121.	On behalf of my delegation, I should like to greet the Secretary-General of the United Nations,' Mr. Kurt Waldheim, who this year made an extremely important and fruitful visit to Latin America when the Security Council held its meetings in Panama. His words on that memorable occasion  were heard with immense satisfaction since they bespoke the intention of the United Nations to deal with the political and economic problems of the developing countries. During his stay in the capital of my own country, we expressed our thanks to him personally.
122.	With the very deepest feelings of sincere friendship, I should like to congratulate the President of this session of the General Assembly, Mr. Leopoldo Benites, who has for so many years outstandingly and effectively represented in this Organization a nation friendly to Colombia. We are truly gratified by this well-earned election, which honours a Latin American personality and a country with an admirable international tradition. Our President, who knows the United Nations well, will at all times be the impartial leader of our debates.
123.	In this introduction to my statement, may I refer to a great Colombian who died this morning, Eduardo Zuleta Angel, an eminent jurist who, in 1946, presided over the Preparatory Commission of the United Nations. He played an important part in the drafting of the Charter in San Francisco. For my country and for the world Organization, this is an irreparable loss, which we mourn deeply.
124.	I must also speak with sadness of the death of two other important personalities, the President of Chile, Salvador Allende, and the poet of America, Pablo Neruda. Allende was a leader with whom we were linked by friendship, and Neruda was an intellectual of great international standing.
125.	History is a constant process of correction and innovation, and no one today will challenge the fact that we stand on the threshold of a new era in international relations which bears the sign of a spiritual, political and economic convergence of continents.
126.	Thanks to the extraordinary means of social communication provided by scientific and technical progress, countries feel more closely united precisely because they are more directly connected. Intercontinental distances have been shrunk by supersonic planes, and images are projected from one end of the world to the other in fractions of a second. This same inner inspection of the earth and its latent wealth is being pressed forward from a space laboratory with a meticulous precision undreamed of by scientists 20 years ago.
j 27. Globalism - that trend towards universal convergence-leaves far behind the stances and the alliances of the period following the Second World War, when we saw taking root the bipolar system of power distribution of the world, with its sequel of grim and intense rivalries between the great Powers that headed the two confronting camps, the United States and the Soviet Union. In fact, occasions were not lacking when that very confrontation spelled a dangerous approach to the edge where an atomic holocaust could take place, and there were times when the United Nations itself was felt to be unreal.
128.	Armageddon in the twentieth century would be brought about by the two opposing blocs resorting to their respective atomic arsenals. But, fortunately, for mankind, that terrifying apocalyptic spectre has been dissipated by the emergence of a new period, one of an interrelationship among differing political and ideological systems, an interweaving of the great Powers, and an arrival at joint agreements for their mutual benefit in the economic field and in trade.
129.	Beyond the policy of confrontation and the bipolar system lies a period of globalism, a system truly planetary in its dimensions and political, economic and social scope. But without being carried away by optimism we can assert that this new era of world co-operation is characterized by the following features: first, wide international co-operation among all countries; secondly, peace-as the target of international policy and action--more deeply felt and more arduously won; thirdly, the end of colonialism and the repudiation of racial discriminations as outmoded institutions not in keeping with the dignity of the subjected peoples; fourthly, international law as the equally global concept of international relations and the reflection of a gamut of concerns going from the good behaviour of States to the problems of outer space, the sea-bed and the ecology of continents and fifthly, economic and social justice as the necessary premise for the new ordering of international trade, the international distribution of labour and the monetary system.
130.	Thus the assumption of membership in the United Nations by so many new States of Africa and Asia that have achieved their independence is a clear index of that universality that imbues our debates. Gradually a multipolar system has been developing that allows for the distribution of international competences among a larger number of sovereign States and replaces the erstwhile division of the international order among confronting blocs. And the symptoms of globalism multiply. The problems of the sea-bed, the ocean floor and outer space are discussed. Ecology has made its debut among the list of contemporary issues. Over 130 nations now participate in our work and technological and industrial progress is not confined to a single continent but has moved to the Far East-to Japan, whose rebirth is so gratifying to us.
131.	The presence of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations has revitalized our Organization by the addition of a nation that is among the most densely populated in the world, while the admission to our midst of the two Germanys and of a newly-created American State, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas-which we welcome with such pleasure-puts an effective end to a history of rivalries and animosities and is a decisive step towards international rapprochement.
132.	Without denying that these positive results have been obtained by dint of a direct understanding among the great Powers-primarily the United States, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China-we wonder whether we are not at present witnessing a return to the formulas of the balance of power that were so typical of European international politics of the nineteenth century and the days of Prince Metternich.
133.	Our concern lies not in the existence of a system of balances and counterbalances among the great Powers-or in the fact that such a system ushers in an era of useful trade and financial exchanges; for we cannot deny the meaning of history based on what we have called "ideological pluralism", namely, the coexistence of different systems within the framework of international co-operation and mutual respect for the sovereignty and self-determination of peoples.
134.	We merely point out that that very balance of power is achieved by agreements concluded on the fringe of the United Nations and is creating a special system of relations among a privileged group of States-a group that is governed by principles and goals that differ from those of the United Nations. The division of the world into great power blocs on the one hand and the rest of the nations on the other is a fact of contemporary life but it nevertheless shatters international solidarity.
135.	This might well be the appropriate moment to state that never before has the need-and perhaps the urgency - been more clearly seen of setting in effective motion the machinery and the processes of the United Nations.
136.	The United Nations is the immense arena for the convergence of all peoples of the earth. The Charter of the world Organization not only possesses specific juridical values embodied in a series of commitments on the part of all its Members to abide by certain obligations and enjoy certain rights; it not only represents the duty of resorting to juridical processes in the settlement of international disputes. but it also carries an effective political value.
137.	The Charter of the United Nations must always be interpreted juridically and politically. It contains as much of law as it does of politics. It is far from being a mere collection of guiding principles and procedures; it also contains a variety of compromise formulas for the adoption of new attitudes in keeping with the circumstances of history that is passing through what one Latin American author has termed "the commonplace of revolution".
138.	The Charter of the United Nations and its principal organs- the Security Council and the General Assembly- must be resorted to constantly in the shaping of the framework for international relations. The very play of balances among the great Powers must have the purpose of ensuring the improved functioning of the United Nations.
139.	Globalism, internationalism. United Nations: surely these are synonyms. Exclusivism, political separatism, the forgetting of the developing countries: surely these are contradictions of the history we are now living. Prince Metternich ought not to be revived; he should be surpassed.
140.	In fact, our day calls for the closest association among all continents, among ail peoples, among all races.
141.	The primary condition for the new order of peace to become a reality lies in the overriding need for the non-proliferation of nuclear arms. Along these lines, Latin America pointed the way with the 1967 Treaty of Tlatelolco on the prohibition of nuclear weapons in the hemisphere, as did the United Nations in 1968, when the General Assembly adopted the important measure of recommending to States the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. That Treaty and the Moscow Treaty of 1963 which prohibits all nuclear tests in the atmosphere or in any environment that might cause radioactive contamination were the first steps taken along the road to general and complete disarmament precisely for the purpose of strengthening the new world order. The so-called test-ban Treaty-though it be limited in scope- is nevertheless the indispensable prelude to the creation of what U Thant referred to in 1963 as a better awareness of the need at least to limit the manufacture of devices for mass destruction.
142.	It is for those reasons that this year Colombia repeated its protests against the atomic tests carried out in the Mururoa Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. We did so standing together with the members of the Andean Pact, namely, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. We did so because, apart from the knowledge of the dangerous effects on the ecology of the seas and oceans of such tests, there was the matter of principle dictating that we take up the international work of disarmament without delay..
143.	The 1967 report of a group of consultant experts, in response to General Assembly resolution 2162 A (XXI) of 5 December 1966 on the effects of the possible use of nuclear weapons and on the implications for States of the acquisition and further development of these weapons, set forth among other conclusions that an atmospheric explosion of a device at a height of less than 100,000 feet produces an energy discharge of 50 per cent-heat radiation of 35 per cent, and radioactive discharge of 15 per cent. One third of these radiations is produced within the first minute of the explosion, and the radioactive effects are carried by the atmosphere over great distances.
144.	In the case at issue there was also a formal judgement handed down by the International Court of Justice at the request of Australia and New Zealand, and our deepest hope is to see the highest court of the United Nations fully respected by the Member States when it intervenes in matters of peace. There can be no other way of establishing an order of law in the world but by seeking the non- proliferation of atomic arms.
145.	We are deeply convinced of the primacy of international law and of the fundamental role of the International Court of Justice as the authorized interpreter of the commitments assumed by States Member's of the United Nations.
146.	The report of the Group of Consultant Experts on the Economic and Social Consequences of the Arms Race and Military Expenditure nominated by the Secretary- General pursuant to resolution 2667 (XXV) of the 1970 session of the General Assembly, contains statistics of the problem that are truly alarming.
147.	By the end of the decade of the 1970s the level of total arms expenditure rose beyond S200,000 million a year, and, as the experts point out, those military expenditures were two and a half times greater than the entire amount allocated by Governments to health programmes, one and a half times greater than the amount devoted to education, and 30 times greater than the total of the official economic assistance given by the developed countries to the developing nations.
148.	Mankind must think carefully whether this colossal squandering of wealth is justified or not. The large-scale manufacture of multiple independent re-entry vehicles has been perfected. These can be launched against a number of targets simultaneously and can, in one launching, wipe out antiballistic missiles. So, therefore, we ask ourselves, how far will this frenzied race of man towards his own destruction take us? For the developing countries a modern supersonic fighter-plane represents 10 times the cost of the machine 10 years ago and requires a far more highly sophisticated and complex control system than that used until 1945.
149.	The same can be safely said of the other modern weaponry. It is true that part of that expenditure is laid out for scientific research, but it is no less obvious that a greater transfer of resources for the improvement of the health, education and nutritional possibilities of mankind would help to dispel the demographic problems that seem insoluble today. Nor should we lose sight of the fact that the Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade called for a 6 per cent rate of growth and an increase in domestic savings to reach the 20 per cent level by 1980. Yet how can these levels be reached if the arms race continues in the world.
150.	Therefore, the Second United Nations Development Decade hinges on disarmament. In resolution 2930 (XXVII) the General Assembly invited the Governments of all States to continue efforts to create conditions conducive to the holding of a world disarmament conference and to that end created a Special Committee to prepare for that conference, and included Colombia in its membership.
151.	We have always held the opinion that disarmament should be achieved not only within the concept of universality that underlies our Organization, but also bearing in mind regional circumstances and what we might term the "defence balance" of each of our continents. Conditions in Latin America are not identical with those in Europe, or Africa, or Asia. Each of those regions is beset by needs that are well known to the experts in arms types and face logistic conditions on which the concept of continental defence must rest.
152.	We would therefore presume that, just as a Conference of Security and Co-operation in Europe would inevitably tend to create a balance of forces between those countries that have adhered to the system of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the States signatories of the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance, signed at Warsaw in 1955 -the Warsaw Pact - so, too, the States of other regions-in particular those of Latin America and Africa -which have their own regional organizations could also establish in the United Nations specific plans governing the defence and arms balance in their respective areas. We advocate a regional approach to disarmament.
153.	Thus we would see the regional groups playing a decisive role in the preparation of the forthcoming world disarmament conference. Otherwise, that conference might suffer the same unfortunate and uncertain fate of so many earlier efforts-made without a regional approach - to solve the problems that may effect over 130 States possessing different economic and political systems, and lying in different latitudes.
154.	In the inter-American regional organization, Colombia has put forth these same ideas in order to avoid unnecessary military expenditures in Latin America and help to accelerate economic and social development.
155.	We are happy to agree with the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the fact that the necessity for international co-operation has never been so urgent, but we ask ourselves what are the main functions that this Organization should therefore be called upon to perform.
156.	Starting from the assumption that world-wide confrontations have been set aside thanks to the solid progress achieved in rapprochement by the great Powers, there are still in existence the "peripheral conflicts", or, if you prefer, local wars. The Viet-Namese experience must be studied in order to avoid the failure of the peace-keeping mission of this international Organization if it stands immutable, with the rigidity of a statue, when, in some part of the world, wide-scale military operations are taking place or when mass destruction of towns and human beings is taking place, simply because such a war has not legally been declared.
157.	The fiction that conflicts do not exist if they have not been formally declared or if the outmoded diplomatic niceties of the announcement of the outbreak of hostilities have not been fulfilled seems to overlook the shocking fact of the existence of the victims of the sophisticated weapons that arc used in combat in a well-known demographic area. We must agree that the United Nations should play a pacifying role in undeclared wars as well as in those legally recognized as existing.
158.	There is. furthermore, the fact that wars of today inevitably end at the negotiating table, given the inability of the combatants to destroy one another. War, therefore, merely postpones the solution to problems instead of settling them.
159.	The procedures for international conciliation in the United Nations must therefore be made more supple and the part played by the Security Council or the General Assembly more persevering.
160.	The new global concept of international affairs-was very obviously demonstrated by the special meetings of the Security Council held in Panama at the beginning of this "year. It was a most heartening experience for us to see such a high political organ of the United Nations dwelling more directly on the problems of the Western Hemisphere and hearing the opinions of the Latin American nations at first-hand.
161.	Speaking for my own country, I was able to draw attention to some problems occurring specifically in our continent, problems which condition the maintenance of peace there. The persistence of under-development and the existence of large masses of the population outside the main current of development cannot be corrected except by vast plans for industrial development and for improving the economic and social infrastructure. This calls for an increase in our capacity to export and to generate a potential wealth that can be distributed among the less fortunate in the form of salaries and educational, health and housing assistance.
162.	The major problem besetting Latin America is under-development. The population of our countries literally flocks to the cities in search of better living and working opportunities, and there is no chance of grappling with What has been termed the "revolution of rising expectations" of the third world, unless there is a new international division of trade and unless more favourable access is opened up to the exports from those countries. At the same time, it is imperative to admit that the developing countries have the right to regain the resources previously granted to others in colonial contracts, as one way of exercising their sovereignty.
163.	Peace, therefore, is not the outcome of certain diplomatic protocols, but rather the result of a better economic balance between continents, and of a meeting of the aspirations for social justice that move our countries. Political peace itself is a precarious tool at best, unless it is accompanied by economic and social peace. In other words, international security must be assessed in economic and social terms.
164.	But peace also depends on the solution that may be found to other problems that affect a region. So Colombia very sincerely endorsed the plea of other Latin American republics for a solution to the question of Panamanian sovereignty in the Panama Canal Zone. Nothing could be more just than that that country be allowed to put an end to a system that bisects its territory into two separate areas divided by a belt of water and land governed by another nation.
165.	The Republic of Panama brought its problem directly to the United Nations because, procedurally, it was hamstrung in the inter-American regional organization, and the Security Council showed itself capable of entertaining the concern of peoples within the new global concept of international affairs.
166.	Because of the trend towards globalism, we are witnessing a crisis in the regional organizations and in the way in which they were conceived after the Second World War as a means of dealing with the problems of the cold war and the conflicts arising out of the Power-bloc confrontations.
167.	Security treaties, such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization of 1949 and the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance among the socialist countries-the Warsaw Pact of 1955 — were designed as defensive alliances to cope with problems arising out of the cold war; but they have been left standing as isolated bodies, and now call for readjustments in the light of new situations flowing from European co-operation-not to mention the Middle-Eastern and Far-Eastern security alliances that have been dissolved by circumstances. In our own inter-American system, the inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance  includes far wider aspects, but aside from that instrument the economic problems that, we face cannot be solved by our regional organization.
168.	The future of such organs-and particularly that of the inter-American organization-will depend on the way they decide to or can adapt to the new circumstances of a world in evolution, in which wide political agreements are sought outside ideologies and where it is nonsense for the cold war to have ended between the great Powers but to continue in Latin America, where the vestiges of the period of confrontation are carefully nurtured.
169.	In some aspects Latin America has entered the twentieth century and in others it has remained in the nineteenth. We now require a new continental policy for our Hemisphere, one based on United Nations principles for co-operation and relations among States that will permit each people to seek its own development and greater social justice, without interference of any sort.
170.	First of all, each State must be entitled to establish relations with any other. International law, as practised in the world today, recognizes that freedom as inherent in sovereignty and as part of the concept of mutual and full respect for the independent personality of each State. Sooner or later this principle will have to prevail in the Western Hemisphere if we wish to restore friendship among the peoples of the region and be consistent with the notion of ideological plurality.
171.	Secondly, in the future we will have to avoid a recurrence of certain interferences that have taken place in recent years and that have been in the nature of reprisals on the part of large corporations against certain countries. The credit of international agencies cannot be made to depend on restrictions derived from claims by private interests against a country, but must be open to the developing countries according to their capacity and ability. Intervention, in any of its forms and manifestations, is contrary to the very spirit of the day.
172.	Finally, Colombia is concerned over the basic aspect-the fate of human rights in the Hemisphere and in the world and the guarantees that must surround the dignity of the human person. We witness with sorrow the existence of certain situations in which the principles that we felt to be deeply embedded in contemporary civilization are entirely eradicated.
173.	Colombia is proud of its democratic lineage and reiterates its faith in the rule of law and of public liberties as a permanent system of coexistence based on equality and respect for all ideologies within the framework of the republican order.
174.	It is easy, therefore, for us to advocate the doctrine of ideological pluralism which Colombia has championed successfully in the General Assembly of the Organization of American States. That rule of law which we apply to the individual citizen we have endeavoured to extend to every nation, so long as the latter, in turn, is willing to comply with, and accept, law and justice as norms governing the conduct of States.
175.	We are defenders of this doctrine in so far as we believe in universality for international relations and the application of the principles of the self-determination of peoples and of non-intervention. But pluralism to us does not mean yielding our own national way of life, or forgetting our own democratic tradition, or even disregarding human rights elsewhere in the world. To us, it means mutual tolerance for the diversity of ideological systems and political regimes.
176.	This pluralism, resting four-square on international coexistence, and based on clear legal principles, is professed by Colombia as a theory derived from our own national history. It also takes into account the image of a world governed by criteria of tolerance and respect among nations. Territorial sovereignty and the political independence of States are the foundations of ideological pluralism.
177.	U is a doctrine that looks to the future, and not to the hatreds of the past.
178.	The general economic situation is not satisfactory. The world is afflicted with a supply crisis. Furthermore, there is the grave uncertainty felt by the developing countries over the growing imbalance in the terms of trade. However, development plans presuppose the knowledge of the future pattern of world trade and of the monetary system.
179.	The forthcoming trade and currency negotiations, to take place over the next few months, will be crucial to peace. We find ourselves at a point where the development gap has widened between the wealthy and the poor countries and is aggravated by the technological gap between the same groups. To a certain extent, the agreements among the great Powers tend to create a circle of privileged nations that act outside the confines of international conferences.
180.	The creation of economic blocs has been a very different approach to world economy and one that was not dreamed of in 1944, when the ground was prepared for the monetary system, or even two years later, when world trade was organized. Freedom of trade has disappeared, as also has the concept of set parity, two principles that were then voiced as guidelines for economics, and we are daily moving deeper into a world bisected into the group of industrialized nations and that of the poverty zones of the third world.
181.	Latin America has drawn a lesson from these events in order to strengthen its co-operation and encourage its dynamic and important efforts such as the Andean Agreement for Subregional Integration.
182.	A very eager desire is expressed among the developing countries to be able to participate effectively in the resources of the sea adjacent to their coasts. Thus, new principles of the law of the sea are being elaborated such as that of the "patrimonial sea", which Colombia, together with other countries of Latin America, has defended. We are gratified to see that that initiative has won the support of other important countries, since it allows the establishment of the rights of the coastal State over an economic zone located beyond the 12-mile territorial sea. while respecting the notion of freedom of navigation and overflight and freedom to lay cables or submarine pipelines or to carry out scientific investigation under the control of the coastal State.
183.	The great Powers must grant this equitable distribution of the ichthyological resources so as to allow the needs of the coastal populations to be satisfied. We have no doubt that the law of the sea evolves subject to obvious economic needs, in the same way as it did when for years it reflected the imperialisms and colonialisms of eras we believe obsolete. But the economic zone of the coastal State must then be the great and new principle of a truly universal law of the sea, one that will be the outcome of the forthcoming Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea..
184.	I do not wish to overlook two burning issues of the present day. The unification of the two Republics of Korea will be a further contribution to the pacification of the Far East, and their admission to membership in the United Nations will doubtless help to extend the universality of our Organization.
185.	The as yet uncertain atmosphere in the Middle East leads us to make an appeal for reconciliation and peace. Colombia has always believed that Security Council resolution 242 (1967) contains the basis for a just and lasting peace, and any action by the United Nations leading to peace must be predicated upon it. However, we do feel that it would be helpful to enhance the powers of Mr. Gunnar Jarring of Sweden as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Middle East, in order to encourage agreement among the States concerned in accordance with the terms of that resolution.
186.	Our participation in the United Nations and the remarks we have made on the problems that appear in other parts of the world reflect Colombia's intention to seek an international order governed by law and built on justice. International life must daily become more imbued with the rules of law that must themselves be the expression of the universal agreement of peoples. Contrary to the case of the last century, the world today is no longer an inchoate mass that can be shaped and commanded from a few influential capitals. The premises that allowed colonialism and the distribution of spheres of influence have today disappeared.
187.	Yet at present international problems are even more complicated because to the old matters of conciliation and peaceful means of settling international disputes must now be added the new problems besetting the world community, which have to do with the fate of mankind, its right to life, the protection of economic security and the preservation of the environment. We might safely say that man and all men are the main subject for international organizations such as the United Nations-organizations that hope to influence conditions of peace and security in the world.
188.	Peace must thus depend on an over-all preservation of human life and a larger investment of the resources made available to the wealthy countries when no longer used for armaments. Peace is a single problem of anguished and. generally speaking, impoverished mankind, in that vast field the. United Nations has an agenda of infinite scope. The regional organizations are in a critical situation since they are unable to deal with the disquiet of a world knitted tighter together by means of communication, technology and science and by the solidarity that today exists among all nations.
189.	We could not guarantee that those desires will all be fulfilled entirely without conflicts or suffering. But we can make an appeal to men of all races and say that it is the widest programme and the most urgent to which generations can aspire.
190.	For the time being, the United Nations is the greatest political hope of mankind.


78.	Mr. President, it is for me a very great honour to speak for the first time from this rostrum, and it is especially gratifying to do so under your presidency at this twenty-eighth session of the General Assembly. I know, Mr. Benites, your intellectual qualifications, your tact and your warm friendliness, as well as your fame as a fighter for noble causes and your profound historical and legal knowledge that are always expressed with vigour and elegance. I see in you a distinguished representative of the brother nations of Spanish America, so dear to all Spaniards. To the recognition that your qualities as a person and your lofty position merit must be added my sincere thanks for the very kind words you used regarding Spain's ties with Spanish America when you took up your task as President of this General Assembly.
79.	This twenty-eighth session of the Assembly has been enriched with the admission of the two States representing the great German nation as well as the Bahamas. To these new Member States Spain extends a very cordial welcome.
80.	The words I wish to speak here are words of peace and justice. Words of peace. I say. because Spain's foreign policy is characterized by a constant and firm desire for peace among nations. This is not a rhetorical assertion. Facts bear this out. Neither the strategic value of our geographic position nor the strong pressures to which we were subjected during the two world wars were able ever to destroy our profound desire to maintain peace.
81.	Within this tradition the Spanish delegation wishes now to analyse the present situation and the future prospects for peace in the world, a peace torn by conflicts and tensions which threaten the future of mankind.
82.	To the bright face offered by ever increasing economic and social growth, by technological advances and the possibility of reaching ever higher levels of well-being and culture and breaking down the barriers separating the rich countries from the poor, there is the paradoxical reverse situation that we confront an ever increasing deterioration of the spiritual condition and the environment in which we live, together with the possible outbreak of social conflicts and wars with irreparable consequences for all.
83.	Since 1945 the world has been seeking an optimum balance other than the balance of terror. To replace this apocalyptic equilibrium by an innate equilibrium of peace stemming from the harmonic union of those values and power that culture and technology today place at the service of man is the highest humanistic goal of our age.
84.	Today, for the first time in history, social tensions are frequently world-wide in scope and, hence, conflicting national policies can no longer control events.
85.	From this fact there are those who have drawn the conclusion that the order of sovereign States is incapable of solving the problems of the human community. And yet it is one thing to admit realistically that many of the great problems of our time require the concerted action of the international community and quite another to think that such problems can be solved only through the disappearance of States as sovereign and independent entities. It is precisely the effective recognition of that sovereignty and independence of States which makes possible the very existence of an international order and with it the possibility of effectively tackling the problems of peace and formulating the great objectives of the community of nations.
86.	Undoubtedly, the great revolution in the communications media which has narrowed the gap between cultures and peoples, the supranational transmission of news to the public at large, the broadening of markets to world-wide dimensions, the international confrontation of ideologies, the tendency of conflicts to become global in character and the universal incidence of tension between developed and under-developed nations have created a political arena which is truly universal.
87.	But there is a great danger to world peace, namely, that such possibilities of coexistence, communication and exchange on a world scale will be abused by being employed for politically narrow, economically egotistical and even strictly subversive objectives.
88.	In the face of those ideas, more or less tainted with imperialism, each country has the right to find its own reply to the challenge of our times. A plurality of options must be allowed to exist; otherwise, there might well arise large-scale intervention and conflict, whose outcome would be a general world confrontation, after which no one would remain to tell the tale.
89.	Reciprocal recognition of the sovereignty of each State demands maximum respect for the territorial integrity and political independence of all nations. This respect is the essential postulate governing, without any discrimination whatsoever, the relations of Spain with other nations.
90.	Peace, die roots of which spring from justice, is guaranteed by security.
91.	In today's world, security can no longer be built upon die counterpoise between opposing blocs. Spain believes that the rigid division of the world into hostile blocs must be replaced by the institutionalisation of large geographical areas of security. The Helsinki Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe reflects this idea.
92.	However, political realism demands that we should not cling to strict geographical considerations. European security, for instance, cannot be divorced from Mediterranean security. It is for that reason that, together with other nations, Spain believes that if security of that sea is not guaranteed, European security will be not only Utopian but also highly dangerous and will reflect hegemonistic claims.
93.	The structure of security that exists at present in the Mediterranean is based exclusively on the confrontation between great Powers, with the consequent loss of autonomy for the coastal States. Although the system is imperfect, we cannot today conceive of the possibility of demilitarizing or neutralizing the Mediterranean. It would, however, appear possible to combine the imperatives of a global strategy with an agreement between the Mediterranean countries which would enable them to participate in the shaping of their own security. In this connexion several non-European Mediterranean countries have expressed the wish to be heard at the Conference on European Security and Co-operation, and Spain has echoed that legitimate desire by advocating, in July in Helsinki and recently in Geneva, that those countries be heard.
94.	Spain also has a vital interest in the drafts for a new definition of the principles that are to govern security and co-operation in the North Atlantic region. My country is a part of that zone for geographic, historical, strategic and economic reasons. Spain, as part of Europe and as a sincere friend of the United States, is ready and determined to play its part in the Atlantic area in favour of peace and security.
95.	Spain's European side is one of its most important historical aspects; hence our Government wishes sincerely to contribute to the construction of Europe by contributing its cultural and human values as well as material resources, which in the last decade have developed in an unprecedented manner.
96.	Spain views with satisfaction the process of European integration, and understands that the political unity of Europe must be forged on the strength of the recognition of an enriching diversity and the contribution of original and autonomous solutions by the various nations constituting it.
97.	For the elementary reason of human solidarity, Europe cannot entrench itself in its own economic well being, but rather must combine and redouble its efforts to help the developing countries. To the extent that this open and generous attitude gains ground, the judgement of history will determine the positive and constructive contribution that is being made to European co-operation.
98.	But in this Europe that so ambitiously looks towards the future, there remains, incredible as it may seem, one last vestige of the colonial past — Gibraltar. The case of Gibraltar is a clear example of the fact that security, both in the global and regional sense, is shaken if one nation decides, against all reason, to base its own security on the insecurity of others.
99.	The principle of security implies the duty of preventing risks from extending to third parties. Gibraltar, on more than one occasion, has exposed Spain to involvement under all kinds of dire pressures in the great wars of this century. It must therefore cease to constitute for my country such a catastrophic risk.
100.	Gibraltar is an English colony maintained as a military base. It is a strategic point which places Spain's security in jeopardy vis-à-vis other Powers and prevents us from contributing more effectively to security in the Mediterranean, when in fact our desire is to convert a point of friction into an area of co-operation for the benefit of security in general.
101.	The United Nations has been considering the question of Gibraltar for 10 years. As a European statesman recently said, it is a big problem on a small bit of land-less than five square kilometres of rock. The territory is out of all proportion to the United Kingdom's defiance of the United Nations and its affront to Spain by refusing to decolonize this small area of land.
102.	Why will Great Britain not apply to Gibraltar the principle of decolonization which, after serious upheavals, violent repressions and countless victims, it has put into effect in more than 20 territories vital to its imperial strategy and economic hegemony? Great Britain has sequestered an integral part of Spanish soil of no economic or military value without Spain's co-operation, continually has recourse to intrusions into Spanish air and sea space to prolong an indefensible legal and physical situation, and abuses the often expressed desires for peace of my Government.
103.	Ever since the eleventh session of the General Assembly, we have repeated our just claims to Gibraltar. Ever since the United Nations Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples approved on 16 October 1964 the consensus on Gibraltar  up to resolution 2429 (XXIII) .of 18 December 1968, the General Assembly set the date, long past, of 1 October 1969 for decolonization, while at the same time the United Nations has established a doctrine on Gibraltar, the basic points of which are the following: (a) the question of Gibraltar is of a colonial nature; (b) an end should be put to it through negotiations between Spain and Great Britain; (c) resolution 1514 (XV) on decolonization applies in this case, specifically its paragraph 6, which regards as essential the principles of national unity and territorial integrity; (d) the interests of the inhabitants of Gibraltar must be protected on termination of the colonial status. That is the United Nations doctrine on Gibraltar.
104.	On the basis of this doctrine, in May of 1966 the Spanish Government initiated negotiations which had .to be broken off in March 1968 due to the evident lack of willingness to negotiate on the part of Great Britain as demonstrated, among others, by the following facts.
105.	First, the United Kingdom declared on 12 July 1966 that the territory on which it had installed a military airport was also under British sovereignty. This area was between the wall arbitrarily put up by the English in 1909, despite Spanish protests, and the confines of the "city and castle of Gibraltar, together with its port, defences and fortresses", which is all that was ceded under the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713.
106.	The second fact that shows the lack of desire on the part of the United Kingdom Government to negotiate is the following. On 5 January 1967 the British claimed the right to use Spanish air space in connexion with the operation of the military airport at Gibraltar.
107.	Thirdly, although disapproved by the Special Committee, a referendum was held on 10 September 1967-10 days after the Committee's condemnation. The referendum was also repudiated three months later by the General Assembly in resolution 2353 (XXII) of 19 December 1967.
108.	Despite these serious unilateral British actions, and as a manifestation of goodwill and in order to facilitate a solution of the problem, the Spanish Government has, since November 1969, been attempting by every means to create an appropriate climate for dialogue and understanding with Great Britain. That has resulted in 10 meetings between the Foreign Ministers of both countries, at all of which the problem of Gibraltar has been dealt with at length.
109.	During the course of almost four years, therefore, Spain has attempted to open the way to negotiations with a view to achieving the decolonization of Gibraltar, at all tunes bearing in mind the interests of the inhabitants of Gibraltar — some 20,000 people-while searching for an understanding with the United Kingdom likely to serve Spanish-British common interests of both nations which hold out such great prospects for friendly co-operation.
110.	Unfortunately, the only results of all those talks has been the proof that Great Britain continues to be unwilling to negotiate, inasmuch as it has rejected outright the generous Spanish proposals, alleging that they imply a transfer of sovereignty, a concept that is inadmissible to the British Government in spite of the fact that, in the case of Gibraltar, decolonization, according to United Nations doctrine, consists of ceding sovereignty over that colony or military base and reincorporating it into Spanish territory.
111.	To conceal its stubborn attitude, the United Kingdom Government has attempted to use die people of Gibraltar as a screen and to disregard the fact that the 1967 referendum was, as I have said, was rejected by the United Nations in its resolution 2353 (XXII).
112.	This is a key point that must be kept very much in mind because that referendum was ludicrous. How can a military base seek self-determination? But the farce is even more obvious if we remember that, when the British occupied the Gibraltar fortress, the original Spanish population was forced to leave. That vacuum was filled over the course of the years by people of different origins, arriving at various times. The United Kingdom never allowed my people to return to Gibraltar. Even those Spaniards whom it used as an effective labour force for many years were compelled to return every night to their homes in towns outside the confines of the fortress-colony.
113.	With regard to Gibraltar, Great Britain has always tried to protect itself behind third parties, using them as a cover. Thus, it occupied the fortress militarily in the name of Archduke Charles of Austria, a pretender to the Spanish throne during the War of the Spanish Succession. The Archduke lost the war, but the British remained in Gibraltar. On taking it they invoked the specious argument that they were defending the cause of the Archduke. Now that the time has come for decolonization they use the inhabitants of Gibraltar.
114.	United Nations resolutions are addressed to the United Kingdom but it disregards them and in this forum claims and seeks to make us believe that if there is anyone that must abide by them it is the Gibraltarians and not the colonial Power. At other times it claims full competence in the matter. Thus, for example, we find the following in the British commentaries of 21 July 1966, in reply to the Spanish claim:
"The Spanish supposition that Her Majesty's Government believes the people of Gibraltar can dispose of the territory of Gibraltar according to their wishes is in error. It has stated on many occasions, specifically in White Paper 2632, that sovereignty over Gibraltar lies with the British Crown."
115.	Again, the United Kingdom Government, through an Order-in-Council, inserted in the preamble to the so-called 1969 Constitution of Gibraltar certain clauses according to which, in the final analysis, it could not return sovereignty to Spain without the consent of the inhabitants, thus ignoring both the Treaty of Utrecht and United Nations resolutions.
116.	All of this shows that the British attitude could not be more contradictory. In its way of dealing-or rather, of not dealing-with the Gibraltar problem, it is acting like the Sun King: "1 am Gibraltar". However, when urged to decolonize the fortress, it washes its hands of the affair, as if Gibraltar came under a sovereignty other than its own.
117.	This manipulation of interests alien to its own ends is shown in the supposed defence of the inhabitants, for whom Spain has offered, and is willing to grant, every kind of legal and economic safeguard.
118.	The British Government stubbornly asserts that the Gibraltarians are unanimous in rejecting the Spanish point of view on Gibraltar. That is not true. On many occasions eminent Gibraltarians have spoken out-in fact, even recently, before the British Governor of the fortress himself- calling for a negotiated solution with Spain.
119.	The British Government, as the only valid interlocutor, has received from the Spanish Government extremely generous offers for the inhabitants of Gibraltar. But Great Britain has rejected our offers without letting the inhabitants of Gibraltar know of them, and has made no counter-offers or proposals. By adopting that negative and closed attitude, Great Britain is materially strangling the life of the inhabitants and crippling their future development, which would be enormous once they returned to the nation whose language they speak and of which they are geographically and economically a part in view of the enormous rate of growth of the Spanish economy which, according to the reports of international economic organizations, will continue in the coming years.
120.	We consider the people of Gibraltar as our brothers. Spain pledges itself solemnly before this General Assembly to guarantee, once the era of colonization ends in Gibraltar, the preservation of the present political, administrative and judicial organization in Gibraltar with only the substitution of the British by the corresponding Spanish authorities, a substitution that is inherent in decolonization and the consequent transfer of sovereignty over the territory.
121.	Thus the people of Gibraltar will enjoy a special status' of legislative, judicial, administrative and financial autonomy, which will respect their choice in matters of nationality, their present civic rights and freedoms, their local government and their status as a free port.
122.	Similarly, Spain solemnly undertakes to ensure, as a minimum, the per capita income which the inhabitants may have achieved, and their annual growth rate, to maintain the level of income of its active population, social security benefits and other legitimate interests, all of which would be guaranteed by both Spain and the United Nations and not, as they are at present, subjected to a colonial status depending solely upon Great Britain.
123.	Our delegation in the debates in the Fourth Committee will elaborate on that offer.
124.	Spain reserves the right to take whatever steps are necessary to achieve the decolonization of Gibraltar and once again proclaims that it is sincerely ready to negotiate constructively if and when the British Government shows a true wish to negotiate. Our position cannot be clearer, firmer, nor more generous.
125.	I have dwelt on this question of Gibraltar at some length because, however unbelievable it may seem, neither British nor Gibraltarian public opinion knows the true Spanish position. The silence of the British press was thunderous when I addressed the meetings of the Helsinki Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe on 4 July last on the question of Gibraltar. I cherish the hope that the words I have spoken before this General Assembly on the Gibraltar question, a matter that is so vital for relations between the two countries, will merit the attention of the British press, radio and television.
126.	Spain's position on the Middle East is one of co-operating in the re-establishment of a just and stable peace in that area.
127.	Prime determining factors of our policy are the sincere belief that the acquisition of territory by force is unlawful and the recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
128.	The friendship of Spain with the Arab world is a factor of peace in the Mediterranean area and one of the constant factors in our history. Spain believes that United Nations resolutions on this subject should be applied inasmuch as they offer a useful basis for a just solution to that conflict.
129.	Two factors are of special interest to the Spanish Government in connexion with the peaceful settlement of the Middle East question: the situation of the Palestinian people and the future of Jerusalem. Spain will take a realistic stand vis-à-vis any proposals, whatever their origin, designed to guarantee the legitimate rights of that people and to safeguard the universality of the Holy City. For we believe that there can be no definitive solution to the Middle East question without a solution to those two problems.
130.	It has been a commonplace to say that the countries of Spanish America have a great future. I would add that that future has already begun, perhaps with the upheavals that sometimes accompany a new birth.
131.	The reasons for which Spain feels so closely and fraternally tied to the destinies of the peoples of Spanish America are many. They are the noble ties of a common culture, common traditions and common ancestry. It is for that reason that we have never permitted, and shall never permit, differences of ideology or political systems to interfere with the normal relations between our countries. One does not impose conditions on one's brother to love him.
132.	The problems of Spanish America are the problems of the developing countries. We defend the right of nations to find the most appropriate solutions to their problems, in keeping with the temperament, the social conditions, the

historic destiny of each people, without foreign interference and without the imposition of stereotyped solutions.
133.	Spain places at the disposal of those sister nations its own modest but valid experience, experience it has acquired in its own fight for development and its own search for a better quality of life. A network of cooperative agreements involving the furnishing of experts and capital goods and the acceptance of technicians and scholars has been extended across the Atlantic, and links in that network are becoming stronger as time passes.
134.	An example of this close and effective co-operation is the Conference of Ministers for Planning and Development, which met in Madrid last May and which now, after its institutionalization, has become a forum for the periodic exchange of views and the adoption of mutual agreements. Spain carries out with pleasure its duty to co-operate in the development of the peoples of Spanish America, and this for elementary reasons of solidarity and profound feelings of brotherhood.
135.	It is in that same spirit that I wish to reaffirm the ties that bind Spain to Portugal, a country with which we share the Iberian peninsula in a spirit of brotherly respect that dates back many centuries.
136.	The image of that peace which humanity clamours for today requires the renunciation of aggression, even the kind that on the surface does not use force; but it also calls for the creation of minimal co-operative relations, excluding panic and the mistrust under which the younger generation have grown up. Many of them are deserting communal tasks when faced by a world that they regard as badly structured.
137.	The principles of mutual respect, equilibrium and security, the idea of peaceful coexistence in its strictest sense of positive co-operation, are necessary but insufficient in themselves to contemporary man because of the many vast problems that beset us. I am referring to the paucity of means to meet the most elementary needs of many peoples when so much is absorbed by the well-labelled "industry of death". I am referring also to the energy crisis, to the ever-growing danger of an ecology imbalanced, to the chronic instability of our monetary system-to mention but some of the most important. Because of their intensity, their acceleration and their extensive repercussions, those problems go far beyond mere national interests and require a global strategy if the human race is to survive.
138.	Unless we react in time in the face of the hunger of many hundreds of millions of human beings and the slow erosion of the possibilities of life on our planet we expose ourselves to great conflicts, bringing in their wake irreparable damage.
139.	The construction of an integrated peace demands today that we search far beyond mere formulas of self-security or peaceful coexistence. It demands the definition of a great policy of co-operation for the future good of the whole of mankind.
140.	In short, only the firm and common will to overcome the multiple problems of peace at this universal cross-roads of this our only earth will be the most effective proof of the true unity of the United Nations.


83.	Mr. President, I am very pleased to be-able to add the congratulations of the Moroccan delegation to those that have already been addressed to you. The Assembly's choice this year with regard to its presidency is a manifestation of the general esteem and respect that you have acquired in the course of a long career, a goodly part of which has been in the service of this Organization. As the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Brazil stated at the opening of this session on behalf of the whole of Latin America [2124th meeting, para. 2] it is the expression of a pride which we share with him and which he has voiced on behalf of us all with spontaneity and talent.
84.	Since the United Nations displays the truth of its universalise character and its enrichment through diversity every year, it must congratulate itself on being able to count three new Members with differing political heritages and political and cultural horizons. The Moroccan delegation welcomes with sincere satisfaction the delegations of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic and hopes to develop and expand the most cordial and extensive cooperation with these delegations.
85.	But if each admission of new Members is in itself a source of satisfaction for the United Nations, may I be permitted to say that there are cases where such an admission assumes the dimensions of an event that is rich in significance both historical and political. The admission of the two German States is one of them. The whole of the post-war period has been marked for Europe and for the world by the complexity of the German question, and Europe and the rest of the world have had to display much courage, political intelligence and patience in order to save  —  on numerous occasions, and sometimes at the very edge of the precipice — the peace and international security which the confrontation between East and West, particularly in connexion with Germany, have been endangering at every moment. The long diplomatic path that has led to the present happy stage is a positive sign of the reality of a certain detente, first in Europe and also in other parts of the world. We are gratified at this turn of events for the German nation and the two States representing it, with which Morocco is maintaining relations of profound friendship and mutually advantageous co-operation. We are happy in this respect also for Europe, where Morocco has on two occasions lost many of its sons and thus cannot fail to be legitimately concerned for its destiny. We are gratified also at the peace, whose fragility we have felt so frequently both on the Rhine and on the Elbe, consolidation of which in Europe today should make it possible to hope for its extension to other regions of the world where it is still only a desire.
86.	If the itinerary that has been followed in the efforts towards detente during the whole of this quarter-century has for some been limited to the brilliant encounters of Peking, Moscow, Paris and Washington, it is in fact a long process in which, for a long time and at serious risk, certain countries have participated — countries whose contributions for safeguarding peace were no less efficacious even though patient and discreet. The policy of coexistence and non-alignment — the only possible policy for all those for whom the confrontation of the two blocs ran the risk of affecting their sovereignty, compromising their independence or affecting their territorial integrity — was not only a defensive policy involving the preservation of their own interests, but a policy of intervention on the world scene every time that the great Powers were unable to emerge from a crisis save through a move that might lead them towards war. And if today it is necessary to say that the great Powers have rescued peace in Peking, Moscow, Paris and Washington, it must be recognized that others, too, have saved peace when it was indeed endangered in Indochina, Berlin, Suez and Cuba. .The detente is in fact the result of all these efforts, which since 1947 to this day have converged, despite different approaches, towards the primary importance of dialogue and of its prevalence over confrontation and conflict.
87.	If the flowering of this atmosphere of detente is the result of the common efforts of all the forces favouring peace, its strengthening and its effective translation into new international realities must even more so be the common task of all. The tranquillity, however relative and fragile, which prevails today in international relations has engendered sufficient hope for the action of the leaders of the world to be the subject of vigilant attention and for their responsibility to be submitted to the most rigorous scrutiny and judgement.
88.	No conscience, however lofty it may be, and however satisfied it may be over its action for peace, can today claim total tranquillity as long as this peace is limited essentially to arrangements which preserve only national interests, however respectable these may be, to the exclusion. even temporarily, of the imperatives of a generalized peace applied to all continents taken together. The most determined optimism over the relaxation of the world crisis still conflicts in reality with a picture of the international situation which is not entirely a rosy one.
89.	Of course, the improvement in relations among the great Powers engenders hope, inasmuch as their antagonisms have been an essential source of tension. It is also true that certain regions of the world, torn by conflicts which, directly or indirectly, engaged their interests as Powers, today are finding tranquillity and dialogue, which have now replaced war. It is also true that certain countries divided by considerations which are not of their own making are progressively finding certain objective conditions which are bringing their peoples towards this fundamental virtue of seeking their national unity in spite of all the vicissitudes. As we look back at recent history we must view this new situation as immense progress.
90.	But is this sufficient reason for proclaiming everywhere, on all occasions, that peace has arrived, when numerous regions of the world continue to be denied even the first signs of it? Who can deny that the situation in the Middle East remains a major obstacle towards an improvement of the present atmosphere in international relations? Peace-building is certainly an enterprise that requires sustained effort and long patience, and progress towards a solution presupposes the progressive elimination of all obstacles of so-called secondary importance. But it is difficult to admit that there is a hierarchy of peace and that certain peoples deserve it on a priority basis, while others must resign themselves to a tragic destiny until better times arrive.
. The political and diplomatic impasse in which the Middle East situation has bogged down and the attitude of semi-indifference on the part of the great Powers vis-4-vis this situation, may tend to substantiate the thesis that peace can be a tangible reality only because it remains at the level of the higher interests of the great Powers. The Middle East crisis seems to be held in abeyance and seems to serve as a test-tube in which experiments would be conducted concerning some sort of formula for detente or common harmony. But any crisis situation that does not improve only worsens, by the very nature of things.
92. The persistence of Israel in its refusal to implement a single one of the United Nations decisions, the constant reinforcement of its military potential, and the measures of all kinds aimed at the permanent organization of life in the occupied Territories and the entrenchment of Zionist immigration into-Arab lands are factors not likely to facilitate the pursuit of a peaceful solution.
93.	So in whose interest is it to allow this situation to deteriorate? If one were to analyse the various political and moral responsibilities within the international community, one would realize without any difficulty that our Organization has constantly condemned Israeli aggression, rejected the principle of the acquisition of territory by violence, and has called for the evacuation of such territories.
94.	The efforts made by the representative of the Secretary- General, the Secretary-General himself, the Security Council and the General Assembly, are still treated with contempt by the Israeli authorities. Israel, whose propaganda is based essentially on the beguiling of international opinion, cannot today boast of having any favourable audience or of finding indulgence or understanding in world public opinion.
95.	The OAU, basing itself on its experience in the struggle against colonialism and racism, has finally torn away this veil of lies that Israel had tried to spread over the African continent, where today it can rely only on South Africa and Rhodesia, which constitute with it the last alliance of the racist regimes. The OAU has memorably celebrated its tenth anniversary by its unanimous condemnation of Israel and support of the Arab cause.
96.	Elsewhere, more than 70 States, gathered last month in Algiers and, representing all the peoples of the world, all systems of government and all ideologies, indicated, in a unanimous, unequivocal resolution, their support for the Arab cause because it is the cause of right, justice and peace.
97.	If the whole of the conscience of the world, organized in various world-wide or regional institutions, is thus united in proclaiming the primacy of law and justice, where, then, is the force that is still blocking this profound desire for peace in the Middle East? What more is required before we consider that it is urgent to begin a serious pursuit of peace? Unfortunately, the same conditions are still present in that region and the slightest spark may ignite a war which, in any case, will not be like the one in 1967.
98.	And yet, are the great Powers, which either cannot or do not wish yet to impose peace on that region, likely to be able to prevent war for much longer; and, if so, for how long?
99.	The Palestinian people has now crossed the threshold and has taken its destiny into its own hands. Its resolve to fight until final recognition of its legitimate rights is every day taking different forms, and neither Israel nor its allies are today unaware of the dimensions which the direct fight of the Palestinian people has brought into the complexity of the problem.
100.	In the face of this situation, which they can only confront squarely, the Arab States and the Palestinian people have often proved that the constraints of war can still leave room, however modest it may be for the time being, for the sincere search for a peaceful solution that would be in keeping with justice and dignity.
101.	In certain circles, people are still hoping that time is working for them; but if time belongs to those who know how to use it, the Arabs have also learned, although at their own expense, that time could be one of the other means still at their disposal.
102.	The idea that a hotbed of war or tension does not remain indefinitely under control in a region at the level one wishes to maintain it is shared by the peoples of the Middle East, because they have lived this truth throughout the whole of their history, a history that has been highly active. The Middle East crisis, whether it remains latent or proceeds towards an escalation or a peaceful solution, brings about political change in other parts of the world adjacent to it.
103.	Would it be possible, for instance, to speak reasonably today of the strengthening of peace in Europe if the Mediterranean basin in the east as well as the west remains the centre of a conflict which is undermining a well- understood concept of European security and economic and cultural co-operation among all the coastal countries of that basin?
104.	If the destiny of Europe has been historically influenced at Poitiers, in Pomerania, on the Rhine, on the Elbe or on the Moskva River, it has also been influenced, with equally important consequences, and sometimes even the most felicitous ones, around the Mediterranean.
105.	Similarly, the destiny of the Arab world has been played out not entirely around the Tiber or the Euphrates, at Acre or at Fez, but also in Anatolia, in Sicily, on the plains of Spain or on the other flank of the Pyrenees.
106.	The elements of the contemporary world around the Mediterranean, although they are different in some of their manifestations, have in no way altered in their profound realities the geopolitical or economic foundations of this historic interpenetration.
107.	This analysis is the basis of the direct or global interest which Morocco has with its neighbours of this sea in Europe's efforts to try to strengthen its security and ensure fruitful co-operation between the States of the continent.
108.	We are happy that the Committee of Co-ordination of the Helsinki Conference has agreed that non-European Mediterranean countries should be invited to express their interest in co-operation with Europe and to display their concern for the indivisible security of the whole of this region. France and Spain were good enough to submit Morocco's request with sympathy and support, since both these countries were aware with us that our historical intimacy, our cultural and economic ties and the imperatives of security on both sides of the western Mediterranean would meet legitimately the interest of Morocco in the security and development of good relations in the region.
109.	It is highly desirable — and we continue to hope this with all our hearts — that all our relations with Spain be finally freed from any controversy, the removal of which is not an unrealizable ambition for two countries and peoples that are so close to each other.
110.	We had hoped, and rightly, that at a time when, after the fashion of numerous countries of other parts of the world, we had extended authority over territorial waters where our interests had long suffered, Spain, a powerful and prosperous country, would understand the desire of a country which is trying to take stock of its resources and is mobilizing them all in the service of a people legitimately aspiring to its own development, first of all through the use of its own resources. Other countries, although opposing the legitimacy of such a decision, have accepted our offers of co-operation within a framework where our sovereignty prevails.
111.	The attitude of the Spanish Government — and we profoundly regret this — creates a situation where all must exercise a vigilance that is constantly put to the test in order to avoid incidents within our territorial waters, where there is always a risk of confrontation between a modest navy which is protecting its national waters and a belligerent fleet which considers it has to protect, in its own way, fishing boats that are there without any legal basis. Both of us are aware of this danger, and I hope that we shall be able to avoid it if, given our will for certain co-operation, we shall first find respect for our national sovereignty.
112.	In the presence of all the fundamental and real factors which contribute to the establishment of exemplary relations between Spain and ourselves, we are attempting on our side, with good faith and with considerable patience, to arrive at an identical or concordant comprehension concerning the style and the method for the decolonization of the Sahara.
113.	It is a known fact that my country has solemnly proclaimed here, as well as in other international forums, that it was in favour of the principle of self-determination for the populations of that Territory. Spain has supported that principle and in 1969 voted in favour of the resolutions of this Organization which referred to this as the necessary way to decolonise that Territory.
114.	However, periodically the Spanish Government promulgates laws which modify the structures of the Territory and its status, while proclaiming that such measures are merely stages which advance the Territory towards the desired goal of self-determination. On 22 September last the Spanish Government again promulgated another series of measures in the same spirit.
115.	Yet, if the Government of Spain were to adopt the same decisions with the co-operation of the United Nations, as called for in numerous resolutions, the prudence of our Organization would doubtless have guaranteed the finality of such measures and the genuine freedom of the expression of the will of the peoples. In admitting that these measures, in their formulation, might constitute progress, Spain's suspicion with regard to co-operation with the United Nations is legitimately upsetting the confidence that it called for from us and that we were prepared to grant it in good faith in a framework which excludes initiative on the part of the administering Power alone.
116.	If my last words concern decolonization and if I expect to be brief on the subject, it is essentially out of deference to President Gowon of Nigeria, the acting President of OAU, who was good enough to agree to come himself and present before the United Nations the preoccupations of the African continent as a whole in regard to the persistence of colonialism and the increasingly clear trends of the strengthening of the racist regimes upon our continent.
117.	In Africa now there is a fact that cannot escape either our Organization or international public opinion — even less the last adherents of colonialism and racist regimes. This is the existence of an open fight by all the peoples that are still dominated in Africa, who are taking their destiny into their own hands because they see they are obliged to follow the narrow road of a most arduous but most worthy fight for freedom.
118.	This fight has brilliantly led to the demonstration of what can be achieved by the will of a people which at the beginning of this summer was still called as rebellious and which some 40 States have recognized in a few days as the first manifestation of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau.
119.	This twenty-eighth session of the General Assembly, which coincides with the tenth anniversary of OAU, could not have any better introduction than to remind it that peace cannot redound to the benefit of certain peoples and not confer the same benefit on other peoples whose courage entitles them to live, without delay, in dignity and freedom.


1.	Mr. President, I begin by expressing Canada's congratulations to you on your election to the presidency. As a representative of Ecuador you have played an active role in the affairs of Latin America and in many areas of world co-operation. We welcome your election and wish you well in carrying out the high duties of leadership of the twenty-eighth session.
2.	By the admission of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, the United Nations has taken another big step towards universality. Canada applauds the breadth of mind-the evolution from stalemate in Europe — that has made these States welcome within our Organization.
3.	Canada also warmly welcomes the admission of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas as a full Member. As a country that has long enjoyed close links with the Bahamas, we are confident that the influence of our newest Member will be directed to the highest interests of the United Nations.
4.	The United Nations is becoming universal-is it becoming more effective as an instrument for the attainment of the hopes and aspirations of mankind?
5.	Since last we met here one of the architects of this Organization, the Right Honourable Lester B. Pearson, died in Canada. In those bright, hopeful days when he and others were engaged in preparing for the birth of the United Nations, Mr. Pearson expressed his fear that when the unifying pressures of world war have subsided, "nationalist pride and prejudice would become strong again-and the narrow concept of the national interest prevail". This judgement on the future was all too quickly proven accurate. Yet as conscious of its imperfections as any man, Mr. Pearson remained convinced that the United Nations was indispensable for even the most slow and painful march away from mass violence and poverty.
6.	It is true that in certain key areas of world security, the United Nations appears to have been bypassed. Improved relations between the great Powers have been achieved essentially through bilateral efforts. Significant steps have been taken towards greater European stability with the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe and talks of mutual balanced force reductions. The agreement reached bilaterally between India and Pakistan, restoring the conditions of peace and future co-operation in the subcontinent, has been warmly welcomed by the world community.
7.	All of us are, in some degree, affected by these deliberations and decisions, and we recognize that it is the nature of our world's society that all of us do not have the opportunity to contribute to the decision-making as we would wish through this world forum. As the Secretary- General has said in the excellent introduction to his annual report:
"It is necessary to emphasize that there is no inevitable clash between bilateral and multilateral diplomacy. They are, or should be, mutually supporting, each having particular advantages in particular situations. There is no single road to peace- we have to try all roads.
But we should never fail to assert the interest and the primacy of this Organization where it has an indispensable role to play.
8.	Such was Canada's view at the International Conference on Viet-Nam held early this year in Paris. At that Conference I attempted to have the United Nations and the United Nations Secretary-General firmly integrated into the peace observation machinery which was being established at that Conference. These efforts failed.
9.	After five months of efforts to play the role of an impartial international observer, we withdrew from the International Commission of Control and Supervision in Viet-Nam, frustrated, but by no means embittered.
10.	Canada remains prepared to play its part in peacekeeping and peace observation. But we have learned a lesson from our long and frustrating attempts to have these peace-keeping bodies operate objectively. The lesson is this: peace-keeping and peace observation operations stand the best chance of success if they are conducted under the authority of the United Nations Security Council.
11.	We have long assumed that progress in technology, agriculture and communications would mean progress for the underprivileged-a ladder on which people could climb away from hunger, disease and degradation. Yet tragically the word "progress" has come to mock us. The gap between rich and poor is wider than ever. Material achievements are threatened by spiralling world inflation, increasing pollution, unforeseen commodity shortages and by the capricious movements of world finance.
12.	For ill as well as for good, we are increasingly interdependent however jealously we guard our independence. No nation can solve inflation in isolation from the others. No nation can assure the cleanness of air or the purity of water that flow freely across political boundaries. Faced individually by each sovereign State, the challenges are insurmountable. For they are universal problems and they can only be met effectively by universal solutions. The United Nations and its agencies are the only bodies with the authority and with the breadth of representation to meet these challenges.
13.	Even collectively these challenges are intimidating. Our experience with the problem of international security - not least, the problem of the Middle East - has taught us that they will not be overcome by conferences alone, by resolutions or by formal votes. They require a profound and clear-headed appreciation of the dimensions of the problems matched by a common will to work co-operatively towards solutions.
14.	In the opinion of the Canadian Government, we must try to avoid barren and abrasive confrontations, which are frequently the result of formal voting processes. Consensus is another and often surer route; it is the technique we are using increasingly at our Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings. The results are not dramatic, but they are none the less real. Consensus does not mean the imposition of the will of the majority on a reluctant minority which feels its vital interests arc at issue; it means the shared recognition of what should and can be done. I believe we attach far too much importance to the voting scores. Votes are little solace to the hungry.
15.	There have been three successive years of drought in parts of Africa and the Asian subcontinent and of abnormally poor growing seasons in many other parts of the world. Until now only a few food-producing nations, including Canada, held surplus food stocks, and even these existing stocks fluctuated according to weather conditions and international demand. Over the years, efforts to create food banks have proved largely unsuccessful.
16.	Now a constructive proposal to ensure world food security has been introduced by the Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO].  Its rate of success will be directly proportional to the effort made by each nation to adjust accordingly its food production and stocking policies. I urge every nation-not just those which are the traditional producers of surplus food-to support and co-operate with the FAO in this task. I am sure we have all noted with great interest the proposal made yesterday by the Secretary of State of the United States to convene a world food conference in 1974 [2174th meeting]. We in Canada look forward to discussing this proposal in detail, as it must be our aim to exorcize the dreadful spectre of starvation that menaces millions of human beings.
17.	Canada has supported the revitalization which, over the past few years, has been' transforming the Economic and Social Council. A very important change for Canada and for Canada's relations with Europe was our election by the Council to full membership on the Economic Commission for Europe. One of the Council's prime responsibilities is the successful implementation of the action programme adopted by this Assembly for the Second United Nations Development Decade-the International Development Strategy [resolution 2626 (XXV)]. That Strategy is neither perfect nor immutable. Our appraisal of it has already proven to be a difficult process. It is not, however, an impossible process, and it is one that I hope will become easier as we all become more attuned to its requirements.
18.	We stand in the shadow of other terrifying and universal problems, which can be overcome only by international co-operation. Last Year I spoke out strongly about terrorism and I must do so again. Civilization cries out for effective action by the international community to protect innocent persons against premeditated acts of violence.
19.	Since last year international efforts to combat terrorism have gathered some momentum through various international organizations and instrumentalities. Over 86 States have, for example, signed the 1970 Hague Convention on aerial hijacking.  It is encouraging to note the growing list of ratifications of this Convention to combat acts of unlawful interference with civil aviation by States from all the geographical regions and of all political views.
However, terrorism has not been eliminated; it remains a double-edged sword. In its indiscriminate sweep it cuts at the roots of international order, as well as at the hand that wields it. We shall look to all nations and to the General Assembly for action on further measures to combat acts of terrorism.
20.	And terror has another face: it is that of nuclear poison and the ultimate threat of nuclear holocaust. Although 10 years have elapsed since the partial test-ban Treaty  came into force, there has been no further progress towards achieving the cessation of all nuclear tests-which was the ultimate objective of the signatories of that Treaty. Despite improving prospects for international security resulting from strategic arms limitation agreements, there has, regrettably, been no sign that either of the superpowers is prepared to curtail underground nuclear testing or to enter into active negotiations towards the achievement of a comprehensive test-ban treaty. Nor have two great Powers brought to an end nuclear testing in the atmosphere, despite the overwhelming weight of world public opinion.
21.	The global dimension is clear and striking in the use we make of the oceans. Coastal States must protect their economic and environmental interests. On the other hand, there must be certain traditional freedoms on the oceans to facilitate world-wide exchanges. We continue to believe that these elements of the law of the sea are not irreconcilable and that a proper balance can and must be achieved. Canada believes that these rights, which are essential to the well-being of developing and developed coastal States alike, can be exercised in a manner that will take into account the rights of other legitimate users of the sea — in other words, mankind as a whole. A new international order recognizing both the fundamental rights and the responsibilities of States in respect of the oceans can emerge, and we hope will emerge, from the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, if the Governments here assembled have the will.
22.	Similarly, outer space offers exciting prospects of benefit in meeting terrestrial needs in resource management, communications and education. These prospects can be realized for all our peoples only by searching for new and imaginative forms of international co-operation; and I believe that through the United Nations we are well embarked on this search.
23.	Last year the General Assembly accepted the Canadian offer to be host to a conference on the urgent and vital question of human settlements [resolution 3003 (XXVII)]: the United Nations Conference- Exposition on Human Settlements is now scheduled for Vancouver in 1976. We were delighted that the General Assembly responded so warmly to this offer and we are encouraged by the co-operation and enthusiasm which have been displayed during the initial planning stages for the conference.
24.	This year we celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Yet in parts of southern Africa minority regimes, still deny man's basic rights through stubborn opposition to his Efforts to achieve equality. Canada recognizes the legitimacy of the struggle to win full human rights and self-determination in southern Africa and is studying ways to broaden its humanitarian support for those engaged in these efforts. The most effective way to mark this twenty-fifth anniversary of the Declaration will be for each nation to redouble its concern to extend human rights to all its people. But concern must be expressed through achievement.
25.	Mankind's occupation of this planet has been neither wise or far-sighted. Because of our greed, our indifference and our ignorance, we are speeding on a fatal collision course with our environment. The exploitation of our natural resources has been incessant, uncaring and exhaustive. Our air and our waters are becoming foul and poisonous. We seem to be incapable of feeding and clothing adequately our growing millions. So far, we have been unable to live peacefully together or to share our bounty so that all may live a life of dignity.
26.	Although there is no doubt that in some circumstances the agencies of the United Nations can and do move swiftly, on the whole no one can accuse this Organization of approaching its problems with unseemly haste. Too many items have taken up permanent annual residence on the agenda. Still, some progress is being made. The increasing universality of the United Nations, as I remarked at the beginning of this statement, is an outstanding example.
27.	But it seems to me that there is lacking a sense of urgency-a collective sense of urgency about the towering problems confronting mankind and this Organization. In our race with poverty and starvation, terrorism and armaments, pollution and bigotry, we are too apt to forget that time is not on our side.