S/PV.1413 Security Council

Before the Council proceeds to the consideration of the item on its agenda, may I be permitted, on behalf of the members of the Security Council, to extend a cordial welcome to our new colleague, the representative of Senegal, Ambassador Boye. It gives us great satisfaction to welcome him here and to express the hope that, by our joint efforts, we shall co-operate in examining and taking appropriate decisions on all the items which the Security Council will be considering. 2. We all well remember the close co-operation that we had with his predecessor, Mr. Diop, whom we had the honour and pleasure to greet and also to bid farewell recently. I am sure that this excellent tradition will continue in the future. 3. In welcoming the representative of Senegal in my capacity as representative of the SOVIET UNION, I should like to stress with particular satisfaction that friendly relations are developing between the Soviet Union and Senegal, and this is a source of particular gratification to me as I welcome him here as the representative of a friendly country.

I thank YOU, Mr. President, for your kind words of welcome to the Security Council, 5. In renewing my association with you-whom I have had the opportunity to meet over the years in the course of your many journeys to Africa and during my own official visits to the Soviet Union-and as I join my other colleagues on the Council, I should like to assure you of the same loyal co-operation that I have always given in other United Nations bodies. At the same time, I wish to reaffirm that the people of Senegal, its Government and its President will continue to co-operate with the United Nations towards the realization of the purposes and principles of the Charter, in particular the maintenance of international peace and security. Adoption of the agenda The agenda was adopted. Question concerning the situation in Southern Rhodesia: letters dated 2 and 30 August 1963 addressed to the President of the Security Council on behalf of the representatives of thirty-two Member States (S/5382 and S/5409): Letter dated 12 March 1968 addressed to the President of the Security Council by the representatives of Algeria, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Democratic Republic of), Dahomey, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Republic, United Republic of Tanzania, Upper Volta and Zambia (S/8454)

In conformity with the decisions taken previously by the Council during the discussion of this item last month, and if I hear no objection, I shall invite the representatives of Jamaica and Zambia to take places at the Council table to participate without vote in the Council’s debate on this question, I 8. Before calling on the first speaker, I should like to draw the attention of members of the Council to the draft resolution of 16 April [S/8545] submitted by the delegations of Algeria, Ethiopia, India, Pakistan and Senegal. 9. Lij Endalkachew MAKONNEN (Ethiopia): On behalf of the delegations of Algeria, India, Pakistan, Senegal and my . own country I have the honour to present the draft resolution already submitted and distributed in our name [S/8545/. The document is so self-explanatory in what it sets out to suggest and is so much on the lines of the policy statements the sponsor delegations have already made during the present debate that it becomes hardly necessary to explain it in great detail. We believe that the text speaks for itself and, that being our assessment, my short statement of introduction v&l aim only at underlining some of the points that we consider to be basic to the grave issue with which we are confronted. 10. The draft resolution rightly and properly starts by recalling the previous decisions taken on this question both by the General Assembly and by the Council. In so doing, it seeks to establish continuity and consistency in all action that is to be taken by the United Nations, and notably by the Security Council, which according to the Charter has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. 11. The sponsors firmly believe, as indeed they have believed from the very beginning, that the main responsibility for enabling the people of Southern Rhodesia to exercise their right to self-determination and independence is one that falls on the United Kingdom as the administering Power. In so far as the United Kingdom has failed to take effective action to bring the Rhodesian rebellion to an end, it must naturally bear the responsibility for the continuation of the rebellion and for the tragic consequences that it has had. This, in our view, is a responsibility from which the United Kingdom cannot escape, And, while doing everything that can help expedite the process by which the rebellion can be brought quickly to an end, the Council must urge the United Kingdom to use all the means at its disposal, including the use of force, to end the rebellion, thus restoring to the people of Zimbabwe their rights to freedom and independence. 12. Those, in short, are the central considerations that have formed the basis for the course of action that we recommend in our draft. Basing our whole approach on the decisioni taken by the Council so far, emphasizing the primary responsibility of the United Kingdom Government for the aggravation of the threat to international peace and security that the rebellion and its consequences have come to create, and recognizing the legitimacy of the struggle of IS. The course of action recommended in the operative part of our draft resolution can be summarized under three main headings. First, the selective sanctions authorlzed previously by the Council have proved inadequate, as indeed many of us had foreseen at the time. In view of the failure of selective sanctions, the Council must now agree on effective measures of comprehensive mandatory sane. tions and must, to that end, call on all States to sever all economic and other relations with the illegal racist minority regime in Southern Rhodesia. That, in our view, is the only way by which the racist regime can be made to feel the full impact of its isolation from the rest of the world. The Council must call upon all States to carry this decision on total and mandatory sanctions, and to do so in accordance with their obligations under the Charter. i 14. Second, our experience with selective sanctions has shown that it is not enough for the Council to decide on any such measures without at the same time envisaging pre’:entivl: steps which have to be taken in order to eliminate counteractions on the part of those that are bent on undermining the Council’s efforts. It is obvious that the rebellion in Southern Rhodesia could not have continued without the overt and covert sustenance of South Africa and Portugal; and since the Governments of those two countries show no sign of a change of heart, the Council should not only condemn them for their past acts of defiance but also forestall the possibility of future misbehaviour by deciding to take resolute and effective action in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter should those two countries persist in defying the authority of the United Nations by any further attempt to frustrate and undermine the Council’s efforts in this regard. 15. We also urge the Council to call upon all Member States, and in particular those which are the trading partners of South Africa and Portugal, to assist and co-operate effectively in the implementation of the measures to be called for by the Council’s decision on comprehensive mandatory sanctions. The Council’s permanent members have, of course, a special responsibility in this regard, and the sponsors feel that more needs to be done in the area of implementation and follow-up if the efforts of the Council are to be as effective as they are intended. We feel that the Council should study and agree upon some effective mechanism that would enable it to ensure full and effective compliance with its decisions. 16. Last but not least, the United Kingdom as the administering Power must be the principal pilot of this project. No amount of pleading based on the excuse of economic crisis at home or of withdrawal from a predominant role abroad can extricate the United Kingdom Government from this brave and historic responsibility. Through an ill-conceived policy which amounted to sheer neglect and indifference to the legitimate rights of the indigenous peoples, followed by an attitude of indecision and inaction in the face of a clear case of rebellion in a Territory under its full responsibility, the United Kingdom 17. The United Nations and the international community will no doubt assist in expediting this process, but it is for the United Kingdom as the administering Power to wake up to its responsibility, even at this late hour, in order to repair the wrong done to the African majority of Southern Rhodesia by quickly and effectively undoing that which has been done and by thus bringing freedom and justice to those for whom Britain has responsibility and trust. 18. I cannot end this statement without reiterating the fim conviction on our part that, in this as in other areas of the colonial struggle, freedom is bound to win in the end; of this we have no doubt, The question is whether the United Kingdom and the world community will live up to their duty and responsibility. Whatever happens, the gallant people of Zimbabwe will continue their struggle for freedom, fortified by the knowledge that in their struggle we of the African and Asian world, and all progressive forces of mankind with us, shall stand by the freedom fighters in Southern Rhodesia, as in the rest of southern Africa, for as long as it will take to wipe out the curse of racial oppression from the face of our continent

As a result of informal consultations among members of the Council, there appears to be general agreement that time is necessary for a more detailed study of the draft resolution submitted by the five sponsoring delegations, and that discussion of this item should be continued at the next meeting of the Council. Consequently, it is anticipated that the date of the next meeting on the question of Southern Rhodesia will be announced following consultation among the members of the Security Council. In view of the importance and urgency of this item now before the Security Council, the members of the Council agree to be prepared to hold a meeting of the Council at any time in the near future. 21. If all members of the Council agree to this, and if there are no objections we shall adjourn today’s meeting. It was so decided. 22. The members should bear in mind that the Council will meet at 3.30 p.m. today to consider the admission of Mauritius to the United Nations. The meeting rose at 11.25 a.m. HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUELICATIONS United Nations publications mcly be obtained from bookstores and distributors throughout the world. Consult your bookstore or write to: United Nations, Soles Section, New York or Geneva. COMMENT SE PROCURER LES PIJELICATIONS DES NATIONS UNIES Ler publications der Nations Unies sent en vente dons les librairies et les agences d6positaires du monde entier. Informer-vow ouprbr de votre librairie ou odrersez-vow 6: Notions Unies, Section der venter, New York ou Genive. HAK IlOJlY’iMTb M3AAHMfi OPrAHM3AuMM 06bEAMHEHHblX HAUMW COMO CONSEGUIR PUBLICACIONES DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS Las publieociones de las Nacioner Unidas erthn en venta en librerfar y casas distribuidorar en todor partes del mundo. Conrulte o w librero o dirijote a: Naciones Unidas, Seccilin de Ventas, Nuevo York o Ginebra. Litho in United Nations, New York Price: $U.S. 0.50 (dr equivalent in other currencies) 35422-September 1972-2,100