A/40/PV.49 General Assembly

As President of the General Assembly, I thank the Secretary-General for the lqortant statement he has just made. I tielieve that the General Assembly will take due note of his vety timely comments concerning this coimenmrat~ve session. Al8o aa Pmaident, I should like to a& a statemat &peaking purely perronrlly and for the content8 of whioh I ahall be solely aoCa exalueively reoponaible. Now that we are conuluding this solemn c oanmrbtive aeoeion of tha fortieth anniversary of the United Nation8 , I do not think it US&SU to offer the general Assembly a brief rnalyais of what, from thir rostrum, f have felt to have been moat relevant aaong the many interesting statementr we have heard, I shall bqin by recalling one fact whioh, though rewated often, ia no 1688 signfCicantt the Lsrge number of dignitaries whose prcrenca h88 contributed to focusing the 8ttentioo of the vorld on what our Organioation repreoente aa a way of overcoming divisions and confrontations in the international comunity. I h8VO 8lre6dy pemonrlly conveyed ry thank8 to the ujotity of them, but I with to exprerr then again publicly to all for the very valuable contribution they have w&de to the c -ration of such an fsportant anniversary. Practically no strtement failed to condmn thu ama ram or to appal, a8 a first stop, to halt it and thus begin the path toward8 general and complete diearmament. Concarn over the rleh of nucleer confrontation was unanimous, and it is ry) surprise that the entire world should be awaiting the forthcoming meeting between the representatives of the two Powetr that possess the largest numbetr of nuclear weapons, trulltfng that the dialogue between the super-Powers will set the stage for a substantial reduction in armaments. If concern over armameb>ts is not new, neither was the concern expressed these past few days over conflicts which, unfortunately, have been present on the international stage for many years. 1 shall refer to two of them. Perhaps they have been most often mentioned in the course of our deLiterrtions. The pr,licy of apartheid of the Government of SOu%it htrici has beeri justly and czpeatedly condemned. At this solemn occasion the General hr;Semti-/ t-13~ reit eratefi its disappfr,~d/al of tile persistr!rlck! of 3 3yBcem of (The Ptaoidant) govermant baaed on racial dimriminatioa, whioh is repugnant to all mankind. The suffering of the mjority of the South kfric8n ~tion, in fta rtruggla to obtain a systen of coexistence baaed on equality and juotiae, is -thing to whiah th international aomunity aannot rs8ain indifferent. I am convinced that all necessary prermure murt continue to he exerted cm that once ud for all we ohall manage to eliminate swh an odious eystea. The other is, obviously, the situation in the Middle East, an area Of Vital importance whose inhabitants for many years have been unable to enjoy the benefits of fed and lasting pewe. In this case, too, we imve been given an cpportunity to hear the views of statesmen from that trgion 8nd other8, who have We oonatrwtive proposals which we trust may lead to that longed-for peace - a peace that murt take into acacunt the legitimate interesta of all partie concerned and, in particular, offer a solution to the painful problm of the Palestinian PWPle+ There is one 8ubject which in a sormht new form 8ppaarr to have dcainatul both the general debate and the rpecial rucative wrriont external debt. we have heard srny volcea draw attention from the rostrum to the dangers to world stability inherent in a situation that is beoaming increaringly hazardous Wing to the encraous difficulties experienced by aany countries in meting their external financial conmiments, and there are various solutiona being proposed. I believe I have detected a convergenca of views in the analysis of the question that 8o*la bold ti A imaginative - and I would even say revolutionary - solution has to be found to such a disquieting situation. It wea only natural that speakers at these meetinga should have sumued up the successseti and failures of our Organization In its 40 years of esrietence. There have been manj! analyses, but I uol;ld indicate three area8 where the work of the fjnited Nsrions c&n be considered 6s baeicalLy satisfactory, Pirat 3f all, there is decGlonization, That Irfist of the rcpresenrdtives gathered here came from countriss vhiah in 1945 YIIO rutbring uMer foreign duin8tion 40 obvious proof of l waeor in the long rtruggla for tba liberation of peoplea. _’ Coimiding with th. qmcirl -t&iv0 uetingo, the General Aeeembly at the appropriate time dovot& 8 meeting at80 to -ato tba twenty-fifth mniv*rury of tha Deal8r8tion on the Qranting of Indqmdoaao to Colonial Countries and Peoptr. liouever, everything ho not been done in this iqortant field of decolonitation. Suffiae it to mention the uaw of Nuibia, am has been done by so rrny spe8ker8, for our SakiOfaCtiOn at the l UOce8Wa achieved not bring US to forget what remains to be done in thir and otber cams of decolonization that await a solution. The mcond area uhete the wrtivities of the United Wrtionr can b conridered largely poritive ia the protection of h-n righte. The Universal tnctaration has lnspfred the action of 8any Governnntl, perhopr not aa many l e we would have desired, since the violatforw of humn right8 continue, unfortunately, in many cegiona of tba world. But thrra car! be no doubt that tbs principles are there, clearly md firaly established as l framework accepted by the international cmunity within which States rhould regulate their conduct. Finally - and this ia the third of the artaa in which I can sincerely consider that the activities of the United Nac.ion# system has been utisfactocy - 1 COIBC to the numerous activities of the Organlzation in the econcmk, technological, educational and devclopwntal f icldr, in all their aspectr uhlch are being carried out by the specialized agencies of the Organization. Criticisms levelled at the Organization frequently focus on the mre glaring and .iawdfate aspects of current political realitie6, overlooking and forgetting the continued and effective work .carried otit daily by the various organs. For many individuals all over the world, the Ynited Nations ie ;;rimarily synonymus with the struggle against hunger, with i.mprovir,g communications, with giving health assistance, and so many oti,cr fields ir: which multilaterai co-ope:ation offers benefits in a tangible and direct fashior:. Quite cOrreat%Y, nbany 4Ve repat@ 4ng.t4t t4 l!nited Nation@ ha0 contributed to avoiding.the outbreak of (L gla&al aonfliab &ati f.aa v%~g grakifbd ta otrenr thL aymalP.;, cut thif4 0bmla not sake uo forget that the roothI hae not enjoyed total pe8as durbg tlma 40 years; quite tba cootrary, ohae our Organieation we founded, sany eraed conflioto have ooeurted that have caused aiPliorI6 of vlotlam. Sufdice it to 1-k et the neelitiee of the Weld today and the armed conf4iat.o t4t pereiet foe ue not to be coqlacent. And what of those two plague8 threatening buanity, terrotiem and drug trafflokiftg. blations of all reglone have euffereU fctm both. 3 ttuot that the Otganizatfon ,Pll be able to devote incresaing attcntibn to the phe~~em 00 ‘terrorim ad illegal trefff&&rig in dww 1 should like to Csnclude with an appeal whiah ia at the oame the a challenger let ue enWwour to ensure that this fortieth anniversary of the United Nationa produces 0 Solution, or the firat steps towards Q solution, tQ -8 of tlae gtaveeet confliote afflicting the world. But aims all, let us achieve the political will to omit ourselves not only to Solve exiethg conflicte, but TV prevent new ones front arising. We have the neceeeary in8truments for this purpose. It would be sufficient to rake full use of the machinery available to UE under the United Nations Charter, and if we uere t0 Use it we mid have taken the firs& atepe - stepa which I: consider t6 be of Capital hpOttafiC8 - towards the revitalization of our Otganfaatfon as a genuine aotive force in the nmintenancc of tnternatfcnal peace snd recur itY + MFNDA ITEM 27 INTERHATI3NAL YEAR OF FKACE: DRAFI' RJBOLUTIDN A/4O/L.6/Rev.l Th@ PRPSNWT (interpretation from Spanish) f The Assecnbly will r,ou turn to item 27, entitled "International Year of Peace*. 'In this cOM@=tion, the A~~3mbly has before it draft resolution A/BO/L.6/ReV. 1. This draft resolution is the result of the colnrsendeble initiative of the Government of Costa Rica, and has been sponeored by a nother 5i States. annexed to the draft rezolution is the text of the proclamat ion of the International ‘iear of Peace which reads as follows: (The President) Wmreaa the General Amsembly has deaided unanimously to 6oleMly prwlaim the International Year of Peaae on 24 October 198S, the fortieth anniversary of the united Natirne, “Whereae the fortieth anniversary of the united Nlrtiona provides a unique~ opportunity to reaffirm the commitment to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United NatiOn.6, . Wherea peace comatitutes a universal ideal’snil the promotion of peace is the primary purpose of the united Nations, ‘Whereas the promotion of peaoe and international security requires continuing and positive action by States and peoples aim&i at the prevention of vat, removal of various threat8 to peace - including the nuclear threat - respect for the principle of non-use of force , the resolution of conflicts and peaceful settlement of disputes, confidence-building meammtr, disarmament, mafntenmce of outer space for peaceful uses, developlnnt, the promotion and exercise of human rights and fundamental freed-, decolonization in accordance vith the principle of self-deterrlhation, elimination of all forms of racial discriaination and apartheid, the enhancement of the quality of life, satisfaction of human needs and protection of the envfroment, “Whereas pwples must live tqether in peace and practise toleramze, and it has been recognfzed that education, information, ecfence and culture can contribute to that end, ‘Whereas the International Year of Peace provides a timely impetus for initiating renewed thought and action for the proifmtion of peace8 Whereat3 the Xnternational Year of Peace offer13 an opportunity to Govemaente, intergovermentel, mn-governwntal organieatfon8 and others to expreee the comun aegiration of all -lee for peWer Whereas the Internati0nal Ye&r of Pesao is not only a celebiation or comemoration, but an Mrtunity to reflect and aat creatively and eyeteemtiaally in fulfilling the pur~seae of the United Iatione, WOY, therefore, the General Assembly aolemly preclaiaa 1986 to be the International Year of Pe&co and aalls upon all peoples to join with the United Nations in resoPuts efforts to safeauard peace and the future of humanity.” Uay I take it that the Assembly vi&e6 to &opt draft resolution A/40/~.6/Rev.l without a Vote? The draft resolution wa8 adopted (resolution 40/3). The PRESIDENT (interpretation from spanfsh)t We have now concluded the comemorative period of the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations. The meeting roso at 4.05 p.m.