Mr. President, I extend my country's congratulations to Mr. Dante Caputo on his election to the presidency of the forty-third session of the General Assembly. His ability and experience are well-known and we look forward to his wise counsel.
Permit me also to pay tribute to the former President, Mr, Peter Florin, for the skilful manner in which he directed our deliberations over the past year. His guidance was most encouraging as he manifested a keen commitment to international peace and worked with passion and zeal towards getting positive results.
In 1939, the  forking classes of Antigua and Barbuda formed an organization which has proved to be the catalyst of advancement and a leading force in securing our nation's independence. In January 1989 we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the labour movement and we are pledged to continue working for the betterment of all of our citizens, while emphasizing the specific needs of workers - workers who express themselves openly and frequently on both domestic and International matters, workers who recognize the significance and importance of the United Nations and who embrace and are dedicated to the principle of peace. On their behalf, and on behalf of all the citizens of our twin-island State, I should like to offer s interest congratulations to the United Nations peace-keeping forces on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, We also wish to acknowledge the untiring efforts of the Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, in building the bridges for the establishment of peace, and for the further strengthening of the operational machinery of this Organization.
In this, our forty-third session of the General Assembly, Antigua and Barbuda is pleased that there is now a mood of optimism present in international affairs. Yet, small countries such as Antigua and Barbuda have watched with dismay as more and more emphasis is placed on bilateralism by the more powerful and more dominant countries. This retreat from multilateralism, if allowed to continue, can lead to a decline in the role of the United Nations. Matters of interest to the global community necessitate the participation of all countries, irrespective of size, ideology or financial solvency. We adhere to the principle enunciated in the Nassau Declaration of World Order emerging from the 1985 Commonwealth Summit held in the Bahamas, that "in the world of today and tomorrow, international co-operation is not an option but a necessity".
We must remind ourselves that multilateralism is an expression of solidarity among States endeavouring to promote their mutual interests and to resolve conflicts through peaceful means and methods. We believe that the strength of multilateralism can only be assessed by how well it serves the international community in times of crisis and tension. In short, to negate the principle of multilateralism is to retreat and to completely erode the role envisaged for the United Nations by its founders - that of promoting peace, security, economic development and the self-determination of peoples yet unfree.
Antigua and Barbuda bemoans the affliction of the world-wide community by the internationalization of crime, particularly terrorism and trafficking in narcotics. Both are of deep concern to our twin-island community. It is essential that multilateral co-operation be strengthened in an effort to save our own and future generations from those scourges. In specific regard to drugs, we are encouraged that the international conference on drug abuse has assigned a greater responsibility to the United Nations. Drug abuse breaks down the framework of the society which earlier generations have worked so very hard to build. It destroys our youngsters and literally turns many into unrecognisable creatures. As transit points in the trafficking of drugs, our small nations can be put at the mercy of wealthy and powerful drug barons. The major market of consumption must therefore be called upon to apply greater initiative in co abetting the drug problem since a significant decline in consumption will do such to help eliminate production. It is evident, however, that only through concerted action between producing, transit and major consuming States, will the international community be able to put an end to this scourge.
Since 1983, Antigua and Barbuda has been at the forefront on the question of Antarctica. It is therefore with deep regret that we learned of the decision of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties  (ATCP) to disregard totally and completely General Assembly resolution 42/46 of 30 November 1987 on the "Question of Antarctica". It is even further regretted that the racist regime of South Africa was allowed to participate in the ATCP negotiations held in Wellington from 2 Kay to 2 June 1988. Antigua and Barbuda was profoundly astonished when, during the general debate, one Member State declared that it is linked with Antarctica by its sovereignty, its history and continuity. The concept of sovereignty in regard to Antarctica is one that we cannot understand or consider. Antarctica must remain the heritage of all mankind, not the possession of a few large States.
We will continue to work dauntlessly and steadfastly for consensus on the question of Antarctica and we pledge to continue pressing for a moratorium on negotiations to establish a minerals regime until all members of the international community can participate fully in such negotiations. We further appeal to the ATCP States to have the Secretary-General or his representative attend all meetings of the Treaty Parties.	'
Antigua and Barbuda is but one of the many small voices expressing their concern over the Antarctic issue. A joint approach by developing countries and other countries not members of the consultative group is necessary to achieve positive results. The United Nations has not been able to produce a consensus resolution on Antarctica since the year it was first placed on the agenda. However, unless the ATCP States broaden representation of the decision-making process, the United Nations will continue to be used as the forum in which non-ATCP States express their concerns and gain support for their position.
We take this opportunity to outline another position that is of primary concern to the economic planners in my nation. Since the thirty-ninth session of the General Assembly, island developing countries have emphasized that there has been a lack of sustained empirical work cm our development experience. Enough attention has certainly not been paid to the problems centred around transportation, communication and marine issues. More examination needs to be given to the relationship between imports and exports and the problems involved in attracting foreign investment.
Antigua and Barbuda and other island developing States have repeatedly stressed that the use of traditional economic indicators in assessing our well-being are neither apt nor realistic. The overwhelming reliance on per capita gross national product presents major distortions. It does not reflect the fact that our island nations are too small to provide for our populations economically many services routinely afforded citizens of larger countries. It fails to reflect our inability to penetrate markets for our embryonic manufacturing industries, whose production levels reflect small size. It does not give an adequate representation of our vulnerability that a single hurricane can set back our development 10 years or more, destroy 50 per cent of our housing stock, and completely devastate our agriculture and tourism industries, witness Jamaica and the effects of hurricane Gilbert. Therefore we once again present a case for the use of more reliable economic performance indicators and for special assistance to island developing countries.
While recognizing the outstanding role the United Nations is playing in bringing about solutions to international problems, it is impossible for this Organization to continue its efforts at the same level with its existing financial situation. Consequently it behoves Member States to contribute to its support on a reliable and permanent basis, we say this even though it is most apparent that many countries are experiencing severe financial difficulties.
Well we know that the international community has to harness itself to tackle the difficulties posed by debt, by trade and commodity problems and by human resources development. The debt crisis can, however, be properly addressed only if debtor and creditor countries fully realize that our mutual interest lies in breaking the deadlock. We call for an environment that gives impetus to progress within developing countries and for a more vigorous and healthy growth in international trade.
Public anxiety has increased throughout the world with the knowledge that the greenhouse effect has begun to impact upon our planet and will cause even greater atmospheric changes in the years to come. The threat to the ozone layer has brought about the realization that no individual country acting alone can protect its own environment. We acclaim the adoption of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and hope that it will be followed by other measures to protect the atmosphere.
The threat to the ozone layer initially generated by affluent societies is inextricably linked with those of poverty, economic development and population growth. The reality is that the world's population will possibly double by the middle of the twenty-first century and that this growing population will be driven to use increasing amounts of irreplaceable natural resources which in turn will lead to the emission of higher levels of pollutants into the air by industry. In addition, the practice of trafficking in and the dumping of toxic wastes needs to be halted by immediate international action. We consequently join Norway in issuing a call for a strict international regime to protect developing countries from becoming a dumping ground for hazardous wastes. In the Caribbean, reliant as we are upon our natural beauty and cognizant of the fragility of our ecosystems, the dumping of hazardous wastes must not be allowed.
In this the fortieth anniversary of the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we are appalled by the numerous violations of human rights in so many countries.
We are saddened by news of summary arrests and executions, the disappearance of individuals and the systematic practice of detention and killings of unarmed demonstrators. The protection of human rights is given high priority by my Government, and we firmly subscribe to the belief that human rights is for all people and all nations. To press for human rights is to join the struggle for democracy and advancement.
South Africa, unfortunately, continues steadfastly with its evil policy of apartheid. The Secretary-General in his report stated that "Developments in, or relating to, the continuance of a situation of racial discrimination, which is so repugnant to the spirit of our age, lend further for CG to the repeated - and hitherto unheeded - urgings of the international community that apartheid be dismantled". (Д/43/1, p. 5)
We again call for the unconditional release of Nelson Mandela and all those incarcerated in South African gaols as a consequence of their struggle for their right to be free and to be liberated from all shackles of bondage in their own country.
Antigua and Barbuda wishes to urge once again the adoption of mandatory sanctions of a comprehensive nature against the Pretoria regime.
It is important here to reaffirm that apartheid cannot be reformed·, it has to be abolished. The racist regime continues to stifle all opposition to its abhorrent practices, and this includes the insulation of South Africa from scrutiny by the international press and the banning of anti-apartheid organizations in that country. We consequently reaffirm our commitment to the just struggle of the oppressed people of South Africa and Namibia - people who remain undeterred despite the intensity of the brutality of the racist Pretoria regime.
Antigua and Barbuda welcomes the prospect for peace in Angola and Namibia. Peace has evaded Angola since independence and the international community is looking forward to a withdrawal of all foreign troops from Angola's soil. Likewise, we look forward to the implementation of Security Council resolution 435 (1978), in an effort to bring peace and ultimate independence to Namibia. We are understandably both hopeful and sceptical, for well we remember that five years ago the Lusaka Agreement was to have produced a cease-fire, a disengagement on the part of South Africa, and the establishment of a joint commission for the purpose of monitoring. This agreement, however, collapsed by the end of the year of its inception, be it recalled.
In Central America, we recognize that the momentum for peace has faltered since the signing of the Esquipulas II agreement; yet we are certain that the principal merit of the agreement lies in the democratization it brings to the area. Antigua and Barbuda urges full compliance by all the parties concerned. We are appalled by the devastation of national economies and the misery generated by civil conflicts. It is our firm belief that these conflicts are tooted in poverty. There is thus a need for a broader approach than is now evident in the solution of Central America's problems. In the same vein, our hearts go out to the Panamanian people in this period of extreme difficulty, and it is our hope that there will be a quick resolution of the crisis.
In Afghanistan, the determined efforts of the Secretary-General and of Diego Cordovez produced, through the Geneva Accords in April, a basis for all Afghans ο exercise their right to self-determination. The fact that this is the first instance in which the two most powerful States have become co-guarantors of an agreement negotiated under the auspices of the Secretary-General is of particular importance, especially to those of us from developing countries. This approach signals the beginning of the end of proxy wars waged by nations whose material storages can ill afford the squandering of scarce resources brought on by wars. We therefore urge all parties involved to co-operate with the United Nations good offices mission.
My country welcomes the new atmosphere which has emerged between the French
Government and the Malenesian Kanaks as much as we applaud the initiation of a dialogue over the past year between the parties to the Kampuchean conflict. The people of Kampuchea yearn for peace and the framework has to be established in which citizens of that country are able to have a government from among their own - a government which will guarantee basic and fundamental human rights. The yearning for peace is also evident in Cyprus. The fact that the two sides involved in the Cyprus conflict have expressed their desire to meet without pre-conditions and to attempt to reach a negotiated settlement on all aspects of their problems, augurs well for the future. We therefore encourage the
Secretary-General to continue in his perseverance in obtaining a workable solution.
I turn to the Middle East. The situation in the Middle East continues to have the propensity for generating repercussions in a far wider sphere. We therefore urge the United Nations to continue in its quest to find a lasting settlement to the Middle East question - a settlement which will guarantee the right of all States and peoples in the region to exist in peace within recognised and secure borders. The best hope for such a solution lies in the convening of an international peace conference specifically geared to problems of the Middle East. The interests of all concerned are best served through dialogue and negotiation in an atmosphere dedicated to peaceful resolution.
A peaceful resolution in Lebanon is also desirable. The endless cycle of communal violence in Lebanon is most distressing. Antigua and Barbuda stands ready to endorse any proposal leading to full Lebanese sovereignty over the entire country which guarantees the withdrawal of foreign troops from the area.
One final word. In South-East Asia we acknowledge the existence of two Koreas as a consequence of the Second World War. We have, however, been pleased to hear of the new policy of the Republic of Korea as enunciated in the special declaration of President Roh Tae Woo on 7 July 1988. The President's statement embodies an epoch-making six-point policy on inter-Korean affairs and lays the basis for a reconciliation between the two countries.
The Republic of Korea is celebrating its fortieth anniversary. It has demonstrated full maturity, as evidenced by its hosting of the twenty-fourth summer Olympic Games in Seoul and the establishment of diplomatic relations with as many as 121 Member States of the United Nations. When we consider that there are other countries in the United Nations which had suffered the same divided fate as the Koreas, we can find no logical cause or explanation to deny the Republic of Korea membership in this body.
We are indeed thrilled that the United Nations has been an important participant in the easing of world tensions. We believe that the United Nations must continue to play an ever-increasing role in international affairs if peace and justice are to become universal. Small nation States like my own look increasingly to international law for protection, and we are keenly aware of the role of the United Nations in promoting respect for law.
As workers in Antigua and Barbuda prepare to celebrate 50 successful years of trade unionism, let us here commit ourselves in this forty-third session to securing for the world's peoples a greater degree of freedom and justice through this the parliament of parliaments.


Let me at the outset express our profound and sincere satisfaction over the fact that the helm of the current session of the General Assembly has been placed in hands as skilled and competent as those of Mr. Caputo. My delegation wishes to express to him its heartfelt congratulations on his election to this prestigious and demanding office. I am fully confident that he will not only live up to but significantly contribute to the tradition associating with his compatriots - Mr. Carlos Calvo and Mr. Louis Drago - and that he will guide the work of the forty-third session of the General Assembly in such a way as to attain the meaningful results which we all seek. We wish also to express our warm greetings to the Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, and to assure him of our unchanging respect and support for his indefatigable efforts.
The United Nations has recently proved its vitality and potential. The Polish delegation has come to the forty-third session strongly convinced of the urgent need for all Members of the United Nations assembled in this Hall to undertake yet another joint effort to further strengthen the role which this Organization has come to play in the world today, to promote positive experiences in its work while seeking to eliminate the lingering weaknesses. At present, we perceive auspicious tendencies in international affairs. They manifest themselves in reduced confrontation, the development of East-West
dialogue, the resolve to settle regional conflicts but, above all, to halt the arms race. The Treaty signed at Washington entitles the international community to extend to the two signatories a fresh credit of confidence in respect of further disarmament measures, especially in the field of strategic arms, and the discharge of their singular responsibility for world peace and international security in the years to come. The Treaty has been instrumental in removing the psychological barrier that attaches to the view that the arms race is beyond man's control.
Potentially the most profound changes have taken place in the philosophical aspect of international relations - an era where the new political thinking is making ever greater inroads. It signals, first of all, that effective and lasting resolution of the contemporary dilemmas cannot be accomplished except through political means, with equitable and democratic participation of all interested States, growing mutual confidence, and determination to seek compromise based on international law, with due account taken of the interests of all parties. Under the conditions prevailing today, security cannot be attained through military means alone.
Secondly, it is encouraging that, as far as international affairs are concerned, the great humanist idea of the primacy, in international politics, of human values over group or class interests is reasserting itself.
The significance of these two phenomena cannot be confined to East-West relations alone; they are relevant to international relations at large and to the whole world, as is confirmed by the agreements concerning Afghanistan, the prospects of the termination of the Iran-Iraq conflict, the resolution of the Kampuchean problem, or the progress in regard to the Questions of the south of Africa,
We wish to place on record our great appreciation of the productive efforts of the Security Council, as well as of the Secretary-General, with a view to peaceful resolution of acute regional conflicts. We give these efforts our full support, as is manifested in Poland's decision to dispatch a group of army officers to the United Nations good offices missions in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as to those in Iran and Iraq.
The course of international events is also significantly influenced by the development of the internal situation in particular countries. The Polish case demonstrates all too clearly how difficult it is to reconstruct internal relations. In our profound democratic reforms we are guided by the principle of seeking political solutions based on a wide-ranging dialogue between all who stand on the firm ground of the Constitution and the legal order it established. We are seeking to create wide-ranging national understanding and to further democratize the methods of governing the country. We are undertaking these efforts in conditions of persisting economic difficulties and social impatience. We are fully aware that the transformations in Poland are being closely followed by the international community, for which what goes on in a State of 40 million people in the heart of Europe is not irrelevant.
The desire for undisturbed development of the positive tendencies in East-West relations is universal. Poland has irrevocably opted for profound socio-political and economic reform, aimed at increased effectiveness and export- and market-oriented restructuring of the economy. We want to take an active, broadly conceived part in the international division of labour, in keeping with the principle of mutual benefit. In this respect we count on the co-operation of all our partners, including creditor States, both on a bilateral basis and in the international financial organizations. We are confident that all States will have understood, and will lend their support to, the Polish Government's efforts with a view to reforms. We are confident that, given the ameliorating international climate and the increasing co-operation with all States, Poland will be able ¿o overcome its present difficulties and, as so far, will continue making its contribution to the consolidation of international security, detente and comprehensive international co-operation.
The world's primary integrating factor is the common fate of mankind. There is an urgent need to solve global problems and, unfortunately, global threats. There is a growing conviction that only together can we stand up to the challenges of the day, and only together can we hope to survive.
The United Nations must become to an ever greater extent the primary multilateral forum where solutions to the major world problems of our time can be worked out. Among such problems, the question of the consolidation of peace in international security remains the central one. Some three months ago, the special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament concluded its debates in this Hall. Contrary to the expectations of world public opinion, of a majority of nations and Governments, including my own, the session failed to conclude its work with the adoption of a final document. The significance of the third special session consists, however, in the fact that it has demonstrated to the world the outer limits of compromise that are feasible at present. As will be recalled, out of a total of 67 paragraphs of the draft final document, agreement proved possible on 61. These considerable and valuable achievements must not be wasted. They must be consolidated and further developed by, among other things, resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly at its current session.
The Political Consultative Committee of the States parties to the Warsaw Treaty, which met in the capital of my country last July, has submitted a programme of concrete disarmament undertakings. The documents of the meetings, which, at Poland's request, have been circulated as official documents of the forty-third session of the General Assembly, reaffirm adherence to the ideals of a world rid of arms of mass destruction and all forms of violence, a world based on the principles of mutual and equal security, democratic coexistence and wide-ranging, equitable co-operation.
The States parties to the Warsaw Treaty have addressed an appeal to the international community at large, especially the States members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the States participants in the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, to increase efforts to bring about the early conclusion of meaningful agreements on the reduction of arms and armed forces and the consolidation of security and stability, as well as to refrain from any steps likely to make progress in that direction more difficult.
The Political Consultative Committee has recognized the following as priority objectives! a 50 per cent reduction of the strategic offensive arms of the USSR and the United States of America; the prohibition of nuclear weapon tests; the elimination of chemical weapons; and the reduction of armed forces and conventional arms in Europe, with a corresponding reduction of military expenditures.
The disarmament initiatives offered by the Warsaw Treaty and the Alliance's individual members, including Poland, over the past few years, also remain valid.
These issues, among other things, have for years been on the agenda of the Conference on Disarmament. The General Assembly has also repeatedly issued appeals for the process of negotiations to be accelerated. For years we have found that the only progress scored at Geneva has related to chemical weapons. Yet even in that province, regrettably, one finds slow-downs and diverse impediments to the negotiating process piling up, relating, for instance, to the question of verification, despite the fact that the USSR and other socialist States are prepared to accept far-reaching compromise solutions.
The current session of the United Nations General Assembly offers a good opportunity to issue an appeal for a constructive reaction to the initiatives put forward by the States parties to the Warsaw Treaty. The need for concrete actions in the field of disarmament was similarly pointed out by the conference of non-aligned countries in Nicosia.
The reduction of military confrontation should begin where catastrophe could most easily occur. Inevitably, we arrive here at the problem of Europe. It was on that continent that deep divisions first emerged under the surveillance of the mightiest military potentials ever. It has, therefore, become the lightest risk area, but also one that offers singularly great opportunities.
Specific to Europe, and at the same time critically important for its security, is the sphere of conventional disarmament. The positive evolution of the international situation, announced in the Budapest appeal of the States parties to the Warsaw Treaty, and the subsequent constructive response of the States members of NATO have led to substantive progress in preparations for the negotiating process of the 23 States. Poland and the other States parties to the Warsaw Treaty are prepared to do their utmost to ensure a constructive negotiating process, as they indicated in a special statement on negotiations concerning the reduction of armed forces and conventional arms in Europe adopted at the last meeting of the Political Consultative Committee, in Warsaw.
The socialist States have come out in favour of the commencement of new negotiations in 1988, stressing that the priority objective of such negotiations ought to be the achievement on the continent of Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals, of a situation in which the Warsaw Treaty and NATO States retain a level of armed forces and armaments indispensable for defence but far from sufficient to launch a surprise attack and conduct offensive operations.
The first stage of such negotiations should be concentrated on reaching equal and lower collective levels of manpower and conventional armaments for States members of the two alliances, the prevention of surprise attack and the establishment of an effective system of verification of compliance with future treaties, including mandatory on-site inspections. These proposals respect the principle of equal security for all the parties concerned.
Poland has always attached great importance to the consolidation of peace and security in Europe and sought to make its own genuine and autonomous contribution to the European disarmament process. The Jaruzelski plan for decreasing armaments and increasing confidence in central Europe is only the latest manifestation of that policy. The various aspects of the implementation of the plan were addressed in detail in a message from Wojciech Jaruzelski to the third special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament. They were also dealt with in a statement by the Government of Poland containing an expanded version of the plan.
I once again emphasize from this rostrum that, in view of the convergence of the proposed plan and the content of documents of the Political Consultative Committee adopted at its Warsaw meeting last July, and in the light of the views and comments of other Governments, our conviction has been strengthened that the plan fits perfectly the pattern of European disarmament undertakings, and represents their most timely and concrete manifestation, going a long way towards meeting the expectations of the broadest social strata, as well as those in many official circles. The plan offers a solution that responds positively to the requirement for the consolidation of security in central Europe, yet is not without a universal relevance owing to the distinct possibility of applying the ideas it advances to solutions on a Europe-wide scale and beyond. On behalf of the Government of Poland, I wish to reaffirm our readiness and determination to offer constructive co-operation to all interested Governments for the further development of the plan.
We are persuaded that reduction of the level of armed forces and armaments in Europe would be a major factor conducive to the construction of a common European home. Its corner-stone must be due respect for the post-war political and territorial order on our continent. Such a home should provide an ever greater possibility of promoting dialogue and mutually advantageous all-round co-operation, open to the world, in keeping with the process commenced some 13 years ago in Helsinki.
This explains the great importance that we attach to the CSCE meeting in Vienna. For our part, we shall spare no effort to bring it to a positive conclusion. Similarly, we consider economic co-operation in the European region most important, a fact borne out by the regional conference of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) held at Cracow last August.
Disarmament must be accompanied by the fostering of an appropriate social awareness and promotion of the involvement of public opinion in order to create a special moral sanction - that of universal condemnation of the use of force in international relations. Only in such a state of awareness can one understand Voltaire's observation that in the world there are only offensive wars, the defensive ones being mere resistance to armed robbery.
In a few weeks' time it will be 10 years since the adoption by the General Assembly, on the basis of a Polish initiative, of the Declaration on the Preparation of Societies for Life in Peace, a document whose overriding objective is, first and foremost, to "demilitarize" thinking and ensure that the seeds of the idea of peace fall on the fertile and well-prepared soil of the awareness of all people. The Declaration has not lost any of its topicality; on the contrary, the putting into effect of its recommendations is becoming an increasingly urgent task. Indeed, attempts to anchor the idea of peace firmly in people's minds make up a logical and indispensable supplement to the material infrastructure of peace.
The consolidation of peace and the strengthening of international security, disarmament and the growth of mutual confidence are among the conditions necessary to make possible the solution of many of the pressing problems of the day. Among these are global ecological and demographic threats, as well as those arising from external debt, all of which are growing in a snowball fashion. They defy solution by individual States and co-operation and combined efforts on a global scale ate necessary. This applies in the first place to relations between highly developed and developing countries, between creditors and debtors.
The tremendous external debt, especially dramatic for the poorest countries but also painful for those at the medium level of development which are highly indebted, undermines the basis for socio-economic development and international exchange of goods and services. The shortage of hard currency to finance imports cripples reforms, restructurization and modernization of industry. National efforts in respect of economic adjustment encounter barriers to the financing of development. A practical demonstration of the co-responsibility of creditor and debtor countries, with the appropriate involvement of banks and international financial institutions, in an effort to loosen and untangle the noose of indebtedness becomes absolutely indispensable. The General Assembly already has at its disposal resolutions adopted at its two previous sessions from which it clearly follows that an individual approach to solving sue- problems should be followed as soon as possible by multilateral measures. Such relief action should either precede or constitute a preliminary phase of agreed steps in favour of debtor countries, to stimulate effectiveness and make possible export-oriented restructuring of their economies - undertakings reinforcing the internal efforts of many debtor countries, which often involve acute social sacrifices. The Cracow Debt and Development Research Centre, which co-operates with the relevant United Nations institutions, is now concentrating its attention precisely on such problems.
The state of affairs is much the same as far as the protection of the environment is concerned. Poland values highly the United Nations record in this respect, especially the resolutions of the forty-second session of the General Assembly adopted on the basis of the Brundtland report and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recommendations. None the less, there is a distinct and pressing need for major new, joint undertakings in regard to the protection of the environment. Our Organization should strive to do more than it has so far in that field. For instance, one can conceive of the establishment and implementation within its framework of a concept of international ecological security - a code of binding principles and norms of conduct of States in the field of protection of the environment. Appropriate proposals in that respect were formulated at the Warsaw meeting of the Political Consultative Committee of the States parties to the Warsaw Treaty in a document entitled "The implications of the arms race for the environment and other aspects of ecological security".
However, even the best international legal regulations will prove insufficient unless accompanied by material means for their implementation. Owing to the lack of financial and technical resources, ecology-safe development may well prove for some countries a luxury beyond their possibilities. This is the reason for the need for identification by appropriate international bodies, including those within the United Nations system, of areas of threat, where international aid should be forthcoming with a view to the application of recognized norms of protection of ""the environment. It need not be financial assistance. For instance, implementation of the principle of unrestricted transfer of experience, know-how and technology in the field of the environment, as proposed by Wojciech Jaruzelski at the fortieth anniversary session of the United Nations General Assembly, would be of considerable consequence.
As postulated by my delegation, the urgent need to expand international economic co-operation and strengthen constructive bonds and interdependency in the world economy requires that we proceed forthwith to promote confidence in international economic relations. The United Nations system, at both regional and global level, has a considerable role to play in that respect, a fact recognized in the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. The strengthening of confidence in that sphere would promote a new and more just international economic order and the enhancement of international economic security.
We must note with satisfaction the marked improvement in the climate of international co-operation within the United Nations system also in respect of social and cultural problems and human rights. For mankind, the resolution of the most burning social questions is as critical as the prevention of an arms race or an economic crisis.
On Poland's initiative, the General Assembly at the previous session adopted a resolution calling for the examination of the possible proclamation by the United Nations of an International Year of the· Family. Our initiative has met with the support of many States, which have made known their positive views in that regard. The conditions are increasingly favourable to the proclamation by the General Assembly of such an International Year of the Family at the outset of the next decade.
There exists a tremendous interest in humanitarian problems, especially those pertaining to human rights. Along with other States, Poland attaches considerable significance to the observance of the fortieth anniversary of the adoption by the General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We intend to take an active part in that important event.
It is with considerable satisfaction that we welcome the conclusion of the preliminary phase of the long work on the preparation of a draft convention on the rights of the child. Let us hope that in a year's time, at the next session of the General Assembly, the Member States will adopt the convention to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of the Child.
The problems I have commented upon can be solved provided we succeed in turning our Organization into а genuine centre of co-operation and co-decision exercised by all its Members. We have to strive together to enhance the performance of the United Nations and of its principal organs - the Security Council and the General Assembly - as well as to promote the role of the Secretary-General, including in the settlement of inter-State conflicts through negotiations, good offices, mediation or conciliation. It is indispensable to make use in a more effective manner of the entire United Nations system for the maintenance of peace and the consolidation of the primacy of international law. That is the objective of the initiative submitted by the socialist States, including Poland, to develop a comprehensive system of peace and international security.
Poland is deeply convinced that a strong United Nations, faithful to its Charter, promoting the spirit of multilateral co-operation and successfully overcoming partisan interests, stands a very good chance of meeting the challenges of the day and the expectations of nations. We are fully prepared to make our contribution to the construction of such an Organization, in the belief that - in the words of the Charter - all nations ought to "live together in peace with one another as good neighbours".


Let me at the outset, on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, extend to Mr. Caputo of Argentina, our sincere congratulations on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at the forty-third session. My delegation would like to assure him of our support and full co-operation in the tasks ahead.
Our appreciation is also due to Mr. Peter Florin, who discharged his duties as President of the forty-second session with skill, devotion and responsibility.
We applaud the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations peace-keeping forces as richly deserved recognition of the impressive record of the United Nations in keeping peace throughout the world. We congratulate the Secretary-General and his dedicated team on this fitting tribute. Three years ago, with considerable enthusiasm, we commemorated the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations. A year later, hardly had the euphoria of that celebration evaporated than we were confronted with the prospect that the United Nations might not even be able to survive, because of budgetary constraints. International diplomacy, never at a loss for words, diagnosed this situation and described it as a crisis for multilateralism, a crisis brought about by unilateralism. Unilateralism seemed to be prevailing over multilateralism.
Most dramatically, bilateralism, involving principally the Soviet Union and the United States, led to the conclusion of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles - INF Treaty - widely accepted as the first real measure of disarmament, as distinct from the mere control or limitation of arms. The Moscow summit meeting also brought forth agreement that further bilateral efforts would be exerted towards the reduction by half of the super-Power strategic nuclear arsenals and towards a step-by-step halting of nuclear testing. The international community has welcomed these developments with enthusiasm.
The third special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament, a few months ago, offered the first major international forum for an assessment of international security and disarmament issues in the light of these new developments. Despite a greatly improved context of international relations in comparison with the first and second special sessions on disarmament, the third special session belied our expectations. The nexus between bilateral progress and multilateral advance did not prove to be automatic. The third special session's failure to produce a consensus final document seemed contrary to the hopeful developments of the time. In a sense, we have witnessed an encounter between bilateral approaches and multilateral demands, but the encounter has not been as discouraging as in the past. Nevertheless, the session recognized, but failed to document, the interdependent nature of the broad spectrum of global issues and the need for multilateral co-operation in their solution. If time ran out before a consensus document could be finalized, it must only mean that the exercise must continue on the basis of the many valuable proposals and ideas presented during the session.
In the Conference on Disarmament, the sole multilateral negotiating body of which Sri Lanka is a member, the hope of multilateral negotiations on a range of nuclear items has been frustrated. No progress is recorded in the report of the Conference, for example, on the priority issue of negotiating a total ban on nuclear testing. The purpose envisaged in the 1963 Partial Test-Ban Treaty is not to regulate and thereby condone testing below a certain threshold but to eliminate decisively all testing. As a parallel measure to discussions in the Conference on Disarmament Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, Sri Lanka, Venezuela and Yugoslavia have requested an amendment conference of States parties to the 1963 Treaty to consider its conversion into a comprehensive test-ban treaty. The Foreign Ministers of the countries members of the Non-Aligned Movement who met at Nicosia last month have endorsed that initiative.
A collective approach has been sought in the Conference on the Prevention of an Arms race in Outer Space, the common heritage of mankind  which should be used exclusively for peaceful purposes. The existing legal regime now applicable to outer space has played a significant role, but, given the rapidity of technological and strategic developments, it is insufficient to prevent the emplacement of weapons in outer space. My delegation will make every effort at this session of the General Assembly to continue with our initiatives to build the necessary consensus and move forward in this vital area. The recent use of chemicals weapons has been universally condemned, sustained negotiations have been pursued in the Conference on Disarmament towards the conclusion of a treaty banning the development, production, stockpiling and use of all chemical weapons. Some important issues remain unresolved, while the settlement of others has been delayed unduly. Considerable achievements have also been made in work between the two major chemical-weapons possessors, and we have noted the initiatives announced in this forum last week.
This session of the General Assembly will consider the question of preparing for the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons scheduled for 1990. As a State party to the Treaty, Sri Lanka naturally has a keen interest in facilitating a successful review of the obligations under that Treaty in all their aspects. We hope that agreement could be reached at this session to formulate a smooth preparatory process.
A disarmament exercise that began as a Sri Lankan initiative with the support of non-aligned countries has long since acquired both regional and international dimensions. Following the 1971 Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace, States of the region held a conference in 1979 that adopted seven principles of agreement for the implementation of the Declaration. Those included the non-use of force, non-interference in the internal affairs of States, the peaceful settlement of disputes and the freedom of peaceful navigation. Considerable work on issues of substance relating to the conference has already been accomplished by the Ad Hoc Committee. A consensus has been patiently built up now for the conference to be convened at Colombo at a date not later than 1990. Sri Lanka, particularly given the vastly improved international climate, expects that the concerned States will abide by the consensus.
Since we last met the United Nations has succeeded in its negotiations in respect of Afghanistan, with the conclusion in April of this year of the Geneva Agreement. Sri Lanka congratulates the statesmanship displayed by all parties that made the agreement possible and hopes that that will remain in evidence during the implementation. We look forward to the conclusion of a comprehensive settlement of all issues to the satisfaction of all the people of the Afghan nation.
Similarly, in the Gulf conflict too the conciliatory mechanisms of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council, have proved their efficacy. It has been Sri Lanka's consistent position that that wasteful war should be ended, and a solution acceptable to both parties must be found. Therefore, Sri Lanka welcomes the decision of the Governments of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Iraq to co-operate with the Secretary-General's representative to reach a comprehensive, honourable and enduring solution to that tragic conflict.
There are positive indications to be seen in the question of Cyprus as well, for which the United Nations once more can claim some credit. An essentially domestic inter-communal issue in Cyprus has been aggravated by the foreign occupation of part of its territory and by illegal unilateral actions towards separatism. However, under the auspices of the Secretary-General, talks have been resumed between the President of the Republic of Cyprus and the representative of the Turkish Cypriot community with a view to resolving the Cyprus problem in all its aspects.
In respect of Kampuchea, direct negotiations have brought hopes for an abatement of tensions infecting the entire region. The Djakarta meeting held in July this year brought together all parties concerned.. Sri Lanka is pledged to support and reinforce the Djakarta initiative.
In the Middle East the continued denial of the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people persists as the root cause of the unrest in the region. The uprising in Israeli-occupied territory has acquired heroic proportions, and brutal attempts to suppress it have only strengthened the resistance to the occupation. A just, durable peace that guarantees security for all States and peoples in the region, including the Palestinians, can only be ensured by the withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied Palestinian and Arab territories. It is Sri Lanka's position that settlements illegally established must be dismantled and demographic changes thrust upon the occupied territories must be rendered null and void. Sri Lanka supports the convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East called by the General Assembly in resolution 35/58 C as а means of a achieving a just and comprehensive solution to the complex of issues that is called the Middle East question.  It is essential that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, participate in the Conference on an equal footing with all other parties directly concerned in the Israeli-Arab conflict.
The path to Namibian independence has long since been charted by Security Council resolution 435 (1978). Sri Lanka salutes the Namibian people's struggle for self-determination and national independence in a united and undivided Namibia. It is our sincere hope that independent Namibia will occupy its seat in the community of nations in the near future. The recent developments, which have led to talks involving Angola, Cuba, South Africa and the United States are welcome in that they seek a negotiated and peaceful settlement of some issues of conflict in the region.
As in Namibia, so also in the entire southern African region, the apartheid policies of the Government of South Africa foster violence and conflict. Within South Africa the situation has deteriorated, with inhuman racist laws continuing to violate all norms of civilized behaviour, and with the ruthless security forces indulging in mass arrests and detention and causing injury and death to innocent civilians. Outside its borders, South African forces have committed acts of aggression against independent neighbouring African States whose only offence has been the defence of their sovereignty and freedom and the championing of the anti-apartheid cause. International pressure on the apartheid regime must continue to be increased. Comprehensive mandatory sanctions, to be imposed by the Security Council, have been declared the most effective peaceful means of dismantling apartheid.
Let me now turn to the international economic scene. Global economic co-operation in real terms has been in a state of virtual atrophy. In roost developing countries the development process has been seriously handicapped, and in some even reversed. Real interest rates have swung upwards. Exchange rates have been fluctuating. The prices of primary commodities have drastically slumped and protectionist measures in certain import markets have aggravated their overall impact in developing countries. Development assistance has been reduced. The debt burden has had a debilitating impact on the economies of developing countries.
Only a rational concerted effort on the part of the entire global community can help re-order the prevailing insecure economic situation.
In respect of the debt issue, furthering the consensus achieved at the seventh session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), it was proposed in the Conference's trade and development report that the current inadequate strategy of domestic adjustment and new lending be complemented by a wider recourse to consensual, orderly and systematic reduction of interest charges as stock of debt, in particular by debt forgiveness. The assumption behind those proposals is that countries benefiting from debt reduction could strengthen policies to improve efficiency of investment and achieve a substantial improvement in the export performance of indebted countries.
Allied to this, and assuming great significance, are the complex trade negotiations of the Uruguay Round, which concern a variety of issues of crucial importance, particularly to developing countries. These include tropical and natural-resource-based products, tariffs, non-tariff barriers, and textiles and
clothing. Unfortunately, the pursuit of unilateral trading gains has led to some trading entities callously bypassing the regulations and principles of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). In sectors most crucial to developing countries seeking export markets, for example in the field of textiles and clothing, deviations from GATT principles are clearly evident.
 The commitment of major import markets to promoting easier access for the exports of developing countries is one which needs to be fulfilled with greater devotion and sincerity. Specifically, a measure o£ true understanding would be a rollback of current non-tariff barriers coupled with other measures to improve market access. Strict compliance with the standstill and rollback commitments reaffirmed at Punta del Este is vital to the success of the Uruguay Round. Developing countries should also be given credit in the Uruguay Round for unilateral measures of trade liberalization taken under programmes of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. A challenge for international economic co-operation is before us at the mid-term review of the Uruguay Round in Montreal this December by the ministerial session of the GATT's Trade Negotiations Committee.
Concomitant with economic co-operation between developed and developing countries, economic co-operation among developing countries is also vital. The agreement on a global system of trade preferences reached recently is a step in the right direction, and could not only strengthen the base for economic development but also help reduce the existing over dependence on developed countries. The adoption of the agreement on the global system, signed by 48 countries, was a historic step, and it is important that those that have not yet signed and ratified the Belgrade agreement do so soon.
Permit me at this stage to refer to two initiatives in the area of development co-operation in which Sri Lanka is deeply involved. Sri Lanka took an initiative in the Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee in 1981 which called for a study of marine resources and their development potential in the Indian Ocean region. In January 1987, following careful study and preparation at expert level, the Indian Ocean Marine Affairs Conference was held at ministerial level in Sri Lanka to formulate a broad co-operative framework for developing the marine-affairs capabilities of the Indian Ocean States. A standing committee has since been established to guide its programme. We see this as an essential step in consolidating the benefits of the Convention on the Law of the Sea. We believe that this venture could benefit further from the infusion of material and technical support from all sources.
Last year the international community participated in observing the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless, declared by the United Nations on the initiative of the Honourable R. Premadasa, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. The proposal by the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) for a global strategy for shelter to the year 2000, formulated in response to a consensus call by this Assembly in resolution 42/191, is the next logical step in our collective endeavours to meet the shelter needs of deprived millions.
The widespread support enjoyed at the Economic and Social Council this summer is indicative of the political will to forge ahead with necessary material support. We look forward to the transformation of this political will into concrete action through a genuinely global venture as an exemplary exercise in multilateral co-operation.
In Sri Lanka where we have over the past few years had to withstand and overcome grave threats to our sovereignty and territorial integrity and face violent challenges to our cherished democratic institutions, we have still to banish the ugly phenomenon of violence and terrorism. The 13th Constitutional Amendment devolving a substantial measure of power from the centre to the provincial councils will have been fully implemented when elections to the North-Eastern Provinces take place in November. Thus, the fundamental restructuring of our post-colonial policy to accommodate the aspirations of all sections of our people for direct and active participation in the governing of our multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious nation will have been completed.
In the last few months, we have, in the tradition of our parliamentary democracy, held elections to seven of the eight Provincial Councils  In July four by-elections to Parliament were held, and this month another; and in December of this year a new President will be elected to succeed His Excellency President J. R. Jayewardene, who completes his constitutionally stipulated two terms of office. The democratic process is therefore as active in our small country as it has been since 1931, 57 years ago, when universal adult franchise was introduced in Sri Lanka.
I am confident that with the innate wisdom of the people of Sri Lanka, enriched by a unique historical tradition of over 2,000 years and drawing on the religious philosophies flourishing in the country, Sri Lanka will press forward with the irreversible process of the healing of past wounds and the rehabilitation of the injury inflicted on our nation in human, political, social and economic terms. A period of peace and stability in which development can be accelerated is what our people richly deserve. And they will secure it for themselves through our democratic process, rejecting violence and anarchy.
The imperative of international co-operation, which is really what multilateralism is all about, applies to political and security issues, to economic and environmental issues and to social and humanitarian issues. Arguments and appeals based on justice, equity and human compassion have been advanced in this forum to bring peace where there is violence and conflict, security where there is tension and fear, development where there is deprivation and want. If then these arguments, backed as they are by the injunctions of the United Nations Charter, need further justification, there is the pragmatic logic of necessity - the compulsion of mutual interest. We are all links in a chain of human and national interdependence. The prospect for human survival and development will be only as strong as the weakest link in that chain.
When we speak of the United Nations or multilateral approaches, we must project our vision beyond this building, beyond the delegates' desks and national name plates, beyond the microphones and earphones and beyond the resolutions and speeches, and focus on the impact of our work on the millions of people we represent. The fact is that the fate of each nation is intrinsically fused with the fate of the entire planet. This is not so merely in the negative sense in that a common nuclear threat hangs over all of us. In a positive sense, the political, economic and ecological well-being and development of each nation has to be pursued in co-operation, rather than at variance, with others. Our planet's resources are finite and even the most economically developed State cannot pursue unilateral policies in isolation from the rest of the world.


On behalf of the Algerian delegation I should like to congratulate you, Sir, upon your election to the post of President of the forty-third session of the United Nations General Assembly. In so doing I extend to you my personal best wishes for success in the onerous but lofty task ahead of you. Your election is justified by the range of talents we have come to appreciate it is also a well-deserved tribute paid to the friendly nation of Argentina and a recognition of the great contribution made by Latin America to our joint endeavour for peace and co-operation among our peoples and nations.
The President of the General Assembly at its forty-second session,
Hr. Peter Florin, also earned the appreciation of the United Nations. We fulfilled his office skilfully, with devotion, ability and farsightedness. The Algerian delegation would like to join in the unanimous tribute paid to him.
The United Nations collectively, and our own nations individually, will remember Mr. Javier Peres de Cuellar as the invaluable craftsman responsible for restoring the standing of the Organization and for winning it back its rightful place in contemporary international relations. 1 should like to express to him Algeria's congratulations and encouragement and assure him of its continuing and ,hole-hearted co-operation in any place and at any time that he may be engaged in the quest for peace, justice and co-operation, which he is pursuing in the name of and tot the better well-being of mankind.
The Organisation is emerging from a grave period of crisis, it has gone through a time of doubt, suspicion and dereliction, it has been afflicted by introspection and by the abandonment of multilateralism.
However, in the darkest hours my country never ceased to believe, and to say, that the United Nations is the manifestation of an act of hope - and a strong, righteous hope never dies. The United Nations embodies this hope, which, in turn, represents the sustenance, the very well-spring, of the Organization.
Are our joint endeavours geared now to the triumph of the values and ideals we set for ourselves when the Organization was founded?
We see the beginning of an improvement in international relations. Is this due to the dawning recognition that mankind is a whole and can have no future or destiny without understanding, co-operation and peace? Have we finally faced the fact that it is better to build together than to develop the tools for destruction - that mistrust and the thirst for domination are not inevitable, but rather that mankind has a collective genius in which are to be found the resources that can ensure well-being and happiness for all? Are we ready at last to use our ingenuity and ardour to construct a world of security for all, and to wage the real struggle, the struggle foe development?
These are the challenges, and they must be met.
There are already some portents of a better morrow for all. However limited they may be, these signs and developments are encouraging, and we hope that they will be matched by others of even greater scope and implication. In this respect Algeria once again hails the conclusion of the Treaty on the elimination of intermediate-range nuclear weapons. In so doing we hope that this first act of nuclear disarmament will be consolidated and expanded, and that negotiations on strategic nuclear weapons will follow the same path of wisdom and lead to a similarly welcome conclusion.
Disarmament is an essential factor in the peaceful world order that we hope to build, and all of us have a contribution to make. Consequently, my country has always considered that bilateral measure in the disarmament field, measures we welcome and commend, should not rule out multilateral action, let alone be considered as a replacement for such action.
The regrettable failure of the third special session of the United Nations voted to disarmament  was an ill omen in this respect. We trust that this was simply an unfortunate incident on our route, a perverse development that will shortly be corrected. When the safety and peace of all mankind is at stake, unity in action and resolution is the order of the day.
The first disarmament measure too which I have just referred, as well as the other measures of which it is the forerunner, and to which we look forward, were possible only because of major changes that have taken place in the doctrines, policies and strategies underlying modern international relations. Heretofore these have been founded solely open the free exercise of the balance of forces and competition in pursuit of a decisive position in an arms race - to sum up: a view of the world and a logic both based en confrontation.
The Movement of the Non-Aligned Countries was founded at the time when this vision and this logic prevailed. It has constantly warned of the dangers end perils of such an approach for world peace. In the changes coming about today it cannot but find confirmation of the rightness of its arguments and of the positions it has taken at a time when there seemed to be no other alternative to the policy of strong-arm politics enshrined with the emergence of the two opposing alliances.
We have not yet seen the end of power-bloc politics, to which the movement of the Non-Aligned Countries was founded as an alternative 40 years ago, nor have we seen the end of great strategic rivalry. But we do see the first signs of change, and this suggests a possible alternatives an alternative of dialogue, trust and respect for the interests of others that offers the possibility of founding a new world balance upon a safer, stable and fairer set of relations.
Let us find the wherewithal fear this alternative option. Let us have faith in it and find the political will-power that is required. Let us avoid the errors and miscalculations of the past, which suggested that a limited reshuffling of East-West relations would be sufficient for the establishment of a peaceful order. That faith did not stand up to the test. It was not enough to bring about a lasting relaxation of tensions between the two opposing military alliances. Rather, regional and local hotbeds of tension proliferated and grew worse.
Mankind is a single species, and peace must therefore also be indivisible. International relations will not be strengthened in terms of security, stability or duration unless all the countries in the world join in the task of building a peace that is unrestricted and has room for all. It is gratifying that today there is growing recognition of this vital need and that efforts are being made to improve East-West relations and to resolve regional and local conflicts, crises and tensions. That is the right approach, the only one to be followed, unswervingly, whatever the obstacles and whatever sacrifices have to be made. The road to peace will be long and difficult, whether we are dealing with disarmament, the establishment of trust and understanding between East and Hest or putting an end to the tragedies of the Middle East, the Gulf, southern Africa, Central America, Afghanistan, Kampuchea, Cyprus or Western Sahara, but there is no alternative to peace it is the only option.
As I told the Assembly last year, the contribution we intend to make to this collective enterprise for peace consists of the construction of the Great Arab Maghreb. Since I spoke last year this enterprise in which we are engaged with our partners in the region has been launched, and I think I can say that it has been well launched. The holding of the Maghreb summit in Algiers last June was the starting-point for the enterprise upon which we are setting out together P with imagination, determination, and whatever else it takes. Cur peoples and our countries have waited too long, and therefore our first concern now must be to make up for lost time. We are determined to do co, and we have the wherewithal. We are now working to equip the Maghreb entity we are establishing with the institutions, trained manpower and machinery which will then permit political co-ordination and economic integration on a rational, progressive basis, without thereby losing any opportunity to make further progress.
A dynamic  and united Maghreb is therefore on the march. We are keeping the momentum going, thanks to a political resolve unaffected by ulterior motives or reservations. For the first time in its long history the greater Maghreb enjoys all the necessary conditions for unity. However, we are aware of the obstacles on the way ahead; We shall overcome them, because we have no other choice at a time when international events are calling for a pooling of efforts and resources.
There can be no doubt that the revolution of the conflict in Western Sahara will help speed up the construction of a united Maghreb. The acceptance in principle by Morocco and the POLISARIO Front of the proposals put to then by the current Chairman of the Organisation of African Unity (OAD) and the Secretary- General of the united Nations concerning the conditions for the holding of a referendum on self-determination in Western Sahara is a good omen in this respect.
It is only just that a people that has shed its blood for freedom should have the right to choose its own future it is right that the people of Western Sahara should determine its own destiny·
The international community has understood that, and a consensus has emerged within the Organization of African Unity, the Non-Aligned Movement and this Assembly clearly spelling out the conditions for a resolution of the Western Sahara conflict. That consensus took the form of resolution 104 adopted in 1983 by the Conference of Heads of State or Government in Addis Ababa. Subsequently endorsed by the united Nations, it is the basis of the joint United Nations good offices. Direct negotiations to conclude a cease-fire and to organize a referendum on self-determination, free from administrative or military constraints, are the two key requirements for a just and lasting solution to the conflict in the Western Sahara.
Those who are fighting each other today need to be able to talk together tomorrow, and it is a good thing for the Moroccans and Saharaouis to go to the referendum hand in hand rather than back to back. Fraternal dialogue will lead to brotherly reconciliation, and thus the Maghreb will gain in stability, security and unity.
In the Middle East there is still no end to the tragedy of the Palestinian people, which has missed out on the wave of peace affecting other crises conflicts and sources of tension. The tragedy of the Palestinian people continues to be the tragedy of this century.
The uprising in occupied Palestine reminds us that the Palestinian's national identity is still alive. It shows that the Palestinian people has not abdicated its national rights and that its claim to its own State on the land of which it was cobbled will not be defeated. The uprising serves to identify the requirements for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. The extraordinary Arab Summit Conference held in Algiers in June defined the common Arab position on the nature competence and aims of the international peace conference on the Middle East and on who should participate. Because the question of Palestine lies at the heart of the conflict in the region the international peace conference would fail if it did not consider it as such and face up to the subject squarely. To seek to reduce the Arab-Zionist conflict to a succession of bilateral territorial or security disputes and hence to obscure the central Palestinian element in the conflict, would be to doom the conference to failure.
Because the Palestinian people has chosen those whom it wishes to speak on its behalf and to express its aspirations the Palestine Liberation Organization (РLO) its sole and legitimate representative cannot be deprived of its place at the international peace conference. Attempts to find other representatives will be unsuccessful.
Lastly, we know of the fete that has befallen the search for an alternative hone for the Palestinian people. We have to recognise that the destiny of the Palestinian people is only going to be fashioned on the soil of its own historic land, Palestine.
In the same region, Lebanon has suffered setback after setback. Occupation has followed by fratricidal divisions, and today its very institutions are under threat. We are firmly devoted to the independence, unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of that brother country. Lebanon has other battles to fight. It cannot allow itself to be divided against itself, rational reconciliation is vital, and it is the first battle that will determine its victory in the other fights ahead. It must win it and win it with our assistance. It can rely upon my country's aid in this respect.
In the Gulf the noise of battle has died down, giving way to dialogue and negotiation. We congratulate Iraq and Iran in a brotherly fashion. Eight years of conflict have left too much suffering, misunderstanding and distrust for us to imagine that the path to peace will be an easy one to follow, but we do trust that courage, a sense of responsibility and wisdom will finally prevail.
The apartheid system lies at the heart of all the tragedies in southern Africa. Its full and complete dismantling will be the only way to bring peace back to that long-suffering region. The independence of Namibia, the restoration of all the rights of the South African people and a guarantee for the security, stability and territorial integrity of the front-line States are a collective responsibility which we must all fully live up to. My country, for its part, wishes to assure the South West Africa People's Organisation, the African National Congress and the front-line States of its solidarity and support until the triumph of the causes of justice and freedom which they defend. In Central America the hopes aroused by the Arias plan and the Esquipulas and Sopoa agreements are proving sadly slow to bear fruit. The Contadora and Lima Groups are making a valuable contribution to the cause of peace in the region.
They deserve our full support. The peoples and the States in the region must be able to live in understanding, co-operation and mutual respect, free from outside interference and with respect for each other's political, economic and political choices.
In the Group of 77 a few days ago I expressed a few thoughts on the subject of international economic relations, thoughts which I should like to share with the Assembly today.
I observed that the real path to genuine peace must be one whereby all the peoples of the world enjoy not only their right to equal security but also their right to development. I observed that the genuine peaceful order we aspire to should not simply spare mankind from destruction it must ensure his fit and proper survival once and for all. I observed that humanity would one day have had enough of gambling with death and would build for its future, that development would become the new name for peace and be its key ingredient.
In the light of those comments I made a number of observations and drew some conclusions.
First of all, underdevelopment is the worst of the wars which mankind is currently waging against itself. Are not more people dying of famine, malnutrition, epidemics and the lack of a medical infrastructure, than as a result of open, armed conflict? Clearly, more people are dying from underdevelopment than from war. Secondly, underdevelopment is - and if no solution is found it will continue to represent - a threat to international peace and security just as much as open armed conflict. Surely the international community has a duty to put an end to a process which is so menacing to mankind’s future. Thirdly, the  international community must mobilize for the triumph  of human rights. We must mobilize to ensure that no citizen of the planet is deprived of his civil rights, his rights to express an opinion, his right of assembly, his right to be heard and his right to defend himself in the name of all the rights which he legally enjoys. Yes, we must mobilize so that no citizen of our planet dies from the denial of his rights. I might add, however, that besides these rights we have a duty, and it is one which has not yet been fulfilled: the duty to ensure that no citizen dies or suffers from neglect of his vital needs. We have acted together so that development is considered in terms of rights fog our peoples. I night say today that the right to the development of peoples is a key element in human rights, because when one talks of underdevelopment one is talking of matters of life and death. This calls for collective solidarity and a collective sense of responsibility. Lastly, at a time when we are welcoming the fact that mankind has begun to tread the path of disarmament, let us not forget that, that much remains to be done under this heading, the hardest task ahead of us is the challenge of underdevelopment, and everything that that implies.
My conclusions, therefore, would be as follows.
First, a crisis in international economic relations does exist and is a reality. The developed world felt that it had found its own short-term remedies, but those remedies are the product of short-sightedness.  Real interdependence proves daily that development and underdevelopment are interrelated in many aspects and that the panaceas advocated heretofore are no longer affective. To separate development from underdevelopment, to portray the first as a result of the ability of one group of countries and the second as a result of the fecklessness of others, is not acceptable. There is a system operating today which serves to nurture the developed countries at the cost of the underdeveloped nations.
Secondly, changes are taking place, and an alternative is being pursued so that the underdevelopment of our countries does not serve to foster the development of nations which established the prevailing system, and which led the, to act in pursuance of the objectives they set for themselves in the past. That was short-sighted. The North-South split is intolerable and will become more so. As East and Hest are brought together, it will become increasingly clear that a peaceful future depends upon development.
Thirdly, underdevelopment corns with an economic price, but still more with a political and social price, and it is one we have to pay. But how long can this go on? This is a matter that must be of concern to all. As member s of the international community we have assumed the ¡responsibility to put our houses in order. We recognize this and it is proving beneficial, but it is not enough far from it. Structural adjustments which have been advised or imposed upon our countries are not the remedy for underdevelopment, far from it.
fourthly, in the formation of underdevelopment, factors beyond the control of our countries were at play, The international environment was - and still is - a handicap for us. Internal structural adjustments will only work if the same structural adjustments are made at the global level. Whether with reference to the budgetary health of our countries, a fair price for our commodity exports, access to international trade, currencies and finances or technology, the present system of international economic relations frustrates all our hard efforts.
The system must change. Such a change must be part of an overall change in global and regional relations. Global peace can no longer continue with a two-tier system in which the question of international security has priority and development is relented to a secondary place. An overall approach is required and we must seek to correct all the existing imbalances.
Do the encouraging notes which we are hearing from so many directions now herald a new age of reason? They say, if mankind can finally meet the overriding requirement: a sense of global conscience.