A/39/PV.20 General Assembly

On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honaur to welcome to the United Nations the Head of State and President of the National Council of the Revolution of Burkina Faso, Captain Thomas Sankara, and to invite him to address the Assembly. 2. Mr. SANKARA (Burkina Faso) (interpretation from French): I bring the fraternal greetings of a country covering 274,000 square kilometres, where 7 million men, women and children refuse henceforth to die of ignorance, hunger and thirst, even though they are not yet able to have a real life, after a quarter of a century as a sovereign State represented here at the United Nations. 3. I come to this thirty-ninth session of the General Assembly to speak on behalf of a people which, on the land of its ancestors, has chosen from now on to assert itself and to take responsibility for its own history, in hoth its positive and negative aspects, without any complexes. 4. I come here, mandated by the National Council of the Revolution of Burkina Faso, to express the views of my people on the problems that have been included on the General Assembly's agenda, which form the tragic background of the events which are sadly undermining the foundations of the world late in this twentieth century. It is a woild of chaos, in which the human race is torn apart by struggles between the great and the not-sa-great, attacked by armed bands and subjected to violence and plunder. It is a world in which the nations, eluding interna- tional jurisdiction., command groups beyond the law, which, with gun in hand, live by preymg on others ~md organizing the most despicable kinds of traffick- Ing. 5. I do not intend to enunciate dogmas here. I am neither a messiah nor a prophet. I possess no truths. My only ambition is a twofold aspiration: first, to be able to speak in simple language, the language offacts and clarity, on behalf of my people, the people of Burkina Faso, and, secondly, to be able·to express In my own way the feelings of that mass of people who are disinherited--those who belong to that world maliciously dubbed "the third world"-and to state, even if I cannot make them understood, the reasons !hat have led us to rise up, all of which explain~ our Interest in the United Nations, the demands of our NEW YORK rights drawing strength in the clear awareness of our duties. 6. Nobody will be surprised to hear us associate the former Upper Volta, now Burkina Faso, with that despised rag-bag, the third world, which the other worlds invented at the time of our independence in orde: better to ensure our intellectual, cultural, economic and political alienation. We want to fit in there without at all justifying this great swindle of history, still less accepting that we are a backwatd world left behind by the West. Rather, we do so to affirm our awareness of belonging to a three-conti- nent whole and to state, as one of the non-aligned countries, our deeply felt conviction that a special solidarity unites the three continents of Asia, Latin America and Africa in the same battle against the same political traffickers and economic exploiters. 7. Thus to recognize our presence in the third world is, to paraphrase Jose Marti, to affirm that we feel on our cheek every blow struck against every other man in the world. So far, we have turned the other cheek. The slaps in the face have been redoubled and the evil-doers have felt no tenderness in their hearts. They have trampled on the truth of the just. They have betrayed the word of Christ. They have turned His cross into a club, and after ~utting on His robe they have tom our bodies and souls to shreds. They have obscured His message, making it a Western one, whereas we saw it as a message of universal libera- tion. Now our eyes have been opened to the class struggle and there will be no more blows dealt against us. It must be proclaimed that there wi!l be no salvation for our peoples unless we turn our backs completely on all the models that all the charlatans of that type have tried to se'! us for 20 years. There can be no salvation for us unless we reject those models; there can be no development without that break. 8. Now ali the new "master minds" are awake.ninJ, roused by the dizzy increase of millions of men ID ra~s and frightened by the- threat to their digestion of thIS multitude hounded hy hunger. They are begin- ning to change their tun.e and are again anxiously seeking among us miracu~ous ideas for new forms of development for our couf.tries. In order to under- stand this it is necessary only to read the proceedings of innumerable colloquys and semin~rs. 9. I certainly do not wish to ridicule the patient effortr .rthose honest intellectuals who, because they have, }S to see, have observed the terrible conse- quences of the ravages caused in the third world by the so-called development specialists. 10. I fear that the results of all the energies seized by the Prosperos of all kinds nlay be turned into a magic wand to be used to turn us back i~'tto a world of slavery, dressed up according to the taste of our times. This fear IS justified by the fact that the African petite bourgeoisie with its diplomas, if not ~nglneers a~d economIsts are content SImply to add a sectors, imposing intolerable burdens on our small lIttle colourI~g, b~~ause ther have brought from t~e budgets, completely disrupting our countryside, Europea~ un,1VerSltIes of whIch they are the products creating deficits in our trade balance and, in fact, on!y t~eIr dIplomas an~ the s~rface smoothness of speeding up our indebtedness. adjectIves and superlatIves. It IS urgently necessary, . that our qualified personnel and those who work with 16. Here are just a ft;w stanqard fact~ !o d~scrlb,e ideas learn that there is no innocent writing. In these what Upper Volta used to be,lI~e: 7 mIllIon I~habl- tempestuous times, we cannot leave it to our enemies tants, :WIth more than 6 mI1~lon peasants; mfant ofthe past and ofthe present to think and to imagine mortalIty ,at, 180 per 1,000; lIfe expec~an~y of 4,0 and to create. We also must do so. year~; an IllIteracy rate ,of 98 per cent, If htt:racy IS . . , . . consIdered to mean bemg able to read, WrIte and ! ~. Before It IS too lat~-and It IS al!eady late-thIs speak a language; one doctor for 50,000 inhabitants; elIte, these ~en of ~frIca, of the thIrd world, must 16 per cent receiving schooling; and lastly, a gross come ~o theIr se!lst:s, m other words, they ~ust turn domestic product of 53,356 CFA francs, that is, just to theIr own socletIe~, they must look at thIS wretch- over $100 per capita edness that we have mherIted, to understand that the .. '. battle for thought that will help the disinherited 17. The dIagnosIs ~bvlously ~as a very bad one. masses not only is not a vain one but can become The source of the eYI~ was polItIcal and so the only credible at the international level. They must provide cure must be a polItIcal one. a faithful picture for their own peoples, a pictur~ that 18. Of course, we encourage aid that can help us to wIl~ enable the~ ~o carrY o~t profound changes m the manage without aid, but in general the aId and socIal and polItIcal slt.uatlOn ~o t~at we can ~ree assistance policies merely led us to become complete- ~urselves from the foreIgn dommatIon an.d explOlta- ly disorganized, to enslave ourselves, to shirk our tlon that can. lead our States only to faIlure. responsibility in our economic, political and cultural 12. This is something that we understood, we, the areas. people of Burkiaa Faso, on that night of 4 ~ugust 19. We have chosen a different path to achieve 1983, when the stars first began to shme m the better resulb. We have chosen to establish new heavens ofour ~o,mela,nd. We had to ~ake the lead of techniques. We have chosen to seek forms of organi- the peasa!lt uP.rISIngs m the countrysIde, threateped zation that are better adapted to our civilization, by desertlficatIon, exhausted by. hunger and thIrst, abruptly and once and for all rejecting all kinds of and ~bandoned. We had to gIve some sense of outside diktats, so that we can create the conditions meamng to the revolts, of the upemplo~ed urJ:>an for a dignity in keeping with our ambitions. masses, frustrated and tIred of seemg the hmousmes . . of the alienated elite flash by following the head of 20. We refuse SImple survIval. 'Ye want to eas~ the State, who offered them only false solutions devised pressur~s, to free ~ur countrysIde from m~dleval and conceived in the brains of others. We had to give sta~natton or regressIon. We \yant to democ~atIze our an ideological soul to the just struggles of our masses SOCIety" to open ~I? our mmds to a UnIverse of mobilized against the monstrosity of imperialism. collectIve ~esponslblhty, so that we may be bold Instead ofa minor, short-lived revolt, we had to have enou:~ to l!lvent the future. We ~an~ to cha~ge the revolution, the eternal struggle against all domina- a~mlmstr~tI?n and reconstruct It WIth a dIfferent tion. Others have noted this before me and yet others ~md of cI~Il servant. We. want to ~et our army will say after me how broad the gap now is between mv~lve~ WIth the people IP. producttye. wor~ ~md the rich peoples and those that aspire only to have remID~ It.constantly ~h~t, Wlt~out patrIotIc tra~mng, enough to eat, enough to drink, to survive and to a s<?I~ler IS only a cnmmal WIth power. That IS our defend their dignity, but nobody could believe how pohtlcal programme. much of the food of our people has gone to feed the 21. At the economic level, we are learning to live rich man's cow. simply, to accept and to demand of ourselves the 13. In the case ofUpper Volta, the process was even aus!erity that we need in order to carry out our great more crystal clear. We demonstrated the essence of desIgns. all the ~alamities.that have crushed the so-called 22. T~anks to the revolutio~ary.solidarity fund, developmg countrIes. which IS fed by voluntary contnbutlons, we are now 14. The truth about aid, represented as the panacea beginning to deal with the cruel questions posed by for all ills and often praised beyond all rhyme or the drought. We support and have apylied the reason, has been revealed. Very few countries have principles of the Declaration of Alma-Ata, expand- been so inundated with aid of all kinds as has mine. ing our primary health care. We endorse as a State reservat~ons, so that they do not have any aspirations behalf ,?f the sIck who are anxiously looki~g to see to any rIghts whatsoever, so that their culture cannot what SCIence can do for them-but that SCIence has become enriched t11rou~ contact with other cultures been taken over by the gun merchants. My thoughts including that of the Invader. ' go to all those who have been affected by the 30. I speak out on behalf of those who are unem- destruction of nature, those 30 million who are dying ployed because of a structurally unjust system which every year, crushed by that most fearsome weapon, has now been completely disrupted, the unemployed hunger. who have been reduced to seeing their lives as only 38. As a soldier, I cannot forget that obedient the reflection of the lives ef those who have more soldier who does what he is told, whose finger is on than themselves. the trigger and who knows that the bullet which is 31.. I speak on behalf of women throughout the going to leave his gun will bring only a message of entIre world who suffer from a system of exploitation death. imposed on them by men. As far as we are con- 39. Lastly, I speak out in indignation as I think of cemed, we are willing to welcome aH suggestions the Palestinians, whom this most inhuman humanity from anywhere in the world that will help us to has replaced with another people, a people who only promote the full development and prosperity of the yesterday were themselves being martyred at leisure. women of Burkina Faso. In retUrIl, we will share with I think of the valiant Palestinian people, the families all countries the positive experience we are now which have been splintered and split up and are undertaking with our women, who are now involved wandering throughout the world seeking asylum. at all. levels of the State apparatus and social life in C;o~rageous! determined, stoic and tireless, the Pales- Burkma Faso, WJmen who struggle a.nd who say with t!mans remInd us all of the need and moral obliga- us that the slave who will not shoulder responsibility hon to respect the rights ofa people. Along with their to rebel does not deserve pity. That slave will alone Jewish brothers, they are anti-Zionists. ~e r~sponsible for his own wretchedness if ~c has any 40. Standing alongside my soldier brothers of Iran IllusIOns whatsoever about the suspect mdulgence and Iraq, who are dying in a fratricidal and suicidal shown by a master who pretends to give him war, I wish also to feel close to my comrades of freedom. Only strug~le helps us to become .free, and Nicaragua, whose ports are being mined, whose I~replaceable peace-promotmg actIVItIes and con- nothing for us and our allies to do but to adopt tmue to do so. appropriate defensi.ve counte~measu~es, in deployi.ng 89. During this year's successful visit of the Secre- systems of operat.lonal tactIc~1 mlsstles wIth m- tary-General to the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, creased range-whIch resulted m the fact, for which we expressed at the hi~hest level our commitment to we a.re not to blame, th~t the EuroJ?ean conti~ent has the cause of the Umted Nations, as well as our only suffered a loss wIthout makmlJ any game The readiness to strengthen its activities and confidence balance has been restored at a h!gher and more in it. We emphasized that in the present volatile dangerous level. The presence of n.ew weapons in international situation, the peoples need the United West~rn Eu~ope has not brou~tany mcrease at all in Nations as a universal institution of a world system securIty; qUIte the contrary, It has caused a general of collective security no less than they did at the time decrease.in s.ecurity, prompted the growth of mistrust of its establishment. We also stressed that the and te~sI~n m relatIons among States, created further Organization requires the determination of nations complIcatIons on th~ way to agr~e~ent a~d po~~ a to find just solutions to momentous problems be.. thr~at to ot~er regIons also wIthm theIr stflkmg cause, as history teaches us, there is no other road to radIus and, m the long run, to the whole world. pea~e but peace. Peace itself i~ the road, a~d it can be 93. International relations have been considerably achIeved only through pahe~t, collec~Iv~ efforts aggravated by the continued pursuit of plans aimed every day, throug,h gradual, dehberate buIldmg C?f all- at achieving strategic superiority and preparing for a round co-~perahon. among States and ~onsIste~t nuclear war in outer space, by the ~rogramme to strengthenmg of theIr mutual confidence and securt- develop and produce means for the mditarization of ty. outer space. This space project with "defensive" or 90. Seen from this point of view, this year's general "preventive" purposes to be achieved by the envis- debate so far has been a demonstration of justifiable aged anti-ballistic and anti-satellite systems has in concern about international developments, which are fact shifted the question of war in outer space-in full ofadverse tendencies. Within the short period of that r 'xth ocean", as it might be called today-from the last year, the spiral of the arms race has climbed the realm of theory to that of practice. However, a to unprecedented levels. The stockpiles of nuclear war in outer space would not be an alternative to a peopl~ throughout the world would welcome with forc~s and ar1l,laments, we have endeavoured, togeth- relief a speedy start to Soviet-United States talks on er With our allies, to overcome the profound deadlock these questions, as proposed by the Government of reached in those talks through the fault of the West. t~e Soviet Union in its statement la.st June. We also The appr<?ach set f<?rth. in the propo~als su~mitted by ~Ive our full support to the new and Important Soviet the soclahst countrIes In 1983 prOVIdes a Simple and mitiative taken at this session by Mr. Andrei Gromy- mutually, acceptable ~ay to i1l,lplement the man~ate ko [see A/39/243] for the adoption of an historic of the Vienna talks In ItS entIrety. The approprIate undertaking by all States to safeguard the use ofouter use of that approach would facilitate overcoming the space exclusively for peaceful purposes for the bene- numerical ~arrier and would speed up the adoption fit of mankind, which might lead in the future to the of a ~utuahy acceJ'.!table agreement that would make establishment of a world organization to that end. pOSSible a s~bstanhal reduction of armed forces and Ill. At the Conference on Disarmament at Gene- armaments m Central Europe. va, we actively advocate the speedy draftin~ of a 116. In the interest of progress in the solution ofall convention on the prohibition and destructIon of disarmament questions, Czechoslovakia will con- chemical weapons. In that respect, a good foundation tinue its efforts of previous years and will also at this was provided by the proposal submitted by the session of the General Assembly further elaborate on Soviet Union in 19829 at the twelfth special session the ideas of the Declaration on International Co- of the General Assembly, the second session devoted operation for Disarmament, which was adopted at to disarmament, and supplemented by further con- our initiative in 1979 [resolution 34/88]. structivC? Sovie~ proposals, including t.he latest on,e 117. We believe that the General Assembly should concernIng verIficatlot,1 of the destructIon of cheml- give new encouragement to the efforts aimed at cal w~apons. The achievement ~f ~ general b~~ on safeguarding the peaceful nature of relations among chemIcal weapons may also be sIgmficantly facl1ltat- States and strengthening mutual confidence. Were it ed by the proposal made ~y t~e States members of not for the policies of States that arrogate to them- the Warsaw Treaty Orgamzatlon ~ddressed to th,e selves the right openly to destabilize the independent Sta~es members of the North. A~lant.lc Treaty Org~m. existence of other countries and to subvert their zahon [NATO] for the ehmmatlon of chemical social and politi..=al order, the situation in the world weapons from Europe. would undeniably be more tranquil and less danger- 112. We believe it is extremely important to give ous. It is precisely for this reason that we support the new impetus to efforts for the limitation of the new and most timely proposal by the Soviet Union siv~ settlement of the dan8,erous sltu.atl~?n m .t~at the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and to its regIon caused by th~ aggr~s~lve .expanslOnIst pohcl~s positive role in current international relations. We of Israel and by Impenahst mterference. In !hls welcome its stand in favour ofthe halting ofthe arms connection, we rea~~ our support fo~ the Just race, the peaceful settlement of conflict situations in struggl~ of.the Palest~~la~,people for natlo~al self- the world and the strengthening of peace. ~etermmatlon and t..i.'- "s~abhshment of Its own 128. We fully support the demands of the develop. mdependent State. . . .. ing countries and their efforts aimed at restructuring 119. We favour the speedIest possIble termmatlon international economic relations on a just and demo. of hostilities between Iran and Iraq and the se~tle- cratic basis. We r.ondemn the aggravation of neo. ment ofthe conflict by political means in the spint of colonialist exploitation of the d ~veloping countries the relevant United Nations decisions, in particular and the practice of the imperiali States of shifting Security Council resolutions 540 (1983) and 552 onto the shoulders of the developing countries the (1984). At the same time, we oppose any external burden of the consequences of the economic crisis by attempts at.military .inter~~rence, ~h~!her ~hey are means of both political and economic pressure. undertaken m the gUIse of protectIon of od routes 129. In the Declaration adopted at the Economic or under any other pretext. Conference of the member States of the Council for 120. We strongly reject interference in the affairs of Mutual Economic Assistance, held in Moscow last Cuba and escalation of aggressive militarist actions June, the participants advocated the adoption of a8:ainst. Nicara~ua, and we condemn once again the effective. m~asures designed to do away with any ki~d aggressIon agamst Grenada. of explO1tahon. We confirmed our steadfast commlt- 121. We agree with those who see the cause of the ment to. the ~eve.lopment of fruitf~l economic, explosive situation in Central America and in ~he c~mmerclal, sCIentific. and technologIcal contacts Caribbean not in a ~lobal East-West confrontatIOn wIth all States so motivated. but in the deep politIcal, social and economic crisis 130. It is in this spirit that we continue to develop created as a result of the interference and gross our relations with the Western countries through all exploitation practised by imperialism. It is these existing channels, while consistently applying the causes that must be eliminated. We fully support the well-tested principles of peaceful coexistence. Under efforts of the Contadora Group to bring about a conditions of orderly relations, we continue to con- peaceful and just settlement of the conflict situation duct with most of them a dialogue which produces m that region. undisputed constructive results. We re~ard this as a 122. We value and fully support the proposals of positive featu,re of the overall interna.tlOnal climate. the Government of the Democratic Republic of At the same time, however, we say q~lte frankly th~t Afghanistan for an improvement of relations in the the 4eployme~t of the new first-stnke weapons m region. We believe that the steps taken by the certam c<?untne~ of Western Europe could not leave Secretary-General and his Personal Representative our relatIons wIth them unaffected. will also contribute to finding realistic ways of 131. The present day demands of us urgently that achieving that $oa1. A prerequisite is the halting of we rededicate ourselves to all the positive aspects of foreign imperahst interference in the internal affairs the activities of the United Nations, that we develop of Afghamstan. them and defend and strengthen, consistently and 123. Czechoslovakia fully supports the peoples of tirelessly, the f<?~ndations of~~rld peace and s.ecuri- Viet Nam, Laos and Kampuchea in the defence of ty as a prerequls,1te apd condItion for the solution <.,f their freedom and independence and in their efforts the o~her pressmg Issues and problems faced by to restore peace, stability and co-operative relations mankmd. among States of the region. We demand that the For our part, we are ready now as we were before to General Assembly assume a realistic approach to the continue along that road. questio~ of the ~epresen~ation of t~e Kampuchean 132. Mr. HALEFO<:JLU (Turkey): First of all, I pe<?ple m the ymted Nations by theIr true represe~- should like to congratulate you, Sir, on your election tatlves,. that IS, the Gove~nment of the ~eople s to the presidency of the thirty-ninth session of the Repu~hc of Kampuche~,whlc~ has been .c~nslstently General Assembly. Your well-known qualities as an pursumg a peaceful foreIgn. pohcy, and stnvmg for the eminent statesman of Africa and your dedication as development of co-operation wIth all States. President ofthe United Nations Council for Namibia 124. We support the proposals of the Democratic to its independence and the eradication of the People's Republic of Korea for a peaceful reunifica- abhorrent practice of apartheid will contribute to the tion of Korea on a democratic basl~ preceded by the success of our work. I also wish to express our thanks withdrawal of United States troops trom the southern to the outgoing Presid~nt, ~vfr. Jorge Illueca, of part of the country. Panama. c,?nst.lt~tes .the mo~t abomInable form of racial free from foreign interference. A united, sovereign dlscn!DmatI~n, and It appeals t~ ~ll Member St~tes and territorially integral Lebanon is indispensable for to umfy theu efforts a~aIDst thiS m~uman prac!l~e. the overall stability ofthe region. We are all under an 139. I should also lIke to mentIon a POSlt1Vf: obligation to help the Lebanese people achieve that development in Africa. My. 90ve~ment welcom~~s goal. the recent agreement .on mllIt~ry dlsengag~ment In 145. The war between Iran and Iraq is yet another Chad and h.opes. for. ItS earl~ Implementatl?n. major source of tension and danger in the region. 140. The Situation m the ~Iddle East c<?ntmues. to Turkey, a neighbour of the two countries, with cause grave concern. Te~slo~ and conflIct persist, equally close ties with both, is very much distressed and. up-fortunately there ,IS stIll not much room. for by the loss of human lives and material devastation optImism about a ~~got1ated settle~ent. The plIght inflicted by the war. The potential in the conflict for of !he Arab Pal~stI~lan peo~le contInues unabatt:d, unpredictable developments remains high, and there whIle Leba~on IS stIll. searchmg for the .opportum~y is always the danger of escalation. We again call on to ,reassert ItS sovereignty over Its terntory a~d IS both sides to end the war. Turkey is prepared to assist tryIng further to pursue the process of natIOnal and to contribute to a settlement under conditions reconciliation and reconstruction. mutually acceptable t~ Iraq and Iran. We also ~41. Turkey is naturally concerned about the tense support other initiatives that enjoy the confidence of situation in the region. We see Turkey's role as one of the two parties, and, in particular, express our stability, peacefl;ll cha~ge and pro~ress. I~s historical appreciation to the Secretary-General for his efforts. and cultural hen~age, ItS geographic l~ca~lon an~ the 146. We continue to be deeply concerned about the We~t~rn values It ~as adopted put It m a umque situation in Afghanistan. The determination of the position to play thiS role. Afghan people to live in freedom is praiseworthy. We 142. The question ofPalestine occupies cantre stage applaud the efforts ofthe Secretary-General to obtain in the Middle East political arena and is today, as it a negotiated political settlement. The Afghan people has been for more than three decades, among the must be able to exercise its right to sel(..determina- high-priority items on the agenda of the United tion, and the Afghan refugees must be allowed to Nations. The Organization, through numerous reso- r~turn to their countI')' in safety. Such a settlement lutions, has firmly supported the right of self-deter- should restore Afghamstan's independence and non- mination of Arab Palestinians and the creation of an alie,ned status by ensuring the withdrawal of foreign independent Palestinian State, without which no military forces. We also express our appreciation to settlement can be just and enduring. It is therefore the Government of Pakistan, which, despite its savin~s and of their imports hampers their growth. tural commodities, manufactured goods and ser- Sustamed growth of the world econon:y is the only vices-but also through the impiementation of the viable long-ternl solution for most of the current already existing commitments. problems. 166. We believe that adopting an objective ap- 159. It is difficult for any country, whether rich or proach in all economic fields would pave the way for poor, large or small, to isolate itself from the rest of a comprehensive and constructive exchange of views the world. It is against this background that intensi- on world economic issues. We hope, in this context, fled co-operative efforts among nations and institu- that a realistic consensus will emerge for the launch- tions, both public and private, are needed to ing of $lobal negotiations within the framework of overcome our common problems. Wc must seek the UnIted Nations. short- and long-term measures to reduce protection- 167. One of the overriding concerns of mankind is ist barriers and expand international trade, support arms control and disarmament efforts. The arms race and strengthen the multilateral mechanisms for the drains the scarce resoUl'ces of nations and brings transfer of financial and technical assistance to ... .. . 1 developl'ng countries and Dive due consideration to about instabilIty and insecurIty m mternahona Cl" relations. The developin~ countries especially are in enhancing the quality and level of their human and need of these resources for their economic and sccial natural resources. development, which can only be accomplished in a 160. In this connection, we highly appreciate the safer and more stable international environment. London Economic Declaration, issued at the London 168. Turkey's objective is and remains to have an Economic Summit, held from 7 to 9 June 1984 [see adequate defence capability, as well as balanced and A1391304], and the intention of the seven major verifiable arms control and arms reduction steps, in industrialized countries to spread the benefits of the conjunction with a policy of dialogue and confi- world recovery widely to developing countries, espe- dence-building. cially to the least developed ones, which stand to gain more from a "ustained growth of world economy. 169. We are of the opinion that a commitment to rebuilding confidence among States is the most 161. Turkey, on the basis of mutual benefit, partici- important prerequisite for the success of disarma- pates actively in enhancing economic relations with ment initiatives. The successful conclusion of the developing countries. We are convinced that tangible Madrid follow-up meetin~ of the Conference on and realistic results of the economic co-operation Security and Co-operation In Europe and the conven- among the developing countries, in particular on a ing at Stockholm of the Conference on Confidence.. regional level, can establish reliable bases for a and Security-building Measures and Disarmament in genuine and comprehensive dialogue on a much Europe have yet to bring about the desired results. larger scale. Likewise, Turkey supports all construc- 170. We welcome the recent proposals made by tive and practical proposals initiated by developing President Reagan in his speech from this rostrum countries for adjusting similar structural difficulties [Ath meeting] and also the recent contacts between with a view to providing effective solutions. the United States and the Soviet Union as a sign of 162. Finally, a certain convergence of views be- hope for the future. The super-Powers bear a special tween the North and the South has emerged in a responsibility in the field of arms control. They number ofinternational forums. What is needed now should resume, as early as possible, negotiations on is the political will tG translate ideas into action. Such nuclear armaments with a view to paving the way to political will is especially needed to resolve the debt progress in all other related areas. It is our earnest problems of the developing countries, which consti- wish that this session of the General Assembly will tute a tangible major threat to the stability of mark the beginning of a turning-point in East-West international economic relations. relations, as well as of a better understanding be- 163. Many speakers here have urged global initia- tween North and South. tives rather than interim measures to avert a collapse 171. Mrs. DE AMORIN (Sao Tome and Princi{)C) of the international financial system and to buy time (interpretation from French): The established practice for the developing countries. in ~he United Nations of setting aside three weeks of h . 1 'b'l' the General Assembly session for the general debate 164. Turkey believes that t e r>nnclpa responsl 1 1- is not in itself an oblect~onable method. The way in ty for development lies first with the dexeloping J . I d I countries themselves. They must realize that sound which it is used makes the practice ess an ess economic policies are a sine qua non for their steady praiseworthy, not to say less and less credible. and healthy progress in this field. Turkey is one 172. The compilation of all the addresses given country which has had experience in successfully before the Assembly sives us an idea of the depth of adjusting its economy during the global recession and the abyss which eXists between the fundamental in servicing it! ~ebt payments. Tt has eX'p'~~~ed its principles, the generous ideas and the constructive exports, beneutmg also from the pOSSibIlities of recommendations wl:ich are formally proclaimed coe~{l~tenge, there wIll b.e D? peac~ on thIS pla~et. continues to be plagued by s~ructural deficienCIes and PolICIes aI~ed at promotmg IdeologI~s and extendmg imbalance. As a result, there has been a serious sp~eres o.f mfluence are a self-~efe~tI~g process from erosion of living standards in developing countries. WhICh neIther East nor West wIll ga10 m the long run. The situation is most desperate in the least developed 199. We all live today under the shadow of a countries. Regrettably, the results of the UnIted nuclear holocaust brought about by the nuclear arms Nations Conference on the Least Developed Coun- race. The danger this represents cannot be highlight- tries, held in Paris in September 1981, are yet to ed strongly enough, though discussions about it are materialize. We believe that the international corn- often couched in coldly academic terms amounting munity must assist in eradicating hunger and malnu- to euphemism or a ghastly numbers game. ~t us be trition. There is an urgent need to go beyond honest: there can be no such thing as a "limited expressions of concern to positive action. While we nuclear war", nor the chance for life, as we know it, recognize that developing countries themselves have after a nuclear holocaust. There can be no talk of the the main responsibility for development, we should "rationality" of such a situation, nor can we realisti- at the same tIme remember that external resources do cally speak of massive nuclear arms buildups as a have a vital role to play in complementing national deterrent to war. History affords us few examples of efforts. ~eapons invented but not used. The choice before us 207. The ppst year saw many distressing events, but IS whether we are to have a future at all. there have been some encouraging signs as well. One 200. The trend evinced by each side to harden such positive note was sounded by the Nordic positions and to refuse to come to terms, whether on Foreign Ministers meeting at Reykjavik just a month arms limitation talks or the non-use of space for ago. In their official communique-an extraordinari- nuclear weapons, must be reversed. Outer space must ly enlightened document by any standard-the min- definitely be kept free of "star war" scenarios. isters affirmed their strong support for the Charter of meetin~, which will be held in Bhutan some time in the sprmg of 1985, will make adequate preparations for the summit to be held in Bangladesh later in the NOTES IJacques Giri, Le Sahel demain: catastrophe ou renaissance? (Paris, Karthala, 1983). 28ee World Health Organization, Health Care: Report of the International Conference on Primary Health Care, AIma-Ata, Union ofSoviet Socialist Republics, 6-12 September 1978, Geneva, 1978. 3Growth monitoring, oral rehydration therapy, breast feeding and immunization, along with food supplementation, female education and family spacing. 48ee Al34/542, annex Ill. SFrente Popular para la Liberaci6n de Saguia el-Hamra y de Rio de Oro. 68ee Ofjicial Records ofthe General Assembly, Second Part ofthe First Session, First Committee, 34th meeting. 70fjicial Records of the Security Council, Thirty-eighth Year, Supplement for January, February and March 1983, document 8/15556, annex. 8/bid., Supplement fOI July, August and September 1983, docu- ment 8/15862, annex. 9A/8-12/AC.l/12 and Corr.I. 100fjicial Records of the Security Council, Thirty-seventh Year, Supplementfor October, November and December 1982, document 8/15510, annex. 1I0fjicial Records ofthe General Assembly, Thirty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 1 (A/38/l).