First of all, I should like to address to you,
Sir, the warm congratulations of the Algerian
delegation on your accession to the important
position of President of the General Assembly. We
are particularly glad to see you assume this
difficult responsibility because you represent a
country, Hungary, with which Algeria has
established excellent relations of friendship and
co-operation. You have succeeded Mr. Kittani, who
for one year placed his great experience and
ability as an accomplished diplomat at the
service of the Organization. I should also like
to congratulate Mr. Perez de Cuellar for the
dynamism he has shown in discharging his mandate
since his election to the high post of
Secretary-General.
The Assembly is faced from one session to another
with the same challenge of how to build a truly
universal peace. The fact that this is almost a
permanent challenge might lead one to believe
that the United Nations can only continue to wish
for beneficial achievements which would give full
significance to the concepts of convergence and
harmonization on which this assembly of nations
is based.
In the statements made since the opening of the
general debate the same concern has emerged over
the crisis in international relations as a whole
and the serious problems facing our world. There
have been two points that we have all been
obliged to make: first, the lucid analyses that
from year to year have highlighted the primary
causes of the critical state of our world and the
dangers for the future of mankind; secondly, the
international community's inability resolutely to
tackle these primary causes and prevent these
dangers.
But promoting true peace requires that we go
beyond simply being aware of the dreadful
realities of international life; nor can it
simply be reduced to diagnosing, however correct
our diagnosis may be. What is certainly needed is
a break, a change, in attitude and conduct which
have broadened tension and insecurity. Unless we
have such a break, such a change, the
international community will not be able to put
an end to systematic violations of the principles
of the Charter.
In these circumstances, we can hardly be
surprised that the picture of our world today is
one of anarchy where the unleashing of unbridled
force crushing the elementary principles and
values of law shows the failure of policies based
only on power plays and relationships of force.
The tragedy of the Palestinian people is the most
dramatic illustration of this. Indeed, the
Palestinian problem, which has dominated
international affairs and the work of the
Organization this entire past year, is the most
significant and disturbing example of the crisis
of the world today. The denial of justice to the
Palestinian people has made this issue a major
crisis of our age, one that leads to the most
serious dangers for international peace and
security.
The crime against humanity which was perpetrated
in Beirut and witnessed by the entire world was
committed when a situation had lasted for too
long, one in which an entire people's right to
live was denied. That crime was perpetrated
because of constant encouragement and unlimited
resources given to the Zionist policy of
aggression. Can we add to that horror by
emphasizing the fact that it was only after the
departure of their defenders that thousands of
women and children were massacred?
Is there any need for me to recall that the
Palestine Liberation Organization decided on
withdrawal of its armed forces, not because it
was reluctant to sacrifice its fighters, but
precisely out of respect for a civilian
population which had paid with its blood a noble
ransom of solidarity. What a contrast, what a
significant contrast, between infamy and respect
for human life. The PLO thus gave us proof of its
ability to use well its considerable political
and military resources to advance its cause. In
leaving that theatre of operation the PLO at the
same time broadened the strategic base of its
action and its hold on the people.
In the resolute struggle waged by the Palestinian
people under the leadership of thePLO, its sole
legitimate representative, the Beirut battle
symbolizes both the stubborn resistance and the
spirit of responsibility which prove the
authenticity of a national liberation war.
Therefore it would be wrong to expect a solution
in the Middle East without the Palestinian people
or against them. More than ever before, the
recognition of the national rights of the
Palestinian people, above all their right to
establish a State in their homeland, is essential
to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
This is moreover, the very substance of the
international community's consensus on a
settlement of the crisis in the Middle East. It
is the duty of the United Nations to fulfil its
responsibilities and make possible the
implementation of this consensus, thereby
ensuring a return to peace in the Middle East. It
must react with specific action and bold
decisions that at last ensure justice for the
Palestinian people.
The plots hatched against the Palestinian
resistance, like, those we see in other parts of
the world, force us to say that there seems to be
a planned policy for destroying solidarity, a
strategy for splitting regional and other
political groups, in order to turn back the tide
of history and re-establish imperial domination
in the third world countries faced with many
problems and trying despite a thousand
difficulties to find solutions in keeping with
the aspirations of their peoples.
Against this background certain actions against
the Organization of African Unity are of
particular concern to us. Its very birth bore
witness to the victories won through the struggle
of the African peoples in the decolonization
process, and OAU was from the outset a means of
completing this liberation of the continent in
all areas and a bulwark of African freedom a has
to its credit constant action in solidarity with
all freedom fighters and determination to go on
until it succeeds, it has inevitably become the
target of attempts to crush it.
Therefore, after all kinds of political, economic
and military pressures have been brought to bear
on it, attacks are now directed, through that
organization, against the very basis of unity and
solidarity in our continent. But the crisis of
OAU, although an African matter, is not
exceptional in nature and must be overcome by the
efforts and the determination of its members.
However, although these difficulties are
transitory, that does not lessen the
responsibility of those that caused them, and
cannot be used as a pretext for considering it
less necessary to search together, as in the
past, for solutions to the problems facing
Africa, the most important of which remains that
of eliminating colonialism and racist domination.
The tragedy being played out in the southern part
of Africa becomes grimmer with each passing day.
The policy of Apartheid universally condemned as
a crime against humanity, is also constantly
being expanded. The illegal occupation of Namibia
continues and is being consolidated, while brutal
aggression against African States in the region
is intensifying. This situation demands that the
international community continue to mobilize in
support of the cause of the South African people,
their emancipation and freedom to determine their
future. It also demands the imposition of a total
embargo and comprehensive sanctions against South
Africa. Only such a response can put an end to
the policy of defiance and aggression of the
Pretoria regime.
As regards Namibia, it is time for the
international consensus on the inalienable right
of the Namibian people to independence and the
legitimacy of its struggle, under the leadership
of its sole representative, SWAPO, to be given
practical effect. It is time for the Western
Powers that have the duty and the means of
influencing the policy of the Pretoria regime to
do what is incumbent on them and to shoulder
their responsibility, because they have a
commitment to the international community
concerning the process of independence for
Namibia.
In north-west Africa the conflict between the
people of Western Sahara and the occupying Power,
the Kingdom of Morocco, has been a matter of
constant concern to the international community
since 1975. It is thus natural that OAU and the
United Nations should have attempted to find a
just and definitive solution to this problem some
of the sidetracking of the process that should
have led to. the decolonization of Western
Sahara. The Organization, aware of the justice
and legitimacy of the struggle waged by the
people of Western Sahara, led by the POLISARIO,
has thus constantly called for the exercise by
the people of Western Sahara of their right
freely to determine their own future, and in
General Assembly resolution 36/46 called for
negotiations between Morocco and POLISARIO.
OAU, for its part, aware of the dangers of the
continuing conflict in the region, has made a
responsible attempt to find ways and means of
moving towards a solution consistent with its
charter and principles. Since OAU It is thus
encouraging to see that one of the two parties to
the conflict, the Sahraoui Arab Democratic
Republic, continues to demonstrate a high sense
of responsibility to the cause of peace and of
Africa by expressing its willingness to seek a
political settlement. It simply remains for us to
hope that the voice of reason, or simply common
sense, will end by triumphing and that there will
be victory for a national liberation cause that
has been recognized as such by the international
community and that this will make it possible to
marshal all enemies and exploit all wealth for
the greater benefit of the fraternal peoples of
the region, united by the same historical
experience and a common future.
Disturbing trends in international affairs, in
the form of hotbeds of tension in the third
world, are also to be found in the serious
barriers to promotion of a true international
dialogue. Whether it be disarmament or
international economic relations, we can see a
paralysis in the channels of negotiation, a
disruption of the machinery of consultations.
Against this background, the recognized failure
of the second special session of the General
Assembly on disarmament reveals the difficulties
and the infernal logic of this kind of
confrontation. While the international community
came to the lofty conclusion that security cannot
be achieved by a build-up of arms, and while
there has been a tenfold increase in destructive
potential of the arsenals of the nuclear Powers
to destroy the entire human species, the
opportunity of moving forward in international
negotiations on disarmament, getting us out of
the rut of the discussions of the past, has not
been seized. However, on this vital issue where
the data is perfectly clearly established, there
was some hope that the rivalry in the unbridled
arms race would eventually yield to rivalry in
announcing concrete and effective measures for
disarmament.
However, it must be recognized that the call to
reason and the expectations and hopes of our
peoples have met no response. Furthermore, the
conceptual edifice patiently built in the Final
Document of the Tenth Special Session of the
General Assembly, of 1978, has on occasion been
challenged in the principles and priorities it
established, and this shows that there has been a
move backwards in political commitment to true
disarmament. This serious regression was
naturally accompanied by increased activity on
the part of imperialism and by geo- strategic
maneuvers in the third world. This activism was
reflected,	by obstacles being increasingly
placed in the way of the national liberation
struggle of the peoples, an increase in policies
of intervention and destabilization, the
reactivation and opening of military bases and a
frantic search for military facilities for
interventionist purposes.
The Indian Ocean was proclaimed a zone of peace
by the United Nations, and yet there is military
competition and unequalled rivalry there and also
in the Mediterranean, where we have the same
foreign presence against the wishes of the
non-aligned coastal States. Even Cyprus, a
peaceful island, is living in a situation that is
simply incompatiblewith its own nature as an
open-hearted meeting-place for civilizations and
as an independent and non-aligned country.
Throughout the third world, in Africa, in Asia
and in Latin America, there is an increase in the
number of attempts being made to stifle the
forces of progress by resorting to intimidation
and destabilization techniques, and denying the
peoples' right freely to choose their political
system and their own path of development.
In international economic relations, the present
situation is extremely disturbing. Inseparable
from the deterioration in the international
political environment, the world economic crisis
is deepening and worsening. The international
economic system, a source of inequality and a
privileged area in terms of continuing
relationships of domination, is now prey to major
upheavals. The disruption in the world economy
highlights the intrinsic limits of an order that
is doomed because it has not adapted to the
development needs of two thirds of the human
race. The haphazard measures that have been
advocated by the developed countries simply do
not work, and this is additional proof that the
order is collapsing.
Against this background, it is hardly surprising
that the economic situation of the developing
countries should have continued to deteriorate.
When we look regularly at the balance sheets, we
can see that there has been a continued increase
in poverty and the ravages of hunger. Under
development of two thirds of the human race is
one of the main features of the world ted ay, and
the gloomy prospects in view of continuing trends
over the years and decades to come are indeed
threatening.
This precarious world economic situation
highlights more than ever before the need for a
fair restructuring of this anachronistic
framework and of the unequal rules that currently
govern international relations. In that
connection, the developing countries have spared
no effort to prelaunch the dialogue with the
developed countries—a comprehensive, responsible
dialogue taking account of the realities of the
developing world and of the growing
interdependence of the world economies; a
dialogue covering all the major issues
simultaneously and in a consistent, interrelated
way; a dialogue which, with universal, democratic
participation, would presage our final objective
of democratizing international economic relations.
Those were the bases on which the non-aligned
countries and the Group of 77 conceived the
initiative of global negotiations on
international economic co-operation for
development—an initiative that won the consensus
support of the international community with the
adoption in 1979 of General Assembly resolution
34/138. At a time when the Second United Nations
Development Decade was ending on a strikingly
unproductive note, the adoption of that
resolution sparked hopes that the developed
countries would finally evince the political will
to launch a significant common effort for the
benefit of one and all. Throughout the past three
years the Group of 77 has demonstrated
flexibility and has been open t^ dialogue; it has
played a dynamic and constructive role in the
search for a commonly acceptable basis for the
launching of those global negotiations.
In 1980, at the eleventh special session of the
General Assembly, devoted to economic issues, the
Group of 77 contributed act national community.
Since then several proposals have been made, with
due regard for the requirements of the minority
that did not join the consensus. Thus the Group
of 77 took the initiative of putting forward a
proposal with three options, with a view to
making possible the urgent launching of the
global negotiations. Unfortunately, the three
options were not accepted—although there was no
real negotiation at all. Despite that rejection,
the Group of 77 once again demonstrated a
constructive spirit by taking another initiative
in the hope of removing all doubts weighing on
the launching of global negotiations. The
industrialized countries, however, felt it
necessary to submit four amendments to that
proposal, the productof tremendous compromise.
The Group of 77 carefully and responsibly studied
those amendments, thus demonstrating again its
willingness to co-operate fruitfully, and decided
to accept two of the four amendments proposed.
However, inasmuch as the other two proposed
amendments questioned resolution 34/138 as the
political framework for the global negotiations
and called into question the delicate balance
between the central role of the General Assembly
in the conduct of the global negotiations and the
particular role of the specialized agencies, the
Group of 77 was unable to accept them. Hence we
venture to hope that the compromise proposals of
the Group of 77 will eventually be accepted.
During this period of deteriorating international
economic relations and given the impasse in the
North-South dialogue, South-South co-operation
takes on particular importance. As a parallel and
supplement to the efforts at a North-South
dialogue, South-South co-operation is part of the
major project of establishing the new
international economic order. It is in that
context that the developing countries have traced
a framework and defined the operational
instruments for the constant strengthening of
their individual and collective autonomy. The
Group of 77, aware that its strength lies in
unity among its ranks and in cohesion in its
approach, thus offers a new basis for reinforcing
its solidarity. A year after the adoption of the
Caracas Programme of Action, its implementation
has begun with the faith and determination that
nurture great hopes.
It is in that international atmosphere that
Algeria, having survived more than a hundred
years of darkness, celebrated the twentieth
anniversary of its independence. Having fully
recovered its attributes as a State, Algeria
undertook to consolidate its political
independence by meeting the requirements of
economic independence. Eager to preserve its
dearly reconquered sovereignty and desirous of
mutually beneficial international co-operation,
Algeria opted for a foreign policy governed by
principle and molded in the common destiny which
is based on its belonging to the Arab world, the
African world, the Moslem world and the third
world. At the same time, it codified in its
national charter and Constitution the fundamental
principles of a diplomatic policy which sets
peace and development, so intimately related, as
its objective, and the principles of the United
Nations as the inviolable guide of its conduct.
Having rediscovered the benefits of peace,
Algeria undertook to promote in good faith, at
the sub regional level, a policy of positive
good-neighbor-liness which embodied the principle
of the inviolability of frontiers and called for
political harmonization and broad-ranging
co-operation. This approach was also reflected in
our strong belief in the ideals of Arab unity and
African unity, and all efforts to consolidate the
basis of our effective solidarity and the
harmonious working together of the two groups.
Lending our voice to the community of the
oppressed, within which we forged our deep
beliefs and well-tested friendships, and the
world of the deprived, whose situation and
aspirations we share, Algeria is working to
establish international relations free of any
tinge of domination or exploitation. We are doing
this with perseverance within the United Nations
and within other groups to which we belong.
Algeria is a founding member of the non-aligned
movement, and we have elevated non-alignment to a
clear commitment and a system of values, a
reference system which inspires our conduct and
determines the positions we take. We believe in a
great future for this movement, whose relevance
in today's world confirms its importance and the
correctness of its doctrine. We thus express our
deep belief that the Seventh Conference of Heads
of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries,
to be held at New Delhi, will help to strengthen
the cohesion and capacity for action of this
movement and strengthen its role in the
international arena.
Algeria's assessment of the role of the Organization is based on
that same premise and arises from the same
outlook. It is undeniable that the United Nations
has played a globally positive role, due account
being taken of the limits imposed on it both by
its very nature and by the will of the States of
which it is composed. Its movement towards
universality is proof that it is viewed as a
unique forum for reconciling views in order to
seek solutions to the problems of our world.
However, the many shortcomings that have led to
the paralysis of the Organization call for a
responsible consideration of its future, and
indeed this; something that the Secretary-General
invites us to do in his report on the work of the
Organization. The call for the democratization of
international relations and the legitimate desire
to strengthen the role of the United Nations and
to lift the Organization to the level of its
responsibilities, particularly in the field of
international peace and security, can no longer
be ignored.
The Secretary-General has highlighted the
deficiencies of the Organization, and thereby
emphasized the correctness of the political
position taken by a great majority of Member
States, and of our work on the present
functioning of the United Nations. World public
opinion can be harsh to the United Nations, but
we should think about it carefully, because the
United Nations is in fact based on a profession
of faith of our peoples, which it would be
dangerous to treat lightly.
Foremost among the factors that have immobilized
the Organization, while dangers are mounting and
all eyes  of the veto in the Security Council,
which demonstrates the great gap that now exists
between the spirit of the rule of unanimity and
the use made of it are fixed on us, is
undoubtedly the abuse In view of this
development, which is increasingly prejudicial to
the credibility and effectiveness of the United
Nations, it is urgent that the international
community reconsider the way in which the
Security Council functions and subject it to a
strict review in the light of political ethics so
as to restore to that body its original purpose.
The vitality of the United Nations and its
ability to hold high those principles that
establish its moral strength could then be
demonstrated by its ability to establish and
preserve real universal peace.
If this session were to lead to a real
determination on the part of Member States truly
to make the United Nations the center for the
harmonization of the actions of nations in the
attainment of common ends, and if the most
powerful of them were to reflect that
determination in a change of attitude and
conduct, then we would have reason to encourage
our peoples' belief in the great future of the
Organization.


My delegation extends its warm congratulations to
Mr. Hollai on his unanimous election to the
presidency of the thirty- seventh session of the
General Assembly. It is my pleasure to have known
him for several years as a friend. His wide
experience, especially in the affairs of the
United Nations, and his richly deserved
reputation for skill, patience and the
accumulated wisdom of experience constitute a
guarantee that this session will be fruitful and
constructive. We look to his guidance and
leadership in the resolution of the numerous
problems that exist at this most critical period
for the relations among nations.
216.	To his predecessor, Mr. Kittani, who
served under similarly difficult circumstances
and emerged with honour, my delegation also
extends its congratulations.
217.	We are delighted to welcome the new
Secretary- General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar.
A thorough professional, he is universally
regarded as a diplomat's diplomat, and we are
happy that he is now at the head of the
Organization. He has revealed to us the other
side of his natureócourage and candour in
admitting the deficiencies of the United Nations,
together with constructive suggestions which
should enable us to return to the first
principles of the Charter. The Secretary-General
has seen us as in a mirror and asked us to take a
closer look at ourselves with a view to providing
remedies for the ailments of the United Nations
system. In expressing his views the Secretary-
General has reminded us that the strengthening of
the United Nations is the first order of business
and that the performance of this task, difficult
though it may be, is indispensable to the
solution of the problems which threaten the peace
of the world.
218.	In the past we have often tended to
substitute hyperbole for thought. Today the
situation has changed: hyperbole has turned into
fact. The tragic events in Lebanon, serious
problems in themselves, reverberate throughout
the entire Middle East and raise anew the
unwelcome prospects of wider conflict. The Middle
East is the vortex of crisis and, if the past is
a guide to the future, it will almost certainly
involve other Powers in a conflict which may well
be larger and more destructive than any in the
unending series of Middle East wars.
219.	At the core of the problem is the issue
of Palestine. The new and highly disturbing
element is a widely perceived effort to solve the
problem not through political means, but by the
use of force. This is clearly unacceptable, not
only in terms of Security Council resolution 242
(1967) but also in terms of the principles of the
Charter.
220.	No one is under any illusion that the
Middle East situation can be solved on the
instant, but it is quite correct to say that the
end of armed conflict offers fresh opportunities
for a new start. The intractable problem is
ingrained psychological blocks which make
dialogue more difficult than it should be. This
is why negotiations must be a processóthat is, a
continuing dialogue which makes compromises
possible. For this reason, my delegation welcomes
the initiatives of President Reagan and the
Twelfth Arab Summit Conference at Fez. We believe
that these are starting- points which in the
course of the negotiating process could be
merged, in the legitimate interests of all the
parties concerned.
121. My delegation identifies with the positive
elements of the United States proposal, which iß
based on the Camp David accords ratified by the
Israeli Knesset, notably the immediate freeze on
the establishment of Jewish settlements and
opposition to permanent control by Israel over
the West Bank and Gaza.
222.	My delegation maintains, however, that
the full autonomy envisaged for these areas
should lead to the implementation of the right of
self-determination by the Palestinian people and
the establishment of an independent State
coexisting with Israel. We hold, furthermore,
that at an appropriate stage in the process the
PLO should be a party to the negotiations leading
to permanent peace in the area.
223.	It should be noted that neither the United States
nor the Arab States have rejected each other's
proposals. This fact leads to the hope, however
tenuous, that each recognizes certain common
denominators in the proposals and to the further
recognition that in the existing circumstances,
modality is of the utmost importance.
224.	It is Israel that has proved to be
intransigent, possibly in the euphoria of
military success. But the one thing it must
acknowledge is that its military victory over the
PLO has, by a curious paradox, improved the
political standing of the PLO. Because of the
events in Lebanon, Israel may find itself with
its back against the wall, with foes but no
friends and isolated beyond hope of redemption.
We very much doubt that this is what Israel
wants. We therefore call upon Israel to heed the
voices of reason and moderation. Too much blood
has been spilled in the Middle East and too many
bitter tears shed for Israel to ignore the
growing clamour for peace with justice and honour.
225.	Kampuchea, on the other side of the
world, the hopeful sign is the formation of the
Coalition of Kampuchean Nationalists under the
leadership of Prince Samdech Norodom Sihanouk.
The formation of the Coalition signifies the
determination of the Kampuchean nationalists to
expel the foreign forces from Kampuchean soil and
enable its people to exercise freely their right
to self-determination.
226.	In deciding on a coalition the Kampuchean
nationalists have assumed the mantle of legality,
a cloak denied them before although they fought
and continue to fight, with valour, and in
circumstances of insuperable difficulties.
227.	If they are to succeed in their
endeavour, they will require material assistance
from friends that have in this very Hall
condemned the illegitimate usurpation of
Kampuchea by Viet Nam. At this very moment
thousands of Kampucheans await the call in the
determined effort to recover their birthright. We
have every hope that, with the support of
friends, the Kampuchean coalition or the
democratic Government of Kampuchea will in the
end pave the way for the restoration of
Kampuchean sovereignty in free elections under
the supervision of the United Nations. In the
face of this development, Viet Nam has a final
option: to wipe out the fledgling and
under-supplied anti-Vietnamese forces before
their movement gathers strength and momentum.
There are reports that this is precisely what it
intends to do. It is in this light that the need
for support and assistance acquires urgency. We
urge our friends to provide it.
228.	Another potential source of tension in
Asia is the uncertain and precarious relations
between North and South Korea. Conflict in that
divided country is bound to have a severe impact
in the strategic region of North-East Asia.
Therefore we would encourage the parties
concerned to launch fresh initiatives which could
lead towards the goal of reunification. President
Chun of South Korea has taken the initiative in
this regard and he deserves our support.
229.	I shall refrain from dealing with
subjects already touched upon by President Marcos
when he addressed the Assembly the other day. I
might only add that, with respect to the
launching of global negotiations on international
economic co-operation for development, we might
remind ourselves once more that these
negotiations were conceived in the light of our
shared concern over the steady deterioration of
our economies. The need to establish a firm basis
for global economic progress that is equitable to
all acquires added importance in view of the
inadequate response of some of our institutions
to the problems of contemporary economic
relations. In joint efforts and in an admirable
spirit of compromise encouraged by the high-level
meetings in Cancun, Ottawa, Versailles and New
Delhi, among others, we have managed to reach
agreements on nearly all the outstanding points
of difference.
230.	I recall that, at the signing of the
Bretton Woods Agreement in New Hampshire in 1946,
when I signed the Agreement on behalf of the
Philippines, I then said:
"The economic pattern being drawn here was established
by the victorious Allies, but this will not last
long. More members of the United Nations will
join in the future. Last year we signed a United
Nations Charter with 54 nations. I envision more
than 100 nations will join. In that case they
will decide that they want a new international
economic order."
I said that in 1946, when we signed the Bretton
Woods Agreement. That is now the North-South
dialogue.
231.	As we resume discussions at this session,
we diverge on only two points. To those who hold
differing views on these two points, these are no
doubt of great importance, and their reluctance
to accept either is therefore understandable. Yet
the potential reward of agreement and the
possible penalties of failure to reach agreement
are of such magnitude that they allow us few, if
any, options. Therefore I would urge all parties
to look beyond narrower preoccupations for the
sake of the larger good. On the part of the
Philippines, my delegation is prepared to accept
neither one nor the other formulation but both
formulations in a common text. We do so in the
firm belief that in practice and application the
two points are not necessarily irreconcilable.
Such an approach, in our view, would close the
last remaining gap and thus enable the
long-delayed global negotiations to get under way.
232.	Turning to another subject of a global
character, my delegation wishes to express its
gratification at the completion of the work of
the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of
the Sea. It has involved many years of difficult
negotiations but it is certainty one of the more
hopeful signs of the rich possibilities open in
the way of international cooperation.
233.	Although the Convention on the Law of the
Sea was not adopted by consensus, as originally
planned, this does not detract from the
importance of the work of the Conference. The
monumental document produced by the Conference
will, when it enters into force, become the
international law, or the law of mankind, which
will govern the rights and duties of nations on
the uses of the waters of the earth. We in ASEAN
are proud that the President who steered the
Conference on the Law of the Sea to that final
declaration is Mr. Koh, the representative of
Singapore, one of the nations of ASEAN. It is the
earnest hope of my delegation, as well as of the
130 nations which voted for the Convention, that
in the interests of an orderly regime on the seas
of the world those that did not find it possible
to vote for it will in the future accede to it
and thus make the Convention universal in fact as
well as in law.
234.	Allow me to return to the subject of the
Secretary-General's report. It is a subject of
extreme importance and should, if we are aware
of our responsibilities, provoke a great deal of
thought among us.
235.	For years my delegation, having in mind
Article 109 of the Charter, which suggests the
holding of a general conference for a review of
the Charter, has proposed that steps be taken
towards amending it. Unfortunately, the
assumptions, not to speak of the circumstances,
which inspired the founding fathers in framing
the Charter of the United Nations changed almost
immediately after its ratification. To press the
issue of a general conference at this time would
raise a political storm which we can ill afford
in a time of persisting crises.
236.	In recognition of the post-atomic
realities, the Assembly did approve the creation
of a Special Committee on the Charter of the
United Nations and on the Strengthening of the
Role of the Organization in a search for ways and
means of improving the functioning of the United
Nations within the framework of the present
Charter. The Special Committee is now ready to
present to the Assembly the first concrete
document resulting from a labour of nearly seven
years. The draft Manila declaration is a worthy
attempt to provide specific interpretations of
the Charter's provisions on the peaceful
settlement of disputes and in this sense it
constitutes a watershed in the efforts of the
Organization to ensure the well- beingof peoples
and the maintenance of international peace and
security and in addition promote the progressive
development of international law. If I read
properly between the lines of the
Secretary-General's report, that is precisely
what he means.
237.	It has been said that there are two
United Nations, The first United Nations has on
balance achieved remarkable progress in the
economic and social fields, notably in assisting
the younger nations in their first faltering
efforts at development.
238.	But the same cannot be said of the
second, the other United Nations in its primary
role of maintaining international peace and
security. This is the theme which the
Secretary-General develops in his bold and
perceptive annual report. Thank God for a
Secretary-General who sees through the
difficulties that we face. His suggestions cannot
be dismissed lightly for, as head of the
Organization, his voice carries special weight
and authority.
239.	My delegation is prepared to support the
Secretary-General's suggestion for a meeting of
the Security Council "at the highest possible
level" to discuss the problems which have
impaired the proper functioning of the
Organization as envisioned by its founders. I can
do no better in closing than to quote the words
of the Secretary-General which we should always
bear in mind in this Hall:
"... I am absolutely convinced that the United
Nations is indispensable in a world fraught with
tension and peril. Institutions such as this are
not built in a day. They require constant
constructive work and fidelity to the principles
on which they are based.
"We take the United Nations seriously when we
desperately need it. I would urge that we also
seriously consider the practical ways in which it
should develop its capacity and be used as an
essential institution in a stormy and uncertain
world."
240.	As one who has been deeply involved in
the United Nations from the very start and
bitterly regretted its defeats and savoured its
triumphs, I compliment the Secretary-General on
his acute analysis of the United Nations. I share
with him the view that we should work
unremittingly to build a sense of world community
on the firm foundation of a political and moral
order which alone can lift mankind to the "broad
sunlit uplands" of peace and security.


We are extremely pleased to see a representative
of the sister Hungarian People's Republic elected
to the high office of President of the current
session of the General Assembly. Your election,
Sir, testifies to the high standing of socialist
Hungary and its peaceful policy in world affairs,
it is a personal tribute to you by the
international community. We sincerely
congratulate you and wish you new successes in
your work for the benefit of the Organization.
We also address our friendly wishes for all
success and determination to the new Secretary-
General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar.
I wish to assure you, Mr. President, and the
Secretary-General that Poland is as intent as
ever on making a constructive contribution to the
proceedings of another session of the General
Assembly. The Polish delegation has come to the
present session at a critical juncture in
Poland's history. Last December our country found
itself confronted with an alternative: descent
into the abyss of fratricidal bloodshed, which
was the goal of the enemies of socialism and
forces of anarchy, or temporary recourse to
emergency measures to steer Poland out of a
profound crisis. The supreme interest of the
nation and the State bade us, in compliance with
the Consti¬tution of the Polish People's
Republic, to proclaim martial law. Its purpose,
as we stated in the official notification in
pursuance of article 4 of the Interna¬tional
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was to
reverse an excep¬tionally serious public
emergency threatening the life of the nation and
to create the conditions for the effective
protection of Poland's sovereignty and
independence.
We are deeply convinced that the proclamation of
martial law ultimately serves not only the most
vital interests of Poland but also peace and
security in Europe, for any dangerous development
in the situation in my country, located as it is
in the very heart of the European continent,
could have disas¬trous consequences, especially
as various forces hostile to detente have pinned
on this hopes of under¬mining the existing
relationship of forces.
The origins of the causes and determinant factors
which have led to the present situation in my
country are complex. We have explained them on
numerous occasions; they are on record in the
authoritative statements of the supreme organs of
State. Those abroad who were willing to
understand them did understand. Others failed to
show sufficient good will and respect for the
norms of international relations to leave Polish
affairs to Poles. For no one knows or can know
better than the Poles themselves what is good and
right for Poland.
The proclamation of martial law in Poland,
ratified in the Act passed by Parliament on 25
January this year, complied with all the
requirements of the law. From first to last it
was a sovereign Polish, and solely Polish,
decision. No constitutional body, including the
Parliament and the Government it had duly
constituted, ceased to function as a consequence.
They all continue to shoulder their great
responsi¬bility for the destinies of the nation
and the State, in a situation in which the
survival and the future of independent Poland,
for which many generations have fought, were at
stake. At the price of emergency measures
introduced on a temporary basis, Poland was
spared a civil war. We know ourselves how high a
price this is, but it is not as supremely high as
would have been the loss, on a mass scale, of a
fundamental human right—the right to life. No one
is entitled to try to raise this price. More than
once in the past Polish blood has been shed, and
not always in the interests of the people of
Poland. We are learning the lessons of history.
In the passing months the Tightness of our
indispensable decisions has been confirmed. They
halted the process of disintegration of the State
and collapse of the economy; they stopped the
dangerous drift towards internationalization of
the Polish crisis. Despite difficulties, the
country's political and eco¬nomic life is
proceeding towards normalization, to the
accompaniment of a significant relaxation of the
rigours of martial law.
We do see the possibility of lifting the existing
restrictions. We are determined to advance
patiently and unswervingly along a path of
national dialogue and accord, guided by realism
and good will. We shall consistently follow the
programme of the ninth Con¬gress of the Polish
United Workers' Party—the socialist renewal of
political, social and economic life, and the
guarantees of socialist democracy. We shall
develop it with absolute single-mindedness, with
Polish hands and Polish minds and hearts.
Unfortunately, some Western Government , in
particular the United States Administration, and
also imperialist propaganda centres, have decided
to take advantage of developments in our country
to start a violent and anti-Polish campaign. It
is being conducted with a wilful incomprehension
of Poland's raison d'etat and is based on a
one-sided, tendentious appraisal of the situation
as well as on false stereotypes. It has made
Poland an object of inadmissible inter¬ference in
its internal affairs and a target of economic
blackmail. At the same time, all the weapons to
be found in the arsenal of a propaganda
aggression and instruction in subversion are
being deployed against us. Indeed they bespeak
attempts at a primitively conceived
ideologization of international relations and
translation of the relics of McCarthyism into
this sphere.
The opponents of peace in our country seem to be
turning a blind eye to the massive process of
positive change that is taking place in all areas
of public life. We are carrying out an economic
reform, backed by a broad network of new
legislation. This includes important laws for the
implementation of the reform—on State enterprises
and workers' self- management in a State
enterprise. The proclamation of martial law has
in no way interrupted the work of legislative
organs or the introduction of new legal
regulations in major spheres of the country's
social and economic life.
A National Council for Culture and a
Parlia¬mentary Economic and Social Council, as
well as other organs pursuing important national
issues, have been established. The Teachers'
Charter, laws on higher education, on special
rights of war veterans and on co-operatives were
passed in Parliament. Intensive work continues on
press legislation and on the law on trade unions.
In the light of the foregoing, how would one
assess in the United Nations the attacks against
Poland, launched and conducted with unusual
vicious- ness by certain Governments? We have
already officially drawn these actions to the
attention of the Governments on whose inspiration
or from whose territories they are undertaken.
Most of them, and especially radio programmes in
the Polish language, consist of propaganda, based
on attacking the country's internal order and
incitement to change its socio-political system.
In recent months they have acquired all the
features of a propaganda aggression against
, Poland. This cannot but amount to a
contravention of the purposes and principles of
the Charter of the United Nations and a violation
of the norms formu¬lated so far by the
international community in the Held of
information and mass communication, including in
particular those of the United Nations and
UNESCO. This has nothing to do with the right to
freedom of information and the concept of its
balanced flow. On the contrary, it represents
their most evident abuse.
It is also hard to resist surprise at the
behaviour of certain Governments which seem
deliberately to obstruct the functioning of the
Polish economy. Do they not realize that they are
thereby weakening Poland's Payment capacities?
After all, the country's discharge of its
financial obligations depends on the rate at
which its economic balance can be restored. As
far as this is concerned, we shall not be found
wanting in resolve. We therefore welcome
initiatives for the development of equitable and
mutually profitable co¬operation with Poland. An
altogether different approach, however, is taken
by certain quarters in the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization [NATO]. When observing their
unfriendly and, indeed, unrealistic attitude
towards Poland, when listening to their warnings
and "advice" addressed to us, one is tempted to
ask: have these gentlemen by any chance forgotten
to whom they are speaking, have they forgotten
that Poland is not part of NATO but it is and
shall remain a sovereign and inseparable
component of the community of socialist States?
If the object of all anti-Polish actions is to
force us to back down and abandon the socialist
path of development, we can only answer in the
words of Prime Minister Wojciech Jaruzelski:
"Poland has never yet bowed to a foreign
ulti¬matum. Evidently not all abroad understand
our history, our sense of pride and dignity.
There are contradictions and conflicts in our
country., But it is not foreigners who are going
to resolve them".
We gratefully acknowledge the attitude of our
friends and partners who hurried forward with
assistance at a difficult time for us, who
displayed an understanding of our problems and
continue to help us overcome them. Especially
priceless is the aid of our neighbour and closest
ally, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. If
friends in need are friends indeed, so today
again we are realizing who our true friend is.
We reciprocate the understanding and sympathy of
the developing countries which perceive in our
situation a reflection of some of their own
problems. We see in their attitude a fellow
feeling of reciprocity for the numerous instances
of Poland's resolute commitment to the struggle
against colonialism, neo¬colonialism and
imperialism.
We also appreciate the attitude of those Western
States which have not submitted to pressure and
continue their normal relations with Poland.
We should like to believe that there will soon be
a return to dialogue with all our remaining
part¬ners on a basis of mutual respect for
sovereignty and equality. In this spirit, we
uphold as being still timely the appeal made, in
July last year, by the ninth Congress of the
Polish United Workers' Party to our partners in
the West to intensify frank dialogue and
exploration of ways of averting cold-war threats
and preserving what has so far been achieved by
detente. The internal affairs of any country,
Poland included, must not be exploited for the
purpose of exacerbating international tension and
intensifying the arms race.
I declare with absolute firmness: it is not
Poland which is upsetting international
relations. They are being upset by those who wish
to take advantage of the internal situation in
our country as one of the pretexts to stifle
detente and impose a new "cold war" on the world,
to divert attention from their own doings aimed
against other nations and against peace.
An ominous spectre is haunting the world—the
spectre of nuclear war. Its danger is more
evident today than ever before, as it is openly
spoken of and is being prepared in the open. The
genuine aspirations of the peoples lie on the
side of peace. The first and supreme duty of
politicians and Governments in the sphere of
international relations is to keep awakening and
perpetuating these aspirations and to do all they
can to banish for ever an apocalyptic vision of
the world. Whoever is unfaithful to this duty,
whoever ignores his own and his country's
responsibility for international peace and
security and embarks on generating tension,
escalating armaments and preaching intolerance,
is betraying the trust of his own people, is
striking at its peaceful aspirations and is no
longer fit to voice them.
We are witnessing disregard for the interests and
security of States. This is destroying the
labor¬iously assembled record of coexistence and
detente and undermining the recognized
foundations of inter¬national security, including
the purposes and principles of the Charter of the
United Nations. The year that has passed since
the thirty-sixth regular session of the General
Assembly has regrettably seen the dangerous
trends in the world grow stronger and many of
them acquire the features of no less than
political and military adventurism.
Obsession with nuclear superiority and pursuit of
an illusory security through remorseless
expansion of military arsenals are intensifying
the arms spiral, destabilizing military balance
and undermining interna¬tional confidence.
Peace is awaited in the Middle East. The bloody
massacre of the defenceless population in Beirut
has appalled the international community. A
heinous crime has been committed before the eyes
of the whole world. We most resolutely condemn it
as well as its instigators, perpetrators and
protectors. The genuine aspirations for a just
and durable peace, challenged by the aggressive
policies of Israel, have been expressed by the
Arab World at the Twelfth Arab Summit Conference
at Fez. The consistent policy of the socialist
States, which has recently been spelled out in
the six-point plan by Leonid Brezhnev, is aimed
at ensuring lasting peace in that region of the
world. Peace in the Middle East cannot be a sum
total of separatist endeavours and agreements but
a collective and comprehensive settlement that
respects the fundamental and just rights of all
its parties, and in particular the right of the
people of Palestine to establish its own State.
A tragic harvest is being reaped by the Iran-Iraq
conflict. Events in that sensitive region today
cheer the enemies of peace and of third world
unity.
The pressure of retrograde relics of colonialism,
neo colonialism and racism continues
undiminished. In particular, the lack of a
settlement in Namibia that would accord with the
just aspirations of its people fortifies the
South African regime in its arrogance and
aggressiveness, not only there but also at home,
towards its own population, the victims of
apartheid Attempts are being made to spread
confronta¬tion and tension to all continents. The
dangerous quality of the international situation
at the beginning of the 1980s is not, however, a
result of factors beyond human control. More than
two years ago, the States parties to the Warsaw
Treaty noted in their declara¬tion that the main
threat to peace and detente lies in the arms
race, encouraged by cold-war quarters and
military and industrial complexes, as well as in
the attempts to revive a policy based on a
position of strength. This appraisal is
substantiated by the present policies of ruling
circles of NATO which are at variance with the
basic requirements of international realities and
are founded on an over-estimation of their own
capabilities and an under estimation of those of
others. Serious threats arise from the
increasingly frequent attempts to globalize the
NATO theatre of operations.
The picture of the contemporary world is not made
up only of disturbing trends and actions. The
world's progress towards peace is actively
affected nowadays by a constructive factor—the
community of socialist States. Faithful to the
unchanged guide¬lines of their foreign policy,
members of our com¬munity continue persistently
to oppose the policy of armament and to
counteract the threat of nuclear war. They
resolutely declare themselves in favour of a
peaceful and just settlement of the problems of
the world of today, for detente and the
strengthening of international security, the
elimination of conflicts and trouble spots, as
well as the expansion of all-round equitable and
mutually beneficial international co¬operation.
It would be hard, too, not to perceive the
profound interest in expanding constructive
co¬operation displayed by the non-aligned,
developing and neutral States. Longings to remove
the nuclear threat are surfacing with growing
force among broad sections of the public, in the
activities of social forces and religious
movements.
Despite their adversaries, detente tendencies
have been lastingly embodied in the record of
accom¬plishments of the international community.
We realize that in today's divided world, detente
is variously interpreted. But to consider it
solely in terms of short- term gains and losses
and to treat it expediently as a political
instrument that can be discarded once it has
ceased to serve one's momentary advantage reveals
a profound lack of understanding of the laws of
the contemporary world. For us it is the only
effective instrument in the search for solutions
to pressing world problems and for abiding
guarantees of peace. Indeed, these accord with
both the vital desires and interests of the
Polish people and the requirements of progress in
international relations. Polish foreign policy
remains one of steadfast actions on behalf of
detente and broad international dialogue. We have
borne witness to this from the very beginning of
Poland's membership in the United Nations,
including our active participation in the work of
the Security Council.
In a few days 25 years will have passed since
from this very rostrum Adam Rapacki presented a
Polish plan, known by his name, for the
denuclearisation of Central Europe.
Unceasing in our efforts, several years later we
presented a momentous regional initiative to
convene a European security conference. Its great
success should be attributed to the perseverance
and single- mindedness of the socialist States
and the under-standing of its significance by
other participants. Consummated by the Final Act
of Helsinki, the process of the Conference on
Security and Co¬operation in Europe stands out as
one of the most optimistic elements of
contemporary international politics and an
important confirmation of the genuine
opportunities that exist for a positive evolution
of East-West relations, which exert their
decisive impact on the general climate of world
affairs.
The closeness of Europe's impingement on our
destinies in no way obscures our perception of
the wider international horizon, with all its
determinants and needs. The interdependence of
individual regions and the world as a whole has
been the guiding factor in a number of Polish
initiatives of a global nature, to mention only
the Declaration on the Preparation of Societies
for Life in Peace, adopted by the General
Assembly in resolution 33/73. Implementation in
good faith by all States of its weighty
provisions would help to build firm foundations
for peace and co-operation, free from prejudice,
arrogance and ill will.
The lasting record of Poland's foreign policy
comprises the process of the normalization of our
relations with the Federal Republic of Germany
initiated by the treaty of December 19707 That
treaty is of historic significance for the two
nations as well as for a constructive development
of the European situation and the security of our
continent. Practical implementation of its
principles has yielded positive results, both for
the two parties and for Europe at large. Poland
is invariably motivated by the need for that
process to be continued and, for its part, is
ready to make a further contribution to its
favourable advance. We expect also that the
Federal Republic of Germany in its policy in
relation to Poland will still be guided by its
obligations under the treaty and by the supreme
interests of European security and peace.
Throughout the history of the Organization we
have often heard it asked from this rostrum: what
must be done to save mankind from the tragedy
that would result from negative actions of
certain States if not checked in time? We ask the
question again, conscious as we are of its acute
relevance and urgency. The most pressing task at
present is to prevent a further deterioration of
the situation which, inter alia, amounts to
breaking the deadlock in disarmament negotiations
and talks aimed at eliminating conflicts.
The Polish Government has therefore par¬ticularly
welcomed the commencement of Soviet-American
talks on the limitation and reduction of nuclear
arms in Europe and on strategic arms limitation
and their reduction. They both fit the formula,
from which all stand to benefit, of strengthening
interna¬tional peace and security, that is,
limitation and containment of the arms race as
well as disarmament, which the Organization
considers to be the most important problem facing
the world today. The world awaits rapid and
concrete results from these talks.
It '<= also in the perspective of results that we evaluate the second special
session of the General Assembly devoted to
disarmament. We do not con¬ceal the fact that we
find them insufficient by far. Nevertheless, the
fact that the session was held in so complicated
an international situation can be regarded as a
positive development. Moreover, it witnessed an
event of the calibre of an historic pre¬cedent:
one of the nuclear Powers assumed a solemn
obligation not to be the first to use nuclear
weapons. It would be hard to exaggerate the
momentousness of that Soviet decision. If some
other Powers see in it alleged undertones of
propaganda, we can only encourage them to make
similar "propaganda" by pledging also that they
will not be the first ever to use nuclear weapons.
The objectives of the special session were
further helped by other important Soviet
decisions, including the unilateral moratorium on
deployment of medium-range missiles in the
European part of the USSR and a unilateral
reduction of a considerable number of such
missiles. Taken in conjunction with the whole
complex of issues put forward by the Soviet
Union, at the twelfth special session, : the
memorandum entitled "Averting the growing nuclear
threat"* and in the proposal entitled "Basic
provisions of a convention on the prohibition of
the development, production and stockpiling of
chemical weapons and on their destruction",* all
these decisions and pro¬posals add up to a new
and constructive impetus enhancing an effective
disarmament dialogue on a basis of equality,
reciprocity and undiminished secu¬rity of any
party.
133. For the time being, even partial progress in
arms limitation and disarmament can exert a
positive influence on the growth of the sense of
security of States and thus on their readiness to
enter into dialogue and deal with critical
political problems. Among issues of primary
importance that also appear on the agenda of this
session are banishing the danger of an outbreak
of nuclear war, eliminating chemical weapons, and
forestalling an arms race in outer space In the
light of the insane doctrines concerning the
possibility of limited or local nuclear war, and
even of winning a nuclear war, the Organization
is facing tasks of a sempiternal order.
In the province of closest interest to us, we are
in favour of promptly restoring the business-like
nature of the proceedings of the Madrid session
of the Con¬ference on Security and Co-operation
in Europe, including the adoption of a decision
to convene a conference on confidence-building
measures and disarmament in Europe. That would
also facilitate progress in the Vienna Talks on
the Mutual Reduction of Forces, Armaments and
Associated Measures in Central Europe.
Other political issues await settlement, and they
can be well served by the constructive proposals
of the Sixth Conference of the Ministers for
Foreign Affairs of the Lao People's Democratic
Republic, the People's Republic of Kampuchea and
the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam relating to
the situation in their region and especially to
non-interference in the internal affairs of the
People's Republic of Kampuchea and recognition of
its rightful place in the United
Nations.	Still of great significance are
the initiatives of the Government of Afghanistan
concerning the situation in South West Asia and
also the proposals of the Korean People's
Democratic Republic for the settlement of the
Korean question. They all have our full support.
Viewing international security in purely military
terms no longer meets the requirements of the
times. The Government of Poland believes that the
present- day catalogue of confidence-building
measures will be incomplete until and unless it
incorporates effective economic
confidence-building measures. Their object should
be to counteract the transfer of tensions to the
sphere of economic and trade co-operation and so
enable it to become a permanent material
foundation for the process of detente and a
factor easing political strain. Our concept of
economic confidence-building measures encompasses
the prohibition of unlawful economic restrictions
and discrimination as well asthe pursuit by
Governments of an active policy to induce
economic units to discharge in full obligations
incurred under relevant international
instruments. We consider the adoption of
large-scale and long-term projects in the basic
fields of international economic co-operation to
be an important element of economic confidence
building.
We are convinced that the elaboration and
subsequent adoption and implementation of a set
of economic confidence-building measures would
also make an important contribution to the
furtherance of the progressive ideas and
objectives of the new international economic
order, and of sound solutions within the global
negotiations.
The existence of the United Nations and its
accomplishments and experience are proof that a
com¬prehensive programme of positive action on an
inter¬national scale is feasible even today, when
various adverse developments in the world have
led to. the weakening of the Organization as a
recognized political authority and forum for the
easing of conflicts. Con¬vincing reference to
that effect has been made by the
Secretary-General in his enlightening report on
the work of the Organization.
The United Nations grew out of the good win of
nations and Governments. Whenever that good will
is lacking, the threshold of its capacity for
effective action is lowered. To act in the
interests of strengthening the role of the United
Nations and the principles of its Charter is to
invest in it the confidence and political good
will of Member States. The success of the
founding fathers of the United Nations 37 years
ago arose Rom the way in which, after the great
tragedy of destruction and suffering, the common
interest prevailed over that of the individual.
The desire to secure one-sided advantages today
only too often takes precedence over the common
good. We have to overcome this tendency and
return to the main underlying ideas of the
Organization. Poland is ready to continue to act
for the benefit of the supreme common purposes of
the United Nations.


115.	Mr. President, the General Assembly in
having unanimously decided to entrust you with
the task of guiding its work has thereby paid a
resounding tribute to you personally and to your
country. It is Tunisia's agreeable duty to join
in this tribute from this rostrum. At the same
time, the General Assembly has conferred upon you
a particularly heavy and delicate responsibility.
Fully cognizant of the very exceptional gravity
of the questions to be debated at this session,
Tunisia is convinced that you will
whole-heartedly guide our work with all the
competence and devotion and all the effectiveness
and objectivity of which we know you are capable.
In expressing its warm con¬gratulations to you,
my delegation would like to assure you of its
complete co-operation.
116.	I should also like to take this
opportunity to pay to your predecessor, Mr. Is
mat Kittani, the tribute he deserves for the
skill, objectivity and courtesy which he
displayed with admirable consistency throughout
the past year. His presidency will remain a
matter of pride for his country, as well as all
the other Arab, Moslem and non-aligned countries.
117.	The year that has just elapsed has shown
us once again that developments in the
international situation since the previous
session have not registered any appreciable
progress. What is more, the conditions under
which the present session is being held are
marked by an even greater and more disturbing
gravity.
118.	One need only observe the current
pervasive disorder in international relations to
realize the risks the world is running. Whether
it be the persistence of hotbeds of tension which
we have not managed to put out or the emergence
of new conflicts which we have not been able to
prevent, whether it be the growing imbalance in
international economic relations and their
disastrous consequences for the third-world
countries, whether it be, finally, the problems
of security and the all-out arms race, inevitably
we are faced with a turn of events extremely
difficult to control.
119.	When the elementary principles of
international law are daily trampled underfoot
throughout the world, when clear-cut acts of
aggression are committed with impunity and in
defiance of unanimously admitted standards, when
genocide is premeditated and con¬fessed openly
without the guilty party being ener¬getically and
immediately thwarted in its dark designs and when
international peace and security are so sorely
undermined without the Security Council
shouldering its primary responsibility in timely
and appropriate fashion, we are entitled to feel
doubts, indeed anguish, about the effectiveness
and viability of the international order we have
today.
120.	Given that international relations are
based more and more on the principle of
interdependence and that the conflicts and crises
which affect one group of parties automatically
have an impact on the interests of other parties,
we are forced to the conclusion that we stand
together. We are at one concerning how we wish to
build the world for ourselves and for future
generations. We are at one concerning the
conse¬quences of any serious decision which
various parties may take unilaterally. It is here
in this Hall, and nowhere else, it is within the
Organization that this solidarity must be
expressed and made real, and it is on the basis
of the principles of the Charter that the unity
of our goals and the unity of our action can be
shown.
121.	This is to assume that the Organization
is strong and respected, that it can be the
conscience of the world and at the same time a
recourse for those among us who are victims of
any violation whatsoever of the principles to
which we adhere. In a word, it is to assume that
the Organization is able to say what is right and
to see that right is respected.
122.	But what in fact do we see? Each time
there is a flagrant violation of the Charter, the
Security Council, to which the Member States have
entrusted the main responsibility for maintaining
international peace and security, can only
discuss the question. However, we must note that
the veto, which has been used and abused more and
more in recent times, all too often puts a stop
to all discussion and thus to any action by the
Council. When it is not the veto which obstructs
the Council, it is the party complained of,
which, with disturbing calmness and awareness of
impunity, immediately rejects the resolution
which has been adopted and declares null and void
any initiative by the Council. In the words of
the Secretary- General, we are perilously near to
a new international anarchy.
123.	In this situation, which is more and more
dangerous for international relations, Tunisia
has never missed an opportunity, especially of
late during its term as a member of the Security
Council, as Well as in the General Assembly—of
showing its concern and calling for widespread
awareness of that danger. My country, which has
always given its full and unreserved support to
all United Nations efforts to carry out its
mission for international peace and security and
to establish a better balance in economic
relations, recog¬nizes that the United Nations
has played an extremely important role,
particularly in facilitating the irreversible
process of decolonization and in clearly stating
the relationship between the process of
decolo¬nization and the process of development.
My country considers, indeed, that the
Organization is the unique and irreplaceable
international forum for negotiation and, when
necessary, for decision. This explains our fear
and concern when we see the state of semi
paralysis in which the United Nations finds
itself. It also explains our great satisfaction
5n seeing our own concerns reflected in the
report on the work of the Organization submitted
by the Secretary-General.
124.	It is happy and comforting to know that
less than a year after taking office the
Secretary-General has officially pointed out,
with remarkable clarity and authority, the
dangers which threaten the United Nations, and at
the same time the world. It is equally comforting
that the Secretary-General has taken care to put
forward specific suggestions and proposals for
retrieving, before it is too late, a situation
which if left alone would inevitably lead to the
decline of the Organization.
125.	Aware of the consistent position taken by
Tunisia in this connection, a position which we
had the opportunity of stating again during his
recent visit to us, the Secretary-General will
not be surprised to hear Tunisia confirm to him
from this rostrum its total confidence, as well
as its support for any action to strengthen the
Organization and defend its high and noble goals,
because in my country legality is a watchword,
and international legality is conceived of as an
intangible principle which must necessarily
underlie the conduct of international relations.
126.	It is to international legality that
Tunisia and its President have appealed each time
some conflict in the world has had to be
resolved. Recent events in the crucible of the
Middle East have brought to the forefront the
constant concern of President Bourguiba to endow
his thinking and his actions with the neces¬sary
legitimacy, on the basis of the sacrosanct
principle of legality.
127.	What has been called the Bourguiba Plan
for a just solution to the Palestinian problem is
based in fact on a return to and use of the
international legal principles defined as early
as 1947 which, regardless of their imperfections,
could not be rejected by anyone, least of all by
those whose birth and very existence depend on
them—but those are the very people who today show
the most complete scorn for international law,
the principles of the Charter and the entire
Orga¬nization, adopting an attitude of defiance
and arrogance and ignoring the decisions and
recommendations of the international community.
128.	The General Assembly is beginning its
work at a time when the entire world has just
witnessed a frightful massacre carried out in
cold blood in Pal¬estinian refugee camps by armed
bands trained and financed by Tel Aviv, in the
presence and with the complicity of the Israeli
occupation forces which had encircled the Sabra
and Shatila camps. The wave of Shock at this
hateful crime has led to consternation, horror
and outrage throughout the world. There is not
the slightest doubt that by moving into west
Beirut, in violation of the agreements reached
through the intermediary of the Habib mission,
the Israeli leaders bear the whole responsibility
for this crime against humanity. Under the
pretext of protecting the civilian population of
Beirut, they in fact allowed their legion of
mercenaries to do the dirty work. This tragedy,
unprecedented in the recent history of mankind,
is the logical consequence of the paranoia
characteristic of those in power in Israel, who
consider each Pal¬estinian a potential terrorist
and, as such, an absolute evil which must be
rooted out and exterminated. Is not a former
Prime Minister of Israel alleged to have admitted
to that sense of fear at the birth of each
Palestinian child?
129.	What can only be called the hasty retreat
of the multinational forces of separation in
leaving the refugee camps without protection,
despite the fears expressed in the first place by
the Palestinian leaders, was evidence of that
criminal design. This appalling slaughter, among
the victims of which were thousands of women,
children and the elderly, is the result of this
diabolical war launched by the Israeli Government
on 6 June. In fact since that time, the Israeli
Army, with considerable manpower and material of
a very sophisticated kind, has invaded more than
half of Lebanon, causing immense destruction and
partic¬ularly heavy human losses among the
Lebanese and Palestinian populations, estimated
by UNICEF to be 30,000 dead and wounded in Beirut
alone.
130.	Under the false pretext of ensuring the
security of its northern frontiers, where a
ceasefire has been in force since July 1981,
Israel has put into operation the final phase —in
accordance with its strategy—of its plan to
annihilate the Palestinian resistance centered on
the PLO, leading to the elimina¬tion of the
Palestinian presence in Lebanon, by terrorization
and the destruction of their shelters.
131.	In the past, the Tel Aviv authorities
tried in vain to establish a tame new
administration to carry out in Israeli-style
autonomy in the occupied terri¬tories on the West
Bank and in Gaza, once the democratically elected
municipal councils had been dissolved and
replaced by village leagues which are armed
groups that bring about Israeli order  in the
expectation that a quisling will emerge to serve
as a likely negotiator.
13z. Neither the systematic repression of the
occupied territories, nor the use of
sophisticated military arsenals, including
phosphorous and frag¬mentation bombs as well as
implosion bombs, or the terrible bombardment of
west Beirut, has succeeded in overcoming the
determination of the Palestinians to fight to
defend their legitimate cause, as President
Reagan himself recognized in his statement on 1
September.
133. For 60 years, the Palestinian people, faced
with Zionist designs on their country, have never
ceased to fight. In spite of the ups and downs of
an unequal struggle and the fact that on three
occasions since 1948 the Palestinians have been
dispersed, Palestinian nationalism has emerged
strengthened from each test, because never in the
long history of colonialism Las brute force
succeeded in overcoming the determina¬tion of
peoples who fight for liberation. The
Pal¬estinian people, driven from their homeland
and pursued with hatred and tenacity in exile,
have paid heavily for their recognition of their
inalienable right to self-determination and the
establishment of their own State.
134.	By subjecting an entire country to fire
and bloodshed, by massacring savagely and
indiscrimi¬nately thousands and thousands of
innocent people, by depriving blockaded
populations of any sanitary or humanitarian aid,
by creating finally even more victims, including
victims among their own ranks, which has never
happened before in the confronta¬tions in that
region, was Israel really, in those con¬ditions,
responding to its need for security, or did it
use its military power to ensure its supremacy?
135.	If we are to believe Time magazine of 20
Sep¬tember 1982, Israel is the fourth largest
military power in the world. In those conditions,
how can they use vulnerability and insecurity as
pretexts when what is involved is the appeasement
of dominating and expansionist instincts? What is
involved is an attempt to establish its own order
in Lebanon, which is an independent and sovereign
country. It is a question of stripping an entire
people, the Palestinians, of its rights to
self-determination and to a State, and of
discrediting its unique and sole representative,
the PLO.
136.	That is what really lies behind the
notion of security invoked each time by Israel;
it is nothing but a code name to camouflage dark
designs. Do we have to emphasize that security is
the constant concern of all peoples in the
region? It is also a condition neces¬sary to
their development. Security cannot be con¬ceived
of as being the supremacy of one State over
others, implying a right to intervene in the
internal affairs of other countries, nor could
security be con¬sidered as a means of
legitimizing the subjugation of- peoples.
137.	One reality emerges clearly from all
those events: that of an imperative need to end
the tragedy of the Middle East. Any further delay
would risk jeopardizing forever peace and
security in that region and in the world. To that
end, the Palestinian people and the other Arab
peoples, with a single voice —through their
leaders who met at the Twelfth Arab Summit
Conference at Fez—have shown their deter¬mination
to achieve a just, overall and lasting solution
of the problems.
138.	Two basic principles were clearly
defined: first, the withdrawal by the Israelis
from all Arab terri¬tories, including Jerusalem,
and then the recognition of the absolute right of
the Palestinians to self- determination and to
the establishment of their own State under the
leadership of the PLO. It also involves the right
of all the peoples of the region to live in peace
under the guarantee of the Security Council;
which has that role in accordance with the
Charter.
139.	That plan, which has the merit of
international legality and takes into account all
the recent public peace initiatives—in particular
that by President Reagan in which we noted with
satisfaction a more correct appreciation of the
realities of our region—for the first time
presents a specific means of implementing a
lasting world solution.
140.	However, whereas the peace efforts of the
Arab countries arouse interest and even support
among many countries, the Tel Aviv authorities,
by the use of arrogance and defiance as an
overriding weapon, remain hidebound in their
complete and total refusal:  no  to the Fez Arab
peace plans;  no  to the self-determination of
the Pal¬estinian people and the creation of their
State;  no  to the existence of the PLO, although
it is recognized by 117 States;  no  to the
Venice Declaration;  no  to the Franco-Egyptian
plan;  no  to the Brezhnev plan; and  no  to the
Reagan plan of September. The entire world is in
the wrong; Israel alone is in the right.
141.	At the Fez Summit Conference an historic
turning point was reached by Arab countries,
opening up new prospects towards a lasting peace.
It is the duty of the Organization and of the
Security Council in the first instance to assume
their responsibilities, to end this infernal
cycle of brute force which can only exacerbate
passions, feed the extremists, creates radical
attitudes and deals a fatal blow to the hopes for
peace of the peoples of that region.
142.	It is comforting to see the action taken
by the advocates of peace in the Middle East,
including Israel itself, growing continuously.
Everything must be done to ensure that the Fez
message of peace does not become one more lost
opportunity.
143.	If we are appealing today more than ever
for respect for international legality, it is
because in this period of disturbance and
disorder in which we live legality is the only
way for us to speak a common language. It
constitutes for us all the law which each must
respect.
144.	It is this legality which we wish to see
respected in Namibia and elsewhere. It is the
illegal occupation of Namibia that we have always
denounced with all our strength. It is
recognition of the legitimate rights of the
fraternal Namibian people, represented by SWAPO
that we demand. It is the rapid and definitive
solution of the anachronistic problem of Namibia
in application of the relevant United Nations
resolutions that is our deepest aspiration. It is
our desire to see with us as soon as possible
here in the United Nations a free and independent
Namibia that we are expressing today, at a time
when hope of a solution is dawning.
145.	It is in that same spirit that we
denounce most forcefully once again today the
inhuman practice of apartheid, which the
segregationist and racist Pretoria regime has
made into a system.
146.	We appeal to the conscience of the
international community so that without further
delay that aberra¬tion of our time may be ended,
as mankind approaches the end of the twentieth
century. It is a political, economic and social
problem, but it is also and above all as we see
it a problem of civilization. To the people of
South Africa, to its leaders, represented by the
African National Congress, who are steadfastly
struggling for the sake of civilization, we
reaffirm our esteem and our active solidarity.
147.	Other equally grave hotbeds of tension
continue to disturb the African continent. The
conflict in Western Sahara that still disturbs
the northern part of the continent, the conflict
in the horn of Africa, the problems of refugees,
and displaced persons, the problems of drought
and hunger, make it necessary for the Africans
themselves to redouble their efforts and draw on
their traditional wisdom to find settlement
procedures that are acceptable to all and thus to
strengthen the ranks of the Organization of
African Unity, which has throughout its history
played a particularly positive and indeed
irreplaceable role.
148.	The OAU, to which nearly one third of the
Mem¬bers of the United Nations belong and which
is pursuing at the regional level the same
objectives as the United Nations has demonstrated
that it is able to contribute substantially to
the work of the Organization, which is universal
in its calling.
149.	As regards the situation in Asia, in
Afghanistan and in Kampuchea, no notable progress
has been recorded in the past year towards the
solutions advocated by the General Assembly.
Foreign forces are still occupying the
territories of those two coun¬tries. The Afghan
and Kampuchean peoples are still being prevented
from exercising their right freely to decide on
their own system of government. Interna¬tional
legality and the principles of the Charter
con¬tinue to be disregarded. It is time that the
peoples of those two countries, like other
peoples, at last had the right to speak.
150.	The particularly sensitive Gulf region,
because of the unjustified persistence of the war
between Iraq and Iran, two fraternal neighbouring
countries which should enjoy understanding and
co-operation, con¬tinues to constitute a source
of major concern to us and to all who desire
stability and equilibrium in that region. We have
noted with great interest the con¬structive
attitude taken by one of the parties and we ask
that international legality be respected, here as
elsewhere, and that Security Council resolutions
479 (1980) and 514 (1982) be fully implemented.
151. The use of force, regardless of its
immediate results, can never bring about peace
and security. It is through the peaceful
settlement of disputes that the objective of
genuine peace can be achieved. It is through
dialogue and negotiation that just and lasting
solutions can be found. This will always be our
preferred course of action. We support this same
course of action for the settlement of disputes
that have lasted some time now, as well as for
those that have emerged more recently, such as
the conflict that broke out in the South Atlantic
over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) and which,
because it grew out of all proportion, seriously
disturbed the world.
152. We appeal to the United Kingdom and the
Republic of Argentina, two friends of Tunisia, to
resume, on the basis of the relevant resolutions
of the General Assembly, the dialogue which was
interrupted, using once again the good offices of
the Secretary- General, whose commendable efforts
in that matter, had they not been hindered, would
have spared many lives and thus enhanced the role
of the United Nations.	,
153. In this general context of disorder, tension
and confrontation the second special session of
the General Assembly devoted to disarmament was
held from 7 June to 10 July last. My country had
hoped that that session would bring about a
general awareness of the danger of widespread
conflagration which haunts the world. It had
hoped that the international com¬munity would
take appropriate measures to prevent war and to
arrive at an agreement which would prohibit for
ever the use or the threat of use of nuclear
weapons, an agreement on which the fate of all
mankind depends.
154.	Our disappointment and our frustration
were great when our efforts failed. The necessary
political will for such an agreement was lacking,
particularly on the part of those with the
largest arsenals of weapons of destruction. Could
it have been otherwise, when the biggest Powers
seek only to ensure their own security without
much concern for international peace and security?
155.	We venture to hope that at this session
those who in the past were not ready will have
decided to make the necessary efforts to join
their will to that of the great majority
expressed here, especially through the
non-aligned countries, and thus make it possible
to prevent a nuclear disaster, achieve general
and complete disarmament and focus exclusively on
economic and social development in peace and
security.
156.	The international economic situation
continues to stagnate in crisis and is cause for
the most serious concern. Year after year we
witness a worsening of the already very
precarious conditions of two thirds of mankind.
The facts are there, shameful, distressing.
157.	In 1980 nearly 800 million human beings
had an annual per capita income of less than $150
and they continue to live in miserable conditions
of absolute poverty. If nothing is done to remedy
this situation their numbers will increase in
absolute figures by approximately 30 per cent and
will reach the figure of 1 billion by the year
2000.
158.	In a world economy characterized by
uncer¬tainty and instability and affected by
destabilizing and disturbing phenomena which
seriously obstruct its growth rate in the short
and medium term, the prospects for the developing
world are grim indeed.
159.	The sacrifices and efforts made by the
devel¬oping countries, moreover, no longer
receive the back¬up and support that are needed
from a developed world which is becoming
increasingly egocentric. In fact, official
development assistance from member countries of
the Organization for Economic Co¬operation and
Development decreased by 6 per cent in 1981.
Furthermore, the excessive indebtedness of the
majority of developing countries has passed the
critical threshold, and may at any time plunge
many of these countries into bankruptcy. In
addition, the proliferation and strengthening of
protectionist measures in the developed countries
may stifle, if they have not already done so, the
emerging industries of the developing countries.
160.	In brief, in their economic and social
develop¬ment efforts the developing countries are
facing serious obstacles: a deficit in the
balance of payments, deterioration in the terms
of trade, a decrease in the volume of their
exports, higher debt-servicing costs,
over-indebtedness and galloping imported
inflation. The steady deterioration of the
economic conditions of the developing countries
does not seem to be of much concern to the
industrialized countries, which, claiming
domestic economic difficulties, obstruct change
and oppose reform.
161.	Urgent change is none the less greatly needed in order to restructure international
economic relations on the basis of justice,
equity and sovereign equality, in accordance with
the objectives of the new interna¬tional economic
order. To that end the members of the Group of 77
have proposed a new approach in a suitable
framework. They are prepared to undertake,
through global negotiations, an egalitarian,
universal and dynamic dialogue, in order to study
in a democratic forum, that of the General
Assembly, the major problems in the way of
international economic co¬operation. Instead of
seizing the opportunity to engage in genuine,
constructive and comprehensive negotia¬tions, our
partners from the developed countries seem more
concerned to safeguard and protect the excessive
advantages inherited from an unjust economic
order.
162.	We are very disturbed at the lack of the
sincere political will to launch the global
negotiations on international economic
co-operation for develop¬ment. We believe it is
high time for the international community to
reach agreement in this respect.
163.	It is encouraging to see in the
communique issued after the Versailles Economic
Summit in June that the growth of the developing
countries and the strengthening of constructive
relations with them are vital to the political
and economic prosperity of the world.
Paradoxically, however, we are witnessing an
erosion of the spirit of international
co-operation. In recent years the developing
countries have faced the rejection of dialogue by
their industrialized partners from the north.
164.	Our disappointment and our frustrations
are increasing. Never before has international
co-operation met so many obstacles, so often been
deadlocked. We are even witnessing a calling into
question of mutually accepted commitments to
increase con¬siderably the financial resources of
UNDP. The deterioration of the financial
situation of UNDP is a source of concern and
anxiety for all the developing countries. Such
deterioration may not only hinder the
implementation of those countries^ projects and
pro¬grammes but even endanger the very principle
of multilateral co-operation, which is urgently
necessary for the international community, and in
particular for developing countries.
165.	It is essential, bearing in mind how far
we are from attaining the objectives that we have
set through our agreements, to redouble our
efforts to give UNDP the financial means that it
needs to enable it to sup¬port and aid the
developing countries on a foreseeable, secure and
continuing basis in their economic and social
development efforts.
166.	This attitude of rejection and
obstruction on the part of certain developed
countries is undeniably harmful to both the
credibility and the ideals of the United Nations.
It could destroy the rare achievements of
multilateral co-operation, the results of so many
years of effort.
167.	We for our part will continue to believe
in the virtues of dialogue and agreement, a
democratic, com¬prehensive, global dialogue for
the consideration of questions and for
decision-making. In this respect, we are pleased
that the Third United Nations Conference on the
Law of the Sea has arrived at a convention which,
despite the dissatisfaction that it may have
provoked in certain quarters, none the less
constitutes the embodiment of the law. We
strongly hope that the results of 10 years of
painstaking efforts and intense negotiations will
soon be formally adopted by the entire
international community.
168.	The agenda of the thirty-seventh session,
on only a few items of which I have touched,
clearly demonstrates the seriousness of our
responsibilities and the importance of the task
before us, an enormous and most exhilarating task
if we are truly to find solu¬tions to the
problems of our day and prepare a better future
for ourselves and our children. We must, first
and foremost, rid ourselves of the specter of war
and the threat of a nuclear holocaust, for which
some with thoughtless equanimity are preparing.
169.	It is urgently necessary to put an end to
so-called localized wars and other regional
conflicts which, like the one in the Middle East,
spread and grow sharper day by day, bearing the
constant danger of an overall conflagration.
170.	We must take fully into account our
com¬plementarity and our interdependence in order
to prepare at last a new international order
suited to our time. We must ensure strict respect
for the principles embodied in the Charter and
make this forum the primary place for agreement
and negotiation, which alone can enable us to
find comprehensive and generally acceptable
solutions to our problems.
171.	By adopting that course of action we
defend the aims and objectives of the
Organization and disprove the forecasts of its
critics by strengthening its effectiveness, its
prestige and its credibility. This is the course
that Tunisia intends resolutely to pursue.