First of all. Sir, I would like to express my delegation's satisfaction at seeing you preside over this General Assembly. Bangladesh is a non-aligned country with a great tradition of struggle for the cause of peace and justice. This fart, together with your excellent qualities as a diplomat, assures us that the important matters to be debated in the course of the present session of the General Assembly will receive evenhanded treatment.
I should also like to express to our Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, our satisfaction over seeing him fully recovered, and we send him words of encouragement in the difficult task posed by the critical moments through which our Organization is living.
I must also state here our appreciation to Mr. Jaime de Pinies of Spain for the efficient and fair manner in which he presided over the previous session of the General Assembly.
Despite the great efforts which both Nicaragua and the countries of the Contadora and Lima Groups have been carrying out, despite the solemn statements issued by the Movement of Non-Aligned Nations and many other countries of the world, condemning the interventionist policy and illegal use of force by the United States government against Nicaragua, and despite the finding of the International Court of Justice of 27 June 1986, condemning and ordering the immediate end to this illegal policy, the spiral of war continues.
This undeniable reality led the Contadora and Lima Groups to state, only nine days ago, that "the crisis in Central America is becoming more serious every day, and the risk of war is increasing.3 (A/41/662, p. 2)
Four days after that statement was issued, a young member of the army that defends Nicaragua's national sovereignty shot down an American airplane, with a crew of Americans, carrying a large quantity of weapons and different kinds of explosives, a kind of advance on the infamous -$100 million" that the Reagan Administration, with the complicity of the United States Congress, has approved to continue the systematic slaughter of our people in the dirty mercenary war that has turned Central America into a laboratory for testing new forms of war with which the United States is combating the struggles for independence, self-determination and genuine democracy of the peoples of Latin America and the world.
How many times did representatives hear an ambassadress of the united states accuse us here of being "paranoid" because we denounced aggression against our people as United States aggression? We all know that deceit and lies, together with the use and the threat of the use of force, are essential tools of the Reagan Administration's foreign policy. Let no one be offended by this statement; it is not our intention to offend anyone. We simply state the truth without ambiguity, because peace, which is the fundamental objective of Nicaragua's policies and a universal aspiration, obliges us to speak clearly. Events have shown that we are not "paranoid". The Reagan Administration, in addition to violating the principles of the United Nations Charter, also lies. It is just as the International Court of Justice said:
"The United States of America, by training, arming, equipping, financing and supplying the contra forces or otherwise encouraging, supporting and aiding military and paramilitary activities in and against Nicaragua, has acted, against the Republic of Nicaragua, in breach of its obligation under customary international law not to intervene in the affairs of another State.
The Reagan Administration's contribution to imperialism's longstanding ambitions has been its rediscovery of the use of citizens of other countries to fight imperialism's wars. In this way it tries to avoid paying the political price
attached to sacrificing American lives, taking advantage of the fact that they have been able to deform the conscience of a considerable number of Americans who view genocide against other peoples, especially if they are from the third world, with alarming indifference.
Thus, in this war which the United States Administration is waging against the people of Nicaragua in order to make them, in President Reagan's words, "Cry Uncle", there have already been more than 3U,U00 victims. Nevertheless, in spite of the mercenary nature of this war, at least five Americans have already been killed due to the criminal policy of the Reagan Administration, not counting those who died in the recent accident involving a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) aircraft in Texas, or others who have died in Honduras, Costa Rica and El Salvador.
As a result of the recent downing of an American aircraft in Nicaragua on 5 October, we now have the first prisoner clearly identified as a United States military adviser in El Salvador. I personally had in my hands the identity card issued to him by the Salvadorian air force, complete with photograph, accrediting him as a United States military adviser. Naturally, this American prisoner will be brought before the courts and tried in accordance with Nicaraguan laws, with all guarantees of due process.
In declarations to the national and international press yesterday in Managua the United States prisoner, Eugene Hasenfus, stated that he worked for the CIA and that two CIA agents, naturalized Americans of Cuban origin. Max Gomez and Ramon Medina, his direct superiors, were co-ordinating most of the flights from El Salvador carrying weapons, ammunitions and supplies for the counter-revolutionary mercenaries. He also explained how the territories of Costa Rica, El Salvador and Honduras are used in those CIA operations, all with the full knowledge and authorization - in the words of the United States prisoner - of the authorities of those countries.
Despite all the subterfuges and lies employed by the Reagan Administration to cover up its criminal policy towards Nicaragua; despite its cover-up of the fact that, although war has not been declared officially, the United States Government is waging a war of aggression against Nicaragua, in which the shortcomings of Reagan's mercenaries have forced it to get more and more involved itself? despite its having pressured several Central American countries in every way that could be dreamed up by those that have made the systematic use of blackmail an essential part of their foreign policy - despite all that, the world sees clearly that this war of aggression is a dirty, illegal and immoral war. It sees it as a war which the United States is waging against Nicaragua with the sole objective of getting our country to submit to the concept of limited sovereignty, an inevitable corollary to its being regarded as the United States back yard, something which others might accept but Nicaragua never will. We are not enemies, nor do we wish to be enemies, of the United States; but nor are we, nor do we wish to be its back yard. We are defending our total independence, because only thus can we establish the relations of respect that make friendship possible. I refer once more to the Contadora Declaration of 1 October, which contained the following passages:
"Those who believe in a military solution are disregarding the true dimension of the problem. We wish to draw attention to what is at stake: expansion of the conflict, intensification of the confrontations, and war ...
"Latin America ... does not wish the principles of self-determination and non-intervention to be sacrificed in the name of security or democracy ...
"... the prevention of war in Central America is a task for all politically responsible Governments and individuals who are prepared to defend the cause of peace."
The decision of the United States Government to send American military advisers to train the contra mercenaries is clear proof that the
Reagan Administration remains determined to cause more death and destruction. That decision and the decision to turn the direction of the war over to the CIA and to give $100 million people to the mercenaries serve only to perpetuate the "agony of endless battle", as pointed out in an editorial in The New York Times yesterday.
Many Americans - I would say most - are aware of that, as is shown by all the public opinion polls on the subject. Four United States veterans and war heroes have chosen to emphasize that truth by issuing a Christian call for peace. Although they have now gone without food for 40 days, their voices have fallen on the deaf ears of those that have ordered the murder of an entire people, daring to claim they are doing so in defense of the Holy Gospel.
I say to President Reagan and Secretary of State Shultz, wherever they are, from here at the United Nations, we demand in the name of God, in whom they say they believe and in whom my people and I do indeed trust, that they stop the war,
that they abide by the ruling of the International Court of Justice, that they bring their foreign policy into line with the norms contained in the Charter, because, although they are powerful, they should not think that they have been endowed with rights which God has not given any man or any nation. We hold them responsible and one day they will have to account for their actions before the Lord, for all the blood that has been shed and all the suffering inflicted on so many innocents as a result of their insatiable lust for domination. We hold them responsible, in advance, for whatever may befall the fasters for peace, whom they have unwisely ignored so far. There can be no doubt that the United States is very rich and powerful and feels it can mock all the courts in the world, but it is time for it to start fearing the implacable justice of the God of peace and life, for, believe me, this justice cannot be mocked or evaded.
The States which make up the United Nations are well aware of the many initiatives taken by Nicaragua in search of a peaceful solution, in line with international law, to the dispute with the United States. There have been many appeals to the United States Government to abandon its illegal policy of intervention and force against Nicaragua and bring its conduct into line with the norms of law, as befits a world super-Power and a permanent member of the Security Council.
Unfortunately, the number of negative responses has been equal to the number of appeals made. After the various efforts to bring about bilateral negotiation had failed Nicaragua decided to initiate legal proceedings against the United States at the International Court of Justice, the top judicial body of the United Nations, in the hope that resort to that forum would make it possible to attain the peace and respect to which the people of Nicaragua and the other Central American countries aspire.
On 27 June this year the International Court of Justice, in a historic decision, which already forms part of the common heritage of all the peoples and nations of the planet, condemned the united States in no uncertain terms for its many and repeated violations of the most sacred principles and tenets of the international legal order, respect for which is the basis of world peace.
The date 27 June 1986 is that of a milestone in the history of international law and the beginning of a new stage in the development of the united Nations system. For the first time in the history of our Organization the highest tribunal of justice condemned a great Power which, ironically, proclaims itself to he a great defender of the international legal order. It condemned the United States for its illegal policy of intervention and force against Nicaragua, a small, impoverished nation, which to defend its inalienable right to independence and self-determination has only the indestructible will of its people, the solidarity of the nations and peoples of the world and, most especially, international law, justice and morality.
It nay be that the international community has not yet had sufficient time to appreciate the tremendous impact and significance that this decision of the International Court of Justice will have on the future of international relations and the United Nations. Our Organization is based on certain fundamental principles on respect for which the very existence of the United Nations depends -unless we wish for the Organization a fate similar to that of the ill-starred League of Nations. At present it is clear that international peace and security depend on full compliance with the purposes and principles of the Charter: the sovereign equality of States, the political independence and self-determination of peoples, non-use of force in international relations, non-intervention in the internal and external affairs of other States, and the peaceful solution of international disputes.
It would not be an exaggeration to state that the history of international relations and of the United Nations can now be divided into two general periods; before and after 27 June 1986. If the United States of America abide by the decision of the International Court of Justice, freedom would flourish in the world and all peoples would draw on the wealth of their own culture, so that humanity could advance towards unexpectedly lofty goals of political, economic and social development. Defiance of the ruling by the United States of America would mean that that super-Power had opted for war, aid that the dark shadow of violence would move across the earth. Our Organization and its embodiment of the dream of peace and freedom would be in a situation not unlike that which mankind experienced during the 1930s.
Since the ruling of 27 June 1986, Nicaragua has seen the confirmation of what it has been saying all along. I should like to recall one of the statements included by Nicaragua in the 30 April 1985 brief it submitted to the International Court of Justice:
"It is significant that it is only in the forum of the International Court of Justice that Nicaragua is able to confront the United States on an equal basis without the results of the dispute being affected by the overwhelming military and economic power of the adversary. Nicaragua asks the Court not only to uphold its legal rights, but also to defend the administration of international justice from being perverted in the hands of the powerful."
Nicaragua went in search of justice before that lofty forum, where all States are equal no natter what their level of development or strength. Justice was done, and, taking into account the great significance of the ruling it is fitting to recall some of the determinations of the Court. The Court clearly pointed out th.it adherence by a State to any particular doctrine did not constitute a violation of customary international law, and that to hold otherwise would make nonsense of the fundamental principle of State sovereignty on which the whole of international law rests.
The Court ruled that the violations of international law committed by the United States through its aggressive actions against Nicaragua could not be justified either by the plea of collective self-defense, inasmuch as the condition sine qua non that would make it necessary had not been fulfilled, or by an alleged right of the United States to adopt counter measures involving the use of force in the face of a purported intervention by Nicaragua in El Salvador. It must be added that the United States was unable to prove its repeated charges of intervention, despite - as was recognized by the International Court of Justice -
"the deployment by the United States in the region of extensive technical resources for tracking, monitoring and intercepting air, sea and land traffic" and the active assistance of the Governments allegedly affected.
Now another huge lie has been revealed, with the downing of the United States C-123 airplane registered in Miami under the number N-4410-F and in El Salvador, as of 23 August last, under the number HP-824, with the documents found on that airplane and with the ample statements made by the surviving American, who is being held pr is oner: El Salvador, far from being the victim the United States Government claims it to be, is one of the three main bases of the imperialist aggression against Nicaragua. The prisoner's statements and the documents found demonstrate once more the clear involvement of the Governments of El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica in the mercenary war by which the United States Government is trying to deny Nicaragua, and all of Central America, the exercise of the right of self-determination.
The determination of the United States Government to continue its illegal policy of force against Nicaragua and the alarming military buildup in Honduras have forced Nicaragua to continue military preparations in defense of its independence, self-determination and territorial integrity. One of the most serious consequences of United States policy in Central America is the disproportionate and unjustified militarization of the sister republic of Honduras, which has turned that country into a gigantic United States military base.
So-called assistance to Honduras has gone from 310 million in 1982 to almost $313 million in 19£C>. Since 1979, 27 United States military bases and 11 landing-strips and air bases for military use have been constructed, along with dozens of other types of military installations. The Honduran armed forces have swelled from 23,000 to almost 50,000 soldiers. The Honduran air force has become by far the most powerful in the region, going from 137 war-planes and helicopters in 1982 to some 330 aircraft in 1986, among them modern F-5s, the most
sophisticated in the entire region, and C-130 transport planes, the largest in the area. Moreover, the United States has given Honduras more than 500 heavy artillery pieces; these have increased in number from 240 in 1982 to some 7S0 in 1986. We must add to all this armored vehicles, whose numbers stood at approximately 70 in 1982 and which now number more than 200 armored vehicles and tanks. As can he seen, the military buildup in Honduras, one of the poorest countries in Latin America, has been on the order of 300 per cent in only five years. The significance of the sum total of weapons and military assistance supplied and military infrastructure installed could not be fully understood if we failed to mention the existence of wide-ranging military agreements between the United States and Honduras, the signing of new defense treaties and, above all, the constant maneuvers, an excuse to keep thousands of United States troops in Honduras, and above all the fact that Honduras is not a country suffering any sort of aggression or armed conflict that could justify such a degree of militarization. Moreover, it can be asserted that, by virtue of its military agreements with the United states, Honduras could easily do without any of this bloated military apparatus, in the knowledge that its external security is fully guaranteed by the military might of the United States. But if defense is not the motive, we must ask ourselves what then are the aims of this overwhelming military build-up in impoverished Honduras.
The entire military infrastructure that has been built, all the warplanes, tanks and radars that have been supplied are not there for the defense of Honduras' sovereignty, but serve as a menacing launching pad for aggression against Nicaragua and a destabilizing factor for the whole Central American region, as well as providing cover for the provision of military aid, training and instructions to the mercenary forces based in Honduras.
The international community must be made aware of the extensive war preparations under way in Honduras, for it is there that for years the specter of war has been nurtured and intervention plotted against the peoples of Central America. If the United Nations and all peace-loving nations do not respond Quickly, the result will be a most dangerous and prolonged conflict that will involve Central America, Latin America and the whole world.
The Nicaraguan Government believes that its first line of defense is the rule of international law and the constant encouragement of its methodical and appropriate application. For that reason, although it stands to arms to defend its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, Nicaragua has turned to the International Court of Justice to appeal to the main author of the aggression of which it is a victim, as well as to its main accomplices and allies, to return to common sense and civilized conduct.
Nicaragua will continue insisting on these civilized means for resolving international disputes. That is why we have sought, by means of suits filed against Honduras and Costa Rica in the International Court of Justice, to exercise our right to self-defense with our first and foremost means of defense -international law. Our two neighbors have confessed that they lend their territories to the mercenary bands which are financed, organized, directed and supplied by the United States, and whose main actions have been aimed at committing innumerable acts of terrorism against the civilian population of Nicaragua. By this sort of conduct the Governments of Honduras and Costa Rica have not only turned the territory of their respective countries into sanctuaries for bands of mercenaries and terrorists; they have also turned themselves into aggressors together with the main aggressor.
The Central American tragedy is being repeated in other parts of the world: in southern Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Those conflicts which the third world is suffering the wounds must not, however, make us forget the responsibility which we all have with regard to the gravest threat facing humanity today - the danger of a nuclear war. The initiative undertaken by Argentina, India, Greece, Mexico, Sweden and Tanzania since May 1984, strengthened recently in the Ixtapa message, is a valuable effort to make the nuclear Powers hear our voice, and reflects the obligation that the nuclear Powers have to take the vital interests of all the peoples of the world into account in their negotiations. In order to restore and safeguard international peace and security it is essential to avoid extending the nuclear threat into space, to put an end to all atomic testing, and to open the door to negotiations for substantial reductions of nuclear arsenals, within the framework of general and complete disarmament. We earnestly hope that the universal clamor for the total abolition of nuclear arms will be heeded at the meeting that is to take place tomorrow between President Reagan and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, and that that meeting will lead to specific progress towards an easing of tension and disarmament.
The very same forces that are work today trying to destroy the international legal order, that show contempt for the International Court of Justice, that block efforts at regional negotiation and raise the specter of war over our peoples are the forces that are attempting to undermine the foundations of our Organization by resorting to financial blackmail. The report presented by the Group of 18 intergovernmental experts contains recommendations that can be extremely useful for increasing savings and efficiency. However, this must not serve as a pretext for yielding to those interests which seek to change the democratic structure which gives the United Nations its strength, or impose decision-making mechanisms which involve a threat to paralyse the Organization.
To the problems and concerns which we have just outlined we must add another element which is now engrossing the attention of the developing countries: the crisis in the international economy. The current trends in the world economy lead us to conclude that the historic underdevelopment which has been imposed upon us, far from being redressed, is in fact worsening. Foreign debt, commodity prices, the terms of trade, interest rates, protectionist trade barriers, negative capital
flows - terms once employed only by experts - have become part of the daily vocabulary of our peoples and their leaders. They know full well that the elimination of the negative trends in those factors mean greater opportunities in employment, education, social progress - in short, a more dignified life - whereas if, on the contrary, there is any further deterioration in them, it will entail unemployment, economic stagnation, poverty and, in many cases, death itself.
Unfortunately, that is precisely the tendency that prevails, which reflects the magnitude of the injustice and inequality that rule current international economic relations.
The foreign debt is the most pressing problem facing the developing countries today. The policies of adjustment that are being imposed on our peoples with the sole objective of ensuring payment of the interest on that debt are only wideninq the gap separating developed and underdeveloped countries. The debt is a problem of a political nature and it can only be solved if it is treated as such.
The existence in southern Africa of the hated apartheid regime constitutes a serious threat to international peace and security. The South African regime, in addition to segregating and slaughtering its peoples, practices State terrorism against the front-line States. It also occupies the vast and rich Territory of Namibia, subjecting its population to a system of exploitation identical to apartheid. There can be no doubt that comprehensive mandatory sanctions are the only peaceful and effective means left to the international community to put an end to that crime. The policy of constructive engagement must also be abandoned immediately.
The international community must demand that the United States stop giving support to the UN IT A mercenaries in their campaign to destabilize the legitimate Government of the Republic of Angola.
We reiterate our active solidarity with the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), the sole, legitimate representative of the Namibian people.
The Middle East continues to be one of the regions in which international peace and security are most seriously threatened. As long as the United States
continues its unconditional support for Israel the possibilities of the escalation and expansion of the conflict will increase. Nicaragua believes that no attempt to solve the Middle East problem without Guaranteeing the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people can succeed. Moreover, the participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, in any initiative in the region is essential if a just and stable peace is to be established.
The sister country of Cyprus is the victim of foreign occupation that threatens its unity and its non-aligned status. We support the implementation of the relevant United Nations resolutions.
Several months ago the Mediterranean was the scene of a reprehensible, unjustified attack by the United States against Libya. In the face of such terrorist acts the international community must step up its efforts to convert the Mediterranean into a region of peace, security and co-operation.
Nicaragua expresses its support for the efforts being made by the countries of Indo-China to establish a dialog leading to a negotiated solution to the region's problems.
Nicaragua is in favor of a prompt solution to the deplorable conflict between two sister countries, Iran and Iraq, members of our Movement of Non-Aligned Countries. In order to last, that solution must be just and in keeping with the principles of international law, non-alignment and the United Nations Charter. The suffering of the peoples of those two countries must come to an end.
In Afghanistan, we support the efforts made by the Secretary-General to attain a political and negotiated solution that ensures the right of self-determination of the people of Afghanistan.
Nicaragua strongly supports the peaceful reunification of Korea and the withdrawal of United States troops from the southern part of the peninsula.
Nicaragua reiterates its solidarity with the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic and reaffirms that the situation in Western Sahara, being a colonial problem, can be resolved only in accordance with resolution 1514 (XV), under which the brother Sahsran people are guaranteed their legitimate right to self-determination in the framework of resolution 104 of the Organization of African unity (OAU) and the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, despite the indomitable struggle of our peoples there still exist peoples which are denied, through the application of techniques of colonialism of varying degrees of sophistication, their legitimate right to independence. We reiterate our solidarity with the Puerto Rican people in their just struggle for self-determination and independence.
We confirm our decisive, unwavering support for the sister republic of Argentina in its legitimate claim to the Malvinas Islands.
In El Salvador, the just aspirations of the people have not been fulfilled. The imperialist policy prevents a negotiated solution to the present conflict as advocated by the Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation-Revolutionary Democratic Front. That policy must be ended in order to guarantee the brother Salvadorian people its legitimate right to self-determination.
Because revolutionary Nicaragua has always spoken clearly and unambiguously, because we defend and will always defend the ideals of our heroes, because we follow a policy based on principles rather than individual interests, because we are non-aligned, because we are anti-imperialist, anti-apartheid and anti-colonialist, because we have truth and justice on our side and because we defend peace, our people are suffering a cruel and prolonged war of aggression.
Our principles irritate the powerful, so they impose war on us. Nevertheless we are willing to continue to struggle to find means of understanding that will
permit us to achieve peace - but a worthy peace, not the peace of subjugation or of the tomb.
Meanwhile, if they continue to impose this war on us, the people of the world should know that we shall never renounce our rights or betray the many people who today see a ray of hope in our revolution, because, as our hero Sandino said,
"My cause is the cause of my people, the cause of America, the cause of all the peoples of the world."


On behalf of the Government and people of Papua New Guinea, I wish to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the important post of President of the forty-first session of the United Nations General Assembly. We are confident that under your able leadership the work of this august body will be carried out with efficiency and success.
I should also likeP on behalf of my country, to register our sincere appreciation for the excellent work performed by your predecessor, Mr. de Pinies of Spain. In addition, let me add my Government's voice to those who have already spoken in praise of the work being done by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Javier Perez de Cueilar.
Papua New Guinea is situated in a part of the world which hears the name of peace - the Pacific Ocean. But we are no more immune to world-wide problems than are peoples in other parts of the world.
Governments in our region have been able to make modest, but none the less effective, contributions to the resolution of regional problems. But we remain vulnerable to other problems. In fact, the island States of the South Pacific are probably more vulnerable to some problems than are countries in other parts of the world.
The South Pacific is one of the few regions of the world where old-style colonialism is still to be found. People in our region look to people elsewhere for help and support in bringing colonialism to an end. We support people trying to free themselves from colonialism in other parts of the world.
Despite its peaceful-sounding name, the Pacific is not remote from the arms race. In fact, some parts of the region are used by a number of nuclear Powers for weapon testing and target practice.
The disarray in world commodity markets and the over-all decline in commodity prices affect us deeply.
Growing indifference to the problems of developing countries, expressed by what people in developed countries carelessly describe as aid fatigue, is having profoundly adverse effects on Government's capacity to provide services for our people and to improve living standards in the future.
The continuing failure by Governments in developed countries to address the issues raised by proposals, for a new international economic order makes even the modest goal of fiscal self-reliance, to which my Government is strongly committed, unnecessarily difficult to achieve.
This year, 1986, is the International Year of Peace. Under the United Nations Charter, all United Nations Members subscribe to peace. All of us say that we favor peace. But what have we really done to give effect to our common commitment?
The United Nations, formed in the aftermath of the Second World War, was intended by its founders to be a vehicle for securing peace - genuine and lasting peace. Its founders recognized, as the Charter shows, that such peace involves more than the absence of war. They saw that genuine and lasting international peace can come about only if we attend to the underlying causes of international conflict.
Inequity, the denial of basic human rights and the arms race are just as surely threats to peace as is naked military aggression.
Yet, year after year, leaders from all parts of the world stand in this Hall and speak in favor of peace, but little or nothing happens. In fact, international tensions are increasing. The United Nations is now more than a generation old.Can we, the next generation, do no more? Surely, we must - for ourselves, for our children and, if humanity is to survive, for their successors, too.
Papua New Guinea is a full, committed and - within the scope of available resources - active Member of the united Nations. For countries like mine, the United Nations is a vital - indeed, irreplaceable - means of securing national, regional and wider interests.
Successive Papua New Guinea Governments have always believed that we have a general interest in preserving and increasing international co-operation. We have a particular interest in supporting a strengthened united Nations system. We are therefore concerned at actions which have the effect of weakening or reducing participation in the work of the United Nations.
We urge other Governments to take careful heed of the Secretary-General's urgent warning regarding the financial state of the United Nations and to do what they can to help.
Limited though our capacity to influence events may be, my own and other Governments in our region are nonetheless determined to use what influence we have to give effect to the principles embodied in the United Nations Charter. We fully accept the obligations that arise from sovereign equality among the nations of the world.
My Government has thus recently concluded negotiating a treaty of mutual respect, friendship and co-operation with our closest neighbor, Indonesia. We believe that mutual respect is, and must be, the starting point of equitable and peaceful relations between sovereign States. Friendship and co-operation, the goals that all Members of the United Nations claim to share, must surely follow.
Together with the Governments of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, we have formed a spearhead group to monitor and act on issues of special concern to the Melanesian States. The spearhead symbolizes a united effort, not an aggressive weapon. The group does not threaten other countries or regional groups. It is strongly committed to wider forms of regional and international co-operation.
In January, my Government decided to accede to the United Nations Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. The decision gave practical expression to our active commitment to vital and universal humanitarian
principles. We are already receiving some assistance from the office of the united Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Despite successive united Nations resolutions calling for arms control and eventual disarmament, the arms race continues apace. My Government is pleased at the decision to hold a summit meeting between the leaders of the two super-Powers. We are hopeful of a positive result. We are dismayed, however, at the over-all lack of progress being made towards arms control, not to speak of complete disarmament. The nuclear arms race threatens not only the main contestants, but all other countries.
Even if the ultimate horror of nuclear war can he averted, the destruction caused by the diversion of so much money, energy and talent away from the urgent problems of human suffering and development can only be described as obscene.
My Government inevitably gives a high priority to the security situation in our immediate region, but we are not indifferent to events and situations elsewhere. We therefore continue to urge all concerned in the Middle East to reach an equitable and peaceful solution to their problems consistent with the right of Israel to exist and with recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinians. We urge Governments in the region to work in a constructive way to resolve common problems, we also urge all those concerned to work towards the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon.
My Government continues to be horrified at the terrible cost in human life and physical destruction caused by the war between Iran and Iraq. Here, surely, is an issue which goes to the heart of our common commitment to peace.
Foe obvious reasons, Papua New Guineans are concerned with the rights of peoples in small States. Bar equally obvious reasons, we can only deplore the continuing loss of human life and the waste of resources caused by failure to respect those rights. We therefore reaffirm our opposition to the continuing Vietnamese occupation of Kampuchea. We are pleased to note that there may be signs of movement on the issue. We urge all parties to pay close attention to the constructive proposals put forward by the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) for dealing with the issue.
We also continue to deplore the ongoing occupation of Afghanistan by the armed forces of the Soviet Union. To our east, we urge all countries with interests in Central America to pay close heed of the efforts being made by the Contadora Group to bring peace and
stability to the region.
My Government looks to the Governments of North and South Korea to work towards peaceful reunification. We support the admission of both Koreas to the United Nations.
In line with one of the deepest commitments of our foreign policy, we urge Governments in all parts of the world to show respect for the rights of independent countries of all sizes to be free from unwanted external interference.
We call for greater co-operative efforts to deal with the causes of terrorism in the world and to counter inter national crime.
Like other peoples who have experienced colonial rule, we Papua New Guineans not only value our country's independence but believe strongly that colonized peoples are entitled to their independence. Our conviction is, we know, consistent with the views expressed in numerous United Nations resolutions. Successive Papua New Guinea Governments have always supported such resolutions.
Decolonization in the South Pacific has generally been peacefully achieved. The Governments and peoples of the former colonial Powers have remained actively involved in the region as aid donors, investors, trading partners and members of the South Pacific Commission.
My Government is therefore all the more concerned at the direction that events in New Caledonia seem to be taking. Other Governments in the region are equally concerned. Since 1984, more than 2 0 people in New Caledonia, most of them members of the Melanesian Kanak population, have been killed by members of the French armed forces or by French settlers. Many others have been injured, even in the last few weeks. The previous French Government had, we believe, begun to react to the worsening situation in a serious and positive way.
Delegations will be aware of the decision made by the 13-member South Pacific Forum, the paramount regional organization in the South Pacific, to call for the re-inscription of New Caledonia on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. The recent summit meeting of the Non-Aligned Move men t at Harare, Zimbabwe, strongly supported the South Pacific Forum's decision to call for self-determination and the early transition to an independent New Caledonia in accordance with the rights and aspirations of the indigenous people," that is, the Kanaks.
We are pleased to note the strong support expressed by a number of Governments during this session for the just struggle of the Kanaks for independence in New Caledonia. All of us who are concerned with the situation in New Caledonia look to the General Assembly for support to re-inscribe New Caledonia on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories during this session of the General Assembly.
The South Pacific area contains many - indeed, all too many - of the world's remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories, as was noted at the Non-Aligned Movement's summit meeting. France is not only the major remaining colonial Power in our region; it is unashamedly and insensitively so. The Government of France seems to regard the South Pacific as little more than a useful site for testing weapons and a backdrop for the expression of its residual imperial aspirations.
fty Government, like other Governments in the region, welcomes and appreciates the constructive role that the French and other Western European Governments play in our region through the Lome Convention and in other ways. But France is not a South Pacific country. New Caledonia is not a part of France. To suggest that either is the case, as the French Government does, is a delusion.
New Caledonia is. by all criteria, a colony of France. So is the area the French Government persists in referring to as "French Polynesia." And so, too, are Wall is aid FVituna. The indigenous people of New Caledonia are not the same as Metropolitan Frenchmen. The Kanaks are Mslanesians. They speak and act through the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front, the FLNKS. Against ail reason, the French Government persists in regarding New Caledonia as part of France. It ignores the Kanaks. Where it cannot ignore them, it tries to silence them. It denies them opportunities for advancement. The French Government is generally indifferent and even hostile to the legitimate rights of the Kanaks. It intimidates the Kanaks. It actively supports the Kanaks' present and potential oppressors.
In flagrant defiance of paragraph 8 of the Annex to United Nations General Assembly resolution 35/118, the French Government continues to import Frenchmen from metropolitan France into New Caledonia. It is engaged in a military build-up of such proportions that the French military presence in New Caledonia is approximately twice as large as the entire armed forces of all Forum island countries combined. There is now an armed French soldier for every two Melanesian Kanak families in New Caledonia. And the soldiers sent to New Caledonia to suppress the FINKS are entitled to vote in local elections, as are other short-term residents from metropolitan France.
Through a combination of hostile propaganda, intimidation and active military intervention, the French Government seems determined to deny the legitimate rights of the Kanaks - rights which are theirs under the United Nations Charter.
We find it deeply and sadly ironic that the Government of a country which has itself experienced the dreadful agonies of unprovoked terrorist attacks on innocent civilians is itself directly engaged in bringing terror to our region.
My Government believes that we would be failing in our duty to the Kanaks and to the principles for which we stand if we did not bring the situation in New Caledonia before the General Assembly. The United Nations, which has played a vital role in the peaceful decolonization of the South Pacific, will lose credibility throughout the region if it does not respond promptly, decisively and effectively to the situation.
The re-inscription of New Caledonia on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories is but a modest step. It threatens no one. It will, we hope, arouse the Government and people of France to a true appreciation of the wider implications of their actions and stimulate awareness of their true responsibilities and long-term interests in the region.
In line with the strong stance that we have taken on New Caledonia, we support other calls for self-determination by peoples still subject to colonial rule elsewhere. In particular we support the legitimate right of the Namibian people to be free from South African oppression.
Papua New Guinea's opposition to the vile principles and repellent practices of apartheid is a matter of public record. We deplore not only apartheid itself but the mounting cost in human dignity, life and property being paid by the African community as a result of the increasingly desperate attempts being made by the evil regime in Pretoria to maintain apartheid. We urge all Governments with a capacity to influence events in South Africa to use that influence to bring apartheid to an end. We condemn the Pretoria regime's repeated, unprovoked and flagrantly  illegal armed attacks on neighboring countries.
As I indicated at the outset, my Government deplores the slew progress being made towards arms control and disarmament, especially in regard to weapons of mass destruction. We are totally opposed to nuclear-weapon testing in the atmosphere. We therefore repeat our earlier protests against continuing French nuclear-weapon testing in our region.
Like most French people. Pacific Islanders do not want our children to have to breathe air, to drink water or to eat food which has been contaminated by nuclear pollution. People in our region have first-hand experience of nuclear-weapon testing that was supposed to be safe. They have injuries to show that it is not.
We simply cannot accept that the French Government or any other nuclear Power has the right to continue testing nuclear weapons in our region. If it so safe, let them test at home.
The South Pacific Forum has recently agreed to establish a Pacific nuclear-free zone under the Treaty of Rarotonga. The Treaty represents modest progress on a difficult subject.
My Government calls for further and more comprehensive consultation on measures which will make the South Pacific truly free from the hazards of nuclear contamination
We live in a world in which the economic circumstances of the developed countries have profound effects on the welfare and development prospects of developing countries. The point is made with some force in the latest editions of World Economic Outlook, prepared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Trade and Development Report, of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). We nay live in one world, but economic power, at least, remains remarkably one sided.
My Government welcomed the historic special session of the United Nations General Assembly special session devoted to the economic crisis in Africa. We support moves to deal with the crisis. But we must not forget that hunger, the debt crisis and instability in commodity markets are world-wide phenomena with world-wide effects.
Proposals for a new international economic order have been on the agenda of this Assembly and other international organizations since well before Papua New Guinea became independent* The need for progress is at least as urgent now as it was when the proposals were first formulated. But little, if anything, has happened.
Some modest improvements have been made on a regional, and even on a multi-regional, basis. The contribution being made to North-South co-operation by the Lome Convention is an example. My Government is also impressed by the valuable economic and other benefits being reaped by people in South East Asia as a result of regional co-operation among the member States of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). We welcome the increasing interest being taken in the South Pacific by ASEAN members both individually and collectively. In the South Pacific, ray own Government and other Governments have been actively pressing for greater attention to be given to the existing structure of, and to the need to restructure, relations in the region. We have been particularly active in seeking the creation of a single regional organization. The concept of having a single regional organization for the South Pacific is important to us, not only because we seek to rationalize the activities of existing organizations but because we want to bring about a mare creative co-operative relationship between developed and developing countries in the region.
We can no longer accept the colonial-type assumptions implicit in the constitution, the structure and the activities of the South Pacific Commission.
We do not want to prevent Governments or other interested parties in metropolitan countries from playing a constructive role in our region, as I have said. But we are opposed to great-Power rivalry in the South Pacific. We cannot accept foreign domination.
We note the increasing interest the Government of the Soviet Union is talking in our region. We value the increasing contacts between ASEAN and Forum countries.
We look to the United States Government to play a positive role in resolving outstanding difficulties between the American Tuna-Boat Association and Forum countries over fisheries in the reqion.
We hope that the French Government will be responsive to international concern over its activities in the South Pacific.
We look forward to the day when a single regional organization can provide a framework and a means for constructive co-operation, based on sovereign equality and mutual respect, among all Governments with interests in the region. Such an organization will, my Government hopes, address a wide range of North-South issues on a regional basis: aid, trade, investment and other forms of mutual assistance.
The Governments of Australia and New Zealand are already engaged in wide-ranging dialog on a variety of economic and other matters with Forum island countries. We would like to see other countries become more constructively involved in the region too. Development assistance should be replaced by development co-operation. My Government is currently discussing practical proposals on the matter with the Government of Australia. We would like, in time, to see the range of issues and the number of participants expanded.
The Melanesian spearhead group has already taken steps to increase joint efforts to stem the flow of illegal narcotics into and through the reqion. Again, we would like to see our efforts taken up on a wider basis.
The South Pacific is, mercifully, peaceful, not only in name but, when compared with other, more troubled, parts of the world, quite peaceful in actuality. The people of the region want it to remain so. Our independence must be respected. Forum island countries need assistance in developing our natural resources and human potential so that we can become truly self-reliant. Our relations with other countries must be restructured in accordance with the principles of the united Nations Charter.


The delegation of Belize congratulates Mr. Humayun Rasheed Choudhury on his unanimous election to the high office of President of the forty-first session of the General Assembly. It will not be an easy task to superintend the deliberations of such a disparate, distinctly polyglot, assembly of international statesmen; nevertheless, we rely on his wisdom, his judgment and his personal successes as an eminent diplomat to help us achieve a consensus during the coning months.
I wish to record also my delegation's appreciation of the efficient manner in which the immediate past President, Mr. Jaime de Pinies, conducted the business of the Assembly during its fortieth session.
I should like to say a word of thanks, too, to our Secretary-General Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar. It is true that during his tenure of office increasingly complex challenges have beset the United Nations system, but it is equally true that those challenges have been confronted with the distinctive ingenuity and resourcefulness which have become the hallmarks of his tireless campaign for international peace.
Our attendance at successive sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, our participation in the discussions and the resolutions and our financial and resource contributions to the Organization and its agencies underscore the vital importance countries such as Belize attach to the United Nations system. For us, the world body continues to represent our best means of avoiding international marginalization or, worse, extinction.
Because of the vulnerabilities inherent in our small size, concerns of viability continue to preoccupy Belize. In our own region we are especially susceptible to a geo-political environment grown increasingly hostile to any degree of neutrality, but the United Nations provides a forum for the sustained consultation and concerted action necessary to help preserve the sovereignty, territorial integrity, peace and welfare of small States. There are other regional mechanisms of first resort but in our view they are essentially complementary to the collective authority of this truly international forum, which in the final analysis offers the most effective guarantee that the law of the jungle will not prevail in world affairs.
It was in that context that Caribbean Community foreign ministers, meeting in Belize in June of this year, expressed concern about the continued erosion of the principle of multilateralism. They reaffirmed that the multilateral process was essential for small, developing States, such as those in the Caribbean. They noted with concern the trend towards unilateralism which has been reflected in the bypassing of the United Nations system, the withdrawal of membership from a number of United Nations bodies and the diminished support for regional institutions.
They also pointed out that the financial crisis facing the international organizations, arising from the unilateral withholding of assessed budgetary contributions by some countries, threatened the integrity of those organizations, and they called on all States to give full support to the multilateral process.
The dynamics of international life have undergone a dramatic change since the drafting of the Charter. In particular, the years following the General Assembly's Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in 1960 have seen the phenomenon of the micro-State become an accepted feature of the international landscape. Now, fully a quarter century after that seminal Declaration, the time has surely come for a reaffirmation of the principle of sovereign equality which inspired the Declaration. Such a reaffirmation should find expression in the kind of a political reform to the Unite*' Nations system that would give a more muscular, a more practical concretization to the presumption of dignity for small, newly independent States.
Whatever proposals emerge for the strengthening of the United Nations system must take account of the fundamental need of small States to be involved actively in the international community, not with a limited spectator status but as equal participants in the real work of the international system. Hence membership of the Security Council, for example, can no longer be the preserve of the large and the powerful but must reflect the evolutionary nature of international reality. States large and small should be accommodated on a manageable rotation basis so as to allow all nations the benefit of constructive participation, regardless of wealth or military power.
Reform, of course, is not a one-way street. If the third world countries which make up the bulk of the United Nations membership are to persuade the great Powers to be responsive to the need for a more egalitarian framework for the Security Council they must also be prepared to exercise the power of their majority in the General Assembly with restraint and responsibility.
In particular, those of us who belong to the non-aligned group of nations should use our force of numbers to act in an unbiased fashion as regards the super-Powers and their respective world views and alliances. Too often it appears that our positions are anything but non-aligned. We need to put our own house in order and get back to a situation in which we apply the principles of our movement uniformly and without selectivity. The General Assembly ought not to be a forum for sterile agenda and one-sided resolutions, rammed home by what increasingly appears to be an unbalanced use of our majority.
I turn now to the question of economic relations. There is also the need here for a more equitable dead, for small countries, in the context of both bilateral and multilateral arrangements.
In consequence of our particular culture and history, and as a matter of mature political choice, Belize has opted for parliamentary democracy as the means best suited to the organization of our society, but we recognize the fragility of political democracy when it is not accompanied by economic democracy. My Government has therefore sought assiduously to bring material betterment to our people, and we have made great strides in the year just passed to put our fiscal house in order, restore our dollar to stability, arrest capital flight, cope with the burdens of debt servicing, market our tourism resources and create export-led growth.
Our economy, however, like most of the economies of the developing world, is still in a state of dependence. There is therefore a continuing need on our part for private capital flows, as well as official aid on concessionary terms and non-reciprocal preferential access to international markets. He look to developed countries for these supports, developed countries with which we share a kinship born of common traditions and similar political and social organization. He also seek through them access to the multilateral commercial and financial organizations.
Paradoxical though it may seem, even as we seek the co-operation and assistance of these col tries we jealously guard our political independence and our dignity. He in Belize wish to pursue our own interests, going in the democratic direction to which our circumstances and our philosophy incline us, but without becoming the ideological bag and baggage of any Power. We do not suffer from a Manichean view of things, but attempt rather to order our relations with others on the basis of non-interference and respect for the right of all peoples to freely determine their own destinies.
Because of our position, we view with concern the attempts of some powerful countries to make over weaker States in their own image, and in particular their use of the promise of increased aid, or the threat of reduced aid, as a carrot and stick method of exacting compliance with their prevailing orthodoxy.
Of course all this merely points up the dangers inherent in economic dependence, which smaller States on their own are powerless to affect, but which leads to and intensifies other forms of dependence: diplomatic, security, cultural, psychological, and intellectual. Since the inequity of the present state of economic relations between powerful countries and small countries so palpably lessens the sovereignty of the latter, we join once again in endorsing the call for a new international economic order as one truly efficacious way of achieving that equality which should be the ideal of all of us.

Here again, though, the call for a new international economic order ought not to be accompanied by the self-defeating rhetoric which blames all of the ills of the developing countries on the developed world. Merely demanding the transfer of resources from the rich to the poor, together with excoriating multinational companies and first-world protectionism, cannot be a substitute for the imaginative and realistic proposals which the Group of 77 ought to be putting forward. Such proposals should concentrate on the measures which developing countries themselves can take to free their economies and spur growth, as well as on what is needed to redress the imbalances in international trade, regulate commodity prices and encourage technology transfers.
Just as we seek to assert our own sovereignty and independence of action as a developing Caribbean State in Central America, so too we insist on the need for the preservation of the sovereignty and democratic self-determination of neighboring States in our region, particularly those under seige or threats from other countries.
My Government reaffirms its strong support for the continuing efforts of the Contadora countries and the Support Group to seek a negotiated settlement of the conflict in Central America. We are convinced that other countries with interest and influence in the region can best advance the cause of peace, security and development in Central America by supporting the Contadora process as the most likely means of achieving a resolution of the conflict. We call on regional protagonists to resist the designs of those who would exploit the situation in an effort to gain advantage in the East-West struggle for global supremacy.
In Belize's own case, my Government is prepared to do all it can to forestall any addition to regional tension by working for the removal of the obstacles which prevent the Government of Guatemala from recognizing the sovereignty and territorial inviolability of Belize. Belizeans welcome the return to civilian rule
in Guatemala as a forerunner of the normalization of relations between our two countries. We are confident that the climate now exists for direct negotiations which will enable both parties to find a lasting solution to a problem that retards the development of harmonious relations between two peoples equally desirous of continued liberty. On the basis of our shared commitment to democracy, we appeal to the new Government of Guatemala to be flexible and realistic in future discussions with Belize. Such discussions should explore ways of arriving at a solution which recognizes Belizean independence and Belize's right to maintain and preserve its present and constitutional borders, while at the same time addressing the legitimate security concerns of Guatemala.
We are heartened to note the efforts currently being made to resolve the problems between our sister Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country, Guyana, and its Latin American neighbor, Venezuela. In concert with the Caribbean Community, Belize encourages these two countries to continue their search for a peaceful solution, and to continue to co-operate with the Secretary-General of the United Nations in fulfilling the mandate provided by the Geneva Agreement.
We note also the revision of the charter of the Organization of American States which took place at Cartagena in December of last year. It is a revision which takes account of current realities, recognizes the principle of hemispheric universality and opens the way for Belize and Guyana's full membership in the organization by 1990. My Government takes this opportunity to express its appreciation to all those States that spearheaded the revision exercise. By their action, they have recorded their conviction that sovereign Belize can no longer fa-deprived of its rightful place among the community of nations that make up the Organization of American States.
The delegation of Belize is acutely aware that the problems of Belize, both domestic and international, as well as the problems of the region, cannot be isolated from the broader global questions that affect our existence in an increasingly interdependent world.
We cannot be silent, therefore, at the anguished cries of the black majority in South Africa, and we join our voice to the chorus of condemnation which demands an end to abhorrent apartheid.
Apartheid continues to be a state policy in South Africa because it is allowed to remain so by those in a position to influence change. The appeal for comprehensive sanctions against the Pretoria regime must be met by all countries, particularly those who have been reluctant to move resolutely in the past, and particularly those whose economic and financial empires continue to give comfort and succor to the mindless racists in South Africa. The kind of diplomacy which elevates considerations of realpolitik over a commitment to oppressed humanity must be rejected now.
By its illegal occupation of Namibia, too. South Africa continues to stretch the patience of world opinion. The United Nations has been seized of the plight of the Namibian people for over 40 years now, and 20 years ago the General Assembly terminated South Africa's Mandate over that hapless country. Yet, encouraged by those whose policies continue to be on the wrong side of history. South Africa has found one transparent reason after another to defy the international community and hold Namibia in bondage. The time has come for an end to this humiliating charade. Namibia must be independent and room must be made in this Hall for the delegation of independent Namibia.
The continued aggravation of the situation in the Middle East is of great concern to Belize. Among the family of nations none has had to struggle for the
right to maintain a State as bravely and enduringly as has Israel. Accordingly, few should be able to appreciate the intensity of the Palestinian cause as should Israel. The problem of Palestine is at the core of the crisis in the Middle East, and there can be victory for neither Arab nor Israeli until the central fact of the need for a Palestinian homeland is recognized equally with respect for the right of Israel to live in peace and security within its own borders.
The convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East points one way forward. That Conference should be without pre-conditions if it is not be be bogged down in preliminary wrangling and maneuvering. The terrorism that is so charged with the fire to ignite another Middle East war has no constructive contribution to offer either the convening or the success of this Conference. We therefore applaud the Cairo Declaration of 11 November 1985, which rejects and denounces terrorism.
The situation in Afghanistan is pregnant with dangerous consequences for the stability of that region. For over four years millions of Afghans have fled their hones and suffered indignity, inhumanity and death following the invasion of their country. My Government appeals to the parties involved to bring this conflict to an end. A settlement should include withdrawal of foreign troops and ensure full respect for the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-aligned statue, of Afghanistan.
The situation in Kampuchea continues to occupy the attention of the General Assembly. We appeal to all sides to accept the recent proposal for a phased withdrawal of foreign troops, a cease-fire and participatory elections under United Nations supervision. A more workable solution to the problem is unlikely to be found, and we urge Viet Nam to show its commitment to peace in the region by acting on this proposal.
Belize continues to hope that the divided Korean people will some day be unified. Such unification, however, requires dialog and negotiation between North and South Korea, the parties directly concerned. It is important that tension and hostility between the two countries be replaced with mutual trust and national reconciliation.
Peace must also come between the non-aligned States of Iran and Iraq. Their peoples deserve no less. Lebanon must cease to be a theater of fratricide and manipulation by outside elements. And the Falkland islanders and the people of Western Sahara must have their right to self-determination respected.
The world continues to be plagued with regional conflicts even though our humanity obliges us to yearn for peace. That peace is made even more elusive by the proliferation and threats of use of nuclear weapons. It is all too apparent that the vast majority of States mentors of the international community have neither the desire to manufacture or possess nuclear weapons, nor the capability of doing so. Yet our survival is universally threatened by the spread of these weapons, while the general acceptance of the principle of nuclear-free zones gives some comfort to small nations, the international community should not rest until the relevant Powers agree to a new concept of global security that would eschew the use of nuclear weapons.
Tto the possibility of nuclear Armageddon and the proliferation of conventional conflicts must be added a third threat to world peace: the production and trafficking in dangerous drugs, which, in its devastation, has taken on the equivalence of war. Belize applauds all efforts aimed at the elimination of drugs at their source of supply, in transit and at their destination. The problem of drug production, trafficking and abuse has reached a level where it demands a disproportionate share of the social and economic resources of developing countries in order to contain its ill effects. Nevertheless, we in Belize have strengthened national legislation, applied the power of the courts and law enforcement agencies and have initiated Programs aimed at prevention of drug abuse and at rehabilitation as well as at the elimination of production. Only effective regional and international action taken by producing countries, by transit countries and by consumer countries acting in concert can best address this problem. Belize therefore reiterates its commitment to co-operate bilaterally, regionally and inter nation ally in all efforts to develop and execute a coherent response to this threat to our society, our security and our sanity.
International stability requires respect for a world order, for basic rules that are practical as well as moral. The United Nations system, the deliberations of the General Assembly reinforce that order and give effect to those rules. Every problem solved, every conflict prevented, every life saved because of our presence here provides evidence that, however imperfectly, our Organization works. Let the world never forget that in its ideals, in its practices and in its Charter
(Mr. Barrow, Belize)
the United Nations system is the great bulwark preventing the horror of a Hobbesian vision from becoming the central reality of international affairs.


 Sir, on behalf of the United Arab Emirates it gives me great pleasure to extend to you my heartfelt congratulations on your election as President of the United Nations General Assembly at its forty-first session. This election reflects the confidence of the international community in you and in your country, Bangladesh, with which we have relations of friendship and co-operation. We are fully confident that you will conduct the proceedings of this session wisely and ably.
It also gives me pleasure to convey my sincere thanks and gratitude to your predecessor. His Excellency Ambassador Jaime de Pinies, for presiding over the fortieth session with wisdom and competence. On behalf of the United Arab Emirates, I wish to take this opportunity to reaffirm our confidence in the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, for his continued efforts to strengthen the role of the Organization, and for the initiatives he has undertaken with a view to settling disputes.
The celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations reflected the interest of the world in strengthening and enhancing the role of the Organization, particularly through the structuring of international relations in a way that would lead to peace through negotiations and through the peaceful settlement of disputes.
The proclamation of 1986 as the International Year of Peace has been a source of hope for many people. However, an objective review of the events of this year does not justify optimism, since certain parties have been trying to weaken the United Nations and diminish its role, a development which poses a threat to the existing international order. There is no doubt that the present financial
crisis is but one aspect of the international political crisis. Although we
believe it is necessary to introduce the necessary administrative and financial
reforms, this should not be used as a pretext for undermining the effectiveness of the United Nations.
On the other hand, this year has been a year of tension in big-Power relations. Violence has been used and escalated in certain parts of the world and the threat of force and its actual use against certain countries have been resorted to, time after time. This year has alsc seen the possibilities of peaceful
settlement of outstanding problems recede further.
The principles of our country's foreign policy rest on a firm commitment to the Charter. They also rest on the desire to strengthen the United Nations organs and support the peaceful methods prescribed by its Charter for the settling of disputes among States. Another basic of our foreign policy is respect for and
adherence to the resolutions of the United Nations.
That is the reason why my country has always called for adherence by all States to the aims of the Charter. We should resort to its provisions as arbiters in our disputes instead of resorting to confrontation and violence in pursuit of
ephemeral interests.
Proceeding from that belief, we endorse the proposals for strengthening the
system of collective security and for enhancing the role of the United Nations. This strengthening of the United Nations should include use by the Security Council of preventive measures, and use of the Security Council as a forum for negotiation in urgent international situations and discussion of the problems and obstacles which have thus far prevented the Organization from performing its role and fulfilling the hopes and expectations of the international community.
We hereby emphasize that the United Nations should continue to play its vital role in defusing the serious manifestations of world tensions in the interests of detente, the halting of the arms race and the prevention of the acquisition of nuclear weapons whose proliferation threatens to annihilate humanity. The Organization should also be instrumental in achieving total disarmament and encouraging the. peaceful settlement of disputes.
Continued international tensions and worsening conflicts and disputes between States are evident in the Gulf region, where the war is still raging between two Muslim neighbors, Iran and Iraq. This war, now its seventh year, has expanded, and its consequences are no longer limited to the two warring parties. Its unending escalation has disastrous consequences for peace and security in the region and in the world at large. We have always been of the opinion that the only way to end the war and its destructive consequences is peaceful dialog and the will to solve the outstanding problems between the two countries in a manner that preserves their national rights in keeping with the Charter and the principles of international law. My country has translated this belief into action through its participation in the various efforts undertaken to end the conflict. We are prepared to take part in any further efforts directed towards that goal.
We regret to find that this war is generating threats to expand its area. We therefore re-emphasize the grave dangers inherent in such a development. We also emphasize our opposition to the occupation of any piece of Arab land. Hence we urge the international community to intensify its efforts and adopt serious and effective measures that will put an end to this devastating war.
We appreciate the positive posture of brotherly Iraq towards the international initiatives and efforts undertaken to end the war, including its recent peace proposals and we appeal- to the Islamic Republic of Iran to follow suit and show that it wishes to end the war in the interests of stability and security in the region, and to avert the danger of foreign intervention.
The situation in the Middle East still poses serious threats to international peace. There have been more setbacks and failures in the search for peace in the region. Events after the fortieth session of the General Assembly underscore two
axiomatic facts.
First, Israel has continued to create obstacles in the way of peace through its policy of aggression, its continued occupation of Arab land, the escalation of its repression against the Palestinian people, the building of settlements, the confiscation of Arab lands, its sustained effort to vacate Arab and Palestinian lands and disperse their inhabitants, and the escalation and hardening of its conditions in the face of any attempt or initiative aimed at achieving a just and permanent peace.
Secondly, the question of Palestine is at the core of the Middle East conflict. No initiative or effort will ever succeed in transcending the realm of theoretical assumptions without finding a just and comprehensive settlement which would ensure the exercise by the Palestinian peoples of their inalienable rights, including the right of return, self-determination and the establishment of their independent State. This has been borne out by events, past and present. Consequently, if Israel is really interested in peace, it should declare its readiness to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian and other Arab lands, including Jerusalem, so that the Palestinian people may exercise their inalienable rights.
The only mechanism that inspires hope for the achievement of a just and lasting peace is the international conference on the Middle East that should be convened in accordance with General Assembly resolution 38/58 C, under the auspices of the United Nations and with the full participation of all parties concerned, including the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
The situation in our sister Lebanon is still a cause of grave concern for us. Lebanon has been suffering from the absence of security and stability over the past several years. Israel's intervention in the internal affairs of Lebanon, its occupation of part of Lebanon's territory in violation of the resolutions of the
Security Council and the principles of international conduct, together with its continued threats and acts of aggression, are a major reason for the protracted Lebanese conflict. These Israeli acts have adverse effects on Lebanon's search for national unity.
Thus the restoration of stability in Lebanon is tied to a large degree to Israel's withdrawal from the Lebanese territory that it occupies, and its abstention from intervention in Lebanon's internal affairs. We appeal to the various Lebanese factions to resolve their differences through political dialog. That is the only hope for restoring stability to Lebanon.
The situation in South Africa concerns all of us because the racist regime in Pretoria is persisting in its policy of apartheid. It still occupies Namibia and commits acts of aggression against the African front-line States, thus violating their independence and territorial integrity in an attempt to destabilize their security and stability.
We condemn this policy which is a crime against humanity and an affront to human dignity. We also condemn the repressive and terrorist practices of the Pretoria regime against the African inhabitants, and demand the imposition of sanctions under the provisions of Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter on that regime, since the so-called policy of "constructive engagement" has demonstrated its utter failure in persuading the Pretoria regime to change its policies.
We look forward to the speedy implementation of the united Nations plan for the independence of Namibia in accordance with Security Council
resolution 435 (1978). We declare our support for the Namibian people's struggle under the leadership of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) * and our solidarity with the front-line States in their determined stand against the aggression of the apartheid regime. We strongly condemn the alliance between the racist regimes of Pretoria and Tel-Aviv and stress the similarity of their racist policies and repressive practices. We call on all States to refrain from co-operating with them in view of the threat that such co-operation poses to international peace and security.
The danger of war, particularly nuclear war, increases daily. This danger threatens not only our planet but outer space as well. Thus, the preservation of international peace and security, which is the main purpose for which the United Nations was established, is being undermined. The prevention of war must be the main concern of all States, particularly those that possess nuclear weapons. We hope that the negotiations between the two super-Powers, notably the forthcoming second summit meeting between their two leaders, will lay the necessary foundations for halting the arms race, thus paving the way for complete disarmament and the convening of an international conference on this subject, in which all States would participate.
My country supports the proposals for the creation of nuclear-weapon-free zones, especially for such a zone in the Middle East. We also emphasize our support for and adherence to the General Assembly resolution on the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace. We hope that the obstacles that stand in the way of convening the Conference cm the Indian Ocean will be removed and that all the States concerned will be prepared to hold the Conference on the newly set date in 1988.
Just as we have always affirmed the principles of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other States, the non-use of force or the threat of force, and the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means, so we emphasize the need to reach a comprehensive political settlement in Afghanistan that will put an end to foreign intervention and guarantee complete respect for the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-aligned status of that country.
The same applies to Kampuchea, as well as to the countries of Central America, in regard to which we support the principles outlined by the Centadora Group for the settlement of the problems and conflicts in the region.
We urge North Korea and South Korea to settle their differences through open dialog in order to satisfy the desire of their peoples for unity.
With regard to Cyprus, we are saddened by the obstacles that impede the efforts undertaken to settle that problem. We hope that the Secretary-General will persist in his efforts aimed at bridging the gap between the Greek and Turkish communities and reaching a just, comprehensive and lasting settlement within the framework of which the two communities can coexist, with full security, and the independence, security, territorial integrity, and non-aligned status of Cyprus will be guaranteed.
The state of the international economy is no different from that of world politics. The structural imbalances in the economic order have been accentuated, thus leading to sharp fluctuations in the prices of raw materials and a decline in the revenues derived therefrom as well as more protectionism, more discriminatory practices and more trade barriers to the exports of the developing countries. Moreover, those imbalances have triggered fiscal and monetary instability, fluctuations in exchange rates, a marked worsening of the problem of foreign indebtedness and interruption of the process of development. Needless to say, all
of this has had and will continue to have adverse effects on the developing countries.
In addition to economic instability, the continuous tensions that afflict international economic relations also cause us concern. We are also concerned about the lack of co-operation and serious efforts and the reduction of the role played by international organizations responsible for collective co-operation, while yet another cause of concern is the insistence of certain industrial nations on pursuing economic policies that are not in accordance with the goal of international economic development and do not lead to reform of the structure of the system of international economic relations.
In view of all of this, we reaffirm that the existing international economic order is not conducive to balanced and equitable development or just and equal relations among States. We must therefore continue the efforts aimed at restructuring international economic relations so as to establish a new international economic order based on justice, eguality, and mutual interest. To this end, the industrial nations must demonstrate a positive attitude and undertake serious negotiations with the developing countries with the aim of achieving international understanding and thus promoting the cause of development.
We emphasize the importance of strengthening the role of the United Nations and its specialized agencies as major forums for dialog and negotiation on matters relating to international co-operation for development. We stress the need to abide by the principle of multilateralism and an integrated approach in dealing with the interrelated issues of money, finance, debt, trade and resources earmarked for development. We appeal to all States to honor the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States and to refrain from using the imposition or threat of imposition of trade restrictions, embargoes or sanctions as a political instrument
in the conduct of economic relations, in violation of the Charter.
We hope that this session, together with the forthcoming session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development will provide industrial and developing nations alike with the opportunity to make concrete progress towards a common strategy for so] ring existing economic problems and conducting international economic relations in a manner that will protect the common interests of all.
The significance of the United Nations lies in the commitment of its Member States to the Organization, as an embodiment of the will of the international community, in order to achieve detente and harmony between East and West and establish constructive co-operation between North and South. The continued existence of the United Nations is a sine qua non of our own existence and of our dealings with each other in this troubled world. We must therefore support ti.d Organization and enhance its status so that we may be able to build the better world we all desire.