May I begin by congratulating you warmly, Sir, on your election to the presidency of this session of the General Assembly. I am sure that, with your remarkable ability and rich experience and the concerted efforts of representatives from various countries, this session will be a success. I also wish to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to your predecessor, Mr. Peter Florin, for his outstanding contribution in fulfilling the high mission of President of the last session.
When the forty-second session of the General Assembly opened here a year ago people already saw signs of relaxation in the prolonged international tension. Now, a year later, when we look at the world situation again, the trend towards relaxation is definitely gaining greater momentum. Some problems that have long been a cause of concern are heading towards solution. The Soviet-United States Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles - the INF Treaty - signed last December after many years of negotiations, is being implemented.
Agreement was finally reached in April tills year on the Afghan question, which has been a cause of grave concern to the international community for more than eight years, and the Soviet troop withdrawal is now under way.
Another issue of grave international concern is the eight-year-long war between Iran and Iraq, but the situation has at last taken a Favourable turn thanks to acceptance of Security Council resolution 598 (1987) by the two sides. The two countries have agreed to a cease-fire and are on the way to a negotiated peace. In south-west Africa, after long years of war and upheaval, the parties concerned have reached agreement in principle on the withdrawal of foreign troops from Angola and on the initial steps to implement Security Council resolution 435 (1978) regarding the independence of Namibia. There have also been positive developments in the Horn of Africa, Western Sahara and the eastern Mediterranean. Efforts towards a settlement of the Middle East and Central American questions are also being made.
Dialogue is playing an increasingly prominent role in improving the international situation. There has been frequent dialogue between the United States and the Soviet Union, and also fairly active dialogue between the parties concerned on questions of regional conflicts. In various regional organizations and conferences in Asia, Africa and Latin America, in the Non-Aligned Movement and in many bilateral contacts, countries are seeking settlement of international, regional or bilateral issues through dialogue. This year saw the first meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Balkan region, which was aimed at boosting co-operation among the Balkan countries. In order to ease the situation on the Korean peninsula and promote the peaceful reunification of Korea, the north and the south of Korea are making contacts. Facts show fully that in today's world dialogue is taking the place of confrontation, and the tendency to seek the peaceful settlement of international disputes is growing. This is a striking feature of the present international situation. Obviously, it is the outcome of the common efforts of all countries and is deeply rooted in the events of the time.
In the past 40 years or more since the Second World War history has made giant strides forward. The colonial system is now a thing of the past. Former colonies and, dependencies have become sovereign States one after another and stand on their own feet in the family of nations. Respect for each other's independence and sovereignty and opposition to foreign aggression and oppression has become a most important feature in the international politics of the day. The power politics that prevailed in former days are becoming less and less operative. Facts have shown time and time again that even the super-Powers, which possess strength unmatched anywhere in the world, cannot conquer weaker and smaller nations by force and impose their will on others. All their attempts have inevitably failed because of the resolute resistance of the peoples subjected to aggression and the widespread condemnation by the international community. This is thought-provoking.
While the danger of war still exists, the forces of peace are steadily growing. People all over the world have voiced an increasingly strong demand for peace and against war. None of the third-world. East European or West European countries or other developed countries want to go through the holocaust of another world war. Even the super-Powers, which possess sufficient nuclear armaments to destroy the Earth several times over, do not believe that they could win a nuclear war. All these factors have helped to check the outbreak of another world war.
Problems among developing countries ought to be settled through negotiation. Unfortunately, some differences have given rise to armed conflicts. There is a growing trend in developing countries towards seeking the peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue. This indicates that they are becoming more and more aware that their major historical task is to develop their national economies and improve the quality of people's lives, and that armed conflicts among themselves can only deplete their national strength, to the detriment of their fundamental interests. War means mutual disaster, while peace brings mutual benefit. If the third-world countries handle their relations in this spirit, it will greatly hasten their development and enable them to play a more effective role in the cause of maintaining regional and global peace.
Rapidly developing science and technology, which is being translated into unprecedented great productive forces, spurs the development of the economy and is changing the face of human society. This is a salient feature of the present era. The aggregate strength of a country depends more and more on its economic, scientific and technological level. A review of post-war history clearly indicates that countries which practise hegemonism and engage in the arms race, foreign expansion and military conflicts have found their national strength seriously weakened, while those countries which devote themselves to the development of science, technology, the economy and education have rapidly grown strong. Some have even risen in the world as great economic Powers with advanced science and technology. Meanwhile, the third world is very active in the international arena as a growing political force. Many regional political and economic organizations are also playing an ever more important part in international affairs. With the combination of these elements, the world is moving from bipolarization to multipolarization, which, in our view, is conducive to peace.
It is against such a backdrop that there emerges the trend of dialogue replacing confrontation and of the peaceful settlement of international disputes. These developments are a source of encouragement to the people of all countries.
However, is the present world free from troubles? Obviously it is not. The root cause of turbulence in the world has not yet been removed. The peoples of all countries must make unremitting efforts to safeguard world peace.
The world's peoples are faced with the common task of halting the arms race and striving for disarmament in order to preserve peace. The recently concluded third special session of the United Nations General Assembly devoted to disarmament represented a major effort by the international community to push forward the process of disarmament. Although the special session failed to achieve specific results because of the rigid positions taken by one or two countries, in disregard

of the reasonable demand of the vast majority of countries, the statements made by representatives of many countries and non-governmental organizations and the suggestions and propositions that they put forward mirrored the universal desire of the international community for peace and disarmament. The powerful public opinion arising there from has a positive impact on the promotion of the disarmament process. The special session enabled people to have a clearer picture of the present state of the arms race and the correct orientation of and approach to disarmament. On the question of disarmament, the Chinese delegation deems it necessary to expound the following three points at this session of the General Assembly.
First, it is a welcome development that the United States and the Soviet Union have taken a step forward on the road to disarmament. However, we cannot but note that the huge nuclear arsenals they possess still pose a threat to world peace. The arms race between them is still going on. They are trying greatly to improve and upgrade the quality and function of their respective nuclear weapons, vying with each other to develop high-tech weaponry and extending the arms race to outer space. Hence, the disarmament task remains arduous and formidable.
Secondly, countries across the world have repeatedly reaffirmed the important principle that the super-Powers, which possess the largest and most sophisticated arsenals, bear a special responsibility for disarmament and should take the lead in drastically cutting their arms. This is a correct direction and an effective approach for the realization of disarmament. We hope that the super-Powers will, in conformity with the trend of the times, quicken their pace on the road to disarmament and reach agreement on a drastic reduction of nuclear weapons at an early date, starting with a 50 per cent cut in strategic nuclear weapons. Their talks on conventional disarmament should also be speeded up and the arms race in outer space, in all its forms, should be halted.
Thirdly, the question of disarmament concerns the security interests of all countries. Countries, big or small, strong or weak, all have the right to participate in the discussion and settlement of the disarmament question on an equal footing, and can each play a positive role. The super-Powers should respect and take seriously into consideration the reasonable demands and propositions set forth by the small and medium-sized countries. The United Nations and other multilateral disarmament agencies are important venues for the discussion and solution of this question by all parties on an equal basis. Their role should be strengthened. Multilateral and bilateral disarmament negotiations should complement and promote each other.
The third special session of the United Nations General Assembly devoted to disarmament showed that most countries have identical or similar views on the aforementioned questions. We hope that the current session of the General Assembly will give full expression to the strong desire of these countries, and make significant progress towards disarmament. While there is greater effort to seek the peaceful settlement of regional conflicts through dialogue, the Flames of war in quite a Few conflict-ridden areas are yet to be extinguished. Dialogue on a number of issues has failed to make substantive progress. On some other issues, although agreements have been reached, the successful implementation of those agreements requires continued efforts by the parties concerned. In international relations the Chinese Government has all along advocated the observance of the five principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. As regards regional conflicts, it has always stood for a fair and reasonable political settlement; therefore aggression must be stopped, foreign troops withdrawn and the sovereignty of all countries respected. Differences among developing countries should all the more be settled appropriately through peaceful negotiations on mutually acceptable terms.
The Chinese Government has consistently opposed Israel's policy of aggression and expansion and supported the just struggle of the Palestinian and other Arab peoples and the efforts of the Arab countries and the Palestine Liberation Organization (РLO) to seek a solution to the Middle East question. We hope to see an early, fair and comprehensive solution to the question and an end to the turmoil caused by four decades of war, so that the people of the Middle East may enjoy peace again.
We are concerned about peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. China supports the reasonable proposition of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea for the independent and peaceful reunification of the country through consultation and dialogue and opposes any action that adds to tension on the peninsula.
Following the decision of the Soviet Union to pull out lt4 troops from Afghanistan, the international community has voiced an even stronger demand for Vietnamese troop withdrawal from Kampuchea and for an end to the war of aggression. Regrettably, however, what the Vietnamese authorities have been doing runs counter to the desire and demand of the international community. While professing their readiness to withdraw their troops, they have put forward unreasonable demands in an attempt to delay their troop withdrawal and legalize the results of their aggression, so as to get what they have failed to achieve in their 10-year war of aggression. It should be stressed that on the Kampuchean question Viet Nam is the aggressor and the Vietnamese troops are the only foreign troops on Kampuchean territory. It is explicitly and solemnly stated in the very first Article of the United Nations Charter that to maintain international peace and security it is essential to take effective measures for the suppression of acts of aggression. Since the Vietnamese invasion of Kampuchea, the General Assembly has for nine successive years adopted resolutions calling for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Kampuchea so as to facilitate the settlement of the Kampuchean problem by the Kampuchean people themselves, free from outside interference. All this shows that the international community brooks no legalization of the results of aggression. The Chinese Government considers it necessary for the current session of the General Assembly to reiterate those just demands and to uphold the sanctity of the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.
The Chinese Government has for the past decade worked hard towards a fair and reasonable settlement of the Kampuchean question. Recently it has further elaborated its position on the question, which can be summed up in the following five points.
First, a complete withdrawal by Viet Nam of its troops from Kampuchea is the key to a settlement of the Kampuchean question. The Vietnamese side should produce, as soon as possible, a timetable for its troop withdrawal from Kampuchea within a short period of time.
Secondly, we favour the establishment, with Prince Norodom Sihanouk in charge, of a provisional quadripartite coalition government in Kampuchea as Viet Nam withdraws its troops from the country. Each faction's candidates for the provisional government should be proposed by the faction itself but should be acceptable to the other parties concerned. We stand for a quadripartite coalition in Kampuchea. We are against the exclusion of any of the four factions from it or the exercise of power by any one faction alone.
Thirdly, upon the establishment of the provisional quadripartite coalition government of Kampuchea, a freeze should be imposed on the activities of the Kampuchean armed forces of all factions. They should refrain from becoming involved in politics and interfering in the general election, so that the Kampuchean people may conduct a free election in the absence of outside interference and the threat of force. To prevent a civil war in Kampuchea the existing armed forces of all factions might be disbanded, to facilitate the creation of a unified national defence force composed of an equal number of officers and men from each of the four factions, under a unified command.
Fourthly, practical and effective international supervision should be instituted over Viet Nam's troop withdrawal, the maintenance of peace in Kampuchea and the conduct of a free election there. To that end the Chinese Government supports the proposition for the sending to Kampuchea of an international peace-keeping force and an international control committee.
Fifthly, when the parties concerned have reached agreement on a political settlement of the Kampuchean question, China will be ready to join other countries in an international guarantee for an independent, neutral and non-aligned Kampuchea.
It must be clear to all that China seeks no self-interest in Kampuchea as in any other region of the world. The Chinese Government's position is based entirely on the principle of opposing aggression, upholding justice and safeguarding the United Nations Charter and the norms governing international relations. It is our hope that the international community will continue to work under this principle for a fair and just settlement of the Kampuchean question.
We should attach adequate importance to world economic problems while paying attention to the international political situation. The current world economic development is extremely uneven, despite the presence of a few positive factors. Worrisome problems still exist and some have even gone from bad to worse. While developed countries have enjoyed economic growth for six successive years, developing countries have suffered severe economic setbacks. Many of them have witnessed increasing signs of stagnation in the process of development. The economic difficulties of African countries have aroused wide concern. The heavy debt burden, reduced inflow of funds, worsening trade terms and growing protectionism have all seriously hampered the economic growth of developing countries. All this demonstrates that present international economic relations are becoming increasingly out of accord with the needs of economic growth in the world and of developing countries in particular.
In the present-day world there is even greater economic interdependence among countries. Developed countries will find it difficult to sustain their economic growth if developing countries long remain in difficulties and their economies cannot move ahead. It is an urgent task in the international economic sphere to improve, by effective measures, the external environment of developing countries in such fields as commodities, trade, debt, capital, currency and finance. That would contribute not only to resumed growth and development of developing countries but also to the stability and growth of the world economy. Recently the Group of 77 has proposed the convening of a special session of the United Nations General Assembly devoted to economic matters. The United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Perez de Cuellar, has also proposed a summit meeting similar to the Cancun Meeting. The Chinese Government seconds those proposals and hopes to see increased North-South co-operation through dialogue and the invigoration of the world economy.
Over the past few years, regional economic co-operation has increased markedly, which is an important trend in international economic relations. We believe that regional co-operation based on equality and mutual benefit is of positive significance, for it helps the development of different regions. At the same time I should like to emphasize that in the present world economic conditions neither a country nor a region can achieve development and prosperity behind closed doors. It has to open itself to the outside world. Trade protectionism, while harming others, is in the final analysis detrimental to the initiator as well. It is our hope that countries and regions across the world will open up to and complement one another, to the benefit of their common development and prosperity.
As there is growing regional co-operation in the world, co-operation and development in the Asia-Pacific region have attracted more and more attention in recent years. This region is indeed making rapid economic progress and has tremendous potential. However, the development level varies with different countries in the region, where many countries remain underdeveloped or even impoverished. As a large country in the region, China supports regional economic co-operation. China's development is closely linked with that of the Asia-Pacific region. We hope to see closer co-operation and the common prosperity of all countries in the region.
China will implement unswervingly the policy of deepening reform and wider opening to the outside world. It is opening itself to the whole world, including the developed and developing countries, countries whose social systems are similar to or different from the system of China. Recently, we have adopted new measures in an effort to restructure our foreign trade and improve our investment environment. Most important, we have mapped out an economic development strategy for China's coastal regions. Those regions, which cover an area of about 320,000 square kilometres with a population of 160 million, boast a better infrastructure, greater economic and technological strength and higher quality of labour force. Accelerating their opening-up and strengthening their multi faceted, multi channel and multiform economic and technological co-operation with the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world will not only speed up China's economic development but also make positive contributions to the prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region and that of the world as a whole.
This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Forty years ago the people and Governments of various countries that had suffered from the catastrophe of the two world wars worked out and adopted that Declaration through their joint efforts. It is the first international instrument that systematically and specifically sets forth respect for and protection of fundamental human rights. Despite its historical limitations, the Declaration has exerted a Far-reaching influence on the development of post-war international human rights activities and has played a positive role in that regard. In the past four decades the concept of human rights has continuously developed, and its content has been enriched and its theory improved. A series of subsequent declarations and conventions concerning human rights has further developed and stipulated in detail the specific content of each human right. In this connection particular mention should be made of such important items as the right to national self-determination, the right to racial equality, the permanent sovereign right over natural wealth and resources and the right to development. All those are of great significance to the fight for equality, freedom and liberation waged by the nations and peoples under the apartheid system of foreign aggression and oppression, to the efforts made by countries newly independent in the post-war period to preserve their sovereignty and territorial integrity and to the demands of the developing countries for restructuring the irrational international economic situation. The Chinese Government has always appreciated and supported the United Nations efforts to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.
Three years ago, from this solemn rostrum, the Chinese leader Zhao Ziyang pointed out that the world needs the United Nations, while the United Nations needs the support of the world. Events have repeatedly testified to that important thesis. With the passage of time the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, which are increasingly recognized as norms governing international relations and as an embodiment of the lofty ideals of mankind, are playing an ever greater role in the international community.
Despite its inadequacies the United Nations is irreplaceable in its role as the most broadly representative and most influential international organization in the world. Gone are the days when a few big Powers could manipulate world affairs. The United Nations is the proper forum in which countries meet to discuss world affairs. It has proved itself capable of doing important work, and it has great potential for solving questions facing mankind, questions such as those of the environment, population, public health and scientific and technological development. Above all, it should be pointed out that in recent years the Security Council and the Secretary-General, with the support o£ Member States, must be credited with achievements in promoting the settlement of major international disputes. Here, I want to present my compliments to the Secretary-General, Mr. Perez de Cuellar, and to wish him continued successes in his peace mission. The importance of the United Nations role is on the rise, in keeping with the expectations of our time. The people of the world expect the United Nations to play a greater role in maintaining world peace, in spurring development and in strengthening international co-operation. As a permanent member of the Security Council, China is ready to continue to work with other Member States for the realization of the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.


Allow me to begin by congratulating you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its forty-third session. I particularly want to express, on behalf of Portugal and on my own behalf, all the confidence we have in you and our conviction that positive results will be achieved owing to your professional skills and total commitment.
Similarly, I wish to express my gratitude and that of my country for the generous and serious work carried out by the President of the General Assembly at its forty-second session, Mr. Peter Florin, to whom I address ray warmest greetings.
1 should also like to join all those who have praised the outstanding performance of the Secretary-General, Mr. Perez de Cuellar, and the commitment and dedication he has shown in resolving the problems which have been of such concern to us. His actions have certainly contributed to the recent awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the peace-keeping forces of the United Nations.
Portugal as the current President of the European Community, has wide a statement on behalf of the 12 member States in which it addressed the most Important and relevant issues in the present international situation. I reaffirm our support for that statement. However, I should like to recall the importance which my Government attaches to some of those issues. It will surprise nobody if I single out first the question of East Timor,
As the United Nations seems to be resuming its role in the peaceful solution of conflicts, while we welcome the successes registered in the solution of several international problems of the  outmost gravity and the effective progress achieved in settling others that until now have apparently defied solution, I regret to have to refer to a question which has dragged on for years without any meaningful progress towards a just solution in accordance with the principles and fundamental resolutions of the United Nations.
The question of the decolonization of East Timor is a thorn in the international conscience and a challenge to the consistency with which the essential principles of decolonization, so often invoked and reaffirmed as β fundamental part of the heritage of the Organization, are applied and observed. It is sad to see in the case of East Timor the flagrant and direct violation of such principles perpetrated by a country which was also subjected to colonialism and which performed such an important role in the struggle for emancipation of the colonized peoples.
It is 13 years since the Non-Self-Governing Territory of East Timor, then under Portuguese administration, saw its process of decolonization interrupted when it was invaded and occupied by its powerful neighbour. Portugal does not deny its share of the responsibility for the difficulties and troubles that have affected that process since its beginnings, but we cannot accept that such events legitimise its invasion and occupation by Indonesia and the subsequent denegation of the fundamental rights and freedoms of its people, including its inalienable right to self-determination. No circumstances whatsoever could legitimise the ruthless way in which repression was waged in the Territory, with an intolerable price in human life and sacrifice.
A people, numbering a few hundred thousand, which saw a fourth of its citizens killed, which is subject to an authority it did not choose and whose rights, freedoms and fundamental guarantees are restricted, demands an opportunity to choose its own political destiny.
Portugal - I repeat once again - has no claim to sovereignty over the Territory of East Timor. We uphold the right to self-determination of East Timor, and we cannot understand why the occupying force, which constantly invokes the benefits brought by its administration to the well-being of the inhabitants, fears to face the result of a free act of self-determination. If, as has been argued, hearts and minds are already won over to its cause, why fear the expression of the will of the people?
East Timor is for us a moral, historical and legal responsibility. The defence of the rights, freedoms and specific identity of its people - so often proclaimed in this forum as an imperative for the international community as a whole when referring to other colonial Territories - is also the collective responsibility of us all as Members of this Organization committed to the observance of its fundamental principles. We cannot ignore the drama of East Timor without becoming accomplices in an intolerable policy of fait accompli imposed by force.
Portugal will do its utmost to find through dialogue a just and comprehensive solution acceptable to the international community. We are fully committed to collaborating with the Secretary-General, whose mediation efforts I acknowledge with gratitude. It is in a constructive spirit, and having in mind primarily respect ¡for the legitimate rights and aspirations of the people of East Timor, that we envisage the continuance of this mediation process. We sincerely hope that №at spirit will also prevail on the part of Indonesia.
The international community views with justified apprehension the continuing deterioration of economic conditions in a great number of countries, especially on the African continent. This situation - to which the inadequacies of prevailing models of development, the seriousness of certain structural and conjectural imbalances in the international economic order and the extreme vulnerability to natural catastrophes of many African societies, often contribute - is characterized by the stagnation of growth, high rates of inflation and a disturbing level of external indebtedness.
This question was dealt with here during the session which analysed the implementation of the United Nations special Programme of Action for Africa. Without ignoring the responsibilities which primarily rest with the Africans themselves, that is only fair to recall that the member countries of the European Community have tried to create efficient schemes of aid to least developed countries. The successive Lomé Conventions must be singled out, because they have established a relationship of co-operation, outlined in a freely agreed legal framework. They associate the interested countries in a structure of permanent consultation which is an important forum for the development of the North-South dialogue.
I should like in this context to draw attention to my country's commitment to and interest in the preparation, within the framework of the Community, of the negotiations on a new convention between the European Economic Community (EEC) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. We believe that the relations fostered between the Community and its 66 partners in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific are an important example in the area of co-operation and aid for development.
The perspective being defined at the Community level is that sectoral interventions should be complementary to the process of development, and not mere emergency operations lacking long-term effectiveness. This is, in our view, the most effective and responsible path to pursue to aim for a progressive balance of the system of exchange so as to achieve the harmonious development of international trade. I believe that the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference (SADCC) deserves the continuing support of the international community, being an experiment in regional co-operation with practical achievements of major importance for the economic self-reliance of the countries of the area.
The processes of structural adjustment which are being implemented by several developing countries, in a courageous way and at an obvious political and social cost, deserve growing support from the industrialized countries, through integrated actions in co-ordination with all entities taking part in financing and in an active dialogue with the beneficiary countries.
For historical and cultural reasons known to all, my country pays very special attention to the question of development assistance. That serious problem now affecting the peoples and countries of the so-called third world is of great concern to us, and we are deeply committed to the search for means to solve it.
Here I wish to recall the proposal made last May by the Prime Minister of Portugal in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to create in Lisbon a North-South centre, with a flexible structure, to work as a forum for a permanent exchange of views with the objective of encouraging a climate of understanding and confidence between North and South. We hope to have the support and participation of all States represented them.
My country acknowledges with appreciation the increasing value which is being attached to this aspect of international relations, because that is in line with the historical role that Portugal has played in the world and corresponds fully to the way in which we envisage our place in the community of nations.
Africa is of special importance to Portugal because of the historical and cultural ties which bin-l us together and which we continue to strengthen today, co-operating to the mutual benefit of and in the interest of the socio-economic progress of the countries involved. This co-operation, as the practical expression of an active political relationship, is definitely more visible in bilateral actions with the African countries whose official language is Portuguese: Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe, Angola and Mozambique. But I am pleased to note that every year Portuguese participation in the structure of multilateral machinery of great importance - namely, the Lomé Convention and the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference - assumes a wider expression of political and economic solidarity specially geared to realistic development priorities.
In this context I believe then we can emphasize the United Nations special Programme of Action for Africa, which is clear evidence of the attention and commitment of the Organization in the quest for a solution to this problem, to which none of us can remain indifferent.
In the last two months we have seen historic developments which have opened up new horizons to the peoples of Angola and Namibia, who, I believe, will overcome the long years of suffering and enjoy in the future conditions of development and progress in a climate of peace, with due respect for territorial integrity.
I congratulate all those who, by their pragmatism, commitment to dialogue and readiness to yield on accessory matters to guarantee the essentials, made possible the achievement of a breakthrough in a process that dragged on for so long.
In this context I wish to send a very special message of greetings and solidarity to the Angolan people and to reaffirm Portugal's readiness to do everything possible, at both the bilateral and the multilateral level, to help the People's Republic of Angola in its difficult task of achieving the reconstruction and development to which it is justly entitled. As for Mozambique, I take this opportunity to condemn once again the intolerable situation of insecurity created by a guerrilla movement supported from outside. It is high time to allow the martyred people of that country to work in peace towards a better future. Mozambique also deserves the solidarity of the international community in its struggle for peace and development.
However, it is really up to the Government of South Africa to shoulder its responsibilities and give evidence of a true willingness to pursue dialogue and good-neighbourliness. This would prove that it remains faithful to the spirit and the letter of the historic Nkomati Agreement, which was recently reaffirmed at the Songo meeting. Nevertheless, I wish to reaffirm my country's conviction that complete detente in the region can be attained only through the elimination of internal tensions in the Republic of South Africa.
Portugal has denounced and condemned, not only in the United Nations but also on many other occasions, the immorality and injustice that are the main features of the apartheid and bantustanization systems aimed at perpetuation of the political, economic, social and cultural discrimination that is at the heart of the continually worsening internal situation in that country. Here again we appeal to the Government in Pretoria to deal with its internal problems with the open-mindedness recently shown in the Namibia negotiations and the pursuit of peace in Angola.
Any progress towards the definitive breaking-up of the apartheid system is, in this framework, a fundamental and high-priority matter. Only the eradication of apartheid will give all communities of that country access to political participation, work, security and social well-being. It is in the hands of the South African authorities, had they the political courage and awareness of the irreversibility of history, to make of the Republic a multiracial, economically advanced country, a revealing-pot of all its communities - in short, a real focal point for the development and progress that would undoubtedly have a positive impact on all southern Africa.
Indeed, it is up to the South Africans - all South Africans - to decide on the best way to implement reforms, the need for which is incontrovertible. But it is clear to me that freer political expression by the black majority would undoubtedly contribute to the creation of the climate of mutual confidence indispensable for the transformation of the South African society. I cannot leave this subject without referring to the deep concern in my country at the situations of Nelson Mandela, whose seventieth birthday was recently celebrated by the international community, and the Sharpeville Six - both crying examples of injustice.
Portugal, a member of the European Community and of the Atlantic Alliance, and a participant in the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE), has followed East-West developments with particular attention. I note with satisfaction and confidence the clear improvement in recent months in the relations between the two super-Powers. Today, after the Washington and Moscow summits, there is a positive spirit} dialogue is more open and frequent, and decisive steps have been taken, specifically in the areas of arms control and disarmament.
My country welcomed the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles - INF Treaty - as a positive and important step towards international detente, and therefore towards peace. In this connection we support the objectives already set by both parties of a 50 per cent reduction in the strategic nuclear arsenals of the United States and the Soviet Union.  Portugal is confident that in the near future decisive moves will be made on conventional arms. Specifically, we hope that the existing imbalances between East and West will be corrected through a process of negotiation. This would eliminate the disproportion, thus making possible stability and security at the lowest level of armaments. He therefore have the greatest hopes of the CSC£ process. My country is confident that a quick settlement at the Vienna meeting will permit the approval of a final, substantive and well-balanced document that will make possible the beginning of negotiations on conventional-weapons stability and the renewal of talks on confidence- and security-building measures.
Nuclear and conventional disarmament - the guarantee of peace and security - is the indissoluble condition of the establishment of universal peace. We therefore welcome the significant progress registered in this area. However, we view with great concern the recent upsurge in the use of chemical weapons. My country, which is a signatory to the 1925 Geneva Protocol, is firmly committed to efficient, global and verifiable implementation of a convention that will ensure the total elimination of this type of weapon. It is our imperative duty to arrive expeditiously at the consensus needed to fulfil that requirement. In this context Portugal supports without reservation the proposal made in this Assembly several days ago by the President of the United States for a concerted international effort to ensure the elimination of chemical weapons.
I wish to express my country's satisfaction at the cease-fire recently signed between Iran and Iraq, which should allow for a just and lasting solution of that long conflict, which has claimed so many victims. I therefore pay a tribute to the endeavours of the United Nations in persuading the parties involved to abide by Security Council resolution 598 (1987).
As for the Israeli-Arab conflict, we note with regret that the present situation is not encouraging. The serious events in the occupied territories demonstrate the fragility of previous solutions. Any lasting solution will have to take account of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and recognise the right to exist of all countries of the region. Portugal together with its European partners, believes that the expeditious convening of an international conference would provide the appropriate framework for the essential negotiations between the parties directly involved.
As for Latin America, I wish to reaffirm our fraternal solidarity with the countries of that vast region, and our total readiness to contribute actively to their efforts to overcome their difficulties. 1 am convinced that the developed countries can help significantly in ameliorating these problems and in the search, together with the countries of the region, for new and imaginative forms of co-operation. The question of external indebtedness, in particular, must be seen in the context of economic growth, given that it is important to reduce the social burden that it imposes.
I must also make a special reference to the situation in Central America, where the hope generated by the signing of the Esquipulas Agreement was followed by a stalemate in the peace process. Portugal believes that the solution to this situation should be sought, in the first instance, at the regional level, in a climate of mutual trust and within the framework of strict respect for human rights, pluralist democracy and the principle of the inviolability of frontiers. He have always taken into consideration the unjust and unfavourable social conditions that have contributed to the present state of affairs in that region and we therefore believe that economic co-operation among the countries of the region and the industrialized countries will also have a determining influence in achieving the desired peace and progress for the region.
Reaching a political solution for Cambodia is also an imperative necessity for the international community and one which is daily becoming more pressing. It is time to restore peace, dignity and hope to a country that has been successively martyrized by the intolerance of a minority that shows disrespect for the most elementary human rights and by a foreign military occupation that cannot be legitimised under any pretext.
On the other hand, the Geneva agreements on Afghanistan constitute a significant stride towards solution of a conflict which, for almost a decade, sowed suffering and misery among the Afghan people. I cannot but note the courage and spirit of self-sacrifice of the Afghan resistance and the humanitarian solidarity displayed by Pakistan in receiving millions of refugees displaced by the conflict.
Peace among nations and respect for human rights are the aspiration of us all and are inseparable from the well-being of each and every individual in the world community. That well-being is closely linked to economic development and is based on sound international trade, free of protectionism, be it open or concealed.
This has been the position which ray country has clearly assumed. As a member of the European Community, Portugal considers it indispensable to have reciprocity in the opening up of markets. That is our practice and a fundamental feature of the Community's trade policy. My Government firmly believes that we are in the final stage of the setting up of the institutions necessary for the full participation of Portugal in the world market, in accordance with the objectives of the Contracting Parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
In this perspective we recognize the importance and the opportunities provided by the Uruguay Round, the satisfactory outcome of which would, without any doubt, contribute to a better balance in the world's trade relations. I reaffirm that the goal of those negotiations will be reached only if the principle of globality is strictly upheld.
The joint declaration by the European Economic Community (EEC) and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) establishing official acknowledgement between the two organizations, issued in Luxembourg on 25 June 1988, ended 30 years of non-recognition of each other by the two Europes.
Aware of the historical significance of this event and of its implications for the future relationship between the two organizations and the respective member States, Portugal welcomed it and believes that a major step has been taken towards a new era of international co-operation extending to the most diverse fields. Ws trust that multilateral co-operation, reflected also in the relations between the EEC and the European Free Trade Association, the Association of South-East Asian Nations and the Gulf Co-operation Council, will be expanded and intensified.
The commemoration of the fortieth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights should provide support to the efforts of the international community to ensure the exercise of the rights and fundamental freedoms inherent in the human person everywhere in the world. Now that the United Nations already has available to it several international instruments for defining and guaranteeing such rights, it is therefore important to ensure their effective implementation and the strengthening of international control mechanisms.
As a priority of its foreign policy, Portugal contributes to the promotion and protection of human rights. In the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, my country has striven to comply with the mandate entrusted to it, rejecting duplicity of criteria and working towards the strengthening of the effectiveness of existing mechanisms. To achieve full enjoyment of the fundamental freedoms of each individual, it is indispensable to keep in mind the complementary nature of civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights.
Throughout the past five centuries, Portugal has enriched its history, its culture and its language in all parts of the world. That would be enough to justify its interest in the international scene. Such an interest acquires a new and powerful thrust when one consider the committed and active participation of my country in many international organizations - from the United Nations to the EEC, from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to the Council of Europe, to mention only a few.
We are aware, however, that it is not enough simply to observe the international scene and to react to events. Together with other countries of good will Portugal has a part to play in combating situations of injustice and war which, unfortunately, still occur. We have to overcome inertia and mobilize wills in order to change ineffective practices of co-operation. Above all, we must work hard to co-ordinate efforts to ensure that existing or potentially dangerous situations do not prevail. And, if present solutions do not work, we must search with daring and creativity for new ones.
Portugal once again reiterates its availability and willingness to contribute to efforts to ensure that we may all enjoy more peace in security, more freedom in democracy, more solidarity in prosperity.


It gives me particular pleasure to welcome the election of Mr. Dante Caputo to preside over this forty-third session. I sincerely congratulate him and wish him every success. His Qualities as a seasoned diplomat guarantee that our work will proceed smoothly. I also congratulate the other officers of the General Assembly and assure them, as well as the President, of my delegation's active support.
I should also like to express our satisfaction with the excellent work accomplished at the forty-second session under the presidency of Mr. Peter Florin.
I wish to pay a special tribute to our Secretary-General, both for his tireless devotion to promoting international co-operation and for his perseverance in the search for peace. We are all familiar with the personal part he played in the resolution of certain conflicts. I wish to express renewed appreciation of his exemplary faith in our Organization and of his courageous efforts to preserve its prestige and credibility, despite financial difficulties.
I have been instructed by our Head of State, Comrade Blase Compaoré, to deliver to the Assembly on his behalf a message of friendship and peace from the Popular Front Government and the people of Burkina Faso.
It will be recalled that last year, during the forty-second session, the people of Burkina Faso were having to deal with one of the most serious crises in their history. We are a peaceful people; the world was not used to seeing bloodshed in our country, therefore the confusion felt by some people was understandable. What we did not understand, and are not prepared to accept, was that, because of the charisma of a man who knew how to look after his image, the regime that replaced his and the whole people were condemned in certain circles.
Burkina Faso has made great strides since during the past year; it has staunched its wounds and embarked resolutely, with the Popular Front, on the road to recovery.
On 15 October 1987 an era ended, an era of repeated deviations from our revolution. We had to restore the socio-political and economic balance nationally and re-establish a basis for co-operation at the international level. It was essential that our people, who had made great sacrifices in supporting our revolutionary construction, should be able to achieve their legitimate aspirations without being submitted to the terror of a police regime or the economic reverses that would inevitably result from the autocratic system imposed upon them. It was high time our neighbours were reassured and our partners' fears allayed. To our neighbours above all, we had to give proof of our desire to practise with them the virtues of good neighbourliness and non-interference. Here I should like to say that we succeeded better than we had hoped in restoring confidence and the basis for subregional co-operation so necessary for our fragile and vulnerable economies.
Although I have stated this in other international bodies, I should like to restate here the desire of the Burkina Faso Government to live in peace with its neighbours and with all peoples of the world, to seek with them solutions to the innumerable scourges which overwhelm the international community and to build a world of justice and progress.
I should like to repeat our devotion to the principles and ideals of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, and the United Nations.
Armed with this determination we shall participate in this general debate.
The excellent report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization gives a striking picture of our world in flux.
It is also a stark reminder of our responsibilities to future generations that we are in the last stretch of the twentieth century, which has been so eventful.
At this moment of truth there have been few successes. This is true in particular of the decades proclaimed by this Assembly, whether of disarmament or development.
With regard to development the third world countries have paid and continue to pay a steep price for the structural crisis of the world economy. Our countries have impotently witnessed an increasing deterioration year after year in their terms of trade with the rich countries. It is regrettable that speculation has further distorted the normal conditions of international trade which were at the outset certainly not satisfactory for any one. It is indeed difficult otherwise to explain the fact that the developed countries have succeeded in exercising their systematic control over the commodity markets. Neither the old capitalist law of supply and demand nor the accords of guarantee in the case of specific commodities ate any longer reliable mechanisms. The only thing that now counts is the will of the cartel which has been established for a particular commodity or group of producers, and always pressure is exercised to lower prices.
One year after the seventh session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and despite the entry into force of the Commodities Funds there is little chance that the rules of the game will change so that the countries which produce these raw materials can derive income to finance their development projects. Far from it. They are trapped in machinery that will inevitably lead them to borrow more to make up for lost export earnings, to invest not in efforts at development but in efforts for sheer survival.
Therefore the North-South dialogue which was so encouraging has become a well-oiled machine designed to drain economic flows and cause a reverse transfer of resources. Thus debt has become for all developing countries a nightmare, and its solution, the squaring of the circle - doubtless - а monstrous concept which neither the debtors nor their creditors want to tackle head on, still less together. Each side simply sizes up the situation and proposes solutions that are more or less realistic, more or less radical, all under the paternalistic eye of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Africa has an opportunity to speak with a single voice because States composing it have collectively confronted the monster. I refer here to the extraordinary summit conference of the OAU on African debt held last November. Rut it is clear that the debt problem cannot be taken out of context. It should be considered from the standpoint of international economic relations. Together with Africa, we roust tackle the Question whether the developed countries want to have economic partners worthy of the name or simply zones of influence. I leave the question open.
In order to resolve the crisis, Africa has, in its Priority Programme, chosen discipline with sacrifice. The international community has responded by adopting the United Nations Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development. This Programme of Action, which is now at mid-point, and whose review has now been going on for a few weeks, is one of our major concerns. I wish to „ salute the meritorious efforts of the Secretary-General to ensure implementation of this plan by agencies of the United Nations system.
But it is no secret that implementation of the programme has fallen short of expectations and that everywhere Africa has been disappointed in its hopes and in its desire for co-operation.  The debates that took place in this forum a few days ago enabled us to take stock of what has been done and to comprehend what remains to be done. As long as some of our partners, States and international organizations alike, do not admit that the pressure exercised on our economies and societies by structural adjustment efforts may certainly have beneficial effects, but equally disastrous consequences, we will not transcend the bottle-necks and the present lack of understanding.
We hope that the international community will take a salutary initiative so that by 199U the Programme of Action and the Priority Programme can be implemented in full. The survival of an entire continent is at stake and at the end of this twentieth century hunger, endemic diseases and despair are the daily lot of its peoples. Africa needs, for its survival, assistance in its efforts to rehabilitate its environment sorely tested by drought and other natural disasters. Right now I refer to locust invasions which could, in particular in the Sahel region, wipe out the efforts of almost 15 years at reforestation and soil rehabilitation.
No individual country, nor region acting in isolation can stop desertification or the invasion of locusts. Looking at Burkina Paso, although having a national environment safeguards programme, it has, with its partners in the Permanent Inter-State Committee to Combat Drought in the Sahel and other organizations in the subregion and with the assistance of the international community, been carrying out action on the basis of solidarity of an integrated kind. Here the United Nations Sahel Office has an irreplaceable role to play.
Our world may live to see the day when people with an acute awareness of the problems facing mankind and the intellectual and technological means to analyse them can resolve them. Safeguarding the environment is one of these problems. The outstanding work done by the Brundtland Commission two years ago, but whose conclusions are still valid, is one such analysis. Unfortunately, when we talk about mobilizing ourselves and fighting these scourges, even for our survival, our world seems to be impotent. We can only hope that humanity will soon find the collective means to confront adversity and mend its ways.
At this stage, I should like to voice the indignation of my country at the scorn shown by industrial societies for the lives of our peoples by transforming Africa into a cheap dumping ground for their refuse, whether radioactive or not, but certainly harmful. We appeal to the conscience of the rich States to consider with us those practices as being crimes bearing the seed of long-term genocide.
Already, uncontrolled nuclear tests have disrupted our ecosystems, attacked the ozone layer that protects our earth. Right now terrible and unnecessary numbers of weapons continue to be buried under innocent feet, transported by air and sea, ready to take off into outer space. The children of the twentieth century and the people of the twenty-first are condemned to experience the nightmares of the apocalypse unless the big Powers bring this to the inevitable end for which we have been waiting since Hiroshima.
The developments in the negotiations between the two super-Powers and the limited agreements they have reached are promising. Nevertheless, these negotiations must be pursued further and in other directions. At this stage and in this context we cannot but regret that the hopes of the international community were dashed-by the failure of the fifteenth special session of the General Assembly, the third such session devoted to disarmament.
Burkina Faso, for its part, will welcome every bilateral or multilateral effort to bring about disarmament. It is high time that our intellectual and material resources were used in a way more in keeping with the aspirations of the people of our time for development, greater well-being and a better quality of life.
Just as we welcomed the progress made in detente, so also we welcomed with relief the announcement of the signature of the Geneva Accords on Afghanistan, the cease-fire between Iran and Iraq and the promise of a solution to the Kampuchean and southern African problems.
I	.
We reiterate our appeal to our friends in Afghanistan for national reconciliation, which is a prerequisite for any consistent effort at reconstruction. The welcome development regarding the Iran-Iraq conflict is a tribute to the two belligerents, which have spared the world the holocaust to which the greater involvement of the foreign Powers in the Gulf region would inevitably have led. We hope that the cease-fire clauses will be respected and that negotiations on pending issues will be concluded, so that lasting peace may be established.
As an active member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, we exhort the two brother States, Iraq and Iran, to strive without delay at a complete reconciliation.
We have been following with great interest negotiations at all levels aimed at putting an end, after more than a decade to the tragedy of Kampuchea. We hope that the Cambodian people will soon be reconciled and will rebuild their beautiful country amid the friendly interest of their neighbours and with the assistance of the international community as a whole.
For us, the situation in southern Africa arouses mixed feelings. Of course, we are pleased that quadripartite talks between Angola, Cuba, South Africa and the United States have taken place in the last few months without any major break. Similarly, we welcome the results that the protagonists have reached, because we are aware of the determination of our Angolan brothers to safeguard African interests in the region, in particular those of Namibia.
If we have mixed feelings, it is because we are thinking about the road that remains to be travelled to arrive at a final solution to the problem. South Africa, which seems to be responding to pressure by the international community to begin to accept Security Council resolution 435 (1978), on the independence of Namibia, continues to burn schools in that Territory, persists in its refusal to recognize the South West African People's Organization (SWAPO), the authentic representative of the Namibian people, and practice the terrorism of apartheid against the people of South Africa.
I have been to southern Africa. A few months ago I had an opportunity to visit some of the front-line States. Already there, at the gates of the South African hell, one could not help doubting that the accursed regime of apartheid could ever reform itself - if, indeed, one was not certain that it could not. Only the determination, courage and unselfishness of the front-line States and the faith of the South African people in their future and the inevitable victory of their struggle strengthened my feeling that all was not lost.
All is not lost if Pretoria's friends finally make possible the realization of the unanimous aspiration of the peoples that make up this Organization. Only those countries hold the key to the problem, which is to decide to impose on racist South Africa mandatory sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter. This would do them honour and allay doubts about violation of the cardinal principles of our Organization by the nations that are responsible for peace and security in the world and that defend human rights.
The General Assembly has decided that apartheid is a crime against humanity. It must be dealt with as such. Apart from apartheid, the Palestinian tragedy is the major political question concerning the solution of which our Organization has already disappointed two generations of people.
The successive wars in the Middle East since the State of Israel was established, the gradual disintegration of Lebanon, and in particular the plunder of the Palestinian people and its reduction to statelessness, are a black mark against the United Nations.
We therefore welcome, as the last chance for the United Nations to play a decisive role in the settlement of this problem, the idea, which is gaining ground, regarding the convening, under United Nations auspices, of an international conference on the Middle East. The success of that Conference can be guaranteed only if the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the sole representative of the Palestinian people, is admitted as a fully-fledged participant on the same footing as Israel. I cannot conclude without mentioning the concern that my country, as a member of the Non-Aligned movement, feels about the problem of the reconciliation of the two communities in Cyprus, the independent and peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula, and the process of peace and integration in Central America.
All the peoples concerned wish to live free of foreign interference and hegemonistic designs; some to forge a national identity, others to forge a regional entity. The fulfilment of these noble aspirations can only benefit our Organization and the international community.
I think it is right to say that the international situation, despite the persistence of the economic crisis, seems better this year than it was at the same time last year. There has been a relaxation of the most acute tensions and nations are engaging resolutely in the search for peace and the building of a better future.
On the strength of this, I venture to hope that at the forty-fourth session of the General Assembly the last guns will have been silenced on the last battlefields of the world, the Palestinians will be back in their land building a future together with the Israelis, the state of emergency will have been lifted in South Africa, Nelson Mandela will have been released from the apartheid gaol and, finally, Namibia will occupy in this Hall, somewhere between Mozambique and Nepal, the place that has been its by right for so long, and for which it has waited far too long.


Mr. President, my dear friend and colleague, I take especial pleasure in telling you how gratified we Costa Ricans feel to see you presiding over the General Assembly. Your gifts as a statesman, your breadth of diplomatic experience and your profound faith in democracy, all of which have been proven by your record in brotherly Argentina, are a guarantee of success in the conduct of our debates.
I should like also to express appreciation of the part played in the recent election by Dams Nita Barrow, the Ambassador of Barbados, who enhanced the great traditions of this Organization.
Through the dedication of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and that of his distinguished associates to the cause of peace, the effectiveness of the United Nations in promoting understanding among peoples has been demonstrated. But let it be said that without his tact, experience, wisdom and culture, these accomplishments would not have been possible. Such successes renew the confidence placed in our Organization and help to strengthen it, as the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations peace-keeping forces shows. Costa Rica, which has no army, was deeply moved at this well deserved award of the Prize and the recognition that it represents of the forces and arms that silence war, save lives and protect peoples. We congratulate them sincerely.
The very essence of the work of this Organization is to apply a body of international law that was conceived while humanity was suffering the ravages of the most bloody conflict in history. The Charter signed at San Francisco outlawed the use of force in international relations and formulated the hope that the history of the world would not be the history of the wars of mankind. To make this hope a reality, peoples must live and act in accordance with the principles of the Charter. Double standards of ethics in our Organization, whereby acts are forgiven or condemned according to the sympathies or interests of the moment, erode faith in the Organization. Today's renewed confidence in the Organization resulting from its successful efforts in bringing about a cease-fire between Iran and Iraq, in finding solutions to the conflicts in Afghanistan, Kampuchea and Western Sahara, in seeking reconciliation in Cyprus and promoting the independence of Namibia should put an end to any temptation to return to those practices which negate the very essence of this Organization.
This opens up a new phase of well-founded hopes - hopes that were more than confirmed by the positive talks between the President of the United States, Mr. Ronald Reagan, and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev, the outcome of which proves the effectiveness of dialogue in achieving the most noble goals. The step taken towards disarmament is a small one by comparison with the long path that lies ahead·, but let us hope that it signals the dawn of a world free from hatred and fear.
As Costa Rica has outlawed the army as a permanent institution, it has supported with special emphasis and moral authority the efforts made by the United Nations to halt the arms race. Costa Rica calls for full awareness of the need for world-wide disarmament, for definite action to ban nuclear tests and reduce nuclear arsenals, to initiate conventional disarmament and to stop the transfer of weapons to underdeveloped nations.
The countries of the third world have often had the misfortune to suffer the tragic fate of being the setting for confrontation between the great Powers. Strategic, political and economic conflicts which escalate into war take place in peaceful regions and take their deadly toll among the sons of those peoples.
It is alarming to know that world military spending amounts to a trillion dollars a year - an amount 20 times more than the total amount of the co-operation extended to the developing world. It is a source of shame to know that, in the first 12 hours of today, more than 14,000 children have died somewhere in the world for lack of food and medical attention, while in those same 12 hours more than $136 billion has been spent on armaments, an amount which any intelligent person will realize far exceeds the sum needed to avoid that tragedy.
If the agreements between the Soviet Union and the United States were to lead to complete disarmament, we, along with all the peoples of the world, would joyfully trust that, having averted the threat of a new holocaust, the resources previously allocated to weapons would now be used for education and health, economic development and culture throughout the world. In other words, we would live in accordance with the principle which upholds nature itself, destruction would end and creation would begin. That is why the small developing countries urgently need to convince all the military Powers that peace is in the best interests of all.
The community of nations has witnessed with deep concern the continuing crisis in Central America. The desolation of vast areas of land, the devastation of some economies, the appalling misery and imprisonment, the persecution or death of those who disagree with their rulers are serious ills which Esquipulas II sought to resolve within a given time frame, but which persist because Governments lack the political will to carry out the process of democratization to which they agreed. For Esquipulas II is, above all, the final stage of the plan presented by President Arias which, in turn, embodied all the efforts of the Contadora Group and its Contact Group. It is an unswerving commitment to democracy.
Ά thorough consideration of the obligations entered into in the Guatemala procedures would lead to the conclusion that, to a greater or lesser degree, none of the States that signed the procedure has complied fully with the terms of the agreement. This applies also to Costa Rica, because our Legislative Assembly has delayed ratification of the treaty establishing the Centred American parliament. None the less, when the Esquipulas II agreement was signed, our country had already for some decades been doing far more than carrying out the fundaments, objectives of the plan. For more than 40 years there have not been any military hostilities in Costa Rica and within the uninterrupted existence of its pluralistic democracy there has been permanent and intensive national dialogue. Since 1948 we have outlawed the army and there are no forces threatening the stability of our institutions. No Costa Rican has ever been imprisoned or exiled for political reasons, human rights are respected and we enjoy our freedom in peace.
Returning now to Central America, the reality is that the progression of that peace process has been halted and the international community, though encouraged by the trend towards dialogue and detente evident in other hemispheres, anxiously wonders why that crisis has not been resolved, since it is much smaller than certain others in which a solution is beginning to be found. There is a lack of genuine political will among some of the principal parties concerned. Although we can record progress in some areas, the fundamental commitments leading to democracy, national reconciliation, the sacrosanct protection of human rights and the non-use of territories as military sanctuaries have not been fulfilled. In the midst of all this, unfortunately, we must note that as the months have gone by we have seen the Nicaraguan Government step up its repression, fail to fulfil its commitments and attempt to reduce the crisis to a problem of security, showing obvious contempt for democratic values.
Perhaps in no other country of the region is the situation so chaotic; and perhaps no other Government has shown less will to solve it. But, what is worse, that situation has serious repercussions on neighbouring countries, which have to take in the thousands of persons who are fleeing in an attempt to find freedom, food and shelter. I appeal to the States Members of the United Nations to provide relief to the countries of refuge for the tremendous burden now weighing on us. Our greatest concern, however, is that the international community should renew its interest in peace and democracy in Central America.
I recognize that many States have stood by Central America in this long night of self-destruction. Similarly, the Secretaries-General of this Organization and the Organization of American States have shown a special interest in helping us solve our problems. Nevertheless, I have come here to ask that the democracies that share this concern should join together in a movement to support democracy in Central America, thereby renovating, strengthening and carrying out the Esquipulas II agreements, which aroused such well-founded optimism in the international community.
This effort to ensure democracy in Central America would be incomplete if we did not take into account the challenges involved in actually building and improving that democracy. Now more than ever before the industrialized countries must increase their co-operation in support of development, which of necessity has to respect the freedom and dignity of citizens, and they must help to give concrete shape to the special plan of economic assistance for Central America adopted by the General Assembly at its last session.
That is all the more urgent when we bear in mind the critical situation which the foreign-debt problem has created for the Central American nations. We are the victims of poverty and of a crushing financial commitment which has only rarely produced an improvement in our economic and social conditions. We recognize our commitment and, like most debtor countries, are staking tremendous sacrifices to honour it. We believe, however, that our creditors must fully understand the extent of these sacrifices. So far the international community does not appear to have clearly realized that the present situation cannot go on much longer. We see that debt servicing is swallowing up the foreign exchange we need for the health, education and development of our peoples and, incredibly, our creditors' strategy disregards the very high social and political costs involved in the debt servicing.
We are not, of course, asking that our entire debt be cancelled but, rather, that our creditors agree to share the responsibility and to negotiate realistic formulas to alleviate our debt burden. We recognize our responsibilities, but we ask our creditors to recognize theirs. The consequences of the present situation will be fatal in the short- or medium-term, and our creditors will be among the victims. That is why we ask that international financial policy should take into account the threat which this situation poses to the future of democracy in the world. In Latin America, where the building of democracy has gained strength, slowly and arduously, the conditions for the repayment of the debt and the social costs involved have started to undermine our democratic institutions.
We cannot disregard the fact that the sacrifices which the debt is demanding of the Latin American democracies might become a new pretext for succumbing to the temptation of totalitarianism. The danger which this situation poses to Central America strengthens our hope that the international financial community will realize that, because the countries of our region are very small and have barely begun their development and because some of them have suffered the ravages of nature and of violence, the region needs to be rebuilt and to grow in order to overcome subhuman conditions  Therefore we hope that the creditors will take an especially broad view of the situation, and we trust that that hope will not be in, vain.
In the past four decades most members of the international community have made a joint effort to establish a new international economic order that would narrow the gap between the developed and the developing States. The results, however, have been discouraging. We still have an economic system in which a handful of powerful beneficiaries are surrounded by the two thirds of the population of the world that live in poverty. That system is without any ethical basis it disavows man’s solidarity with his fellow men and prevents all countries and all individuals from exacting their right to development, to the progress brought about by science and technology, to culture and well-being.
The third millennium of our era is about to begin, and the countries of the world - whether in the North or in the South, in the Eastern or in the Western Hemisphere, in the Caribbean basin or in the Pacific basin - should be able to provide all their citizens with a life of prosperity and freedom. What other meaning can one attach to roan's time on earth if it is not to turn the world into a place befitting the advanced status of the human species?
I believe that the United Nations must make an extraordinary effort to discuss ideas and promote initiatives and, above all, to awaken in the statesman of the world a spirit of creative solidarity which will gradually shape for the twenty-first century the universe of peace and prosperity we all desire.
The Government of Costa Rica proposed the inclusion in the agenda of this session of the General Assembly of the item on science and peace; we want science to be applied more fully in the quest for peace and development. We want to encourage the scientific community to work towards the attainment of constructive social and economic goals. The link between science and technology must have an impact on the interdependence of technology and development, and not of technology and domination. It is a source of great concern to the Government of Costa Rica that the well being derived from scientific and technological discoveries is narrowly focused on a small group of inhabitants of the earth and, at the same time, a considerable share of science and technology is devoted to promoting, not man's well being, but his extermination and the destruction of his property. Above all, however, we are concerned and indignant that it is technological progress in the military sphere which is made available to the developing world on the most favourable terms and that countries which do not have what they need to feed their peoples incur military expenditures out of all proportion to the size of their impoverished economies and incomparably larger than the tiny sums they spend on education or health - to mention only the essentials.
Science, which records and synthesizes thousands of human experiences, which draws its sustenance from the knowledge of many, which is the result essentially of the most noble exercise of the human mind, should become the common heritage of mankind in order to enlighten and ennoble rather than to produce wealth and well being for a few at the cost of the hunger, the destruction and the death of the rest.
On 10 December we shall be commemorating the fortieth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With the sitting of that charter of freedoms, human rights became a universal concern, and all States entered into a solemn commitment to observe them strictly. But genuine respect for those rights is still far from being A universal reality. Although it is recognized that frontiers must not be obstacles to respect for and full exercise of human rights, the safeguards which ensure their effectiveness are difficult to apply and are of questionable usefulness.
When Costa Rica signed the Universal Declaration of Hunan Rights, it already had a long tradition of respect for those rights. As early as 1908 my country had been the headquarters of the Central American Court of Justice, the first international court to recognize the individual as a subject of international law. That was the principle we reiterated in 1948 in signing the Declaration.
That is why this must not be just another anniversary. The proximity of this fortieth anniversary of the Declaration should make us  ore aware that the framework of international backing designed to ensure the genuine and effective exercise of all the rights set forth in the Declaration remains ineffective. Costa Rica therefore reiterates its proposal for the appointment of a high commissioner for human rights who by his efforts would help to improve the discouraging situation of human rights in this world. We have here an excellent opportunity to reconsider this idea and put it into practice, otherwise obnoxious departures from the basic minimum norms establishing those rights will continue to be appalling challenges and to shock international public opinion. Because of its selectiveness, the present system of appointing special rapporteurs ignores the violations that occur in States which are not subject to United Nations vigilance and are thus not subject to the beneficial scrutiny of special rapporteurs.
Eighty-six States have ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and 38 are parties to its Optional Protocol, while 99 States are parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Costa Rica was the first country to ratify both Covenants and strongly urges those countries which have not yet done so to adhere to them as the roost effective and genuine way of celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
1 cannot end my discussion of this topic without expressing the profound indignation of the people and Government of Costa Rica at the continued daily violation of human rights by the Government of South Africa. Costa Rica, in order to place on record its repudiation of such conduct in deeds rather than words, broke off relations with the South African regime in 1986 and, like the vast majority of member s of this Assembly, demands an end to that abominable system of segregation, which is contrary to all the basic natural rules of human coexistence. A few days ago a call was made here for the release of all political prisoners held by that regime. We take this opportunity to join in the appeal and to demand support for the efforts of President Mobutu of Zaire to help bring about the immediate release of Nelson Mandela and all those who have been imprisoned in South Africa simply for having asserted their own humanity. This situation shocks the conscience of all free men.
I must also express our concern at the difficulties currently being experienced by Lebanon. As the President of France, Mr. François Mitterrand, so eloquently put it, a peaceful and reconciled Lebanon is a threat to no one. A Lebanon torn apart by violence will continue to be an aura of insecurity for everyone. Let us hope that peace will return to that country.
My Government is concerned, too, by the scourge of illicit drug trafficking, which corrupts with its millions people from all economic and social backgrounds and regions. It threatens the stability of Governments and undermines the ethical and moral values on which our societies are based. Costa Rica has recently adopted new, stringent legislation against illicit trafficking and the abuse of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, and it proposes that more effective international machinery be established for both the prevention and the punishment of drug trafficking and to help producer countries replace such crops by new and lucrative ones in order effectively to dissuade farmers from taking part in the initial processes of the production of narcotic drugs.
The feelings of satisfaction which the United Nations is at present enjoying should make us reflect on the Organization's role as a forum for the universality of States. We hope therefore that progress towards the goal of universality will be made in the not too distant future so that we may welcome the admission of Namibia to the United Nations. We also hope soon to receive representatives from Korea, whether delegations from the two Republics that now exist or one delegation representing a unified Korea with a democratically elected Government. The fortieth anniversary of the Republic of Korea and the holding of the summer Olympic Games at Seoul - a world gathering of harmony and brotherhood - provide an auspicious opportunity for us to work for the admission of that country to our Organization. The new policy of co-operation and dialogue pursued by the Republic of Korea strengthens our hope that progress will be made in the reunification process.
It is our hope that the principle of universality will be fully realized and that the other States of the world which, of their own volition or because of other circumstances, remain outside the United Nations will soon join in the efforts being made for the progress of the human race.
Let us do our utmost to ensure that this Organization and all its Member States strive whole-heartedly to achieve the goals set forth in 1945. Let us not be deterred by disappointments or difficulties. Let there be no force capable of making us stray from the truth, from honest and objective compliance with the principles and mandates set forth in the San Francisco Charter, which embodied a dream that we must all make a reality.
At a difficult moment, when he had doubts as to what course to follow, Abu Talib asked Mohammed whether he should support a cause even if it departed from the course that his conscience told him was right. The Prophet answered him:
"Though they might give me the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, even then I would not let myself stray from the truth."
Let those be our words too. Let us live according to the principles that we have sworn to uphold.