A/39/PV.83 General Assembly

The question of Namibia has been a matter of grave concern to the United Nations since its establishment. Despite its continuous efforts to include Namibia in the world of the second part of the twentieth century, in accordance with the princi- ple of the equality of rights of peoples and their right to self-determination in accordance with the Charter ofthe United Nations, the people ofNamibia remain the victims of a colonial regime which stubbornly refuses to abide by the injunctions of the internation- al community. Although there is a world consensus on ~ondemnation o.f the illegal occupation of the TerrItory, South AfrIca has attempted to consolidate its grip by massive militarization of Namibia, pillag- ing its resources and treating its people brutally. Moreover, this shameful regime has continuously sought to impose puppet institutions on the local nnnllt~tinn in vinlllltinn "f ~Pl'nrit'l1 t"'nnnl'it r..,,,,",,III_ r-Y-----_··' ... .. ....,._..._.. ...,.....-.........."J "-'".....a&'W&& ."'..:11'"....- tion 439 (1978) which declared any unilateral meas- ures taken by the apartheid regime in relation to the electoral process and any institutions established as a result of such elections to be null and void. 2. South Africa, in collaboration with certain for- eign interests, is shamelessly pillaging the natural resources of Namibia. In this context, it is not surprising that the Namibian economy has remained a colonial-type economy. A report of the United Nations Council for Namibia prepared for the Inter- natio~~l Conference in Support of the Struggle of the Namlblan People for Independence, held in Paris from 25 to 29 April 1983, demonstrates that that economy is divided into two sectors. The main sector includes the two most highly productive branches of activity, mining and commercial agriculture, and is located in the area reserved for the whites. That area takes up more than two thirds ofthe Territory. As for NEW YORK the African majority, it is parked in homelands in the north of the country, whose meagre agricultural resources are not sufficient to feed the population, and it is not authorized to leave those areas, under the apartheid system, except to act as cheap contract labour for white farmers. 3. If we study a breakdown of the gross domestic product in the Territory in per capita terms we note that this is one of the most inequitable systems of income distribution in the world. According to available figures, the per capita income of whites in 1980 was 3,000 rand approximately, whereas for the blacks as a whole the corresponding figure was 125 rand. This represents a 24 to I ratio. 4. Moreover, an analysis by sector demonstrates the unbalanced and precarious structure ofthe N~mibian economy. The mining industry contributes approxi- mately half of the gross domestic product, but uses only 10 per cent of the labour. Commercial agricul- ture provides a lucrative revenue to approximately 5,000 white exploiters, who own more than 95 per cent of commercialized agricultural production. Sub- sistence agriculture is almost the only economic activity reserved for the indigenous population and constitutes only 2.5 per cent of all the agricultural production placed on the market. Altogether, the agricultural sector contributes approximately 14 per cent of the gross domestic product and 20 per cent of exports. It can be noted in passing that there is6ver- exploitation of fish resources and that this has contributed to impoverishment of the marine re- sources of the Territory. On the other hand, the mining sector represents approximately half of the gross domestic product and approximately 90 per cent of exports. Since South African and foreign interests operating in Namibia are focusing on min- ing in order to make quick profits, other sectors of the economy have been left to one side, leaving this potenti_al~y rich Territory dependent on imports to meet their most elementary needs. Mr. Moushoutas (Cyprus). Vice-President. took the Chair. 5. According to available information, it is general- ly estimated that South African forces in Namibia number approximately 100,000 men-in other words, approximately onc soldier per 12 Namibians. To that figure must be added the territorial forces of South-West Africa/Namibia, the paramilitary and the police, including the "anti-riot forces", called the "permanent force", the "citizens' force", the "national service men". All these occupation forces are stationed in approximately 85 to 90 bases in Namibia. 6. Moreover, it has been established that South Africa, in violation of international tr~aties prohibit- ing the production and utilization of chemical and bacteriological weapons, is manufacturing such a~docios: f~e~dl~'t~~ N~~iI~f~ more delay in Namibia's accession to freedom? cause, Professor Julio Faundez, Lecturer in Law at 20. It pains us to confess it but in the struggle for the University of Warwick: liberation in southern Africa or elsewhere, clear, "The rejection of colonialism and the recogni- proper assessments are essential. Effectively, the tion of the legitimacy of the struggle for national Pretoria regime has been able so far to halt the march independence stem from a generalized awareness of decolonization in Africa at the northern border of that colonialism constitutes a denial of basic Namibia; and the judgement of history will certainly human rights, ofessential political freedoms and of be that it was allowed to do so by States which had economic independence. This political awareness the power to restrain it but chose not to do so. is today part of international law and is embodied 21. To be sure, there was much contact group in rules which provide that the fate of a territory activity over the last six years. But what is clear, what should be determined by the people who live in it, has been clear throughout the period in. question, is that the protection of natural resources is an that Namibia's liberation has never fired the enthusi- essential prerequisite in exercising political sover- asm of these States. It has never truly sHmulated a eignty and that the adoption ofpolicies to perpetu- commitment on the part of these Governments to ate alien political domination constitutes a particu- doing something decisive to bring about that free- larty serious violation of international law. It is dom. these general principles and rules of international 22. As a member of the United Nations CouncH for law that create binding obligations on all States to Namibia, I wish to be careful not to imply a lack of bring South Africa's occupation to an end, to take appreciation for the part which the Governments of steps towards contributing to the self-determina- these countries have otherwise been playin~ in sup- tion process and to take effective measures to port of Namibia's liberation. Their contrIbutions, protect Namibia";) natural resources". financial and otherwise, to the Nationhood Pro- 27. My delegation calls on the Governments con- gramme for Namibia, to the United Nations Fund cerned to make a firm commitment to Namibia's for Namibia, and in other areas, have been generous freedom; to take a stand, once and for all, on the side and have made possible significant accomplishments of legality, on the side of the people of Namibia and in the areas of concern of these various activities. the struggle for their liberation. With such a commit- This is a matter of record. However, while it is noble ment by them, Namibia's freedom could not be far to raise the comfort level and to contribute to the away. well-being and the edification of Namibians outside 28. Of course, by withholding their full support for of Namibia, ten times more noble is it to help them the struggle of the people of Namibia these Goyern- to get the occupiers out of their home. ments are only delayin~ Namibi~'s f~eedom; they do 23. The Guyanese delegation has stated on many not, they cannot, deny It. And thiS brIngs me to other occasions that South Africa's occupation of Namibia lessons to be learned from the question of Namibia: has benefited from and been sustained by Western the indestructible nature of the desire for freedom, investments, Western permissiveness, Western pas- the resilience of the human spirit and the extent of sivity and Western vetoes, whether real or threat- sacrifice which peoples are willing to endure for their ened. The basis of the partnership between the- racist freedom. Policies of terror, detention, torture and Pretoria regime and some Western States and their intimidation have done nothing to the people of monopolies is well known. Namibia. if not to make that flame of freedom bum 24. The converging and interlocking political and even brighter within their hearts. The Pretor; l regime economic interests are no less so: the Tsumeb has left them with practically no options; that is why Corporation, Consolidated Diamond Mines of South the struggle will continue, and it will be victorious. West Africa, Ltd., Rassing Uranium Ltd" among 29. The General Assembly has a duty in the course others, are the embodiments of imperialist plunder of the current debate to identify practical ways of and exploitation in the Territory of Namibia. Such intensifying moral and material support for the collaboration with the Pretoria regime represents an efforts of the Namibian people. That struggle, under alliance with apartheid, an alliance which hurts the the leadership of SWAPO, is the true expression of people of Namibia and prolongs their suffering. It is the striving of the Namibian people for self-determi- these interests-is it not?-which stand between nation and independence. Support by the interna- certain Western Governments and a genuine com- tional community for SWAPO is part ofthe effort for mitment to bringing an end to South Africa's occupa- the application of principles on which the United tion of Namibia. Nations is based. The Assembly should, on this 25. My concern now is not only out of humanitari- occasion also, invite all States Members to extend an conSiderations. It springs also from considerations increased and effective material, financial, political of legality, to which I know Western States are fond and diplomatic support to SWAPO. of expressin~ such profound adherence. And when I 30. At the same time, the international community invoke legalIty I do not have in mind simply this or must increase its support to the front-line States, that resolution of the General Assembly or the which, because of the support which they render to Security Council. My concern is even more funda- the liberation struggle ofthe people ofNamibia, must mental. It is that under contemporary international endure a never-ending wave of assaults by South ~espec.t the mdependence, soverel~nty an~ ternto~lal parties to those talks and in particular the concluding !ntegrlty ofAngola and mus! refral!! fro~ ~nte!vemng declaration of the proximity talks that, save for the m t~e Territory and from mterfermg m Its mternal system to be employed in the elections, all issues affaIrS. . relating to the implementation of resolution 435 ~3. Th~ Assem~ly must also strive to ensure ~h~t (1978) had been resolved. mte~atlOnal action for the freedom of Namibia 38. Speaking on this item at the thirty-eighth ses- regams m'?l!1entllm. There.must be an early re~~rn to sion [78th meeting], my delegation expressed deep the modalI~les of transferrmg power ~o.the legltImat.e regret that the hopes which had accompanied the represent~tIVes ofthe peo~le ofNaml~I~: The Securl- conclusion of those proximity talks and the reaching !y CouncIl ~ust shoulder I!S responsibilIty to ensure of the agreement on the framework for the com= Implementation of resolutIon 435 (1978). mencement of the implementation of resolution 435 34. The United Nations Council for Namibia has (1978) had been frustrated by the introduction by the been pointin~ the way for action by the international racist regime of new and irrelevant demands and by community m these respects. My delegation wishes its predicating the independence of Namibia on their to commend and express its appreciation for the fulfilment. This regret was shared by the overwhelm- leadership provided by Mr. Paul Lusaka of Zambia ing number of delegations. Today, a year later, the in this regard. In the face of indifference and even refusal of the apartheid regimp fr, allow the imple- open hostility from certain quarters, the Council, mentation of the plan pers! ~l efforts by the under his guidance, has striven tirelessly and stead- front-line States, by SWAPO, ..>;e Secretary-Gen- fastly in the fulfilment of its mandate. The year 1984 eral and by the United Nations as a whole to find a has been a year of solid achievement in the area of way out of the impasse have been frustrated by the attracting and mobilizing support for the Namibian consistent refusal ofthe apartheid regime to heed the struggle; 1985 must be, and will be, a year of even demands of the inte;rnational community. gii~atei action and achievement in response to the 39. While the apartheid r~gime of South Africa. an new cha!l~nges facing the U:nited Nation~ .in r~spect inherently aggressive regime, is opposed in principle o~ Namibia and the. e~olvmg opportu.mtles m the to the independence of Namibia, no framework of a Wider struggle..A PrIOrIty ~rea of action must, of political relationship with any other country has course, be the ImplementatIon of Decree No. 1 for done more in its reinforcement of that aggressive- the Protection ofthe Natural Resources of Namibia,1 ness and opposition, to undermine the international enacted by the United Nations Counci~ for Namibia efforts to free Namibia than the so-called policy of on. 27 September 1984. The CouncIl ~as. amP.le constructive eng~gement. Put into effect four years eVidence, among non-govern~ental orgamzations m ago, the policy, In a two-pronged strategy, has been Weste~ ~urope and the Untted.States, of the most instrumental in the elaboration of a political partner- enthUSiastic support for suc~ actIon. We must make ship which is mutually complementary. On the one the best us~ of that enthUSiasm and good will and hand, the apartheid regime sustains a political objec- proceed to give effect to the Decree which we enacted tive of constructive engagement in i,ts insistence on 10 years ago. linkage, and, on the other, it is rewarded by collabo- 35. In 1985 we need to apply our creative energies, ration jn all fields, as well. as by general political as never before, to Namibia's liberation. Through our protect~~n..That colla~oratlon has f~und co.ncr~te joint efforts we must also identify areas of action for e~presslo~ ~n the for~mg of closer diplomatiC ties makin$. a greater assertion of the authority of the ~It~ the re~lme, as eVldc~ced by the m~ny exchange CouncIl and for ~iving more practical expression to V.ISlt.S of high-level offiCIals on both Sides and the the seriousness With which we take our responsibility slgnmg of a consular treaty. as legal Administering Authority. Our first concern in 40. Apartheid South Africa is the recipient of the this regard must certainly be resolution 435 (1978). ,most sophisticated ar~aments and delivery systems, the~~ troops are being used to mask the deep-rooted commumty ~a~ cont.lDued .t~ grapple with t~e prob- pO~ltlcal opp~si.tion of the apartheid regime and its lem of N~mlbla, t~IS. posItion has ~een rel~erated. alhes to ~a~lbla's independence, thereby protecting The Meetmg of .Mlmsters for F~relgn Affairs. and the. multmatlO!lal interests which have convergent Heads!JfDe.legatlon <:>fthe Non-AlIgned CountrIes to deSIres to contmue plundering the natural resources the t~lrty-mnth session of the General Assembly, of Namibia. As an added incentive the apartheid held m New York from I to 5 October 1984, as well r~gime and its friends have succumbed to the tempta- as the twentieth ordinary session of the Asse~bly:of tlon to use the presence of those troops to obtain a Heads. of Stat~ and Governm~ntof the OrganIzation long-st~nding political objective against the People's of African UOlty, held at Add.ls Ababa fro~ 12 to 15 Rep,ubhc of Angola, which ~ould otherwise not be Nov~mber 1984, also unde.rlIn~d the pO~ltlOn. Both att~unable. As a result, resolution 435 (1978) remains meetlOgs reaffjr!Jled the 11'lalIe~ab~e right· or. the uOlmplemented. It is linkage which stands in the people ofNamibia to self-determmatlon and natIOnal way. mdependence. In conformity with that fundamental 44. These consequences apart, the so-called con- consideration, both meetings rejected any att~mI?t or structive engagement violates the ruling of the Inter- manoe1.!vre to deny the Namlblan people ."thls rIght. national Court of Justice, which in its advisory In partIcular, the Assembly o~ Heads o~ State a!ld opinion of 21 June 1971 stated' G~vernme.nt of th~ OrgaOlzah<?n of Afncan UOlty " .. . reiterated ItS rejection of"any 'lInkage' and 'parallel- St~tes. Members of t~e UOlte~ Natl~ns are under ism' between Namibia's independence and the with- o~l~ga!lon to rec!JgOlze .t~e dlegahty of Sou~h drawal of Cuban troops from Angola as being Afflca s presence I~ Naml~la . . . and t.o refr~1D manifestly incompatible with the letter and spirit of frntn an" ~"tt! onA !loft fto ".••I,.. ,.1.4 1.__ - - - - - . - - - _. -_ . .....,..• ....J &~ .&UU "' ~..;r u~CI..1l5., wn~J :security L'OuncII resolution 435 (1978)"4 and repre- t~e Government of South Afnca I~plymg recogOl- hensible and gross interference in the internal affairs hOt:! of the legahty of, or lendmg support or of Angola asslsta~ce to, such p~e~ence and ?dministratio~."3 49. The ~resent stance of the other members of the Indeed, ~It:tkage has facIlItated contmued occupation contact group is no less regrettable. We are concerned of ~amlbla. . that, by allowing the unwarranted preoccupations of 45. We contmue to regret that a party to the one member of the group to cloud their collective unde.rst~ndings reached at the conclusion of the judgement on Namibia, they have in large measure, proximity talks-the United States-has not only even given statements dissociating certain members decided,.largel'y on the basis of ill-conceived ideologl- fro~ the insistence on linkage, facilitated the sabo- cal conSiderations, to opt out of that consensus, but tagmg of a plan of which they were the authors and in fact turned around and decided to undermine which they promoted for international acceptance those delicate arrangements. Since the invention of and, in consequence, turned their backs on the the so-called Cuban factor, new excuses in the form freedom of the Namibian people. of nu~erous impossible demands on the People's 50. If the apartheid re~ime has found renewed Repubhc of Angola and SW1~O h~ve been created. vigour in the execution of Its policies of intimidation As a result, the door to Naml~la's mdependen~ehas and repression inside Namlbia, of destabilization be~n cl~sed and t~~ world .IS forced to await the and aggression against neighbouring African States or satisfaction of pol~tlcal deSIres long held by the of brazen disreeard of hiLernational opinion, both in patrons of apartheid. its actions and m its pronouncements, it is obviously 46. These tactics are not new. Politically, they- because of the moral support and political protection embody the underlying opposition of the apartheia that constructive engagement affords it. The regime ~et~ri9r~ted as the re~ime has stePI?e.d up repression Africa are denied the most fundamental human ID Its bid to neutrahze the oPPositIOn. Through a rights, excluded from political activity, uprooted combination of tactics the regime has, on· the one from their homes, banished, tortured, killed, stripped hand, been busy trying to set up a coalition of of the nationality of the land of their ancestors; yet puppets under the so-called Multi-Party Conference they are told to endure that humiliation and oppres- umbrella and, on the other, intimidated, arrested and sion, as the pel"Petrators of these heinous crimes are even·killed those who have expressed opposition to given tools for the further entrenchment ofapartheid. colonialism and apartheid. In particular, members of The people of Namibia are told they cannot get SWAPOhave been targeted for indiscriminate arrest, independence unless the apartheid regime is reward- torture and other forms of violence and even death. ed for its aggression against Angola. It is Angola, Through this two-pronged strategy of the force of whose territory is occupied, which should express 3rtIlS and political manip~lation, the apartheid security concerns. It is Lesotho, Botswana, Mozam- regime hopes to transform Namibia into another bique and Zimbabwe themselves, constant victims of bantustan. The so-called Multi-Party Conference is the apartheid regime's policies of economic pressure, nothing butanother scheme hatched by the regime to sabotage, destabilization and armed aggression, undermine SWAPO by presenting an alternative in which have legitimate security concerns. It is there- order to pave the way for the establishment of a fore unacceptable that attempts should be made to bantustan. Yet, despite these manoeuvres and repres- present distortiuns of the political situation in the sive measures, the people of Namibia have not region to justify South Africa's aggression. succumbed to disillusion or despair. Instead they 55. The problems ofsouthern Africa should be seen have remained undaunted in their resolve to oppose in their true context. Apartheid in South Africa and the occupation of their country. This resolute deter- the occupation of Namibia, made necessary by the mination in the face of such violence has found desire of the racist regime to create a buffer State to expression in ever-increasing support for SWAPO, cushion itself, constitute the root cause of the con- their sole and authentic representative. flict. If, after numerous efforts, the people of Na.mib- 52. Since the thirty-eighth session \lf the General ia still have not been able to determine their political Assembly, there have been further attempts to bring future, it is because this goal has been constantly the racist regime to the negotiating table. The separated from the real nature of the struggle against Namibian independence talks, l\eld in 1984 at Lusa- colonial domination and racism in that country. ka and Mindelo, were among such attempts aimed at 56. No excuses, falsifications or even outright lies securing South African agreement to begin the imple- can obscure that fundamental element; attempts to mentation of resolutioJl 435 (1978). Despite the intel"Pret the stru8$le for the dismantling ofapartheid serious reservations it had regarding the seriousness and for securing mdependence for Namibia in the of the apartheid regime, SWAPO attended the talks context of ideological confrontation between the East and expressed. its willingness to pursue constructive and the West have to be strongly rejected. negotiations on the modalities of a cease-fire. Per- 57. The manoeuvres of the apartheid regime in the haps not unexpectedly, the apartheid regime used course of the past year have reinforced the universal those opportunities to demonstrate yet again its recognition that the Namibian problem is a United contempt and arrogance. It invented new demands Nations problem and that, hence, it should be dealt which had the express purpose of sabotaging those with under the auspices of the Organization. Security talks. Council resolutions 532 (1983) and 539 (1983) both 53. In this as well, the apartheid regime was not underline this imperative. In this respect, I wish to alone. The proponents of constructive engagement register Tanzania's satisfaction with the manner in also took full advantage of those .talks to try to wfiich the Secretary-General has deait with the impose on Angola and SWAPO unacceptable condi- question, in particular by reasserting the central role tions for the withdrawal of the racist troops and for of the Organization in the negotiations for the the independence of Namibia, not sU'l"Prisingly in a independence of Namibia. framework different from the plan embodied in 58. Consistent with this position, we continue to resolution 435 (1978). Indeed, the letter from the believe that the United Nations plan embodied in apartheid representative to the Secretary-General Security Council resolution 435 (1978) remains the dated 23 November 1984 [A/39/689] illustrates the most viable framework within which the Organiza- nature of those conditions, without whose fulfilment, tion can play that central role. The resolution embod- the proponents seem to be saying, the independence ies the international consensus. Despite the passage of Namibia ~ill not be facilitated. of time, it retains its intrinsic validity and continues 54. This most recent twist in the position of the to be the most acceptable basis for a negotiated racist regime has brought to the surface the real settlement. We continue to demand ;its immediate problem of South Africa and its allies. It is not the implementation, without qualification or modifica- Cuban troops; rather it is the independence ofAngola tion. Correspondingly, this Assembly must continue and that ofthe other neighbouring African States and to reject linkage, demand the immediate implemen- their principled opposition to racism and colonial tation of resolution 435 (1978), and call for respect occupatiort in South Africa and Namibia. It is not for the territorial int~f','lty of Namibia, including because of any security concern. It has been suggest- Walvis Bar and the Off&dOre islands, in accordance ed, legitimately, that constructive engagement, as it with SecurIty Council resolution 432 (1978). ~imilar- relates both to the political, military and economic ly, the Assembly must energetically condemn the partrtership with apartheid and 1Q linkage, does in apartheid regime's policies of destabilization and !'1am~bla was known then, was under german admm- pore, regard South Africa's continued occupation of IstratlOn. After the outbreak of the FIrst World War, Namibia as illegal and as lacking in legal political or Sout~ African forces invaded and occupied the moral justification. ' TerrItory. From 1920 to 1938, ~he League of Na~!o~s 70. Moreover, it must be noted that there are other M~ndat~ ove~ South West Afr~ca was h~ld by HIS States that defy United Nations resolutions calling Bfltann~c Majesty, [and],ex~rclsed on hiS behalf by for the withdrawal of foreign troops from occupied the Umon of, South ~frIca : te~ritC!ries. By their e?,amples, those States are con- 66, The, Umted NatIOns, m 1946, recommended tnbutmgto South Africa's defiance by suggesting that trusteeshIp stat~s f<?r South West Af~ica. Ho~ever, in United Nations resolutions have no impact on them, 1949 South AfrIca mformed the Umted Nations that Just as those States ignore United Nations resolu- bod.i~s have. ad~pted h~ndreds of resolutio~s and progress towards independence for Namib.ia derives deCISIons oli thIS questlonf but to no avad. The from the encouragement that the colomal Power International.Court of Justicef to which recourse bas tontinues to receive from certain powerful Member been had on the many aspects of the Namibian States ofthe United Nations. Whether they realize it "We reiterate our position that South Africa's presence in Namibia is illegal and must be ended. We renew our support for the South West Africa People's Organization [SWAPO] and reaffirm that conditions and circumstances outside the Territory of Namibia should not affect or delay the process of its independence," [31st meeting, para. 22.]. 120. It is surprising to note that all Member States agree about the need to maintain international peace and security, but that this unanimity does nQt seem to extend to the implementation of the .relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council. In South Africa, the black majority con- tinues to suffer from the effects of the policy of apartheid, an inhuman system imposed upon them, which we all abhor and condemn. However, some are selective in their condemnation, and their opposition takes different forms in different circumstances- apparentiy because of economic, strategic and ideo- logical interests. Because people believe that those interests are at stake, they take us further away from the great objective of defending fundamental human rights and freedoms. We believe that there must be de~_p soul-searching and that, even though it may be difficult, we must all admit that nature itself dictates recognition of the fact that all peoples are entitled to enjoy the same rights, and that therefore apartheid must be abolished. 121. We congratulate the United Nations Council for Namibia and its President, who has guided and directed its work with wisdom and skill. The valuable and ceaseless efforts in the search for a peaceful solution ending in the total and unconditional libera- tion of Namibia deserve our commendation. 122. We would also like to commend the Secretary- General for his tireless efforts to maintain contacts with all Member States that have expressed their convergent opinions and views [A/39/508]. The Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Grant- ing of Ind~pendence to Colonial Countries and forei~n elements and compulsory conscription of Namlbians into military formations. It is also carry- ing on manipulations with the so-called system of self-determination in the occupied Territory. 152. Particularly dangerous is the South African regime's use of the Territory of Namibia as a springboard for unceasing acts of aggression against neighbouring independent African countries, in par- ticular the People's Republic ofAngola. Considerable areas of that sovereign State are to this day being occupied by the aggressor. The heinous policy against the indigenous population of the Republic of South Africa and the oppressed people of Namibia and the growing aggressiveness of the racist regime of Preto- ria against the African front-line States ate the principal sources of the dangerous tension in south- ern Africa and constitute a serious threat to interna- tional peace and security. 153. There is no doubt that the South African apartheid regime would not have been able to behave in such a defiant way if it had not received, as will be seen from various United Nations documents and other material, economic, military and other support from a number of Western countries-primarily the United States and Israel. 154. In the meeting and intertwining of the eco- nomic, political and strategic interests ofthe Western Powers and the racist Pretoria regime lurks one ofthe principal causes of the continuing tragedy of the Namibian people. 155. It is known that economic, financial and other circles in those countries are participating with the South African colonialists in the piratical exploita- tion of the natural and human resources of Namibia. Of 88 transnational corporations operatin~ on Na- mibian territory, 3S are based in South Africa, 25 in the United Kingdom, 15 in the United States~ 8 in the Federal Republic of Germany, 3 in France and 2 in Canada. Accordin~ to the most modest estimates, 4S per cent of Namibia's gross national product is taken up by the net incomes of foreign monopolies. ApprOXImately 36 per cent of the ~ross national product is taken outside the country In the form of profits, dividends and taxes. The indigenous people, & u , • . & ••t: In_epen_ence 0_ - .aml1)!a .__as occuple of resolution 435 (1978) in the shape and form in the attentIOn of the Angolan ~eadershlp and people which we have known it over the past six years. That alm<?st as much as, ou~ own mdependence. As .my is wh) we are adamantly opposed to the linkage by Pre~ldent dec,lared m hiS statement at the twentieth which South Africa seeks to tamper with the integrity ordmary session of the Assembly. of.-l{eads of ~tate of that resolution. One has only to consider seriously an~ Government of th~ Orgamzatlon of Afnc~n the conti;;nts of the letter contained in document Un~t¥, the platform contams the fundamental offi~lal A/39/689 to realize that the linkage has burgeoned pOSitIOn.of the Angolan Gove~ment on the question into a full-fledged parallel plan for Namibia-parallel of Namibia and southern AfrD~a. He further stated to resolution 435 (1978). Armed with the inflated tha~ the Governments ofthe UI!lted States and South arrogance of a self-appointed regional super-Power, Africa now h'!ve t~e opport1;1mty to de~o~strate to South Africa, through its plan, seeks to ensure not the. worl~ their ser!ousness m. the negot1atlon~ and only that Namibia proceeds to independence on their deSire to contrtbut~effe~hvelyto the solut~on of Pretoria's terms but also that the affairs of the entire the probl«:?ms of our regl,on ~It~ resp~ct to the Issues region of southern Africa are reordered in the image of sovereignty and territOrial mtegnty. of a South Africa dedicated to the preservation of 188. Angolans are still prepared to say: 4'Victory at white doptination and supremacy. all costs. Victory in spite of all terror. V.ictory 194. The South African plan is replete with lz.tter- h~wever long ~nd hard t~e ro~d may be. For Without day interpretations of resolution 435 (1978) and with VictOry there IS no surv.lval. . . . . ingenious and nefarious assertions of new under- 189. The strugglecontmues. VictOry IS ~ertam. standings cunningly twisted to explain away Preto- 190. Mr. LEGWAILA (Botswana): By this debate ria's attempt to clothe the chic~ne1)' of its inJentions we mark the end of another frustratil)g year in the in the garb of good faith. ConSider, as just one search fQr a peaceful solution to the Namibian instance, ,the assertion under the heading "Political perpetuatingcoloni~lism in. Namibia thr~~gh a poli- occupation of the ~ountry through rep~esslve terror cy of savage represSIon agaInst the Namlblan people of the most atrocIous sort~ and a sprmgboard for and through a policy of aggression~ subversion and aggressive armed attacks against the front-line Afri- constant pressure against neighbouring African coun- can States. tries~ thus comm~tting a dual crime~ both against 208. But the obstacle to the independence of Na- mankind and agaInst peace. mibia is all the more tremendous in that Washington 204. Namibia is in fact the last significant bastion continues to throw in its lot with Pretoria. Did not of old-style colonialism. Given the victorious pro- President Reagan himself proclaim emphatically this gress of national 'liberation movements that have strategic alliance by saying: "Can we abandon a developed spontaneously and continually over the country that is strategically essential to the free world last four decades~ the persistance of the colonial in its production of minerals that we must all regime in Namibia toda~ has.b~c0J:.I1ean ipsupp~rta- have?"* ble I?aradox and a .g1armg mJu~tIce whl,ch. weighs 209. In fact a militarily powerful South African heavily 0": the conscIence of.our tImes. ThIS IS all the regime is perfectly in keeping with the strategic ~ore so ~mce the fate of thIS mart~red country was interests~ both regional and global~ of the Un!ted dIrectly. hnked t~ the League of NatlOns~ and later to States. That is why~ together with Israel~ the Umted t~e Umted ~atIons,.for more than ~~ years. And~ States is increasing its military assistance to Pretoria slpce the UOlte~ NatIOns took t~e.declslon to assume and opening the door for the regime~s acquisition of dIrect .responslblhty for Na~lbla~ m~re than 70 nuclear capability, thus leading to an increasing resolut~ons haye been adopted m th~ vam search for threat to peace and security in southern Africa ~11.d a sol~t~on whIch would grant true mdependence to indeed throughout the world. At the same tlme~ It IS NamIbIa. Washington itself that~ up to now~ has ~uaranteed 205. Why do we see this situation arise? The political protection for Pretoria by exercismg its veto fundamental obstacle which continues to obstruct the against any Security Council resolution calling for road to independence for the Namibian people is the comprehensive mandatory sanctions agajnst the considerable body of interests~ economic, strategic avartheid regime. and so ~n, ~uilt up by ~he ra~ist S01;1th African 2-10. The struggle of the Namibian people against settlers In. dIrec~ ass~clatlOn ~Ith theIr powerf~l South Africa's colonial yoke took a decisive turn Western all.les, pnmarlly th~ UOlted States of Amen- when SWAPO was established in 1960 and rapidly- ca along WIth other countrIes of NATO, and Israel. six years later-proceeded to the phase of armed 206. These interests~ which are essentially colonial- resistance, with the creation of the People's Libera- ist and imperialist, represented by the powerful tion Army for Namibia, in order to meet effectively transnational corporations~ are indeed carrying on the ferocious repression carried out by Pretoria's feverishly the p~d~g~ of the natural. an~ .human army. Indee~, this is an essential r~quirement for resources of NamIbIa and thus mamtammg the many liberatIon movements at a particular phase of Namibian people under foreign domination. To their development, as a guarantee of their final perpetuate this domination, the Pretoria regime in victory. The legitimacy of the armed struggle of the Namibia is practising a policy of "divide and rule" Namibian people to exercise their inalienable right to by setting up puppet institutIOns and organizations self-determination and independence has in any case and by resorting to military conscription, thereby been emphasized on several occasions by the Move- forcibly draftin~ Namibians into the colonial army in ment of Non-Aligned Countries and has been em- order to "Namlbianize" the war against the Namib- phatically stated in many resolutions of the General ian people. Bu! the most dange!ous 3:spect and t~e Assembly. !D0st he~n~u~ aspe9t ofthe c~lo~lal pol~cy of~retona 211. On behalf of the people of Viet Nam, we In N~ml~la ~s th~ mtrodu,?tlOn mto thIS Terntory ~f should like at this stage to share some thoughts with the mstltu~lonahzed racist sys~em. of al!tlrthetd, our brothers and sisters in Namibia. through which the whole of the Imbgenous popula- tion is rendered into virtual slavery; and methods of 212. In the first place, although oppressed peoples bantustanization have been introduced, on a par with m~st as a last res~rt use ar.me~ stru~gle b~cause ofthe Hitler's nazistn by forcing population groups to blindness o~ theIr en~l":les m usmg Violence and resettle by regrouping tribal entities and ethnic weapons ag.amst them, It IS nevertheless useful that at entities' and by destroy-ing the entire socio-economic the same time they should ta~~ up the st~uggle ~n structure of the Namlbian nation.' other fro~ts! such as. the political and d~pl~matlc . . fronts. ThiS IS what Vlet Nam has done. ThiS IS what 297• In .Apnl 1983, my d~legatlOn had an opportu- friends are doing now in Central America and Olty, to listen, to the .Pre.sldent of the S~uth West elsewhere. This is also what SWAPO has undertaken AfrIca P~opl~ s Orgamzatt.0n, Mr. S~m NUJo~a, and with admirable patience, in order to achieve an heard ~I~, In the .Securlty Council, excort.ate the honourable cease-fire which would lead to the termi- apo..rthe.td Junta! which throu~ all means ~I~hes to nation p'f the illegal occupation of Namibia by South mamta!n the Illegal occupatIOn of Namlb~a. My Africa. However, as always, our enemies use diplo- del~gatlon could not help b!1t recall the gr~mmest matic means for delaying purposes and diversionary perIods of the l<?ng war of !eslst~nce ~f t.he Vletnam- purposes and as a way of bringing pressure to bear in ese people ~g~mst Amenc.an In;tpenabsts: Ind~e~, the hope that they will obtain maximum concessions. those were slmIla~ advers~nes, ~~th match109 cnml- This is what is happening at the present time in nal targets ~nd vII1ually IdentIcal mano~uvres and ! Central America as well as in southern Africa and in plans of actIon. As In the case of South Vlet Nam at ' the time,the enemy ofthe Namibian people is trying *Quoted in English by the speakei. ment~tion of resolution 435 (1978). The Council independence of Namibia. We refuse to accept that should establish a precise timetable for its implemen- the future of the Namibians should be sacrificed to tation and keep the matter constantly before it until selfish interests or on the altar of East-West rivalry. the Unit~d Nations plan for the independence of We maintain that the trading of a people's freedom Namibia has been fully realized. It is time the and national independence is not only reprehensible Afrt~a s, wIllIngness.t'? wlthd~aw and. end ItS Illegal 242. As we prepare to celebrate the fortieth anni- occupation of N3mlbla. Ava.tl~bl~ ~vldence dem~n- versary of the founding of the United Nations, it is strates very ~learly' that NamibIa IS, m fac,t, !ibastIon the hope, indeed, the expectation, of the oppressed of South Afnc~, w.lth more th~n 100,000 racls~ troops people of Namibia, who have reposed so much an~ mercenarIes ID the Tern,tory, who contmue, m confidence and trust in this world body, that a very theIr ~su~1 !rIgger-hap~y fash]~n~ to slaughter ~ount- clear message will this time be sent to the racists to less N~mlblans. T.h~ latest deCISion by the racIsts to compel them to end their illegal occupation of conscrIpt all Napublan males between the ~ges of,17 Namibia We have an obligation to continue -to and 55 to'serve m the very army ofoccupatIon which hI Id h' I fi .' I'd . Ch has brought untold suffering to the Namibian people up 0 t e, 0 ty PrI~ClP es enshrme ID the . arter is incontestible evidence of South Africa's sinister of the UOlted NatIOns. yv,e should not fad the design to persist in its illegal occupation and exploi- oppressed people of Namibia. tation of Namibia, which has been the victim of 243. Mr. FARAH DIRIR (Djibouti): The stalemate foreign dnmination and exploitation for the past 100 in the Namibian crisis presents a situation whose years. conse.quences constantly enda.nger tht?peace. an.d 239. The implementation of the United Nations secunty of the s~uth~r!1 Afncan regIon. ThIS IS plan for Namibia has not been proce()ded with, but bt?cause the Pretona regu;ne has refus~d. to comply not for any reason which can be attributed to ~~~~~ht;..T~~!:~~~!.:~~s~!~!~~~_a.t?.<!. ~~~~!~~~ ~~ !~~ SWAPO or to the front-Hne States. The plan has not VIllI.~U.l"'l'UlVIl" WlUl n:;Z:;ill~ LV U,II: l~mmmun UI me been implemented because South Africa and certain Namlbu~n pe,?ple and theIr aspIratIOn to freedom of its allies continue to create obstacles in an eflort to and natIOnal mdependence. scuttle that plan. It is a fact that over the years South 244. It is 18 years now since the General Assembly Africa has made desperate attempts to sidestep the terminated South Africa's Mandate over Namibia in plan by working out schemr.:s designed to exclude its resolution 2145 (XXI) of 27 October 1966 and SWAPO, the sole and legitimate representative of the took over the direct responsibility of the administra- oppressed people of Namibia, from participation in tion of that Territory with a view to assisting the any eJectoral process, The racists have preferred Namibian people to attain a peaceful transition to internal settlements with puppet groups, because genuine independence. A few months later, the those groups have neither the vision nor the desire to General Assembly, by resolution 2248 (S-V) of 19 promote and safeguard the interests of their country May 1967, established the United Nations Council and people. for Namibia and entrusted to it-rightly-the re- 240. The Pretoria regime, which has extended its spons~bmty ?f administering the Namibia~ Territo- evil system of apartheid to Namibia, has no desire ry, WIth a}. ;ear ma~d~te to defend ~he nghts .and whatsoever to end its illegal occupation of Namibia mter~sts 01 ;lle N~mlblan people untIl they achieve because, apart from its incredible appetite for contin- genume natIOnal mdependence. uing to exploit the human resources of that belea- 245. UnhaPJ?Y with that transfer of mandate and guered country, it plans to continue to use the bent on its unjustified intention to cling to Namibian Territory as a springboard for launching acts of territory, the South African regime refused to ',bmit aggression against independent countries of our to the wish of the international community to free region in an effort to blunt our support for the heroic Namibia and persisted in imposing its colonial policy struggle which the oppressed are waging to dismantle of illegal occupation on the Territory. Indeed~ since Terri~09' and beyond its borders.to intimidate the 254. This resolution has won world-wide recogni- Namlblan people and the front-h~e States. It ~m- tion and has been accepted as a genuine basis for a ployed repre~s~v.e metho~s of arbl!rary. arrest and negotiated settlement of the Namibian question torture of <.:Iylhan .detamees. It Impnsoned al'!d because of its careful plan for a democratic election executed pohhcal pnso~ers.and freedom fighters, m in Namibia under United Nations supervision. It def!ance an~ flagrant vlolatlo~ of the Charter.of the invites the South African regime to co-operate with UOlted N~tlons and the Umversal Declaration of the United Nations in the effort to prepare the people Human Rights. of Namibia for their independence through legally 247. It is obvious that in these circumstances the supervised, democratic elections. We are greatly South African regime invited perpetual tension and concerned, however, that despite the concerted ef- confrontation in that region. Alarmed at South forts exerted by the international community, the Africa's inhuman policy of occupation and colonial election plan has yet to be implemented, six years domination of Namibian territory, the international after the adoption of resolution 435 (1978), because community has repeatedly condemned and declared the South African regime has chosen to frustrate all that policy null and void. At the same time, it has peace efforts and has deliberately rejected any re- smod fast by the Namibian people and firmly sponsibility for reaching a peaceful settlement of the supported their courageous struggle to achieve com- Namibian problem. The South African regime has plete independence. used every trick to gain time for its manoeuvres and 248. We believe very strongly-and history will delaying tactics, designed to perpetuat~ its domin~- prove-that no matter how strong South Africa is or tion over the Namibian people and furt~er expl~lt appears to be with its massive military machinery and plunder the natural resources of theIr land, ID and~other rel~ted repressive apparatus, the reign of violation of Security Council and General Assembly terror, brutality and torture by the South. African resolutipns, as well as of Decree No, I f~r. the regime over the Namibian population will never Protection of the Natural Resources of Namibia} suppress .o~ stifle the courag~ a~d de~ermination of 255. Moreover, the establishment by the South the NamibiaI'! people and their h~erat1on mov~ment, African regime of the pre-condition of an unrelated S,?,APq, their sole and aut~ent.lc representative, to linkage has made it impossible to implement the wm theIr struggle for genume mdependence. United Nations plan to resolve the Namibian ques- 249. Nevertheless, it has been very painful to tion in accordance with Security Council resolution realize that the political, economic and military 435 (1978). ac~ivities of the racist regime of Sl?uth Africa and its 256. It is very regrettable that, while the interna- alhes have prove~ a~le to undermme. t~e efforts and tional community continues to appeal to South frustrate th~ aspI~atll?ns ~f the. Namlblan people to Africa to comply with resolution 435 (1978), which protect their !erntonal mtegrlty, freedom, natural provides the only valid basis for achieving a peaceful res<?urces and mdepe~denc~.We do no~ con~d,?ne the settlement of the Namibian problem, South Africa pohcy of. collabpratlon ~Ith the racist ~egmle cf continues to step up its brutal methods of repression South Afr~ca agamst .th~ Wish.of the strugglIng people and intimidation by ~xt~nding its obnoxious system of N~mlbla and theIr l~beratlon ~ovement. '!".e are of apartheid and its policy of bantustanization to convmced that that pO!IC.Y undermmes the legitimate Namibian territory. In addition to its regular army of stl1.!gg!e of the Namlb~an people. and the black occupation, South Africa has reverted to reliance on maJ.onty .of South Afnca for theIr freedom and the massive recruitment of mercenary forces, which natIOnal mdependence.. are deployed throughout the Territory and across the 250. We see no justification whatsoever for the borders to stifle the growing resistance of the libera- continued illegal occupation by South Africa of tion struggle in the Territory. Recent reports have Namibian territory. We reject the presence of the also indicated that the South African regime has South African armed forces of occupation and the extended compulsory military service to the local illegal administrative machinery, which should be population. This latest manoeuvre has forced a withdrawn from Namibian territory. considerable number of the Namibian people to flee 251. The brutal repression by the South African into e~ile rathe~ t.han sub~it to t~e coll>~ial strategy regime of the Namibian people, the persistent viola- of settmg Namlblan soldiers agamst theIr own peo- tion of their human rights, the exploitation ahld pie. depletion of the mineral an~ other natural reso~lf~es 257. The encroachments of the apartheid re~ime of of the Territory and the Illegal use of Namlblan South Africa have not been limited to Namiblan and territo~as a.springboard for ~ttacks o~ and efforts to South African territory, but have gone beyond these destablbze I.ndependent neighbOUrIng States of borders. The South African regime has repeatedly southern Africa must be condemned and stopped. intimidated and waged war against the neighbouring 252. The international community must exert every front-line States so as to destabilize them, disrupt possible effort to give adequate moral,. financial and their economic and social structure and th4S prevent ptaterial support to the liberati~n fronf of t~e Namib- ,them from ext~n~ing support to .th~ courageous lan people to counter South Afflcan aggression and to people of Namibia, the black majority of South ~ealth service i~ organized in ~ different way accord- 281. The Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, of mg t? wheth~rIt concer,ns whlt~s or.blacks; there ~re which Nicaragua has been a member since the . speCial ~ospltals and dlspens~nes for blacks, which overthrow of the Somoza regime, is happy to count have to mform the South African Defence Force of SWAPO among its members and as a full member. all cases of gunshot wounds. The Movement, which is based on the principles of 275. The racist regime also makes- a distinction opposition to racism, colonialism and imperialism, between expenditure on health depending on whether /glves its full solidarity and support to the Namibian it is dealing with the black or the white population. people and their sole and legitimate representative, tha~ Commumque ~he Movem~nt expresse~ItS mdlg- It is for this reason that we identify very closely with nat!on at t~e contmued ncn~l~plementatl~nof th,e the aspirations ofthe people ofNamibia. It is also for Umted N~tlons pl~n for Nam~bla endorsed m Secufl- this reason that my country, in the person of our ty Cou~cl1 resolution ~35 (1978). It also condemned venerable former Foreign Minister, General CarIos an~ rejected the p~r~lsten.t attempts by the p~esent P. R6mulo, fought an uphill battle for the inclusion Umted States.Admmlstrat!on and by South AfrIca t.o ofthe words "or independence" in Article 76 b ofthe ~b~truct the Iml?lementatlOn of th~t plan by their Charter of the United Nations, concerning tht: trus- !nslstence on a IInkag~ ~nd parallelIsm betwe~n the teeship system. mdep~ndenc~ of Na!111bla and e~traneousand Irrele- 289 Today my dele1cation wishe~ to reiterate its vant Issues, In partIcular the WIthdrawal of Cuban '.' . . ," . forces from Angola The Ministers also called on the unequivocal support or NamIbIa s 1Odepende~ce, S . C 'I' d I:: 11' and we call upon all States Members of the Umted ecuflt~ . ~~mcI to !J1eet an to .assum~ lU Y Its Nations to support the immediate and unconditional ~espon~I~I1ItI~Sby takmg urgent action, to Implement implementation of Security Council resolution 435 Its declsl0!1s, If necessary by the adoptIOn of manda- (1978) and other resolutions we have adopted on the tory sa~ctlons, ~nder Chapter VII of the Charter of subject. My Government firmly opposes the moves the Umted NatIOns. of the South African authorities to impose puppet 282. It is clear that South Africa has not given any political institutions in the Territory in an obvious indication of a change in its attitude or policy or, for attempt to settle the problem internally. It is we, the that matter, with regard to its constant and repeated Members of this Organization, and no one else- violations of United Nations resolutions and deci- certainly not South Africa-who have the sole and sions. direct responsibility of solving the problem in a 283. My Government, therefore, unreservedly sup- manner which we perceive to be ~n.the best interest ports the view that the imposition of comprehensive of the oppressed .people of ~amlbla. . . . mandatory sanctions under Chapter VII of the 290. My delega~Ion a!s~ reIterates ~t thIS time ItS Charter is the only way to ensure that South Africa support for the Imposltl0!1 of sanctIons. and other will respect United Nations resolution's and deci- ~nforcement me.asures agamst South AfrIca. to force sions, as set out in the draft resolutions submitted by It t~.comply wlt~ all the .re.levant r~solutlons ~nd the United Nations Council for Namibia. deCISIons ~onc~rnmg Namibia. In th~s connection, , . . my delegatIon IS fully aware of the dedicated work of 284. F1Oally, we take thiS opportumt~ to ex~ress the United Nations Council for Namibia as the legal also o~r gratitude .fo.r the work ofth~ Umted NatI<?ns Administering Authority for the Territory. To Mr. Councl1.for NamIbIa, under the wise an~ effective Paul Lusaka of Zambia, in his capacity as President le~dershlp of ¥r. Paul Lusa~a ~f Zambia, .and to of the Council, and to the Council members, we r~Iterate our Will and det~rm1Oatl~n t~ contmue to extend our appreciation and felicitation. ~Ive our support to, any actions WhICh wl1l. f~rther the 291. Next year we shall celebrate the fortieth anni- Just cause of the 10dependence of NamIbIa. versary of the Organization. What could 'be a more 285. Mr. ARCILLA (Philippines): The question of fitting way to celebrate the occasion than to give Namibia stands out as the one issue on the agenda substance to our avowed commitment to the princi- that may well serve as the litmus test for the United pies of self-determination and independence for all Nations. nations-ves. bv 2ivin2 birth to an indenendent 286. On 27 Octol:'~r 1966, by resolution 2145 Namibia. ~ - ~ - - ... (XXI), we, the Members of the United Nations, 292. Mr..ORAMAS O~IVA (Cuba) (znterpretatlOn decided to place under our direct responsibility the from ~paf}lsh): O~~e aga~n we meet to conSIder t~e Territory of Namibia. A year later, we decided to ~ItuatlOn m NamibIa, WhICh has.become a perenmal exercise this direct responsibility through the United Item on the agenda of the sessions of the Ge.neral Nations Council for Namibia, to enable the people of Assem~ly, the O.AU, the M<?vement. of Non-AlIgned the Territory to enjoy their right to self-determina- CountrIes and, 1Odeed, all mternatIonal forums. tion and to achieve genuine national independence. 293. The fact that, in the general debate of the 287. That was 18 long years ago. Today, Namibia ~hirty-ninth ~ession, num~rous speakers ~ook up ~his and its people are still in the cruel and vice-like grip Item bears 'Yltness to the ImP<?rtanc~the mternatlon- of the racist Pretoria re~ime. How could we have al commun~t~ attaches to thIS. subject. assumed such responsibility, and almost by wilful ~94. 1Jnfal1mgly,.at any ~eetlOg where. the matter default-sometimes through perverse acts-failed to I~ conSIdered, the mt~rnatIonal commum~y ha~ con- discharge it? I address myself in particular to those sIst~ntly condemned lInkage a~d.has qualIfied !t as a nations which took part m that fateful decision 18 ~aclst pretext to prevent Namibia from acced10g to years ago, but whose subsequent actions plainly 1Odependence. contravened the very essence of that decision, which 295. In a new contribution to peace, Angola trans- was to enable the Namibian people to exercise their mitted a letter to the Secretary-General from Presi- inalienable right to self-determination and the dent Jose Eduardo dos Santos [A/39/688], in which achievement of genuine national independence. he set out in a precise, objective, reasonable and Through their lack of co-operation in effectively constructive manner a set of proposals to pave the !,parthe~d, upder which Namibia would remain under compliance with United Nations resolutions. !ts.d.ommatlon and Ang~la would no longer be what 301. My country therefore supports the recommen- It IS. a free and sovereIgn ,State. " dations contained in the report ofthe United Nations 297. Why.does South Afnc~ behave m thl~ way? Council for Namibia [A/39/24, partfour, chap, 1]. My Why does It mock and 4ende the clamourmg of delegation will vote in favour of the draft resolution peoples and ~tates? There IS a clear answer: because proposed by the Council on the situation resulting It feels that It .has greater support than ~ver before from the illegal occupation of the Territory by South from .the archItects of the so-called pohcy of c0!1- Africa as well as the draft resolution it proposes on structlve ~ngageme!1t. Let us look at the d~b~tes m the implementation of Security Council resolution the Secunty Councd, and we ,shall see that ,It IS they 435 (1978). who have vetoed draft resolutIons condemnmg South . . , Africa. It is they who, in the Fourth Committee 3Q2. My delegat~on takes. thIS oPPoI1umty to p'!y,a during this session, submitted amendments to ensure tnbute to the, Umted ,NatIOns C,?u~cl1 for Naml~la , that the names of the country in question and Israel ~md to the ~mted Nations Commls~lOnerfor Namlb- would not appear in the draft resolutions relating to la for theIr efforts., We pay a, tnbute. also to the South Africa. It is they who have presented further Department of Pubhc Information .f~r Its efforts to amendments calling for the deletion of their names s~PP0f!: tb;e st,ruggle or the Namlb}'!n, pe~ple by from draft resolutions on Namibia that are to be qlssemmatl.ng I~f,?rm~tlon and moblhzl,n~ mtern~- voted upon by this Assembly. tlOnal p~bhc opmlOn m ~upport of Namibia.. In thIS . . . connectIOn, my delegatIOn welcomes the Idea of 29~. What kmd of respect IS shown for the Afncan convening, at United Nations Headquarters in 1985, peoples a~d t~e Heads .of State. and Government of an international conference in which eminent per.. the OrgamzatlOn of Afncan Umty,.who met from 12 sons, scholars, members of support groups and mass to 1~ Nove~ber 198~ at Addl.s Ababa at the media personnel from all over the world would twent~eth ordma!)' S~SSIO~ of theIr Assem~ly, ana participate, in order to mobilize and promote more exam.lI~ed. the ~ltuah0!1 m southern .Afnca, ~n? international support for the just struggle of the NamIbIa m partIcular, m acc!>rdance ~It~ the?splnt Namibian people under the leadership of SWAPO, and le!t~~t?f~~ey!a~!.:s~~!t~n~~ Tt?~Sl~~~: t!~::: the sole legitimate representative of the heroic Na- can we aSK un:: u.u:auucu VI "~I~. 'VL""'-~ ..v ...."'."'..'" .......... mibian peopie. the draft resolutIon on NamIbia the name of those who support the Namibian people's oppressors, who, 303. The Gov~rnment of Q.atar h~s discharged, in thanks to this encouragement, have become increas- word as well as 1!1 d~ed, what It c~nslders t'? be a legal ingly brutal and arrogant? How can they be a.sked to and moral obhgatl~n.,Thus, m 1973. It ena~ted delete the name of those who collaborate with Israel Decree No. 130, whIch Imposed economl~ sanctIons so that South Africa is able to develop its military aga~nst Sou!h Africa, i~ compliance with the ~elevant technology including nuclear technology? How can Umted NatIons resolutions. The Decree prOVIded for they be asked to delete the name of those who enable an oil em~argo against South Africa. My country als~ the transnational corporations to invest hundreds of enacted m 1973 Decree No. 140, und~r whlc~ It millions of dollars in South African industries who severed all cultural, trade and economic relations make it possible for the IMF and the World B~nk to with South Africa. grant h~ge loan~ !O the racist South Afri~ans? In my 304. The Government of Qatar, in co-operation delegatIon's oplmon, t~ese draft re~olutlons should with its Arab sister countries, is seeking to consoli- be~dopted by accla~atlOn. In so dOJ~g, we shall pay date the embargo ~gainst South Africa through the a t~lbute to t~~ herOIC sons of ~amlbla, to SWAPO, adoption of more effective arrangements designed to theIr sole legItImate representative! and to the Heads eliminate the loopholes and the attempts to evade the of State and Government of Afnca. embarg6 resolutions, to which my country is commit- 299. Throughout this statement we have referred to ted in letter and in spirit. The mass media in Qatar . those who invented the so-called constructive engage- spare no effort in publicizing the violations of human ment, to those who thought up and have advocated rights in Namibia and in exposing the racist regime's linkage, to those who veto in the Security Council false propaganda designed to deceive worJd public draft resolutions against South Africa, despite the opinion. In this regard, my delegation cannot fail to fact that the racist police assassinated 87 black lexpress its regret at the fact that some States do not citizens, with impunity. So far, we have not men- seriously implement economic sanctions against colo~l1alIsm may be elImmated from the Afnc,an the official ideology of these racist regimes at the contment and.future efforts may b~ crowned with expense of the rights of the indigenous peoples and success, followmg the unfortunate faIlure of the talks on the pretext of security and the suppression of on Namibia's independence held in Lusaka and terrorism. Mindelo earlier this year. 312. Thirdly, in South Africa and in occupied 306. Mr. ALAUKLI (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) Palestine, there is a trend which runs counter to (interpretation from Arabic): The Arab Libyan people civilization and history, because these regimes be- believe that the Namibian question and the question lieve that their only chance of survival lies in the of the dignity of Africa are indissolubly linked. That application of force. That is the reason for the is why we have always believed that the Namibian collaboration between them in all areas, the military problem and the presence of the racist regime in and nuclear fields in particular, with the aim of South Africa is a priority matter on two levels-the intimidating the peoples of these regions and forcing international and the African-especially since the them to capitulate. P!ob.lems of liber~tion, independence and recov~red 313. Fourthly, the Zionist entity and racist regime dignIty of the Afnca!l and ~rab peoples are cardmal of Pretoria are trying to defy United Nations resolu- features of our foreign polIcy. tions by imposing partial solutions that ignore inter- 307. On the basis !If this position of principle, the nat~onal legality. T~e solution p.r~posed by South Libyan Arab Jamahmya feels c,ompelled to share all Afnca to the q,ue~tlOn o( Namibia, very strC?n~y the commitments of every Afncan country and has resembles the ZIOnIst theSIS concernl~g PalestinIan always provided encouragement and assistance to autonomy. Indeed, the South Afncan attempts SWAPO, as well as to the African front-line States. against the .African front-line Sta~es resemble the We have, moreover, demonstrated publicly that we attempts to Impose the Camp Davld accords on the consider ourselves to be a front-line State by pro- Arab homeland. hibiting direct or indirect collaboration of any kind 314. Fifthly, the implementation of the Zionist with the apartheid regime. project in the Arab homeland and the imPosition of 308. The position of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya the raci~t regime .of Pretoria in the southern ~art of with regard to the Namibian question is based on our t~e Afncan con~lI~ent r~present a new pa~e I.n the position with respect to the theocratic regime in history or colOnIalIsm, aimed at pe!pe!uatmg Illegal occupied Arab Palestine, Indeed, the Namibian and explOltab0!l. Ind~e~, through the ~IO~lS~ threat an.d ~","th Af..i"'!ln npnnlp'! !lnil thp P!llpdini~n nennle are the aggressive polICies of the PretorIa regime, there IS the"'~i~ti;;;;~f ~tt~k; ~~~ ;~~p~cti~eiy:thcitAfrica~ intensive pillaging of Arab. and African naturai and Arab identity. Indeed, Arab and African dignity resources and human potentIal. is the suhject of repeated assaults because of the 315. Sixthly, the generous assistance provided by existence of racist entities with common ideologies the United States is one of the principal factors and with complementary rules, accomplices in the making it possible for the two racist regimes to defy establishment of a single strategy for entrenching the will of the international community. The so- hegemony by oppressing the Arab and African peo- called constructive engagement between the United pIes. States and the racist regime ofPretoria is no different 309. The similarity of the threats facing these two from the st~at,egic ~o-operation b~tw~en th~ United peoples caused them to realize frQm the outset the States Adm~nIstratlon and the ZIOnISt entity. indivisibility of that infernal trio, that three-faced 316. All thiS reveals ~he true nature of.the challen~e enemy: racism, zionism and imperialism. The final to the. Arab and Afr.lcan p,eoples, which makes ~t document adopted by the ·first Arab-African summit, essentl.al that they UnIfy theIr.efforts and clos~ theIr which was held in the Egyptian capital in March ran~s m orde~ to, struggle agamst. the last bastIOn of 1977, reaffirmed this indivisible link. The document raCism, explOitation and aggression. contained a group ofprinciples which are the basis of 317. For nearly 40 years now the United Nations the common struggle against the regimes of racism has been dealing with the Namibian question, and it and racial discrimination in occupied Palestine and is more than 18 years since the General Assembly in South Africa, regimes and policies that extend to adopted the resolution ending the South African Namibia, as well as to Arab and African front-line Mandate over Namibia. It is six years since the States. This document constitutes the springboard of Security Council adopted resolution 435 (1978), by the Arab-African common struggle, and also indi- which It approved the United Nations plan for the 318~ My delegation, when it studied the reports "hist.orical ally"..It has also declared th~t, for eco- presented by the Secretary-General, the United Na- nomIc ~nd strate$lc r~asons, southern AfrIca IS one of tions Council for Namibia and the Special Commit- the regIOns of v~tal .mterest to the l!mted Stat~s. tee on the Situation with regard to the Implementa- 324. Secondly, m vIew of the forego18g, the Umted tion. of the Declaration on the Granting of States Adm.imstrati0J?'s. policy ~f .construc~ive e!1- Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and gagement WIth. PretOrIa IS a sophistIcated alliance m listened to the statements made by the Secretary- all fields, whIch has helped to strengthen South General of the South West Africa People's Organi~a- Africa's.gr.ip over Namibia in order to preserv~ the tion and the spokesmen of the African front-hne economIC mterests of the two allies m that TerrItory. States was confirmed in its conviction that the 325. Thirdly, the pretext of the presence of Cuban implementation of Security Council resolution 435 forces in Angola to justify the continued occupation (1978) has reached a critIcal point. That imposes of Namibia has been concocted by the United States upon the international community the need to adopt in order to link the Namibian problem with ideologi- practical measures to compel the racist regime of cal questions and include it in the East-West conflict. Pretoria to comply with the international will. 326. Fourthly, the United States Administration, 319. The delegation of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya certain other Western St~tes and .the Zioni~t entity believes that any delay in the implementation of ~ave refused to comply WIth. SecurIty CouncIl resolu- these measures would only speed up the implementa- tlo'! 418 (1977)~ concermng the arms ,em,bargo tion ofthe South African plan, which South Africa is agamst South. AfrIca. T~e~e States are, contmumg to trying to substitute for the United Nations plan for colla.bor~te wI!h PretorIa m th~ techOlcal field, t~us the independence of Namibia. !11akmg It posslbl~ for South ~fnca to,occupy N~mlb- la and to destablhze the nelghbourmg countnes. ~20. The racist Pret!Jria regime .has decided. to 327. Fifthly, Security Council resolution 435 (1978) !mplem~!1t a s.o-c~lle~ mternal solutIon by' estabhsh- endorsed the plan for the independence of Namibia mg fictltl!Jus mstlt~tlons, such as councIls of ~tate proposed by the States of the so-called Western an4 multI-party natl<?,!al ~onferences, by apply!n~ a contact group. It was hoped that those same States pohcy ~f forced mlhtarI~atIon of the .Namlblan would exert pressure on South Africa, but the reality people a~med ~t strengt~emng the occ~p~tlon ~orces, of the past few years has been quite different. It by formmg trIbal ~rmles, by e~tabhshmg mlhtary seems that those States are much more concerned posts a!1~ by refus18g to recogmze SWA~<? as the with having their multinational corporations exploit sole legltlI~a!e repres.entatlve of ~he Na!1ubIan peo- Namibian resources than with putting an end to p!e. PretorIa IS follow~ng a rep~esslve pohcy based 0!1 South Africa's occupation of Namibia. YlOl~tlon of human rIghts. ThIS de1p~nstrates that. It 328. Sixthly, through hypocrisy, pressure and black- IS stIlI.resolved.to bypass the prov.lslons of .SecurIty mail, South Africa has succeeded in temporarily Councl~ resolutIon 435 (197.~)' ThIS mak~s It nece~- throwing its opponents off guard, thereby advancing sary to.Implement the provI.slOns of SecurIty Coun~Il its own racist policies and theses resolutIon 439 (1978), whIch warned the PretOrIa . .' regime that if it did not co-operate with the Security 379. That IS how these va~lou.s fa~tors have com- Council in the implementation of resolutions 385 ~med a~d brought us, to thIS SItuation.. Hence, the 11976) and 435 (1978), the Security Council would mternatlonal commumty must ,redouble I!S eff0f!s.so " , ...,...... . • .. ~ .... ..t AI". ,_ -'_1 • 1 _ meet forthwith to initiate appropriate actions under as to put an eno to ;:)OUlD f\.IflCa s oel~ym& pum':lcs the Charter, including Chapter VII thereof, so as to and manoeuvres, f~r any f~rther delay m thiS 11}a~ter ensure South Africa's compliance with the two ~ould ho~d th~ Umted NatIons hostage to ~h~ regime aforementioned resolutions. m PretOrIa which seeks to ups~t the ~~opohtl~al facts , of the problem through the Imposition of ItS own 321. It is high time the Security Cduncil honoured solutions and through attempts at occupation of its own decision. Nothing can justify delay in the nei~hbouring African territories by overthrowing implementation of these resolutions, especially since their regimes and replacing them with puppet gov- all the parties have recognized that, although ernments. SWAPP has shown a great s~nse of responsibility, 330. As we have already pointed out, the Libyan PretorIa has ~hown greater mtranslgence and has Arab Jamahiriya believes that the Namibian problem ~ttempte4 to mtro~uce new eleme~ts that ,were not is of concern to the African continent as a whole. !ncluded m resol~tlon 435 (~978), m an a'Liempt t!J That is why we have always helped the Namibian ImP'?se a new fait ac~omp" which wo~ld mak~ It people in their struggle, under the leadership of ~sslble for Sou~h AfrIca t~ I?erpetu.ate ItS domma- SWAPO. We should like to emphasiie the following tlon and occupatIon of Namlb~a.and Illegally plunder points with regard to our position on the principles the J?atur~l resou~ces.of Namlbl~, transformmg t~at constituting a basis for ajust solution of the problem. TerrItory mto a hnk m the securIty belt surroundmg . f I h N 'b' bl· South Africa so that it can launch attacks against the ~31. FIrst 0 al~, tQ reso ve t e a!111 lan p,ro em It ti · ti' I' S IS necessary to Implement the United Nations plan A rIcan ront- me tates. for the independence of Namibia in its entirety. 322. Many factors have encouraged the racist There can be no question of introducing any new regime of Pretoria to continue to flout the will of the elements that have nothing to do with the'subject. international community. The Libyan"Arab Jamahi- We must not accept any substitute solutions outside ~n compelling South Africa to withdraw from Namib- 341. Namibia does not belong to South Africa. It is la. a Territory that at one time fell into its hands by an 335. In conclusion, the Jamahiriya would like to accident of history, when, after the First World War, thank the Secretary-General for his efforts to imple- it was transferred to South Africa's trusteeship as a ment the United Nations plan for the independence Mandated Territory. What South Africa should have of Namibia. Likewise, we wish to praise the efforts of done was follow the example ofother colonial Powers the United Nations Council for Namibia, under the with Mandated Territories and live up to its obliga- presidency of Mr. Paul Lusaka, who is also President tion to prepare the people of Namibia for control of of the current session of the General Assembly. their own destiny. However, what the racist regime Those efforts have made it possible to promote did instead was betray a sacred trust ~iven it by the international awareness ofthe true dimensions of the international community by imposmg an illegal Namibian problem and the true nature of the policy occupation on Namibia, with all its attendant evils of of the racist regime of Pretoria. racism, repression and the greedy exploitation of the 336. My delegation takes this opportunity to con- resources of the Territory. gra~ulate the ,Secretal'Y,-G~neral of the South West 342. J:he rac}st Pretoria regime haVing proved Afnca PeQple s Orgamzatlon, who was recently re- totally ImpervIous to earlier repeated attempts at 1 -l _.L"A. __ 1 • .:_ D __.._-.:_' 1_ '1..1'_ !"'_.... .....A-.A. .__ . It::illit::U illl.~l· IUllg Y~i;Uli III "'I~"UIUI;) '5"':'1;). n~ "IIU pefSUaolfig it 10 recogfiize iLS feSpuiiSioili"ieS iiOL OiilY some of his colleagues, who were also Imprisoned, to the people of Namibia but also to the entire have emerged from this experience strengthened in international community the United Nations had no th~ir deter!Dination to pu~sue the struggle until the alternative but to adopt in 1966 a decision to revoke ultImate VICtOry of theIr just cause. the Mandate entrusted to South Africa by the League 337. Mr. TADESSE (Ethiopia): Ever since its in\~ep- of Nations. That decision, it will be recalled, was tion, the United Nations has been preoccupied by its endorsed in June 1971 by the International Court of principal task-not only making the world a safer Justice in an advisory opinion.s pla~e to live ~nt but also shaping the global hu~an 343. Momentous though these decisions are, in env!ronment ID.such a way as to enabl~ the col~ectlve terms both of content and of the degree of broad gemus of ~an~IDa better to serve man s yeammg f<!r international support generated, the fact remains that freedomt justt~e and developme~t. Of c9urse, It the racist Pretoria regime continues characteristically cannot be. claImed that the Un~ted NatIons has to ignore them with impunity, as it has the many s!1cce~ded In all.the endeavours It has under:taken other decisions that preceded them. Indeed, Preta- since. ItS found.atlOn nearly 40 years ago, bu~ I.t c~n ria's reaction was to intensify its repression against cet1aIDly be saId that one of the areas of.actlVlty ID the Namibian people, while at the same time adopt- whIch ~t ~as had a notable success IS that of ing other illegal measures designed to bring about the decolomzatlon. further entrenchment of its illegal occupation of the 338. The various initiatives taken by the United Territory. Indeed, the more the flagrant and contin.. Nations to enable the oppressed and exploited ued violations by the racist regime of the relevant masses in colonial Territories to exercise their in- decisions of the United Nations went unpunished, alienable right to self-determination and indepen- the more the Pretoria regime was encouraged in its dence have led to the emancipation of literally misguided perception of its position and policies ~.?~g~h_!!.es~~en!&.~~~:!;£u~~~, ~~~tne:;r :R.~~:~ ~e~~ t~ ~t~e ~ppl~c~tio~ of resol~tion.~43~.. (_l.?~~)~ __ allY ,"nun III \dIQIIIl-'IUIIIII/l; ....... ../l;.... 'I' 0.............. j04. unronunalelY, nowever, In splle 01 all tnese peoples to inde{lendence and peace, the Namibian efforts, t'l> its indignation the international commu- problem is a subject ofereat concern. It is therefore a nity is faced with the fact that Namibia is still under source of true satisfaction for my delegation that it the colonial yoke. Our indignation is all the greater has been placed on the agenda of the present session. because South Africa, on various pret.exts, is deliber- 358. Gabon has at all times supported and will ately circumventing all the international decisions always support the just cause of the Namibian relating to the independence of Namibia. Instead of people, who are still under the colonial yoke. Their complyin~ with the decisions of our Organization, history needs to be recapitulated here. South Africa continues to tighten its grip on Namib- 359. The st~uggle of the. Namibian peop~e f~r ia, whose territory it is occupyine militarily and independence IS all the more Important for us Slllce It whose abundant natural resources It is plundering. reflects the determination ofevery people aspiring to 365. In view ofall this, Gabon joins other members freedom. The leg~timacy of this struggle ~erives f~om of the international community in calling for the the major legal mstrul;1len~s of the Umted Natl~ns application of the various resolutions on this ques- relating to self-determInation, and the struggle IS a tion, in particular Security Council resolutions 432 very old one. (1978) and 439 (1978), which provide for the inde- 360. The fact that the resistance of the Namibian pendence of Namibia and for elections under the people to colonialism ~oes back as far as 1884 is auspices of the United Nations. In this connection, I evidence of this, as are, In particular, the uprisings in wish to remind representatives of the statement on 1907 which were savagely crushed by German impe- this question made by Mr. Martin Bongo, Minister of rialism. State and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Gabo- 361. As everyone knows, that resistance took a nese Republic, from this rostrum on 10 October decisive turn in 1959 with the establishment of 1984: ~ented, Sout!; ,i~tl:~c,a 'rr~~st prove to the mtema- "When together we search for ways to achieve !lonal~~~m~~"Hty~ts,w:t1hngness ~o put an~eD,~,to the ideals and goals of the Charter, let ~s not forget It~ de5'PlcabJ~: pohcy of apartheid and eAa~hsh the quality of the world we seek to buIld, the final with. 1tS ne!ghbuurs and the rest of. the world raison d'ctre of all our activities: the human being relatiOns ~ased 011 !ilU~~al r~sp~c~ n~n-mterference as an individual of whom the Declaration of and Jilol1-mterllentIO? [29;h meeting, para, 1~8,] Human Rights recognizes the right to a social and 366. Our country rejects and condemns any hnk international order whereby human rights and between the accession of Namibia to international fundamental freedoms will be fully enjoyed and sovereignty and ~he departure frol~l Angola .of the respected." Cuban troops wh,lch are, there by vut~e of btlater~l It seems that those who deny Namibia its indepen- agreeme~ts c~~dude~ m fUlIo!' sovereignty and m dence have lost from sight the type vf world w~ ~~nt con.formlty .wlth Artlclt 51 01 the Charter of the to build and the real raison d'etre of all our actiVities, United NatIons. for how else can one explain the constant disdain 367. Altho~gh it iS,true that c~~~in (oreign Powers shown by some when the question of t~e fre~~om of are engaged m an kmds of activIties m an effort to the Namibian people is taken up? While waltmg for control this part of the worldt in which geopol~tical the advent of this social and international ordert the conditions remain favourablet our country conSiders Namibian people will continue to suffer-and how that the Namibian problem iSt first and foremost,. a much longer?-the injusticet the harassmentt the colonial one. Therefore, it can be resolved <Jnly, m tortures they are subjected tOt while their inalienable acco~dance with the princi.ples.of self-determ1Oatlon rights are fll)uted. Atrocities a,re b~ing c~mmitted and 10dependence embodied m General Assembly against a people whose only crime IS to wish to be ~esolution 1514 (XV), concern~ng the granting C?f free. 10dependence to ~olomal.countnes and, peoples. It 13 373. South Africa wants to perpetuate a situation of therefo~efor ~he mtef!latlOnal commuDlty to deyelop domination which the international community re- further Its actlon~ de~lgned to comp~l South Afn~a.to jects. SWAPO, the sole genuine representative of the put an end to It~ tllegal occupatIOn of.NamibIa, Namibian people, is waging a heroic struggle for the :vhose people aspIre to freedom, sovereignty and liberation of Namibia and has become the target of mdepend~::nce. South African military action. Under the pretext of 368. From this standp.oint, my deleg~tion can only pursuing SWAPO, South A(rica has carried out, vast deplore the scornful attitude of Pretoria towards t.he offensives against Mozambique and Angola, vlolat- action of the United ~ati~ns and the. OAU With ing the ri~hts of those sovereign States, whi~h only respect to both apartheid m South Afnca and the wish to live in peace in order to deal With the independenc~ of the N~mibian people. Sho~l,d we development problems facing all developing coun- not grasp thIS opportumty to ask the authOrities of tries. The Government of Togo understands the Pretotia to cons;"'~r the lessons of the past? The reasons which led those two counh~es to conclude the majority of our ,,':ltrie~ which :vere colo~i,zed do Lusaka and Nkomati agreemen.ts, w~icht while not in not have the shghtest difficulty m recogmzmg the any way jeopardizing the cont1Ouatlon and the final need to establish the most diverse relations with our victory of the iiberation struggie of SWAFO, aiso former administering Powers. Once it is independent maintain peace in the region. There would have been ~md sovereign, N,amibia t~o. will be able t<? consiqer no need for those agreement~ had Security Council ID the best pOSSible conditions the question of Its resolution 435 (1978) been Implemented. relations with all its neighbours in the region. 374. The adoption of resolution 435 (1978) raised 3.69. This reflection leads ~e to affjrm, in conclu- the hopes of the international comml.;lmtYt but since Slont that the sooner.Pretoria, respects the rele~a~t that time those hopes have been wanmg. My delega- resolutions of the United Nabons both on Namibia tion still wonders whether all the efforts undertaken, and on South Afric~, th~ bet!er will be the guarantee in particular b.y the Secret.ary-Generalt to whom ~e of peace and secunty m dus part of the world. wish once agalO to pay tnbute, have been made m 370. Mr. ADJOYI (Togo) (interpretation from vain. French): For almost 3~ years ~ow the qeneral 375. Resolution 435 (1978) clearly sets out the Assembly has, thanks to Its resolution 65 (I), 1Oclud- proc(.>C)s W' ";h should lead to an mdependent and ed the question of Namibia on the agenda of each sovel"".(i;'1 Namibia. But hypocriticallYt by using and every one of its sessions. delaying tactics ~nd subterfu,ge, Sout~ Africa has 311. For how much lon$er shall we include on our a.lways deferr~d Implementatlo~ of the aforemen- agenda this item, "Question of Namibia"? For how tl<?~ed r~sol~tlon apd has co~tmued,to undert~ke long will arrogant Sout~ Africa c?ntinue to flout. the military ~ctlon agalOst, th~ nelgh"'~.~r)n.g countries, international community, scornlOg the resolutIOns thus defymg the Orga~lzatlon.Vf<" '. stdlt there are adopted b" the General Assembly and the Sec~rity m~mbers of th~ S~c~f1ty Co~nctl \ ~Ich collaborate Council calling for a seWement ~f the pamful wlt~ S~uth ~fflca m, Its delaymg tactiCS, t~e .latest of Namibian problem? For how long wtll the martyred wh,lch is to hnk t~e ~ndepe~denceo.f NamllJ~a to the people of Namibia continue to suffer arid be denied ~ndateral denunclat!On of IOternatlOnal agreements the exercise oftheir inalienable rights to'self-deternti- concluded by sovereign States. As was stated by Mr.

i\1a¥ I remind representa- tives that the debate on ,_.a'; Item was con....tuded at the 52nd plenary meeting, held on Tuesday, 6 November. In this connection, the Assembly has before it draft resolution A/39/L.22. I now call on the representative ofCameroon, who wishes to introduce that draft resolution. • Resumed from the 52nd meeting. fruit~ of global development be seeR and felt in the that constitutes the felicitous conclusion of its delib- poor areas across the globe. Deprived peoples grow in erations on this item. an atmosphere of hate and revolt. They must be removed from tha~ plight if pockets of potential 399. This Declaration is a sign of hope for Africa. It explosions are not to endanger world peace. attests to the will of the international community, in particular the African countries, to act effectively 390. We consequently call for massive mobilization together in order to solve African problems. It clearly of efforts, not only to adop<t this declaration by indicates the need not only to meet emergency consensus, but also to make clear to history our full situations but a.lso to take action in regard to the deep engagement with its objectives. reasons for those situations. 391. ''''e wish to express sped"",l appreciation to the 400. Indeed, we all know that climatic conditions, co-ordinator; TO''':';~lOhiko Kobr.a~hi of Japan, for his however unfavourable they may be, do not suffice in excelient assistance in the pr~ /.~f, "r negotiations. He themseliTes to explain the scope and intensity of the ensured that the parties got te,:i ner ·vhenever they African crisis. We all know ~hat it is not a mere wanted to, and he remal11~d wi, optimist whose coincidence that the most severely affected countries political instincts sustained his indefatigability. The are those that have been classified as least developed. co-ordinator has made certain suggestions which Because of the vulnerability of African economies could further the cause of wider acceptance and and their structural weaknesses, immediate action strengthen consensus on this text. .We should be fmust be taken, as the Declaration recommends. ~07. I wo.uld like.to thank all del~gatlons. r~prese~t- session of the General Assembly, the Foreign Minis- mg the va,rl~us reglon~l gr~up~, which partIcIpated. m ter of Japan appealed [9th meeting] for an active the nego~latlons culmmatl~g I~ the a~reement whIch response to the problems of hunger and economic we have Ju.st approved. I WIS~1 l!l particular, to than~ difficulties affiictin$· Africa. Moreover, he recently the c<?-Ordmator of the negot13h0!lS, rytr. Kobayash,l, made a trip to Africa and personally observed the for hiS persev~rance and determm~t1on to see thiS dire situation there. As a result of his first-hand document to ItS successful conclmHon. observation, the Foreign Minister became deter7 408. I wish also to pay tribute to the Secretary- mined to see that much more is done to meet the General for the initiative he took earlier this year to needs of the people of Africa. Upon his return to "While on this tour, I became acutely aware of the need to strengthen not only food assistance to those afflicted African countries,'but also co-opera- tion with them in such areas as storage and transportation of, food, wa~er supply and a~ricul­ tural development. From this point of ,~Iew, I announced in the course of the tour that my Government intended to extend to Africa in financial year 1984 supplemental food and agricul- tural assistance amounting to approximately $50 million, in addition to the food-related assistance of more than $115 million which my Government had approved by the end ofOctober this year. Such assistance is, however, far too insufficient to meet the needs of the African people suffering from starvation and malnutrition, estimated at about 150 million. "I feel keenly that the calamit¥. of drought is a menace to world peace and stability no less than armed conflict. I now wish to appeal to the international community at large to recognize the necessity and importance not only of emergency assistance to African countries, but also of POSi- tively carrying out agricultural and food-related assistance for them based on medium- and long- term points of view and supporting their self- reliant efforts. I also wish to stress the importance, greater than ever, of the exchange of information and ideas among donor countries and between donor and recipient countries for the effective implementation of such assistance activities." [A/39/724, annex, paras. 2 and 3.] 415. The Declaration just adopted provides the international community with a basis for strengthen- ing and consolidating efforts to help African coun- tries overcome the present emergency and to estab- ljsh medium-term and long-term development programmes. Vigorous action should be taken at all levels, national, regional and international. In this regard, all United Nations agencies have a special role to play. I take this opportunity to express to the Secretary=Genera! my delegation's appl'{~~iation of his active efforts to promote an effective internation- al response to the very grave situation in Africa. My delegation also expresses deep appreciation to the Secretariat members concerned for the efficient work they have carried out so far. I should like to urge, however, that in implementing the Declaration the United Nations system strive to provide assistance to Africa in an even more efficient and co-ordinated manner. It can best do so by more fully utilizing the existing consultative mechanism and by setting up task forces' to supplement the co-ordination work now under way. ' 416. In concluding, I should like to express my earnest hope that the Declaration will contribute to reducing the suffering of the peoples of Africa. Japan stands firmly committed to do its part in joint international efforts. 417. Mr. McDONAGH (Ireland): It is with great pleasure that the European Community and its member States welcome the adoption of this resolu- tion containing the Declaration on the Critical Economic Situation in Africa. It is a clear refleciion of the deep concern of the internati9nal community ~md r~s~lts from the nt:o-colonialist po~icies of t~e 434. The socialist countries members of the Coun- ImperIahst Powers, whIch are attemptmg to. shIft cil for Mutual Economic Assistance [CMEA] are ont~ the shoulders of the.peoples of the countrIes of staunch supporters of the adoption of effective Afnca and ~ther .d~v~lopmg cou~tr~es the burden of decisions and measures to eHmmate all forms of the eCOflomlC CriSIS m the capItalIst sector of the exploitation in international economic relations, of world economy. The unprecedented drought and discrimination, artificial obstacles and inequitable other natural dlsastt:rs have only furthe.r revealed t~e terms of trade. They also support the establishment y.reakness or. the Afflc~n economy and ItS vulnerabtl- ~f a just, economi.cally well-foun~ed sy~tem of. pric- Ity to the free play of market forces. 109 for raw materIals, food and mdustrlal products. 429. The imperialist States bear full responsibility To this end, we favour increased control over the for the consequences of the past colonial exploitation activities of transnational corporations. We are in of the human and natural resources of the African favour of the democratization of currency and finan- ~ontinent and of the co~tinuing present ~e~colonial. c~al r~lations and against t~e policy of uncontr~l!ed 1st plunder of that contment. Therefore It IS only too hIgh mterest rates. We are m favour of normahzmg de~ and. Norway-I would lIke to express our deep 456. Africa will remain a priority for Canadian satIsfactIon that the General Asse.mbly has been ~ble development co-operation as it has been in the past ~~i:~t~~t J:cl~~~:i~~s~~ ~h~eC~~~it~~rE~~~o~icaS~~~~: 9ur c<?mmitment will not diminish, but rather will b,~ , • Co • 1" . • mtenslfied, to address both f ' short-term humaDl- t~on m Alflca. The Dec aratIon gIves the polItIcal tarian priorities and the longer-term development sIgnal fr!Jm t~e General Asse~bly to the wor!d needs of the region. Declarations neither feed the commumty which we ca!le~ for m our stat~ment In hungry nor alleviate human suffering; they can only the g~ne.ral debate on thIS Is~ue [47th meetmg]. The act as a catalyst for collective action. It is to that !1egotlatIons on t~e DeclaratIon have been long, and action that we must now turn It has been a dIfficult process. We commend the . flexibility and spirit of compromise shown by all 457. Mr. MALIK (India): I would like to begin on concerned. this solemn occasion by reading out the statement on 449. The Nordic countries are prepared to do their the critical econom.ic situ~t~on in Afric~ made so~e share in the international efforts to help the affected days ago by the PrIme Mmlster of.lndIa and C~al~- countries in Africa to overcome their critical eca- man of the Movement of Non-Ahgned Countnes. nomic situation. As we stated in the general debate, it "Africa today faces a grave situation caused by a is now time for action. long spell ofdrought and famine. Our hearts go out 450. Todav I reiterate the commitment of the !~ sYl1!pathy to th~ p.eople ofthe affected countries. Nordic countries to increase their development rh~y have bleen facmg hunger, dIsease and death. assistance to sub-Saharan Africa. We will provide ChIldren and old people have borne the brunt ~f emergency assistance to alleviate the suffering in the tragedy. We are. deeply concerne~ at ~hlS drought-stricken African countries bilaterally as well colossal human suffermg u~precedented m AfrIca. as through multilateral institutions. We will also Appeals for eme~gen~y asslstanc~ have g~ne out provide assistance for the longer-term development fro~ the 9rgamza~lOn of t\fflcan l!mty, the efforts of Africa. We will continue and increase our Umted N~tlons a!1d ItS specu~hze.d agencies, as well bilateral aid to countries in Africa, and we will as other mternatlonal orgamzatlons and Gove~.. continue our strong support of the important interna- ments. Th~ G<?veI11me~t and people of IndIa tional development agencies, such as UNDP, express theIr s~bdanty w~th the Governm~nts and UNICEF, WFP, the African Development Bank and peoples of J~.frIcan countrIes affe~ted by thIS trage- tL; World Bank. We also intend to support the dy. As ~halrman <?f the Non-AlIg~ed Moveme!1t, special programme recently presented by the World we are m to~ch WIth other non-alIgned c0!1ntnes Bank. We have decided on or are considering special on .the questIon ~f short- and 10l1g-term assl~tan~e contributions to the World Bank for the benefit of which c~n be gIven to th~. AfrIcan countne~ ID Africa. ove~co.mmg. the present cnsls. At the ~me tIme, . India IS ready to share her own experIence and ~~1.. Fu,rtherJ!lore, our delegatI<?ns are prepared to resources to the extent possible in helping our Jom ,m discussions on m~asures m fields other than African brethren in meeting this stark challenge. offiCial development assistance. We are willing to send grain, medicines, teams of 452. We appreciate the initiatives taken by the doctors as well as other experts that may be needed Secretary-Genera~ to alleviate the critical situation in by the most seriously affected countries of Africa. Africa. We are prepared to co-operate fully with him Our diplomatic miSSIons in Africa have been asked in his endeavour to co-ordinate international efforts to get .in touch with the Governments of the for the benefit of Africa. countries concerned and to ascertain their specific ~~~ NOTES