It is with some emotion that I find myself today once again in this venerable Hall where in the 1950s and 1960s I had so often the honor of being the spokesman of my country, Kampuchea (Cambodia), and of participating in the work, deliberations and decisions of our Organization.
98.	In 1970 and this went on until 1974 United States imperialism succeeded in having its own creature, the so-called "Khmer Republic", an anti- national, anti-popular, extremely corrupt regime which was the very denial of our national independence and dignity, improperly occupy the seat of independent, peaceful, neutral and non-aligned Kampuchea.
99.	Of course, the State of Kampuchea (Cambodia), of which I am the head and which has been a State Member of the United Nations since 1955, cannot recognize the validity of the speeches, statements, votes, commitments and other actions of the so- called "Khmer Republic" which illegally occupied the seat of Kampuchea (Cambodia) in the United Nations and affiliated or related organizations between 18 March 1970 and 17 April 1975.
100.	Permit me to convey, on behalf of the people and the Government of Kampuchea and on my own behalf, our deepest gratitude to those Members of our Organization which throughout the five years of an atrocious war imposed by United States imperialism on Kampuchea so nobly became the fervent champions of our just cause within this great Assembly.
101.	We should also like to express our warmest gratitude to other countries and peoples which are not yet Members of our Organization but which none the less gave our national liberation struggle unreserved support and extremely valuable militant solidarity.
102.	We should also like to extend our sincere thanks to those personalities, students and other citizens, male and female, of the United States, lovers of justice and peace, who, at the most tragic period of our history did everything they could to put an end to the folly of United States imperialism in Kampuchea.
103.	It is only right to proclaim that all these countries, peoples and individuals gave us valuable assistance in overcoming adversity, thus bringing about the triumph of the cause of justice, freedom and peace, and did everything they could to curtail the unspeakable sufferings of our martyred nation. Kampuchea is duty bound to pay them the warmest tribute.
104.	As you are well aware, the Cambodian people has always been devoted to peace and national neutrality, an attitude naturally very unlikely to give us any aggressive ideas with regard to other nations.
105.	But our people possess an old tradition of patriotic struggle, a struggle which they have always waged with indomitable heroism against those who have committed aggression against or who have wished to colonize their native land.
106.	After having fought against colonialism for 90 years and recovered its national independence 22 years ago, the people of Kampuchea quickly saw that that independence was threatened by United States imperialism, which was even so arrogant as to deny the countries of South-East Asia the right to be neutralist, because, according to that imperialist view, those who did not agree to join the "free world" were ipso facto against it!
107.	Thus, between 1955 and 1969, our country had to face growing difficulties of all kinds caused by American imperialism.
108.	When I speak of "difficulties", I am of course using a euphemism. But up to 18 March 1970, the day of the sinister pro-imperialist putsch of the Lon Nol group in PhnomPenh, the Cambodian people were able by their vigilance to foil all the plots and wreck all the anti-Kampuchean designs of United States imperialism, its accomplices and lackeys.
109.	Immediately after the Lon Nol putsch which overthrew the independence, peace, neutrality and non-alignment of Kampuchea, the Cambodian people, all patriotic Cambodian men and women, both in and outside the country, rose as one, and on 23 March 1970 vowed to rally to a United National Front and to struggle by every means in their power, and particularly by armed force, against neo-colonialist imperialism, the patron of those who carried out the Phnom Penh putsch, and to vanquish it in order to restore their lost freedom, sovereignty and national dignity.
110.	Let us make this very clear: we were dealing with United States imperialism rather than with the gang of the traitor Lon Nol, which, without the massive intervention by every means of its master, would not have been able to survive more than a few weeks in the face of the irresistible wave of the assaults of the patriots.
111.	The struggle, therefore, was that of a small, poor and under-populated country facing a gigantic aggressor, a super-Power armed to the teeth, which did not hesitate to use the most sophisticated and murderous weapons, and one so opulent that it could spend every year almost $2,000 million in order to crush the small nation of Kampuchea, a super-Power considered invincible.
112.	In the noble judgement of many African, Arab and Asian statesmen who have spoken before me from this rostrum, the history of the struggle of the people of Kampuchea and their victory has now become a part of the heritage of the peoples of the third world.
113.	In attacking the small, weak and poor country of Kampuchea, United States imperialism has several aims in view. It wished to add a new jewel to its imperial crown, to acquire in South-East Asia a new military base for aggression, and to issue a serious warning to other small countries in the world that might dare to repulse the dangerous advances of the imperialists and other neo-colonialists,
114.	The outcome of the seemingly completely unequal struggle between the victim of aggression, Kampuchea, and the aggressor, imperialism, was to assume the greatest importance.
115.	The question was whether the justice of its cause and its patriotic heroism were sufficient to enable a small "underdeveloped" people to overcome an invader of such incredible power.
116.	It is to the honor of the people of Kampuchea that they succeeded in driving out United States imperialism after five years of the most terrible suffering, the heaviest sacrifices and a struggle waged with really sublime heroism.
117.	In their struggle our people and its national liberation army relied above all on themselves, on their own resources, on their own sacrifices, and were invariably guided by this golden rule: In all circumstances to remain independent, master of what was to be done in the country and master of their own destiny.
118.	Our people affectionately dedicate the success of our national resistance to all the people throughout the world who are fighting for freedom, justice and peace.
119.	Immediately after the final liberation of our country, our people and our nation, as a single man, threw themselves with faith and enthusiasm into a new and no less important battle, the struggle for true democracy and against economic underdevelopment.
120.	Today we can assert that a genuinely popular democracy and a new society have been born in Kampuchea a society without the exploitation of man by man, without differences of fortune and without other social ills.
121.	With regard to the reconstruction of our country, our whole people and our whole nation, with the People's Army of National Liberation in the vanguard, have set to work since peace returned, to rebuild from its ruins our country, which United States imperialism and its lackeys had striven, by bombing, by machine-gunning, by napalm and other chemical weapons, to reduce to the level of the Middle Ages.
Side by side with national reconstruction, our people have devoted themselves to economic development on the basis of agriculture, which is our primary resource.
122.	Today that is, after five months of very hard work the main means of communications, the ports and airports, the railways, are in use once again.
123.	On the subject of agriculture, to which we have devoted our greatest efforts, appreciable results have already been obtained. Those results are the consequence of an improvement in agricultural methods and sizable irrigation work work already begun more than three or four years ago in the zones that were liberated at that time, and that has been systematically continued in the newly liberated zones. A large number of irrigation systems dikes, dams, water reservoirs, canals, raising and extension of banks  have been put in place by our people and its army, under the banner of the United National Front. These irrigation systems have obviously changed the traditional landscape of the Cambodian countryside for the better. And our great satisfaction stems from the fact that we now have enough cereal crops to feed adequately the seven and one half million Cambodians who now make up the population of Kampuchea, and to do so without needing to ask for aid from outside. By the end of 1976 Kampuchea will no doubt once again be an exporter of cereals.
124.	With regard to industry, our United Front and our Government have endeavored above all to repair the factories damaged by the war and to put into operation once again industries having a close connexion with agriculture textiles, rubber, and so forth and those which should produce what our country and our people most urgently need: cement, paper, oil, consumer goods. Furthermore, our Government is drafting a plan for the development and modernization of the national industry, a plan that will be based on agriculture and will provide for equipment with modern machinery, to be bought with the earnings from our agricultural exports.
125.	Indeed, in this struggle against underdevelopment, our people and our country are following and will continue to follow the same golden rule applied before in the armed struggle for national liberation, namely: Remain independent and rely on yourselves.
126.	By following such a policy in respect of the economy and national construction, Kampuchea believes it is serving with honor, faithfulness and effectiveness not only its own national interests but also the ideals of the third world, which is struggling bravely and with determination for its economic independence and which is well aware that its economic "take-off' will be brought about not through foreign assistance but on the basis of self-reliance.
127.	The foreign policy of independent Kampuchea has always been and will always be a policy of peace and friendship. Kampuchea reaffirms its unswerving devotion to the cause of universal peace and expresses its sincere desire to establish ties of friendship with all the peoples, all the countries, all the States, all the Governments that love peace, justice and freedom and that respect and will continue to respect Kampuchea's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, neutrality and non-alignment.
128.	I have just spoken of our neutrality and our non-alignment. That means that Kampuchea does not belong and will not belong to any Power bloc, has not established and will not establish any military or other alliance with other countries, has not joined and will not join any organization or group of States or nations  with the exception, of course, of the United Nations and the non-aligned group. That also means that Kampuchea does not permit and will not permit any country to establish bases or posts, military or otherwise, on its territory or in its territorial waters.
129.	Kampuchea declared itself officially neutral as long ago as 1954, during the Geneva Conference on the Problem of Restoring Peace in Indo-China, and in 1955 it played a part in the birth of the non-aligned movement.
130.	Today Kampuchea, having escaped from the grip of imperialism, is more than ever devoted to non- alignment. Our choice of non-alignment is a constant of our national strategy and our foreign policy, and not a temporary option. For us, non-alignment is indeed a sine qua non guarantee of our independence and our peace, and also our best possible contribution to the stability of the international situation and to world peace.
131.	Kampuchea consequently reaffirms its unswerving will to remain within the great family of.non- aligned countries and to do everything in its power to contribute to the success of the noble undertakings of that great family, which throughout the years  and particularly this year has not ceased to grow and become stronger.
132.	Having suffered under the yoke of colonialism, particularly that of imperialism, and well aware of the difficulties involved in any national liberation struggle, Kampuchea is profoundly gratified at the final victory that, after a long, bitter and arduous struggle, the heroic peoples of Viet Nam, Laos, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe, and the Comoros have won against imperialism and colonialism. Kampuchea regards that great victory as its own and extends its warmest congratulations to those fraternal peoples. We welcome with joy the entry into the United Nations of Cape Verde, Mozambique, and Sao Tome and Principe and extend our sincere compliments to their representatives.
133.	Kampuchea most cordially congratulates also the Arab peoples, and particularly the heroic Palestinian people, on the success they have achieved in their just struggle against the expansionist Israelis.
134.	Kampuchea also whole-heartedly congratulates the peoples of southern Africa Zimbabwe, Namibia, Azania on the success of their just struggle against the racists and the latter's intolerable oppression or racial discrimination.
135.	Kampuchea congratulates with equal warmth the other anti-imperialist peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America on the success of their struggle to safeguard their national independence, their sovereignty, their freedoms and the natural resources of their respective countries.
136.	Kampuchea believes that world peace will remain precarious as long as crying injustice continues to be the lot of certain peoples and countries.
137.	The Palestinian people and Palestine are in the forefront of these victim peoples and countries. The most recent resolutions of the United Nations on the Palestinian problem are good, but the Zionist Israelis and the United States imperialists are ceaselessly maneuvering to prevent faithful and total application of these resolutions.
138.	Today, even more than yesterday, United States imperialism is lavishing on Israel the most formidable weapons of war and granting the Israel Government new aid amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, thus openly encouraging it to block all possibilities of the indispensable solution of the Palestinian problem.
139.	Kampuchea believes that the Palestinian people, a people possessed of admirable virtues but a people unfortunately victim of one of the greatest injustices of contemporary history, should have restored to it all its sacred and inalienable rights, including its territorial rights.
140.	To permit such rights to be endlessly trampled underfoot is tantamount to saying to the other small peoples, particularly those of the third world, that there is no longer anything to protect them against the law that says that might is right and against the forces of injustice.
141.	The Palestinian problem is thus of concern to all peoples of the world, and the peoples of the third world in particular. That is why Kampuchea believes that it is duty-bound to express its total and unswerving solidarity with the Palestinian people in their just struggle. We venture to express the hope that Israel not be considered as a State Member of the United Nations so long as it is unwilling to abide in every respect with United Nations resolutions concerning the rights of the Palestinian people and also the total, unconditional and immediate evacuation of the illegally occupied Arab territories.
142.	Just as we will always stand beside the Palestinian people, so Kampuchea will always support wholeheartedly the just struggle of the other Arab countries and peoples, in particular the struggle for the liberation of the Arab territories still occupied by Israeli Zionist forces.
143.	Kampuchea unreservedly supports the just struggle of the great Chinese people for the return of Taiwan to the motherland, the People's Republic of China.
144.	Kampuchea unreservedly supports the struggle of the peoples of Zimbabwe, Namibia and Azania against oppression and other kinds of injustice practiced by the racists in South Africa, Rhodesia and Namibia.
145.	Kampuchea unreservedly supports the struggle and efforts of the peoples and Governments concerned with a view to accelerating the decolonization of the so-called Spanish western Sahara and of so-called French Somalia.
146.	Kampuchea unreservedly supports the struggle of the Cuban people for the liberation of the Guantanamo base.
347. Kampuchea unreservedly supports the struggle of the Panamanian people and the Puerto Rican people for the dismantling of foreign military bases improperly established in their countries so that they may enjoy complete national sovereignty.
148.	Kampuchea unreservedly supports the Latin American States which have decided to establish the limits of their territorial waters at 200 nautical miles. We unreservedly support the struggle of the peoples of Latin America for the safeguarding of their lawful rights over their national resources.
149.	Kampuchea unreservedly supports the struggle of the countries of the third world for equality and justice in economic relations with the developed and highly industrialized countries.
150.	Permit me now to turn to the Korean problem, a problem of great importance.
151.	For more than 20 years now, United States imperialism has continued to keep the southern part of Korea and its unfortunate population under the intolerable yoke of its neocolonialism, its military occupation and the puppet regime of Chung Hee Park, an anti-popular, anti-national and, above all, extremely cruel and bloody regime.
152.	The military occupation of South Korea is indeed twofold, because it is being carried out under the label of the United Nations and also under the cover of a treaty of military assistance or alliance between the Government in Washington and that in Seoul.
153.	Along with the great majority of other States Members of our Organization, Kampuchea fervently hopes that the United Nations will without delay cease lending its honorable name to imperialism in its military and neo-colonialist occupation of South Korea.
154.	As to the bilateral military assistance treaty or alliance between Washington and Seoul, Kampuchea believes that it is not worthy of respect because the two signatories to that treaty are not equal; the second does not represent an independent and sovereign State. Indeed, the regime of Mr. Chung Hee Park is not really an ally of the United States of America but merely a puppet of imperialism, That regime has no roots in the Korean people. Like the former regime of Lon Nol in Phnom-Penh and that of Nguyen Van Thieu in Saigon, the regime of Chung Hee Park could only survive with the support and military protection of the United States.
155.	Kampuchea believes that our Organization, if it is to remain faithful to the spirit of its Charter, is duty-bound to demand that all foreign troops evacuate South Korea totally and without delay so that the population of South Korea may recover its liberty, control of its own destiny and its right to maintain fraternal relations with North Korea, freely exploring with it ways and means of permitting the two parts of Korea to achieve, without confrontation, the indispensable national reunification, peaceful reunification, without any foreign involvement in the process thereof.
156.	The situation in the Far East remains explosive, because of the military and even nuclear threat which continues to hang over that important part of the world because of United States imperialism, the principal bases of which are in South Korea and some other countries of the region.
157.	In South Korea, intensive war preparations have been noted and United States units have been maneuvering and deploying so-called "tactical" nuclear weapons.
158.	In order the better to conceal its aggressive designs, imperialism is spreading throughout the world the rumor that the People's Democratic Republic of Korea is making intensive preparations for "a war of aggression and conquest" against South Korea.
159.	Having a profound knowledge of the People's Democratic Republic of Korea, which I visit several times a year and in which I have traveled widely, I can assert that that country is very far from harboring any aggressive designs against anybody or anything.
160.	Of course, its military organization is remarkable and powerful, but the essential character of that organization is obviously purely defensive.
161.	If the People's Democratic Republic of Korea were belligerent, it would be difficult to explain why its people and its Government are so feverishly building every day so many schools, nurseries, civilian houses, public gardens, cultural centers, irrigation dams and new cities, the planning of which is exemplary.
162.	Furthermore, is it a crime, is it belligerence, to wish fervently for the reunification of one's country?
163.	Marshal Kim II Sung, on behalf of the People's Democratic Republic of Korea of which he is Head of State, has proposed a plan known as the "Five-Point Orientation Plan", to prepare, reasonably and in the context of national harmony between "North" and "South", the ground for bringing about the independent and peaceful reunification of Korea.
164.	Kampuchea believes that our Organization should warmly support this five-point plan of President Kim II Sung and thus help the Korean people to do away with the anachronistic division of its unjustly dismembered country.
165.	As for the new plan put forward by the United States of America, which proposes a conference of the parties concerned in Korea to explore ways and means of preserving the armistice after the dissolution of the United Nations Command, Kampuchea believes that that plan contradicts the principle of respect for the sovereignty of the Korean people, which must be able fully to exercise its right to self-determination without any foreign interference. Kampuchea cannot, therefore, support such a plan. Indeed, it whole-heartedly supports the reasonable and just proposal of the People's Democratic Republic of Korea to replace the armistice agreement with a peace treaty capable of reducing tension.
166.	I should like, before concluding this speech, to say how much Kampuchea deplores the unjust and inadmissible blocking by the United States of America of the well-deserved admission of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam and the Republic of South Viet Nam to full membership in the United Nations.
167.	This General Assembly with only 7 abstentions warmly supported the application for admission of those two glorious Republics; and quite recently the Security Council supported that application with the unanimous vote of its members, except the United States of America.
168.	Kampuchea believes that the United States' veto against the admission of Viet Nam to the United Nations is a petty tactic unworthy of the tradition of equity and fair play of the great American people.
169.	As for linking the question of the admission of the "Government" of Seoul to membership in the United Nations with that of the admission of Viet Nam, this is not only absurd but also, what is more, a grave abuse of and a dangerous departure from the concept of the right of the use of the veto by permanent members of the Security Council, an abuse and a departure which our General Assembly must oppose.
170.	In that spirit, Kampuchea calls upon the General Assembly to continue to act vigorously to remove the only obstacle which so incongruously stands in the way of the admission of Viet Nam to membership in the United Nations.
171.	Having reached the conclusion of my speech I should like to convey to you, Mr. President, to the Secretary-General and to the delegates present the warm compliments and friendly greetings of the people of Kampuchea and its Government and to extend my sincere wishes for success in the performance of your noble tasks in the important work of this thirtieth session of our General Assembly.
172.	I should like also to reaffirm that Kampuchea will always remain faithful to the spirit and the letter of the United Nations Charter and will spare no effort to assist our Organization in the attainment of its objectives, in keeping with its ideals of justice, peace, liberty and progress.
173.	I should like also to stress that my country respects, and will always scrupulously respect, the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political and social system of neighboring countries and peoples, and of other countries and peoples in the world.
174.	Kampuchea does not intervene and will never intervene in the internal affairs of other countries. But Kampuchea does reserve its right to defend itself by force of arms if it is the victim of attack or aggression.
175.	Of course, we hope that such a situation will never arise, because our profound hope is to live in peace and friendship with all countries, near or far, and to co-operate with them in various fields particularly in the economic field on a footing of complete equality and on the basis of the principles of mutual respect and reciprocal advantage. In particular, Kampuchea attaches the greatest importance to the development of its friendship and multiform co-operation with neighboring countries, with non-aligned countries and with the countries which, since 19701971, have given their firm and noble support to its just cause and its struggle for national liberation.
176.	In conclusion, I would request Mr. Gaston Thorn to accept the warmest congratulations of Kampuchea on his election to the presidency of our General Assembly, and I would request all delegations of States Members of our Organization present here to be so kind as to convey my warmest wishes for happiness and prosperity to their respective peoples and also my cordial greetings to their illustrious heads of State and Government, and to accept themselves my best wishes for good health and success, with my sincere thanks for their kind attention.
177.	The PRESIDENT (interpretation from French): On behalf of the General Assembly I should like to thank His Royal Highness, the head of State of Kampuchea, for the important statement he has just made.


1.	 Mr. President, let me join other representatives who have spoken before me in congratulating you warmly on your election to this high and onerous office. In doing so, may I also bring to you and this Assembly warm greetings from my President, Mr. Jomo Kenyatta, the Government and the people of Kenya. Your election is proof of the confidence placed in you personally and in your country by the General Assembly. This session is bound to be remembered in history as a very important one for some of the reasons I shall touch on later. May I therefore wish you all the best in leading it to a successful conclusion. On behalf of my delegation, I pledge our support in your endeavors.
2.	I should also like, Sir, to pay a tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who, with singular distinction, led the General Assembly successfully through the twenty-ninth session and the seventh special session. We owe him a debt of gratitude for his untiring efforts and the wisdom he displayed at all times, even when there were heavy odds against him.
3.	It is fitting also for me to pay tribute to the untiring Secretary-General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, and the entire staff of the United Nations for the work they have done in the past year. On the whole, the staff have worked hard and well under his leadership, and they should all be given every encouragement.
4.	Earlier in this session we witnessed the admission of three new Members: the Republic of Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe and the People's Republic of Mozambique. We welcome these new Members with real joy for two reasons: first, this brings us closer to the total elimination of the evil of colonialism and imperialism; and, secondly, it brings us very close to the universality of the United Nations. We pledge our support and co-operation to the new Members in accomplishing the difficult tasks that lie ahead of them. No doubt the task of building their nations and consolidating their freedom and independence is a difficult one. We urge that the United Nations as a body, and Member nations individually, should lend a hand by giving them all assistance. Kenya will play its part.
5.	While on this subject, I must mention our dismay at the irrelevant obstacles that are being placed in the way of the admission of some new Members. We had thought that the United Nations had left such unworthy activities in the past. However, as this matter is still under discussion, I shall say no more at this stage.
6.	As we celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the United Nations, it is unavoidable that we should look back and take stock of the achievements and failures of the Organization. We are certain that, when the balance-sheet is drawn up on the achievements and failures, the result will unmistakably be that the Organization has been a success. Failures here and there, yes, disappointments, yes; but, on the whole, the Organization has grown from strength to strength and has accomplished a great many of the tasks for which it was established, and the outlook for the future gives us great confidence and holds great promise.
7.	We have witnessed in the past year a campaign of vilification of the United Nations and open threats which deserves some attention. Some delegations in the past 12 months appear to have lost faith and hope in the United Nations and seem to despise it. For some, the United Nations has appeared to be a stumbling-block. The Organization has, however, consistently intervened in international activities for the benefit and welfare of mankind as a whole. No one here can say that the United Nations has been useless, for why, then, did it take these delegations so long to discover that and to act? Virulent attacks can only discredit those who engage in them. This Organization has stood and will continue to stand for peace and security for the benefit of all. If, in doing so, it frustrates some or injures the supposed interests of others, then we can only say that this is regrettable.
8.	Wherever world peace and security have been threatened, the United Nations has not failed to exert the maximum pressure on the side of peace, tranquility and understanding. It has provided an invaluable forum for the exchange of views and dialog on issues of concern to the international community, irrespective of the status, social or economic system, level of development or military capability of any State. It is Kenya's sincere hope that the ballots cast in this Assembly will more and more reflect the general will of the international community to maintain peace and security for the nations, as well as its resolve to improve the welfare of all mankind. Kenya once more renews its dedication to the ideals of the United Nations.
9.	I wish now to survey the African scene in the context of the aims and objectives of the United Nations. Being an integral part of that scene, and considering the monumental challenges that confront us in this vast and varied continent, I hope my priority will be readily understood.
10.	In southern Africa, the odious practice of apartheid continues to reign supreme. The white Rhodesian rebellion, sustained by external forces, continues to flourish. The South African expansionists harbor designs of maintaining physical control over Namibia in perpetuity under a discriminatory system. These afflictions cast a dark shadow over the destiny of Africa, whose security, survival and honor are at stake. Therefore, our grave concern for Africa is real; it is not merely an exercise in rhetoric.
11.	In South Africa, the African continues to be subjected to the vilest forms of oppression and degradation. He is denied basic human rights. His cultural heritage is being systematically destroyed by discriminatory laws and police terror. Any right of association or of the expression of grievances has long since been stamped out. The tyranny of apartheid has decreed ruin and servitude for him. There is no glimmer of hope in the long night of darkness and desperation that has descended upon him. In such circumstances, a plea for mercy or reason is a cry in the wilderness.
12.	In recent months the developments in Namibia have burst on the outside world as a harsh reminder of the nature of South African colonial rule. For, in Namibia, the African people have resolutely refused to continue to live under terror and have taken up arms under the leadership of the South West Africa People's Organization [SWAPO] to defend their dignity. South Africa and the apologists of apartheid know that, in spite of the overwhelming might of the South African armed police State, bitter fighting has been going on in Namibia against South African colonialism, and the struggle continues.
13.	The unfortunate, faithful allies of South Africa know that South Africa has no right to be in Namibia and that, despite the declared position of the United Nations expressed in various resolutions, South Africa continues to disregard the United Nations, and yet nothing that can really hurt their position has been done. This thirtieth session of the General Assembly should further examine the world body's position on Namibia.
14.	Every peaceful method to win the rights of the overwhelming majority of black Africans in South Africa has been frustrated by the white minority racist regime. This situation is bound to explode one day, unleashing a racial conflagration without parallel in history. Such an undesirable development will be the making of the supremacist regime in Pretoria. This will be the choice dictated to the Africans by the unreasonableness and brutality of the whites in South Africa. It is clear from history that no force of arms or support from external forces ever cowed the will of the people to be free.
15.	Kenya's own successful struggle against the might of the British and the Algerian onslaught against the equally determined French are sufficient reason for us in Kenya to believe in the eventual freedom of the Africans in South Africa. Portugal resisted the" will for freedom of the people of Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Angola and Cape Verde, but it failed. South Africa and Rhodesia will fail too. We believe that the time has come for the United Nations to consider, in more concrete terms, what should be done to put an end once and for all to South Africa's constant violation of the fundamental principles of the Charter and decisions of the United Nations. We are tired of rhetoric; it has now become an exercise in futility. Let us sincerely resolve to achieve the complete realization of decolonization one of the most important goals of the United Nations and of the entire international community. Our determination is to destroy the policy and practice of apartheid despite its reaffirmation by the Foreign Minister of South Africa on 16 September this year during a visit to the Federal Republic of Germany.
16.	The Kenya Government has consistently rejected the notion of dialog with South Africa. If Pretoria insists on advancing the proposal for a dialog in its present form, we would regard it as valueless. South Africa would be well advised to initiate first a dialog with its black population, which is its overwhelming majority. We reject dialog because we strongly feel that it would be grossly harmful to the struggle of the African people for self-determination while bestowing the seal of recognition and respectability on the racist regime and the vicious policies of South Africa. dialog would help South Africa to come in from the cold with triumphant success. Kenya will not be a party to these misleading and miscalculated designs unless South Africa engages in meaningful dialog first with the African National Congress and the Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania. Those two organizations hold the key to the success or failure of the detente exercise. They are the true representatives of the African people and we salute them. Only they can invite us, if they so wish and if there is a need, to engage with them and with their complete agreement in dialog and detente with the South African Government.
17.	In Zimbabwe, the rebel Ian Smith has demonstrated clearly that he is not interested in a peaceful settlement of the problem he himself and his clique created in 1965 with their unilateral declaration of independence. He has continued to defy the African call for a peaceful solution to the question of true independence for Zimbabwe based on the principle of majority rule. He has sought to cash in on the temporary difficulties facing the African National Council and threatens to consult with non-representative individuals and outmoded institutions based on the long discredited and ineffective chieftainship system. He hopes in this way to escape what for him must be absolute torture, namely, negotiating for majority rule with the rightful owners of the soil. But lime is not on his side. The African in Zimbabwe is on the move and as of now is left with no alternative but to intensify the armed struggle in Zimbabwe. In this connexion, Kenya welcomes the recent announcement by the African National Congress leaders that, in the face of the developments now taking place in that part of Africa, an armed struggle is not only imminent but inevitable. There is little doubt in our minds that the criminal rebel Smith is only interested in the perpetuation of the illegal and intolerable white racist domination in Zimbabwe. We recommend that the United Nations should be more effectively involved to ensure the effective and demonstrable transfer of power to the Africans. The world community has every right to help to oust the rebel that Smith and his compatriots are and should seek ways and means to assist the Zimbabweans to do just that.
18.	With regard to other parts of Africa still under colonial domination, our stand is very clear. Kenya fully supports the principle of self-determination and independence of the peoples of the country of the Afars and the Issas Djibouti and pledges material and financial assistance to the fight against colonialism and racist subjugation in all Africa.
19.	In this context, we condemn strongly the French Government's encircling of Mayotte Island with warships and the stationing of troops there recently with a view to dismembering the newly proclaimed independence of the Comoro Islands and inciting the Mayotte population to secede from the Comoros.
20.	Let me reiterate Kenya's position with regard to the Spanish Sahara. We abide by the resolutions of the Organization of African Unity [OA U] passed at Mogadiscio and Kampala and will respect the wishes of the Saharan people in the light of the findings of the International Court of Justice. We therefore urge all parties to desist from taking any steps that might harm the interests of Spanish Saharans. Let us all leave them to make their own unfettered choice.
21.	I now turn my attention to what is probably the most dangerous area on the international scene the Middle East. The situation in the region continues to be grim, and although there has been a flicker of hope, the long-standing conflict is still not resolved. We have welcomed all peace initiatives in this conflict and express the hope that intransigence will give way to compromise and that equitable and just solutions will be found to the satisfaction of all parties concerned.
22.	To avoid a shooting war and the disastrous consequences of such an explosion, we call upon the parties to implement Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). These resolutions take into account the interests of all parties. Kenya's position with regard to the Middle East has been repeatedly enunciated both from this rostrum and from other international forums. We believe that the following three principles are the prerequisite for a permanent and lasting peace: first, the right of all States to exist within secured boundaries; secondly, the right of the Palestinians to a national homeland; and thirdly, the inadmissibility of territorial acquisition by force of arms. Israel must therefore withdraw from all occupied Arab territories in accordance with United Nations resolutions.
23.	Israel owes its legal existence to the United Nations and it cannot and must not be allowed to flout with impunity United Nations resolutions calling on it to respect the rights of the Palestinians and to withdraw from all occupied territories. Furthermore, for any ' durable peace to be achieved in the Middle East, not
only should the rights of the Palestinians be taken into account, but I think Israel ought to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization as the legitimate representative of the Palestinians. The people of
Palestine are entitled to self-determination in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. Unless this is achieved, the problem of Palestine will continue to endanger international peace and security. What is now needed is the opening up of minds. The only solution is for Israel to make an agonizing reappraisal of the basic premises of its Government and for the Arabs to struggle for attainable objectives. The present position, despite the signing of the partial Sinai Agreement, clearly indicates that, without the full consultation and commitment to solutions by the Palestine people, lasting peace will be an unattainable objective. We are disturbed by the rising crescendo of the arms race which is being encouraged through the supply of sophisticated weapons of mass destruction in that area. We appeal to the major Powers to refrain from further exacerbating the situation as armaments only encourage nations to believe in the value of military strength, which is illusory in the long run.
24.	My delegation has followed with great concern the development of events in Cyprus, keeping in mind the welfare of all the people of Cyprus. I wish to reiterate our support for the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Cyprus, a country which has made great contributions to our group of non- aligned States. We reaffirm our solidarity with one of our founding members. We note with pleasure the effectiveness of the work pioneered by the non-aligned countries, which enabled the General Assembly at its twenty-ninth session to adopt unanimously resolution 3212 (XXIX), which was endorsed by the Security Council in its resolution 365 (1974), thus establishing the framework, guidelines and principles for the solution of the Cyprus problem.
25.	External actions such as those we witnessed during the past year do nothing but hinder the natural development of the will to find a solution of the people concerned. I wish to express my hope and encouragement for the continued peace talks that have been taking place between the peoples of Cyprus. The continuation of those talks should prove fruitful for the Cypriot people as a whole, and no doubt in time the wounds will heal, thus allowing the Cypriot nation to return to normal.
26.	I wish now to make some observations on another matter that continues to occupy this Organization. Kenya has supported in the past and will continue to support in the future the proposal that the Indian Ocean be designated a zone of peace. We call upon all Member States, including neighboring States, to co-operate in implementing the Declaration on the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace [resolution 2832 (XXVI)]. It is no secret that some States Members of the United Nations are at present competing for naval supremacy in the Indian Ocean to further their over-all global military strategy. This rivalry seriously compromises the efforts already under way to establish the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace. The Kenya Government wishes to place on record its great concern with the subject.
27.	My delegation is also concerned that some of the countries contiguous to the Indian Ocean have tended to see this problem of rivalry from an ideological point of view and have tended to condemn such activities on a selective basis. No solution can be found to this grave problem unless the countries bordering on the Indian Ocean speak against the activities of all those which undermine the concept of the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace. It does not serve any long- term purpose to single out any country for sole condemnation. All Member States which disregard the United Nations resolutions relating to the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace should be censured and condemned irrespective of their ideological orientation. Peace in the Indian Ocean is vital to our interests and future development. Hence, for us in Kenya, the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace is not apolitical slogan, but an imperative for our economic and political well- being. In this spirit, Kenya strongly supports the efforts of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Indian Ocean under its indefatigable Chairman, Mr. Amerasinghe of Sri Lanka, which has continued to do its work despite the refusal of some Members to co-operate as they were requested to do in General Assembly resolution 3259 A (XXIX). Kenya also supports the proposal for littoral and hinterland States of the Indian Ocean to enter into negotiations with a view to convening a meaningful conference on the Indian Ocean. We urge the maritime States to co-operate fully in the preparation of such a conference. We would strongly urge the Committee not to allow itself to be the political mouthpiece of any ideological bloc. This is the only way, as we see it, to ensure the success of the conference.
28.	I want now to refer briefly to the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. As we all know, the basic objective of the Conference is to negotiate a comprehensive treaty establishing a new world order in the oceans. From the work of the two substantive sessions held in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1974 and in Geneva early this year, it is clear that efforts must continue to be made towards evolving an equitable system for the exploitation and utilization of the immense resources of the oceans. The system must take into account the divergences of the inter-national community as between maritime and non- maritime States, coastal and land-locked States, developed and developing States, and large and small States.
29.	It is the hope of my delegation that, in a spirit of mutual accommodation and co-operation, the next session of the Conference, scheduled to take place here in New York early next year, will be able to resolve the outstanding issues and to adopt a convention. The work which the Conference did in Geneva is reflected in the single negotiating texts of the three Committees, which offer a suitable basis for arriving at acceptable compromises. However, my delegation says this without in any way endorsing any of the negotiating texts, and we shall make our views amply known when the Conference resumes its work with respect to each of the proposed texts.
30.	The issues fall within two broad categories: the determination of the limits of national jurisdiction and the establishment of a regime and the machinery for the exploitation of the sea-bed area beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, already designated as "the common heritage of mankind". On the question of national jurisdiction, the positions of many States seem to be converging on the establishment of an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles. We are gratified that this idea, with the formulation of which we have been associated since the beginning, has now become almost generally accepted. We are, however, still facing attempts by some delegations to water down the content of the concept and to undermine the very basis on which the economic zone was promulgated as an acceptable compromise between conflicting interests. With regard to the common heritage of mankind, it is the view of my delegation that all nations should refrain, in the mean time, from taking any unilateral actions in the exploitation of the area. Such unilateral actions would constitute a violation of the moratorium which this Assembly wisely adopted on the subject in 1970 [resolution 2749 (XXV)]. Let me emphasize once again that the aim of the Conference is to prevent a shameful, costly and painful scramble for the oceans. It is imperative, therefore, that we should not frustrate that aim. We shall continue to support fully the common heritage concept so that it may be translated into a meaningful program for the benefit of the whole international community.
31.	Allow me now to say a few words in connexion with the review of the Charter. It should be recalled that, when the Charter was formulated 30 years ago, the world situation was very different from what it is now. The few small and weak States which were then participating, and which were presumably co-authors of the Charter, were in reality and, with due respect, little more than privileged observers. Hence, we find that some Members obtained a position of dominance within the framework of the Charter and its various organs which was then disproportionate to their number and which is now totally unrealistic, taking into consideration that the total membership of the Organization has increased from 50-odd States to nearly 150 States. In the light of the above, a review of the Charter is not only timely, but essential and indeed imperative if the Charter is to continue to serve the interests of all Member States.
32.	My delegation totally rejects the argument advanced by some that the Charter is a sacrosanct document which has stood the test of time and which cannot be reviewed without jeopardizing the very existence of the Organization. This argument is disproved by the fact that there have already been far-reaching amendments to the Charter without disrupting the smooth functioning of the Organization. I refer specifically to the enlargement of the membership of the Security Council from the original 11 members to the present 15 members, as well as the increase of the membership of the Economic and Social Council from 27 to 54. These amendments made the two important organs more realistic in that they are now more representative of the international community than they were before.
33.	My delegation is of the view that, even if the Charter had been a perfect instrument when it was formulated in 1945, it could not remain immutable and still meet the interests of the Member States despite the radical and dynamic transformation of the international scene. This was foreseen by the very founding fathers who provided for its review in Article 109 of the Charter. It is for this reason that during the twenty-ninth session my delegation strongly supported the establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee on the Charter of the United Nations to discuss the observations received from Governments and to consider other specific proposals that might be made with a view to enhancing the ability of the United Nations to achieve its purposes. Though the Ad Hoc Committee did indeed meet earlier this year, it could not make much progress in view of the attitudes taken by some of the members who seem to fear even the thought itself that the Charter could be reviewed. It is puzzling indeed when the fear of thought is felt by very imaginative people. We are not advocating a wholesale revision of the Charter but a review of its working methods, which can be done in a systematic manner only if the work is entrusted to an ad hoc committee such as the one that has been established. We will therefore continue to support the Ad Hoc Committee, and we hope that all States will adopt a realistic attitude which would help to make the Charter more responsive to the interests of the international community as a whole.
34.	In any case, all Member States will have a final say under the provisions of the Charter, since any amendments to the Charter require the support of two thirds of the members of the General Assembly, including all the permanent members of the Security Council. The fears that a review will lead to an imposition of the will of the majority on a minority and seriously compromise the vital interests of some Members is grossly exaggerated and in any case that argument can be reversed with equal applicability.
35.	I should now like to focus my attention and observations on the questions of development and international economic co-operation, to which Kenya, as a developing country, attaches the utmost importance. My delegation had occasion to dwell at some length on these matters at the recently concluded seventh special session, and we shall therefore at this point make only a few observations.
36.	Judging from the results of the sixth and seventh special sessions, the international community may well have just found a way out of a very sticky problem. We have reviewed the whole international economic situation and we have emerged, we trust, with a determination to effect the desired changes in the present international economic system for the eventual benefit of all. For the developing countries, and for us in Kenya in particular, this turn of events has ushered in a potentially promising new era not only for our people but for the whole international community, developed and developing alike.
37.	In our view, the new situation, as expressed in the results of the sixth and seventh special sessions, poses a challenge and offers opportunities and hope to the international community. It poses the challenge of utilizing our now more enlightened and more comprehensive perception of our common destiny and interdependence. It offers the opportunity to speed up the tempo of the development process for the benefit of all, for speed is of the essence and practical results are urgently needed. It offers the hope of reducing the gap between the rich and the not-so-rich, not by insubstantial high-sounding economic promises, but by tangible workable programs. We have to address ourselves to the challenge and hope of giving inter-dependence real meaning through the expeditious implementation of our decisions taken at the seventh special session and, lastly, to the challenge and hope of assisting the developing countries in their efforts to uplift the economic conditions of their peoples.
In our belief, all this can be done without long-term sacrifice of the economic well-being of those who are at present afraid of the new challenges. What we need is courage and a clear perception of the new concepts of interdependence.
38.	The resolution unanimously adopted at the seventh special session [resolution 3362 (S-VI!)] constitutes a truly historic and significant breakthrough. Its provisions in the areas of trade, finance, industrialization and agriculture, without a doubt, represent a step towards the establishment of that new understanding and that new system of inter-national economic relationship to which we all aspire. We have indeed laid the first brick, as it were, but a considerable amount of work remains to be done. We call upon the intellectual giants in theories of international economics to give us the lead and upon the practitioners to follow closely on their heels.
39.	My delegation was particularly encouraged by the constructive atmosphere which prevailed throughout our long and arduous negotiations during the seventh special session. The discernible trend away from misunderstanding among the different groups was especially welcome. Such a trend should be sustained, for it augurs very well for our future work.
40.	This work will be continued both at this regular session of the General Assembly and further at the forthcoming fourth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD], which is scheduled to be held next year in Nairobi, Kenya. Given the added importance of the fourth session of UNCTAD, my country is now even more honored and especially conscious of its responsibility as the host of the meeting. The appropriate authorities in Kenya have already embarked on the preparation of the Conference, and we pledge to do everything possible to facilitate its success. We look forward to extending the usual Kenyan hospitality and to putting ourselves at the complete disposal of all those who will be participating at this next stage of our work.
41.	I should not like to conclude without saying a few words on the International Women's Year. The thirtieth anniversary of the United Nations has coincided with the observance of 1975 as International Women's Year. Kenya has taken this year very seriously. We sent to Mexico a strong delegation of women to participate in the deliberations, the aim of which was to increase the contribution of women to human development and peace. We have in our delegation here another strong contingent of beautiful ladies.
42.	We in Kenya are doing all we can to implement the objectives contained in the World Plan of Action for the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Women's Year.1 It is our intention to see that women and men have equality before the law and that women participate in the economic, social, cultural and political life of our African society in a suitable way. Our women have entered the professions on an equal footing with men and, as in other countries of Africa, they are to be found in the infantry and are also excellent paratroopers. We are making progress.
43.	I take this opportunity to thank the Government of Mexico for organizing so successful a conference to focus on the interests of the women of the world
despite the disruptive efforts of those who may have genuinely felt that enough was not being done for women. It is a healthy sign when people compete to do the right thing, and my country's efforts for women will be positively sustained.
44.	In conclusion, may I once more renew Kenya's faith in the United Nations and pledge our support for the Organization in all its endeavors to bring freedom, peace, security, economic development and harmony among all the peoples of the world. I have to report that we have already allocated beautiful and very valuable land to the United Nations Environment program, and temporary buildings are already under construction. Our Government is intensely eager to have a suitable permanent headquarters put up on the site at Gigiri, Nairobi, which will serve as a constant reminder to mankind of the urgent and continuing need to preserve the environment for ourselves and future generations. We owe it to the children of tomorrow to do the best for them today.


Permit me to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your election to the presidency of the thirtieth session of the General Assembly. I believe that you are the first Prime Minister to hold this high office. The fact that you feel able to be away from your country for three months reflects well on the political stability of your country, as well as on your self-confidence and political courage, Not many heads of government would feel safe these days to be away from their countries for three consecutive months. Your election to this high office is primarily a reflection of your personal qualities; it also does honour to Luxembourg. As the Foreign Minister of a small country, I take some vicarious satisfaction in the fact that the representative of another small country has been elected to the presidency of this Assembly.
32.	My delegation would also like to extend its warm welcome and good wishes to the three new Member States: the Republic of Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, and the People's Republic of Mozambique. We also look forward to the accession of Papua New Guinea to membership in this Organization. As a close neighbor, we take very great pleasure in co-sponsoring its application for membership.
33.	I should also like to pay a tribute to our Secretary- General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, for the tireless manner in which he has discharged his duties, some of them difficult and demanding, during the past 12 months. I should like to single out for special mention two examples of his contributions to the cause of inter-national peace and security. First, I think all of us owe him a debt of gratitude for having convened and chaired the inter-communal talks on Cyprus. Four rounds of such negotiations have been held. Although the negotiations appear to have run into difficulties, I would urge the Secretary-General to continue his efforts with the two parties in order to resume the negotiations on the outstanding obstacles in the way of a peaceful and lasting settlement in Cyprus. Secondly, I should like to congratulate our Secretary-General on the helpful role he played in bringing about the resumption of diplomatic relations between France and Guinea.
34.	This year marks the thirtieth year of the existence of our Organization. This is a period of time which divides two generations: the pre-war generation, which had already been born when this Organization was founded and which still largely directs its affairs, and the successor generation, born since the United Nations was launched in San Francisco. This latter generation, the post-San-Francisco generation, which is now entering middle age, today constitutes the vast majority of the world's population. In the years ahead the direction of world affairs and of the affairs of this Organization will pass into their hands, and so any discussion of the United Nations and its future must be stated in terms meaningful to this generation rather than in accordance with the quaint beliefs and the obsolete prejudices of a gerontocracy which will fade away.
35.	It is generally agreed that after 30 years this world Organization has lost much of its zest and vigor, and there are pessimists who hopefully predict its eventual demise. Though we disagree with the pessimists, it is nevertheless true that the high hopes the United Nations held out in its early years have, for the most part, evaporated. The sorry state into which it has fallen no doubt prompted this Assembly to set up an Ad Hoc Committee on the Charter of the United Nations [resolution 3349 (XXIX)] to look into ways and means of rejuvenating it. These experts have now completed their report and I shall comment on their largely constructive and helpful recommendations later on.
36.	But the streamlining of United Nations procedures and the restructuring of its machinery are by themselves not enough. What is required even more is a fundamental change in the intellectual, moral and emotional approach to world problems on the part of the 141 nations which collectively constitute the United Nations. The shortcomings and weaknesses of this Organization are in fact the sum of our own failures. We cannot absolve ourselves from blame by hiding behind abstractions like "machinery" and "procedures". We are the United Nations, and it can be no better or worse than we are.
37.	Before I embark on what is really self-criticism, let me say that I disagree with those who claim that this Organization has nothing to be proud of and that the world would be better off without it. The facts do not justify that extremist view. The achievements of the United Nations may have fallen short of expectations, but its record in spreading education, in bettering the health of peoples the world over, in assisting developing countries in social and economic development and in promoting international co-operation in such diverse fields as outer space, the oceans of the world and peace-keeping are significant achievements and evidence of its great potentialities for good.
38.	Perhaps the two most outstanding achievements which more than compensate for its many failures are, first, the liberation of hundreds of millions of people from imperial bondage and, second, the inculcation, in however rudimentary and imperfect a form, of the habit of discussion and co-operation among 141 nations. Never before in human history have so many nations met so frequently to conduct discussions on so comprehensive a scale.
39.	So, as we see it, the dismantling of the United Nations, far from making for more effective international diplomacy, would in fact plunge the world into inevitable disaster. The belief that world stability could be restored by a reversion to traditional great- Power diplomacy or by a restricted concert of nations calling themselves the third world would, in the long term, be disastrous for mankind. The fact is that there is no alternative today to the United Nations. Even if we were to scrap it tomorrow we would be forced, as a matter of survival, to create another organization very much like this one. This is because over the past 30 years we have unwittingly, and even unwillingly, created a truly interdependent world. It will become more, not less, interdependent with every passing year. Modern science and technology and the political, social and economic institutions they have forced upon us are thrusting us, very often against our will and against the grain of our national ideologies, in the direction of a global community. The global community is today not a myth, but a reality. Our economics, our politics and our social problems have global as well as national dimensions. Food and fuel, population and the environment, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the making of a new legal order to manage the uses and resources of the world's oceans, the transfer of resources and technological skills from developed to the less developed countries, and the rapid modernization and industrialization of the less developed countries are problems that demand simultaneously national and global solutions. Neither one by itself is sufficient.
40.	In short, the world is one, and its fundamental problems are indivisible. This is the reality. But the ideology and approaches that guide deliberations in this Organization are rooted in a world and an epoch that has for the most part vanished. They are the beliefs which were shaped to meet the needs of a seventeenth-century Europe which had just discovered the marvels of coal and steam technology. The ideology of that period was a xenophobic nationalism built around the myth of racial supremacy and the civilizing virtue of a national religion which, it was claimed, was most favored by the Creator himself. That same ideology sanctified wars of conquest and the subjugation of inferior peoples as necessary steps in the march towards a higher civilization.
41.	It is this seventeenth-century ideology which still governs our thinking and shapes our international policies in this Organization. True, these basic beliefs, in these more enlightened times, are dressed up in the rhetoric of internationalism and world brotherhood. But, shorn of these wrappings, what stands revealed is the seventeenth-century mind. Perhaps most dis-tressing of all is how readily some third-world countries, despite their having been victims of this outdated European ideology, have taken to xenophobic nationalism and the racial and religious arrogance associated with their former Western rulers. We quite rightly complain of the arrogance of the powerful, but if we are honest with ourselves we should also be critical of the growing arrogance of the weak.
42.	The inadequacy of the United Nations is only partly attributable to organizational defects and inadequate procedures. More basic is the fact that we are seeking to resolve what are global problems in terms of a steam-engine nationalism. Worse still, we create more and more problems for ourselves by compelling an interdependent world to conform to the imperatives of an outmoded and increasingly irrelevant ideology. So our economic problems get worse because 141 nations formulate solutions to global problems in purely national terms. Hence, monetary problems, to name one, become unmanageable because there are as many often-conflicting solutions as there are nations.
43.	So the first prerequisite for the revitalization of the United Nations is an acceptance of the fact that we are moving towards a global community and that, unless we think as members of a world community, the more intractable our problems, both domestic and international, will become. This does not mean abandoning national identities or the sacrifice of basic national interests; it is largely a question of a new kind of thinking which would permit us to consolidate and expand national interests within the wider framework of a global community. And this is not as difficult as it sounds. Great nation-States have managed to establish a satisfactory relationship between conflicting individual, group and minority interests within the structure of transcending national interests.
44.	In this Organization we have 141 Members. Our interests do not always coincide and often they are diametrically opposed. Yet, collectively, we constitute the global community. If this Organization is to acquire significance and meaning, it should become the instrument for the planned nurturing and direction of the global community which we are now creating in an unplanned and unpurposeful manner.
45.	If we are to play this role and, as we see it, this is now the only justification for this Organization  then I should like to suggest some guidelines.
46.	First, we must get away from the old concept, which dominated the last 30 years, of using this Organization as an arena for staging contests and confrontations for the edification of our home audiences and the working out of obscure private and public frustrations. In this regard, the great Powers should be blamed for first initiating this unworthy tradition in the days of the old cold war. If we are to find global solutions to planetary challenges, then we must learn to use this Organization as a forum for negotiations and problem-solving. It is no use talking about international co-operation while adopting tactics calculated to divide and humiliate Member States.
47.	A problem-solving approach requires a different cast of mind. It must accept the fact that, given 141 Members with diverse interests, very often a series of compromise solutions, less good than what we expect but each better than the preceding one, might be the practical road to an eventually satisfactory solution.
48.	Secondly, we must get away from the prevailing belief that a resolution adopted by a decisive majority has in fact solved a problem. This is perhaps our greatest weakness and one which has greatly helped to bring this Organization to its present sorry state. Where a resolution injures the basic interests of dissenting States, it will be ignored. Worse still, the resolution will be quietly breached even by States which had been shamed or cajoled into voting for it. By adopting resolutions which we know would be shamelessly breached we are in fact helping to bring our resolutions into disrepute.
49.	The emphasis should therefore be not on decisionmaking by a majority but on conciliation and consensus-building. It is a fact that the principle of majority vote is becoming increasingly suspect in this Assembly for a variety of reasons. It has on many occasions become a device, not for conciliation, but for staging confrontations for humiliating opponents or for impressing antagonists and suggesting that the prime mover has more camp followers than his enemy. The result is that, through constant misuse, majority decisions have lost their efficacy. Far from intimidating the victim, they only strengthen his intransigence and compel defiance.
50.	It is also true that on many occasions majority decisions are not made on the merits of the case. The unfortunate defendant is well aware that the judges and the jury have already arrived at a decision long before they have heard the case and the facts which is not surprising because the facts and the case which prompted the decision more often than not have nothing to do with the case at hand. Decisions are openly arrived at as a result of secret deals on matters irrelevant to the issue on which the pronouncement is made.
51.	Again, there are resolutions which by their very nature invite defiance and even threats to peace. For example, any resolution which calls for hostility towards nations with which one has no quarrel and with which one may even be on the best of terms, or any resolution which calls upon a State to liquidate itself politically or economically will understandably be breached. Yet there have been occasions when such resolutions have been solemnly adopted by this Assembly.
52.	It would, of course, be a good thing if decisions could be arrived at and implemented on the majority principle, But we do not think that the members of this Assembly are ready for it yet. The minority has yet to be satisfied that majority decisions are arrived at with judicial impartiality and that majority decisions are made by men of virtue and not by a kangaroo court.
53.	So this Organization must for the time being aim at consensus-building or, as the United Nations Charter itself wisely prescribed, we must make the Organization "a center for harmonizing the actions of nations" not encouraging and expanding disharmony and conflicts.
54.	I should like now to make a few comments on the recommendations contained in the report of the Group of Experts on the Structure of the United Nations System, which bears the title, A New United Nations Structure for Global Economic Co-operationI refer, in particular, to its suggestion that, at the request of the General Assembly or the Economic and Social Council, or upon the motion of one tenth of the members of either body, a small negotiating group should be constituted to seek agreement on a specific action proposal or related action proposals in the field of development and international economic co-operation. Negotiating groups would be of manageable size, normally between 10 and 30, and would include countries principally interested in the subject-matter whether or not they were members of the Council. These groups would operate for periods of one to two years, subject to renewal as determined by the Assembly or the Council.
55.	The Council would be kept informed by the negotiating groups of the progress being made by them. During the two-year period, the Assembly and the Council would be free to consider subjects under discussion in the groups and to vote resolutions thereon; but, in deciding upon whether to vote on a particular resolution, the Assembly and the Council would take into account the progress of the negotiations.
56.	Each negotiating group would function under the guidance of a full-time chairman with the assistance, if necessary, of a small representative body of vice-chairmen, all of whom would be proposed by the Secretary-General and confirmed by the Assembly or the Council, depending on where the proposal for the group originated. The full-time chairman would serve for the duration of the group. Each negotiating group would operate on the basis of unanimity. When a negotiating group reached agreement it would
report to the Council, which could adopt the agreement, refer the matter back to the negotiating group for further consideration or take such other action as it deemed appropriate. Upon approval by the Council, the agreement would be passed to the Assembly, which would approve the agreement, refer the matter back to the group or take some other action.
57.	My delegation sees considerable merit in the consultative procedures proposed by the Group of Experts. We support them because they are designed to promote agreement on major policy issues where agreement might otherwise be unobtainable. We recognize, however, that it is not enough to introduce new consultative procedures for reaching agreement. It is also necessary to address the question of how negotiations should be conducted.
58.	Allow me to suggest four further rules for your consideration. The first rule is that to be successful in any negotiation one must examine the most constructive proposals the opponent offers. One needs to find a position offered by one side acceptable to the other side, and try to build from there. To put it very simply, the essence of the first rule in any negotiation is to see the problem from the point of view of your opponent; to understand the interests he has to serve; the constraints under which he has to operate.
59.	The second rule, I would suggest, is that one should not seek superiority in any negotiation. As a very distinguished diplomat and negotiator, Mr. Averill Harriman, has put it, "You can't accomplish anything by knocking your opponent over the head ... the idea that you can whip your negotiating opponent into agreeing with you is nonsense."
60.	The third rule which I would offer for your consideration is that no party to a negotiation must insist that all its demands be satisfied. Every party to a negotiation must be prepared to sacrifice some of its demands and to make some concessions and compromises. There can be no successful bargain if it satisfies all the demands of one side and none of the demands of the other. There must be a mutuality of gains and losses and of rights and obligations.
61.	The fourth and final rule which I would offer is that every country has a certain irreducible minimum national interest. It is unreasonable to expect a country to consent to any proposal which detracts from that interest. The parties to a negotiation must therefore attempt to perceive the extent to which other parties are able to make concessions, or can even be pressured into making concessions, and the limits beyond which it would be unreasonable to expect an opponent to go.
62.	The four rules which I have suggested above are by no means original, nor are they intended to be exhaustive. They should, however, convey an idea of the kind of new values and attitudes which must animate the negotiations and guide the negotiators if the United Nations is to be changed from an arena for shadow-boxing into a forum for negotiations.
63.	Those who drafted the Charter of the United Nations were inspired by the vision of the Organization as a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations. That vision has never been more relevant than it is today. We are faced with a new agenda of pressing problems energy and the proliferation of nuclear weapons, food and famine, the population explosion and environmental deterioration and the north-south dialog: these are planetary challenges to which only planetary responses may be feasible. The United Nations is the appropriate forum in which solutions to these problems can be found. The seventh special session has perhaps been a turning-point in United Nations history. It has shown that the United Nations can be made to work, that peoples and nations can negotiate. Let us resolve to continue to exert our efforts in that direction.
64.	I began by saying that the thirtieth year marks the period of the gradual take-over of this Organization by the generation born since its inception. The older generation, the pre-war generation, has many things to be ashamed of, and the most shameful of these was the senseless slaughter unleashed by the last war and the subjugation of millions in the name of empire. But I like to think that we and they have atoned for all this by creating this Organization dedicated to the outlawing for ever of wars and imperialist adventures, But the atonement will not be complete until we can hand over to the new generation a United Nations refined and perfected to make it a reliable instrument for truly uniting the nations of the world. Then the new generation will have cause to say: "The generation from whom we inherited our world were unique in that they swept nothing under the carpet for us to clean up."