A/43/PV.6 General Assembly
On behalf of the General
Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations General Assembly the
President of the Republic of Panama, His Excellency Mr. Manuel Solis Palma, and to
invi te him to address the Assembly.
President SOLIS PAL"1A (interpretation from Spanish): Mr. Presid~11t, on
behalf of the Government of the Rp-public of Panama, may I express great pleasure at
the choice of Your Excellency to carry out the responsible task of presiding over
the forty-third session of the General Assembly of the united Nations. Your
Excell~ncy I~. exper ience and capaci ty, as well as your thorough knowledge of world
problems, i,d in particular your famHiarity with the cause of Central American
pp-ace, will, without doubt, contribut~ to the achievement of satisfactory results
in the Assembly's consideration of the complex and delicate issues with which it
will he dealing.
I '....isl) to pay a special tr ibute also to the Secretary-General,
Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, for his diplomacy, which has produc~}d 5ignificant
results in the case of some of th,? issues that concern us most. He is to be
commended for hi;.; immense and po::;itive activit,/ in the cause of peace, particularly
with regard to the cessation of hostilities between Iran and Iraq. Th()se
achievements seem to have brought closer the realiz~tion of thl? ideals espoused by
the founders of the Unit<:!d Nations, p.nabling the Organi7.atil)n to serve ~ffectively
as a system of collective security.
From the secretarY-Generalis repo~t, there are many lessons we can learn
concerning the need, in the case of external debt, to recognize that debtors and
creditors share responsibility, and concerning the relationship between the arms
race and inequalities of economic development. In addition, there is the question
of the net export of capital to which the Latin American nations have been
SUbjected in the servicing of their debt. The imposition of terms that are quite
out of keeping with their capability, or even with the most elementary criterion of
equity, constitutes a graphic accusation against their creditors.
A decade of zero growth in our continent, and even, in many areas, of decline
in the production of wealth, constitutes an irrefutable and terrible denunciation
of the irlbalance that still persists in our world. What has really been happening
is a greater concentration of wealth in a tiny minority of nations, while the
difficulties placed on the majority of the less privileged nations, which are
trying to break out of the trap of poverty and backwardness, have increased.
(President Solis Palma)
If it is calculated that there may be 200 million Latin Americans living in
poverty by the end of this century, surely that is more than enough reason to
assert that the problem requires immadiate action through the integration of Latin
America, leaving aside traditional considerations.
Apart from the grave economic and social problems encountered everywhere, we
are deeply cisturbed by the international conflicts that keep the world in a state
of instability and anxiety.
Even so, let me observe that the recent understandings between the two great
Powers on the reduction of certain types of nuclear weapons allows us to hope that
the world is moving away from the danger of a holocaust and that immense resources
may be released for the solution of the most serious economic and social problems.
It is encouraging that the principal source of fear and disquiet for several
decades among large segments of mankind now appears to be less threatening.
However, these nuclear-arms limitation agreements coincide with the emergence
of new concepts of security among the Powers that feel the need for greater
emphasis on the use of conventional. weapons as an instrument with which to
subjugate weak and smaller peoples. This in turn means that renewed importance
attaches to military installations located in strategic sites of regional or global
impor tance •
Thus, while the world moves towards peace, a new danger hovers over many
underdeveloped countries, and this is particularly true of Panama because the
United states is now attaching greater importance to its military bases on
Panamanian soil than it did before its agreements with the soviet Union.
That is why the Un ited Sta tes does not wish to honour the cor-iITli tmen ts it
entered into under the current Panama Canal Trea ties and seeks to prolong its
military presence in my country beyond the agreed terms.
(President SOlis Palma)
Our geographical position, our most important and valuable natural resource,
is thus being turned into the greatest danger to our sovereignty and independence.
What for us is a bridge between the seas for the strengthening of international
trade and for our own developnent is for others becoming a strategic position with
global implications. What we have o.ffered for the benefit of the world, others
want for control of the world.
We in Panama have no ambitions or aspirations to wield power. We aspire only
to being allowed to develop, under normal conditions, our capacity and potential to
bring about material and spiritual improvements for our people.
Another of the great dangers now hanging over small peoples is
disinformation. Using the weapon of disinformation to subjugate a smaller people,
a great Power has set in motion its enormous established capacity to influence and
control systems of collection, generation, distribution and presentation of news
and comment, and has established a network for the manipulation of public opinion
the wor Id over.
The defenceless state in which societies now find themselves, confronted with
massive processes of distortion in the mass media, is one of the most terrible
problems of our time, particUlarly for the underdeveloped peoples, which are very
vulnerable to disinformation. If that vulnerability is exploited at the national
level, or at the level of regional hegemony, and if the strategy includes
cultivating, exporting and introducing methods of Nazi fascism, from the defeat ()f
which this Organization was born, then the time has come to give thought to the
need for broad-based action to halt such a diversion of mankind from the right path.
Discord has been introduced into Panamanian society in a stUdied and planned
way by the manipulation of minds, which has been extended to the rest of the world
through the substitution of invented reality for truth - an invented reality in
keeping wi th the will and designs of the present American Government.
It should be recalled that in the last two years disinformation has been
functioning as a propaganda ministry whose purpose it is to introduce everywhere a
monstrous image of Panama and its highest officials.
If I say here and now that the whole campaign against the Commander-In-Chief
of the Panamanian Defence Forces, General Manuel Antonio Noriega, is nothing but a
sinister tissue of lies and falsehoods organized and spread by agents of the
present Government of the United States, and if I say that the Panamanian defence
forces have struggled in an exemplary manner against narcotics trafficking
throughout the whole time they have been under his authorit~", s.ome of the
distinguished statesmen and officials in this Hall will perhaps think I am not
talking about the same man against whom such immense power has been unleashed.
What, then, is the truth?
On 12 July 1988, in the Senate of the United States, Mr. John C. Lawn, Chief
of the Uni t.ed States Drug Enforcement Agency, declared tha t he had never seen any
evidence at all linking General Nor iega with drug trafficking. What the
United States Government has done is to introduce into world public opinion an
image of Panama and its leaders that is nothing more than the product of its own
invention, a fiction manufactured by its agents and transmitted and disseminated
through channels under its control and orchestrated to lend dignity and merit to
Uni ted Sta tes objectives.
The peoples of the world, and particularly the people of the United states,
have been fea deplorable lies about Panama and have been induced to yield to fear
of Panama. In the implementation of this plan not only the norms and fundamental
principles of the United Na tions have been breached but also even the most
~lementary considerations of humanity.
-
What is being inflicted on the Panamian nation today deserves the most careful
attention and very serious thought by the Governments of States Members of this
Organi~ation, because a new mode of war of conquest is now being set in motion
against the Republic of Panama.
Since the end of February of last year the present United States Government
has committed against my country an astonishing series of violations of the basic
norms of international law and the rules of peaceful coexistence. I wish to place
on record categorically that my Government has more than sufficient reason to fear
ditect military aggression by the United states against the Republic of Panama.
The Heads of state or Government of countries which have diplomatic or consuli'lr
representatives accredited to my Government know quite well what I am talking about.
With the presidential succession of 26 February this year, when I took over i'lS
constitutional Head of State, all the masks were torn away, to leave exposed to the
eyes of the whole worId the ob jectives of the Un i ted Sta tes Gover nment - tha t is,
to overthrow the legitimate Government of Panama and impose a de facto regime
headed by figures committed to th.;-· renegotiation of those clauses of the Panama
Canal Treaties which guarantee the Panamanian people definitive consolidation of an
independent, free, sovereign and neutral nation at noon on 31 December 1999.
I strongly urge all representa tives to focus most emphatically on th is pa inful
account of the grievous sufferings which my country and my people have endured, and
which I shall now describe.
Pana~~ was a flourishing, tranquil, happy and simple country with a
satisfactol:y growth index. Dialogue had been the normal way of resolving our
internal and international differences, when suddenly we found that discord had
(President SoIls Palma)
been insidiously injected into Panamanian society, with a strategy of sUbjugation
aimed at my country under the pretext that the system of government was not
demcratic.
We have long understood that the only way to give the word "democracy" any
real meaning is by means of a high level of popular participation and a just
distribution of wealth and opportunities, so that all sectors may have access to
the political decision-making machinery and the benefits of growth.
Aware of the inherent ~eaknesses of institution& which are copied or imposed
by force, we have worked constantly on the vital substance of democracy, striking
at the essence of social injustice and the social and economic obstacles that
confine the liberty and equality of individuals, because they are prejudicial to
human dignity. Of course, this mode of thinking gave rise to opposing reactions
among those who felt that it was a threat to the privileges which they had
accumulated with a regime of supposed formal derrocracy, but which could not be
sustained. There were also opposing reactions in sectors which felt that we ware
moving too slowly, because the solution of problems could not be delayed. Those
reactions were viewed and accepted by us as a domestic issue. We find it utterly
unacceptable that a foreign Power should use all the resources of disinformation
and manipulation of peoples' minds in order to penetrate those sectors and force
them to act against the interests of our nation.
Democracy is forged throuqh the da ily practice of a coooined effort, by those
who govern and those who are governed, designed to establish the true economic and
social justice on which is based the development of a new mode of life, which each
nation has the right to try for itself. ~ country may take upon itself the power
to intervene in another in order to impose on it an instit~tional pattern contrary
to its self-determination •
(President S01is Palma)
Oue sovereign rights were violated when the Governlllent of the Uni ted States
proceeded to freeze $54 million belonging to the National Bank l~f Panama, belonging
to the Panaraanian people, thus unleashing a fierce campaign dl'!slgned to create
widespread distrust in the Panamanian banking system. This was action provided for
in plans made long ClCJO to destroy the banking centre of Panama, an objective which,
independently of the destabilizing campaigns, had been attempted some years
before. So arbitrary was this action that it included the denial of justice to the
National Bank of Panc1ma, which has been unable to br ing its case before United
States courts or even obtain any information on the fa7:.e of its funds.
Similarly, another thing that is completely inocnceivable is the retention of
P/lynaents which the Uni ted States Government undertook to make to our country under
the Panama Canal Treaties, and of payments which should be made by United states
individuals or corporations in the form of taxes or duties established in our
fiscal legls1ation.
It. is without precedent, moreover, that by virtue of the Executive Order of
the united States President, of 8 April 1988, the State n-)artment authorizes
individuals to dispose with absolute impunity and no legal controls of pUblic and
private Panamanian funds arbitrarily withhel~ and deposited in a bank of the united
States federal Reserve. That Executive Order, to provide a reason to invoke the
war powers Act, makes the absurd claim that my Government
·constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, the
foreign policy and the economy of the United states of America."
(President SOlis Pal~)
A country such as Fanama cannot be a threat to the United States from any
point of view, and our legitimate exercise of our independence, sovereignty and
self-determination cannot be a threat to any people in the world. But, when the
United States resorts to arbitrary actions and capricious MOves in its relations
with another nation, that certainly has very grave consequences. World leadership
in the political field imposes great responsibilities in both the execution and the
formulation of pellicies.
The United States I '$ declared economic war on the Republic of Panama. In
this war the effects of war.fare are not quantified in terms of loss of life and
material destruction, but rather through the grave political, social, economic and
moral damage which has had such a severe impact on the entire Panamanian people.
(President Solis Palma)
In 1988, the gross domes tic product will drop by more than 20 per cent, \</hich
represents more than $2 billion. In a country of 2 million inhabitants, sudden
impoverishment of this sort makes the whole job of strengthening denncratic
institutions very much more arduous and difficult.
When we have seen the des truction of our economy, of the sources of our work,
of our means of production and exploitation of our resources, and when supplies of
food and medicine for our population have been seriously jeopardized, how can
Panama fail to protest in the most energetic terms? How can it fail to protest
when its financial negotiations are sabotaged, when wen pUblic Panamanian funds,
which have been withheld, are dealt with in a piratical manner without precedent in
history, and in particular when every day may be the eve of a military attack from
those United States bases located in our own territory?
Allow me now to sta te the reasons why the Panamian people is increasingly
afraid of direct military intervention. We are now experiencing a visible,
tangible and permanent threat, as can be discerned from the facts J have given and
shall now continue to give because the entire international community needs to know
th ese th ings.
The 1977 Panama Canal Treaty authorizes United States military presence in my
country only for the purposes of the defence and protection of the inter-ocean
~anal. However, that presence has now been turned into a base for hegemony and
influence, particularly sin~e 1986 with the fundamental restructuring of the nature
and purposes of that military presence.
With the establishment of the southern Army, and the reorganization of the
hierarchy of the chain of command in the SOu thern Command, and wi th the
considerable build-up of troops and military hardware, the United States military
bases became a part of a structure r]esirjned to iJave >Le c.:lpal.:ity to plan and carry
(President Solis Palma)
out armed attacks against other countries. At the beginning of 1988, the total
United States manpower present in Panama exceeded by several thousand the figures
permi t ted by the Panama Canal Treaty.
Between 27 February and the first days of March of this year, cOlll1\ando units
specialized in surprise attacks arrived in Panama together with an elite battalion
of the 82nd Airborne Division, groups specializing in electronic warfare and more
than 300 attack helicopters and troop helicopters v in addition to special units for
contr01 and occupa tion of urban centres •
Later, 1300 more soldiers arrived, and 800 marines, combat helicopters and
offensive military equipment which has never been a part of the military facilities
used by the United States for the defence of the Panama Canal.
Fighters planes have taken over the Panamian skies. They are carrying out,
with significant frsquency, threatening manoeuvres not only against installations
of the Panamian defence forces but even against international commercial flights
flying different flags.
There has been a steady, unbroken succession of movements of arriving troops,
reinforcing and taking over from those already present, together with more
armaments having overwhelming destructive power. In addi tion, ev~ry day an
interminable succession of manoeuvres and war exercises is rehearsed continuously~
its purpose can only be to display the power constantly available for attack.
I wish now to refer again to the secretary-General's report in order to
reiterate the position the Panamian Republic has traditionally upheld at the United
Nations and as a member of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries in the light of
the problems dealt with in this important paper presented to us by
M~. Perez de Cue!lar.
We agree with the Secretary-General's concerns about Central Am~rica and, as
Panama has done within the Contadora Group and the Contadora SUpport Group, we
insist on the need for a halt to pressure and foreign interference so that the
Central American Republics can press ahead on the path to the broad-based agreement
adopted in the Esquipulas IX Agreement.
Mr. Perez de Cuellar's report also touches on a problem of vital importance to
my country and people when it re fer s to the man i fea ta tions of con tempt for
international law which have occurred lately.
If States do not properly implement treaties they have entered into and are
currently in force, that will mean the collapse of the entire superstructure of
international law and of the foundation of the organized international community.
The secretary-General tells us this in words which are a warning laden l:"/ith grave
implications.
seeing the sUfferings being endured by my country as a result of the
determination of the united States to disregard substantive commitments under the
1977 Panama Canal Treaties, I wish to add some final conside~ations because
contempt for international Treaties implicitly involves a very geave breakdown of
the moral basis for coexistence among nations.
When force replaces the mandates of international law, ~e coor is opened to
all sorts of abuses. The United States maintains a diplomatic Mission in my
country but does not recognize my Government; that Mission continues to engage in
destabilizing activities, and we cannot have it removed from our soil because we
are qui te sure that that would be used as a pretext to uae ,force against us. This
is a new dimension of abuse of power. It is a day-to-day humiliation, an affront
to the dignity of nations, and their leaders. It is disrespect for the law of
peoples.
~anama is not the only vulnerable nation. Many other nations n0W run the same
risk and are faced with the same threat, a threat we can avoid only by uniting more
strongly, becaus~ the sole protection of weclk countries lies in our ~ommon defence
of the principles the 1.... 'ted States is violating.
Is not the power to decide urnn the legitimacy of a Government and to give the
funds of a sovereign State to individuals to use as they like a threat to everybody?
Only through the fullest and most resolute exercise of solidadty in union by
all now and the taking of concr~tp. steps towards prompt integration can it be
guaranteed that Panama will be the last in a chain of similar cases.
The political alliance constituted hy the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries is
a powerful moral force in the international community. It is an unauestionahle
political force whic'l is now obliged to extend its influ~nce to the economic field
in order to generate greater solida~ity among the smaller, weaker countries. That
is the hest protection against situations such as that now inflicted on my
country. Latin America bears an excessively onerous burden in terms of its
problems of social, economic and cultural development, with immense numhers of
people plunged into despair. In that context t~e introduction of discord into
societies in the name of democracy, justice and freedom may give rise to results
that will he auite contrary to those same ideals.
One hundred and sixty-seven years ago, one of the most distinguished of the
founders of the United Rtates, .John Quincy Adams, uttered a prophetic warning
against the danger of its government going beyond its frontiers seeking monsters to
destroy, warning that the conseauences would severely tarnish its lihertarian
ideals.
Those who love freedom, in my country and indeed all over the world, are
certainly dismayed and indignant that the united states Government now resorts to
the invention of monsters in pursuit of its designs of continental domination. The
fact that the united ~tates Government is now using its economic and military might
to asphyxiate Panama ann trying to bring it to its knees is seen by the countries
of Latin America with weak economies as a sinister precedent. That policy can turn
into a grievous parasitic hurden for continental development and for the normal
deployment of United States capi tal.
Foreign investment would give rise to apprehension and well justified fear,
particularly in the Latin American countries, which would find themselves abruptly
obliged to identify such investment as potential instruments of imperialist designs.
(President Rolis Palma)
The orders and prohibitions imposed by the current United States Government on
the corporations of its nationals in Panama are really tantamount to stamping its
foreiqn investmento with the label of weapons of aggression.
There are many countries which, like Panama, reauire massive capital
investment in their development process, countries which have reformed their
policies, have modernized th~ir methods, have invested efforts and valuable
resources in the training of aualified personnel. They have adapted their laws and
signed agreements in order to help attract foreign capital for the strengthening of
their economy.
However, if those countries now see that Panama, with an economy so closely
linked to united Scates investment, suddenly finds that the United States
Government is exploiting the relative dependence which emanates from that bond, and
if they see that it is then brandishing that fact as a weapon in order to strangle
the Panamanian economy, bring its Government to its knees and subjugate its people,
then, of necessity, they are bound to have grave misgivings. In the world economy
a formula whereby more dollars are generated with less dignity can only give rise
to fear.
Panama has rigorously fulfilled its international function as a centre for
inter-ocean communication for the benefit of mankind and will continue to fulfil
its historic role with absolute self-rienial whatever. difficulties may come its way
and notwithstanaing all the obstacles dp.liherately placed on its path. For that
reason we demand respect for our dignity as an independent nation. We demand full
compliance with the terms of the treaties which govern the functioning and
maintenance of the Canal, with a view both to achieving full control hy the end of
this century and to ensuring its strict neutrality.
As the main reason for the existence of the United Nations: is the desire of
all mankil,d for peace, I am obliged to invoke the full capacity for lOClral
deterrence which its assembled Meilt>ers represent as protection for a nation which
is threatened and against which aggression has been committed.
My Government wants peace and uill seek a dialogue and broad-based agreement
for the solution of all its international disputes. I wish to place on record in
this Assembly that Panama has proved itself able to withstand aggression and has
upheld its dignity because of the sense of nationhood and the feeling of the
sovereignty of the Panamian people, which has gradually deepened with each passing
generation in my country. Our will will not be stifled however unequal the terms
of the struggle that lies ahead of us may be.
The deliberate aggravation of differences and the stepping up of aggression
against Panama can only result in driving our peoples further apart and doing
serious damage to the peace and aecurity of that part of the world. It can have no
other result. On the other hand, stretching out our hands to each other and
reaching an understanding will have great mutual benefits for the community of
nations as a whole.
On behalf of the General
Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the Republic of Panama for the important
statement he has just made.
Mr. r-1anuel Solis Palma, President of the RepUblic of Panama, was escorted from
the General Assembly Hall.
(President SOlis Palma)
In order to facilitate the
work of the General Assembly, I have to make a request to all representatives
regarding noise, movement and congratulations in the General. Assembly Hall.
Congratulations are understandable, of course, after a speaker has made a
statement, but it should be remembered that often the congratulating take place
when somebody else is speaking. Therefore I once again request representatives,
and out of courtesy to facilitate the maintenance of order, to be kind enough
scrupulously to observe silence and decorum in the Hall and to refrain from
congratulations which may interf.ere with the statement being made by another
s?eaker. I hope that all members understand the need to co-operate with the
presidency in this regard.
ADDR&<.iS BY MR. ROBERT G. MUGABE, PRES !DENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE
The Assembly will now hear
an address by the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe.
Mr. Robert G. Mu abe, President of the Re ublic of Zimbabwe, was escorted into the General Assembly Hall.
The PRESI~E~ (interpretation from Spanish); On behalf of the General
Assembly, I hav~ the honour to welcome to the united Nations the President of the
Republic of Zimbabwe, His Excellency the Honourable Robert Gabriel Mugabe, and to
invite him to address the Assembly.
President MUGABE; First, 1 should like to congratulate you,
Mr. Dante Caputo, upon your election to the presidency of the forty-third session
of the General Assembly. Your elevation to that high office is a reflection not
only of your own proved diplomatic skills, but also of the esteem in which your
country, an important member of the Non-Aligned Movement, is held internationally.
We are confident that under your able guidance our endeavours will meet with
success.
Mr. Peter Florin had a remarkably busy watch. Apart from the forty-second
regular session, he was called upon to preside over several resumed and special
sessions of the Assembly. He more than justified the confidence that the
international community had reposed in him. We are grateful to him.
The Secretary-General is, of course, the very personification of the
internationalistic ethic itself. Throughout these turbulent and anxious years that
have marked his second term, only Mr. Perez de Cuellar's steady and resolute
determination has restored the Organization to its present high esteem, even among
some of its detractors. Although the fortunes of the United Nations have not quite
turned around. we have never theless passed \:he poillt 'where the Secretary-General
feared he would preside over the dissolution of the United Nations. Instead, he
now presides over peace t~lks, from the Gulf war to Afghanistan, Cyprus and Western
Sahara, all under the auspices of, or in terms dP.fined by, the United Nations. It
is a remarkable achievement, a culmination of that patient and careful diplomatic
choreography that has characterized Mr. Perez de Cuellar's tenure as -----
Secretary-General. We of the non-aligned countries derive great satisfaction from
the achievements of one of the outstanding diplomats of Peru: 3 key member of our
Movement.
The outbreak of peace in places of seemingly intractable conflict and a
resurgence in the fortunes of the United Nations are the central features on the
international stage today. In the Gulf war, perhaps the most painfuL and
destructive war since 1945, the guns have fallen silent. The former belligerents
now sit together in Geneva, talking peace. The basis of that peace continues to be
Security Council resolution 598 (1987), in whose evolution and balanced formulation
the caucus of the non-aligned countries in the Security Council played no small
role. This cessation of hostilities not only puts an end to the anguish of the
peoples of Iran and Iraq and affords those countries an opportunity for
reconstruction and development, but also eliminates a dangerous threat to
-international peace and security. We therefore urge the two non-aligned countries,
also Member States of the United Nations, to co-operate with the Secretary-General
in the effort to find a durable solution to the conflict.
Pursuant to the Geneva accords on Afghanistan, negotiated under the auspices
of the United Nations by the Secretary-Generales Special Representative,
Mr. Diego Cordovez - then Under-Secretary for Political Affairs and now the Foreign
Minister of Ecuador, another key non-aligned country in Latin America _ thousands
of foreign troops have already left Afghanistan. That not only paves the way for
the Afghan people to decide their future free from outside interference but, again,
removes a threat to international peace and security. We urge all parties to
respect the letter and spirit of those accords to ensure that nothing is done which
can caUSe them to unravel.
(Pres iden t :-1ugabe)
In southern Africa also, we have seen the tripartite agreement which involves
Angola, Cuba and the Pretoria regime and which provides for the withdrawal of South
African troops from ~~gola and possible implementation of the united Nations plan
for Namibia. We welcome the declaration of a cease-fire and the end of South
Africa's illegal occupation of the sovereign territory of Angola. It is our
earnest hope that South Africa will live up to the letter and spirit of the
tripartite agreement and will proceed to implement security Council resolution
435 (1978).
Elsewhere in Africa, thanks to the United Nations a breakthrough also appears
imminent in the l3-year war over western Sahara. In particular, we note the
proposal by the Secretary-General last month whereby a cease-fire would be
declared, followed by a referendum of the citizens of Western Sahara, including
those living in refugee camps. It is also satisfying to note that Morocco and
POLISARIO, the two parties to the conflict, are soon to engage in direct talks as
called for by the Organization of African Unity. We hope it will now be possible
to resolve, once and for all, the central question of self-determination for the
Sahrawi people.
On Kampuchea too there dre signs of movement. Viet Nam has promised to pull
out its troops from Kampuchea and the parties involved have held the Jakarta
informal meeting and are in constant contact on the nature of the post-settlement
order in South-East Asia. We in the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries shall
continue to prod the parties concerned to quicken ~~eir search for an honourable
solution to the problem.
On the vexed question of divided Cyprus, we have recently witnessed some
promising l';tirrings, thanks to the efforts of the secretary-General. We hope that
here too progress can be made.
(President Mugabe)
The r~cent relaxation in tension on the international scene has not altered
the essence of the problems we face in oue region of Africa. The Non-Aligned
Movement has always maintained that apartheid is the root caUSe of conflict and
that peac~ and security cannot be obtained in southern Africa until that system is
eradicated. The destabilization of the economies of the front-line States
continues unabated. Millions of displaced persons, innocent men, women and
children, tragic refugees of the evil system of aeartheid, are constantly on the
run in search of rood and security. Only a month ago I had the privilege of
attending in Oslo, Norway, the International Conference on the Flight of Refugees,
Returnees and Displaced Persons in Southern Africa. That was the first conference
of its kind devoted entirely to the problem of refugees in southern Africa. The
Conference established that the nUmber of persons uprooted from their homes by the
~artheid regime's acts of destabilization had reached the tragic figure of
5.4 million. Thousands of old men and women, the sick and little children, the
weakest in our societies, who cannot make it to safety, perish as victims of the
harsh elements or the bayonets of Pretoria's financed bandits.
(President Mugabe)
In South Africa itself., the majority population continue to be victimized by
the apartheid police for no crime other than the colour of their skin. Thousands
are incarcerated in aparth~id gaols. The world must take note und do something.
Apartheid cannot be wooed into oblivion; it can only be forcibly taken out by the
roots. The only means of doing that, short. of war, is the imposi tion by the en tire
international community of comprehensive mandatory sanctions under Chapter VII of
the Charter. The arguments of those who oppose sanctions sound increasingly hollow
and self-serving. Sanctions may cost some blacks and some whites jobs, but there
is no doubt that they do weaken apartheid. The non-application of sanctions leaves
apartheid intact. Apartheid kills. Sanctions can have a l~werful psychological
effect on the white minority in South Africa. For no man is an island, nor is a
nation for that matter, not even a nation of unreconstructed racists.
The Middle East is another long-runn ing sore where movement towards peace has
been elusive. As Israel has continued to occupy captured Arab and Palestinian
lands, the citizens of those occupied territories have met Israeli armour with
their bare hands, sustaining many casualties. The uprising of the past nine months
in the occupied territories is not a simple matter of bravery. No one wants to
die. It is a matter of desperation. The Palestinian people, like all human
beings, want to exercise their right to self-determination. Israel must withdraw
from the occupied territories and let go of the Palestinian nation. It is our view
that only the holding of the in terna tional peace conference, under the auspices of
the United Nations, to address all aspects of the Middle East problem can bring
peace and security for all in the region.
In Central America, the Arias plan has provided a concrete and viable
framework for peace. Negotiations continue, even if intermittently, in countries
with an insurgency problem. We note in particular that the Government of Nicaragua
has continued to extend its hand to the opposition, asking them to continue
negotiations. The cease-fire that was called for by the plan has repeatedly been
extended and is still holding. It would be irresponsible to call for, or cause,
the abandonment of that cease-fire. Countries should not resort to the politics of
intimidation or diplomacy of violence in the region~ It is essential, for the sake
of the people and Governments of Central America and also for international peace
and security, that the Arias plun be given a chance to succeed.
Foreign troops remain on the Korean peninsula, prolonging the unjustified
division of that land and resulting in increased tensions. Therefore we demand the
removal of all foreign troops and call for talks on reunifying the peninsula.
In an age of apocalyptic destructive power, co-operation to reduce the means
of war has become a categorical imperative. The international community has set
itself clearly defined priorities in disarmament as contained in the Final Document
of the first special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament, held
in 1978. At the top of the list is the need to prevent the outbreak of nuclear
war. Non-aligned States have already stated that the use of nuclear weapons,
besides being a violation of the Charter of the United Nations, would also be a
crime against humanity. Tb this end they have urged all nuclear-weapon states,
pending the achievement of nuclear disarmament, to sign a binding instrument
forswearing the use of nuclear weapons. It would also be desirable, in the
interim, for the nuclear-weapon States to make a solemn declaration that they will
not be the first to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons. At the same time, the
Conference on Disarmament must seek ways of fulfilling its mandate with regard to
the item on the prevention of nuclear war with which it has been charged by the
General Assembly.
Clearly, for as long as the nuclear acms race persists and nuclear arms remain
in the arsenals of States, the risk of nuclear war remains with us. For this
reason urgent measures must be taken to effect the cessation of the nuclear-arms Digitized by Dag Hammarskjöld Library
race and proceed to nuclear disarmament. We welcomed the Treaty on the p.limin~tion
of medium- and short-range missiles concluded hetween the Soviet Union and the
united states late last year. The conclusion of that Treaty, while of g~eat
symbolic importance as representing the first significant step of disarmament in
our time, should not ohscure the fact that it accounted for a mere 4 per cent of
nuclear warheads and that the remaining q6 per cent, constantly being modernized
and made more accurate, lethal and usahle, is still wi.th us. The occasion should
be on~ not for mere self-congratulation, but for renewed efforts to eliminate the
remaining, far greater arsenals of nuclear weapons. To this end, we urge the
United States and the Soviet Union to move auickly towards the goal of a
50 per cent reduction in strategic offensive arsenals which they have set
themselves.
While the bilateral negotiations on disarmament are important, success in that
forum should not be used to curb the role of the United Nations in that field. The
United Nations, as the sole unive~sal forum, has a central role to play in all
issues that affect the generality of mankino. To that extent, we profoundly regret
that the momentum generated by bilateral negotiations last year was not translated
into concrete achievements during the third special session of the General Assembly
devoted to disarmament. The non-aligned countries have always believed that
bilateral and multilateral negotiations on disarmament should mutually reinforce
and complement, not ~linder or preclUde, each other. This is particularly so of
such disar@ament topics of vital importance to all States as a comprehensive
test-han treaty, the prevention of an arms race in outer space, nuclear
disarmament, chemical weapons, conventional weapons and the elaboration of a
comprehensive programme of disarmament.
My country is particularly perturbed by the continued nuclear collaboration
between South Africa on the one hand and certain Western states and Israel on the
other. As we have all along warned, Pretoria has flOW p'Jhlicly admitted that it has
t~e capahility to produce nuclear weapons. We therefore hope that those
respon~ihle for transferring the know-how to the apartheid ~egime will now desist
from any further collahoration with it in this and re13ted spheres. The
nucle~rization of South Africa not only poses a direct danger to our part of the
continent, hut also hinders the implementation of the Declaration on the
Denu~learization of ~frica, and is a threat to international peace and security as
well. ~he Security Council has a responsihility, under paragraph 63 Cc) of the
Final Document of the first special session on disarmament, to ensure that the
implementation of the Declaration on the Denuclearization of Africa is not
hindered. That body should move at once to institute measures that curb South
Africa's continued nuclearization. Furthermore, we believe that South Africa's
offer to the three Non~P.roliferation.Treaty nuclear-weapon States to enter into
neqotiations on the possibility of its adhering to the Treaty is only a ruse to
delay its suspension from the International Atomic F.necgy Agency. For that reason,
we do not see the need for any negotiations and urge the Agency's General
Conference to suspend South Africa immediately.
WhilE> still on the issue of Africa and nuclear weapons, r wish once again in
this Hall to protest indiqnantly at the callousness shown by the industrialized
nations in numping their nuclear and toxic wastes in .africa. Africa already has
enough prohlems of its own without hecoming the garhaqe-hin of the wealthy northern
nations. It is not fair that the poorest nations should he the ones to suffer the
worst effects of "progress" in which they do not share.
The Indian OCean is another region of vital concern to the littoral and
hinterland States of the area. Seventeen years after the Assembly's adoption of
the Declara tion of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace, the ~ Commi t tee on the
Indian Ocean is still mired in fruitless squabbles about procedures and
methodology. Meanwhile, great-Power militarization of the OCean is proceeding
apace, and the envisaged Colombo Conference i.s repea tedl} postponed. Since those
who have spoken against the Conference used to cite the focal points of tension
around the region as the reason why the Conference could not go ahead, the
solutions in Afghanistan and the Gulf should now pave the way to Colombo. It is
our fervent wish that the Conference should not be postponed again beyond the
present target date of 1990.
The acute er isis affecting the international economy has not shown any signs
of abating during the past year. Growth has continued to be either sluggish,
non-existent or even negative in llPst developing countries. Commodity pc'ices
remain well helml acceptable levels. External indebtedness continues to exact a
heavy toll on the economies of the developing countries. High interest rates have
drastically increased the burden of debt service. In addition, resource flows
continue to go from the poor of the South to the rich of the North.
The reality of interdependence makes those problems the concern of every
country. A solution requires the adoption of a comprf:!hensive set of measures that
addresses all aspects of the problem and is geared towards the resumption and
acceleration of growth in the developing and debtor countries. The official
development assistance (DDA) target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product in
financial-resource flows from developed to developing countries, which was agreed
in. the Interna tional Development Stra tegy, must be reached soon, as must the aDA
target of 0.15 per cent of gross national product for the least developp.d
for African Economic Recovery and Development. Great hopes had been attached to
that Programme, but up to now w~ have not yet seen any African economic recovery,
nt'.!spi te the enormous sacr ifices tht'.! coun tr iea, of the regiol. ave matle dur ing the
past two years.
Only a year ago we were remind~d by the World Co~~ission on Environment and
Development that poverty was one of the major causes of environmental degradation
today. People may Le forced to cut nown the rain forest by ~conomic necessity in
the tropics, but the effects will b~ felt equally in New York, in London and in
Tokyo. There was much talk of the gr~enhouse effect this yt'.!ar. The Commission on
the environment told us that a plausible way of reversing that trend may be to
raise the standards of livin~ in the third world.
Unilateral solutions are impossible. What is needed is glob~l dialogue. We
of the ~~n-Aligned Movement have consistently argued for the multilateral
approach. We have called for the resumption of the North-South dialogue. We have
called for the convening of an international conf~rence on money and finance with
universal participation aimed at meeting the development and financing requirements
of the international economy, particularly with regard to the economies of the
developing countries. We have also stated that international negotiations on the
debt problem, involving creditor and debtor nations, multilateral financial
ins ti t'l tions and in terna tional pr iva te banks, were a necessary step in the search
for a lasting resolution of the current debt problem.
For our part, we in the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries stand ready to
contribute in any way possihle towards the real launching of dialogue. Earlier
this year, the Non-Aligned Committee on Economic Co-operation met at Harare to
assess the state of North-South dialogue and to formulate proposals for its
revi taliza tion. I commend the important document espousing those proposals for
your close study and serious consideration.
However, the Non-Aligned Movement forms only part of the family of nations. A
comprehensive resolution of the current crisis in the international economy needs
the participation of all members. It is our hope that the climate of dialogue that
has been made by possible by the new thaw in super-Power relations will spill over
into the economic sphere. It was therefore with a sense of hope that we noted the
gentle breezes blowing from the Group of Seven summit meeting at Toronto. The
proposals from Toronto, though limited, envisaging the cancellation of the official
debt of the leC'st developed countries of sub-Saharan Africa, reflected a
sensitivity that we hope will become part of the approach of the industrialized
c0untries to the entire question of the developing world-debt crisis.
Later this year the mid-term review of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations
will be carried out at a high-level meeting to be held at Montreal. That meeting
provides a unique opportunity for both ~~e developed and the developing countries
to assess the development in the current Uruguay Round and to renew their
commitment to the search for lasting solutions to the malaise affecting the present
international trading system. In these negotiations it is imperative that
approaches that seek to negate the spirit of international co-operation or the
mutuality of interests between the developed and the developing countries be
avoided at all costs. Attempts to derogate or deviate from long-standing
principles and the rules of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade for
self-interest should be resisted.
Great str ides have already been made in recent years in the conceptual
appreciation of the threat those economic problems pose to international peace and
security. The time has come to move these concepts to the realm of policy. We of
the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries stand ready to particpate constructively in
that process. We trust that others are ready to join with us.
I wish to return to the subject of the Uni ted Na Hons and the concept of
mUltilateralism. The 1980s will go down in the history of this century as the
decade of a retreat from multilateral ism. Many of us would like to believe that
this phenomenon of the 1980s has not peaked and is on the wane. But, sadly, the
reality is less reassuring. The United Nations is still mired in a financial
crisis deliberately engineered. The Secretary-General has been reduced to a
virtual street beggar passing the hat to keep the Organization from closing its
doors. This is most unseemly. Coming at the very time when the United Nations
it is doubly intolerable. role in defusing threats to international peace and security has been on the rise,
I appeal to all Member States to rally behind the SecretarY-General by fUlly
honouring the legal obligations they solemnly undertook under the Charter.
On that note let me conclude by reaffirming the commitment of the Non-Aligned
Movement to the lofty ideals of this body. As you carry out your difficult duties,
I wish to assu~e you of the continued support of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries.
The PRESIDENT (int~rpretation from Spanish)~ On behalf of the General
Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the Republic of zin'babwe for the
important stat~ment he has just made.
Mr. Robert G. Mugabe, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, was escorted from
the General Assembly Hall.