UN General Assembly
1983

Today, if I appear on this rostrum, it is to reaffirm the faith and determination of my Government and people, as we helplessly watch the incidents of global tension rising every day, whether they be on the mountains and plains of Central America; in the streets and arid plains of the Middle East, reflecting the anguish of the Palestinian people to be born as a State; in the towns and villages of South-East Asia or in the deserts of Chad; in the struggle of the people of Namibia to be born free as an independent nation in the denial of the human dignity of the black people of South Africa; and even, in the futile fratricidal war in the Gulf area. We see in all this a catalogue of woes and tribulations besetting our world. States have selfishly ignored the pledge we made when our founding fathers adopted the Organization's Charter. Today, what do we see? Nations continue to take up arms against nations and factions have been created within States, with adverse consequences for international peace and security.