149.	Late in the day, Mr. President, allow me to add the voice of the Republic of Botswana to those of many others who have already congratulated you on your election to the presidency of the thirty-second session of the General Assembly. May I also express my congratulations to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for his work in the past year. Of him I am qualified to cite living examples of distinguished and objective performance, not only by his person but also by those who work with him. Time and modesty prevail over passion and sentiment, and suffice it therefore for me to congratulate you both, together with your officers and to the same degree the officers who distinguished themselves in looking after our affairs in the past year.
150.	Botswana's adherence to the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter remains firm and unequivocal. The United Nations, despite its limitations, continues to play a vital role in the quest for international peace and security. We note with satisfaction the significant and growing contribution of the non-aligned countries and others to the evolution of the United Nations as an instrument for bringing about a new international economic and social order.
151.	We are conscious of the fact that the United Nations has not always moved with the desired speed and effectiveness to settle crises which threaten world peace. This situation arises because it is often too difficult to strike the correct and workable balance between the sovereign rights and interests of Member States and the principles and purposes of the Charter. It is clear, therefore, that the effectiveness of the world body and the enhancement of its role will depend not only upon the restructuring of the Organization, important though this is, but ultimately upon the respect it enjoys in the eyes of the individual States Members, and their readiness to comply with its resolutions and implement its decisions,
152.	Equally important is the fact that if the United Nations is truly to serve man everywhere then it must aspire to universal membership. This goal has sometimes been made more difficult to attain because of the abuse of the veto. The Republics of Angola and Viet Nam were for some time denied their rightful place in this body in that manner. We therefore implore those who wield the veto to refrain from using it to serve narrow political interests and to use it only if it is in the interest of the world community as a whole.
153.	We are happy to welcome to this family of nations the Republics of Djibouti and Viet Nam. We are confident that the new Members will make a significant contribution to the ideals and objectives of the Charter of our Organization.
154.	During the thirty-first session the General Assembly adopted resolution 31/178, which reaffirmed the commitment of the international community to the establishment of a new and more just world economic order. Furthermore, the General Assembly also decided that it would undertake during the course of this session a review of progress made to date towards building a new international economic order.
155.	The biggest achievement over the past several years of multiple, lengthy and often contentious meetings has been the virtually universal acceptance of three reciprocal principles, namely, first, that existing world arrangements for production, trade and finance have not brought and are not likely to bring about a world in which men and nations can make themselves self-supporting; secondly, that, although it is unlikely that the distribution of resources will be equalized and the gap closed between those who have more and those who have less, there will be no justice and little peace until all men and nations have the opportunity to make themselves self-supporting; and thirdly, that therefore the old order must change and a new one be created and tried.
156.	The fact that there will be shifts in what is produced, how it is produced, where it is produced and who produces it is accepted, and all nations now agree, albeit some reluctantly, to sit down to discuss not whether but how to change the old order and build the new. That consensus is no mean accomplishment and is one for which the developing countries may rightly take most of the credit. It has been their initiative, articulateness and persistence, often in the teeth of very strong opposition, that has brought this recognition among the developed nations that the present arrangements will not do and that reform must replace modification.
157.	Of course, we in the developing world are impatient to translate principles into practice now, immediately, to evolve new organizations and arrangements and get on with what perhaps euphemistically is called structural transformation. Our constituents have waited too long and they are hungry, and we know that, as the song goes, a hungry man is an angry man". Yet the developed countries seem wary about giving up the old arrangements, however inequitable, for ones not yet defined. They may fear unemployment, shortages and higher prices for their constituents, while these prevail in the fragile economies of the developing world. Our impatience, and their impatience with our impatience, will no doubt continue until men and nations can become self-supporting.
158.	The establishment of principles as agreed on at the seventh special session, or of targets as set out in the Lima Declaration and Plan of Action, should create no hiatus. For Botswana it is a matter of serious concern and disappointment that the spirit of consensus which characterized the seventh special session is being dissipated as some nations appear not only to delay but to backslide. Targets we have, but the process of constructing strategies which move us towards those goals should be hastened. Our impatience should not be mistaken for lack of realism, however. We are pragmatic enough to appreciate that transformation does not connote some sudden total turnabout and that turning vision into reality is a building process. Let me concede that, although there has been no dramatic transformation, we are beginning to see the emergence of multiple interests which go beyond the simple counterpoise of the developed as against the developing. Multiple roles will have to be identified even among international institutions, developed market economies, centrally-planned economies and developing countries. Bringing this about will require from us all creation, compromise, co-operation and confrontation. We shall miss our objective if we stand off. If we succeed, the benefits will enhance the existence of us all.
159.	I must temper my inspiration with a return to our traditional impatience as I look briefly over some of the recent past and forthcoming efforts to chart the new course.

160.	The news about the outcome of the North-South dialogue in Paris is too recent to require any elaboration on my part. We have noted with regret that little agreement on substantive matters was reached. My delegation is heartened however by the agreement in principle on the establishment of a common fund the purposes and objectives of which are to be the subject of negotiation at the session of UNCTAD in November. The acceptance by the developed countries of the idea of a common fund is a welcome gesture. However, such sporadic gestures are not in themselves enough to redress the perilous position of the developing countries or appease our determination to secure basic changes.
161.	We welcome the intention to resume next month the negotiations on the Integrated Programme for Commodities and the common fund. We urge all the parties concerned to work towards sufficient agreement on the principles so that more detailed work to elaborate the programme may commence without delay. In this connexion my delegation hopes that the active interest in the scheme being shown by other groupings of States such as the Commonwealth augurs well for the success of the meeting.
162.	Botswana 'egrets the fact that one again there has been very little movement in the multilateral trade negotiations in Geneva towards an expansion of trade which brings significant benefits to countries of the third world. We hope that this Assembly will urge the participating countries to work towards a very early conclusion of those negotiations.
163.	Allow me to make a few comments concerning the work of UNIDO. We note with satisfaction the significant progress that has been achieved by this organization on its projected programme of work for 1977 and, in particular, the successful conclusion of the work on the conversion of UNIDO into a specialized agency of the United Nations. I believe we shall have the pleasant task during this session of adopting that constitution so that UNIDO can be formally launched as a specialized agency.
164.	The drawing up of the Constitution of UNIDO should not be regarded as an end in itself. The objective of the exercise of converting UNIDO into a specialized agency was to produce an organization which would be effective and more responsive to the needs for generating industry in the developing countries and sharing more effectively industrial know-how among all nations. The conversion is now accomplished and what remains to be done is to put the new UNIDO to work. My delegation calls upon the Assembly to give UNIDO all the material assistance that it needs to accomplish its enormous task.
165.	I note that UNIDO has made progress in other fields as well. First, my Government has followed with interest the discussions which have been going on in Geneva in the area of transfer of technology. In this connexion the establishment of an industrial and technological information bank, even though on a pilot basis, is a welcome development. We have also noted with interest the launching in Lagos in May this year of the Association of African Industrial Technology Organizations. The launching of this regional organization in such a vital area is indeed a development in the right direction.
166.	I would like, in passing, to sound a word both of support and caution in connexion with the system of consultations and co-operation between non-governmental organizations and various United Nations bodies including "JNIDO. The non-governmental organizations have a genuine contribution to offer, but care should be taken to ensure that the meetings should not make an inordinate call on the limited resources at the disposal of the United Nations. I have noted from the document that was produced at the end of the meeting of 24 and 25 May that the non-governmental organizations expect UNIDO to organize meetings on a regular basis My delegation would like to suggest that the non-governmental organizations should, if possible, shoulder the responsibility of organizing the meetings so that the resources of UNIDO can be devoted to tasks set before it by this Assembly.
167.	The political situation has not improved much over the past several months. Local wars erupt at a frequency that poses a danger to regional and international stability. It is important that these skirmishes should not be fanned into major wars by big Power rivalries.
168.	Much remains to be done in Cyprus, the Middle East, southern Africa, the field of disarmament and in the dialogue between the developer and developing countries regarding the new international economic order. Indeed, in some of these areas such as the Middle East and South Africa, the situation has further deteriorated. In his lucid and objective report on the work of the Organization, the Secretary-General stresses the urgency of the problems in these words:
"... the dangers of delay and the risk of a rapid deterioration which might destroy the possibility of peaceful solutions have become more apparent than ever."
This, in our view, is an accurate appraisal of the international situation and we derive no comfort from it.
169.	The primary concern of the United Nations is to maintain international peace and security, a goal illusive and difficult of attainment because of mistrust and dishonesty in our political relationships and political dealings. The paradox is that everyone talks about the brotherhood of man, the desirability of international peace and security, coexistence among nations, and international co-operation, while at the same time States are engaged in the political subversion of other States, there are military invasions and territorial annexations, the arms race proceeds apace and deadly weapons ^re being manufactured and stockpiled. Nor can we hope to achieve and maintain international peace and security in a world where the majority of humanity lacks the barest necessities of life and where racial and other forms of domination have not been completely eradicated.
170.	It is a sad indictment of our times that while mankind yearns for the improvement of the quality of life, billions are being spent on armaments. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reveals that in 1976 the world spent about $334 billion on armaments. Two major alliances, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the States parties to the Warsaw Treaty, spent about 70 per cent of this staggering sum between them. By comparison, the WHO budget for1977 is a paltry $147 million! This is a shocking manifestation of deranged and distorted priorities, especially at a time when the international community is striving for a new international economic order. In addition to the disconcerting stockpiling of nuclear arsenals there in even the reality of their proliferation.
171.	This Assembly might wonder why a small underdeveloped country such as Botswana trespasses on the preserve of the mighty, instead of concerning itself with agriculture and the raising of beef cattle-. The reason is that we in southern Africa are brought into the orbit of a nuclear threat from South Africa. I shall have the opportunity later in this statement to comment further on how this new development affects my country. For now, Botswana  wishes solemnly to draw the attention of those who have made it possible for South Africa to acquire nuclear capability by providing it with nuclear material and technology to the perils that this new development poses for Africa and to hold them criminally responsible for whatever disastrous consequences might flow from their action.
172.	We feel that the time is long overdue for the implementation of a complete nuclear test ban, including atmospheric and underground tests.
173.	Disarmament is the concern of all nations regardless of their size, wealth or technological advancement, and our Organization should play its full role in the search for solutions. For this reason Botswana joined the other non-aligned countries in calling for a special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament. We regard the special session as a necessary prelude to, and not necessarily a substitute for, a world disarmament conference.
174.	The two super-Powers have special responsibility for the future of the world. They should take the lead in disarmament, especially nuclear disarmament, if we are to ensure the continuity of organic and other forms of life on our planet.
175.	Peace continues to elude the people of Cyprus. The territorial integrity and non-alignment of Cyprus continue to be violated despite the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and the Security Council. About 45 per cent of Cyprus is under the occupation of foreign troops without the consent of the Cypriot Government. There is growing danger that, unless a solution to the problem is found soon, the occupation will become permanent and result in the partitioning of Cyprus on ethnic lines, contrary to General Assembly resolution 3212 (XXIX) and Security Council resolution 365 (1974). This body has called for an end to unilateral actions that could adversely affect the success of the negotiations. We once again call for a just solution to the question of Cyprus, a solution which will ensure the territorial integrity of that country and relieve both communities of the anxieties caused by mutual suspicion and mistrust. We request the Secretary- General and his Special Representative in Cyprus to continue to explore all avenues which might lead to a just and lasting solution, and thus reduce tension in that area.
176.	The Middle East continues to be an area of conflict and a threat to international peace and security. Contrary to the principle of non-acquisition of land by force, Israel continues illegally to set up settlements on, and even extend its laws to, the Arab territories it has occupied since 1967. This action is in defiance of the Security Council resolutions 242(1967) and 338(1973) and other United Nations resolutions calling for withdrawal to the 1967 borders. We recognize the complexities of the problem. The state of affairs fills one with apprehension that the parties to the conflict may harden their portions and leave no room for flexibility and the creation of an atmosphere conducive to peace negotiations without which hostilities cannot end. We believe that the question of the Palestine Liberation Organization is central to any peaceful settlement in the region. The United Nations has recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and it is therefore imperative that the Palestine Liberation Organization, together with Israel and the neighbouring Arab States, should participate in the Geneva Peace Conference on the Middle East if an enduring and just solution to the problem is to be found. We call for the creation of a Palestinian homeland without delay just as we recognize the right of the State of Israel to exist.
177.	The question of Belize continues to concern my delegation. The people of Belize are entitled to self- determination. We call upon the Government of the United Kingdom, as the administering Power, to act in close consultation with the Governments of Guatemala and Belize to resolve this problem speedily so that the people of Belize may exercise their right to self-determination and independence.
178.	Botswana feels strongly about world problems other than the ones I have just discussed. France continues to violate the unity and territorial integrity of the Comoros by its occupation of Mayotte. Botswana's position on this issue is unequivocal. We call upon France to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Comoros.
179.	The continued presence of foreign troops in Korea delays negotiations leading to the unification of that country, and hence the reduction of tension. Botswana calls for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Korea if unification of the country is to be hastened. It should be the Koreans—and they alone—who should determine their political direction.
180.	The problem of Namibia persists despite the far- reaching concessions made by SWAPO in its quest for a peaceful settlement and independence. The armed struggle continues and is likely to increase in intensity unless South Africa abandons its hard-line attitude concerning the withdrawal of its troops and their replacement by a peace-keeping force under the supervision of the United Nations, and desists from creating new problems such as the question of Walvis Bay.
181.	Africa has often criticized South Africa's trading partners and military allies for their failure to exert the maximum influence possible to bring about change in southern Africa. It has been a matter of great concern and deep disappointment to us that the denial of human rights to millions of Africans in the minority-ruled States of southern Africa could evoke only mild resentment in the
West. The efforts now being deployed by the five Western members of the Security Council in exploring ways for achieving a peaceful negotiated settlement in Namibia encourage my country to believe that a change of attitude may have come. We welcome this initiative and we also acknowledge with appreciation the readiness of the Nordic countries to offer their services within the framework of United Nations resolutions, in particular Security Council resolution 385(1976), to facilitate a peaceful transition. Nothing less than genuine independence for the people of Namibia will be acceptable to the international community.
182.	The way to a peaceful transition, as we see it, lies in the release of detainees, the guaranteed safe return of refugees and exiles, free political activity by all Namibians in a country rid of the fear of South African occupying security forces, and adequate provision for the maintenance of law and order by a United Nations peace-keeping force. These are modest conditions which should be acceptable to all parties concerned to ensure that the people of Namibia, without intimidation from any quarter, exercise their unimpeded rights to self-determination. South Africa should reconsider its past opposition to these conditions and allow the people of Namibia to progress to independence without further delay and loss of life.
183.	Twelve years have elapsed since Southern Rhodesia was illegally declared independent. The problem is still with us despite many attempts in the past to resolve it. It deteriorates progressively and the repression of the majority by the minority has increased, as has racial discrimination. The regime has now resorted to the tactic of promoting internal differences in the liberation movement, discrediting some and commending others as reasonable and amenable to an internal settlement.
184.	But the victims of repression and discrimination long ago reached the limits of their endurance and have increasingly resisted oppression. There are those who persistently admonish the people of Zimbabwe against the use of violent means to achieve their independence. The people of Zimbabwe have for many years sought, without success, to resolve the problem peacefully. They resorted to violence because all avenues of peaceful resistance had been closed to them. We in Africa support them. The restoration of their dignity enhances our own.
185.	Reactions to the Anglo-American proposals on Rhodesia are pouring in from both inside Rhodesia itself and the outside world. There is no need for me to emphasize that such reactions are varied and sum up very eloquently the dilemmas, inconsistencies and contradictions which beset the Zimbabwe scene. Suffice it to say that Botswana cherishes no desire to interfere in the internal affairs of Zimbabwe. Our involvement in the liberation struggle is thrust upon us by the fact of geography, the reality of history and our abhorrence of oppression and racism. With the rest of Africa we support the armed struggle as prosecuted by the Patriotic Front in Zimbabwe and shall continue to do so for as long as the minority racist regime in Salisbury makes it difficult to reach an agreed settlement.
186.	The Anglo-American proposals would not have been brought forward but for the persistence and growing success of the liberation movement. In the view of my country, it would be premature to acclaim or condemn the proposals as they stand. They will be counted successful only if all the parties concerned can use them as a basis for negotiating the transition to independence, free elections based on universal adult suffrage and a society in which all the people participate. They will have served no useful purpose if they fail.
187.	Yes, Botswana regards the proposals as a basis for negotiations by all concerned. We consider negotiations as an opportunity to examine the proposals carefully, constructively to amend, adjust or even restructure them as appropriate in the search for an acceptable solution. We therefore exhort all the people of Zimbabwe to use the proposals to negotiate and establish the vital foundation of enduring nationhood whose destiny transcends the mortal life and personal subjective interests of contemporary men and women.
188.	We welcome Britain's effort to reassume its role as the colonial Power to bring Rhodesia to an orderly transition, majority rule and independence.
189.	When the problems of Zimbabwe and Namibia have been resolved there will still remain the problem of South Africa-apartheid and racism and what they connote. This old problem is progressively compounded by the many inhumane laws enacted to support the system. It is complicated by the increasing resistance to it by the oppressed people of that country.
190.	Pliny, a first-century Roman natural historian, is reported to have remarked "Ex Africa semper ali quid novi" ("There is always something new from Africa"). Had he lived in our day he would no doubt have said "... out of southern Africa".
191.	When we met at the thirty-first session of the General Assembly the tragedy that is Soweto was one of our major preoccupations. Schoolchildren had taken to the streets and defied in broad daylight the armoury assembled for their subjugation. We know the record of casualties: hundreds lost their lives. That did not deter the thousands who continue to challenge the legal instruments of their oppression. When that happened, the world shuddered— civilized standards, the brotherhood of man, the sanctity of human life-loud protestations and condemnations rose but then died down; trade, treaty and other relations continued.
192.	The Transkei bantustan was about to be granted bogus independence last year—a summation of racism and apartheid. The OAU and the United Nations reacted strongly to that strange form of nation-building— Balkanization rather than unification, encouraged and legalized secession in the place of integration and cohesion-a new concept ex Africa.
193.	The fears of Africa that the creation of bantustan states would cause problems for the people of southern Africa have been confirmed. The Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act has deprived the people of the Transkei and everybody else anywhere who are ethnically classified as Xhosa of their rights as nationals of South Africa; they have become aliens in the country of their birth. The Kingdom of Lesotho has already had occasion to complain to the Security Council about the problems arising from the creation of a Bantustan state on its borders with South Africa.
194.	As we meet at this thirty-second session of the General Assembly the tragedy of Soweto continues, and many who had the courage to associate, themselves with protests are either refugees or prisoners—if the guns of the Apartheid State and the inexplicable accidents in mysterious circumstances have not claimed their lives. We think in particular of Steven Biko. He has joined Chief Luthuli, Joseph M. Mdluli and many other freedom fighters.
195.	Now Bophuthatswana, another affront to the dignity of sovereignty, is hoisting flags and bunting, building dais and stadium to become yet another client state-the brain-child of implacable racism and a symbol of the enduring myth of white superiority. The problems which the creation of that state will cause Botswana are, as in the case of Lesotho and the Transkei, many and serious. We view the establishment of such states on our borders as a deliberate act designed to shift the focus of strife from South Africa itself to border conflicts and tensions which are sure to arise.
196.	Rumours of the demarcation of a nuclear testing area in the Kalahari region of Namibia are rife. Botswana does not possess the technical capability to verify, confirm or deny such reports. However, Owen Horwood, the South African Minister of Finance, was recently reported as having said that South Africa reserves the right to use its nuclear potential for other than peaceful purposes to suit its own needs. South Africa is not a signatory of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
197.	Of one thing we are certain, that is, Botswana shares the Kalahari semi-desert with Namibia and South Africa. We therefore view with apprehension and concern any nuclear tests there as a danger to the health and security of the people of Botswana. We are informed by those who know that fall-out material from nuclear explosions can be lethal. If indeed the Kalahari is to become a nuclear testing area, I wish to state categorically that Botswana has not been consulted and that we take this opportunity to protest in the strongest terms against any such development. Those who encourage nuclear proliferation should provide testing facilities for South Africa in their own countries. If it is indeed true that the Kalahari is to become a nuclear testing area, I here and now give notice that Botswana will bring- a formal protest to this Organization.
198.	Botswana is further concerned at what appears to be some psychological preparation of world opinion for an invasion of Botswana's territory. Rebel Smith has consistently conjured up imaginary nationalist bases in Botswana as a pretext for launching attacks against us. The South African Minister of Justice, Police and Prisons has now also begun to hear noises and to see images resembling nationalist guerrillas in some training bases in Botswana and accused them of committing acts of terror in the urban areas of South Africa. Often, apparitions may be dismissed as symptoms of a congested brain, or manifestations of a guilty mind, or even haunting fears of some impending calamity, bygone days men wore fetishes and talismans, or amulets, or defensive charms and carried mascots to exorcize or propitiate such apparitions, but those seen in this day and age in a country with a massive army and a wide intelligence network, a country with no respect for African life and dignity, a country which claims that its defensible territory extends throughout Africa south of the equator, can bring nothing but serious concern to people in whose country they are alleged to have been seen. Botswana denies here, as it has denied many times before, the existence of any such training bases and issues an open invitation to those who wish to verify their facts to visit Botswana for the purpose.
199.	The foregoing awesome account of the turn of events in South Africa causes concern and fills one with trepidation. The threat to international peace and security has become a reality. The Western Powers, the protection of whose culture and civilization South Africa uses as a pretext, should exert all pressure to bring that country to the realization that the spirit of man struggling for freedom is indestructible and, by that means, return it to the path of peaceful inevitable change.
200.	The international community has for too long engaged in sterile shadow-boxing with the champions of racism and oppression. The efforts of the non-aligned countries and all those who cherish freedom to bring about meaningful change and majority rule and thus restore to the peoples of southern Africa their basic rights have, year after year, been frustrated and obstructed. Botswana prides itself on upholding its fundamental constitutional principles- non-racialism, equality, human rights, free and fair elections, majority rule and the rule of law. What we desire and strive for in Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa is nothing less.


1.	In addressing this Assembly for the first time I should like to acknowledge the honour that this represents for our people. This Assembly embodies the just and profound yearnings of the peoples of the world gathered in the United Nations and is a valuable instrument for surmounting the ills that still affect humanity. In its short but intense history our Organization has already made many contributions towards the solution of problems deriving from situations of injustice and oppression, and from threats to peace and international security.
2.	Mr. President, on behalf of the People's Republic of Mozambique and the Mozambican people, we wish to congratulate you on your election as President of this Assembly and for the way in which you are presiding over the work of this Assembly. Your work for the success of this session is also a valuable contribution to the United Nations that we all wish to see strengthened. Allow me, Mr. President, to recall here the relations of solidarity that have united the peoples of the Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia and the People's Republic of Mozambique since the time of cur national liberation struggle.
3.	We wish to express our appreciation of your predecessor, Mr. Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe, and congratulate him for the successes achieved by the United
Nations during his mandate. The way he conducted the work of the thirty-first session of the Assembly is in the fine tradition of leaders of the Republic of Sri Lanka, a country with which we are associated within the non- aligned movement.
4.	We welcome with great pleasure the admission to the United Nations of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. The historic contribution of the Vietnamese people to the struggle against colonialism and for the liberation of their homeland, and the successive defeats they inflicted on the world's most powerful armies, brought added hope to dominated peoples and opened new perspectives for their struggle. The history of Viet Nam is, therefore, the patrimony of all nations which have freed themselves from the colonial yoke and foreign occupation and which today constitute the vast majority of this Assembly. The place that the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam occupies by right in the United Nations was won by the courage and countless sacrifices of its people in a struggle against continuous aggression over several decades.
5.	With the experience it brings and with its exemplary determination to struggle against injustice and for the dignity of the human being, Viet Nam's presence in the United Nations will certainly enrich the work of the Organization and its actions in favour of freedom, peace and progress for all peoples. The decision to admit the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam represents another victory for the Vietnamese people and for mankind as a whole, and gives meaningful substance to the lofty objectives of this Organization.
6.	We also rejoice, at the admission to the United Nations of yet another African State, the Republic of Djibouti. The independence of Djibouti is the fruit of the courageous determination of its people in its struggle against French colonialism. The role played by the Organization of African Unity should, however, be emphasized, particularly in the final stage of the delicate process of decolonization. Yet another African people has liberated itself from colonial domination and, in joining the community of independent countries, is beginning to build its future in freedom and sovereignty.
7.	The universal dimension that the United Nations acquired by bringing together almost all the independent countries of the world has enabled it to fulfil the deepest aspirations of all peoples for progress, peace and the construction of increasingly just and equitable international relations, and for the affirmation of the rights and dignity of man. Only that dimension will enable States to participate actively in the solution of problems affecting peace and coexistence among nations, and will reinforce the conditions required for the United Nations to achieve the principles and objectives explicitly stated in its Charter.
8.	Through its committees and specialized agencies, the United Nations carries out effective and vigorous actions in the struggle against oppression, humiliation and exploitation, thus contributing to the progress of peoples and to the strengthening of peaceful co-operation among nations.
9.	We support the intensification of such actions, which represent a valuable contribution to the elimination of many of the causes of contemporary conflicts.
10.	The international community has an extremely important role to play in isolating the regimes that persist in oppressing peoples and in practising inhuman policies whose characteristics in some cases have profoundly degrading aspects.
11.	We know how difficult the realization of these principles and objectives has been. The causes of conflicts between men still remain. Social injustice, oppression, humiliation and exploitation continue to exist and, in many cases, give rise, as the only possible solution, to the violent revolt of the oppressed in defence of their legitimate rights.
12.	At other times we see ourselves faced with conflicts provoked and generated by imperialist ambition and the domination of a people, a country or even an entire region.
13.	The rebellion of the colonized peoples against the oppressor regimes and their just struggle for independence have found growing understanding and support within the United Nations.
14.	The presence of many States in this Assembly today bears concrete witness to the contribution of the United Nations towards the fulfilment of the deepest aspirations of the peoples of the world.
15.	The historic resolution 1514 (XV) adopted by the General Assembly on 14 December 1960, recognizing the right to self-determination and independence of peoples under colonial domination, marked a big and important step forward in the achievement of the objectives of the United Nations and was the fruit of the assumption by the international community of its responsibilities.
16.	The history of the liberation struggles of our country is eloquent proof of this. The actions of the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly, the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, the Commission on Human Rights, the Security Council and other organs and specialized agencies brought international recognition to our struggle and denunciation of the massacres and crimes perpetrated by the Portuguese colonialists in Mozambique. Consequently, in 1972, the Frente de Libertagao de Mogambique, the Movimento Popular de Libertagao de Angola and the Partido Africano da Independencia da Guine e Cabo Verde received observer status at the United Nations. The United Nations also gave aid of inestimable value to our people in the field of humanitarian assistance, particularly in literacy programmes and medical care and in the reconstruction of the areas liberated from the colonial administration.
17.	It is with gratitude that we salute and express our appreciation to the African and socialist countries, the movement of the non-aligned countries and the democratic countries and forces throughout the world who supported us in the difficult moments when our very existence as a people was being denied.
18.	The victory of the Mozambican peoples, achieved on 25 June 1975 with the proclamation of the People's Republic of Mozambique, was also a victory for the international community and the result of the firm action of the United Nations.
19.	We wish to salute the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, on his re-election. He was with us in the decisive moments of our diplomatic struggle against Portuguese colonialism, defending the justice of our people's aspirations.
20.	After the decision of the People's Republic of Mozambique to apply fully the sanctions decreed by this Organization against the illegal minority Rhodesian regime and during the aggression of which our country is a victim, the Secretary-General has faithfully interpreted the full meaning of international solidarity with our Government and our people.
21.	Our victory asserts itself today in the coming to fruition of the fundamental objectives for which our people agreed to make so many sacrifices—the creation of a popular democratic State.
22.	On 25 September last all Mozambican citizens began the process of the effective exercise of people's democracy by electing people's assemblies at the local level, in population centers at the base, and at the national level. We are building a new type of State on the ruins of the colonial State. Power belongs to, and is exercised by, the broad masses through the people's assemblies.
23.	This is an unprecedented event in our history and was made possible only by our people's victory over Portuguese colonialism and the revolutionary gains won since the proclamation of independence.
24.	In this way the Mozambican people are constructing their history, building democracy, consolidating the victories they have already achieved and determining their future in "freedom and sovereignty. Allow us to associate the action of the United Nations with this event of such high significance for the Mozambican people.
25.	The present international juncture is eminently favourable to the people's struggle for independence and peace as a result of the successes of national liberation struggles, the consolidation of the socialist camp and the successes of the workers' democratic movements in the capitalist countries. From this point of view the outstanding victories of the peoples of Viet Nam, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Democratic' Kampuchea are a stimulus and a permanent encouragement to all those who struggle for freedom, independence and peace. They prove that imperialism can be defeated on the battlefield.
26.	The liquidation of the oldest and most retrograde colonial empire through the combined efforts of the peoples of Mozambique, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe, and the creation in these countries of sovereign States dedicated to the total liberation of the continent, have profoundly transformed the balance of power in Africa, particularly in southern Africa.
27.	All these factors extend the liberated zone of humanity and create a situation favourable to the full liberation of all peoples from oppression and exploitation. In increasing numbers and with an increasing awareness, the broad masses throughout the world are rising against tyrants, against the exploiting classes, and against monopolies that enslave men, pillage nations and oppress continents.
28.	We shall now touch upon the problem that is of particular concern to the peoples in our area but which is at the same time a source of concern for the international community as a whole, namely, the existence of oppressive and discriminatory regimes in southern Africa and the threat of confrontation that they represent.
29.	The geographic situation and the economic resources of the countries in the area turned them into the object of the greed of the colonial countries which, taking advantage of favourable conditions for the implantation of settlements, established in those countries large colonies of immigrants who exploited the wealth of the subsoil and the soil and the labour of the peoples in the region.
30.	Thus was born the whole complex of white domination in southern Africa which until very recently comprised South Africa, Rhodesia, Namibia, Angola and Mozambique. The highly favourable conditions prevailing in southern Africa as compared with other areas of the world, in particular its mineral and agricultural wealth, led to the settlement of millions of whites in this part of Africa. With the exception of Algeria—and even there to a much smaller extent—no such phenomenon occurred in any other part of our continent. However, we find something rather special in the situation prevailing in southern Africa: it is not the size of the numbers involved but rather the creation of a system of exploitation which has already been set aside by capitalism in the rest of the world, a system characterized by pillage and by the denial to the population of its most elementary human rights.
31.	With different procedures and institutional forms, that was the situation prevailing throughout southern Africa. The patterns of exploitation implanted in southern Africa varied, however, depending on local conditions and the level of development in the colonial countries.
32.	Apartheid, the most extreme and degrading form of domination imposed by force by a Nazi-type regime, reduced black South Africans to the condition of mere instruments of production. This inhuman form of subjection, placed at the service of an aggressive capitalist regime, led to the creation of a bastion of white power in southern Africa. Using an essentially similar system, and with South African support, the settlers of southern Rhodesia, in their unilateral proclamation of independence, sought to extend the power of this racist bastion northwards. Namibia, placed under the Mandate of the Union of South Africa in the days of the League of Nations, was later appropriated by South Africa and integrated into its sphere of economic domination.
33.	Portuguese colonialism, equally dedicated to plunder and to the exploitation of the peoples and wealth of its colonies, could not, however, achieve the same degree of economic and military consolidation owing to the limitations of the colonial State, itself economically underdeveloped. That was the weak link in the chain. On the other side of the barrier are the African peoples-peoples who were refused the status of men among men and lived as peoples without land in their own country, as foreigners in their own homeland, suffering a long history of subjection to massacres over generations.
34.	This is the scenario in which the great confrontations are taking shape, a scenario which now includes even the nuclear threat. The heavy responsibility for preventing the consummation of such threats and for finding the road to peace devolves on all of us, and especially on the United Nations. That road can only be that of just solutions: not a peace that is reached by silencing the shots of rebellion of the oppressed or by gagging the voice of the peoples but the kind of peace that is affirmed by asserting the right of peoples.
35.	We evoke this situation in the framework of new responsibilities and of the consequences of our indifference, of our lack of decision, of the commitment of those whose monopolies enriched themselves at the cost of human suffering. It is therefore among ourselves that we must try to find the answer to the questions which are put to us. How is it possible that a system which is diametrically opposed to the deepest convictions shared by all humanity has been allowed to survive until our times? How is it that a regime like that of Ian Smith,, condemned since its birth and cast aside by the international community, can survive 12 long years despite the condemnation of the international community? How is it that in this interdependent world of ours it can survive, growing stronger year by year in the face of compulsory sanctions ordered by the United Nations? The survival of the Ian Smith regime has been possible only with the direct support of the Portuguese colonial-Fascist regime and South Africa and the camouflaged support of some Western countries through their companies and their nationals.
36.	In the light of the present situation, we must assume our responsibilities; we do not want to substitute ourselves for the people of Zimbabwe in their liberation struggle but to support them firmly and resolutely. To assume our responsibilities is to isolate and eliminate the Ian Smith regime now and to guarantee majority rule; to assume our responsibilities is to direct our efforts towards ensuring true independence for Zimbabwe.
37.	It is in this context that the People's Republic of Mozambique views its participation together with that of the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republic of Zambia, the People's Republic of Angola and the Republic of Botswana in the quest for a solution to that problem. This action is inseparable from the political, material and moral support to be given to the freedom fighters grouped in the Patriotic Front.
38.	The recent Anglo-American proposals for a solution to the situation in Zimbabwe present serious limitations. On the one hand, the colonial Power seeks, in the phase of transition to independence, a concentration of power the like of which it never had during the whole colonial period and which does not guarantee the immediate participation of Zimbabweans in the exercise of power. On the other hand, the proposals maintain intact the whole state apparatus of the illegal regime and clearly show excessive concern with the protection of the rights of the settlers.
39.	We should like to broach this problem in the light of our experience. If it is a matter of protecting the lives and legitimate interests of citizens from violence, we can understand that concern; if, however, it is a matter of protecting privileges acquired during the colonial era because of skin colour and, consequently, because of colonialist discrimination, such guarantees go beyond the protection due, and any attempt to impose them is in fact interference in the affairs of an independent Zimbabwe. In fact, in the long run that protection would be prejudicial to those it claims to serve.
40.	The whites of Zimbabwe, like the whites of Mozambique or of any other country in our zone, can choose to become citizens of the country in which they live, while becoming integrated into its political and social life. The maintenance of discriminatory situations based on race, far from assisting in the creation of an egalitarian society, is prejudicial to the integration of the whites of Zimbabwe into an anti-racist Zimbabwean society and does nothing but aggravate social tensions and create conditions which could lead to racial confrontation. This has been borne out by recent history.
41.	We demand the dismantling of the rebel army with its mercenaries and puppets, its shock troops of racism, which is the instrument of permanent aggression against independent Africa. The dismantling of this army is a necessary condition for guaranteeing peace and stability in independent Zimbabwe. This is the army which destroyed Mapai; this is the army which murdered in cold blood 800 defenceless refugees at Nyazonia; this is the army which is still today committing continued acts of aggression against the territory of the People's Republic of Mozambique.
42.	The criminal army of aggression must disappear; otherwise it will frustrate the best efforts for the establishment of a durable peace in the region.
43.	Those who think that they can use puppet troops for the protection of whites in Zimbabwe are mistaken. History shows, and our own experience confirms, that it is these elements who, given their initiation in the school of terrorism by the occupier, turn against their former masters at the end of the occupation and carry out the most barbarous acts against them.
44.	Finally, we cannot help but point out the profoundly anti-democratic character of the attempt to impose rigid, immutable clauses which will remain in force for eight years after independence; such clauses constitute, therefore, many grave limitations on the full sovereignty of the people of Zimbabwe.
45.	The recognition of the principle of national independence, the determination of the period in which it should occur, and the principle of universal elections contained in the same proposals, will enable us to make progress towards the solution of the problem. In the same way, the United Kingdom's acceptance of responsibility in the process, the acceptance of the principle of basing the future army of Zimbabwe on the liberation forces, and the participation of the international community in the process, also merit emphasis.
46.	However, the immediate removal of Ian Smith, the head of the racist, minority Government, is clearly a condition for the success of all efforts. It was Ian Smith who was chiefly responsible for the failure of all attempts at negotiation during the 12 years of his racist rebellion, and the sincerity and effectiveness of the present proposals depend to a large extent on the determination and ability of the United Kingdom and the United States to remove Ian Smith from the political scene forthwith.
47.	The Anglo-American proposals contain many negative points and leave many questions unanswered. However, they can provide a basis for negotiation. This was the conclusion arrived at the last meeting of the front-line Heads of State, which took place in Maputo.
48.	The People's Republic of Mozambique intends to continue to assume its full share of responsibility in support of the Zimbabwe people.
49.	In this context, aware of its internationalist duty of solidarity, the People's Republic of Mozambique will remain firm in its determination to implement fully the sanctions imposed by the United Nations against the illegal racist regime of Southern Rhodesia until the liberation of the people of Zimbabwe.
50.	In Namibia, the people's struggle is being intensified and has achieved new victories at both the political and the military levels. Incapable of openly opposing the demand for independence, South Africa is seeking above all a way out which safeguards its interests. With this aim in mind, the South African regime multiplies its manoeuvres designed to divide the territory while searching for a sham independence in Namibia.
51.	It is in this context that the consultations between the colonial administration and the tribal puppets put forward at the eleventh hour as representatives of the people must be placed. Even stranger is the participation of settlers' parties, which always opposed independence in any talks on the country's future. And it is still in this context that the attempt to separate Walvis Bay, an integral part of Namibia, as a condition of the real independence of Namibia, must be placed.
52.	The countries in the region have closely followed the consultations carried out by the five members of the United Nations Security Council. To the extent that those consultations are to be placed within the context of Security Council resolution 385 (1976), the initiative of those five Powers could contribute to the solution of the conflict. However, we believe that they will be successful only if their objective is the total and complete independence of all of Namibia, if they respect the will of the Namibian people as expressed through the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), their only true representative, and if the five Powers do not attempt to substitute themselves for SWAPO in the solution of the problem of Namibia.
53.	A solution to the problems of southern Africa implies, above all, elimination of the apartheid regime. The existence of this regime, hostile to humanity, creates intolerable tension and constitutes a threat to the peoples of Africa.
54.	South Africa is propping up the Ian Smith regime in flagrant violation of sanctions proclaimed by the United Nations. It invades the People's Republic of Angola, militarizes Namibia, creates, finances and supports groups entrusted with armed subversive operations in the independent African countries.
55.	Therefore, to supply weapons or to create conditions enabling South Africa to manufacture them is tantamount to fanning the flames of war and destruction in southern Africa and collaborating in acts of oppression against independent Africa. In this context the introduction of nuclear weapons in our area creates a highly dangerous situation.
56.	However, no weapon, no manoeuvre, will be able to stop the liberation of the South African people, who today resist with their bare hands the murderous bullets of the South African forces of repression and the torturers in the prisons where people allegedly commit suicide. Soweto symbolizes the movement of the rebellion of the South African people—a rebellion whose flame will never be quenched and a people whose great cry of rebellion will never be silenced. These voices are arrows which penetrate our conscience and demand our support. All of humanity must make the cause of the southern African people its own.
57.	The complete liberation of Africa, the elimination of discrimination and apartheid, shadows of a past which is still projected into the present, are the sacred duty of all the African people and of all the peoples of the world.
58.	The People's Republic of Mozambique is aware of its special responsibilities as a Member of the United Nations and as a country geographically adjacent to the last bastions of racism in Africa. The People's Republic of Mozambique will not waver in its fulfilment of that internationalist duty. We will not yield before any intimidation or blackmail. We will not yield before any aggression, no matter how barbarous and cruel it may be. In this struggle we fight with the active support of all countries sensitive to the cause of the liberation of peoples.
59.	Here, we should like to hail the decision of the Security Council in its resolution 411 (1977) appealing to all Member States to strengthen the defence capacity of the People's Republic of Mozambique. That act represents valuable encouragement: it is a significant act of solidarity, a great victory for all the oppressed peoples and a victory for the United Nations. This support is all the more important because the Ian Smith regime continues to send its murderous troops against the people and peaceful villages of our country. Provocations, subversion and the infiltration of agents are increasing in preparation for even greater aggression. This means that the destabilization plan hatched by imperialism against our country continues and that its active instruments are the racist regimes of Rhodesia and South Africa.
60.	Today more than ever we see the end of colonialism in Africa drawing near. It is true that threatening clouds darken the horizon; but it is within the reach of our determination to overcome the remaining obstacles and finally to implant a true peace based on just relations among men and nations.
61.	The People's Republic of Mozambique enshrined in its Constitution the principle of the transformation of the Indian Ocean into a denuclearized zone of peace. We consider that the peoples of that region who suffered so greatly from the evils of colonial and imperialist domination and who today are engaged in the campaign against poverty, ignorance, disease and all the consequences of under-development in a struggle which is a pre-condition to achieving true human dignity and true freedom should be spared the threat of a nuclear war with all its attendant destruction.
62.	The peoples of the countries bordering the Indian Ocean share a common heritage of relations and culture that they wish to develop; they have a shared desire for progress and peace and a will to preserve their hard-won independence against any form of domination.
63.	Until a short time ago, the Indian Ocean was safe from involvement in the event of nuclear conflicts. For that reason, although we welcome warmly all those who come to the Indian Ocean with peaceful intentions or for the development of fruitful economic relations, we are extremely apprehensive about, and resolutely condemn, the establishment of any military bases of foreign Powers in the zone.
64.	In this context, we deem it necessary that the international community and, in particular, the countries of the region should dedicate themselves to studying ways and means of prohibiting the presence of any r reign military bases in the area while guaranteeing the dismantling of those already in existence and enabling the coastal countries to control the presence and movement of foreign military fleets.
65.	In the Middle East the situation created by the continued denial of the right of the Palestinian people to their own homeland has for decades been a factor of tension that has led to increasing violence, wars of aggression, the occupation of the territory of sovereign countries and, above all, to a persistent and systematic violation of human rights. The painful events in Lebanon are a result of that situation.
66.	The root of the problem is to be found in the racial basis and expansionist nature of the State of Israel, which obstructs peaceful coexistence among the countries of the region.
67.	The nuclear threat aggravates the climate of tension. The collaboration of the new axis of oppression-South
Africa/Israel-is aimed at intimidating the African and Arab peoples and deterring them from engaging in a just liberation struggle in the occupied territories and countries. At the same time it aims at blocking the consolidation and economic progress of the independent neighbouring countries.
68.	We believe that the stabilization of the Middle East can be achieved only by the recognition of the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to create their own State and by the withdrawal of all Israeli troops and settlers from the Arab territories occupied in 1967.
69.	Anti-Semitic racism, with its aftermath of horror, must be buried once and for all. Those who were its victims are today, in many ways, becoming real agents for the resurrection of analogous and equally reprehensible forms of racism. From that standpoint, we consider the resumption of the Geneva Peace Conference on the Middle East to be an imperative need, a conference in which the Palestine Liberation Organization should participate as an equal member.
70.	Other situations of confrontation continue to exist across the continents and require the attention of our Organization in the context of support for the struggle of peoples for their liberation. On our continent, the violation of the generally accepted principle of respect for existing boundaries and the greed of the great Powers have led to the invasion, the annexation or the dismemberment of certain countries. Such is the case of the island of Mayotte - an integral part of the Republic of the Comoros-occupied by France. In the north of Africa, the Saharan people are unable to exercise the right to self- determination inasmuch as their territory is occupied.
71.	The People's Republic of Mozambique condemns the illegal occupation of Mayotte and Western Sahara, which violates the right of all peoples to self-determination enshrined in the United Nations Charter, and expresses its solidarity with the struggle of the Comorian and Saharan peoples and demands that an end be put to the violation of the integrity of their countries. At the same time, the People's Republic of Mozambique reaffirms the principle of the peaceful settlement of disputes between African countries.
72.	In East Timor, after almost two years of military invasion by Indonesia, the Maubere people are resisting heroically. That occupation was launched, not as an anti-colonial act against Portuguese domination, but after the collapse of colonialism.
73.	We firmly support the fight of the people of the Democratic Republic of East Timor and call on the Government of Indonesia to withdraw its troops and establish relations of good neighbourliness and co-operation with that country.
74.	We firmly support the efforts undertaken with a view to the peaceful reunification of Korea, to which the withdrawal of American troops is linked as a condition to enable the Korean people to resolve their problems without external interference.
75.	We support with equal determination the just struggle of the People's Republic of China for the recovery of Taiwan, which is a part of its national territory illegally occupied by imperialism.
76.	We welcome the recent agreements on the Panama Canal which constitute a positive and decisive initial step towards putting an end to the old imperialist policy of dismembering countries and dividing peoples.
77.	We condemn in particular the terror instituted by the Chilean military regime in violation of all the values held by the community of nations. We condemn the arbitrary arrests, the torture, and the disappearance of prisoners.
78.	We are, however, confident that the dark shadow of fascism, which at the moment engulfs various countries of Latin America as a desperate reaction to the conquests of their peoples, will finally be overcome and that democracy will be re-established.
79.	We should like to believe that the campaign that has been launched in favour of human rights will represent the beginning of a new phase in the policy of denunciation of Fascist regimes in Latin America, whose inhumanity is notorious in the extreme. May the results of that policy be the withdrawal of support to those puppet regimes.
80.	The People's Republic of Mozambique cannot but condemn the continuation of situations of oppression, and demands the fulfilment of the principles of the United Nations Charter.
81.	We are convinced that harmonious relations between States are achieved through the recognition of the right of peoples to decide their own destiny, along the paths of their own choice, for the good of all mankind. The peoples of the world want peace.
82.	Disarmament is a fundamental necessity if we are to achieve co-operation between States in peace and security. We are greatly concerned at the development of weapons research, and of research into the development of increasingly powerful and inhuman lethal arms capable of the irremediable destruction of life on earth.
83.	Consequently, the People's Republic of Mozambique defends the principle 'of general and universal disarmament and of the immediate cessation of the arms race, embracing all types of weapons of mass destruction. In this context, too, the People's Republic of Mozambique congratulates the European peoples for their successes in their policy of European detente, while at the same time expressing its conviction that that process must not be limited to one part of the world alone, but, rather, should be affirmed universally as a constant factor in international relations.
84.	We wish to affirm our full support for the convening of a special session of the General Assembly of the United Nations to deal with this question, as an important step towards the holding of a world disarmament conference.
85.	In every continent, the peoples under colonial domination have progressively won political independence. The countries thus liberated from the colonial yoke have become support bases for the peoples still struggling for their freedom.
86.	However, the consolidation and strengthening of those victories demands that we intensify our fight for economic and social development, and that this in turn requires a constant and rapid increase in the productive capacity of recently liberated nations, this being the only way to solve the basic problems of our peoples.
87.	The rapid development of our productive forces and the overcoming of inherited backwardness and dependence necessarily imply technical and economic co-operation with all countries. However, those economic relations and that technical co-operation are not always approached with a view to just mutual benefits, reciprocal respect, and non-interference in internal affairs.
88.	Responsibility for the existing situation of imbalance which must be changed, falls in particular on the highly developed countries, whose development process was achieved at the expense of those countries which are today the most backward.
89.	The present tensions in the world have been brought on essentially by the economic interests and the unbridled greed of the international monopolies. It is in this context that we understand the differences between countries, the existing situation of injustice in international economic relations and the contradiction where we see some colonial-type relations.
90.	In the present-day world the contradiction between developed and developing countries cannot be put on a geographical North-South basis. There exists a profound contradiction between exploitation and the people's interests, a contradiction which opposes the oppressed peoples and the colonial Powers, the working classes and the monopolies, socialism and capitalism.
91.	It is this situation of injustice and inequality, surviving from colonialism, which confines the young independent States to the role of mere producers of raw materials and importers of manufactured goods. There is also a tendency on the part of imperialism to transfer to those countries industries having obsolete technology or those which carry out the partial processing of raw materials through the use of cheap and abundant labour. On the other hand, when highly advanced industries happen to be established, this is done in such a way as to create situations of technological dependency. The conquests of science and technology are thus used as weapons of domination.
92.	The new international division of labour which imperialism seeks to impose on the world by internationalizing the brutal exploitation of human labour will serve only to sharpen world economic conflicts.
93.	It is in this context that we participate in the struggle of the developing countries for the establishment of a new international economic order. This struggle, which is hindered by great obstacles, requires an effective and co-ordinated effort against those economic and political forces which seek at all costs to maintain their relations of exploitation with the developing countries and which use financial institutions which they control for the purpose. This struggle is absolutely necessary if the countries which make up the overwhelming majority of Members of the United Nations are to overcome their economic and technological backwardness and make progress in every sphere of action.
94.	The struggle for the establishment of a new international economic order requires concerted action by the international community with a view to transforming the relations of dependency and exploitation into relations of mutually advantageous co-operation based on equality and reciprocity of benefits. It further requires greater technical and economic co-operation among developing countries struggling to create a strong and independent economy, which is the basis for the solution of the countless social problems caused by the domination to which they were subjected in the past.
95.	A new international economic order will constitute an important factor in the solution of the problems of developing countries and will undoubtedly facilitate their efforts to overcome their economic under-development. However, the decisive factor for the achievement of victory over the backwardness left behind by colonial domination must be found in the development of productive forces and in profound social changes that will make possible the construction of the material and ideological bases that will help us build a society free from exploitation.
96.	At the same time we believe that at present our fight cannot be limited to the struggle for economic independence. That independence and the steps that marked its conquest, particularly the right to dispose of one's own natural wealth and resources, could be emptied of content or even wiped out if these victories are not consolidated through the establishment of new relations in production at the internal level and of a popular regime.
97.	Fundamentally, in order to break away from the state of dependency it is necessary to industrialize our countries and consequently to have our peoples control their natural resources while fighting the international monopolies. The creation of a heavy industry capable of producing the necessary equipment and factors of production required by our economies will allow the mechanization of agriculture and make it possible to meet the people's fundamental needs in food. Thus the bases for developing a manufacturing industry will be created and high levels of productivity and true and independent economic development will be achieved.
98.	Our conception of development is that the building of a national heavy industry is the decisive factor for our effective liberation from economic dependence.
99.	We are firmly convinced that the Manila Declaration is a valid basis for discussion in the United Nations. We hope that, unlike what has happened in the past, in future talks there will be the political willingness necessary to break the deadlock in which we find ourselves.
100.	The germs of colonialism have not yet been totally wiped from the face of the earth. While our participation in this Assembly is proof of the success of our struggle against colonialism, nevertheless a great deal still remains to be done. The United Nations must meet the aspirations of the oppressed peoples and minimize the sacrifices to which they must consent in order to conquer the fundamental right to decide their own destiny.
101.	Our presence in this Assembly today enables us to reaffirm our deep conviction that only harmonious coexistence between nations will make possible the development and consolidation of correct and fraternal relations among peoples.
102.	In greeting the peoples of the world through their representatives in this Assembly we are also expressing certainty that the hope for freedom which lives in all men will be transformed by our action into the reality of justice, well-being and peace so earnestly desired by the peoples of the world.
103.	The struggle continues.


253.	 Allow me at the outset to convey my sincere congratulations to Mr. Mojsov on his election to the high post of President of the General Assembly, which is more than competent to hold. The ability which he has displayed and the fact that he represents a country with which the Sudan enjoys cordial and highly cherished relations make my congratulations all the more pertinent. The excellent bilateral relations which we maintain with Yugoslavia will continue to give an example of the ties that should bind developing countries. In the fold of non-alignment, this relationship has proven beyond doubt that, indeed, peoples far placed from each other can maintain and develop mutual understanding and their respective human and material resources in order that peace and security prevail in the. world. I am confident that Mr. Mojsov will guide the deliberations of this Assembly with his recognized competence and high sense of responsibility.
254.	I take this opportunity also to pay a tribute to Mr. Mojsov's predecessor, Mr. Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe, who guided our work during the last session with his wealth of knowledge and expertise. I should like to convey to him the gratitude of my country for the services which he rendered to this Organization not only through his presidency of the thirty-first session but also for his excellent guidance of the deliberations of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea.
255.	May I also pay a special tribute to the Secretary - General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, for his unremitting, sincere and tireless efforts in pursuit of international peace and security. We appreciate his efforts to enhance the effectiveness of this Organization to enable it to perform with the required competence and dispatch the tremendous tasks entrusted to it.
256.	We take particular pleasure and pride in welcoming in our midst today the sister Republic of Djibouti and we express our confidence that, having secured membership in the regional and political organizations to which we belong, the young Republic of Djibouti will no doubt represent an additional force in the struggle to establish peace and security not only in the Horn of Africa but also on the international level.
257.	It is with an immense sense of relief that we witness today the success of the heroic struggle of the Vietnamese people, which culminates with the admission of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to this Organization. In welcoming the membership of both Djibouti and Viet Nam as a giant stride towards achieving the universality of the United Nations, we sincerely wish their peoples progress and prosperity.
258.	Thirty-two years have elapsed since the establishment of the Organization under whose auspices we gather today and, notwithstanding its past achievements in the maintenance of international peace and security, there still remain many problems in dire need of immediate resolution. A casual glance at the agenda items of this session provides eloquent proof of my contention. We in the Sudan maintain a hopeful attitude towards the capacity of the United Nations to fulfil its international responsibilities in the various areas of its activities. More pertinently so, we in Africa express our particular appreciation to the United Nations for the helping hand which it lent us in our endeavours in the area of decolonization and the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination in the southern part of our continent.

259.	We live in a world where danger looms high over some areas, and it is incumbent upon us to direct our whole attention and closely investigate the factors that make those parts of the world hotbeds of tension. In the absence of serious concern and objectivity in dealing with the problems of those areas, I am afraid that the problems will grow more difficult and complex and that the hotbeds of tension will continue to cast shadows of destruction threatening the entire world.
260.	The Middle East stands high among those international hotbeds of tension, for reasons solely attributable to the continued Israeli occupation of Arab territories and the former's blatant refusal to recognize the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. At a time when the Arab peoples and Governments speak of peace and are seriously engaged in the search for peace in the area and persistently strive to achieve it, and while Arab leaders repeatedly emphasize their avowed desire to attain a just peace and permanent security, we are confronted by the extremists in Israel, even in this hall, raising slogans of the so-called "liberated territories" and the "Jewish State". An attitude based on the false concepts, employed to create a smoke-screen over their main objectives, that of territorial expansion at the expense of Arab States.
261.	Israel owes its very creation to a resolution of this Organization and has the audacity, along with its twin State of South Africa, to disregard similar resolutions emanating from the United Nations. The record of its behaviour in the annals of this Organization shows that it remains categorically opposed to the principles embodied in the Charter of the United Nations and the noble objectives for which it was brought into being. It started its record of violations of the Charter by refusing to abide by this body's resolution 181 (II) of 29 November 1947-the resolution that came to be known as the "partition resolution". General Assembly resolution 194 (III), which called for the return of the refugees to their lands, met with no better fate, although to this date Israel enjoys the benefits of General Assembly resolution 273 (III), which gave it membership in the United Nations. Israel continues to pursue the very

mode of conduct that has typified its record in our midst. Its recent steps, with the aim of altering the religious, demographic and geographic structure of the occupied Arab territories, stand to be considered as a perpetuation of its ultimate desire for permanent occupation and annexation.
262.	Arab leaders have repeatedly and beyond doubt established their stature as avowed champions of peace and justice. It is our unswerving conviction that peace based on justice can never be attained in the Middle East unless this question is solved by securing the right of the Palestinian people to return to their land and establish their own State. That can only be achieved through the unconditional withdrawal of Israel from the territories it has occupied since 5 June 1967 and the return of Jerusalem to Arab sovereignty, so that the holy city may remain, as it has been for centuries, a holy shrine for Christians, Jews and Moslems, where they may freely carry out their religious practices.
263.	We in the Sudan condemn this adamant position of Israel and whole-heartedly support the United Nations' efforts towards a just and peaceful resolution of this problem. Hence, we fully support the call for the immediate reconvening of the Geneva Peace Conference on the Middle East, with the participation of all parties concerned, including the PLO, as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and the guardian of their aspirations.
264.	Israeli practices calling for war and hatred and ignoring the existence of the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights are matched only by Israel's racist ally in the South African regime. There, too, we are witnessing our African brothers being subjected to the worst kind of practices, those that violate the basic principles of human rights and are an affront to all religious standards. If the world community represented in this Assembly were to acquiesce or pretend to ignore such practices it would exacerbate the cruelty and add to the suffering of those peoples.
265.	It is hardly necessary for me to repeat here the dimensions of the tribulations of our people in Azania, nor do I need to elaborate on the inherent dangers to international peace and security that those practices bring upon us. If I were to drive home a point, it would be to address a plea to the Governments of Members of this Organization, which support the inhuman Vorster regime militarily, politically, diplomatically or economically and to ask them to refrain from doing so. It is from that support that such a regime draws its ephemeral strength and it is that support, contrary as it is to the successive resolutions of this Organization, that tempts the Government of South Africa to persist in practising its abhorrent policies. Thus the efforts of this Organization to combat the policy of apartheid and racial discrimination remain devoid of any impact. That policy represents the most abhorred human practice in its vast and long history.
266.	Sudan extends its unwavering support to the people of Azania in their effort to combat racism and racial discrimination and it will not desist from its moral and material support for their armed struggle against the Vorster clique. From this standpoint, we consider our effective participation in the Maputo International Conference in Support of the Peoples of Zimbabwe and Namibia, and the recent Lagos World Conference for Action against Apartheid, as an extension of the firm support of the Sudanese people for the people of Azania in their struggle against all forms of racial discrimination.
267.	The situation in Namibia has reached a point where immediate action should be taken if the threat it imposes is to be averted.
268.	Concerted international action must be initiated to compel the racist regime of South Africa to withdraw its political, military and economic presence from that area so that the Namibians under the leadership of SWAPO may assume their right to freedom and independence. It is about time that the United Nations lived up to the responsibilities entrusted to it by virtue of its administrative power. We Africans, therefore, hold the United Nations responsible for the assertion of the unity and independence of Namibia. Implementation of Security Council resolution 385 (1976) must be ensured, and we must see to it that the endeavours of the South African regime to annex Walvis Bay for the Cape region are frustrated.
269.	The situation in Zimbabwe is no less dangerous than that in Namibia or Azania because of the continued practice of racial discrimination by the racist and illegal regime of Ian Smith and its adamant refusal to yield to majority rule. We support the current efforts to restore the black majority rule because Africans like all the peoples of the Arab world, sincerely wish for peace and consider the current options offered to solve the problems in Zimbabwe as a reasonable basis for further negotiations, provided they do not conflict with the continued armed struggle which aims at the overthrow of the illegal Smith regime and the restoration of full power to the people of Zimbabwe. We urge full participation by the Zimbabwean political and military leaders in the coming negotiations, since we sincerely believe them to be the genuine spokesmen of the Zimbabwean people.
270.	Different political and regional forums have witnessed the fervent and persistent call of African leaders that their continent be spared international rivalry. They have repeatedly appealed to the big Powers to refrain from interfering in their internal affairs, as this has proved to be one of the main factors contributing to instability on the continent. Africans are capable of overcoming their difficulties and settling their disputes by peaceful means through a genuine African spirit of conciliation. Some big Powers, in their endeavours to establish spheres of influence in Africa, do not favour stability in the area, as this would prevent their exploitation of differences to further their own interests. That is why these Powers continue to create problems among sister African States and poison their relations as sister States, to find the opportunity directly or indirectly to interfere in the internal affairs of the African States. We demand that these Powers desist from their interference in the internal affairs of the continent and realize that our peoples, having shed their blood for the attainment of their freedom and independence, vehemently reject the recurrence of foreign influence in their countries in any form or under any pretext.
271.	It is with concern and sorrow that we view the situation in Cyprus. We follow with gratitude the efforts of the United Nations Secretary-General to restore stability and peace in the island so that its people, both Greek and Turkish, may live peacefully in a united, independent and sovereign Cyprus. My country will spare no effort to find a solution of the problem aiming at the restoration of peace and stability among the Cypriots and at enabling Cyprus to assume its clear role among friendly peoples within the non-aligned movement.
272.	The unbridled race among States to manufacture and stockpile deadly weapons is yet another important factor that leads to the creation and exacerbation of tension in our world. Developing countries note with mounting concern the extent of expenditures represented by this feverish race on the part of the super-Powers. Only last year they spent more than $US 300 billion on armaments at a time when millions of people in the developing countries are exposed to disease, famine and death. My country will have its definite views to give on the matter when the forthcoming special session of the General Assembly-of whose Preparatory Committee we have the honour to be a member-convenes next spring. However, I should like to set forth here the general views of my country on the issue as a whole.
273.	First, this unbridled arms race between the two super-Powers represents the most serious threat to international peace and security.
274.	Secondly, it is incumbent upon the United Nations to translate into viable action and seek implementation of the various declarations on Africa, the Middle East and southern Asia as nuclear-free zones while compelling the Governments of Israel and South Africa to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
275.	Thirdly, the United Nations should adopt urgent and effective measures aimed at the implementation of the provisions of the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace, so that the area may be spared big-Power rivalry. We have noted with satisfaction the agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union to bring to an end their rival activities in the Indian Ocean. We hope that this will be the prelude to the dismantling of their respective military bases in the area in the near future. In this connexion we^ are exerting all our efforts, in co-operation with the coastal States of the Red Sea, a sea contiguous to the Indian Ocean, to spare that sea also from the risk of international rivalry in the interest of the peoples in the area.
276.	It will be noted that the statements delivered before this Assembly reflect international concern over the issue of civil and political human rights. We in the Sudan give this vita' issue its due attention. However, we feel that, in addressing ourselves to the question of human rights, attention must be directed to the practices of the racist regimes in southern Africa and Israel; that is, where basic human rights are being systematically violated-and where the peoples of Azania, Zimbabwe and Palestine are subjected by South Africa, Rhodesia and Israel to humiliation and degradation because they stand up for their basic rights to freedom and independence. The tragedy of those people should not simply be the object of speeches year after year in this Assembly. More than in the past we must undertake serious and responsible action to compel those racist regimes to recognize the basic rights of those oppressed people. Failure to undertake any serious action would, I am afraid, make of our repeated references to human rights no more than rhetoric devoid of any meaning.
277.	The current international economic situation is a source of great concern to my Government. The continued existence of major international economic problems, particularly those affecting the developing countries, and the lack of any significant progress towards the establishment of the new international economic order are rapidly dispelling the sense of optimism expressed by many leaders at the beginning of the year. Sudan is firmly convinced that, as long as the overwhelming majority of mankind continues to exist at the subsistence level, there will be a continuation of crises and tensions throughout the world, because the problems of peace and economic prosperity are clearly indivisible. Therefore, the concept of the new international economic order constitutes the only conceptual framework for global development from which benefits will accrue to all countries and all peoples.
278.	My country notes with regret the very small progress that has been made towards the establishment of the new international economic order since its adoption by the sixth special session four years ago. With a few notable exceptions, developed countries continue to resist the implementation of the new international economic order despite their public expressions of acceptance of the concept. We in the developing countries are determined to pursue our efforts to bring about a fundamental restructuring of the existing economic order through dialogue and negotiations and not through rhetoric and confrontation. This position stems from our belief that the -present international economic order is inequitable and has contributed to the continuation of the unjust exploitation of the resources of the developing countries and keeping them at the mercy of the great industrial countries.
279.	The developing countries have made serious efforts to unveil the grave dimensions of the international economic crisis besetting the world today during the Conference on International Economic Co-operation, which met for 18 months in Paris. In this respect developing countries have presented concrete and constructive proposals designed to resolve the major economic problems within the framework of the new international economic order. We must, however, note with regret that the results of the Paris Conference fell far short of meeting the aspirations and hopes of the developing countries. We appreciate the difficulties facing the developed countries in the economic, commercial and monetary fields, but at the same time we sincerely believe that developed nations have the capacity and resources to assist developing countries in all economic fields and to contribute substantially to the establishment of an equitable economic order on the basis of the decisions adopted by the sixth and seventh special sessions of the General Assembly.
280.	Sudan believes that the United Nations is the only forum where global economic problems can be tackled comprehensively with the hope of finding solutions in the interests of the entire international community. The limited results of the Conference on International Economic Co-operation clearly show the futility of dealing with these problems on the basis of the participation of a few countries outside the global framework of the United Nations. We also believe that the United Nations Secretariat has an important role to play, particularly in providing substantive support to legislative bodies, such as the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, in the adoption of resolutions and in the formulation of viable, broad policies. This would require the enhancement of the effectiveness of the United Nations economic and social sectors in order to ensure multidisciplinary approaches to development and over-all co-ordination of United Nations activities in the economic field. The United Nations is the true forum for the consideration of economic problems and in particular the establishment of a new international economic order.
281.	Certain other problems, namely environmental problems, continue to hamper the efforts of many developing countries to implement their ambitious economic development plans. Sudan, together with other sister African and Arab countries, faces the serious threat of creeping deserts. The phenomenon of desertification, accompanied by a long spell of drought, has led to the loss of thousands of human beings and cattle, and continues to pose a grave threat to arable lands.
282.	My country therefore attaches the greatest importance to the results of the United Nations Conference on Desertification, recently concluded in Nairobi. From this rostrum, on behalf of the Sudan and other countries suffering from the effects of desertification, we address a special appeal to the specialized agencies of the United Nations and the rich countries to help us overcome this danger that threatens the life of people, wildlife and vegetation in our countries.
283.	The issues that this session of the General Assembly has to deal with are of paramount importance to the future of international relations in their various aspects, and this makes the present session of particular significance. We sincerely hope that the United Nations will live up to this high responsibility by earnestly seeking adequate solutions to the problems facing our world today.
284.	There are new factors in the international arena among both developed and developing countries to which the world must give due consideration. Otherwise, what we aspire to achieve by way of international solidarity and the building of a new world where equality and genuine co-operation prevail will continue to remain beyond our reach.
285.	My country firmly believes in the ultimate triumph of mankind over its problems and in its capacity to create a new world where brotherhood, equality, justice and peace prevail, and sincerely hopes that this Organisation will play its noble role in the interests of humanity and for the building of a better world. My country is strongly and faithfully committed to its responsibilities towards the achievement of this noble objective.