has made Zambia's philosophy of humanism C~arter o~ the Umted NatIons and by the collective 63. Conventional wisdom suggests that the greatest WIll of thIS Assembly. . ofPowers do not need the United Nations to survive. 59. I assume this responsibility with some tr~plda- Indeed some even assert that international security tion, especially when I look back at th.e long hn~ of since the founding of the Organization has been my illustrious predecessorst who c?nstltute a ve~Ita- guaranteed by the nuclear "balance of terror" and ble hall of fame. I have In .partlcular the umque that the existence of the Organization has had honour of assuming the preSIdency of the General nothing to do with it. While it can be argued that this Assembly after a Head of Stat~, Mr. Jorge Illu.eca, balance ofterror has played a role in preventin~ total President of Panama, w.ho pre~Ided over th~ thlrty- war it has contributed very little to the creatIon of eighth session. With h~s grac:ou~ personalIty ax:-d real'peace. In contrast, the United Nations has made dignified composure, hiS dedIcatIon and commlt- substantial contributions. Certainly, a strong case can ment to the spirit and principles of the Charter of the be made to show that a world without the United United Nations and his wise and courageous lead.er- Nations would be a much more dangerous place in ship of the Assembly, he has set an example whIch which to live. Even the balance of terror itself will not be easy for me t~ emulat~..But I take sol~ce operates within a context of diplomacy and interna- in the fact .that my task wIll be faCIlItated by the WIse tional exchange; and to this e?'t~nt, at .least, all St~tes and expenenced counsel of the Secretary-General, depend upon this context wlthm whIch the Umted Mr. Javier Perez de Cue!la~, whom ~ have come to Nations is a major element. admire and resl?ect fo~ hIS Intellect, Judgem~n~, tact 64. However, whether one or another ~tate .could and u.nd,erst~lDdmgdurmg o~~ very long and mtImate possibly survive without the United NatIons IS not aSSOCIatIOn ID several c~pacltles. I shall naturally rely the central or crucial issue. The small and medium- on the ,usual c~-ope~atlOn of the States Members of sized States need the United Nations. This is not t~e Umted NatIons m our endeavour to carry out the because they are confident that the United Nations dIfficult task before us. .. . . can ensure their security and independence or indeed 60. Twenty yea~s ago a dlstmgU1~hed son of AfrIca, their very survival. On. the contr~ry, the.cUi!1bers0!'1e symbolizing Afnca's decade of. mdependence. and methods of the SfJCunty CouncIl and l.tS mcr~a~mg emancipation, was elected the nmeteenth PreSIdent difficulties in taking timely and effectIve deCISIons of the General Assembly. It was a time of a~ute ~risis offer no firm hope in that direction. Rather, and I for the Organization and the shadow of Immment hope that this is true also for the great Powers, they collapse hovered over the general A~sembly..It was need the United .Nati?ns.because it still rep~esents our ~ood fortune that, WIth exceptIonal skIll and mankind's most ImagmatIve structure for usmg co- imagmation, arrangements. we~e found that ensured operative methods to tackle man's ancie~t enemie~, the survival of the Orgamzatlon. namely, war, disease, poverty and the demal of baSIC 61 It is instructive to recall the underlying consid- human rights and freedoms. er~tions and factors that compelled the consensus 65. In favourable circumstances, the United Na- which surmounted the crises at that time. Member tions creates the setting within which States can use States, although de~icated to t~e. i~portant principle their common wisdom .to enunciate the ~orms which, of collective finanCIal responslblhty for peace-keep- when observed, prOVIde for. the maIntenance of ing and for sustaining the Organization, were equally international peace and securIty. conscious of the critical role of the greatest of Po:wers 66. It is tempting for Member States-perhaps in ensuring the efficacy of the United NatIons. relying too much on their own military, industrial, Consequently, every effort was made to promote a economic and moral authority-to believe that they more co-operat~ve re.lationship ~etween th~ two can not only ensure their own security, but also major Powers WIth a vIew to ensurmg the surVIval of impose their own particular concepts of peace and the Organization. security on the world community. History, in its long 62. Today, as we prepare to celebrate the fortieth displa): of the rise and fall of great empIres, teach.es anniversary of the United Na~ions, we are challenged us, ~ dIfferent lesson. No State-h0"Yev~r awes?me Its by a whole array of difficultIes that spell profound mIhtary. power or however great ItS .mdustnal and crisis for the Or~anization. We all deeply regr~t the economIC strength-can. ha,,:e a umque grasp on present low ebb m the relationship between the two common sense, nor can It umlate~ally comma~d the super-Powers. While there is no assurance that good strength of purpose and the tenacity of c011?mltment relations between the United States and the Soviet required to saf~guard the peace and secunty of the Union will result in a more effective United Nations, world commumty. Ofcourse, I am awarp that a smgle Dect~mber 1973. The General Assembly, in its resolu- the death and destruction that have resulted from tion 31/62 of 9 December 1976, reaffirmed that regional conflicts. arran~em~nt. It is,therefore difficult t~ imagine any 81. It is true that in many instances those bitterly co~bmatIon of cI~cumstanc~s that WIll produce a engaged in regional conflicts or civil strife have lastIng. settlement In the ,MIddle East WIthout ~o- shown reluctance to make use of the available ope.ratlOn between the Umted States ~md the SovI~t international machinery for the resolution of the Umon. Let us ~ope that thos~ two major Powers WIll conflicts. It may even be true that the misuse of the commence sen0':ls,consultatIons at an early ~ate to vet,-;. power in the Security Council, for example, has reiflove the remamIng obstacles to the convem~gof a discouraged parties to such conflicts from turning to MIddle ,East pe~ce conference under the auspIces of the United Nations. Nevertheless, if we are to revive the Umted NatIOns. and strengthen the credibility of the Organization, it 77. It is not beyond the capacity of all concerned to is imperative that we reflect on how best to adapt our work out, in an imaginative way, the appropriate working procedures and approaches in the crucial modalities, such as those relating to representation, area of the peaceful settlement of disputes, timing a1,1d agenda" In the final anal~sis,and give!l the 82. It is of interest to recall that the United Nations complexIty of the Issues a~ they eXIst In the MIddle has in the past made necessary adjustments in order East, only a co~prehenslve fram~work offers the to overcome an obstacle limiting its ability to assist prospect ofa solutIOn th~t would satIsfy the divergent States in the resolution of disputes. Even the much- Interests of all the p~rtles concerned. discussed misuse of the veto power was tempered, at 78. W~ must ~ecogmze the fact, ho,:"ever, th,at for the very beginning of the Organization, when an th~ Umted Natl0!ls to play an, effectIve role It?- .the abstention by a permanent member of the Security MIddle East and In the resolutIon of many polItIcal Council was interpreted as not constituting a veto. disputes" some change of direction is needed, in i~s Furthermore, the Secretary-General has used the delIberatIve organs. The Secre~ary,-Ge~eral, In hIS provisions of Articles 98 and 99 of the Charter in an report on the work or the OrgamzatlOn, In 1982, and imaginative and effective manner which has enabled on, subsequent <?ccas,lOns, has made ~xtremely appro- him to offer his good offices to Member States in the prtate remar~s In t~IS regard. Th~r~ IS no do~~t th~t, pacific settlement of disputes. This procedure has In the pursUl,t of dIfficult negotlatl,ons, dec~slons In allowed the Organization to play a constructive role the deliberatIve organs. o~ the U!llted NatIons can in tackling certain serious political disputes at vari- make or .mar such negotlatI~ns. It IS" therefor,e, of the ous times in the past. But, bv its very nature, the use utmost IJ!lI?0t:tance that In cert~In sltuatlO~s we of good offices requires each party to a dispute to should mInImIze the deep frustratIon and feelIng of accept the offer of the Secretary-General. It is helplessness that have encouraged Member States to therefore incumbent on Member States to show a continue to raise specific issues in all forums of the greater degree of readiness to make use of the good Organization and to adopt repetitive resolutions. offices of the Secretary-General, who has been elect- 79. What is required now is a return to that period ed as the custodian of the Charter principles for the of the history and development of the United protection of international peace and security. ~he Importance they atta9h to .the prmclple. of international financial system as well as examine mterdependence and multtlateral~sm. In practical seriously in what direction the present world eco- terms, ho~ever, ~om~ have contmued to wonder nomic system is takin~ Member States, particularly whether thIs pnn,clple ~s a mere slogan..But, even as a the developing countnes. slogan, we are wltnessmg today a turnmg away from interdependence and multilateralism. Those who 89. The international community has shown greater accept this trend have grounded their case in some of inclination to exercise its responsibility in providing the observations I have been making. They believe relief and rehabilitation assistance hI situations re- that the voting patterns in multilateral bodIes either suIting from man-made and natural disasters. How- do not reflect the distribution of power in the world (~ver, the response has not always been uniform. community or reflect its misuse by a majority based l\1any countries have been ravaged by several years on their sheer numbers. of severe drought and continue to face critical food 86. It is, of course, understandable that a State shortages, causing, ~amine in many instanc~s. The which believes that its policy will not obtain ade- flow of many mtlho,ns of refugees an~ dlspla,ced quate support in a multinational framework may persons remams a senou~ concern, especially agamst turn away from it. Such a stance is understandable as the backdrop of the very madeq~ate resources gener- a short-run policy. But in the long run, such an ate~ by both the first ~ntem~tlonal Conference <?o approach is bound to prove defeatist and inappropri- AssI.stanc~ to Refugees m AfrIca, held .at Geneva m ate to the interdependent era in which we live If we AprIl 1981, and the Second International Confer- are to tackle successfully numerous problems 'across ence, held at Gen~va in July of this year, T~ere is, international boundaries, we cannot afford to ignore there~ore, .a pres~mg need to go beyond rehef and the reality of interdependence and the consequent reha~lhtatlon assIstance to t,!ckle the problem on a necessity of multilateralism. sustamed and long-term baSIS. 87. This necessity affects political concerns as well 90. Let me, in summary, return to the central as .ec<?nomic and social issues. An overwhelming themes of my remarks. It is, unquestionably, a maJonty of the members of the General Assembly Herculean task to construct a legitimate, stable, just have become disenchanted by a decreased commit- and enduring world order. This task has engaged the ment of multilateral co-operation for development. attention of the ablest of statesmen in the modern The prosperity of all, parts ~f the world economic international system. And ret this system which is syste~ depe~ds ':lpon,lm~rovmg the social, economic emerging to meet th~ objective realities of an histori- and md~stnal situation ,m every I?art of the world cally unprecede!1t~d mterdependent era is, in fact, of commumty. The develo~mg ~ountnes have, perhap~, a very recent ongm. We have only begun to build the tak~n too s~n0':lsly a major aim o~ the wotld Orgam- structure 0'£ peace required for the years to come. zatlOn, which IS to promote socIal progress and a Clearly, thiS effort deserves our collective commit- better standard of life for all. Instead of enhancing ment and sustained support. In fact, the categorical