Mr. President, it gives us great satisfaction that the President of this thirty-seventh session of the General Assembly is a representative of Hungary, a nation which has succeeded in preserving its identity in all circumstances.
Mr. Secretary-General, the international community has conferred upon you the highest and most sensitive of its responsibilities in these perilous days. We must therefore all share with you the commitment of our time: peaceful, just and productive coexistence. In facing the challenge of today's unsettled world, I offer you the solidarity of my country.
Mexico sees in the United Nations the best and highest international forum, where it is possible to hope for rationality in the overwhelming presence of the absurd. Since the unparalleled ignominy of the Second World War this has been the only setting in which arguments can be adduced in the light of reason and law to prevent a new conflict that very probably would be our last. It represents the only way to give new impetus to the endeavours of civilization.
If these words seem exaggerated to us today, if the dramatic tone strikes us as anachronistic, let us ponder the fact that less than 40 years have passed since the end of that war. Let us recall that it was preceded, and in fact brought on by, an economic depression and that the despair caused by that serious setback proved to be an evil counsellor of peoples and Governments. Let us remember that before absurdity and death took over there was a slow and gradual debasement of reason and of life itself.

The symptoms are ominous. In recent years we have drifted far from the principles that gave birth to this Organization, in large measure because of the attitude of those who think they can achieve their objectives through the use of force and disregard of the law. They fail to realize that in abandoning the processes of the rational solution of controversies or disputes they bring us all closer to the abyss of violence and anarchy.
Today there is no region that can regard itself as immune from crisis. The tragic conflicts of the South Atlantic and the Middle East bear witness to this. Some areas of the world are in great turmoil. I refer to those where the arrogance of their leaders is imposed on the historical demands of their peoples. We share the indignation and shame of those who, in the face of genocide practised by former victims of genocide, are now protesting against a vile crime that is an affront to mankind. Repetition of the worst excesses of the war has also revived the atmosphere of ignominy and the heavy burden of fatal foreboding.
We note with concern that pressure is being brought to bear on the Members of the United Nations in order to sway their votes. The results that are sometimes achieved indicate the vulnerability of many countries. The negotiating mechanisms prevailing in some agencies of the system raise doubts as to whether they are at the service of those who created them or whether they are inspired by true respect for the sovereignty of States.
Mexico has always been active in and committed to the United Nations, not with the idea that it may be the last resort for the prevention of total destruction but because it is the best means available to us to halt the process that could lead to such an outcome.
This makes it essential to bring together the two fundamental areas of negotiation for which the world is waiting: that which will lead to detente between the two super-Powers and that, which will reorganize relationships among countries with different levels of development. The two conflicts, between East and West and North and South, have, we would repeat, crucified all mankind. Only through a convergence of both areas of negotiations can there be established a new international order, one that includes the process of political decolonization and the fundamental challenge facing international society - economic decolonization. Both types of decolonization are changes attesting to the most profound potential of a human being the attainment of his own dignity.
Mexico's traditional adherence to and promotion of the principles of the United Nations and its contribution to those two major areas of negotiation are well known; evidence of this is the Charter of the Economic Rights and Duties of States, the world energy plan, the International Meeting on Co-operation and Development, which was held at Cancun in October 1981 and the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America.
We have been unflagging in our efforts to give impetus to the development of international instruments to promote disarmament worldwide, particularly in Latin America.
We believe that the arms race and development are in competition with each other, not only as regards the utilization of available resources but also because they represent incompatible approaches: arrogance and inequality, which will lead to annihilation; or tolerance and co-operation, which would make progress possible for all. We know that the funds allocated for technical assistance to developing countries for the next five years amounts to less than will be spent on weapons in the next five days.
Everything would indicate that the world economy is being sacrificed to the arms race. The great Powers are arming themselves even at the expense of their own standards of living, while their adversaries are doing the same. And they are dragging all mankind, which wants not weapons but progress, into this vortex.
Thus is created a Dantesque vicious circle. The greater the tension, the greater the concern for security; the greater the insecurity, the greater the arms expenditure; the greater the concentration of resources in armaments, the greater the impoverishment and social inequality and the greater the political radicalization and tension until the wheel of destruction starts its atavistic cycle all over again.
The strongest Powers may insist on imposing their will upon others and on taking advantage of the power imbalance, which favours them, to strengthen their aspirations to hegemony. But they will not thus subdue moral sensibility; nor will they quell revolution. They will succeed only in fanning the flames of the conflagration that uncontrolled can set fire to everything.
The practical ineffectiveness of the means of collective security is at the very core of armed conflict. Thus, for example, when a weak country is openly threatened by political pressure that is superior to its own strength and it realizes that it cannot rely on the United Nations for protection, it is reduced to the fateful choice between arming itself or being annihilated.
At the same time, when the international community is incapable of generating the minimum conditions needed for general progress, peoples have to choose between the wretchedness of abject subsistence and the harsh road of revolution. Such is the tragedy of Latin America today. Such are the prospects of most of the nations here represented.
At the present moment, rather than an appeal what is needed is a warning: the world is absolutely interdependent, and not one of its parts can be saved if the others are doomed.
Mexico has tirelessly collaborated in the other major area of negotiation, which is aimed at the establishment of a new international economic order. It proposed to the community of nations that it draft a document having legal status that would encompass the doctrine and basic rules of a new model of international relations  the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, which was adopted by the General Assembly almost 10 years ago.
Mexico has recently demonstrated its willingness to commit itself to the struggle for justice and rational coexistence as regards not only global problems or remote conflicts but also issues that affect it very closely and for which it has taken risks and made sacrifices. This is evidenced by the proposal for a world energy plan made by an oil-exporting country during the oil boom and above all by effective co-operation in good times and bad with those countries neighbouring ours that lack such resources.
I consider that the ideas and proposals we put forward in the energy plan are still valid and that it is possible to foster an orderly, progressive, comprehensive and just transition between two epochs of mankind the present one, in which the consumption of hydrocarbons predominates, and the future one, in which the development of new energy resources will have priority. The world energy plan is still a good method for the achievement of the new international economic order.
Even during the present crisis Venezuela and Mexico have moved forward and set an example by reaffirming and renewing the San Jose Agreement to help the countries of Central America and the Caribbean by guaranteeing their supplies of oil and by creating soft loan funds for their development. The $700 million that Mexico alone has earmarked to date for that purpose is granted unconditionally and without distinction and equals the amount that the United States plans to allocate for the same region.
Our willingness to commit ourselves is shown also in our efforts to enhance the possibilities for a negotiated settlement of the social and political conflicts of that same region, notwithstanding the many who would like us to feel threatened and thus be driven by fear to support repression. They forget that Mexico has already had its revolution, which it is continually consolidating, and so has no reason to be afraid of its people's desire for justice. We support and will continue to support detente and negotiated political settlements, with due respect for the parties concerned.
But Mexico's most constant concern and task in the international sphere is the transition to a new economic order.
We have stressed that the entire gamut of economic relations between the developing countries and the industrialized world must be transformed. Those relations have figured on the agendas of many international conferences, but the progress made has not been particularly encouraging. It was therefore our thought to convene a summit meeting of the main industrialized countries and a representative number of developing nations: The idea was for heads of State and Government, rather than negotiating topic by topic, to show their firm political will to take a qualitatively significant step in the stalled negotiations by acknowledging the need to seek this essential new order.
Mexico and Austria worked for more than a year and a half to make possible the Cancun summit meeting. As the process which was to lead to the global round of negotiations became increasingly bogged down, the meeting of the heads of State took on greater importance. We noted alarming indications of a world economic slowdown. Many .countries placed their hopes in Cancun, not because it might result in solutions, but because it was the only forum that could provide the political impetus necessary to revive a suspended process.
The meeting took place almost a year ago and was attended by 22 heads of State and Government, or their representatives.
In an attempt to replace prejudice with sound judgement, and to transform monologue into dialogue and subordination into solidarity, differing points of view regarding our present-day situation were expressed openly and with tolerance for the ideas of others.
At that meeting many of us stated that the lack of harmonious relations was making the world in which we live increasingly perilous for rich countries and implacable and cruel for poor countries. We maintained that progress for all should be a condition for the progress of each individually.
The tragedy of hunger was stressed, and strategies to increase food production and improve food distribution were discussed. The possibility of organizing a fair and balanced trade in raw materials and industrialized goods was set forth. It was not only petroleum markets and prices that were dealt with, but also ways of organizing the exploitation and use of energy sources and of alleviating the financial burden that oil purchases represent for developing countries.
Tragic paradoxes that we have been unable to resolve; were examined in Cancun: recession in the countries of the North, due to, among other things, the lack of a market for goods which are needed by the South but which it cannot purchase because of inadequate financing; liquid funds from the countries of the South that are placed in the North and then loaned to other countries of the South; and the persistence, and even the worsening, of monetary and financial practices which have proven time and again to be inadequate and ineffective, both in the South and in the North.
Faced with such paradoxes, we maintained that financing the joint development of rich and poor countries was not only rational, but the only possible way to achieve a healthy world economy.
We acknowledged, and we say again today, that many of the problems of the South are of the South's own making; but there are other serious constraints that stem from its relations with the North. We see today that the likelihood of such constraints becoming fatal to the world economy has been rapidly increasing since we met at Cancun.
Many things have changed since then. In recent years we have witnessed unprecedented hostility, rhetorical belligerence and lack of understanding between the super-Powers. In 1982 the world saw the outbreak and escalation of actual armed conflict in many areas. Such conflicts are irrational in every case and should be of serious concern to us, both because of their very existence and because of the relative ease with which they are coming about.
What most concerns and affects the majority of countries, however, is the extremely serious deterioration of the international economy, particularly in the poor countries, where three quarters of the world's population lives and where the consequences of the crisis are felt in tragic measure.
Steadily decreasing income due to the plunge in the prices of raw materials on the one hand, and higher interest rates and shorter terms of repayment on the other, are the two blades of the shears that threaten to slash the momentum achieved in some countries and to cut off the chances for progress in the others.
In fact it is generally recognized that the world is now in the throes of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Growth rates, both in industrialized countries and in the developing world are at the lowest levels recorded in recent decades. Rampant unemployment, endemic in poor countries, has now become widespread in the most powerful nations as well. All over the world, men and women who had jobs are losing them. The reduction of inflation achieved in certain countries through huge sacrifices in employment does not mean that the problem has been overcome. The brutal rise in interest rates over the last three years has not only created an intolerable burden for debtor nations, but has also given rise to speculation and a flight of capital which are uncontrollable and of unforeseen magnitude.
The events of the past few years have more than confirmed the need to tackle energy problems in a comprehensive manner and in close co-ordination with the other areas of the world economy. Petroleum sales abruptly shifted from a seller's to a buyer's market, which resulted in surpluses that have again caused prices to fall and have discouraged efforts to bring about a transition in the field of energy.
The disarray has been detrimental to the oil- producing countries and has been a victory for no one, since it is but another factor in the crisis. The decline in available financial resources caused by lower petroleum prices has led us from an unresolved energy crisis to a financial crisis that is deepening the recession and threatening the stability of the international monetary system.
Spectres arise in this panorama, spectres which could seriously threaten the world if the present trend continues. The most dangerous of these threats is that the social pressures created by economic dislocations could reach the point of exploding. We should recall that developing countries have no so-called social- security and crisis-control systems such as those which exist in the developed world. We cannot afford, and therefore do not have, unemployment insurance or extensive public welfare programmes.

A second spectre that appears to be dangerously near at hand is a North-South and North-North crisis in trade in both basic and industrial commodities. We all want to export more in order to solve our problems, and we all want to import less to avoid a drain on our foreign exchange reserves and our domestic markets. When the entire world is in the midst of a severe recession, the only exportable item is the crisis itself. If recession in industrialized countries continues to push down the prices of raw materials and to restrict the entry of manufactured goods from the South, both our problems and theirs will become more critical.
The favourable trade balance of the industrialized countries as a whole has become the major feature of the international economic order, with the exception of a period of less than 10 years of positive balances for some oil-exporting countries. It is therefore inevitable that the vast majority of developing countries have a negative trade balance.
To maintain the flow of trade in these circumstances necessarily implies the establishment of credit flows that would make it possible to pay the industrialized countries for goods and services. To sustain growth in the countries of the South and maintain employment in the countries of the North, the amount of such credit must continually increase; this is even more the case if the cost of the accumulated debt increases as a result of higher interest rates.
Reduced availability of credit for the developing countries has serious implications not only for those countries but also for production and employment in the industrial countries. Let us not continue in this vicious circle, since it could well be the start of a new Dark Ages, with no possibility of a Renaissance.
Here we have a third threat. I refer to the serious problem of the lack of co-ordination in the international financial system. As everyone knows, several heavily indebted countries, among them Mexico, have recently been obliged to begin renegotiating their foreign debt.
This is a paradox that makes us reflect on the fact that the growth of many of the countries of the South is now being criticized by the very countries that made loans to them for that purpose and that are now haggling over extending the credit needed for continued growth, although only such growth will make it possible for the former countries to repay the latter and to buy from them.
Today, Mexico and many other third world countries will be unable to comply with the payment schedule agreed upon in conditions quite different from those that now prevail.
Suspension of payments is to nobody's advantage and nobody wants it. But whether or not this will happen is beyond the will and, thus, the responsibility of the debtors. Everyone must negotiate seriously, carefully and realistically. The international financial system consists of several parts: lenders, borrowers and guarantors; it is tied to those that produce and those that consume, those that buy and those that sell. It is everybody's responsibility and it must be shouldered by everybody. Common situations produce similar positions, with no need for conspiracies or intrigues. We developing countries do not wish to become vassals. We cannot paralyse our economies or plunge our peoples into greater misery in order to pay debt, the servicing of which has tripled without our participation or responsibility and the conditions of which were imposed upon us. We countries of the South are about to run out of chips; if we cannot stay in the game, it will end in defeat for everyone.
I wish to be emphatic: we countries of the South have not sinned against the world economy. Our efforts to grow in order to conquer hunger, disease, ignorance and dependency have not caused the international crisis. A more immediate cause is the decision to arm, to fight force with force, dragging all the economies, directly or indirectly, towards this senseless objective.
But we can overcome the crisis.
It will be done more quickly if we can count on the rational support of the international financial community rather than reluctance or punishment for sins we have not committed.
Such support will be of benefit to both creditors and debtors, for we all belong to one world, in which, if we are all part of the problem, we are also part of the solution. We need foreign exchange to make payments and' purchases. Our opposite numbers also need to buy in order to make collections and sales. This is a healthy relationship which is to everyone's advantage. It is that simple.
Mexico is a good illustration of various North- South problems because of its dual situation as a country on the threshold of development and in its geographical location and because of the domestic and international prospects as regards its petroleum resources.
In recent years we have made every effort to meet the needs of our population by developing its great productive potential, in conjunction with the needs of the world economy and supported by substantial external financing. For four years we grew at a rate of over 8 per cent annually, we doubled our installed industrial capacity, we rose from eighteenth to fourth place among oil-producing countries, we tripled hydrocarbon production during that period and we undertook the urgent task of intensive social development, thereby generating more than 4 million jobs not only to absorb the existing unemployed but to provide work for new generations.
The greatest growth in our history was dramatically interrupted in 1981. Our plans, which had been programmed and budgeted for on the basis of four successive fiscal years, suddenly could no longer be financed because of a drop in the price of raw materials, including petroleum, and because of higher interest rates on the already contracted external debt, the cost of servicing which tripled. A pernicious sequence of inflation, devaluations and mounting prices and wages put a brake on our prosperity. In just three years the flight of capital became double the total of foreign investment in our country. Thus, because of the financial system and free exchange, facilitated by our proximity to the wealthiest country in the world, our reserves were exhausted. It is easy to say that, but for 70 million Mexicans who had begun to look forward to better times it is a brutal reality. Our way of being, of acting and managing our affairs, has been distorted in the news media, which have made us appear to the eyes of the world a country incapable of shaping its destiny and incompetent in administering its resources, so that the alternative would have to be our subordination to the ruthless ambition of outside Powers. Developing countries like Mexico have suffered countless such experiences. Many of our problems are made worse by tendentious reports which bring on the results they announce.
After major attempts to correct this economic situation, my Government decided to attack the root of the evil and extirpate it once and for all. There was obviously an inconsistency between internal development policies and an erratic and restrictive international financial structure. A reasonable growth policy could not be reconciled with freedom to speculate in foreign exchange. We therefore established exchange control. Given our 3,000-kilometre border with the United States, exchange control can only function through a banking system that operates on the basis of the policies of its country and Government and not its own speculative interests and the fluctuations of international financial chaos. For that reason we have nationalized the banks. We have been a living example of what happens when that enormous, volatile and speculative mass of capital ranges over the world in search of high interest rates, tax havens and supposed political and exchange stability. It decapitalizes entire countries and leaves destruction in its wake. The world should be able to control this; it is inconceivable that we cannot find a formula that, without limiting necessary movements and flows, would permit regulation of a phenomenon that damages everyone. It is imperative that the new international economic order establish a link between refinancing the development of countries that suffer from the flight of capital and the capital that has left those countries. At least they should have the crumbs from their own loaves.
In the face of these dramatic realities, we are lectured about economic liberalism at all costs, which is not applied even in the countries that most passionately defend it. On the contrary, the danger of losing their national integrity has led many Governments among them, our own to intensify their economic reforms and to strengthen the role of the State in directing their national economies; these are cases of legitimate self-defence.
Mexico is open to negotiation in every sphere and every forum. We have the resources, tradition and historical background to reinforce the principles laid down by our social and popular revolution. We are sure that, as a country bordering both the North and the South, our fate is of concern not only to Mexicans but to all developing countries. To all of them I say that we must hold our heads high and stand together, today and always, in dignity and with our shared endeavours and our shared hopes.
Never has the principle of sovereignty over natural resources and economic processes been more valid than now. The terms of the debased relations that we suffer could lead to the dissolution of sovereignty itself. The interference of transnational corporations, the growing concentration of financial facilities, the subordination of the banking systems to the great metropolitan cities, the massive outflow of capital and the imitation of models alien to our development endanger the very existence of States.
Although its formal links have been broken, dependency persists, and the pattern of domination on which the colonial regime was founded has even been reinforced. The concentration of wealth and power increases, while vast regions of the world become ever more impoverished. In the present situation the machinery of international co-operation that we have devised has been useful in soothing some troubled consciences, but it has proved altogether incapable of solving the serious everyday structural problems.
The charges levelled by the countries of the South in this respect were accurate and far-sighted. In proposing a new order, we sought a profound institutional reform capable of rechanneling international economic relations. We should have liked to avoid the tremendous deterioration of recent years and to have eased the crisis. But it is never too late.
Throughout history, major transformations usually occurred when there was no other course to take, which accounts for the distance that separates prophets from revolutionaries. Major ills call for major remedies.
International economic relations should be reviewed judiciously and with a sense of commitment. Let us not look for culprits but, rather, find people who will take responsibility for the future. The tracing of the ultimate cause of our ills is a task for historians and research workers, not for political leaders.
The assumption of that immense task of political and economic integration requires a change in attitude. Until now ideological Manichaeism, which nurtures the hegemony of the great Powers, has prevailed.
There has been a tendency to impose the same system of the past, and in a tense dialectical relationship as yet unresolved, the doctrines and strategies of change have been in confrontation with vested interests, love of compromise for its own sake, and the conservative instincts of empires that never end. Therefore, the global economic negotiations must provide the opportunity to reconcile these opposing views in approaches compatible with the needs of the present. The necessity to convene these negotiations is urgent; they cannot be postponed.
Nor can the alleged dispute between the specialized agencies of the system and the sovereignty of the Assembly be put forward as an excuse for delaying the dialogue. All the United Nations bodies have been created by our sovereign decision; all of them function within a given legal framework, and are to be respected.
The justification for these international bodies is not to be found in the perpetuation of undesirable inequalities, but in the search for rational solutions to the crucial issues of our time  disarmament, collective security and development.
The United Nations was created in a different era and the Organization and its Members now find themselves at the crossroads. We have the forum we deserve and there is no other. If we do not know how to use it to overcome the crisis and establish a more equitable order, and above all one compatible with our times, there will be no further opportunity. Global negotiations should begin immediately, and they should be conducted thoroughly, with a serious intention of reaching agreement. World peace and security are threatened to an even greater extent today. We must safeguard them at all costs. Any solution or concession is preferable to the alternative. We cannot afford to fail. Something tremendous is at stake here, not only the heritage of civilization, but the very survival of our children, of future generations, of mankind itself.
Let us make what is reasonable possible. Let us recall the tragic conditions in which the Organization was created and the hopes that we placed in it. The place is here and the time is now.
Let us hope that the logical confrontations of pluralism, the understandable outbursts of dissidence, compounded by the frustration of impotence, and the unavoidable delays in negotiations do not nullify the highest good represented by the United Nations.

Let us not resign ourselves to the United Nations becoming bogged down in formal procedures, while outside pressures are brought to bear to satisfy selfish interests unable to withstand the test of inclusion in an international legal order.
We are all part of this union. It is as strong as we wish to make it, particularly those who have the real power and therefore the ultimate responsibility. We have never created anything better or more efficient. Again and again I shall repeat what I have said here. This is the time to decide whether mankind belongs to the powerful or the powerful to mankind. That has never been truer than now. We shall know the answer here, and in the centuries to come people will bear witness to it.


81.	It is with great pleasure and
satisfaction that I extend to the President of
the General Assembly the congratulations of
Austria on his election. We welcome him as the
representative of a country with which we enjoy
close neighborly human, cultural and historical
ties. Our two countries have demonstrated to the
world in a clear and tangible manner that
friendship and mutual tolerance can transcend
ideological and political boundaries.
82.	His rich political and diplomatic
experience, long involvement with the work of the
United Nations and well-known commitment to
dialogue and compromise assure us that the
General Assembly will be guided in an objective
and constructive manner.
83.	We should also like to thank his
predecessor, Mr. Kittani, who presided over the
General Assembly with particular tact and skill
under most trying circumstances.
84.	I further wish to seize this opportunity
to express my gratitude to the Secretary-General
for his untiring work in his high office during a
year fraught with tension, crises and conflicts.
We are very grateful for his official visit to
our country and for his support of Vienna's
status as one of the three main United Nations
centers. We sincerely admire the courage and
frankness with which he has analyzed, in his
first report on the work of the Organization, the
state of the world and of the United Nations. We
agree completely with his conclusion that we are
perilously near to a new international anarchy .
85.	The thirty-seventh session of the General
Assembly has been convened against the
background of severe crises in international
relations. Rarely before has world peace been
threatened from so many sides. The conflicts in
the Middle East, the continuing armed
interventions in Afghanistan and Kampuchea, the
crises in Central America and in various parts of
Africa, the Falklands and the situation in Poland
are only a few examples. The confrontation
between East and West continues, the disarmament
process and the North-South dialogue are
stagnating, human rights violations and acts of
terror proliferate and every new day brings more
bloodshed and human suffering.
86.	How can we break this vicious circle of
violence and destruction? Are we really condemned
to impotence, passivity and frustration?
87.	The difficulty with the present situation
lies in the fact that we are faced with three
closely related global phenomena: a world
political crisis, a world economic crisis and a
crisis of international organizations.
88.	Today more and more voices speak of the''
irrelevance of the United Nations. They denounce
the Organization's inability to live up to its
mandate. The public continues to judge the United
Nations by its capacity to produce solutions to
major conflicts. Too often they overlook the
fruitful work done by the United Nations and the
specialized agencies in all fields of
international co-operation. All important world
political issues can be discussed at the United
Nations. The United Nations provides the
framework for dealing with all major problems of
mankind. Furthermore, for smaller States not
protected by alliances and dependent upon their
own resources for their security, the United
Nations, despite all imperfections, remains the
only global forum where they can seek and hope to
find the support of the international community
for their legitimate concerns.
89.	The United Nations is no more than the
collective will of its Members. It is far from
being a world Government. Therefore we must not
be more critical of international organizations
than we are of States. The responsibility for a
solution to the three-fold global crisis lays not
so much with international organizations as with
each individual State. Finally, political
morality must also play a role in world politics.
One of the most important missions of the United
Nations is to uphold ideas and principles, even
when so-called realities stand in their way. We
therefore firmly support all efforts to
strengthen the authority of the United Nations
and that of the Secretary-General, the Security
Council and the General Assembly.
90.	The Secretary-General can count on the
full support of Austria in the implementation of
his proposals, in particular those concerning the
preventive intervention of the Security Council
in the early stages of international crises and a
more forthright role for the Secretary-General.
We also support his suggestions regarding the
strengthening of peace-keeping operations. As a
country with traditional ties to the United
Nations peace-keeping systemómore than 15,000
Austrian soldiers have so far served with the
United Nations peace-keeping forcesówe have a
vital interest in this area.
91.	We feel that all the considerations
submitted to us by the Secretary-General are of
great importance and crucial to the future of the
Organization. They should receive high priority
and be pursued further, perhaps by a working
group. Austria would be very happy to participate
in any such endeavor.
92.	The maintenance of peace is one of the
major aims of our foreign policy. As President
Kirchschlager has repeatedly emphasized, peace
begins at home. Democracy and tolerance, human
rights and social justice, conciliation and
renunciation of the use of force are the
principles that must be implemented to guarantee
domestic peace. The Austrian Federal Government's
political program is based on these principles.
93.	Peace at home is the prerequisite for
peace among neighbors. At a time when
international tension is increasing, Austria
attributes particular importance to a
good-neighbor policy to improve and deepen
relations with its neighbors irrespective of
their social' and political systems. We hope
therefore to contribute also to security and
stability in Europe and in the world. Our
good-neighborly relations with Switzerland,
Liechtenstein, Italy and the Federal Republic of
Germany, which are all committed to a pluralistic
and democratic system, as well as with Yugoslavia
and Hungary, have developed along very positive
lines. As a result of pragmatic efforts on both
sides, there is now also reason to hope for
continuous improvement in our relations with
Czechoslovakia, which in 1981 were overshadowed
by a number of problems.
94.	With regard to Italy, our policy of
establishing good-neighborly relations with all
countries has been actively supported by the
United Nation. General Assembly resolutions 1497
(XV) of 31 October 1960 and 1661 (XVI) of 28
November 1961 on the question of South Tyrol
brought about negotiations which in 1969 led to a
new framework of autonomy for South Tyrol.
95.	Since that time South Tyrol has
undoubtedly obtained a significant amount of
autonomy. Nevertheless certain problems remain
unresolved. Some of these are of particular
significance for the preservation of the South
Tyrolean ethnic group; in particular, the
language question and the autonomous section in
Bozen of the Administrative Court. Last year
Prime Minister Spadolini gave assurances that
have not yet been carried out. The Austrian
Federal Government wishes to express its firm
expectation that the measures already agreed upon
in 1969 and not yet implemented will be carried
out as early as possible and in close
consultation with the South Tyroleans. We do so
in view of the quality of Austro-Italian
relations, the positive outcome of my talks with
Foreign Minister Colombo on 27 July of this year
in Venice and the latest statement of the Italian
Government, which has declared its determination
to seek solutions acceptable to the ethnic
minorities and to bring the entire matter to an
early conclusion. We hope that this will not
remain a dead letter and that a settlement will
be achieved in the very near future. We cannot
ignore the fact that such a settlement has also
become urgent considering the increasing anxiety
among the South Tyrolean population.
96.	Good-neighborly relations are essential,
but they are not enough. We must see the world as
a whole. Austria is therefore making every effort
to restore the policy which has been described by
the term detente and was so beneficial to
Austria, Europe and the world. Of course, when we
speak of detente we do not mean a policy of
appeasement but rather continuous efforts to
achieve a modus vivendi for coexistence and
co-operation.
97.	In this connection the success of the
Madrid follow-up conference to the Conference on
Security and Co-operation in Europe would be of
great importance. Austria, together with other
neutral and non- aligned countries of Europe, has
submitted a substantial and balanced draft final
document which provides inter alia for the
convening of a conference on confidence-building
and security-building measures in Europe. We
believe that a positive result in Madrid on the
basis of these proposals would be in the interest
not only of detente in general but also of
Poland, whose people have suffered such
deplorable set-backs in their development as a
result of the imposition of martial law. Austria
understands the difficulty of Poland's problems
today. Together we must find a way to revive
Poland's economy. Federal Chancellor Kreisky has
expressed ideas for comprehensive action by East
and West to help Poland overcome its enormous
economic difficulties.
98.	Efforts to achieve detente cannot and
must not be limited to one continent, detente
must be universal. In the age of interdependence
and given the global dimensions of international
politics, Austria cannot and does not want to
content itself with the role of a mere observer
of world events. Every country's security depends
on the security of others. Security cannot be
achieved against one another but only with one
another.
99.	Austria's position on the Middle East
question is well known and has been repeatedly
presented in detail before the Assembly. We
continue to believe that the core of the problem
is a just settlement of the Palestinian question
We see some encouraging signs: the joint
declaration of the Arab States in Fez based on
the concept of mutual recognition; the statement
of President Reagan of the United States; and the
growing perception that the Palestinian question
demands a just settlement which respects the
rights and interests of both sides. Austria
welcomes the United States President's initiative
as an historic move. It also recognizes the
importance of the results of the Fez Summit
Conference and Mr. Brezhnev's statement of 15
September 1982. We hope that a negotiating
process will now be initiated and will finally
lead to a balanced and lasting solution.
100.	Austria has followed the tragic events in
Lebanon with great concern. We deeply regret and
condemn the use of force, which has claimed
thousands of human lives. We have strongly
condemned the continuing Israeli invasion of
Lebanon, which is causing inconceivable
suffering among the civilian population and
giving rise to new misery and new streams of
refugees. Another proof of the indiscriminate
nature of the attacks of the Israeli army in
Lebanon is the shelling of the Austrian Embassy,
which is located outside military target zones.
100. Austria learned with horror and
consternation of the recent massacres of
Palestinian men, women and children in the area
of Beirut. We are deeply shocked by these
atrocities. At the seventh emergency special
session on Palestine. Austria had an opportunity
to condemn this crime. Nevertheless, I would like
to stress once again the necessity and the
responsibility of the United Nations to ensure a
Ml investigation and clarification of these
criminal acts. In a letter addressed to the
President of the Security Council on 21
September, proposed on behalf of the Austrian
Government the establishment of an impartial and
objective investigation commission. We expect
that this proposal, which in the meantime has
found general support in the General Assembly in
the adoption of resolution ES-7/9, will be
implemented as early as possible.
101.	Austria feels strong solidarity with
Lebanon and its severely tried people. The
withdrawal of all foreign troops and the
restoration of the full sovereignty and
territorial integrity of the country is an
absolute necessity. We hope that national
reconciliation will be achieved in Lebanon,
which will make possible the reconstruction of
that war-torn country. We will contribute as much
as we can to the attainment of this goal.
102.	Austria continues to be concerned about
the fate of the Cambodian people, which has
suffered both tremendous human rights violations
and foreign intervention. As President of the
International Conference on Kampuchea, I feel a
special responsibility in this regard. I had the
opportunity to talk with the parties involved in
the conflict and to obtain a first-hand picture
of the present situation in Cambodia. I see the
initiation of a dialogue between Viet Nam and the
members of the Association of South-East Asian
Nations as a positive development. I have always
been convinced that the Cambodian problem can be
solved only by a dialogue involving all parties.
Dialogue is important, but tangible results must
follow. The International Conference on Kampuchea
has created the framework for a comprehensive
political settlement. The Declaration and
resolution of the Conference should be viewed as
a package incorporating two key elements: the
complete withdrawal of foreign troops from
Cambodia and a guaranteed the Cambodian people's
right to self-determination. This implies the
possibility freely to elect a Government.
Therefore, no faction should receive any
advantage in those elections or be placed at any
disadvantage, and all outside influences must
definitely be excluded. Internationally
controlled elections alone must determine the
composition of the future Government. This should
be the basis for the reconstruction of a free
and independent Cambodia, free from outside
intervention from any side and assured of its
place in a zone of peace, freedom and neutrality
in South-East Asia. I appeal to all parties
involved to make every effort to support the
goals of the International Conference on
Kampuchea in order to build a better future for
this long-suffering country.
103.	Apart from all the political problems of
Cambodia, there is another issue of particular
concern: the gradual decay of the latest temple
city in the world, Angkor Wat. The present
political situation must not prevent urgently
needed international rescue measures. The
splendid structures of Angkor Wat are part of the
common heritage of mankind. New ways must be
found to rescue them. Granting UNESCO the right
to intervene to save endangered cultural
monuments would be an appropriate approach.
UNESCO's role in protecting the cultural heritage
of mankind could be similar to that of the Red
Cress in the area of humanitarian protection.
104.	Austria remains convinced that the world
economic crisis, which particularly affects the
developing countries, can be overcome only by a
major cooperative effort by industrial and
raw-material- producing States to alleviate
poverty in the third world. I am referring here
to the proposal wade by Federal Chancellor
Kreisky at the International Meeting on
Co-operation aid Development, held in October
198i in Cancun. As one of the initiators of that
meeting, we hope that agreement can soon be
reached to revive the North-South dialogue.
105.	Our commitment to human rights needs no
reiteration. The figures creak for themselves. In
1981 alone 35,000 refugees came to Austria. This
year, 1982, our expenditures on assistance to
refugees are expected to amount to about $100
million. On behalf of the Austrian Federal
Government, I should like to thank sincerely
those countries which have helped by offering a
new home to many of these refugees. Austria will
continue to care for people seeking assistance in
desperation. Despite economic difficulties, we
consider it a moral obligation, an essential
element of our humanitarian policy, to continue
to offer a haven of freedom and a source of hope.
106. Disarmament is a topic of the greatest
interest to the Austrian public and to me
personally. Austria, which is constitutionally
committed to permanent neutrality, cannot remain
indifferent in the face of the accelerating arms
race between East and West and in the third
world. In 1981 alone military expenditures
totaled $600 billion to $650 billion. And there
is a trend towards these expenditures continuing
to increase in the future. We are deeply
convinced that this tendency has to be reversed
and that the vicious circle of mistrust and arms
build-up must be broken our goal must be common
security, as stated in the Palme report:^
International security must rest on a commitment
to joint survival rather than on a threat of
mutual destruction.
107. If we agree that military strength is no way
to guarantee genuine and lasting security, the
alternative can only be closer international
co-operation. Cooperation creates confidence and
mutual dependence, and both, in turn, strengthen
security. Developments in Western Europe since
the Second World War are proof of that fact.
Traditional enemies have been brought together
into a comprehensive system of cooperation which
transcends the economic sphere and creates
manifold ties between peoples. As a consequence
of Western European co-operation, shaped around
institutions such as the European Community and
the Council of Europe, war among these nations
has become inconceivable today.
108.	The Final Act of Helsinki constitutes a
new basis for co-operation and peaceful
coexistence. The historical experience of one
continent is not necessarily transferable to
others, but I am convinced that the methods and
instruments of co-operation developed in Europe
could serve as models for other regions also.
109.	Another threatening feature of the
present arms race is the fact that it is no
longer confined to earth alone; it is
increasingly being carried into outer space.
During the last decade more than 1,700 military
satellites have been put into orbit. At least
three quarters of all the satellites in space are
being used for military purposes. In view of the
growing concern of the international community,
the Second United Nations Conference on the
Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
UNISPACE 82, which took place under my
chairmanship in Vienna in August, recommended
that the General Assembly and the Committee on
Disarmament give high priority to measures for
the prevention of an arms race in space.
110. I appeal to all States to conclude
agreements aimed at banning all weapons from
outer space. I have already presented Austria's
position on all major aspects of this vital issue
at the twelfth special session, the second
special session on disarmament. Today I wish to
emphasize just one point which, in our view, can
be of great significance for the reduction of
mistrust, namely, the development of
internationally recognized mechanisms for the
objective establishment and evaluation of the
state of armaments at the regional, interregional
and global levels. Austria has submitted a
memorandum on this matter to all Member States. I
should like to ask delegations to work with us on
the further development and elaboration of this
proposal.
111.	Let us be frank: the second special
session on disarmament was a failure. We note
this with great disappointment. However, the
dangerous world situation, the commitment to the
survival of all and the increased awareness of
world public opinion force us to continue our
efforts to achieve disarmament as a matter of
absolute priority. The goal of these efforts must
remain a genuine balance at the lowest level,
taking into account all weapon systems and
regions. In this connection we welcome the
resumption of the Soviet-American negotiations in
Geneva on intermediate-range nuclear forces and
strategic arms reductions.
112.	World crisis, the absence of peace and
justice and the progressive militarization of
international relations are the breeding ground
for new violence and terrorism. Terrorism, which
we condemn most firmly and for which there is no
justification, must be repressed but it must also
be prevented. We must strike at the roots of
terrorism wherever human rights are constantly
violated, wherever social injustice is
perpetuated and wherever political convictions
cannot be expressed in a democratic manner, the
seeds of violence will grow. Violence breeds
violence and injustice breeds injustice.
113.	What can we do to prevent it? Every
citizen and every Government in the world bears
direct responsibility for peace at home and
abroad. Our good example is the prerequisite for
peaceful coexistence between individuals and
peoples and for fruitful cooperation. It is only
through co-operation that we shall be able to
meet the great challenges of our time: peace,
disarmament, respect for human rights,
development, social justice and the elimination
of violence and terrorism. We welcome all
activities, and particularly those of the peace
movements which aim to translate into reality the
principles and goals of the Charter.
114.	Pope John Paul II in his address at the
17th meeting of the thirty-fourth session of the
General Assembly said:  I would like to express
the wish that, in view of its universal
character, the United Nations will never cease to
be the forum, the high tribune, from which all
man's problems are appraised in trust and
justice.  In the spirit of that statement, I
should like to express my earnest hope that the
United Nations, to which there is no alternative,
will play an ever more important role in
achieving a just and lasting system of world
peace.


It is a tradition at the United Nations for its
Members to gather at the General Assembly to
reflect upon the manner in which they plan to
shoulder the responsibilities incumbent upon them
in guiding the fate of mankind. However, there is
no doubt that such collective reflection can bear
fruit only if it is pursued in the light of the
goals that have been set. This session, more than
any other, is of great importance for the Central
African Republic in appreciating the efforts the
Organization has made out its mission.
I am also very pleased, Mr. President, to convey
to you and, through you, to the Assembly, the
wishes for complete success from General Andre
Kolingba, President of the Military Committee of
National Reconstruction and head of State, who,
together with the people of the Central African
Republic, has a profound trust and renewed faith
in the Organization. It also gives me great
pleasure to congratulate you, Sir, on behalf of
the delegation it is my honor to head, on your
important election to the presidency of the
thirty-seventh session of the General Assembly.
Your great personal qualities will, I am certain,
lead to the success of our work.
I should like to address my sincere
congratulations to the outgoing President, Mr.
Kittani, for the dynamism, competence aid
efficiency with which he guided the previous
session of the Assembly.
It gives me pleasure to renew my congratulations
to the Secretary-General, Mr. Perez de Cuellar,
and to assure him that the Central African
Republic stands ready to support the efforts he
is undertaking with fervor, conviction and
courage in the daily accomplishment of his tasks.
Lastly, my country wishes to express its
appreciation to the former Secretary-General, Mr.
Kurt Waldheim, for his devotion to the cause of
the United Nations during his term of office.
Although States with different social and
political systems may experience certain problems
in coexisting within the United Nations, it is
none the less true that such diversity clearly
testifies to the vitality of the Organization.
And although some of those problems, by their
very nature, often constitute an outright
challenge, the imperatives of the well-being of
mankind demand from us a concerted search for
ways and means of strengthening the
Organization's capacity to act. To that end, the
United Nation: should not only be an instrument
for making the international political climate
more healthy, it should be, above all, an
instrument for economic and social development.
That twofold wish which, in the view of my
delegation, lies at the core of our concerns and
forms the framework of United Nations doctrine,
has inspired the two themes of the message I have
been entrusted to deliver to the Assembly for its
consideration.
Created at the outset as an instrument for
improving the international political climate, as
it was of the common will of States that cherish
peace and justice, the Organization has
unfortunately been constant prey to the harsh
daily reality of intolerance and violence. In
many parts of the world, particularly in southern
Africa, the Middle East, South-East Asia and
Latin America, the emergence of conflicts creates
hotbeds of tension whose persistence is inimical
to peaceful and fraternal coexistence.
Some people even today, 22 years after the
adoption of General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV)
continue the struggle for their human dignity and
freedom. The distressing situation which prevails
in southern Africa is a clear example of this.
In this connection, my (delegation believes that
the accession to sovereignty of territories still
under colonial and racist domination can only
promote the universality of the Organization.
Therefore, the improvement of the political
climate requires, first, the elimination of all
forms of domination now existing in the world,
which today are considered to be contrary to
international morality. That is why the Central
African Republic believes that Namibia should as
soon as possible-and why should this not be in
1983- accede to independence in accordance with
the spirit and letter of Security Council
resolution 435 (1978).
In Lebanon and the Falkland Islands (Malvinas),
in a period of less than four months this year,
the international community witnessed and
remained powerless in the face of a tragedy most
of whose victims were innocent people. In one
case there was aggression by force in an attempt
to thwart the aspirations of a people, in
flagrant violation of international rules; in the
other case there was an express refusal to have
recourse to the principle of the peaceful
settlement of disputes.
In the case of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas),
my country appeals to the good sense of the
interested parties to begin direct negotiations,
if necessary with the participation and the good
offices of the Secretary-General.
Recent events in the Middle East can be described
by only one word, horror. The massacres at Sabra
and Shatila, despicable acts directed at women,
children and the elderly, constitute nothing less
than the crime of genocide, which no country that
supports the ideals of the United Nations can
tolerate. I wish to reiterate from this rostrum
my country's condemnation of that abject act
which compounds other attempts by the State of
Israel to contain the just struggle of the
Palestinian people, through the PLO, for
self-determination. The life of wandering forced
on that people cannot continue. That is why my
country continues to support Security Council
resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) as the
basis for an acceptable solution to the conflict
in the Middle East.
Because the United Nations has been paralyzed and
unable to act in that region at this critical
stage, it has become more urgent than ever, as
suggested in the report of the Secretary-General
on the work of the Organization, to strengthen
the capacity of the Organization to accomplish
its mission. The Central African Republic
considers that it is necessary to restore to the
Security Council its role as the guarantor of
international peace and security and,
furthermore, to reconsider the mechanics that
govern its operation, because the important
changes that have occurred on the international
scene since the San Francisco Conference, call
for the establishment of a balance in the
decision-making process.
Improvement of the international climate, as I
have said, means, in the final analysis, the
maintenance of world peace and security.
33. The United Nations, through the organ
competent in that area, is frequently called upon
in the case of a threat to peace. The
unsatisfactory results of sessions devoted to
disarmament reduce the chances of consolidating
and preserving peace. States continue to devote
enormous sums to armaments, while two thirds of
the people of the world live in poverty. The
struggle for world supremacy, which is called
hegemonism, is pursued inexorably, leading to the
research into, manufacture, and qualitative and
quantitative stockpiling of weapons of mass
destruction. This phenomenon, added to everything
covered by the key word "deterrence", seriously
compromises peace and security in many regions of
the world. That is why the Central African
Republic encourages all new initiatives designed
to curb the arms race and help to improve the
international climate.
36. Although a sovereign State may freely choose
a given system, certain Powers continue to
interfere in their internal affairs, using the
weapons of blackmail and threat. Are we to infer
from that that the principles which govern
international relations need be observed and
applied only by the weak countries? That is the
question my delegation wishes to put to the
Assembly.
Between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran, in
Western Sahara, in Democratic Kampuchea and in
Afghanistan armed conflicts persist which
threaten peace in those regions of the world.
Nevertheless, the Charter commits nations to
settling their differences by peaceful means. We
firmly believe in the virtues of dialogue and
appeal urgently to the various protagonists in
these conflicts to resort to it.
With regard to the Korean problem, the North- South joint communique
of 1972 advocates direct negotiations between the
two parties, free of all foreign interference.
That historic document, constitutes in the view
of my delegation, a valuable basis on which to
seek a just and lasting solution. The Central
African Republic welcomes the strenuous efforts
made by the parties to the conflict to lay the
basis for the constructive, fruitful dialogue
which is so sincerely desired so that the
question of their simultaneous admission to the
United Nations can be considered again, without
prejudice to the principle of reunification, in
keeping with the wishes of their peoples.
The present international situation gives no
cause for optimism because the world political
order is being challenged by another factor: the
unequal development of the members of the
international community. This is the second part
of my message.
The United Nations should devote itself
increasingly to the economic and social
development of Member States. Indeed, how can we
not be moved by the problems caused by the world
economic crisis, which is seriously affecting
third world countries? These include: increasing
balance-of-payments imbalances, the constant
deterioration in the terms of trade; the
excessive burden of their foreign debts; the
insecurity of their food supplies; and the
disorganization of the present monetary system.
All these factors, which indicate the
interdependence of States, should lead the
"haves" to seek more actively, together with the
"have not", new bases for a restructuring of
international economic relations.
On the contrary, however, we are witnessing a
very marked re-emergence of protectionism, which
seriously penalizes the countries of the South.
The illusion of the concept of the transfer of
technology in turn compounds their
disillusionment. That is why we believe that the
"have" States, in a spirit of solidarity, should
facilitate and support the United Nations in its
efforts to establish a new international economic
order.
These efforts clearly demonstrate the will of the
Organization, which is now engaged in "economic
decolonization". This will is reflected in the
adoption of the Charter of Economic Rights and
Duties of States the International Development
Strategy for the Third United Nations Development
Decade and the Substantial New Programme of
Action for the 1980s for the Least Developed
Countries.
The Central African Republic, which falls within
the category of least developed countries, would
like to see the "have" countries devote more
effort and sacrifice to the implementation of
those measures, in order to establish
co-operation between them and the developing
countries, to the mutual advantage of their
respective peoples.
As the Assembly is aware, there was a change of
regime in the Central African Republic on 1
September 1981. It should be recalled that the
National Army took power following dark years
during which the country was on the verge of ruin
and security and peace were increasingly
threatened. As stated recently by the head of
State, General Andre Kolingba, the Military
Committee of National Reconstruction set for
itself four goals: the creation of conditions of
general mobilization through a resumption of
work; the reorganization of the State finances;
the restoration of a climate of confidence and
guarantees of the security of property and
person; and economic recovery.
The highest priority was given to the correction
of economic and financial imbalances. We
therefore reduced the budget deficit of the State
by almost 30 per cent as compared with that of
previous years. That result was obtained as a
result of very severe limitations on certain
expenditures, a reordering in the area of
earnings, a campaign to combat fraud and the
financial sacrifices of State officials.
The reassurance of investors by restoring a
climate of confidence is one of the policies
guiding the actions of the Military Committee for
National Reconstruction intended to bring about
conditions for the economic recovery of the
Central African Republic.
The plan requires that other demands be met,
including food self-sufficiency and growth
through increased productive investments, both
public and private. However, our present
financial situation does not yet enable us to
tackle by our own efforts alone other vital
tasks, such as the reconstruction of our road
system and the creation of social and educational
structures. The co-operation of the international
community, which we hope will be increased,
remains essential in that regard.
Thus the accomplishment of the mission that the
Military Committee of National Reconstruction has
set for itself has not been easy and continues to
be limited in terms of time and of objectives. To
achieve the necessary results, the Military
Committee of National Reconstruction has only one
weapon: dialogue, based on the concept the
Central African people has of the real democracy
that results from listening to the questions in
the hearts of the people. The Central African
Government has a dynamic view of democracy, which
must take account of the developmental aspects of
the life of a people capable of reconstructing
its national unity, which is a prerequisite for
development.
As a land-locked country, the Central African
Republic has been subjected to serious
constraints. The Convention that has just been
adopted a§ a result of the work of the Third
United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea
could make it possible for us to be provided with
the necessary trade facilities. That is the
fervent hope of my country.
We wish to welcome once again resolutions 35/37
of 5 December 1980 and 36/206 of 17 December
1981, in which the General Assembly calls upon
all Member States, the specialized agencies and
other economic and financial organizations to
contribute generously to the reconstruction,
rehabilitation and development of the Central
African Republic, whose economic situation
remains a matter of concern.
On behalf of the Central African people, the
Military Committee of National Reconstruction and
its President, General Andre Kolingba, I wish to
thank from this rostrum all the States and
institutions which, in spite of their own
difficulties, have shown a generosity which we
very much appreciate- My country is convinced
that this international solidarity, which is
based on human awareness, will continue to
increase.
The Central African Republic hopes, and indeed is
convinced, that the Member States, in spite of
this period of adversity that the world is
experiencing, will make the contributions
necessary to make the Organization an instrument
for the improvement of the international
political environment and of economic and social
development. The Secretary-General's report, with
the spirit of which we fully agree and to whose
author we pay a tribute, is important because it
concurs in that idea. The unity and harmony of
the international community will certainly
benefit from it.


The members of my delegation and I deem it an honour and a privilege
to have the opportunity of participating in the thirty seventh
session of the General Assembly. We bring representatives the warm
greetings of the Government and the people of Bangladesh. On behalf
of the Bangladesh delegation and on my own behalf, I congratulate Mr.
Hollai on his unanimous election as President of the thirty seventh
session of the General Assembly. We are confident that his qualities
of leadership and wealth of experience will be of immense value to
the Assembly in accomplishing its task. We offer him our co operation
and support in fulfilling his heavy responsibility during the days
ahead. My delegation would like to take this opportunity to
congratulate his predecessor, Mr. Kittani of Iraq, on his determined
and energetic leadership not only during the thirty sixth session of
the General Assembly but also during the second special session
devoted to disarmament and the emergency special session on the
question of Palestine. His patience and wisdom have been greatly
appreciated by all of us. My delegation would also like to pay a
tribute to the new Secretary General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar,
who, within the short period since the assumption of his most
difficult responsibilities, has earned our trust and confidence for
his absolute dedication and impartiality. The Government of
Bangladesh congratulates him on his unremitting efforts and ceaseless
endeavours in promoting the purposes and principles of the Charter.
We assure him of our fullest support for all his efforts aimed in
this direction. Bangladesh deeply mourns the passing of His Majesty
King Khaled of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In him the entire world
has lost an outstanding personality dedicated to the cause of peace
and justice. Since its independence as a sovereign nation, Bangladesh
has made consistent efforts to work for the greater interest of the
international community. The foreign policy of Bangladesh is based on
total adherence to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the
United Nations. We see this world body as a unique instrument for
promoting global peace and development based on justice and equity.
We greatly appreciate the candor with which the Secretary  General in
his report has brought to our notice the shortcomings of the
Organization. We in Bangladesh will support the Secretary General in
all his efforts to make the United Nations an effective organization
for maintaining world peace and security. Bangladesh has chosen non
alignment as the cornerstone of its foreign policy. We are committed
to working tirelessly together with other peace loving nations of the
world to create an environment of peace in which people can harness
all available resources to combat the scourge of poverty, hunger,
disease and illiteracy, thus achieving economic freedom without
sacrificing political freedom. As at previous sessions this year,
too, we have a long agenda and we are very conscious of the number of
crucial issues before us. We notice a progressive decline in the
international situation. There is widespread use offence, the
continuing existence of foreign occupation forces and acts of
aggression, total disregard for the principle of self determination,
and flouting of resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and the
Security Council. The situation prevailing in the Middle East remains
dangerous and highly explosive, posing a serious threat to
international peace and security. This state of affairs is due to the
persistence of Israel in its flagrant denial of the inalienable
rights of the Palestinian people, as recognized by the United
Nations. The latest Israeli holocaust in Lebanon has rendered the
situation in the Middle East more explosive than ever before. Along
with the peoples of all peace loving nations, we in Bangladesh have
been stunned by the appalling act of inhuman massacre of a large
number of innocent and unarmed Palestinian men, women and children in
their camps in west Beirut. The Government of Bangladesh is of the
view that the question of Palestine constitutes the core of the
Middle East problem. There can be no just and lasting peace in the
Middle East unless the Palestinian people can exercise their
legitimate rights, including the right to return to their homeland,
their right to self determination and to establish a State of their
own under the leadership of the PLO their sole and legitimate
representative, with Jerusalem as its capital. Further, the
inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force imposes an
obligation on Israel to withdraw completely from all the territories
it has occupied since 1967, including the Holy City of Jerusalem. Any
solution that fails to recognize these rights and realities will pose
a constant threat to peace and stability in the region. We are
particularly distressed at the continuing and self defeating armed
conflict between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Bangladesh,
as a member of the Islamic Peace Committee, has made sincere efforts
to resolve that conflict peacefully. It is a great tragedy that
despite our collective efforts the war is still continuing. We should
like to make a renewed appeal to Iran and Iraq to stop this armed
conflict forthwith and to resolve their differences through peaceful
means. It is also extremely disheartening that the crises in
Afghanistan and in Kampuchea remain unresolved. We should do
everything possible to ensure the withdrawal of all foreign troops
from those two countries and to ensure that the people in both those
countries are permitted to determine their own destinies without any
outside intervention or interference. We firmly believe that peace is
possible In southern Africa only through the transfer of power to the
people of Namibia. We appreciate the sustained mediatory efforts of
the five Western Powers in evolving an agreement on Namibia's
transition to independence under the control and supervision of the
United Nations. It is the view of Bangladesh that peace and security
would be promoted through the creation of zones of peace in areas
like the Indian Ocean, South Asia and South East Asia, the
Mediterranean and other regions. Such zones would have to take into
account the interrelated aspects of eliminating the military presence
of and threat from external Powers and the maintenance of security
among the regional States. In this context, we support the convening
of a conference in Sri Lanka next year as a step towards the
implementation of the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of
Peace. Bangladesh has also been making unrelenting efforts to promote
peace and stability in the South Asian region through the creation of
a climate of trust, understanding and co operation on the basis of
mutual respect for sovereign equality and non interference in the
internal affairs of other States. Taking into account our friendly
relations within our region with India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri
Lanka and Maldives, Bangladesh has proposed the creation of a
regional co operation forum among those countries. Substantial
progress has been made towards the implementation of this proposal,
and the necessary preparatory work is still under way for making the
process self  sustaining and irreversible. It has also been decided
to convene a meeting at the level of Foreign Ministers next year to
launch the forum. We believe that our statement on global issues
would be incomplete if we did not say a few words about our national
efforts to achieve a better living for our people. Mr. H. M. Ershad,
on assumption of the office of the head of Government of Bangladesh,
clearly spelt out his Government's objectives: first, to bring
maximum benefit to the 90 million people of Bangladesh; secondly, to
ensure maximum participation by the people of the country through
existing political institutions and, thirdly, to create a simple,
well balanced administration capable of responding to the needs of
the people. In order to achieve these objectives, the Government of
Bangladesh has spelt out plan priorities, which are: self sufficiency
in agriculture, population control, encouragement of the private
sector, universal primary education and extensive and integrated
rural development programmes, including health and social welfare.
These priorities and the decentralization of administration which has
been initiated by the Government are designed to revitalize the
social and economic activities and to lay the foundation of a new
Bangladesh. We are confident that these efforts by us at the national
level will receive whole hearted support from the international
community. We in Bangladesh are therefore deeply concerned that the
international situation has further deteriorated, generating despair
and pessimism. The world economy is passing through a very serious
crisis threatening both the developed and the developing countries.
The second special session devoted to disarmament has met with
miserable failure, while armament expenditures continue to rise. The
crisis spots all over the world also continue to multiply. Our most
important task therefore should be to address these problems in a
concerted and collective manner. The evolution of international
society has made it manifest more than ever before that most problems
today are interlinked and global in character. There can be no
piecemeal solution. There can be no lasting peace so long as economic
imbalances and injustices prevail. Peace is meaningless if it is not
accompanied by development. To achieve a better world, mankind must
have both. While we strive for peace, our efforts for development
should not lag behind. Bangladesh strongly believes that the right to
development is a human right and that equality of opportunity for
development is as much the prerogative of nations as of individuals
within nations. The present inequities of the world economic order,
accompanied by the accelerated arms race, is therefore at the root of
all world problems and one of the most significant obstacles to the
realization of both the right to development and the right to peace.
As the head of Government and President of the Council of Ministers
of Bangladesh, Mr. H. M. Ershad, declared from this rostrum during
the twelfth special session and the second special session devoted to
disarmament, the three major challenges confronting mankind's
continued progress and eventual survival are the arms race,
underdevelopment and the unlawful use of force in solving
international disputes. Peace and development are indivisible and
both can be achieved to a large extent through effective disarmament.
The enormous resources that can be released through a well
intentioned disarmament process would give a tremendous boost to the
development efforts of the developing countries. In this period of
resource difficulties, such diversion of resources is of crucial
importance. This point which we are making is not a new one and has
been repeated many times in this forum as well as in others.
Unfortunately, though, it has not been translated into reality by the
parties concerned. We therefore urge everyone, big or small, to give
this idea serious thought, keeping in mind the question of the
survival and progress of mankind as a whole. The annual military
expenditures of nearly $600 billion, which is more than 10 times the
amount now available for development assistance, is totally
irrational. Such wasteful use of enormous amounts of the world's
precious limited resources is also clearly immoral when millions die
of starvation and many more millions are struggling for their very
survival. Bangladesh acceded to the Treaty on the Non  Proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons as a demonstration of its total commitment to
general and complete disarmament. In view of the failure of the
second special session on disarmament, we urge the super Powers and
other militarily significant States to concert their efforts so as to
commence serious negotiations on a comprehensive test ban treaty as
well as a conventional weapon treaty. Work on the comprehensive
programme of disarmament, which forms the core of the negotiations on
the reduction of armament, both nuclear and conventional, should be
started inGeneva within the framework of the Committee on
Disarmament. The failure of the Assembly at the second special
session on disarmament to produce a final document on the
comprehensive programme of disarmament should not be taken as an
alibi to avoid the responsibility that devolves on the super Powers
as well as other militarily significant countries. Bangladesh, in its
total commitment to general and complete disarmament, has applied for
membership in the Committee on Disarmament and is ready to contribute
to all future disarmament negotiations to be undertaken in the
Committee on Disarmament. The present world economic crisis is of a
global nature. The interrelationship of issues and the
interdependence of the countries are so clearly established that
isolated measures by any individual country or group of countries
cannot solve the contradictions and difficulties that appear as a
result of profound structural imbalance. On the other hand, we agree
with the view that deterioration in the international economic
situation has in part been due to policies pursued in countries with
a preponderant weight in the world economy, as they have sought to
solve their problems on a national basis. The present state of crisis
can be overcome only through a global and concerted effort on the
part of countries. Therefore we believe that a lasting improvement in
international economic relations can be achieved only through a
global dialogue a sincere, determined and imaginative co operation
between the developed and the developing countries. It does not need
reiteration that all nations have a stake in the recovery of the
world economy and should, therefore, engage themselves in a
purposeful effort to address themselves to a world recovery programme
and a restructuring the existing international economic relations.
Bangladesh believes that the present unjust international economic
system requires structural reforms which could result only from a
comprehensive and integrated approach to the present international
economic issues through the participation of all countries in a round
of global negotiations for the establishment of the new international
economic order. Bangladesh has, therefore, actively joined in all the
initiatives and efforts for the launching of global negotiations as
envisaged in General Assembly resolution 34/138. We earnestly hope
that in view of its importance to the economic development of the
world as a whole, it will be possible for us to launch the global
negotiations without further delay. Bangladesh will continue to make
its humble contribution towards this effort in its capacity as
Chairman of the Group of 77. Before concluding, on behalf of the
Bangladesh delegation, I wish to assure you, Mr. President, and
through you all the members of the Assembly that Bangladesh is
determined to play a meaningful and constructive role in finding just
and equitable solutions to the problems which face us today. It is
our strong belief that, despite the frustrations of the past, the
United Nations system is still the only organization which can bring
effective peace, progress prosperity to our world. In order to
achieve common objective, all the Members of the United Nations, big
and small, must unite together to make this body more effective both
in spirit and in action.