A/39/PV.37 General Assembly

There is an increasing danger of further escalation and a growing potential for the region of Central America to be engulfed by the fires of war. This is another link in the world- wide net ofsituations that are the result of attacks on the right to self-determination, independence and freedom. 2. The peoples of Central America have been for an unbearably long time saddled with exploitation, political and economic inequality and social injus- tice. The only way to overcome this is through a process of emancipation and through a struggle for national, political and cultural equality and indepen- dence-in brief, through self-determination. 3. The resistance to the process of emancipation is strong and multifaceted. There are futile attempts to maintain obsolete relationships and further entrench positions acquired in bygone times, and the means used are well beyond the limits of acceptability in international relations today. There are attempts to internationalize the conflicts in the region and to perceive them within the context of bloc rivalry. An ever-growing variety of forms of interference in internal affairs, of subversion and even of armed incursions is being applied. 4. However, it is encouraging, on the other hand, that an overwhelming number of countries believe that social, political and economic issues are at the core of the problems in Central America. It is encouraging as well that the international community holds that the foreign interference and intervention are doing nothing but aggravating the issues. Ifwe are to contribute to peace and security and democratic development in the region, it would be advisable to keep this in mind, and it would be advisable to refrain from perceiving social chang.:;s and reforms as threats to the security of others. 5. Peace, security and democratic development can be built only on and around full and unconditional respect for self-determination, soverei~nty, indepen- dence, territorial integrity, equality, non-interference and full respect for the right of peoples freely to choose their social and economic development. For- eign interference and outside political, economic and NEW YORK military pressures are simply not an environment conducive to peace, security, democracy and eco- nomic development. 6. At their meeting held in New York from 1 to 5 October, the ministers and heads of delegation of Non-Aligned Countries expressed their firm solidari- ty with Nicaragua and called for an urgent cessation of all threats, attacks and hostile acts aimed against the people and the Government of Nicaragua. They pronounced themselves onc~ again against acts of aggression and interference, and they emphasized again the need for a political solution. Non-aligned Nicaragua, with which we maintain relations of friendship, is under severe pressure aimed at the destabilization of its Government and causing suffer- ing and loss of human lives, taxing its economic life and restraining its potential for social development. 7. Dialogue is the only feasible way to face the issues and resolve them; but independence and territorial integrity are sovereign rights, and they cannot be the subject of negotiations. 8. It is widely believed that the existing difficult situation in El Salvador can be overcome only through the equitable participation of all democratic forces, including the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front [FMLN] and the Revolutionary Democratic Front [FDR]. Here it is to be recalled again that there is no substitute for dialogue and negotiations in order successfully to meet the chal- lenge of the issues and conflicts. 9. The 15 October meeting of the highest represen- tatives of the Government of El Salvador and the FMLN and the FOR met with general acclaim, and rightly so. This meeting reflected the essence (If General Assembly resolution 38/10, adopted I t year, which was also contained in the documents formulated by the meetings of non-aligned countries as well as in the proclamations of the two move- ments. On this ground, the positive response of the Government of El Salvador and the first meeting of the two sides give us hope that the negotiations will continue and lead to the cessation of the armed conflict and to a peaceful and above all just solution of the internal issues. This would contribute to the lessening of tensions in the whole region. 10. It is worth repeating that tensions can be reduced only if all the peoples of Central America can freely and without outside interference and pressures exercise the right to self-determination. This is one of the basic principles of the Charter of the United Nations and one of the leading principles of non-alignment. That should be applied indiscrimi- nately to all the peoples of the world, and it is the conditio sine qua non for bringing about stable international relations in general as well as in the region of. Central America. caragu~. The Umt7~ States ~as reso~ed to t~IS. tn~k similar attitude. Six meetings between Nicaragua and many !Imes bef<?re..m Cuba ~n 19~3, !n Doml~Ica In the United States achieved absolutely nothing, be- 1965, m Argentma In 1973, In ChIle In 1973, Just t.o cause of the two-faced attitude of the United States. name a few. And as far as the weap<:ms story I~ As for the Contadora Act, the United States at first conc.erned, a former CIA expert refute~ It .as a !loax, pretended to support it; but now that Nicaragua has he.hlmself for two years had been lookmg ~n vaIn .~or accepted it in its entirety, the United States-directly eVIdence ~o support t~at myth. And who IS so naIve or indirectly through some agent countries-opposes as to belIeve that NIcaragua, a country of only 3 its adoption million people which has had no peace for the last 70 . years, has any ambition other than to live in peace 55. In El Salvador, the G<?vernment ~rmed forces with its neighbours and to build its country's prosper- b~unched a fier~e.a~tack agamst revolutIonary forces ity? And this November, they will cast the first votes nght after th.e mltIal t~l~s between the FMLN and of their lives in a free general election throughout the the Salvadonan authontles. c~untry to choose the representatives of their aspira- 56. In acting as it does, the l.:nited St~tes is now tIons. challenging all the peoples of the regIOn, of the 51. The present state of Central and Latin Ameri- Movement. of Non-Aligneq Co.untries and o~ the can countries is the direct consequence of the so- world. It ~s further exposmg Itself as a r~gIonal called Pax Americana. Let us walk down memory gendarmene. ~he prese~t upheavals In. the regIOn.are lane and we will see that contemporary history fully qeeply rooted I~ t~e Umted States. poh~y of domll~a- testifies to that statement. The success of the struggle t~on and explOItatIOn. ~ven the ~Ipartls~n C~mmls- by the American people against the domination of SIon on Central Amenca, notw~thstandIng ItS con- the British Empire encouraged other peoples in this stant slanders again~t the revo!utIonary forces, had to region to rise up and fight against the European refer to the economIC an~ SOCIal cause of the present colonial Powers for their national independence. unrest in this region. It. IS therefore logIcal that the They were supported by their northern neighbour. peoples there are standIng up to be counted and to And here the ironic tWIstS and turns began. These take the future into their own hands. Central and peoples only jumped out of the frying pan right into Latin A~eri~a of.the present dar is not what it used the fire. The United States did not sincerely want to.be. It. IS hIgh tIme for the U n~ted.States to ~cce.pt them to be freed; it only used them to ward off the thl.S reahty and to learn how to hve In peace WIth ItS European colonial Powers. In the wake of the intro- neIghbours. ~uctio.n .of tp.e Mon~oe I?octrine, U!tited States 57. As a people that has lived through the most !mpenal~sm tight~ned ItS. gnp on ~he ~eglon and kept bloody wars, unleashed against them by imperialism It exclusIvely fOr Itself. LIke the gIant m an old story, and the international re.\actionaries in an area that it ~oes ?ot. allow any "fo~eign birq" to come and has had no peace for the last 40 ye~rs, the Vietnam- tWItter m Its garden. It mstalled In power those ese understand the value {Jf the fundamental national mil~tarists aJ?d d}ctators who were ql;lite ready t~ turn rights of all peoples. We stand firmly at the side of theIr countnes Into have.ns for. U~Ited States m.ter- our Cuban brothers and sisters, who have given ests, to cede part of th.elf terrltone~ .to the Umted imperialism no room for manoeuvre, thereby safe- ~tates aJ?d to accep! Un~ted States mlhtary.bases and guarding their national independence and freedom. mstal.latIoI}s on thelf.soIl. In short, the Umted States We fully support the people of Nicaragua in the has gIven Itself the nght to call the shots. And when defence of their country against United States imper- the. ~eople of a .country choose for th~mselves a ialism and its agents. Their cause is also ours-all of polItIcal ~nd .soc~al system that the Umted States us who cherish freedom and independence more than does not hke, ~t WIll try, by hoo.k or by croo~, covertly anything else. We support the just struggle of the or overtly, umlaterall;' or multIlaterally, to In~ervene. Salvadorian peo"Jle under the leadership of the But I do not want to refer to Grenada tWIce. FMLN. We support all other peoples of this region in 52. From thei~ bitter.experience, the peoples of their struggle for independence, peace and. soci~ Central and LatIn Amenca have seen the real nature progress. We support the people of Panama In thelr Liberation Front, were able to set about establishing a free and democratic order in which justice would prevail and which would guarantee for all citizens a "in spite of the calls made by the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and the UN General As- sembly, the situation has been further aggravated by increased recoarse to imperialist policies of interference and intervention throug.'l the utiliza- tion of neighbouring territories for aggression against other States, the installation of military bases and by covert and overt attempts at the destabilization of the Nicaraguan Government, such as the mining of its main ports and harbours in violation of international law, as well as the numerous acts ofaggression, pressure and econom- ic coercion exerted against the countries in the region" [A/39/560, annex, para. 81]. 66. We agree with the appraisal made by the Central American State~ that the tensions and pre- sent conflicts are worsening and could lead to a world war. 67. Much has been done in recent months to prevent such a development. The proposals and specific actions of the Government of Nicaragua and of other Governments in the re~ion, as well as words and acts of support from outSIde Central America, have indicated opportunities for reducing tensions and eliminating this dangerous source of conflict. On 10 May ofthis year the International Court ofJustice indicated, in paragraphs 41.B.l and 41.B.2 of its order, that "The United States of America should immediate- ly cease and refrain from any action restricting, blocking or endangering access to or from Nicara- gua ports, and, in particular, the laying of minp~" 68. These demands are supported by the German Democratic Republic, which has elevated into State policy the development of peaceful relations with other States in the common interest, while respecting their sover~ignty,independence and territorial integ- rity. The Government and people of the German Democratic Republic ·are following the Contadora process with careful attention, hope and approval. My Government re~~rds it as the way towards negotiations and a peaceful solution to the problems in the region. We also believe that the revised Contadora Act on Peace and Co-operation in Central America provides a good basis, since it states that the restoration of peace and confidence in the region may be achieved only through unconditional respect for the principles of international law, particularly that which concerns the right of peoples to choose freely and without external interference the form of political, economic and social organization that best serves their interests, and to do so through institu- tions which represent their freely expressed will. 69. We are in favour of the demands of the peoples of Central America, in the interests of peace and social prosperity, to leave the path laid down by the outdated Monroe Doctrine and to follow that sug- ~ested by the Contadora Group. We have noted with mterest that some Western European Governments have also stated that it is impossible to resolve the problems of the region by means of arms, and that what is required is political solutions coming from the region itself. 70. International public opinion demands that an end be put to the policy of State terrorism of which Nicaragua is the victim. Therefore, the German Democratic Republic strongly supported the propos- al of the Soviet Union [A/39/244, annex] that we discuss "inadmissibility of the policy of State terror- ism and any actions by States aimed at undermining the socio-political system in other sovereign States" as an important and urgent question at this session. 71. My country, my Government is not pursuing any special interests in Central America. We wish to maintain with the States of the region peaceful relations of mutual understanding, relations that are useful to all the parties and serve peace and fruitful international co-operation. That is why, in agreement with t~.~ overwhelming majority of States, we de- mand here that the acts of aggression against the Nicaraguan people and its Government be ended and that no action that could further worsen the situation in Central America be taken or planned. Similarly, we call for an end to the policy of threats and blockade against Cuba. 72. In the name of the Government of the German Democratic Republic, I repeat that the German Democratic Republic stands steadfastly at the side of the people of Nicaragua fighting to defend the sovereignty and independence of their country. My country is a staunch friend of the free people of Cuba. ~merica, and it was an important l?o!i~ic~l reaffirma- 96. The international community one year ago tlOn of support for the peace mltIatIves of the expressed its support for and hopes in the Contadora Contadora countnes. process and the results reached thus far demonstrate ?6. yve believe also that that meeting was an that that hope was not vain. The international mtelhgent example of a truly comprehensive ap- community should reiterate increased faitl.. in the proach to the problems of Central America, which to initiative for peace and reconciliation in Central our way ofthinking requires the understanding ofthe America that has been adopted by the sister republics urgent need simultaneously and as a priority to of Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela. promote basic solutions aimed at overcoming the . acute sochl, economic and cultural handicaps that 97. ~r. BARBOSA I?E MEDINA (P0I!ugal) (znter- have been the age-old scourge of the nations of pret~tLOnfromFr~nch)..A confe~en,~e on The.Demo- Central America. crat~c Challe~ge. ID Latm Amenca was hel~ In June . . at Lisbon, bnngmg together the representatIves of 30 87., I WIsh to co~cl~de t~IS s~ort sta~ement by countries. It was possible at that conference to s~ttmg ,forth the cnt~na WhICh, !n the VIew of my appreciate the concern of the Portuguese public at d _,legatIOn, sh0!1ld gUide and preside over the negotI- developments in the situation in Central America. atlons now b~Ing pursued by t~e Governments of The fears expressed were prompted by the many Central Amenca under the aegis of the Contadora human rights violations, interventions by forces from Group. outside the region, acts of violence and the use of 88. First, it should be understood that it would be force, but above all by the feelin~ that a decisive extremely difficult to find an alternative or a possible moment had come for the elimination of the danger solution that would be authenticaily ~ubregional and of the conflict becoming general. "vhich their legitimate aspirations can be fulfilled, including economic development, social well-being and political pluralism. 102. Similarly, and taking into account the dimen- sions of the problems, my delegation has always maintained that lasting solutions can be found only through serious dialogue among the factions in- volved. The authorities in power must understand that th~ elimination of the opposition will not bring peace arid that conflicts among countries cannot be resolved by force, but only through a comprehensive political and diplomatic solution. In other words, they must understand that the peace-making process in Central America must be based on three essentials: dialogue, a spirit of national conciliation and a political settlement originating in tbe region itself. 103. It is in this spirit that it is possible to appreciate the importance of dialogue and the bene- fits it can bring, even when the interests and ideas involved are initially antagonistic and irreconcilable. We can see these advantages in the renewal of existing bilateral contacts and in the efforts at national reconciliation now being made in El Salva- dor. 104. Portugal hopes that these efforts will be able to contribute to establishing the climate of confidence which is so necessary for the solution ofthe problems of the region. We therefore follow with great interest the efforts of countries like those of the Contadora Group which are fully aware of the complexities of ~ive them increasing attention and that it will renew solving the problems of the region. Its support for them. 119. In its desire to contribute to resolving the 112. For its part, Portugal will continue to support Central American crisis, my country will continue to unequivocally the regional peace initiatives proposed support the efforts of the countries of the region to by the Contadora Group and also any other actions establish political systems based on respect for designed to establish confidence, dialogue and non- human rights and on ideological pluralism. In this confrontation, which could provide the parties con- context, the latest peace initiative in El Salvador and cerned with protection for their legitimate interests the general turn of events in the region enable us to by means of active negotiations. hope that the Central American region will ultimately 113. Mr. DE PINIES (Spain) (interpretation from emerge from the crisis. . Spanish): The Spanish Government continues to be 120. At this time, when efforts are being made to deeply concerned over the situation in Central Amer- establish a binding legal text, one containing verifi- ica. We must recognize that in the months that have able undertakings as regards both security and politi- elapsed since the adoption of General Assembly cal and social matters, the support of the entire resolution 38/10, not only has it been possible to international community for the Contadora peace avoid an escalation of the conflicts in the region but process is D.lOre than ever necessary. The draft indeed significant progress has been made in the resolution sponsored by the member States of the multilateral and bilateral negotiations aimed at re- Contadora Group [Ai39/L.6] offers the Assembly a solving the problem. Nevertheless, the deep roots of historic opportunity to demonstrate its desire to co- the crisis still exist, and the security and living operate in the search for a comprehensive, negotiat- conditions of the inhabitants of the five countries of ed, peaceful, regional solution to the problems of Central America continue to deteriorate, to the Central America. My delegation associates itself with extent that more than 300,000 persons have been !he representatives of the four Contadora countries compelled to leave their homes. in calling upon the General Assembly to adopt this 114. Considering this picture of light and shadows, draft resolution by consensus. my delegation believes it necessary once again to 121. Mr. EL-FATTAL (Syrian Arab Republic) (in- emphasize its conviction that the ultimate cause of terpretation from Arabic): The General Assembly is the Central American situation lies in the unjust once again examining the situation in Central Ameri- economic, social and political structures, aggravated ca. There is no doubt that the examination of this by the growing tendency to militarization. ~ituation requires us to exercise collective responsi- 115. In view of the true nature of the crisis, only a bility in analysing a problem that constantly threat- comprehensive, negotiated, peaceful, regional solu- ens mternational peace and security in that strategic tion will make it possible to establish lasting peace in region of the world and poisons international rela- the region. Accordingly, an attempt to bring the tions generally in our interdependent world. The Central American problem into the East-West con- situation in Central America, contrary to what we frontation would not only raise a further obstacle to had expected, is deteriorating and is inflicting on the peace but would also mean denying the Central people there he&vy human and material losses. If this American countries their own direct responsibility in situation persists it will cause further suffering and the search for a way out of the crisis. might even lead to all-out war which would spare no 116. Spain considers that the efforts of the Conta- State in the region. dora Group constitute the framework that is best 122. What profoundly disturbs us are the ma- suited to the achievement of regional peace. In noeuvres being carried out, both secretly and openly, accordance with that conviction, my Government to sabotage the peace efforts. In the front rank of has tirelessly supported all the peace efforts advanced these peace efforts is the formula of the Contadora by the Contadora Group since its inception. The Group, which, if it were realized on the basis of latest phase in this encouraging process has been the mutual confidence, could fulfil the aspirations of the 17 October meeting of the Group at Madrid on the peoples of this region for coexistence, co-operation occasion of the award of the 1984 Prince of Asturias and the elimination ofall the causes oftension. What Prize, when the comments of the Central American disturbs us is that the path of peace, represented by countries on the revised version ofthe Contadora Act the efforts of the Contadora States, coincides with were discussed. systematically repeated aggressive acts whose pur- 117. In conformity with the full support it has pose is to bring about conditions that would upset the given, my country has made public its intention in Sandinist revolutionary regime, whose enemies encir- due course to sign the Additional Protocol to the cle it on all sides and by all means. Contadora Act [see A/39/562, annex, part Ill] and to 123. The General Assembly must determine what participate, if so requested, in the verification and responsibilities are emerging from the rapid deterio- control mechanism established under the Act. ration of the situation in Central America. It is clear 118. The Conference of Foreign Mnnisters of the that the overwhelming majority of members support European Community, Portugal and Spain with their the Contadora formula published in the report of the counterparts of the five States of Central America Secretary-General [A/39/562). The Ministers and and of the Contadora Group, held at San Jose on 28 heads of delegation of the non-aligned countries, at and 29 September, is an example oftrue interregional their meeting in New York from 1 to 5 October. 2Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America), Provisional Measures. Order of 10 May 1984, I.CJ. Reports 1984, p. 169. 30fjicial Records of the Security Council, Thirty-eighth Year. Supplement for October. November and December 1983, document 8/16041, annex. 4/bid., Thirty-ninth Year, Supplement for January, February and March 1984, document 8/16262, annex I, appendix. • Quoted in English by the speaker. ;Quoted in French by the speaker. The meeting rose at 1.15 p.m. NOTES IOfjicial Records of the Security Council, Thirty-eighth Year, Supplement for July, August and September 1983, document 8/15877, annex.