A/41/PV.6 General Assembly
This morning the Assembly will hear an address by the
President of the Republic of Panama.
Mr. Eric Arturo Delvalle, President of the Republic of Panama, was escorted
into the General Assembly Hall.
On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to
welcome to the united Nations His Excellency Mr. Eric Arturo Delvalle, President of
the Republic of Panama and to invite him to address the Assembly.
President DELVALLE (interpretation from Spanish): Mr. President, in
choosing you to preside over the forty-first session of the United Nations General
Assembly, this Organization took a very wise decision, on which we should all
congratulate ourselves~ for we shall be able to araw on the extensive resources of
your political skill and diplomatic experience and on the guiding presence of
someone deeply interested in and committed to the fate of the international
community.
Panama extends a warm welcome to the peoples and Governments represented here
and hopes that in the not too distant future we shall be joined by the remaining
nations of the world as full-fledged Members, so that one of the main purposes of
this Organization can be fulfilled.
I am pleased to express the heartfelt gratitude of Panama for the dedication
and perseverance of the Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, and for the
wisdom, vision, skill and tact which have characterized his constant efforts to
restore peace wherever it has been shattered or threatened and to preserve it
where, fortunately, it prevails. The recent advances in the cause of peace are
largely the t'esult of his extraordinary dedication, and the praise and thanks which
will be extended to him at this session will be well deserved.
In particular, in so far as Panama is concerned, we are grateful for the
exceptional promptness, the receptive attitude and the painstaking attention with
which he has listened to us in r~ard both to problems of Panama specifically and
to those relating to our peace efforts through the Contadora Group.
My Government1s foreign policy is based on a tradition of struggle against
colonialism and discrimination in all its forms and manifestations; against the use
of force as an instrument of submission or subjugation; against intervention in the
internal affairs of States and for the defence of the principle of equality among
peoples; for inherent respect for human rights; for the principle of the peaceful
settlement of disputes; for the equitable distribution of the benefits of mankind's
s(,ientific, technical and cultural progress; but, above all, for the right of
States to have their territorial integrity respected and the right of all peoples
to enjoy political independence and to forge their own destinies, without
interference of any kind - especially foreign pressures.
For those fundamental reasons, I wish to place it on record in this Assembly
that Panama rejects and condemns the violent armed invasion of Afghanistan and
supports the demands of the Afghan people that Soviet armed forces be withdrawn
from their territory. It also repudiates the state of permanent aggression
suffered by the front-line countries and the situation of the Namibian people, for
they constitute flagrant violations of international law which deserve the
unanimous condemnation of other nations and threaten the ideals which inspired the
creation of this Organization. Furthermore, they force us to see with threatening
clarity that our efforts will be useless, in the face of the arrogance of the
racist minority, if we impose only moral sanctions.
(President Delvalle)
I should also like to express Panama's regret at the obstinacy with which the
Pretoria Government still clings to mankind's most shameful practices. The
majority wishes of the South African people have long since shown that apartheid as
a formula for human coexistence has had its day. Unfortunately, obscurantism and
intolerance continue to prevail over the t1reless efforts of the civilized world,
which is filled with horror and consternation at the crimes committed daily in that
territory.
(President Delvalle)
At the very heart of our most hard-won struggles is our respect for the
principle of equality among all men, and we therefore wish to see established in
South Africa as soon as possible an egalitarian system reflecting the wishes of the
majority of that people and a democratically elected government that will fully
rectify the odious practices we insistently deplore and condemn.
Furthermore, and on the basis of the same considerations, Panama supports
Madagascar in its claim to the Malagasy Islands; the Comeros in their authentic
right to incorporate the Island of Mayotte under their jurisdiction; Bolivia in its
long-standing aspiration to gain access to the sea and thereby contribute to its
development; Spain in achieving a negotiated settlement to the problem of Gibraltar
and Cyprus in its well-justified desire to win universal recognition for its
independence and freedom. Panama also advocates the withdrawal of Vietnamese
forces from Karnpuchea and the holdi,ng of free elections in that country under
strict international supervision.
In a great spirit of conciliation, Panama will support any effort to put an
end to the tensions and acts of violence between Arabs and Israelis. The State of
Israel was created by a resolution of this Organization, and Panama strongly
supports that decision, that country's existence and its participation in the
community of nations. It also supports any effort to secure an end to the
prolonged state of war between Iran and Iraq and demands from their Governments
absolute respect for vessels flying the Panamanian flag, some of which have been
the victims of unjustified attack in open violation of international agreements.
Panama supports any attempt to secure the conclusion of agreements to put an end to
the fratricidal struggle of the Lebanese people and any action to ensure the
peaceful unification of the Korean people, which must be achieved through direct
dialogue between the two parties. We hope that that will take place soon and that
the Republic of Korea and the People's Democratic Republic of Korea will become full
(President Delvalle)
members of the United Nations, so that the two parts of the Korean peninsula are
represented in the Organization.
Similarly, Panama welcomes any efforts to secure the holding of negotiations
between the Government of the Republic of Argentina and the Government of Her
Brittanic Majesty with a view to eliminating all vestiges of colonialism from the
Malvinas Islands.
Furthermore, the destructive capacity of the nuclear weapons deployed or
stockpiled by the super-Powers is such that a mere mention of their equivalent in
dynamite per human being is a telling indication of the absurd course mankind has
thus far pursued.
The Heads of State or Government of Argentina, Greece, India, Mexico, Sweden
and ~anzania, in offering their assistance in securing agreements among the nuclear
weapon countries, have taken an initiative which all peoples of the world have
welcomed. Their declarations and the conclusions they reached last month in Mexico
are a faithful reflection of our position and our hopes.
In recent months we have followed with the closest attention and the keenest
interest the public statements and proposals made by the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics and the united States of America, because those statements rekindle the
hope that those countries will make definite progress towards reaching fundamental
agreements that will dispel the threat of a nuclear holocaust which has hung over
us for the past four decades.
There can be no doubt that any concrete step towards the prohibition of
nuclear weapons and their stockpiling, and any measure to prevent the arms race
from extending and becoming widespread on earth, would be cause for universal
rejoicing. We can never allow the day to come when a human being will raise his
eyes to heaven, searching for a reply to the eternal questions, only to see the
terrible silhouette of his imminent destruction.
(President Delvalle)
I wish to place on record our position concerning two terrible evils of our
day that warrant the most stringent action and the most constant vigilance on the
part of all Governments: terrorism and drugs.
The Organization must strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and wherever
its appalling ramifications have spread, for no human conscience can condone the
sacrifice of innocent lives for the sake of alleged tactics of militancy or
persuasion, no matter who the authors of such unpardonable crimes may be or who
instigated or encouraged their perpetration.
The same attitude must also be taken to the problem of the trafficking in and
use of narcotic drugs, the proliferation of which has reached appalling levels in
many countries. We have an immediate obligation to root out this infamous tumor
from our contemporary human society, for it corrupts and erodes the most elementary
principles of conduct assumed to be indispensable to the life of peoples.
Faced with this permanent attack on the very essence of mankind's best
aspirations and the fruits of his social and cultural progress t we must act in
unison, indefatigably and conscientiously, to put an end to the production and
distribution of narcotic drugs and to combat th€ir traffic. To that end, we must
apply the same degree of vigilance, the same interest and the same zeal, both
internationally and locally, without ever falling into the futile trap of singling
out and condemning the corruption in our neighbour's camp while closing our eyes to
what is going on in our own back yard.
The drug problem must strengthen the unity of men and hence the unity of
nations, for when we all understand that the value of human life transcends any
other consideration, we will be able to set up a common front that will save
mankind from this scourge.
We acknowledge and applaud the efforts of other States to this end. Panama
has not been spared this plague and, as a contribution to the common cause, our
(President Delvalle)
country will in ~he next few days be issuing a n~w legal instrument which,
approaching the drug problem as an int~rnational problem, will permit total
co-operation among States in supp~essing drug offences, allow for the confiscation
of goods on a reciprocal basis among nations, speed up the extradition procedures
for persons detained in such cases and penalize such offences with stiffer
penalties in order to deal with this latest calamity looming over our younger
generation.
For those Governments currently grappling with the dilemma of meeting their
countries' international financial commitments, it is appalling to make a
comparison between the amount of the external debt of the least-advantaged
countries and the volume of the military budgets of the major Powers.
On the one hand, we feel the aspirations of our peoples to live in greater
dignity and, on the other, we see quite simply the ever->growing capacity for death
and destruction. On one side, we see vast sectors of mankind living in the most
dire poverty and, on the other, we see the appalling and ever-more sophisticated
machinery of death and destruction being constantly refined.
Although the developing countries welcome the possibility of agreements by the
powerful nations in the areas of the economy and peace, they resent the way in
which the limited possibilities for the progress and well-being of the weak are
overlooked. This equation prompts Panama to support all efforts which contribute
to the strengthening of peace and security, especially at the regional level, while
at the same time urging that part of the resources available be used preferably for
programmes of economic development and social progress, which are urgently needed.
The first concern I wish to mention in turning to the current problems of the
world economy is the stifling situation which foreign debt obligations have created
in the developing countries, a situation which prevents them from meeting social
needs and ensuring adequate economic growth. This situation must mak~ creditor
countries, which have a great interest in the preservation of peace, freedom and,
above all, democracy, realize that poverty and backwardness hold the seeds of
social unrest, which pushes peoples to agitation and violence in the search for
other political solutions which seem likely to improve their precarious living
conditions.
The innumerable complex problems which characterize the interdependence of
economies in our time have made anxiety and unrest or the breakdown of the social
order and recourse to armed violence in some regions obvious dangers for the rest
of the world.
Inequalities in the flow of capital and technical know-how continue to make a
satisfactory level of progress and development a privilege reserved for a handful
of peoples. The misfortune of the underprivileged, swept by a tide of justified
but unsatisfied aspirations, threatens the future of peace and freedom in all
nations. The sooner the Governments of the countries where wealth and power have
(President Delvalle)
been concentrated understand and acc~pt this reality, the sooner mankind will find
itself on the road to universal respect for the ideals of peace and freedom.
In order to create the necessary conditions for the sustained growth of the
world economy, we must analyse in depth and conscientiously reorder the economic
relations among States so that there is genuine equity in trade and in the study of
the factors which determine the distribution of capital investment.
The solutions adopted to deal with the debt crisis continue to favour creditor
countries, to the detriment of the development and political stability of debtor
countries. Panama is determined to meet its credit responsibilities but wishes to
give the international financial community warning that it must not seek to place
any country in the position of having to choose between satisfying the basic needs
of its people and cancelling its obligations on the pretext of avoiding a world
financial catastrophe.
In the face of these dilemmas, the Governments of all countries, ~reditors and
debtors alike, and all the international credit institutions and agencies concerned
have an unavoidable responsibility to offer creative solutions which will enable us
to overcome the crisis without destroying the future.
Aware of its responsibility as a nation and of its history as a host country,
Panama once again offers its territory for a summit meeting of all the countries
and bodies concerned, so that in a realistic u creative and constructive dialogue a
successful and effective solution may be found to avert the impending fatal outcome.
In recognizing the efforts made by the united Nations in its consistent aim of
safeguarding peace and in its numerous activities aimed at promoting the material
and spiritual progress of mankind, I must express the gratitude of the Panamanian
people for the specific actions and positive influence of the Organization on
behalf of the ideals we Panamanians pursue and the struggles we wage.
(President Delvalle)
We cannot forget the support given to the proposal by the Panamanian
Ambassador, Aquilino Boyd, that the Security Council m~et in Panama at a crucial
stage in our efforts to secure the abrogation of the shameful 1903 Panama Canal
Treaty. Subsequently, with the election of former President lllueca as President
of the General Assemb~y at the thirty-eighth session, the Organization honoured
Panama in a way that we shall never forget.
Concerning the crisis in Central America, the Contadora Act on Peace and
Co-operation, which was handed to the five Central American Foreign Ministers on
7 June last, ~eproduced the results of three and a half years of talks and
negotiations with t~e countries directly concerned, which established formulas for
agreement which had been carefully studied, discussed and revised and which left
unresolved only a few differences concerning international military manoeuvres and
the control and reduction of weapons.
Analysis of that instrument, which contains a whole set of understandings
reached with the participation of all the Central American countries in the face of
many problems and difficulties, must logically be followed by the political
decision of those countries to resolve whatever has remained pending so that, with
vision and realism, they can proceed with the signing of the peace document.
The mediation of the Contadora Group and the Support Group succeeded in
overcoming major differences and deep-rooted distrust and resentment and in
reconciling markedly different positions and aspirations, a task of conciliation
which brought us very near to achieving peace.
Throughout all this time, the spirit and action of Contadora contained the
scope of the hostilities and prevented the outbreak of widespread war. From the
outset of its efforts the Contadora Group has insisted and emphasized that
agreement on the necessary conditions for peace and their acceptance and
(President Delvalle)
observance depend principally on the political will of the Central American
countries, but also on the political consent of countries with important links and
interests in the region.
Panama u together with the other countries of Contadora, is determined to
continue to fight for the Latin American approach - that of the peaceful settlement
of disputes in Latin America. Our unswerving aim of continuing to seek the
conclusion of an international instrument which may once and for all restore peace
to the Central American region will not be altered by any kind of pressure.
The Republic of Panama wishes to state to this Assembly that retrograde
sectors wielding great economic power and considerable influence have conspired to
weave a whole tissue of lies and slander against the image of the Governments of
the countries that form the Contadora Group and have stopped at nothing in their
perfidious attewpt to undermine the proce8~ towards a peaceful settlement and
frustrate our people's aspirations to peace.
In this important forum, I denounce those same forces for launching a cruel
campaign against my country because they are seeking to deny us the right to
manage, operate and defend the Panama Canal from the date agreed in the
Torrijos-Carter Treaties and to maintain the Panama Canal within the strictest
neutrality, offering efficient service to all the nations of the world.
(President De1va11e)
Allow me now to refer to a serious question which concerns all the Governments
that are represented he~e and thut are concerned with safeguarding the principles
of the Charter of the Organization and preserving the full force of tile
international legal order.
In September 1977, the international community welcomed the culmination of
years of effort on th~ part of PaOi';ma in the signing of the Torrijos-Carter
Treaties. With a high sense of justice, the great North American PCMer a:d Panama,
a young and suall country, offered the world, through those Treaties, an admirable
example of what can be achieved when countries have the will to resolve old
disputes and ~!ofound differences peacefully.
Imbued with the determination to make conanon interests prevail over divisive
self-interest, the two countries agreed on a system for the management, operation
and defence of the Canal until 31 December 1999, with the transfer to the Republic
of Panama, on that date, of the interoceanic wa terway, wi thout encumbr ances of any
kind and in good operating order.
On 27 September 1979, hCMever, four days before those Treaties entered into
force, the United States Congress adopted Public Law 96-70, in which it determined
the conduct to be followed by the Panama Canal Conanission in connection with the
treaty signed with the Republic of Panama, thereby limi ting rights inherent in a
genuine joint administration.
As a result of that action, which amounts to subjecting the norms of
international law to the judgement of one of the parties in order to impose its
wishes, my Government made an immediate protest, which was followed by numerous
representa tions made by Panama at the bilateral level in order to put an end to
this situation.
By ignoring the scope and formality of the documents marking an agreement
between the two countries, the united States Congress unilaterally set up a regime,
(President Delvalle)
which still exists, by which the United States decides everything while its
P&~amian counterpart is limited to expressing its disagreement and protest at the
refusal to recognize the rights of our Republic.
The Canal Commissioo thus took over the direction of all matters relating to
the Canal, and since then, some policies and practices have been applied
unilaterally which contradict the spir it of the agreements reached between the
United States of America and the Republic of Panama.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Panamanian members of the Canal . Commission have repeatedly denolmced all those actions that we consider to be in
violation of the Treaties. As the result of our insistence, we have managed to
have a very small number of those violations removed. Certain major violations,
however, have not even been considered.
The inappropriate accounting practices adopted by the Canal Commission have
resul ted in a loss to the Republic of Panama of sums to which it was legi tima tely
enti~.ed in accordance with Article 13, paragraph 4 C of the 1977 Panama Canal
Treaty and which, however insignificar,t they might appear in the context of a
United States budget, represent a considerable input to my country's financial
requirements for meeting its population's most urgent neecls.
Furthermore, funds disbursed by the Canal Commission to cover obligations of
the United States Treasury are also unilaterally charged, as costs for operating
th~ Canal, thus removing profits that could have been used to finance urgent
improvements without which the Canal will not be able later to meet the growing
demands of international maritime traffic.
The labour policies that have been adopted, also without our consent, bar
Panamanians from access to senior technical and administrative posts, provided for
by the principle of increasing participation, whidl is essential in order for the
(President Delvalle)
transition to take place on 31 Decenber 1999 without problems or canplications of
any kind.
For these reasons, my Government has un~rtaken with renewed resolve and full
determination to ensure that Public Law 96-70 of the United States Congress be
abrogated or substantially revised, so that it does not violate the agreements
reached in 1977 wi th the best of intentions.
We feel that the signing of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties should have put an
end to ouz country's great struggle. The adoption of Law 96-70, however, has
confronted us with a new struggle, which we Panamanians must today wage for the
benefit of future gellerations.
Panama will continue to comply faithfully with the obligations imposed on it
as a partner in the Canal and will continue to do so in a spirit of full
co-operation and good faith, secure in the knowledge that the sense of justice of
those who forged the great del'lDcracy of the uni ted Sta tes will also apply to the
people living on the banks of the Canal.
In response to the profound desire for peace which distinguishes the
Panamanian people, I should like to take this opportunity to urge the Governments
represented here which have not yet signed the protocol to the treaty on the
neutrality of the Canal to consider the advisability of doing so without further
delay - a step that would be a source of great satisfaction to us.
The developing nations - and abOl1e all those in which the major i ty of the
population is still living in terrible conditions of hunger and misery - are the
real Achilles' heel of the human condition, and man will not be able to live
wi thout the threat of war as long as vast and shameful differences exist among
countr ies.
Those with the highest qualifications and the greatest wealth are the ones who
can contribute the most to lessening the heavy burden of unsatisfied aspirations
(President De1va11e)
and correcting the tremendous inequalities which hang like the swora of Damocles
over the whole of mankind.
It is essential that all the nations of the world - large and small, rich and
poor - and the peoples in them should commit themselves fully to the noble cause of
poolbg their efforts and potential with a view to finding positive solutions to
the serious problems created by inadequate development. Extreme need pushes people
beyond the limits of civilized conduct and turns man into his own enemy.
It must be recognized that the united Nations, whose founding over 40 years
ago filled the world with such hope and whose lofty aim it was to serve as the
highest forum in which countries could settle their disputes through international
dialogue in its noblest expression, has seen the effectiveness of its aims weakened.
This last and greatest bastion for the preservation of world peace cannot
afford to lose the importance, respect and vitality necessary for it to fulfill its
noble mission. To that end, however, it must renew the energy and strength with
which it started and receive the firm support of all Member States which, as such,
have committed themselves to the principles of peace established in the Charter.
That supper t must not, however, be limi ted to theoretica 1 adherence to just
principles which are then violated with impunity. It must, rather, be transformed
into an ir reducible standard of conduct in the face of any confl ict which threatens
world peace and the sacred right to life of all peoples.
(president Delvalle)
Panama has been and always will be an eminently peace-10lTing country. Because
of the very special nature of the geographical formation of the territory and what
man's creative genius has made of it, we Panamanians have long understood the noble
goals of serving the wor ld.
The Latin lImer ican nations have ach ieved through their str uggles for
independence the right to live in freedom and steer their own destinies, with
appropriate respect for the rights of others. Peace, which the illustrious Mexican
Benito Juarez defined as being based on respect for the rights of others, is the
banner of this Organization; it is the peace which Panama, as a free, sovereign and
independent country, preserves and defends.
In Panama's democracy, which has been strengthened by its histor ic tradi tion
and which today we all wish to renew and strengthen, we have the necessary
oonditions for strengthening relations of peace, freedom and respect with all the
nations of the world.
May peace triumph over war; may freedom conquer slavery; may der Jcracy prevail
over totalitarianisn; may justice ovel:come iniquity; may development defeat
backwardness; may civilization prevail over obscurantism; and may man, as a citizen
of the world, emerge from the vortex of time and circumstances in the image and
likeness of the Divine Creator.
Mr. Eric Arturo Delvalle, Preside·nt of the Republic of Panama, was escor ted
from the General Assent>ly Hall.