UN General Assembly
1980

72. We cannot fail to condemn the repugnant spectacle of human beings held in long captivity in Iran simply because they belong to an institution which is hundreds of years old, the institution of diplomacy that makes possible legal relations among States and without which the world would be uninhabitable. 73. International instruments that punish and prevent such crimes have been referred to here in the General Assembly. A few years ago, when aircraft were being seized and their passengers exposed to risks, the Dominican Republic and Brazil agreed that such criminal acts must be considered as transgressions of juris gentium because preventive action is difficult. 74. When we speak of international terrorism in all its forms as a scourge, we cannot fail also to advocate the elimination of certain legal excesses in which States have engaged in order to repress, exceeding the limits of domestic law and affect the rights of others. In that line of thought, our delegation shares the view of those who believe that human rights are absolute.