Mr. President, it is a great pleasure for me to extend to you the greetings and congratulations of Venezuela's people and Government on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly of the United Nations at this session. My congratulations go also to the other members of the Bureau. At the same time, we address words of thanks to the outgoing President, Mr. Dante Caputo, for the extraordinary manner in which he carried out his tasks at the last session, as well as to the Secretary-General, Javier Perez de Cuellar, for the excellent work he has done.
In the last decade of the twentieth century, we must pause to reflect on the history and experience of this century. Today we can begin to assess what these last 10 years of our century will be and should be. The super-Powers have entered into a period of detente, accommodation and co-operation, with vital initiatives, particularly with regard to nuclear and conventional disarmament, and a determination to solve and not to interfere in regional conflicts that have brought so much human and material harm to the countries of the third world.
This irrational period of the cold war has also left behind a tragic situation   the world's economy and a crisis from which the great power cannot escape, because no economy can finance unlimited military spending. We have all paid for this, but most especially the countries of the third world. 	It would seem, that we can at long last discern a willingness by the international society to tolerate its own diversity and to act jointly to reduce and whenever possible remove sources of tension and convicts we had virtually grown accustomed to living with. I wish to express Venezuela's appreciation of the initiatives of detente and disarmament undertaken by the super-Powers, and express to their leaders our confidence in their determination and perseverance. If the major blocs manage to arrive at concerted action, we shall at long last begin to overcome the cold war and the threat of nuclear warfare.
Thirteen years ago on 16 November 1976, I came to this rostrum as President of Venezuela. On that occasion I said that the global political balance ostensibly rested on peaceful coexistence - peaceful coexistence which by its very name only meant a longer or shorter truce. I defined the separation, the dismembering, of world into antagonistic blocs, for interdependence to achieve equality and co-operation among equals had not prevailed in the relations between powerful countries and between the  powerful and the weaker countries. I then proposed, as I do today, the establishment of a new international economic order, for, otherwise, the world's political balance will continue to be in serious jeopardy.
As I recall those words, I must acknowledge with deep concern, now that the sovereign will of my people has brought me once again to the presidency that, tragically, the call I then made to the conscience of the developed countries remains timely. Throughout all these years the developed countries' relations with the weaker, developing nations have deteriorated. Not only has trade between North and South become even more unfair than it was 13 years ago, but the situation has worsened substantially through the decade now ending, with the unbearable problem of debt.
As regards this crisis that undermines the stability of the debtor countries, no one can claim that there have not been enough warnings or that successive formulas for its solution have not been presented. Venezuela has always been willing to explore such formulas. It is not acceptable that debtor countries should continue to finance the growth of industrialized nations through net transfers of resources. It is essential to reverse this trend so that the developing countries may be able to finance their own sustained growth and their peoples' well-being.
Initiatives aimed at reducing both the amount of debt and the cost of servicing - particularly those embodied in the so-called Brady plan - are positive steps that confirm the political nature of the crisis and the principle of co-responsibility for its solution. However, the contributions offered by creditor nations and by international commercial banks remain insufficient - to say the least.
The efforts we can all make to solve the debt problem cannot be divorced from the general evolution of relations between the third world and the industrialized countries. The gravity of the situation, so often pointed to, lies in the fact that the existing economic relations between North and South have compromised, and continue to compromise, our possibilities for development. It is clear to all that, without sustained economic growth, the essential investment in social and political areas is impossible.
The alarming aspect of this situation is that, as yet, there is no clear vision or awareness in the developed countries of what is really at stake. What could be more brittle or unpredictable than societies that have no hope and no confidence? It is claimed that harsh economic adjustments will be sufficient. Indeed, Venezuela believes those to be necessary, but without a solution to the debt problem, without broader external support, those adjustments are not feasible, and the political stability of our countries, and even the world's political balance, are endangered.
Ultimately, crises are brought about by failure to interpret objectively existing risk indicators and by lack of willingness to commit the necessary ideas and resources to prevent them. The debt crisis requires the same long-range vision as was applied to Japan and Europe after the war. What is at stake is the destiny of mankind. Almost one third of the world's population is unable to achieve a solution to the problem of economic growth as a prerequisite to the possibility of servicing the debt. The danger of a social explosion embracing over 1 billion human beings will not be avoided, and the consequences of that explosion will be felt in the industrialized nations, which look with unprecedented coldness upon the rapid deterioration of the situation*
This year Venezuela has become a full member of the Non-Aligned Movement. In so doing, we have joined the great community of third world countries, which recognize non-alignment as the choice most consonant with our reality and aspirations, and which trust in the strength of unity to give our positions the weight they need to promote changes in contemporary politics and economics.
Venezuela has always placed special emphasis on the importance of relations between developing countries. We are convinced that we, the countries of the third world, will never be able to exercise fully our political sovereignty, or to achieve equity in our economic relations with developed countries, unless we substantially enhance South-South relations, as an indispensable premise for strengthening our bargaining capacity. International society need not be condemned permanently to be governed by the patterns of the past. That is clear from what is happening today in East-West relations and from the efforts of European countries to assert their identity and explore new avenues. The international system must evolve and reflect today's pluralism. It is our aim to ensure that developing countries - our culture, our economies and our political realities - are fully incorporated into a multipolar world. It is with this vision, which transcends conflicts and highlights affinities and common potential, that we strive to equip ourselves with the institutions we need to be able to speak out and to act more effectively.
Venezuela, like other developing countries, is aware of the need to work towards revitalizing the North-South dialogue. In this regard Venezuela stated its position at the forty-third session of the General Assembly. It reiterated that position at the twenty-fifth anniversary meeting of the Group of 77, held in Caracas in June  in the Paris initiative, taken by the Presidents of Egypt, Senegal and Venezuela and by the Prime Minister of India during their meeting on the occasion of the bicentennial of the French Revolution; and, more recently, at the meeting of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, where it was firmly supported by all the Movement's members, and a group of 15 countries, representing Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe, was established. That group will hold annual meetings, at the level of Heads of State or Government, to discuss issues of interest to the countries that make up the South.
Latin America, despite the changes it has gone through, is not immune to political difficulties. Allow me to mention in particular the evolution of the Central American situation. The latest developments, as illustrated by the Tela agreements, in Honduras, confirm that, with autonomy, with confidence and with international support, the Central American countries will be able to achieve peace.
We also welcome the agreement reached by El Salvador with the leaders of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front on a suspension of hostilities and the beginning of negotiations with the Government of El Salvador which would enable those leaders to become involved in the political and democratic process of that country.
Few cases have better illustrated than those in Latin America the harm caused by foreign interference, based on false premises of strategic interest.
Elsewhere in Central America we are watching with concern developments in Panama. The abrogation of its democratic process, apart from denying the sovereign right of the Panamanian people to choose its own Government, is a factor destabilizing the vigorous process of democratisation in Latin America. Nothing would be more unacceptable to us than a crisis that would call into question the Torrerijos-Carter Treaties, which we consider to be an accomplishment of Latin American solidarity and a commitment uniting all our peoples.
Those of us who, like Venezuela, have a direct responsibility in this historical   claim   of Latin America, cannot view with indifference the build-up of elements of tension. Nothing can be more important for Latin America than to have the Panamanian community democratically settle its disagreements and to see the provisions of the Canal Treaties complied with to the letter.
I wish to say how pleased we Venezuelans are to see the beginning of a process that will lead to self-determination for the Puerto Rican people. We are linked to Puerto Rico by strong ties of history and culture. However, only the people of Puerto Rico can decide its future. This year there have been new developments, and Venezuela trusts that they will soon make it possible for the preferences of the people of Puerto Rico to be made known in a free expression of sovereign will. We cannot conceal the fact that we Latin Americans wish to see Puerto Rico become another Latin nation, like those our liberators dreamed of and fought for. In those cases, which I have mentioned, because of their importance for Venezuela and for Latin America as a whole, a fundamental role is played by the United States of America. Venezuela hopes that friendly country will continue its present course of favouring multilateral dialogue and continued consultations. We are convinced that that is the only way for the American continent to advance towards the achievement of those values to which we all subscribe, both within the inter-American system and within the United Nations system.
Venezuela strives for close relations and co-operation in its foreign policy. We still have difficult historical obstacles to overcome. One is the reconciliation of our Latin American, continental and Caribbean identities. We had been separated from the Caribbean by colonialism and its divisive sequels. Today we can applaud the great advances the nations of the Caribbean have made in fostering their own identity and their admirable efforts at rapprochement with the rest of our region. Those countries not only are our neighbours and friends, but are also an inextricable part of Latin America with which we share opportunities and hopes in a common future.
To conclude the presentation of our views on Latin American affairs, I shall refer briefly to the Group of Eight. This year there will be held in Lima, Peru, the third presidential meeting of the permanent mechanism for political consultation and co-ordination. This mechanism has transformed the scope of our relations in Latin America and our approach to them.
Venezuela reiterates its rejection of colonialism and all forms of racial discrimination. We share the deep concern of the other Members of the United Nations, particularly the countries of southern Africa, over the persistence of the genocidal system of apartheid, which is a Nazi-style violation of human rights, a crime against humanity. We welcome with great satisfaction the holding of a special session of the General Assembly on apartheid.
I turn to the subject of decolonisation. We have consistently supported initiatives aimed at removing the last vestiges of colonialism, particularly those relating to the independence of Namibia and the implementation of the Security Council's plan for that purpose. We trust that the countries directly involved in solving the problem will continue to show the necessary political will to bring the process to a successful conclusion with the holding of the elections scheduled for November, under United Nations supervision.
We are watching with hope developments with regard to the problem of Western Sahara. We support the initiatives of the Secretary-General and reaffirm our conviction that direct dialogue will contribute effectively to recognition of the rights of the Sahraoui people, the resolution of the conflict and the process of integration in the Mahgreb.
We Latin Americans must include in this survey the case of the Malvinas. We trust that the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom, in keeping with resolutions of the United Nations and international law and solidarity, will initiate talks aimed at settling the controversy concerning sovereignty over those islands in the South Atlantic, which have formed part of the Argentine Republic since we Latin American peoples became independent from Spain.
I cannot fail to mention the dreadful tragedy of Lebanon, a land torn by a suicidal and diabolical conflict. The Lebanese people deserve the support and protection of the world. We commend the decision of the Arab League to set up a commission made up of the sovereigns of Saudi Arabia and Morocco and the President of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria to mediate in that horrible and absurd conflict. Venezuela appeals to the United Nations to show the greatest diligence in bringing about an end to the terrible massacres and violations of human rights, and we shall co-operate in any initiative in which we can play a useful part.
In view of their paramount importance for the life of our societies and for international security, I shall now touch upon the problems of drugs and the environment. In 1984 Venezuela put forward a draft convention (resolution 39/141, annex) concerning the struggle against illicit trafficking in narcotics and psychotropic substances. We are happy to see today ever-growing support for that draft convention.
At the non-aligned Summit, Venezuela, together with other Latin American countries, recently proposed other initiatives with regard to the prevention of and action against the laundering of money proceeding from drug trafficking. A systematic effort is being made in our countries and at a sub regional Andean level to eradicate that evil.
This year, the gravity and extent of that crime against humanity have been highlighted by the current events in Colombia. International solidarity has remained more a matter of words than of deeds. Let us look, for example, at the behaviour of the United States. Undoubtedly, that country came to the fore in offering solidarity and material aid, but instead of such circumstantial aid, would it not have been more important to strengthen the Colombian economy by supporting the International Coffee Agreement?
But that was not the case. Besieged by drug-trafficking dollars, the coffee-growing countries, Colombia and other indebted countries such as Brazil amongst them, have seen their resources dwindle as a result of the United States' refusal to subscribe to the agreements of the International Coffee Organization. Prices have plummeted. How can we fight drug-trafficking in those circumstances, with such low prices for our commodities and such heavy debts?
Nevertheless, we welcome the agreement reached at the Paris Summit. We are convinced that little can be achieved without forceful action upon demand. It is up to the producer countries to fight the trafficking, but the consumer countries must also drastically curb their demand, since that is what makes the struggle against drug-trafficking so much more difficult.
 The fight against drug-trafficking must be relentless and forceful. Let us not forget that, besides the erosion of our institutions and its impact upon health, drug trafficking and consumption are linked to terrorism, clandestine arms trafficking, the revival of mercenary activities, and the violation of human rights.
I must say that despite all that 1 have stated in a spirit of optimism, the fight against drugs must be the subject of international legislation sponsored by the United Nations in a world conference that will confront this crime which knows no frontiers and which uses them only to evade and trample upon our sovereignty and well-being.
At the Ninth Summit of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Countries in Belgrade, I proposed the convening of a world conference to discuss an international convention against drug-trafficking that would be binding on all countries of the world.
As to the environment, allow me to reiterate what I have said in other forums. Development and the environment are interrelated. Until now, they have been inimical. It is necessary for developed and developing countries to approach the problem jointly and to reconcile our perspectives in a united effort that will enable us to preserve our environmental heritage without detriment to our common right to development.
I wish to propose that the Members of the United Nations formulate a convention that will commit all of us. My country belongs to an essential region of the world, the immense Amazonia. The eight nations making up that region have established the Amazonian Pact whereby, without relinquishing our sovereignty, we have sought to ensure its conservation as a patrimony of mankind and as a legacy of nature to the development and wealth of our nations.
Venezuela fully supports the special session of the General Assembly devoted to international economic co-operation, in particular to the revitalization of the economic growth and development of developing countries to be held in April 1990. We shall be present at that important event. We also wish to express our great interest in seeing the successful completion of the preliminary work being done on the international development strategy for the fourth United Nations development decade.
Let us dedicate the next decade of the twentieth century to the preservation of children, the future of mankind in the third millennium of our world. Let us set about reducing by half the death rate of children as well as of mothers. Let us strive for a universal primary school education and the elimination of severe malnutrition.
In this forum of mankind, I should like to invite you all to subscribe to the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which represents the consensus of all the Governments of the world as to the minimum guarantees that every society must offer to its children. That must become the new international ethic. Venezuela will support in the Assembly this agreement aimed at safeguarding the most extensively violated rights of the world - the rights of children. We shall also support the holding of a world summit devoted to childhood, as proposed by the United Nations Children's Fund. To the Prime Minister of Sweden, who was the first to support that summit, we offer our full co-operation in sponsoring it, together with the other nations wishing to join that initiative.
In April of this year, at the 12th meeting of Ministers of Health of the Andean Countries in Caracas, I suggested the convening of a Latin American regional summit. Our regional statistics are truly alarming. One million children under the age of five die every years 360,000 in Brazil, 175,000 in Mexico, 245,000 in the Andean countries. Every Latin American child is born with an external debt of $32,000 and a social debt of $23,000. Every newborn child receives a historical liability of 360,000, equivalent to more than 25 time3 our nations' gross domestic product per capita. In sum, in Latin America most of the children are poor and most of the poor are children.
Human eclipse or social development! that is the choice facing mankind on the eve of the third millennium.
We have come to the United Nations to advocate international co-operation. Let us not close our eyes to the countless dangers that we face at this promising moment. Let us take note of the dangers and work together to further the prevalence of reason. The economic and social problems our peoples face are immense, and we have no right to postpone solutions or open the door to conflict and instability. Strategic confrontation dominated the best minds of this past century. Perhaps it is now time to turn our eyes upon ourselves, upon our peoples and our societies, to assess their condition, their moral wants, their crises, and attempt to find solutions.
 		This will make us realize how mistaken we have been this last, turbulent half of the twentieth century, and will open a gateway of hope so that, as we approach this magical date of the third millennium, we may be confident that in the new century all nations of the world will be able to march forward together in a spirit, of solidarity, with a single aims to ensure the well being of all mankind.


On 4 October 1973 - in other words, 16 years ago to the day - I addressed the General Assembly for the first time. Since then, many of the situations that were dealt with at that time have undergone profound change. As I take the floor for the second time from this rostrum, my very first words will be to tell you how very glad I am to be able to share with you my reflections on some of the contemporary problems that will shape the future of humankind. Let me first, Mr. President, congratulate you on your election to the presidency of the forty-fourth session of the General Assembly. I am gratified indeed at the confidence and the honour that all the States members of our Organization have accorded, not only to your person and your country, but indeed to Africa, which is legitimately proud of this. I also congratulate your predecessor, Mr. Dante Caputo, the head of the Argentine delegation, for the masterful way he presided over the work of the forty-third session of the General Assembly. I wish to pay a special tribute also to the Secretary-General of the united Nations, His Excellency Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, whose competence and skill have enabled our Organization to regain its credibility. Therein lies proof of the fact that the countries of the southern hemisphere are proving their ability to contribute effectively to the taking of decisions that guide the affairs of the world.
The Republic of Zaire will always recall the important role played, immediately after its independence, by the United Nations in restoring peace and safeguarding our national unity, jeopardized by the spectre of internationalisation of the Congo crisis, which we remember as a tragic event.
In exactly 11 years, the lights will dim and go out on the twentieth century. This is something more than the simple passage from one century to another? it is the crossing of a threshold between two millennia - a rare phenomenon in the life of any person. To have the illusion of having gone through a thousand years is a privilege not given to all generations.
But, if the ways in which God moves are mysterious and if no one knows what the years ahead hold in store for us, one thing none the less remains certain: a few nations around the world, representing 683 million inhabitants out of the 6 billion of the total population, are jealously monopolizing the technology, progress and development to whose expansion all peoples the world over have made a contribution. This is why the message I carry to this Assembly from the heart of Africa is first and foremost a message of peace and an appeal for the solidarity of peoples, together with an invitation to safeguard our environment, so that the twenty-first century, the horizon of which we are now trying to scan, may become for us a century of progress and of shared happiness.
But first and foremost, I crave your indulgence as I return briefly to the consideration of certain subjects that I broached some 16 years ago, notably those involving peace and the international economic order. You will recall that, back
then, I denounced the perpetuation of the colonial situation and of apartheid on African soil, and I recalled that before the hurricane of history, ready or not, ripe or not, a fruit will fall.
Thus, we have seen the Portuguese compelled to abandon their African colonies and the British turn over the reins of power to the black majority in the former Southern Rhodesia. Apartheid continues to flout the conscience of all mankind, but Africa and the world have managed in the meantime to mobilize with a view to dismantling it, and the time is not far off when blacks, whites, mestizos and Indians will be able to enjoy the same rights and the same freedoms within one and the same democratic State.
On the strength of that conviction, and notwithstanding the predictable reactions that certain initiatives would give rise to, I agreed to receive in my own country, first, former President Pieter Botha, in October 1988, and then, last August, his successor, Frederik de Klerk. Those two encounters enabled me to make an appeal before my interlocutors for the cause of those whose freedom and dignity are flouted and to stress the urgency of doing away with apartheid. Beyond that, the ad Hoc Committee on Apartheid of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) displayed open-mindedness and good will in acknowledging recently, at Harare, and under certain conditions, the principle of constructive dialogue with the Pretoria regime.
As regards Namibia, the last colonial bastion on the African continent, it is resolutely moving towards independence thanks to the determination of the nationalists of Namibia, led by the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) and thanks to tine relentless pressure brought to bear by the international community on South Africa. The Assembly will recall that, as a way of bearing witness to its solidarity with Egypt, a part of whose territory was occupied by Israel, the Republic of Zaire, represented by myself personally, announced from this lofty rostrum that it was breaking diplomatic relations with the Hebrew State. The restitution of the Sinai to Egypt having occurred in the interim, in 1982, in conformity with the Camp David Accords, it made seize for us properly to restore our diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv.
What this means is that this position makes it possible for the Republic of Zaire to remind our Israeli friends that if they feel entitled to have secure and recognized boundaries they must in exchange recognize the same rights for the Palestinians reduced to wandering for more than 40 years. Now Palestinians and Israelis can no longer ignore one mother. They must sit down together and make peace on the basis of Security Council resolution 242 (1967).
Since then, on the Asian continent Viet Nam has managed to achieve its own unification? the Korean people is pursuing the path of dialogue to decide on its destiny, while the Cambodian people has placed its hope in the dialogue, difficult to be sure, that has begun among its various leaders in Paris? the breakdown of the first round must not discourage us.
In the space of 16 years many other hotbeds of tension have sprung up across Africa: Chad, Western Sahara, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Angola, Mozambique, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Mali and, more recently, Senegal and Mauritania.
Our continent needs no armed conflict. It is peace and development to which it deeply aspires. That is why we welcome the fact that, thanks to the advantages of dialogue and the concerted approach to things, certain of these hotbeds of tension have been defused while others are in the process of being defused, which further testifies to the maturity of Africans and their ability to settle their disputes peacefully.
Further away from ourselves, speaking in this case about the Afghan problem, we encourage the unilateral or concerted initiatives already in train. In so far as the Iran-Iraq conflict is concerned, we welcome the cease-fire that has come about, and in this connection we praise the discreet and effective steps taken by the Secretary-General.
Likewise we hope that Lebanon, once freed from foreign influence, will again find the path to national reconciliation and build upon its rich tradition as a people that is industrious and loves peace and freedom. Along these lines we support the work the Tripartite Committee of the Arab League has been doing.
In connection with international economic relations between poor and rich countries alike, when I first addressed the Assembly I asked the conscience of the world to ask itself in turn whether it was not the poor countries which in the final analysis served to enrich the wealthy ones.
Today I feel that the answer is clear. No one, indeed, can have any doubt about the reality of the phenomenon of negative capital transfers to the detriment of the poor countries through, among other things, machinery set up for the repayment of debt.
We are also concerned about protecting the environment} the Republic of Zaire had the honour to initiate the World Charter for Nature. That has not, however, kept certain industrialized countries from unscrupulously transforming Africa into a dumping ground for toxic wastes described on our continent as deadly waste.
This brief retrospective indicates that over the course of the last 16 years, notwithstanding the cropping up of certain hotbeds of tension, tine international climate has improved significantly. However, there is the risk of all this being compromised as long as certain crucial problems continue to jeopardize world equilibrium. We are here speaking about issues of development, peace and the environment.
In our day and age, mankind has the resources and wherewithal to ensure its development world-wide, but a number of countries, particularly those of Africa, lag behind considerably in economic and social terms, notwithstanding their enormous potential in natural resources.
Two major phenomena, closely linked, stymie all efforts at growth and development of our economies the crushing burden of external debt and the relentless worsening of terms of trade. These phenomena are familiar to all of us, and I would stress above all the question of our external debt.
So far as we Africans are concerned, external debt is strangling our economies. By contrast, so far as our creditors are concerned, the $230 billion Africa owes them is scarcely a drop in the bucket compared to what the New York Stock Exchange alone lost in the October 1987 financial crash.
In Zaire, for instance, before the 1987 restructuring, debt servicing was devouring some 26 per cent of our export income and some 50 per cent of the State budget. It was no longer possible to finance social expenditures even at a minimal level or to make indispensable investments in infrastructure.
Notwithstanding the restructuring, indebtedness continues to grow because of the machinery of accumulative interest, compelling us to resort to still more borrowing.
None the less we appreciate the gestures of solidarity made before the Toronto Summit by Canada, and after it by France, the United States and a number of other developed countries.
Recently Belgium, in turn, took an innovative approach to the matter, not only by cancelling public debts involving Africa* countries and absorbing a third of the commercial debt guaranteed notably vis-à-vis Zaire, but also by staggering and restructuring two thirds of that commercial debt over a period of 25 years with a 14-year period of grace.
Moreover, interest charges on the two remaining thirds will be converted into a fund based on local currency aimed at financing development projects initiated by the beneficiary countries. Still addressing the subject of debt, I pay tribute also to the People's Republic of China, which since 1973 has discreetly, for the benefit of its African partners including Zaire, enacted measures consisting in a lightening of the debt burden by converting credits into local currencies for the purpose of financing on-the-scene bilateral co-operation projects.
These isolated measures aimed at lightening the debt burden are generous to be sure, but they will not be as great as desired because of the harmful effect of the deterioration in the terms of trade on our economies, which will reduce our capacity to repay debt and to finance our development.
We feel that the African continent must be able to enter the next century with dignity. Innovative international policies must be devised to reduce foreign debt, restore confidence among partners and strengthen co-operation for development. This is a question of ethics and justice. What we have always asked of our partners - without failing to acknowledge the need to repay debt - especially in the case of the least developed countries, is that moratoriums be arranged, that repayment be extended over more realistic periods, and that interest rates be renegotiated, taking into account our actual ability to pay.
However, now that the last decade of the twentieth century is at hand, is it not time to come up with more innovative solutions to the debt problem? Guided by the model of co-operation already set up by some Member States, the international community should urge Africa's creditors to accept the principle of a grace period of at least 10 years and to agree to the repayment of all debt in local currencies. The resources thereby freed would be channelled into national development funds, which would in turn be earmarked for financing public aid private investment projects likely to further the growth of our economies.
In so doing, our creditors - that is, States, commercial banks and multinational corporations - instead of passively awaiting repayment of their debts, would participate on a basis of solidarity in restoring growth to our economies. Thus, and only thus, will it be possible to preserve and strengthen the climate of detente aid mutual trust in international relations between the wealthy countries and our developing countries.
I take this opportunity to recall that the united Nations Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development 1986-1990, which was adapted at the conclusion of the special session of the General Assembly devoted to that question, included two complementary obligations. First, the African countries have the obligation to implement economic reforms and, secondly, the international community undertakes the commitment to support Africa's efforts. Some time prior to the adoption of that Programme a number of African countries, including the Republic of Zaire, had begin economic-policy reforms designed to foster rapid recovery and to lay the groundwork for sustained development. That determination is all the more courageous and praiseworthy in that the effects of those measures have generally spawned social tension and political instability.
Notwithstanding the sacrifices made, the results of those structural adjustment measures have proved meagre, ephemeral or merely nonexistent. Indeed, our situation has grown worse, as was confirmed by the Secretary-General's report - submitted to the forty-third session of the General Assembly - on the mid-term review of the implementation of the Programme.
For those reasons I make this appeal to the conscience of the international community* beginning in 1990, and in the light of the approach I have just sketched out, let us devise a genuine plan for international solidarity in favour of African development, a plan similar to the Marshall Plan that was launched for the reconstruction of a Europe ravaged and devastated by the Second world war.
It is within that framework that I am proposing that in the decade 1990 to 1999 the African countries pay all their debts in local currency and that the new recourses thus freed be devoted solely to attaining the goal of economic growth with the co-operation of the competent international organs.
Taking advantage of reforms already under way, the lessons learned from past experience, and the effects of recent actions, Africa will be sufficiently prepared to cope with domestic constraints, to participate actively as a genuine economic partner in the progress and development of mankind, and thus to occupy an honourable place in the world of the twenty-first century.
However, African economic development presupposes a climate of peace, freedom and security. Africa feels that it is an integral part of any process designed to achieve world peace. Thus, each State of our continent, to the extent of its possibilities, feels the duty to work towards the maintenance of peace, both home and abroad.
In this connection I have noted with satisfaction - as has for that matter the international community as a whole - the progress achieved in recent years in the field of disarmament and the reduction of armed conflicts, particularly through the promotion of the detente set in train by the Washington agreements concluded between the united States of America and the Soviet Union.
However, that climate, which is basically a product of the lessening of tension between the two super-Powers, must also generate the results the international community expects in the field of development. As the Assembly is aware, from the moment it attained independence my country, Zaire, has been obliged to overcome civil wars and wars of secession, from the ashes of which a State and a nation have been forged. For almost 24 years the people of Zaire have been living in peace and national harmony. Moved by its commitment to Africa in the service of peace, the Republic of Zaire has, together with its neighbours Rwanda and Burundi, established a zone of economic solidarity that has rapidly become a zone of security and stability in the sub-continent.
In the name of maintaining peace, my country has twice lent its support to Chad, first at the request of the Organization of African Unity and then in response to the appeal of the legal Government of Chad, in order to defend that country's territorial integrity. Tirelessly pursuing the ideal of peace, the Republic of Zaire and Zambia, its neighbour to the south-east, have, after seven years of negotiations, just signed a treaty delimiting a portion of their common frontier that had been undefined and a source of contention since 1894.
Of the 9,116 kilometres of border it shares with nine neighbouring States, Zaire shares more than 2,600 kilometres with Angola. That indicates our interest in seeing peace restored to that fraternal country that has been ravaged by 14 years of war. That is why I unhesitatingly agreed to undertake the mission of mediation entrusted to me by my colleagues the Heads of State of central and southern Africa, who met on 16 May this year at Luanda. Within that context
managed - not without difficulty - to organize on 22 June 1989 the Gbadolite summit meeting in which 20 African countries participated, including 18 Heads of State and two highly placed heads of delegation.
that day Africa witnessed the laying of the foundation on which peace in Angola will be built, namely, the historic handshake between President Dos Santos of Angola and Mr. Jonas Savimbi, the leader of UN IT A; the proclamation of a cease-fire? and the establishment of the principle of negotiations leading to national reconciliation.
For my part, I believe that the Angolans remain the sole masters of the peace process that has been initiated. In whatever way they work together, directly or indirectly, it is up to the Angolans alone to deal with the political and military questions that affect their coin try.
The international community has noted that if respect for the cease-fire under the Gbadolite Declaration has proved to be ephemeral, for essentially psychological reasons compounded by interference from abroad, our Angolan brothers none the less have not broken off dialogue but indeed have gathered four successive times with the mediator.
I remain convinced that the unshakable determination to restore peace clearly expressed by the Angolan people will prove more than equal to current difficulties. The full implementation of the Brazzaville and New York quadripartite accords and the successful implementation of Security Council resolution 435 (1978) on the independence of Namibia, together with the advent of peace and justice in southern Africa, depend in great part on national reconciliation in Angola. I invite the international community to do all it can to ensure that the efforts of Africa and of Angola towards peace are crowned with success. In our capacity as mediator we remain more than ever determined to provide our Angolan brothers with all possible assistance and to make available to them our own modest experience.
Peace, security and economic and social development call for the advent of an environment in which people can freely develop and evolve in tranquillity, with their rights fully guaranteed. In Africa we are familiar with the prominence accorded to fundamental freedoms ever since the era of traditional societies, vestiges of which still survive today notwithstanding the determination of the colonial Powers to annihilate them. Our ancestors were devoted to the idea of freedom in the name of which they fiercely resisted everywhere all attempts at conquest from outside.
The question new for us Africans is to ascertain whether the political structures we are setting up do indeed foster the full unfolding of freedom. This is not because that is what the West wants us to do - because democracy is not the
monopoly of Western societies - but because we continually seek political and economic strategies likely to promote out development.
TO be sure, we do not maintain that modern African societies no longer have anything to accomplish for democracy or for more democracy. On the contrary, we are saying that some of our political structures constitute a real democratic framework attuned to the African and likely to achieve social integration in our countries.
In Zaire we are endeavouring to bring our own particular touches to bear on formulating and avoiding human rights. It is with this concern in mind that we have adhered to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and ratified the two international Covenants on civil aid political rights aid on economic and social rights. My country is one of the 40 States Members of the Organization to have ratified the Optional Protocol on Civil and Political Rights. It also immediately acceded to the African Human Rights Charter. Finally, my Government includes a department entrusted with the protection of the rights and freedoms of our citizens, a department endowed with sweeping powers to accomplish its mission. The machinery thus set up illustrates our political determination to promote the rights and freedoms of Zairian citizens and the rights of foreigners who have chosen to live within our country.
Experience, though recent, has already shown that this department is playing an essential role in providing information to citizens on their rights and freedoms; it is intervening and redressing acts involving damage done when individuals have seen their rights unjustly violated and have exhausted all other machinery of recourse? and it oversees respect for procedures, conditions and proper treatment with regard to detainees.
Zaire welcomes the tribute paid to it by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in February this year in omitting its name, on the basis of what had been achieved in this field, from the list of countries considered as not respecting human rights. Of course, we recognize that we have not yet reached the ideal situation, but the fact that all countries of the world, even the most advanced, do not escape criticism when it comes to the violation of individual rights adequately shows that one cannot, on the basis of an administrative or police slip-up noted here or there, confuse a State of law with States that have made repression their system of government.
I should like to conclude my statement by dealing with questions involving the environment. I recall with emotion my own youth closely intertwined with the majesty of our rivers and the purity of our streams. I also recall our virgin and luxuriant forests from which every morning one heard the call of birds. It is with deep sadness that we witness today the accelerated deterioration of our natural environment under the impact of multiple and repeated aggression. The indignation and protest triggered the world over by the export of toxic wastes have shown a growing awareness within the international community of the major risks for humanity posed by the deterioration of the quality of life, of which atmospheric pollution is one of the most obvious manifestations. Hence, Zaire urgently calls for the swift devising of rigorous international norms vital to the preservation of our planet and the future of mankind.
At the present stage, my country's contribution towards safeguarding the natural environment is expressed by its active support for the complete implementation of the World Charter for Nature.
With 47 per cant of the tropical African forests within its borders the Republic of Zaire has brought 5 per cent of its national territory under national protection. Our goal is to bring that figure up to 16 per cent - some 376,200 square kilometres. Within this area we arc protecting rare species threatened by extinction. This includes the white rhinoceros, the number of which increased from 11 in 1980 to 25 in 1989. We are also ensuring the protection of the okapis a partial study over 10,000 square kilometres has show a density of okapi for every two square kilometres. As for elephants, the forests and savannahs of Zaire contain a population of nearly 200,000 elephants out of a total of 700,000 across all of Africa. Here, I pay tribute to all those countries that have taken measures aimed at discouraging trade in ivory, the major cause of the extermination of elephants. Our concern also goes to gorillas living in the mountains we share with our neighbour, Rwanda, aid for which the late regretted but remembered Mrs. Ebssey gave her life. members will agree with me that all progress that compromises ecological balance destroys man himself as he seeks to achieve peace and a life of tranquillity and full development. I should like to conclude by expressing the hope that the climate of detente which marks international relations today will become much stronger and, in the last decade of the twentieth century, bring us more peace aid more solidarity among peoples.
It seems to me to be vital that the international community adopt a disinterested approach of genuine solidarity towards Africa, with regard to which many prejudices are held, tending to condemn us to underdevelopment.
Therefore, with regard to Africa's indebtedness, I have proposed a new approach, that of converting all our debts into local currency and setting up development funds to finance priority investments. That would mean creating the conditions to enable Africa to take charge of its own development and to enter the twenty-first century with greater dignity.
It goes without saying that, as I have already pointed out, for Africa world peace is essential. That is why I have emphasized my country's contribution to the efforts to restore peace in Africa, and especially in Angola.
Similarly, it must be recognized that human rights and freedoms are among the preconditions for the development of any human community. As regards ourselves, I have described the institutional machinery that we have devised and established to promote and protect those rights and freedoms.
Finally, I have recalled the international community's duty with regard to nature, whose preservation is indispensable for the survival of the human race, and I have described Zaire's contribution in that regard.
The principles on which our Organization is based and to which we have all freely subscribed are noble. They reflect our common concern for peace aid freedom and for the dignity and improved well-being of all the peoples of the world. Respect for those objects of our concern is the best guarantee of a serene future for mankind.
May the twenty-first century fulfil our hopes of solidarity, justice, peace and progress.


It gives me particular pleasure to congratulate Mr. Garba on the occasion of his election to the presidency of the forty-fourth session of the General Assembly and to address to him our best wishes for success in the accomplishment of this high assignment.
On the instructions of the President of the Socialist Republic of Romania, Nicolae Ceausescu, I have the honour to present to the Assembly the views and the proposals of Romania on the currant world situation and on lines of action to achieve a radical change in international life and the solution of the problems prevailing in the world. The evolution of world events reveals two diametrically opposed trends. On the one hand, as a result of the common endeavours of peoples everywhere and of the powerful action of public opinion for peace and disarmament - which also includes progressive political quarters in various countries - as well as the action of the United Nations, a number of changes have taken place. A relative balance has emerged between the forces which stand for detente, understanding and co-operation and those who oppose them. Thus during recent years important steps have been taken in the direction of disarmament and to the solution through negotiations of some international conflicts.
On the other hand, one could witness the intensification of interference in the internal affairs of other States in some governmental quarters aiming at political destabilization in certain countries and the imposition of terms of co-operation in line with their hegemonic interests. The arms race has been going on, especially in the field of the development and modernization of nuclear arms and of other arms of mass destruction. The doctrine of "nuclear deterrence" continues to be pursued by some States, which in practical terms means pursuance of the threat of force in international life. The militarization of outer space has already started.
The international situation is gravely affected by the world economic crisis which in recent years has further widened the gap between rich and poor countries. Hotbeds of tension and conflicts in some parts of the world continue to persist and some of them have grown worse.
Against this background the promotion of a new mentality with regard to inter-State relations and of a new approach for the solution of international problems has become an objective necessity. Both should be based on unabated respect for the principles of relations between States, especially the full equality of rights, national independence and sovereignty, non-interference in domestic affairs, non-use or threat of use of force, and mutual advantage.
In the light of these principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter and other international documents, Romania proposes that the General Assembly should consider and adopt concrete measures concerning the observance by all States of the principles of peaceful coexistence among States with different social and political systems and the elimination of all acts and forms of interference aimed at changing the social and political system of other countries.
In our day, when the right of each people freely to choose its own way of social and economic development is internationally recognized, one cannot accept any form of relations of subordination. Neither can one accept any action by governmental circles to differentiate in relations with socialist countries depending on internal changes to be made by them which would respond to the ideological and political interests of western countries.
At the same time one should act firmly against the neo-colonial policy of imperialist forces aimed at keeping the developing countries in the state of being suppliers of cheap primary commodities and sources of high profits for international financial capital, lb this end Romania proposes that the current session should consider and adopt concrete measures concerning the elimination in international economic relations of policies making the development of trade and economic co-operation conditional an the adoption of measures to privatise the public sector or impose free-market and other structural changes proper to the capitalist economy*
In line with the provisions of the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, the United Nations should call upon all Governments to respect the right of each people to economic and social development according to its own historic and social conditions and its sovereign options in organizing domestic life. This is reflected in the independent policy of each State.
At the same time, in view of the provisions of the United Nations Charter whereby states undertook to develop their regions in a spirit of friendship and mutual respect, Romania believes that the United Nations should endeavour to involve the mass media in a broad cooperative effort in this area. To that end one should oppose any manifestation of a biased, misleading presentation of the conditions in various countries. This world forum should consider and adopt concrete measures concerning the: "responsibility of States, governmental and non-governmental organizations as well as of mass media in promoting relations of friendship and cooperation, rapprochement and mutual respect among governments and peoples. To that end the coverage of real life in each country, of efforts made by their peoples for economic and social development shall be correct and fair". The events that took place 50 years ago are there to prove that the duplicity of the great Powers, their policies of appeasement and premises with fascism and Nazism, the lack of unity of peoples and of anti-fascist and anti-war forces have cleared the way for the outbreak of a gigantic world conflagration.
"today, mindful of the lessons drawn from history, one cannot but be deeply worried by the obvious rise in the activities of some right-wing and neo-fascist
organizations, and by racist, nationalistic-chauvinist propaganda for the revision of borders. That is why it is imperative for all social and political forces to mobilize themselves in order to ensure peace and security, prevent and people any act of aggression or revanchist and neo-nazi manifestations.

In view of the fact that the fundamental challenge of our time is the cessation of the arras race and resolute action towards disarmament, especially nuclear disarmament, as well as the strengthening of the role of the United Nations in matters pertaining to peace and disarmament, Romania submits for consideration the following proposals and lines of action:
The General Assembly should call on all Member States to put an end to the modernization and to the development of nuclear weapons and to renounce the doctrine of nuclear deterrence.
All nuclear tests should be halted and an international conference be convened on a possible extension of the 1963 Treaty banning nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water to cover also the discontinuance of underground nuclear tests.
The General Assembly should reiterate the appeal addressed to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics end the United States of America to conclude, at the earliest possible date, a treaty on a 50-per-cent reduction of their strategic nuclear armaments. All States participating in the Geneva Conference on Disarmament should commit themselves to negotiate prohibition of the production and stockpiling of chemical weapons along with the negotiations aimed at the total elimination of nuclear armaments. The General Assembly should launch an appeal calling for effective agreements at the Vienna negotiations to ensure, under strict and effective international control, a substantial reduction - by at least 50 per cent by the end of the century - in troops, conventional armaments and military expenditures.
The General Assembly should proclaim the 1990-1999 decade as the Third Disarmament Decade. The goals of that Decade should be as follows: reduction and ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons; cessation of nuclear tests; renunciation of the militarization of outer space creation of zones free of nuclear and chemical weapons in various regions of the world; substantial reduction of troops, conventional armaments and military expenditures. In order to improve the international political climate, achieve detente and ensure peace, Romania resolutely stands for the cessation of all conflicts in different parts of the world on the basis of equitable solutions that would take into account the need strictly to observe the legitimate interests of peoples of the region.
In line with this principled position, Romania proposes the following:
The United Nations should reaffirm the obligation assumed by Member States to renounce the use of force in their relations and unabatedly to respect the right of each people freely to choose its way of development without any interference from outside. The United Nations should ensure that any action aimed at the solution of various conflicts does not lead to the elimination of the progressive achievements of the peoples in the respective regions. The United Nations should support the effective organization at the earliest possible date of an international conference on the Middle East with the participation of all interested States, including the new State of Palestine and Israel, as well as of the permanent members of the Security Council.
The provisions of Security Council resolution 435 (1978) should be fully implemented in order to proclaim the independence of Namibia this year.
As to the further involvement of United Nations in the resolution of various conflicts it is necessary, in our view, to resort to United Nations peace-keeping forces only when such operations are absolutely required. Also, the expenses should be limited as much as possible and be borne on a voluntary basis, primarily by the countries involved in the conflict and by developed countries.
We reaffirm at this session too our solidarity with, and active support for, the position and initiatives of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea aimed at a peaceful, democratic and independent reunification of Korea.
In view of the serious condition of the world economy caused by the imperialist policy of inequality and of exploitation by unfair monetary and financial policies, Romania considers that an essential imperative for ensuring world progress and peace is the urgent solution of the external debt crisis affecting developed countries, the elimination of under development and the establishment of equitable economic relations among States.
As a developing country, Romania is fully aware of the consequences of the current state of affairs in the world economy and, especially, of the heavy burden represented by external debt, which is one of the most serious problems facing developing countries.
By fully mobilizing its entire material and human potential, Romania has succeeded in liberating herself from this burden as of March 1989. This achievement has a profound significance for securing the economic and political independence of the country. In order to reach this goal our option was to redouble the efforts of investments during the decade. This made it possible to pay off the external debt without hampering at the same time the programmes of economic development or the living standard and the income of the population.
Based on our own experience, with direct knowledge of the practices of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and other major international bank s — the economic and political conditions imposed by them, which have destabilizing effects on developing countries and cause the transfer of wealth from these countries to the main developing countries - we consider that the radical improvement of the international credit and interest system has become a matter of top priority calling for urgent action. To this effect, Romania presents the following proposals.
First, a maximum fixed interest rate of four to five per cent should be set up for credits granted by the IMF, the World Bank and other major banks. The amount of existing credits should be recalculated on the basis of a maximum interest rate of two to three per cent.
Secondly, when providing new credits, the IMF and the World Bank should renounce so-called colonialist-type programmes of economic adjustment. Especially urgent is the need to put an end to those conditions which are aimed at privatising economic sectors and units. Romania considers that the IMF and the World Bank should channel their credits primarily to the public and co-operative sectors, in order to ensure the economic and social development of the countries concerned, to accelerate their progress and to improve the living conditions of their peoples. At the same time, it should be mentioned that in all countries the public sector provides more secure conditions for the financial institutions themselves.
Thirdly, the World Bank and other creditor banks should put an end to their practices by which the provision of new financial credits is conditioned on the taking under control of the production of primary commodities in developing countries. Such practices applied by major international banks ensure high profits for the financial capital while exploiting the wealth of developing countries.
And, fourthly, one should set reasonable and equitable prices for the primary commodities supplied by developing countries in order to bridge the gap between commodity prices and the prices paid for imported, manufactured products. This would put an end to the transfer of wealth from developing to developed countries. Only last year, as a result of the system of credit and high interest rates charged by the IMP, the World Bank and other banks, as well as of the existing price system, the transfer of financial resources from developing to developed countries amounted to over $ 32 billion.
Romania presents these proposals also in its capacity as a member of the IMF and of the World Bank, since it cannot accept being an accomplice to the neo-colonial policies applied by those financial institutions.
The revitalization of international co-operation and economic development, particularly of the developing countries, calls for an appropriate preparation of the special session of the General Assembly to be held in 1990. The special session should provide a framework for negotiations between developed and developing countries with a view to agreeing on global solutions for the problems of underdevelopment, international financial and trade relations, and the external debt of developing countries.
In the present international conditions, marked by serious problems generated by the arms race, underdevelopment and the continuation of the policy of force and interference in internal affairs, there is more than ever before a compelling need for the participation of all States, on equal footing, in the search for solutions to those problems. In line with Romania's firm stand in favour of disarmament and peace and of the democratic solution of all the complex issues of our times, the Romanian delegation will resolutely act along with other delegations so that through joint efforts and in an atmosphere of understanding and mutual respect the current session may open up sound perspectives for a better world. As recently emphasized by President Nicolae Ceaucescu, the implementation of radical changes in international relations requires that all peoples and progressive and democratic forces everywhere do their utmost in order to ensure the triumph of reason, the achievement of general disarmament, the peaceful settlement of conflicts through negotiations and the development of co-operation on equal terms among all nations.


On behalf of the delegation of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe  and on my own behalf, I have the honour and pleasure to extend to the President our warmest congratulations on his election to preside over the forty-fourth session of the General Assembly. His election is recognition at the international level of his high competence and wide experience as a diplomat and a statesman. It is also testimony to the international community high appreciation of his country, Nigeria, which plays an outstanding role on the African continent in the economic and political spheres. I assure him that my delegation considers it an absolute duty to give its complete support to that outstanding son of Africa in the important mission that has rightly been entrusted to him.
May I take this opportunity to congratulate his predecessor, Mr. Dante Caputo, on his outstanding performance in presiding over the forty-third session, whose highly satisfactory and positive results can in part be attributed to his dedication and commitment to the ideals of the United Nations.
Allow me also to express my admiration and respect for the dynamic and dedicated work undertaken by our Organization's Secretary-General. His activities have made more effective the actions taken b/ the United Nations, actions which have been contributed to the present strengthening of  its credibility and its role at the multilateral level. The Secretary-General should be praised for his far-sightedness, his constant efforts and the courage with which he has been seeking solutions to some of the regional conflicts affecting the world.
We should work towards the objective of transforming the United Nations into a privileged place for multilateral analysis at the political level of the crucial questions confronting the world and mankind. An important and decisive change creating favourable conditions for the realization of the potential of the United Nations is the fact that the great Powers now agree on revitalizing the Organization, which they had underrated for so long. They recognize that the United Nations is an indispensable instrument in the creation of a peaceful and secure world and in the development of international co-operation embracing all peoples and nations in the search for solutions to the problems of the world and its inhabitants.
Peace is the necessary condition for the development of a nation's well being. Without peace, all efforts to increase the material and spiritual well being of men will be in vain.
In the past three years we have travelled a very promising path in that regard. There has been a deep and positive transformation of the international situation. At the basis of that evolution lies the relaxation in relations between the two super-Powers, relations which have gone from a long confrontation and cold war to the attitude of co-operation and understanding that characterizes their relations today. This detente does not seem to have the purely cyclical character that detente had before; we believe that it results from a rational approach to the differences between the two main systems in the world.
We can only come to the unquestionable conclusion that the two rival socio-political systems cannot compete by force of arms in this nuclear era  for that would inexorably lead to the annihilation of the human race. Secondly, as a result of the uncontrolled nuclear and conventional arms race, the political tensions between the two political and military world blocs were compromising the future and the economic balance of the Soviet Union, the United States and the International community as a whole.
Thanks to an awareness of that reality and an understanding of it, a new political and military mentality has begun to gain strength at the international level and to condition the behaviour of several countries in foreign policy, thus making it more and more feasible to have truly peaceful coexistence based on the principles of humanized law - that is, giving priority to universal human values, as opposed to mere ideology.
The first concrete results of that trend are evidenced in the progress achieved in disarmament and in the emphasis being placed on the peaceful solution of regional conflicts.
International security and the Individual security of States cannot be strengthened through accumulation of arms; on the contrary, that can only bring greater insecurity and tension, inevitably leading to a war-like confrontation. Only the reduction of arms in a spirit of trust and multiform co-operation between States can safeguard peace, which is priceless for mankind.
The signing in Washington in December 1987 of the agreement on the dismantling of medium- and short-range nuclear missiles was an event of extraordinary historic importance, as a turning-point in prospects of disarmament, which people from all nations want to see in the form of general and complete disarmament, and the emergence of a peaceful world that will use available human and material resources for the development and happiness of mankind.
Measures have been taken that reveal the political desire of the two super-Powers to move towards the disarmament process. We are hopeful that the so-called Jackson Hole spirit will give an impulse to the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START), the Conference in Geneva and the Vienna talks. But we should be aware that nuclear, chemical and conventional disarmament does not depend only on the super-Powers, and that it will not succeed without the participation of all countries.
We know that we cannot really blame foreign Powers for the bloody ethnic, religious, territorial and political national and international conflicts that engulf third world countries.
It is scandalous that while 30 per cent of the people of Africa, Asia and the Middle East are affected by numerous diseases, or are undernourished, and have a very high illiteracy rate, there are countries that spend 20 per cent of their budgets on armaments, which is much more than they spend on health and education combined.
The improvement in the world-wide political environment is evident. In this regard, it has been possible to obtain some concrete results in the search for peaceful solutions to regional conflicts, even though barriers have been encountered with regard to some cases that started well. Those conflicts constitute an obstacle to the economic and social development efforts of several developing countries, dangerously upset international relations and cause suffering, misery and hunger.
The use of United Nations principles and mechanisms was decisive in the progress achieved during the process leading to a peaceful solution of some conflicts.
Sao Tome and Principe, despite its modest means as a small State, participates in the efforts of the international community to suppress those focal points of tension. Above all, it has played an active role in the efforts to achieve peace in Angola. President Manuel Pinto da Costa was part of a group of eight Heads of State who met in Luanda. He contributed to the analysis and adoption of the peace plan presented by the People's Republic of Angola. That country's Government adopting a courageous and wise attitude, agreed to specific prospects for national reconciliation and the establishment of peace, aware as it was of the martyrdom of its people through almost three decades of war.
A fair and lasting solution was imminent with the approval of the Luanda peace plan at the Summit of 18 Heads of State in Gbadolite, based on the African experience in the solution of similar cases. But external interference caused by foreign interests hostile to the people's cause created some difficulties in the implementation of the obligations then assumed.
However we will continue to work towards an African solution to this painful conflict so that the People's Republic of Angola will finally be able to achieve progress and happiness for its people. We are confident that the process that has been started will proceed until peace is achieved.
Namibia, a neighbouring country of the People's Republic of Angola, from which it received wide support that led to the implementation of Security Council resolution 435 (1978), will shortly accede to independence.
No attempt at sabotage will prevent the Namibian people from finally achieving the objectives for which it fought for so many years. We believe that the South West Africa People's Organization, with the popular support it enjoys, will with pragmatism and realism recognize the aspirations of the Namibian people.
Namibia's independence day will be a historic day for the entire continent. It will mark the end of the dreadful colonial era in Africa. Unfortunately, the day on which the African people will be able to rid its continent of that open wound, that crime against humanity in South Africa called apartheid, is distant and hard to reach.
Despite the very open and promising declarations favouring positive change made by President de Klerk, the international community must continue to pressure South Africa politically, economically and morally because apartheid cannot just undergo some adjustments; apartheid is not reformable: it has to be completely abolished.
If South Africa wishes to initiate a dialogue with South African nationalists for the construction of a democratic and multiracial society, it should immediately free Nelson Mandela and all other political prisoners, cancel interdictions of the African National Congress of South Africa and all other nationalist parties and anti-apartheid organizations and put an end to the state of emergency.
Still addressing the southern African zone-full of economic potential that must await peace and co-operation among all to be profitable - we will firmly support the wise and patriotic decisions of our Mozambican brothers of FRELĪ40, whose aim is to promote national reconciliation and achieve peace through dialogue with their misguided fellow countrymen.
Still regarding the conflicts on the African continent, we welcome the signing on 31 August of the Algerian agreement, which has practically put an end to the Chad-Libya differences in the Aouzou zone, keeping away the spectre of renewed armed confrontation among brotherly peoples.
In Western Sahara, we hope that flexibility will prevail and that it soon be possible to overcome any obstacles that may emerge regarding the carrying out of the ,referendum, for the self-determination of the Saharan people on which interested parties are in accord.
The problem between Senegal and Mauritania was traumatic for all Africans owing to the historical and cultural ties that unite those two neighbouring countries and the nature of the conflict. As always we can rely on the far-sightedness of intervention by President Mubarak for a fait solution of the situation and renewal of harmony between all Senegalese and Mauritanians.
In the Middle East, the position of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PIO) at a meeting of the Palestine National Council, held in Algeria in November 1988, opened wide perspectives, created a new emphasis and stimulated new proposals for the solution of the conflict so that the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and independence can be finally recognized and all people in the region may live in peace and safety within internationally recognized and guaranteed borders. There is near-unanimity within the international community regarding the necessity to consider further steps leading to an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations that will reunite all interested parties, including the PLO, the sole and legal representative of the Palestinian people.
We regret that Iran and Iraq, two countries that belong to the Non-Aligned Movement, after a long and cruel war with heavy human and economic losses, cannot overcome their differences and obstacles to the replacement of confrontation and disagreement with co-operation and solidarity.
The situation in Afghanistan and Cambodia changed qualitatively from the moment the foreign troops left, but to achieve peace it is necessary that internal factions resist the temptation to use force and that they engage in dialogue for the creation of Governments that will represent all political forces without foreign interference.
In Central America, the recent Tela summit, heir to the spirit of Esquipulas II, created solid bases for positive evolution and offered a foretaste of the democracy and peace for which the region yearns.
Notwithstanding hopes regarding the process of eliminating regional tensions, we know we are still far from living in a peaceful and violence-free world in which the interests of every country and people are taken into consideration.
We in Sao Tome and Principe are increasingly concerned about the occupation of East Timor, which makes it impossible for its people to enjoy its legal right to self-determination. We give our support to Portugal as the administering Power in its commendable efforts to find a fair solution to this matter through dialogue with Indonesia under the auspices of the Secretary-General, within the framework of the mandate given to him by the General Assembly in resolution 37/30.
Experts of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development recently announced their conviction, based on analysis of investment, inflation and other data, that the industrialised world has entered a new time of growth similar to that of the 1950s and 1960s.
This has made more apparent and shocking the paradox of the economic situation prevailing in third world countries - and particularly in Africa - which is characterized by a deep and infrastructural crisis. The world previously faced a serious threat from the cold war and the confrontation between the blocs, which could have brought about the nuclear extermination of the whole human race. Even if we have escaped this nightmare with the relaxation of tension between East and West, there remains another threat resulting from the widening economic gap between North and South  the conflict between rich and poor.
Industrialized countries are beginning to understand that this problem should be treated as a global problem affecting all mankind. In fact the international division of labour gives raw material producers little reason for hope in their development efforts, which are paralysed by the accumulation of external debt.
With falling prices of raw materials in the 1980s foreign trade ceased to be a tool for the economic development of our countries. In Sao Tome and Principe we are now living with a serious economic and financial crisis caused by the abrupt fall in the price of our only export product, cocoa. Today, our partners in the North have come to the conclusion that it is unrealistic to insist on total payment of the debt and that it is necessary to reduce or in some cases cancel it. We express our satisfaction at the steps already taken by some industrialized countries. Only by facilitating new capital flows on advantageous terms for poor countries and promoting a reorganization of International economic relations will it be possible to avoid an uncontrollable increase of the debt.
The events that will take place next year ~ that is, the special session of the General Assembly devoted to international economic co-operation, the adoption of the United Nations international strategy for development and the second United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries - should make a significant contribution to this necessary reorganization. The establishment of a more favourable international environment for third world countries will enable them to promote rational utilization of their resources and to adopt modern administrative methods. Above all, since development is essentially a cultural phenomenon which requires the active and free participation of a conscious citizenry, we must fight for the general establishment of democratic Governments that will allow freedom to criticize and the development of the creativity of our people, which is a sine qua non of true development.
In a world of positive political change and phenomenal developments in technology and science which create prospects for a better future for mankind there remain, unfortunately, factors of apprehension and regression.
The illegal consumption of and traffic in drugs causes serious and complex human, social and political problems. The events in Colombia have shown how far the illegal traffic in drugs and the economic power connected with it can put at risk the democratic and constitutional order of a country. Since this is a phenomenon whose tentacles spread to many places in the world, international co-operation is indispensable if the police ace to struggle effectively against this scourge. But the deepest and greatest task will be to try by scientific and multi-disciplinary means to identify and destroy the psychological and social roots of this scourge that leads millions of men and women, mostly young adults, to self-destruction through the consumption of drugs.
terrorism is an irrational form of behaviour in a world that is marching towards the rationalization of its problem  Terrorism constitutes a threat to all countries in the world and the General Assembly, in resolution 40/61, has clearly condemned this Inhuman practice. All members of the International community must co-ordinate their actions in the fight against terrorism and comply with existing anti-terrorist conventions and protocols. No cause can justify the murder of totally innocent men# women end children who have nothing whatsoever to do with these conflicts. No lofty purpose can be achieved through the use of these inhuman means.
Another painful concern of our times is the constant and progressive degradation of our environment# which puts at risk the future of our planet. This is one of the global problems that can be tackled only by means of international co-operation. In this connection# the conference ш environment and development which it is proposed should be convened in 1992 would play a very important role.
We cannot forget that the causes of environmental degradation are different in the North and the South and thus require different remedies. In the majority of the countries of the South there is an extremely disturbing element of disruption of the balance between man and the environment. It is the frequent disproportion between the growing population and the availability of natural resources.
The bicentenary of the French Revolution of 1739, commemorated this year# has always been more than a purely French historic event. The greatest inheritance left by this event to people all over the world was the new idea of an open society, with the abolition of caste and privilege and the confirmation of the rights of men and citizens. It was then that the concept of people as the principal actors in political events began to assume full relevance. The Belgrade declaration last month emphasized the urgent necessity of promoting the rights and freedoms of man and respect for the life, dignity and ideas of individuals.
Contrary to theories that have been expressed# we believe that the major rights of citizens are political rights because only those tights can lead to the enjoyment of other rights. In Sao Tome and Principe, although adequate conditions institutions and mechanisms have not yet been established, we have been taking important measures since our party's decision in October 1987 for the purpose of deepening the democratic process in our country. In the party in power - which is still the only political organization that we have, because of our historical context, but within which we allow for the existence of different currents of thought - and in our society, we have totally and fully guaranteed freedom of expression. In 1990 an electoral and constitutional decision package will crystallize this process.
In conclusion, I should like to emphasize in this United Nations forum in which all the countries of the world, large and small, coexist, our trust and faith in an international community which is increasingly peaceful and economically, socially and spiritually more advanced.
It is my sincere hope that our work at this forty-fourth session of the General Assembly will contribute to the attainment of this objective.