May I first extend to you, Mr. President, the congratulations of the Federal Republic of Germany on your election to your high office. We consider your personality, your extraordinary talents and your longstanding deep commitment to the cause of the United Nations to be a guarantee of success in accomplishing your difficult tasks. We see in you the representative of a continent and a country with which we are linked by traditionally good and friendly relations.
2.	I wish to express also the gratitude of my country to your predecessor, Mr. Jorge Illueca, for the competent way in which he guided the work of the thirty-eighth session of the General Assembly.
3.	At the same time, I wish to thank the Secretary General and his collaborators for their untiring efforts and for the excellent work done in the past year in the interest of strengthening the United Nations and of peace in the world.
4.	It gives me particular pleasure today to welcome Brunei Darussalam to this forum as a new Member State. We entertain good bilateral relations with Brunei Darussalam and feelings of friendship for it as a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
5.	In his thought-provoking report on the work of the Organization, the Secretary General recalls the historical achievements of the United Nations. We support his appeal that the great potential of this international Organization for the prevention and settlement of conflicts be utilized and strengthened.
6.	The essential characteristics of the world today are the relationship between the industrial countries of the North and the developing countries of the South and the relationship between the democratic industrial countries of the West and the communist industrial countries of the East. West and East account for the greater part of the North. The North is a house divided, but the South, too, is torn by tension and antagonism.
7.	We need dialogue between North and South. Internal tensions within North and South obstruct and slow down this dialogue. North and South must, therefore, reduce their internal tensions and dedicate their intellectual and material resources to a common effort aimed at the development of an international order based on equality, accommodation of interests and cooperation; an international order in which everyone has a fair chance, in which people can develop their strengths and abilities; an international order in which human rights are respected and social justice is applied to all.
8.	This calls for what I would term an international domestic policy, a policy rooted in the conviction that the future of one's own country can only be assured if the future of all countries is assured.
9.	The most pressing North South problem is the debt crisis in many developing countries, particularly in Latin America. The Presidents of Argentina and Venezuela have made pointed reference to this situation in their statements to the Assembly. The effects of the debt crisis are felt by South and North. Forceful measures of adjustment are required if the debtor countries are to recover economically. Such measures have political and social repercussions in those countries. Jacques de Larosiere, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund [VMF], said recently:
"It must be realized that there are social and political limits to economic adjustment. The advantages gained by a country from servicing its debts and pursuing a policy of adjustment must be worth the cost in terms of the human misery caused by the adjustment."
Only in this spirit can the problem be solved.
10.	The crisis is confronting the North, too, with difficulties. The necessary import restrictions by the debtor countries mean export reductions for industrial countries. The international banking system has been put under heavy pressure. This crisis can be solved only by the common effort of North and South. The debt servicing commitments and the servicing ability of the developing countries must be brought back into harmony. We need longer-term rescheduling strategies to support successful adjustment efforts by debtors. Mexico has furnished proof that it is possible to adjust successfully. We have reason to hope that the other countries, too, after a painful initial adjustment phase, will manage to move on to the second phase, in which adjustment and growth again go hand in hand.
11.	We shall overcome the debt crisis only through intensive dialogue and cooperative solidarity. We therefore welcome the comprehensive dialogue on this subject scheduled to take place early next year within the IMF and the World Bank.
12.	If economic recovery and development are to take place in the third world, a package of coordinated measures is necessary.
13.	First, the industrial countries must ensure their own stable growth.
14.	Secondly, protectionism must be fought. Markets must remain open and become more open to exports from the third world. Deeds must be made to match the many words in favour of liberalized trade.
15.	Thirdly, the over-high international interest level must fall. How can permanent growth be achieved in the developing countries in the face of today's level of real interest?
16.	Fourthly, the developing countries need more direct investments from abroad. The industrial countries must therefore continue their investment promotion policy. The developing countries, for their part, must create a favourable investment climate. Direct investments not only transfer capital but also transfer technology and managerial experience and provide easier access to the world market. The transfer of technology to the third world must be promoted with the utmost energy. An agreement on balanced codes for transnational enterprises and technology transfers would encourage investment.
17.	Our special attention and assistance must be devoted to the world's poorest countries. Since 1971, the number of least developed countries has risen from 25 to 36. Their economic growth, and especially their food production, are not keeping pace with population growth. Their debt burden is oppressive. They need increasing official development assistance. For this reason, the Federal Republic of Germany has always given particular consideration to those countries in its development cooperation. For years it has been providing them only with grants. !t has remitted the public debt of most of those countries.
18.	The situation is particularly dramatic in many African countries. Africa needs international solidarity and the coordinated efforts of the international community. Food security must be at the heart of these efforts; acute need must be combated; self-sufficiency must be strengthened. Africa is therefore a focus of our development cooperation. Substantially more than 40 per cent of our entire aid is channelled into that continent. In response to the appeal by the Secretary General, we provided an additional 50 million deutsche mark for special food security action in 1984. The World Bank report on sub-Saharan Africa reinforces our intention to allocate additional funds to Africa in 1985.
19.	At this point I should like to appeal to the industrial countries with State trading organizations to bring their development aid into an acceptable relationship with their economic power and their arms expenditure. They too should open their doors more widely to exports from developing countries. They absorb only 5 per cent of all exports from developing countries, whereas more than two thirds of such exports go to the Western industrial States.
20.	According to estimates by the International Conference on Population, held at Mexico City from 6 to 14 August 1984, the population of the world will almost double in the next 40 years, despite ail the efforts to decelerate population growth. That will multiply the number and the seriousness of the problems facing humanity. We who live today bear responsibility for ensuring that our children and grandchildren inherit a world which permits them to live in human dignity. The danger is growing that "spaceship Earth" will no longer be able to carry mankind.
21.	The universal nature of this danger to the future is forcing the community of nations to pool its resources. More people need more food, drinking water, clothing, accommodation, schools, employment, hospitals and recreation facilities. All these things are not even sufficiently available to the majority of those living now. And yet we must provide them for more than 8 billion people, and time is short.
22.	An increase in population will also impose greater strains on the environment. Even now, we see the deserts spreading, valuable soil becoming salinated and eroded, and vegetation in industrial countries being threatened by acid rain. Year by year, numerous types of animals and plants disappear irretrievably. Seas and inland waters are becoming polluted. Hydrocarbon combustion is jeopardizing the world climate. Industrial waste, refuse and sewage pose enormous technical and financial challenges to the world community. UNEP must become the driving force of a worldwide environmental policy. But all international cooperation is in vain if environmental protection is not practised at home, in our own countries. Polluted air and poisoned water do not stop at national boundaries. For this reason, we are talking and negotiating with all our neighbours in the West and the East on joint action to combat the dangers of pollution. The Conference on the Environment, held at Munich, provided an important stimulus for a joint approach on trans-boundary pollution. In the interest of combating environmental pollution at its source, more account must be taken than has been done hitherto, in public and private economic cooperation with the third world, of the need to protect the natural sources of life.
23.	In the densely populated and highly industrialized Federal Republic of Germany, environmental problems surfaced earlier than elsewhere. We have therefore been able to gather extensive experience in recognizing, measuring and fighting pollution. We are prepared to share this experience with all interested parties.
24.	The major tasks of economic growth and environmental protection, development and the provision of food cannot be solved without the potential offered by the new forms of high technology. New technological developments should serve all mankind; they must not be misused as instruments of power.
25.	Gene technology, for instance, will provide the third world with new and great opportunities with regard to agriculture and the solution of the food problem. It appears possible that plants which can yield fruit even in difficult soil and climatic conditions will be developed using the methods of gene technology. It appears possible also that harvests can be considerably increased and the use of chemical fertilizers drastically reduced. The international research programmes to promote agriculture in developing countries must make full use of the opportunities offered by gene technology.
26.	But this very form of technology makes us aware that new advanced technology not only presents us with opportunities but also confronts us with dangers which we must control from the outset. Respect for creation must guide us in our use of gene technology and must make us vigilant about any misguided attempt to manipulate human heredity. Human dignity demands that such manipulation be banned and made impossible from the outset. That is a topic for the United Nations, too.
27.	Cooperation between North and South must reduce the prosperity gap, overcome hunger and want, disease and ignorance, and ensure respect for fundamental human rights.
28.	The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights must occupy a central place in the work of the United Nations. Peace and human rights belong together. Anyone who violates human rights is thereby breaking commitments he has assumed on the basis of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenants on Human Rights; he is infringing international law.
29.	For the Federal Republic of Germany, an active policy of support for human rights is a pillar of its policy for peace. A draft convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment—a draft convention which we support and to which we attach great importance—has been submitted to the General Assembly. We appeal to all Member States to accept the draft convention and the control procedures for which it provides and to let it become effective. Torture, one of the most dreadful scourges of mankind, must be banished from the world. No one should be delivered into the hands of torturers, and no torturer should go unpunished.
30.	We welcome the favourable reaction to our proposal for an optional protocol prohibiting capital punishment. I ask for further constructive cooperation. I address my appeal also to those States which do not yet want to give up the death penalty.
31.	Racism, particularly	in South Africa, constitutes a fundamental violation of human dignity. We appeal to the Republic of South Africa to clear the way for the realization by all its citizens of elementary human rights.
32.	The United Nations needs institutions that permit better protection of human rights. The appeals for the appointment of a high commissioner for human rights and for the institution of a court of human rights point the way to this goal.
33.	The Charter of the United Nations represents a magnificent effort to overcome the inherited structures, based on the possession and projection of power, and to create new structures for peace. But the United Nations has not yet united the nations of the world. The world is still marked by rivalry between nations and power blocs, rooted in distrust. That is the result of bitter historical experience. World history has taught nations to be prepared for the possibility of force from outside.
34.	Force is still being used. The Afghan people long for the right to preserve in peace their independence, their self-determination and the faith of their fathers. Laos and Kampuchea are fighting for their independence. In the Gulf war, people are still dying a senseless death. Central America is riven by tension from without and within. The independence of Namibia is still being withheld. In South Africa, people are discriminated against because of their colour. There will be no rest for the Middle East as long as violence and not negotiations are the order of the day. Without an undertaking to refrain from the use of force, without the realization by the Palestinian people of their right to self-determination, without recognition of the right of all States, including Israel, of their right to exist, there will never be a lasting and just peace in the Middle East.
35.	We must strengthen the peace-making influence of the United Nations. The Secretary General has rightly pointed out that there should be less talk about the inefficiency of the United Nations and more about a lack of willingness on the part of States to tap its potential. To this end, the principle of universality must remain inviolate. Despite all our differences, we must always so conduct the dialogue as to make its continuation seem desirable to all participants. We all know how difficult it is to settle or even to restrict conflicts once they have broken out. That is why conflicts must be nipped in the bud. For this purpose we need an effective early warning system permitting the Security Council and the Secretary General to act swiftly. We support the proposals made by the Secretary General on this matter.
36.	In the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization, the Federal Republic of Germany, along with other delegations, has submitted proposals on the prevention of international conflicts.
37.	Our refugee initiative, aimed at reducing the horrendous flow of refugees through political cooperation, also serves the purpose of stifling potential conflicts.
38.	Observance of the prohibition of the use of force is the first step that must be taken. An undertaking not to use force does not mean renouncing convictions, values and interests. It focuses on the form and the means used by States to settle their differences. The undertaking to refrain from the use of force is one of the fundamental and indispensable principles for ordering the peaceful coexistence of States. The policy of the Federal Republic of Germany is a policy for peace, embedded in the commitment to refrain from using force. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, to which we belong, is built on this foundation. In their Bonn Declaration of 10 June 1982, the allies stated:
"Our purpose is to prevent war and, while safeguarding democracy, to build the foundations of lasting peace. None of our weapons will ever be used except in response to attack."
39.	We know that military strength alone cannot guarantee a peaceful future. Disarmament and arms control are therefore integral parts of our security policy. In Europe, East and West face each other with huge arsenals; throughout the world, enormous resources, which could otherwise help us and the developing countries shape our future, are spent on arms. The prevalent distrust can be measured by reference to world arms expenditure figures. Confidence-building and disarmament are demands addressed to the entire international community, to East and West, to North and South alike.
40.	Today, no region of the world can find peace and security on its own. Arms control in Europe strengthens peace and stability in the world. The worldwide and regional dialogue on disarmament and arms control has not been interrupted. Pessimism and resignation must not doom our efforts, which must be guided by the will to utilize the available instruments to pursue an active policy. That means, above all, that negotiations must take place. This principle must apply everywhere and in respect of all weapons. No weapons system must be excepted. No one may consider only his own security interests; the legitimate interests of others must also be acknowledged. No one may seek security at the expense of others.
41.	We welcome the fact that President Reagan, speaking from this rostrum [4th meeting], proposed to the Soviet Union a comprehensive disarmament dialogue. That dialogue is in the interest of all peoples. The United States and the Soviet Union bear a particular responsibility on account of their nuclear potential and their obligations deriving from the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
42.	Like the President of the United States, we favour the resumption of nuclear arms negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union without preconditions. We support the American desire for drastic reductions in the field of intercontinental strategic weapons. As hitherto, we want global renunciation of land based intermediate range missiles by the United States and the Soviet Union. We support every balanced agreement made to this end.
43.	We call for arms control with regard to outer space while there is still time.
44.	At the Vienna Talks on Mutual Reduction of Forces, Armaments and Associated Measures in Central Europe, we want to achieve parity in conventional forces in Central Europe by means of mutual troop reductions.
45.	We urge the participants in the Conference on Confidence and Security building Measures and Disarmament in Europe, meeting at Stockholm, to agree to concrete, militarily significant and verifiable measures for security and confidence-building. Such measures must apply to the whole of Europe.
46.	We advocate that the undertaking to refrain from the threat or use of force be made concrete and be reaffirmed within the mandate given to the Stockholm Conference. It must apply among all States within the alliance systems and to the actions of participating States throughout the world.
47.	We call for a fresh initiative in the process of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. The Finnish proposal that the tenth anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act be marked by a conference at a political level merits support.
48.	We appeal to all Members of the United Nations to enter into the process of confidence building in all parts of the world in a practical and serious manner, thereby improving worldwide the conditions for disarmament and arms control.
49.	It remains important, in view of the universal increase in military expenditure, to publish military budgets and make them comparable. We call for a United Nations register providing information on arms exports and imports throughout the world.
50.	We want a worldwide, comprehensive and verifiable ban on chemical weapons. It is not sufficient to ban chemical weapons in Europe only, thereby preserving the option of using them in other parts of the world.
51.	The commitments entered into as a result of disarmament negotiations must be verifiable. The Federal Republic of Germany will contribute its share to achieving success in disarmament negotiations.
52.	Europe has experienced the horrors of two world wars. The European Community was born of these experiences. We seek European Union. The peoples joined in that union will develop their strengths and capabilities in such a way that Europe can take its rightful place in the world.
53.	Franco German friendship is an example of how the lessons of history can be taken to heart. The joint commemoration by the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and the President of the French Republic of the war dead at the Verdun military graves is a symbol of reconciliation and friendship.
54.	The States of the European Community want to master the future together. But Europe is more than the 10 States—soon to be 12—of the European Community. We seek cooperation with all the States of Europe. We Germans are aware of the responsibility deriving from the history of our country and from our situation at the heart of Europe. The Federal Republic of Germany has linked its fate firmly to that of Europe. Our policy is a policy for peace in Europe. With the other States participating in the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, we want to create, on the basis of the Helsinki Final Act a rueful order in Europe in which cooperation can develop freely between States, irrespective of the differences in their systems. We seek a peaceful order in which, as envisaged in the Helsinki Final Act, nations, can determine their own fate and live free from the fear of violence, threats and restriction of their liberty and in which people can enjoy the exercise of their lawful rights and the fruits of peaceful international exchanges.
55.	It is a policy for peace in Europe too when we declare, as stated in the letter on German unity, that our political aim is to work for a state of peace in Europe in which the German nation will regain its unity through free self-determination.
56.	The treaties concluded between my country and our Eastern neighbours in the 1970s cleared the way for the Helsinki Final Act. We stand by every word of those treaties. The Federal Republic of Germany respects the territorial integrity of all States within their present boundaries. It proceeds from the existing situation in Europe. It makes no territorial claims on anyone and will not do so in the future either. The Federal Republic of Germany considers the borders of all States to be inviolable and will continue to do so. We call upon all States to educate their young people in peace and in respect for other nations and other opinions. Education in hatred jeopardizes peace; polemics against the peaceful intentions of other nations poison the political atmosphere.
57.	The Federal Republic of Germany wishes to breathe life into the treaties concluded with its Eastern neighbours. We want the Helsinki Final Act to be implemented in all its parts. We want to continue the process of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. That process has improved the situation in Europe; it has stood up under severe strains in the international climate. The contribution of all participants in the Conference, large States as well as small, will remain indispensable to security and cooperation in Europe. We want cooperation with all the States adherents to the Warsaw Pact. We want cooperation—political, economic, technological and environmental. We want close cultural exchanges.
58.	We shall resolutely and patiently pursue our charted course towards compromise and understanding. We shall not let ourselves be disheartened or confounded. We shall consistently pursue with the Soviet Union the dialogue and cooperation based on the Treaty of Moscow—and continued even during difficult times. That Treaty, like the long-term economic agreement, opens up great vistas that must be exploited.
59.	The desire for German Polish understanding and reconciliation determines our thinking and action towards the Polish nation. The Treaty of Warsaw, concluded on 7 December 1970, breached once and for all the vicious circle of injustice and retaliation. It was one of the most important milestones in German and European post-war politics.
60.	Our cooperation with the German Democratic Republic, even at times of East West tension, is an expression of the historically rooted responsibility of both German States for peace in Europe. This responsibility must also prove its worth in the joint solution of human and technical problems. People must be able to experience personally the benefits of detente. In this respect we have made progress. It is our wish that both German States should continue along the route marked out by the Basic Treaty normalizing relations and the Helsinki Final Act. It is our wish that they should set an example by meeting their obligations under the Final Act. In this way we shall live up to the requirement inherent in the recognition of our joint responsibility.
61.	An improved relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union is vitally important to East West relations and to world peace. Contemplation of the principles of equality and mutual consideration embodied in the United States Soviet declaration of 1972 could smooth the way for such a development. President Reagan, in his statement to the Assembly [4th meeting], expressed the determination of his country to cooperate with the Soviet Union in securing world peace. That ought to meet with a favourable response from the Soviet Union. We can offer no substitute for dialogue between the United States and the Soviet Union, but we, like other medium and small sized States, make our contribution to improving East West relations, and it is no mean contribution.
62.	Europe, so often afflicted by wars and the source of many wars in other parts of the world, must today serve as the starting point for initiatives aimed at peace and cooperation in all parts of the world. For this reason, as a member of the European Community, the Federal Republic of Germany also relies in its relations with the third world countries on a policy that seeks, as stated in the second Lome Convention, "to reinforce, on the basis of complete equality between partners and in their mutual interest, close and continuing cooperation in a spirit of international solidarity".
63.	We seek friendship and partnership on an equal basis with the countries of the South. We support the principle of genuine nonalignment because it preserves independence and provides protection from foreign hegemonic aspirations. The Movement of Nonaligned Countries is increasingly becoming a stabilizing factor in international politics.
64.	The most populous country in the world, the People's Republic of China, is of great importance to world stability. We are gratified to note that China is opening its doors to Asia and to the world at large and is exercising its co-responsibility for international peace and cooperation.
65.	The regional groupings offer small and medium sized States the opportunity to pool their resources and together to maintain their independence. The European Community cooperates closely with the States members of ASEAN and the Andean Pact within the framework of cooperation agreements. We advocate close cooperation between the members of the European Community and the States of the Gulf Cooperation Council. We are playing our part to ensure that the Euro Arab dialogue will be further intensified.
66.	In a few days the Foreign Ministers of the States members of the European Community, together with Spain and Portugal, will be meeting at San Jose with their counterparts from the countries of Central America and the Contadora Group to launch a political dialogue and to lay the foundations for economic cooperation between the European Community and Central America.
67.	North and South must talk to one another, negotiate with one another and find joint solutions to the present and future problems of humanity. The North South dialogue will be successful only if it is conducted in awareness of the equal dignity of all the world's cultures. The subject of cultural exchanges between North and South must not be banished to the fringe of talks; it must be at the very heart of such talks. Our world is full of cultural prejudices that are often rooted in ignorance. We all have more to learn from one another. The North may be richer than the South, but it is not thereby wiser, more human or more cultivated. The cultures of North and South must each recognize the equality of the other in its own cultural dignity. It is a matter of the mental attitude with which we encounter other peoples.
68.	How often has arrogance towards other peoples arisen from contempt for their cultural identity and achievements. To understand a country, one must understand its culture. Experience of the equivalence of cultures is not inbred in peoples. It requires intensive cultural exchanges. We are prepared to give; we are prepared to take. Cultural exchanges contribute to the establishment of a peaceful international order.
69.	During these days the nations of the world have turned to United Nations Headquarters in New York in hope and anxiety. They are uneasy. It is not merely the presence of tensions that worries them, it is the apparent increase in those tensions, and they wonder what will happen if the tensions continue to increase.
70.	The problems confronting us are serious and difficult. No one expects us during these days to discover a magic formula that will solve them all at once. But the nations are right to expect one thing, namely, that we should give signs of hope, signs that the Governments of the world have recognized the danger, signs that they can halt the rising tensions. The nations do not want to hear us repeating long familiar, irreconcilable positions or apportioning blame. They want to know what specifically we intend to do in order to serve the common cause of peace. We must not disappoint them.
71.	I have explained how my country fulfils its responsibility. The Federal Republic of Germany faces the challenge of peace with the confidence of a country whose citizens can freely develop and freely help to build a humanitarian and just world. This great aim of a just and humanitarian world should guide us as we celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations in 1985 and as we observe in 1986 the International Year of Peace.


Sir, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate you on your election as Vice-president of the General Assembly. Please convey to Mr. Lusaka our congratulations on his election as President of this session of the General Assembly. We wish him every success.
278.	I also wish to express our gratitude to the President of the thirty-eighth session of the Assembly, Mr. Jorge Illueca, President of the Republic of Panama, for the outstanding way in which he guided the debates of that session.
279.	I also wish to pay tribute to the Secretary General for his tireless efforts and dedication m meeting the responsibilities of his important position.
280.	On behalf of the Government and people of Chile, I cordially welcome Brunei Darussalam, a new Member State which recently joined the United Nations.
281.	Thirty-nine years have passed since the San Francisco Conference and four decades since our representatives met at Bretton Woods. We note with sorrow that the great expectations which were born then are not reflected in today's world.
282.	The crisis in multilateralism is evident in all the fields of action of the international system.
283.	States entrust their security to the creation of steadily growing arsenals, together with their will to use them unilaterally instead of relying on the rule of law, which is suffering an alarming decline.
284.	The institutions which emerged from Bretton Woods have been displaced by events and, in the most serious economic crisis to affect the world economy since 1930, unilateral decisions, of which protectionism is the most accentuated expression, are once again taking the place of cooperation and joint action.
285.	The concepts of integration have vanished. International order appears to be in a precarious situation. A joint destiny appears not to exist for us. Peace has not established its authority in the world. We are moving towards the year 2000 in the midst of dangerous tendencies which point to chaos and anarchy in the international system, which we must avoid.
286.	The long and distressing war between Iran and Iraq, the guilty silence in the face of the tragedy of the Afghan people, the justified desperation of the Palestinian people, the dangerous and unstable situation in the Middle East, and the economic crisis affecting the international community are only some of the manifestations of the deterioration of coexistence that we are witnessing today.
287.	Compounding this state of affairs, which is serious enough in itself, is the incapacity of the United Nations to act and create a climate of minimum consensus suggesting some real and just solutions. All of us are responsible for this situation, some for excessive politicization in our debates and others for believing that, to resolve it, a solution must be sought outside the institutions we created precisely to deal with the type of difficulties we face today. Instead of seeking a solution to these mistaken tendencies, new steps are taken, actions which disregard all the accumulated experience of the existing organizations. These new measures prove to be failures within a short time since the root of the problem is the lack of political will to apply them.
288.	A dangerous feeling of disenchantment with the United Nations and discouragement because of the impotence of international organizations invade our peoples. They see no signs of definitive contributions to ensuring peace.
289.	We must recognize the fact that there is a reason for this feeling of discouragement. Through our speeches, through our agreements and resolutions, we have been creating an imaginary world of solutions which have nothing to do with the torrent of actions which reality precipitates around us.
290.	Peace is spoken of, but there is no action to bring it about; the law is mentioned as the basis for our coexistence, but it is not upheld in action; the principle of non-intervention is proclaimed, but in practice there is outright intervention; we mention the word progress, but we do not create international conditions conducive to attaining that goal; we emphasize international cooperation in words while we observe clear demonstrations of the fact that it is entering a twilight period.
291.	In this general debate we have the obligation to reflect on this failure and to ask ourselves some questions. Are the principles of the Charter of the United Nations no longer applicable? Can we obtain peace without universal respect for them.
292.	My Government is convinced that the problem lies not in the field of principles but in the political incapacity to give them meaning and in the poor use made of the possibilities which the United Nations system offers. The problem is the lack of political will and appropriate conduct to implement the possibilities offered us by the Charter.
293.	I mentioned earlier that the deterioration of international cooperation was a symptom of the current situation, a grave process in the face of the accentuated turbulence observed in the world economy.
294.	The 1980-1983 recession has been the most protracted and perhaps the most profound of the last 50 years. Trade and international finance have undergone tremendous pressures. Signs of recovery are now being noted in the economies of the industrial nations. However, the lack of international cooperation not merely hinders the extension of this recovery to the developing nations, but contributes to the persistence of the crisis among them with serious implications for their social and political stability.
295.	This situation has particularly affected Latin America. The crisis in our region is to be seen in the contraction of productive capacity, in the deterioration of the terms of trade, in the enormous increase in unemployment, in the squandering of the region's economic potential, in the inflationary tendencies which have spread in some countries and in the net decline in the inflow of capital.
296.	Nevertheless, the symptom and the cause which contributed to provoking the crisis are embodied in the overwhelming foreign debt affecting the greater part of the region.
297.	The Latin American countries have made an enormous readjustment effort to overcome the crisis. They have assumed, at great sacrifice to their peoples, their responsibility to initiate a process of economic recovery. But external factors predominate in the crisis, imposing impossible constraints on their efforts to overcome the economic situation in which they find themselves. We are limited by factors that are beyond our control.
298.	The high interest rates and the stiffening of the financial terms for credit have produced a substantial change in the nature of the debt previously contracted, resulting in a decapitalization process in Latin America which threatens our development and progress.
299.	In order for Latin America to continue to honour its commitments it must, through international cooperation, find solutions that respect the interests of all and prevent the responsibility for solving the crisis from falling back solely upon the peoples of Latin America. In this regard, international trade represents an irreplaceable element. The reiterated manifestations of protectionism which have occurred in the industrial nations constitute a grave threat which not only conspires against the recovery of the international economy but also adversely affects harmony among peoples.
300.	There is little room for optimism in view of these realities. The signs we perceive in the world panorama are rather pessimistic. However, we want to overcome this state of affairs. We trust that rationality will finally prevail for the good for all.
301.	In addition, we believe that to surmount the present difficulties we must act with objectivity and draw inspiration from the great principles contained in the Charter of the United Nations, as noted by the Secretary General in his report on the work of the Organization.
302.	In this hour of international uncertainty, my Government reiterates its unreserved support for these fundamental principles and calls upon all to join in defining the routes which could bring us closer to a renewed role for multilateral diplomacy and for the United Nations. In this regard, I wish to express my country's support for some measures which I consider are inspired by the principles contained in the Charter, such as the continuing activities of the Secretary General on behalf of peace and, more particularly, his action with regard to the conflicts affecting the Persian Gulf, the Middle East, Cyprus, Afghanistan and Kampuchea. These are activities which my country considers of outstanding importance and which it supports.
303.	In this connection, my country wishes to refer to some aspects of the international panorama which cause concern to the international community and are of particular concern to Chile.
304.	As an active and longstanding member of the United Nations Council for Namibia, we see with some uneasiness the perpetuation a situation which the entire international community, without exception, has condemned. Again we associate ourselves with those who call for the implementation of Security Council resolution 435 (1978).
305.	In the Middle East, it is essential to promote realistic initiatives for peace. In order to create an atmosphere conducive to a resolution of the problem, it is necessary to take a realistic and moderate approach, discarding heightened rhetoric. Chile maintains that it is essential to recognize the right of all States in the region to exist within secure and recognized borders; it is essential to make the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination effective, including the right to establish a State, and, in accordance with Security Council resolution 242 (1967), it is essential to ensure that Israel withdraw from the occupied territories.
306.	The conflict afflicting the Middle East is of special concern and grief to my country. The friendly relations existing between my Government and the States of that region are not the only link that keeps us close. We are also bound, with a special feeling of affection, to the numerous children of the Jewish and Arab peoples who, having established themselves in my country, have come to form part of Chilean society and have enriched it with their culture, traditions and enthusiastic contribution to the nation's development.
307.	The cases of Afghanistan and Kampuchea constitute painful examples of the arbitrary use of force and failure to recognize the political independence of those two nations. We join in the international community's condemnation of the violation of the essential rights of those peoples and the resulting mockery of express provisions of the Charter of the United Nations. The violations are all the more serious in that attempt are being made to transform them into	and irreversible situations.
308.	Those of us who firmly believe in the freedom of man, in respect for the sovereignty of nations and in independence, equality and the self-determination of peoples have the duty to denounce the persistent violation of those rights with a firmness arising from a conviction of their inherent validity and to condemn the flagrant aggression to which those peoples have been subjected" We must unite our efforts to prevent an unacceptable increase of these imperialistic actions. Chile reiterates once again its unlimited support for those nations in their effort to establish full sovereignty and calls for the immediate withdrawal of the occupation forces.
309.	Central America is another region where the principle of non-intervention is openly breached. We are witnesses to a drama which feels to us as if it were our own, since it involves sister nations with which Chile is proud to have had a long tradition of friendship. We deplore the fact that that noble principle of the Charter is ignored by those who support actions and ideologies which an extra continental Power is seeking to introduce into our hemisphere against the wishes of the inhabitants. For that reason we have expressed our determined support for the efforts of the Contadora Group, an initiative which we are certain will find the formula for preserving the values of peace, freedom and human dignity for the region.
310.	The peaceful settlement of disputes is another basic principle. Justice and law are the only means available to the international community for adopting just, equitable and honourable solutions for the parties involved when international conflicts arise. It is in that sense that we look forward to the success of the negotiating effort entrusted to the Secretary General in regard to the South Atlantic conflict between the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom.
311.	Also in connection with our concern for peace, we wish to create with our neighbour and sister republic, Argentina, all the conditions that will permit us to live in peace, while developing and expanding our respective potentials. Impelled by Chile's traditional devotion to law and justice, we had recourse to the mediation of Pope John Paul II to obtain a final solution to our southern dispute. With the aid of the Holy Father, we have made important progress towards the happy termination of those differences. I am confident that the historical imperative of peace, something never refuted by the facts, will once again prevail among us. The people and the Governments of Chile and Argentina share this sentiment of brotherhood very profoundly. At the current concluding stage of papal mediation, it is now for us to develop and safeguard this general pacifist conviction, which is so deeply rooted on both sides of the Andes and which is the fruit of a glorious shared history. Two neighbouring nations, possessing one of the longest frontiers in the world, have not had a war in 170 years. Is this not a living example of the fact that peace is a matter of political will and historical responsibility.
312.	If we wish the actions of the United Nations to be of assistance in strengthening universal peace, we must concern ourselves with guaranteeing within the Organization the full applicability of the principle of universality. Therefore, in conformity with the Charter, we believe that all countries that wish to participate in the General Assembly should be able to do so. We hope that in the near future both Koreas will be present in this Hall as full Members. We also champion a dialogue between those nations, free from foreign intervention, that will permit resolution of the difficult situation in the Korean peninsula, thus contributing to peace in the region.
313.	Chile, an Antarctic country, exercises sovereignty over part of that territory by virtue of legal and historical titles, geographical proximity and the longstanding presence and activities of its people. We view with special concern diverse measures tending to weaken the Antarctic Treaty. This instrument has proved in the course of its implementation to be one of the most effective multilateral agreements ever reached. The Treaty and the system it generated have made possible the maintenance of that continent as the only one that is free of nuclear arms and where peace, ecological purity and scientific cooperation among different countries can prevail.
314.	Initiatives which could lead to the dismantling of the Antarctic system would constitute a disastrous precedent for the United Nations, one which would open the doors to penetration of the region by ideological, political, economic and military disputes which now cast so many shadows over the future of mankind. My Government is convinced that the Antarctic Treaty itself and its complementary conventions possess sufficient amplitude, flexibility and openness to allow for adequate improvement of its performance.
315.	Everything relating to nuclear weapons and tests is of serious concern to my country. We belong to a region which has lived free from the scourge of atomic weapons and the danger of nuclear stockpiles. We wish to maintain this situation, which is in keeping with our peaceful objectives and which serves to obviate the need for tests of that kind. For that reason we reiterate here the declarations we made in February and March of 1984, together with Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, member countries with Chile of the South Pacific Permanent Commission.
316.	Turning to other matters, my country attaches equally outstanding importance to the treatment of terrorism, a scourge of this era, which gravely endangers the lives and security of individuals, reaping a growing toll of innocent victims, flagrantly violating the most fundamental human rights and threatening the internal peace of States. It is the inescapable duty of the Members of the United Nations to lend their firmest support to all internationally agreed measures which seek effectively to counteract this despicable and criminal method of warfare and to prevent the propagation or facilitation, from within their own borders, of terrorist activities in other regions. Those who commit or support the commission of such criminal acts deserve exemplary punishment. We believe that international condemnation of terrorism must be absolute and punishment universal. Equivocal positions support and stimulate violence. Terrorism is terrorism; there is no distinction and there are no extenuating circumstances. It is a criminal and mad device that makes use of the lowest instincts of man.
317.	In this regard I cannot fail to mention the despicable crime against humanity committed at the United States Embassy in Beirut.
318.	We reiterate that each country has the sovereign right to enact the legislation it deems most suitable for protecting its people against this threat. At the same time, we maintain that the community of States has the right and the duty to promulgate international norms to facilitate the eradication of this scourge and the punishment of the guilty.
319.	Having reviewed the principles which inspire and shape Chile's activities in the international Held as well as the problems of the world community and of our region which are of particular concern to us, I should like to say a few words about the constitutional situation in my country.
320.	The Chilean Government is committed to a clear and definitive process of democratic consolidation. The different steps to be taken are provided for in the existing political Constitution, which was approved by a great majority of the Chilean people and came into effect on 11 March 1981. Our goal could be no other, because devotion to the rule of law and to democracy constitute an essential ingredient in the character of Chile and the Chilean tradition. That democratic system of government, which we must endeavour to improve and strengthen in the light of the needs and threats of the modem world, is firmly rooted in the soul of all Chileans—our armed forces, our workers and intellectuals, and the young people who will constitute the nation of tomorrow.
321.	We are constantly receiving messages expressing anxiety for Chile to accelerate its process of institutional evolution. Those who offer us such counsel forget that Chilean democracy, a model in America, was destroyed by totalitarian forces which took advantage of precisely those characteristics which are today debilitating the Western world. Experience has demonstrated to us how defenceless democracy can be if those who do not believe in it and are prepared to undermine it by their every action are permitted to operate freely from within.
322.	We do not want this to occur again. That is why we are taking a gradual, firm and sure path in a process which we consider the most suitable for the consolidation of a democracy properly, protected from those disruptive agents which acted in the past. We do not wish to repeat the experiences of other countries which in their haste failed to ensure solid foundations for the system they desired and ended up with an ephemeral dream. That is not the fate we wish for our country. The Chilean approach has been determined by the Chilean people and therefore constitutes the only prerequisite which the Government has to fulfil in order to attain solid and permanent results.
323.	Clear manifestations of our progress are the press freedom that exists in the country, the organization of labour and its active participation in national affairs and the forthcoming promulgation of political laws which will consolidate this process.
324.	On behalf of the Government and people of Chile, I ask this world Assembly for the respect merited by the process which our people, pursuant to their sovereign right, freely chose to adopt in order to establish a renewed, modern democracy, a democracy which is not an empty word but a real element in the preservation of our national identity, thus contributing to international peace and security.


Permit me at the outset, Sir, to extend to you the warm congratulations of the entire Gambian delegation on your unanimous election to the high office of President of the thirty-ninth session of the General Assembly. It is for us a source of immense satisfaction and pride to see the presidency of the Assembly entrusted to a son of Africa as distinguished as yourself and representing the sister republic of Zambia, with which my country enjoys the most warm and friendly relations and whose commitment to the principles and objectives of the United Nations is exemplary. Your own broad international experience and proven diplomatic skills enjoy the highest respect—nowhere more so than here in New York, where you have distinguished yourself in your dual capacity as representative of your country to the United Nations and as President of the United Nations Council for Namibia. I place absolute confidence in your ability to guide the deliberations of this important session to a successful conclusion and wish to assure you in this regard that you may count at all times upon the full co-operation of the Gambian delegation.
87.	I also wish to pay a tribute to your able predecessor, Mr. Jorge Illueca, of Panama, who presided with admirable skill over the proceedings of the thirty-eighth session. There can be no more eloquent testimony to his statesmanship and political acumen than his elevation earlier this year to the presidency of the Republic of Panama.
88.	I also wish to pay a tribute to the Secretary- General for the untiring efforts which he has continued to exert in pursuit of the objectives of the Organization. He has, moreover, taken a particular interest in the problems of Africa. This was exemplified by the special initiative which he launched earlier this year in response to the economic and social crisis afflicting our continent.
89.	Finally, I take great pleasure in congratulating the Government and people of Brunei Darussalam upon their accession to independence, and in welcoming the recent admission of that country as the 159th Member State of the Organization.
90.	Four decades have now elapsed since the genesis of the United Nations at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in Washington, D.C. Few, if any, will disagree that the intervening years have witnessed tremendous progress in terms of both the establishment and development of the Organization and the progressive universalization of its membership. However, as we look forward to the International Year of Peace, which will be marked by the fortieth session of the General Assembly, the moment is propitious for a review of the Organization's record in terms of the principles and objectives set out in the Charter.
91.	Such an exercise provides few grounds for complacency. The dismal state of relations between the super-Powers has spurred on the already frenzied arms race, thereby heightening international tension and exposing the entire planet to the constant threat of an all-engulfing nuclear apocalypse. In international relations, meanwhile, the peaceful settlement of disputes remains the exception rather than the norm. As a result, while we may have been spared a direct military confrontation between the most powerful nations, regional conflicts often of considerable ferocity darken the horizon on every continent. In the area of fundamental freedoms, to which my Government attaches the highest importance, the most basic human rights remain more honoured in their violation than in their observance. And, notwithstanding the impressive advances that man's creative genius has continued to achieve in the field of science and technology, poverty, hunger and disease remain the miserable lot of the overwhelming majority of the Earth's inhabitants.
92.	These are the principal symptoms of the crisis of multilateralism addressed by the Secretary-General in his report on the work of the Organization. There can be no more graphic illustration of this disturbing phenomenon than the deteriorating situation in South Africa. There, a racist minority regime, representing the very antithesis of the principles and objectives enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, has continued its ruthless and systematic oppression of the majority non-white population.
93.	A year ago, the racist regime adopted a series of so-called constitutional reforms aimed in reality at entrenching white supremacy at home while at the same time rehabilitating Pretoria's pariah image abroad. Although cautious support was expressed by a small number of South Africa's traditional partners, those constitutional manoeuvres were immediately and categorically rejected by the General Assembly. Disregarding this almost unanimous verdict, South Africa proceeded last August to organize sham elections for seats in the Asian and Coloured chambers of its new tricameral Parliament. Appropriately, this electoral farce was condemned as null and void by both the General Assembly and the Security Council. Any residual doubts regarding Pretoria's real intentions will have been firmly dispelled both by the climate of harassment and intimidation in which the so-called elections were conducted and by the vicious repression which continues to be unleashed systematically against any opposition to the new constitutional dispensations.
94.	The Assembly has been seized of Pretoria's apartheid policies since its inaugural session, some 40 years ago. Evidently, more forceful measures are now called for to ensure the elimination of this barbarous and inhuman system, which my delegation unreservedly condemns. At the same time, I wish to reaffirm my Government's total support for the heroic struggle for liberation being waged by the African National Congress of South Africa and the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania.
95.	My Government is no less preoccupied by the situation in the Territory of Namibia, which has now endured 100 uninterrupted years of foreign occupation and colonial domination. Although the adoption in 1978 of the United Nations plan for Namibia appeared to portend an early end to South Africa's illegal occupation, the racist regime has since then invented one pretext after another for delaying its withdrawal from the Territory.
96.	In the first quarter of this year, we witnessed certain developments in the southern African sub region which were hailed in some quarters as a diplomatic watershed heralding an early transition to independence in Namibia. Predictably, such optimism has proved unwarranted, for Namibia remains under the oppressive yoke of South Africa's occupation. Meanwhile, the racist regime has formally reaffirmed its commitment to the principle of "linkage", which was categorically rejected by the Security Council in its resolution 539 (1983). This situation represents a brazen affront to the authority of the United Nations and is clearly unacceptable. More-over, as past experience has demonstrated, it poses a grave threat to the security and stability of the entire sub region. South Africa's recalcitrance must therefore be met with appropriately firm action to compel it to withdraw from the Territory, thus enabling the Namibian people, under the dynamic leadership of SWAPO, to exercise freely their inalienable right to self-determination.
97.	In addition to the critical situation in southern Africa, the unity and security of the continent remain threatened by the persistence of a number of other regional disputes. With regard to the situation in Western Sahara, my Government deplores the continued conflict over the issue of self-determination in that Territory. It is our view that the settlement of this dispute can and must be brought about within the framework of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity, whose resolution AHG/Res. 104 (XIX) has already provided the outlines of a negotiated settlement.
98.	With regard to the question of Chad, the Gambia has followed with deep dismay the tragic fratricidal conflict which has denied peace and stability to the people of this Founder Member State of the Organization of African Unity [OAU] since their attainment of independence. My Government fervently hopes, therefore, that recent developments regarding the withdrawal of external forces will contribute to restoring the unity and territorial integrity of the sovereign Republic of Chad.
99.	The highly charged situation in the Middle East represents another issue of grave concern to my Government. Here, the achievement of regional peace and stability remains effectively precluded by the continued frustration of the legitimate nationalist aspirations of the Palestinian people. In the West Bank and Gaza, which represent the last vestiges of the Palestinian State originally envisaged by the General Assembly under its resolution 181 (II), the Arab population continues to endure the rigours of Israeli occupation. In this regard, my Government deplores the illegal settlements policy and condemns, in particular, the organized terrorist activities of Jewish colonists.
100.	Meanwhile, Israel's expansionist ambitions remain apparently limitless. In addition to the West Bank and Gaza, it continues illegally to occupy the Syrian Golan Heights. At the same time, it has, with equal disregard for international law, occupied fully one third of Lebanon's sovereign territory for over 20 months. At its thirty-eighth session, the Assembly endorsed the call for an international peace conference to be attended by the various parties to the Arab-Israeli conflict, including, inter alia, the authentic representative of the Palestinian people, the PLO. The Gambia is firmly convinced that such a conference represents the only prospect of securing the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people and restoring peace and security to this troubled area.
101.	In the eastern Mediterranean, meanwhile, political normalcy has continued to elude the island of Cyprus, with which the Gambia enjoys close ties within the framework of the Commonwealth and the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries. We were therefore disappointed by the breakdown in August last year of the intercommunal talks, and by subsequent unilateral moves regarding the status of the northern portion of the island. However, my Government has noted with appreciation the recent resumption, under the auspices of the Secretary-General, of proximity talks between the representatives of both the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities. We fully support the search for a political solution based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation, which alone can satisfy the legitimate aspirations of the island's two communities.
102.	Elsewhere in the Middle East, the unresolved hostilities in the Persian Gulf, which have now entered their fifth year, continue to provoke the concern of the international community. The Gambia is deeply saddened by this tragic conflict which has pitted against each other two sister Islamic States with which we share the warmest cultural affinities. In addition to the enormous human and material costs, the continuing hostilities represent a grave and pressing danger to international peace and security.
103.	Earlier this year, the President of the Gambia, Elhaji Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, acceded to the chairmanship of the Peace Committee of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, of which my Government has been an active member since 1981. We have since redoubled our efforts in the search for a negotiated settlement. I wish at this point to appeal to the two parties to continue to co-operate fully with the Islamic Peace Committee in order to permit the restoration of lasting peace and stability to this troubled region.
104.	I now turn to the completely unacceptable situation which continues to prevail in Afghanistan, almost six years after the invasion of that non-aligned nation. At its thirty-eighth session, the General Assembly adopted, by a majority even more overwhelming than in previous years, resolution 38/29, which reiterated the call of the community of nations for the immediate withdrawal of foreign troops. Not only have the terms of that resolution been disregarded, but the military occupation of Afghanistan has actually intensified. This was illustrated with ferocious clarity by the massive onslaughts this year in the Panjshir and Shomali valleys, in which thousands of civilians were killed, maimed or displaced.
105.	In recent months, moreover, the army of occupation has expanded the scope of its bloodthirsty activities beyond the territorial limits of Afghanistan, resorting with increasing frequency to attacks upon the territory of the sovereign republic of Pakistan, which already bears the brunt of the refugee problem emanating from this conflict. The Gambia deeply deplores this ominous trend. At the same time, we wish to pay tribute to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Under-Secretary-General Mr. Diego Cordovez, whose indefatigable mediation efforts we continue to follow with the closest interest.
106.	In South-East Asia, the situation in Kampuchea remains equally disturbing. Here, too, the illegal presence of foreign troops has transformed a large section of the population into refugees. This has placed an intolerable burden upon neighbouring countries of first asylum, particularly Thailand. Meanwhile, the serious danger to international peace and security posed by this situation has been demonstrated by the repeated eruption of hostilities along the Thai-Kampuchean border. My Government is of the view that the normalization of this unacceptably volatile situation demands the complete withdrawal of all foreign forces, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the Assembly, thus permitting the Khmer people to determine their own future, through free and fair elections.
107.	On the Korean peninsula, the situation of the divided people of Korea is still a tragic reality. My country reaffirms its position that the reunification of the two Koreas can be achieved only through peaceful and genuine dialogue between the two parties, without external intervention. With the establishment of meaningful dialogue aimed at fostering mutual confidence and improved relations, the cause of the peaceful reunification of the Korean people would be greatly enhanced and tension eliminated from the peninsula.
108.	In Central America, meanwhile, peace and stability remain gravely threatened by the acute tension prevailing in the isthmus. It is the hope of my delegation that a negotiated settlement of the current disputes can be found within the framework of the regional Contadora initiative.
109.	These are some of the more pressing political issues confronting the international community. In addition, however, the Assembly will have to address itself to a host of economic problems which pose no less of a threat to world order, for, although there is now indisputable evidence in the industrialized countries of the North, at least, that the recession is finally drawing to a close, this welcome recovery is unlikely in the present circumstances to be translated into improved living conditions in the developing countries of the South.
110.	Already crippled by the soaring energy costs of the last decade, these countries are now having to grapple with the problem of foreign debt, which, in this period of unprecedentedly high interest rates and currency fluctuations, is further devastating their fragile economies. As a result of this crisis, developing countries have had to adopt severe retrenchment policies, which have necessitated the reduction of social programmes in such essential areas as health, education and housing.
111.	On the African continent, this alarming situation has been further aggravated by the twin ravages of drought and desertification, which now afflict some 24 of our countries. This scourge has drastically reduced agricultural production throughout the region, resulting in a significant decline in export earnings, while at the same time precipitating a widespread food emergency. Paradoxically, therefore, African countries have become net importers of food at a time when their foreign reserve position is at its weakest. Our Governments, of course, realize that the primary responsibility for improving our economies rests with ourselves. It is for this reason that we in the Gambia have recently embarked upon certain internal adjustment measures, while continuing to participate at the sub regional level in such collective development programmes as those of the Permanent Inter-State Committee on Drought Control in the Sahel and the Organization for the Development of the Gambia River Basin.
112.	These vigorous efforts, however, need to be complemented by international assistance and co-operation. Appropriately, international attention has been focused upon the economic and social crisis in Africa since the launching in February of the Secretary-General's timely initiative of which Africa remains deeply appreciative. At the same time, we are grateful for the high priority the international community has continued to accord to this crisis, as exemplified in the statements of solidarity and support emanating from the London Economic Summit and the more recent IMF-World Bank meeting in Washington. Indeed, the decision taken by the Assembly upon the initiative of our confederal partner, the sister republic of Senegal, to inscribe on its agenda the question of "Countries stricken by desertification and drought" is a further manifestation of this encouraging trend.
113.	In this connection, I am pleased to announce that a three-day round-table conference is scheduled to meet at Banjul from 28 to 30 November 1984, under the auspices of the United Nations. Therefore, I avail myself of this opportunity to renew our invitation to the international donor countries, as well as international organizations and agencies concerned with development, and to appeal for generous assistance for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Gambia. It is our ardent hope that the conference will effectively address the medium- term and long-term economic needs of the Gambia, particularly in the sectors of agriculture, transport and communications, and health.
114.	I have dwelt at some length upon the particular concerns of my own country with regard to international economic relations. Our national situation, however, is essentially a microcosm of the economic circumstances of the developing world in general. Concerted international action is, therefore, required to redress the structural imbalances that this generalized pattern clearly reflects. For several years, developing countries have called in vain for the launching of a comprehensive North-South dialogue on the fundamental issues in international economic relations. They have called, in particular, for more equitable terms of trade, increased financial resources for development and a restructuring of the international monetary system, all within the context of a new international economic order. The Gambia remains committed to the early launching of the related global negotiations.
115.	This is the background against which the thirty-ninth session is convening. As custodians of the hopes and aspirations of mankind for peace and social justice, we have the task of translating these ideals into reality. These important responsibilities have assumed a vital urgency at a time of increasing uncertainty for the majority of the human race. I speak of those who live under the threat of war and persecution, of those who languish under the spectre of starvation and disease and of those who continue to eke out a miserable existence unfit for human beings. Let us, therefore, through collective action, rededicate ourselves to the lofty ideals and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, in order to ensure the continued peace and progress of all our peoples.