I am very pleased to extend to you, Mr. President, my congratulations on your election to guide the work of this forty-second session of the General Assembly. I wish you full success in the performance of your important and delicate tasks·
The participation for the first time of the head of the executive branch of the Haitian Government in the work of the General Assembly has a twofold significance. It should be seen first and foremost as a reaffirmation of our devotion to and support for the objectives of the United Nations, which are entirely in line with those of the National Council of Government over which it is my honour to preside. It is also a special tribute to this Organization, which, through the Commission on Human Rights and other agencies of the United Nations system, has for a long time concerned itself with the crisis that has afflicted our country for almost 30 years.
It is thus fitting that I should express, on behalf of the Haitian people, all our admiration and our deep gratitude to the tireless Secretary-General,
Mr. Javier Perez de Cuéllar, who, as he himself said, went to Haiti to demonstrate his concern over the urgent situation in our country and to bring us a message of comfort and encouragement. His stay with us was unfortunately all too brief, but it did enable him to judge for himself the scope of the task facing the National Council of Government, which, having come to power in particular circumstances, suddenly found itself confronting a heavy burden of economic failure, shaky political and social structures and, what is more, a wave of demands by the people whose legitimacy could not be questioned.
There are indeed very many essential and urgent needs to be met, very many injustices to be corrected, very many failing structures to be rebuilt and new institutions to be established. That is the task to which we are devoting ourselves, convinced as we are that it must have priority if the transition to democracy is to be ensured and the unity and integrity of the nation is to be safeguarded. No effort has been too great as we strive to achieve that aim. In that respect, we are entitled to be pleased with the value, the scope and the consistency of the work that has been done - work which, at the very least, is remarkable and meets the requirements of a situation that demands change, but without confusion or chaos.
Thus, at the political level a set of measures has been adopted and appropriate structures have been established in order to ensure the active participation of all segments of society in the political life of the nation. For the first time in Haiti's history, the rural masses - which make up more than 70 per cent of the population - have elected their representatives to the Administrative Councils of the Communal Sections. That is one of the measures of which the National Council of Government can be proud; it meets the requirements of social justice for a peasantry that had for too long been kept on the sidelines of public affairs. Truly free unions now exist. There is complete freedom of expression and association, and a very large number of political parties are functioning without hindrance, discrimination or ideological considerations.
In a word, there is a new political system based on a liberal Constitution with the following main features; there is a balance among the three powers) there is decentralization} the term of office of the President is limited to five years, and he cannot be re-elected; fundamental rights and freedoms have been strengthened an independent body to organize elections has been set up. Under the established time-table, elections will take place at all levels, with the result that on 7 February 1988 power will pass to the Haitian chosen by the people themselves, without any form of interference.
We should be deluding ourselves, however, if we thought a legal framework was enough to guarantee the existence of a democratic society. Disorders, unjustified rebellion, lack of discipline, blindness, intolerance, personal ambitions, ' irresponsibility, a complete lack of patriotism, the temptation to yield to anarchy and the totalitarianism of others - all are threats to this democratic enterprise. However, our faith in the future of democracy, which we feel cannot be turned back, is matched only by the determination of the people to decide its own future and take charge of its destiny.
On the economic plane, in 20 months of management, significant recovery measures have been implemented in a truly critical situation. Without losing sight of the structural handicaps of the Haitian economy, which are typical of the least advanced countries, it has proved necessary and urgent to correct internal and external imbalances, to improve public finances and to restore the confidence of investors both national and foreign. In a word, it has proved necessary to create the conditions needed to restore the economy after many years of stagnation and even backwardness.
To this end, an interim development programme has been launched. Regrettably, because of its dimensions and its objectives that programme may seem limited, considering the extent and complexity of the structural problems facing our country. But one should recall that the rate of unemployment in Haiti is roughly 50 per cent of the active population and the rate of illiteracy approaches 80 pet cent, while the per capita income is approximately $320 per annum. Even so, and notwithstanding its modest dimensions, the programme is important in that it covers many and varied areas such as health, education, public finances, and so on. Thus its value cannot be questioned. If it is to be implemented, the programme requires more than national efforts alone; it requires substantial, sustained support from the international community.
At this crossroads, we must say we regret we have been unable to mobilize the resources Haiti had hoped for. Resources have not been raised in accordance with the urgency of the circumstances
In spite of everything, as we work towards our goals, we must at the same time develop a human sense of justice, a sense of mutual respect and self-confidence, and we must trust others; indeed, we must cultivate the values of dialogue, concerted effort and tolerance, and at the same time we must create conditions conducive to progress. If we do these things, we shall reach an important stage on the way towards the accomplishment of our democratic ideals.
At its forty-second session the General Assembly will be dealing with serious problems which are often inseparable one from another and that concern international peace, security and co-operation.
As emerges from the enlightened report of the Secretary-General, an examination of the state of the world reveals the dangers posed by the arms race and the continuation of crises in the Middle East, in Africa, in Asia and in the Americas, which undeniably present many challenges the international community must meet if it is to build world peace and ensure world security.
At the same time, tensions are Increasing everywhere. Acts of terrorism are increasingly frequent; there are repeated attempts at murder and the taking of hostages. Such acts are a manifestation of the kinds of crises that have existed in international relations for nearly four decades. This unleashing of violence which affects all the continents of the world on the economic level and causes serious Imbalances which the third world must face, has taken a heavy toll. Only very few countries of the third world have been spared. As for the most vulnerable and most backward countries, their development lags at least one decade behind the others, as was stressed recently in a report from the world Bank. In the circumstances, how can we fail to face such problems as the collapse of commodity prices, the ceiling on the flow of public assistance and the debt problem, all of which have halted the growth of the countries of the third world?
The Republic of Haiti is firmly convinced that international security is one and indivisible and concerns all States and all peoples. Consequently, it attaches the greatest importance to the role of the United Nations, which must be strengthened if it is truly to be a centre for harmonizing common efforts to ensure the maintenance of peace and security and the strengthening of international co-operation. Hence the need to end those situations that, in addition to threatening international peace and security, undermine the credibility of our Organization.
This applies to the Middle East, where the persistence of the conflict and the delay in beginning a negotiating process have only spurred on the cycle of distrust and violence. The bloody tragedy in Lebanon has highlighted the need to redouble the efforts to find a solution to this crisis that has already lasted too long.
Haiti believes that the fact that the provisions of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 33 8 (1973) have been ignored by some has certainly contributed to the continuance of a highly explosive situation. We feel that the time is ripe for the convening of the international conference on the Middle East, which could lay the foundations for an overall settlement that would take into account Israel's right to exist within secure and internationally recognized boundaries, the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to a homeland like other peoples, and the need to restore Lebanon's sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.
Regarding the war between Iran and Iraq, Haiti welcomes the unanimous adoption of Security Council resolution 598 (1987), which calls for, among other things, an immediate cease-fire by the belligerents. We earnestly hope that the implementation of that resolution will pave the way for a negotiated settlement.
Similarly, in the case of Kampuchea and Afghanistan, we continue to support United Nations efforts to facilitate the search for a political settlement guaranteeing the withdrawal of foreign forces and allowing the Kampuchean and Afghan peoples to determine their own future freely and without foreign intervention or interference.
We reaffirm also our support for the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of Cyprus and shall continue to support the Secretary-General's efforts in this context. The Haitian people sympathize with the legitimate aspirations of the Korean people to reunification by peaceful means and hope that the coming Olympic Games in Seoul will mark an important stage on the road to that objective.
Africa, to which Haiti remains attached by so many bonds, is waging its final struggles to free itself from the forces of colonialism and racism. It deserves the international community's fullest support in this struggle. We are firmly convinced that the persistence of the apartheid regime in South Africa is one of the greatest challenges of the end of this century. Once again we call for the imposition of comprehensive mandatory sanctions against the racist regime in the hope that finally the South African people will regain their freedom in a United, democratic, multiracial society.
We are also opposed to the continuing illegal occupation of Namibia and reaffirm our full commitment to the cause of the brother people of Namibia, under the leadership of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO). Further efforts must be made to ensure Namibia's complete independence, in keeping with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly. We are deeply concerned by the confrontation in Africa between Libya and Chad. Chad, a developing country which, like ours, is one of the least advanced, wants only peace within its rightful national borders and with its neighbours. Here again, we hope that with the active support of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the United Nations common sense will eventually carry the day and that Chad, with its sovereignty over all its territory restored, will regain peace, which will allow it to devote itself exclusively to its economic and social development.
As regards the situation in Central America we hail the peace plan adopted at the meeting of Heads of State, pointing the way to a negotiated political settlement with the co-operation of the parties involved. We find that a particularly welcome event because we have always believed that a solution to the problems of Central America could be found only by the peoples of the region themselves. In this connection we cannot fail to pay tribute to President Arias of Costa Rica for his timely action following upon the deserving efforts of the Contadora Group. His courageous efforts in support of peace have earned our deep admiration and gratitude.
In tandem with the worsening world economic crisis and its negative impact on the developing countries, the arms race - and more specifically the nuclear-arms race, has reached unprecedented proportions. Hence disarmament must become one of our priority objectives. That is why we welcome the success of negotiations between the Soviet Union and the United States of America on the elimination of intermediate-range missiles. That agreement, when implemented, will represent a decisive step towards the global disarmament plan we earnestly desire. In the event, we hope that putting an end to the enormous waste of resources brought about by arms expenditures will, to some extent, offset the corresponding decline in funds for public development assistance, which have fallen well short of the goals set 25 years ago by the first United Nations Development Decade. For the maintenance of genuine international peace is undoubtedly linked to a realignment of international relations that offers real prospects to a third world burdened by debt and dwindling resources.
At a time when the Republic of Haiti is entering upon a decisive stage in its history, it wishes to reaffirm its faith in the values embodied in the United Nations. It remains convinced that this Organization, so long as it enjoys the political support of Member States, will continue to make its irreplaceable contribution to the search for appropriate solutions to problems of all kinds caused by accelerating change in international society and by the many challenges posed at all levels in a world with a population of more than 5 billion human beings, more than two-thirds of whom live in the third world.
In solidarity with all peoples and all mankind, the Republic of Haiti will give every support to all steps taken by the Organization for the betterment of man; promoting and guaranteeing his rights and fostering the establishment of more balanced and fraternal relations among peoples. Hence we pledge to maintain and strengthen, with all nations, relations of friendship and co-operation based on the principles of sovereign equality, independence, mutual respect, non-interference, and the right of every people to choose in complete freedom the path it wishes to take for its economic and social development.
Finally, we reaffirm our confidence in the future of the United Nations and in its mission to secure the triumph of justice, solidarity and world peace.


On behalf of the delegation of the Kingdom of Morocco I should like, first of all, to express our most sincere and heartfelt congratulations to you. Sir, on your unanimous election to the presidency of the General Assembly. We are convinced that at this crucial juncture for the future of our Organization your eminent qualities as a statesman, your long experience and your deep knowledge of the complexity of international relations are great assets for the successful conclusion of our work. Be assured of the full and complete co-operation of the Moroccan delegation, in a spirit of responsibility and pragmatism, in order to respond positively to the hopes of the community of nations for progress at each session of the General Assembly in the cause of peace, stability and harmony among peoples.
We take this opportunity to pay warm tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Humayun Rasheed Choudhury, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, who carried out his mandate brilliantly during the past session, allowing our Organization to bridge a particularly difficult moment of its history.
We must pay a well-deserved tribute to our Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, who has constantly and tenaciously pursued his praiseworthy efforts to settle the many ongoing conflicts and prevent the emergence of new conflicts. We express our gratitude and pledge firm support for his initiatives.
Finally, to Ambassador Joseph Reed, a long-standing friend and former Ambassador of the United States to Morocco, who has recently assumed new duties in United Nations Secretariat, we wish full success, convinced as we are that he will carry out his new functions with the sane dynamism and effectiveness he displayed while in Morocco.
It is unsettling to observe that despite the efforts being made by so many men and women of goodwill throughout the world, we continue to have such a disquieting image of the world that the most determined among us could at any time sink into the depths of despair.
Wars that could never be justified are raging at the four corners of our planet, the most blatant forms of terrorism are daily expanding to hitherto well-guarded Nations, the disparity between the wealthy and the poor nations is increasing with nothing in sight to break this intolerable cycle.
Yet, more than 40 years have elapsed since the creation of the United Nations during that time it has so borne the hopes of all those who believe in a better world that no shortcoming in the present-day world fails to reflect upon our Organization, casting on it a discredit that is often undeserved but that some do not hesitate to stir up for selfish and purely opportunistic motives. The most elementary honesty requires us to proclaim that such discredit is all the more unfair since the United Nations, despite numerous difficulties and hurdles, has in four decades accomplished much for world peace and the advancement of mankind. Nevertheless, the future of our Organization remains very disquieting. Sufficient financial resources and political determination on the part of Member States are too often lacking.
A few positive steps have indeed been taken. During the last session the General Assembly adopted resolution 41/213, the purpose of which was to improve the efficiency of the administration and financial functioning of the United Nations. The adoption by consensus of that text was a reflection of the common faith in the Irreplaceable role of our Organization. The Secretary-General has used all the means at his disposal to rationalize working methods, reduce expenditure and increase the efficiency of the Organization. We are therefore justified in formulating the hope that his efforts will receive increased support from Member States, which should show greater respect for their commitments, thereby enabling our Organization to face the changes in the international community and the new challenges of the modern world.
The Kingdom of Morocco will remain faithful to all its obligations and do its utmost to further the objectives and increase the credibility of our Organization. It was in that spirit, and in order fully to shoulder its share of responsibility to the international community, that my country this year put forward its candidacy to fill for the next two years the seat on the Security Council allocated to northern Africa, in accordance with the principle of rotation which has always prevailed within the regional groups. We hope thus to have a further opportunity to continue to make our contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security. Many centres of tension persist throughout the world, despite the warnings given and the appeals to reason made every year from this rostrum. The fratricidal war between Iran and Iraq, which is now entering its eighth year, continues to spread destruction and suffering among the populations concerned. That war, which every day further depletes the capabilities of the two warring countries, is gravely threatening the future of the whole region by masking the real problems and giving rise to new sources of instability in a geographical area extending from the eastern Mediterranean to the banks of the Arabian-Persian Gulf.
In July 1987 the Security Council, in adopting unanimously resolution 598 (1987), provided a historic opportunity for the restoration of peace and security to the region. The Council followed the path o£ reason and wisdom when it implemented the provisions of Chapter VII of the Charter, which are at the core of the whole system of collective security and permit the Council, once the diagnosis of a breach of the peace has been established, to demand the extinction of the fire by the cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of forces to internationally recognized borders. That Is a necessary preliminary to any appropriate action to deal with the crisis in all its aspects and to the just, honourable and lasting settlement already called for, unfortunately to no avail, by resolution 514 (1982), of 12 July 1982.
Those compulsory measures, which are "without prejudice to the rights, claims, or position of the parties" in the terms of Article 40 of the Charter, should be implemented without delay, to ensure that the credibility of our Organization and the relevance of the key provisions of the Charter are not undermined. We welcome ļ Iraq's acceptance of resolution 598 (1987) and strongly urge Iran to respond to the expectations of the international community as clearly expressed by the unanimous | vote of the members of the Security Council. In that spirit. His Majesty King Hassan II, in a message to the Heads of State and Government of the Islamic community stated the following;
"Islam is above all unifying and tolerant and that should be and should remain its mission. We should therefore seek all the available means of strengthening our unitary determination while respecting our diversities." We pay a tribute once again to the indefatigable and unceasing efforts undertaken in that spirit by the Secretary-General to reconcile the different points of view and create conditions favourable to a constructive dialogue. The fratricidal conflict between Iran and Iraq has overshadowed the Middle East tragedy and the tragic situation of the Palestinian people, who have been subjected for the past 40 years to exile and foreign occupation. The sacrifices made by that people can be measured only by the sufferings and deprivation it has undergone, and nothing can disguise them or silence the poignant appeal for justice to be done - justice in the form of the right to self-determination, to a homeland and to an autonomous State.
Is it not an anachronism that the sons of Abraham, the children of a land that is the melting pot of the most flourishing civilization in the history of mankind, should be tearing each other apart, with contempt for the values that are the foundation of their very existence? Is it not time to go back to the path of wisdom and of the future outlined by the regional organizations, such as the Arab League in Fez in 1982 or the United Nations in its many resolutions? The just lasting and global solution of the Israeli-Arab conflict can be found by convening an International conference, with the full and complete participation of all the parties concerned and of the permanent members of the Security Council.
The Middle East crisis has engulfed in its turmoil the Lebanese people, which daily experiences the horrors of war and intolerance, whereas it was once a people envied by many, a perfect model of cohabitation and the coexistence of communities and religions. On the basis of its solidarity with the Lebanese people, the Kingdom of Morocco calls for the cessation of all foreign Interference in that country, so that it can undertake the exciting task of reconstruction and regain the bases of national harmony. The seeds of conflict are sown and they germinate each time a people is subjected to foreign domination or to a discriminatory system that assails the dignity and fundamental rights of human beings and is therefore intolerable. That is the reason for the explosive situation imposed by the South African regime upon southern Africa, a situation that threatens the peace and security of the whole continent. While history teaches us that apartheid, which is a blatant challenge to the conscience of humanity, is condemned to disappear ř wisdom requires us to take all the necessary measures to precipitate its fall and thereby save many innocent human lives. It is therefore high time for our Organization to use the complete arsenal of provisions available in the Charter to compel compliance with the Charter's objectives and most essential principles.
The Namibian people remain under the domination of apartheid and South African foreign occupation despite the adoption some 10 years ago, of Security Council resolution 437 (1978), which set forth the United Nations plan for that Territory. The determination of the international community should remain strong if unconditional implementation of that plan in its entirety is to be obtained. The Kingdom of Morocco resolutely stands· by the Namibian people, to which we renew our full support for the realization of their legitimate aspirations to independence and territorial unity·
My country, striving to preserve the coexistence of all people and the respect due to the identity of each, has always supported the right of each people to choose its own political, economic and social regime without outside interference. It therefore renews its call for the evacuation of foreign troops from Kampuchea and Afghanistan so as to allow the peoples of those countries freely to decide their destiny. Central America is not absent from our concerns. Thus we support and will continue to support the efforts of the Contadora Group aimed at bringing peace and stability to that region on the basis of non-interference and co-operation among the countries concerned. We earnestly hope that the peace plan put forward by President Arias of Costa Rica and his Central American peers will succeed in fostering harmony among all the countries of the region, to which we are bound by common and deep ties of friendship and co-operation.
As a State bordering one of the most important maritime waterways - the Straits of Gibraltar, which links the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean - Morocco understandably closely follows the situation in the Mediterranean. The strategic situation of that maritime waterway and the extremely sensitive character of that area with respect to the peace and security of the entire Mediterranean basin call for special attention to the remaining sources of tension. Morocco is deeply attached to the virtues of dialogue and will pursue its chosen path with persistence and determination in order to solve outstanding disputes through concerted action. The sensitivity, the strategic importance and the vulnerability of the area call for us to combine our energies so that the Mediterranean may become a harbour of peace and prosperity for the countries on its north and south shores.
Driven by that conviction, Morocco participated actively in the meeting of non-aligned Mediterranean countries held in Brioni last June, which decided to establish the bases for dialogue between countries of the northern and southern Mediterranean. It was apparent that the security of the Mediterranean cannot be considered separately and that the problems it raises require comprehensive treatment by all the coastal States.
In this regard, Morocco notes with satisfaction the agreement in principle reached between the United States and the Soviet Union to remove short- and medium-range missiles from Europe. That represents important progress, that should be extended to include the missiles carried by the fleets in the Mediterranean.
Security and development are intimately linked. But while world security continues to preoccupy, it must unfortunately be acknowledged that in the field of development the 1980s is a lost decade. The world economy continues to sink into an unprecedented structural crisis. International trade is undergoing the strongest protectionist pressures since the Great Depression of the 1930s. On the one hand, markets for commodity goods have been experiencing an unparalleled historic set-back for the past 50 years; on the other, the international financial system is threatened by bankruptcy under the pressure of the overwhelming burden of debt. This situation, which translates in real terms into a lower standard of living in developing countries, cannot persist without affecting the stability of those nations, and thus further compromising their development efforts,
Therefore, the struggle for development is not only the most important economic and social issue of our time; it is also a major political problem confronting the international community. It is thus urgent rapidly to engage in restructuring the world economic environment with a view to replacing the present relations, which are mostly based on domination, with linkages based on interdependence and genuine solidarity among all members of the human race.
In this respect the external debt crisis is a major test that may prove fatal if a global approach, based on shared responsibility, is not taken in solving this problem, not only in with regard to its immediate technical and accounting aspects, but also with regard to its longer term political and social implications.
It should be realized that in Latin America, as well as in Africa, the excessive burden of external debt servicing has become unbearable, and in many cases a sizeable part of the debt is already irrecoverable. I should like here, in the name of my country, to invite creditors from developed countries to show the necessary political will and a reasonable view of their own interests by lifting their customs barriers, by lowering their subsidies for agricultural exports, by supporting the commodities market and by increasing their public development assistance and ensuring an adequate flow of financial resources to developing countries during the present period of macro-economic restructuring.
This endeavour should necessarily lead, on the basis of resolution 41/202 and the Final Document of the seventh session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), to an agreement on debt-restructuring and new formulas for rescheduling, repayment and terms, including the reduction of real interest rates and the stabilization of exchange rates.
In Africa, where many countries still experience chaotic situations, coupled with natural disasters, such as the drought that plagued the countries of the Sahel, the struggle for mere survival has replaced every hope of development. Faced with deterioration in the economic environment, the debt burden and demographic pressures, there are in Africa, according to the World Bank, about 15 countries threatened with outright bankruptcy.
Yet 1987 will undoubtedly be an historic year for the African continent since for the first time more than half of the countries of the region have commissioned themselves to a liberalization process of their economic systems. Unfortunately  those reforms are taking place under unfavourable national conditions marked by structural handicaps and an inhospitable international environment.
As I stated last year, and must reaffirm today, in spite of a few praiseworthy initiatives undertaken by some donor countries on a bilateral basis and by some institutions of the United Nations system at the multilateral level, on the whole, the response of the international community is not always commensurate with its common responsibility, or consistent with the tragedy of a continent crippled by its debt and cruelly affected by its recovery efforts.
However, I hope, that halfway through the evaluation of the Programme of Action for the Economic Recovery and Development of Africa the negative predictions will be contradicted by facts and the next session of the General Assembly will not be for our continent a meeting of betrayed hope. In our sub-region of the Maghreb, Morocco has never stopped working for a brighter future full of promise. At this juncture of emerging political and economic groups, it is inconceivable to imagine the future of the Maghreb countries without unity. The future of the peoples of the region, the fulfilment of their aspirations for progress and stability, will only be reached within the framework of Maghreb solidarity and unity. Since the dawn of our independence, the setting up of a unified Maghreb has been and remains a constant goal of our foreign policy because Morocco, which is an inseparable part of the region, entrusts its future to the global destiny of the Arab Maghreb.
Aware of this requirement, the Governments of the Maghreb countries began to follow that path shortly after attaining their independence by setting up common institutions of co-operation in various areas of the economic and social sectors. The first decade of the functioning of these Maghreb institutions was promising in this regard and to a large extent responded to the will and wishes of the peoples of the region, forged out of an age-old common history and a community of religion, culture, civilization, traditions and language. The first accomplishments of this institutional Maghreb co-operation led to an increase in the exchange flows and the launching of unified programmes that benefited all countries of the region, while allowing for the possibility in future of initiating common negotiations with other groups made of industrialized countries on the other side of the Mediterranean.
In our view, the Maghreb countries should give absolute priority to solving all existing disputes so as to open the way decisively to inevitable regional integration and in turn meet the many challenges ahead and face up to the technological and economic competition that will intensify within the Mediterranean region in coming years. Morocco, for its part has spared no effort to bring about good understanding and harmony between the countries of the region. Thus, we have always favourably responded to all attempts at mediation and conciliation made by leaders of friendly and brother countries aimed at restoring the climate of calm and understanding inherent in the relations among the countries of the region.
We should like to take this opportunity to pay the highest tribute to the Guardian of the Holy Sanctuaries, His Majesty King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, who played an important role in bringing together two sister countries, Morocco and Algeria, and whose efforts culminated in the meeting he attended between His Majesty King Hassan II and President Chadli Benjedid last May on the Algerian-Moroccan border. That meeting resulted in a renewed dialogue between our two countries which, we hope, will further contribute to improving permanently the state of our relations, dispelling all misapprehensions and settling all outstanding disputes.
Within the framework of its constant readiness to work towards the elimination of all hotbeds of tension in our sub-region, the Kingdom of Morocco last year expressed its support here for the good offices initiative undertaken by the Secretary-General of our Organization to reach a just and equitable solution of the so-called question of Western Sahara through a referendum on self-determination. That initiative has just taken a decisive step forward, since the Secretary-General decided on 24 September that a United Nations technical mission will visit the territory in the coming weeks. Mr. Perez de Cuellar has entrusted this mission with the task of gathering the necessary technical information and data available on the spot to enable him to formulate proposals designed to facilitate the holding of a referendum in Western Sahara.
It is a fact that the Kingdom of Morocco favourably and promptly responded to the Secretary-General's wishes when, a few months ago, he made known his intentions to dispatch United Nations experts to the territory, so that he would be fully informed, on an impartial basis, of the actual situation on the spot. My country will do its utmost to facilitate the task of the technical mission and give it all means to exercise its prerogatives fully. According to common practice, this technical mission should be able to operate freely and without hindrance.
It is up to the Assembly to give full and unfettered support to the Secretary-General and to his work in order to ensure the future success of the good office initiative and thereby promote a final settlement of this issue. In so doing, we will, at the same time, have strengthened the credibility of our Organization and helped restore a climate of harmony and peace in the Maghreb region.
True, the state of the world does not inspire optimism. It is none the less also true that the solutions to the many challenges we have to face at the end of this century cannot be found in defeatism and discouragement. Through concerted action and the affirmation of our solidarity, many problems may be solved and many difficulties overcome.
Dialogue, joint action and solidarity should be made the primary virtues of our Organization. It is only through such endeavour that the roots of the tree of life will continue to nourish the progress of humanity. This is the lesson in wisdom, learned from the more than 40 years existence of the United Nations. Experience teaches us that we must keep it in mind if we wish to keep alive the flame of hope.


I should like to begin, Sir, by extending my and Canada's congratulations and appreciation to you on your assumption of the responsibilities and office of the presidency of the General Assembly.
A year ago the atmosphere in the Assembly was heavy with a sense of crisis. The financial shortfall of the United Nations, serious in itself, was also a symptom of a deeper worry about the very existence of the Organization.
Canada, and other friends of the United Nations, used this rostrum to call for reform. I am pleased today to note that substantial reform has begun. 7hat is both a tribute to the men and women who make this Organization work and testimony to the recognition by most nations that a strong United Nations is essential to world peace. We are especially impressed by the United Nations resolve to extend reform beyond the institutions in New York to United Nations economic and social institutions throughout the world.
For our part, Canada made a point of paying our 1987 assessment fully and early. We hope other nations will quickly pay their current and past assessments. Those that call for internal reform have a particular obligation and opportunity to encourage it once it begins. That good example would increase the pressure upon other Powers whose contributions are consistently delinquent.
During the past year this real internal reform has been matched by solid progress on many of the major issues of concern to the United Nations. Sometimes that progress occurred outside this multilateral Organization - as, for example, in the historic breakthrough on an arms agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union, in the steady pressure against apartheid mounted by the Commonwealth, and in the initiative towards peace launched by the five Presidents of Central America. But in many other cases the world's movement forward was rooted here. Those cases are worth enumerating.
In the ongoing war between Iran and Iraq, Security Council resolution 598 (1987) reflects a welcome political will and unanimity in the Security Council, and the Secretary-General is to be commended for his patient, persistent mediation. The Secretary-General's mission was not as successful as we all had hoped. And the speech this morning by the President of Iran can only be characterized as destructive and deeply disappointing. Therefore the Security Council should be reconvened to take the next step. Canada would fully support implementation of the axiomatic second half of resolution 598 (1987) - the application of sanctions.
At the Seventh United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) , the consensus statement on trade, debt and commodities may presage a new era of co-operation between developed and developing countries. UNCTAD VII was an example of an international conference for whose outcome the prognosis was uniformly gloomy. The doubters were wrong. The United Nations scored a major success.
The special session on Africa is beginning to yield concrete results, albeit there is a long way yet to go. The international community clearly now recognizes that the majority of African countries are making great efforts to turn their economies around. But the international community must equally recognize that the debt situation for many African countries is desperate and must be addressed in new and innovative ways or the entire recovery programme may collapse.
In that context, we welcome the Secretary-General's appointment of the Advisory Panel on Resource Flows. We anxiously await its report. As the representative of Zaire has just indicated, Canada is so concerned about this issue that at the Francophone Summit we announced the cancellation of official development assistance debt for several countries in francophone Africa. Next month, at the Commonwealth Conference, we will do the same for countries of Anglophone Africa.
The Brundtland Commission has produced a blunt and clear report on the urgency of protecting our resources and environment. In that spirit, in Montreal last week nations signed an ozone Treaty controlling the emissions of chloro fluro carbons. Dr. Mostafa Tolba, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, called it "the first truly global treaty that offers protection to every single human being on this planet." Our Government believes that Montreal Treaty will serve as a model for future international agreements on the environment.
The Conference on disarmament and development, which has just concluded, yielded a remarkable consensus document, holding disarmament and development as essential to international security. It graphically demonstrated the capacity of the Organization to find agreement in the most complex fields.
The World Health Organization is recognized as a crucial resource for gathering the statistics and carrying out the planning that are necessary as countries struggle to master the world-wide AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) epidemic.
Within its own doors, the United Nations has made social strides in another field: the equal rights of women. In 41 years there had not been even one woman permanently appointed as an Under-Secretary-General. Now there are three, and we in Canada take particular satisfaction that the first woman appointed is an outstanding Canadian, Madame Therese Paguet-Sevigny, under-Secretary-General in the Department of Public Information,
There have been other achievements in the past year: the successful Vienna international Conference on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking; the coming into force of the Convention against torture  the International Maritime Organization draft convention on maritime security; and the progress made on verification by the United Nations Disarmament Commission, with which Canada is proud to be associated. This is proof of the worth and vitality of the United Nations and clear evidence of the advantages to be derived from continuing to confront the world's problems together.
The great purpose of the United Nations is to extend the reach of peace and justice in the world. Sometimes, as in the war between Iran and Iraq, its role becomes most acute when all other efforts have failed. In other cases it can encourage regional initiatives that may lead to peace where peace is threatened, or focus international attention upon injustice that must end. I want today to speak of one initiative that we must encourage and one injustice that we must end.
The Initiative is in Central America, where the presidents of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua have joined together in a genuine effort by all parties to settle their differences peacefully. The surprisingly positive outcome of the Guatemala summit meeting was the result of many factors. They included the foundations laid by Contadora and the Contadora Support Groups, the preparatory work of the Central America countries and the concessions made at the summit by each of the five presidents. That achievement was applauded by us all. But it was only the first of many steps along a difficult road.
Canadian aid to Central America has been steadily increasing, as has our funding and our acceptance of refugees. We have expressed our view that the root problem in Central America is poverty, not ideology  that the real need is development assistance, not military activity, and that intervention by outside Powers will only aggravate the tension. We have supported the Contadora process and have made available to Contadora the expertise Canadians have acquired in the techniques of peace-keeping.
Immediately after the Guatemala summit two senior officials of our Government visited Central America to discuss what more Canada might do. I will be visiting the region myself later this autumn.
Canada supports the initiatives of the Central America presidents. We are prepared to provide our expertise in the design and development of verification and control mechanisms which, once peace is possible, can help it endure. The disputes must be resolved by those actually Involved in the conflict, but Canada is prepared to contribute to that process in any direct and practical way open to us.
The injustice to which I referred earlier is apartheid. Canada's position is clear and on the record. We have acted upon all of the sanctions recommended by the Nassau Conference of the Commonwealth Heads of Government. We have Imposed a ban both on new investment in South Africa and re-investment of profits. We have banned the importation of coal, iron and steel. We have banned the promotion of tourism and ended air links. In the first six months of 1987 Canada reduced its imports from South Africa by 51 per cent. Furthermore, we have made it clear that, if other measures fail, we ate prepared to end our economic and diplomatic relations with South Africa, We are helping the victims of apartheid with scholarships, legal aid and other assistance. We contribute substantially to the development of the front-line States, both bilaterally and through the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference (SADCC). We apply our influence, whether it is effective, to build the pressures against apartheid.
The Prime Minister of Canada met with the leaders of Zimbabwe and Zambia and Botswana in Victoria Falls in February, and I visited southern Africa six weeks ago, a visit which included a meeting in Pretoria with the South African Foreign Minister. Olivet Tambo visited Ottawa a month ago and met with our Prime Minister and other Canadian leaders. Early in September it was our honour to act as host to the second summit of La Francophonie in Quebec City, which condemned apartheid and established a scholarship programme for black South Africans. Next month, in Vancouver, we shall act as host to the heads of Government of the Commonwealth, the international family to which South Africa once belonged.
We are at a critical stage in the campaign to end apartheid. There must be no relenting in that campaign, no pause in the pressure, because a pause might suggest that apartheid is acceptable, and it is not. The pressure against apartheid must continue and increase, and the challenge, in the United Nations and elsewhere, is to find peaceful and effective means to build that pressure. It is not enough to ask others to act.
It is Canada's view that the sanctions imposed upon South Africa have been effective, both economically and psychologically. While the Government of South Africa has reacted by limiting liberty even more, growing numbers of individual South Africans have reached out for reform, in meetings in Lusaka and Dakar and in the private contacts, which we must multiply.
The instability in southern Africa is both an ally and a product of apartheid. One of the most wrenching conversations I have had was with Canadian aid workers in Mozambique who fear that the projects they build to help people will become targets of terrorists and put at risk the very lives they are working to improve. An essential part of the challenge in southern Africa is thus to bring more stability to the front-line States.
Before I conclude my remarks I want to applaud again the new vitality that has been injected into the global arms-control and disarmament process through the important announcement that the United States and the Soviet Union have agreed in principle to eliminate intermediate and short-range nuclear missiles. Radical reduction in nuclear arms has always been the core of Canadian policy in this area. We should celebrate the fact that this is the first time a prospective agreement will actually eliminate nuclear weapons. That is just the initial step in a long and difficult process, but, with continued determination and resolve, we can hope to move to agreements on strategic weapons, on chemical weapons, on conventional weapons, and on a comprehensive test ban.
I began by talking about the atmosphere of crisis which was so pervasive as we met last year. Today, we must all surely take satisfaction from the atmosphere of hope that surrounds us; hope, because both globally and regionally there is a recognition that a peaceful and secure world is of universal benefit and worthy of relentless pursuit) hope, because the social and economic evils that beset us are being addressed in a meaningful way) and, finally, hope, because this Organization of ours, the United Nations, is reasserting its capacity to play the central role that it was created and designed to play in dealing with the ills that still plague the international community. The United Nations agenda stretches before us - Afghanistan, Kampuchea, Cyprus, peace in the Middle East between Israel and the Arab States, an end to terrorism, and the fundamental human struggle to eradicate hunger and injustice. Somehow, it feels as though we are closer this year than last to tackling that agenda.


Let me first welcome the Secretary-General back from his pilgrimage for peace in the Middle East. Hundreds of thousands have already fallen in the bloody conflict between Iran and Iraq. All men and women of goodwill pray that the carnage can soon be stopped, and we pray that the Secretary-General proves to be not only a pilgrim but also the architect of a lasting peace between those two nations. Mr. Secretary-General, the United States supports you, and may God guide you in your labours ahead.
Like the Secretary-General, all of us here today are on a kind of pilgrimage. We come from every continent, every race and most religions to this great Hall of hope where, in the name of peace, we practise diplomacy. Now diplomacy, of course, is a subtle and nuance craft - so much so that it is said that when one of the most wily diplomats of the nineteenth century passed away, other diplomats asked, on reports of his death, "What do you suppose the old fox meant by that?"
But true statesmanship requires not merely skill but something greater, something we call vision, a grasp of the present and of the possibilities of the future. I have come here today to map out for you my own vision of the world's future - one, I believe, that, in its essential elements, is shared by all Americans. And I hope those who see things differently will not mind if I say that we in the United States believe that the place to look first for the shape of the future is not in continental masses and sea lanes, although geography is obviously, of great importance. Neither is it in national reserves of blood and iron or on the other hand, of money and industrial capacity, although military and economic strength are also, of course, crucial. We begin with something that is far simpler and yet far more profound - the human heart.
All over the world today, the yearnings of the human heart are redirecting in course of international affairs, putting the lie to the myth of materialism and historical determinism. We have only to open our eyes to see the simple aspirations of ordinary people writ large on the record of our times.
Last year in the Philippines, ordinary people rekindled the spirit of democracy and restored the electoral process. Some said they had performed a miracle, and, if so, a similar miracle - a transition to democracy - is taking place in the Republic of Korea. Haiti, too, is making a transition. Some despair when these new young democracies face conflicts or challenges, but growing pains are normal in democracies. The United States had them - as has every other democracy on earth.
In Latin America, too, one can hear the voices of freedom echo from the pea з and across the plains. It is the song of ordinary people marching, not in uniforms and not in military file, but, rather, one by one in simple, everyday working clothes - marching to the polls. Ten years ago, only a third of the people in La in America and the Caribbean lived in democracies or in countries that were turning to democracy. Today over 90 per cent do.
But this world-wide movement to democracy is not the only way in which simple, ordinary people are leading us in this room - we who are said to be the makers of history - leading us Into the future. Around the world, new businesses, new economic growth, new technologies are emerging from the workshops of ordinary people with extraordinary dreams.
Here in the United States  entrepreneurial energy - reinvigorated when we cut taxes and regulations - have fuelled the current economic expansion. According to scholars at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, three quarters of the more than 13.5 million new jobs that we have created in this country since the beginning of our expansion rate from businesses with fewer than 100 employees - businesses started by ordinary people who dared to take a chance. And many of our new high technologies were first developed in the garages of fledgling entrepreneurs. Yet America is not the only or perhaps even the best example of the dynamism and dreams that the freeing of markets set free.
In India and China, freer markets for farmers have led to an explosion in production. In Africa. Governments are rethinking their policies, and where they ate allowing greater economic freedom to farmers, crop production has improved. Meanwhile, in the newly industrialized countries of the Pacific Rim, free markets in services and manufacturing as well as agriculture have led to a soaring of growth and standards of living. The nations of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Japan, Korea and Taiwan have created the true economic miracle of   the last two decades, and in each of them much of the magic came from ordinary people who succeeded as entrepreneurs.
In Latin America, this same lesson of free markets, greater opportunity and growth is being studied and acted on. President Sarney of Brazil spoke for many
others when he said that "Private initiative is the engine of economic Development. In Brazil we have learned that every time the state's penetration in the economy increases, our liberty decreases." Yes, policies that release to flight ordinary people's dreams ate spreading around the world. From Colombia t Turkey to Indonesia, Governments are cutting taxes, reviewing their regulations, and opening opportunities for initiative.
There has been much talk in the halls of this building about the "right to development". But more and more the evidence is clear that development is not itself a right. It is the product of rights: the right to own property; the right to buy and sell freely; the right to contract; the right to be free of excessive taxation and regulation, of burdensome government. There have been studies that determine that countries with low tax rates have greater growth than those with high rates.
We are all familiar with the phenomenon of the "underground economy". The scholar Hernando de Soto and his colleagues have examined the situation of one country - Peru - and described an economy of the poor that bypasses crushing taxation and stifling regulation. This "informal economy", as the researchers all it, is the principal supplier of many goods and services, and often the only ladder for upward mobility. In the capital city it accounts for almost all public transportation and most street markets. And the researchers concluded that, thanks to the informal economy, "The poor can work, travel, and have a roof over their heads". They might have added that, by becoming underground entrepreneurs themselves or by working for them, the poor have become less poor and the nation itself richer.
Those who advocate statist solutions to development should take note - the free market is the other path to development and the one true path. And, unlike many other paths, it leads somewhere. It works.
So this is where I believe we can find the map to the world's future - in the hearts of ordinary people in their hopes for themselves and their children  and in their prayers as they lay themselves and their families to rest each night. These simple people are the giants of the Earth, the true builders of the world and shapers of the centuries to come. And if Indeed they triumph, as I believe they will, we will at last know a world of peace and freedom, opportunity and hope, and, yes, of democracy - a world in which the spirit of mankind at last conquers the old, familiar enemies of famine, disease, tyranny, and war.
This is my vision - America's vision I recognize that some Governments represented in this Hall have other ideas. Some do not believe in democracy or in political, economic, or religious freedom. Some believe in dictatorship - whether by one man, one party, one class, one race, or one vanguard. To those Governments I would only say that the price of oppression is clear. Your economies will fall farther and farther behind. Your people will become more restless. Is it not better to listen to the people's hopes now, rather than their curses later?
And yet, despite our differences, there is one common hope that brought us all to make this common pilgrimage - the hope that mankind will one day beat its swords into the hope of peace. In no place on Earth today is peace more in need of friends than in the Middle East. Its people's yearning for peace is growing. The United States will continue to be an active partner in the efforts of the parties to come together to settle their differences and build a just and lasting peace.
This month marks the beginning of the eighth year of the Iran-Iraq war. Two months ago the Security Council adopted a mandatory resolution demanding a cease-fire, withdrawal, and negotiations to end the war. The United States fully supports implementation of Security Council resolution 598 (1987), as we support the Secretary-General's recent mission. We welcomed Iraq's acceptance of that resolution, and remain disappointed at Iran's unwillingness to accept it.
In that regard, I know that the President of Iran will be addressing representatives tomorrow. I take this opportunity to call upon him clearly and unequivocally to state whether Iran accepts Security Council resolution 598 (1987) or not. If the answer is positive, it would be a welcome step and a major breakthrough. If it is negative, the Council has no choice but rapidly to adopt enforcement measures.
For 40 years the United States has made clear its vital interest in the security of the Persian Gulf and the countries that border it. The oil reserves there are of strategic importance to the economies of the free world. We are committed to maintaining the free flow of this oil and to preventing the domination of the region by any hostile Power.
We do not seek confrontation or trouble with Iran or anyone else. Our objective is now, and has been at every stage, finding a means to end the war with no victor and no vanquished. The Increase in out naval presence in the Gulf does not favour one side or the other. It is a response to heightened tensions and followed consultations with our friends in the region. When the tension diminishes, so will our presence.
The United States is gratified by many recent diplomatic developments - the unanimous adoption of Security Council resolution 598 (1987), the Arab League's statement at its recent meeting in Tunis, and the Secretary-General's visit. Yet problems remain.
The Soviet Union helped in drafting and reaching an agreement on Security Council resolution 598 (1987). But outside the Security Council, the Soviets have acted differently. They called for removal of our navy from the Gulf, where it has been for 40 years. They made the false accusation that somehow the United States - rather than the war itself - is the source of tension in the Gulf. Such statements are not helpful. They divert attention from the challenge facing us all - a just end to the war.
The United States hopes the Soviets will join the other members of the Security Council in vigorously seeking an end to a conflict that should never have begun, should have ended long ago, and has become one of the great tragedies of the post-war era.
Elsewhere in the region, we see the continuing Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. After nearly eight years, a million casualties, nearly 4 million others driven into exile, and more intense fighting than ever, it is time for the Soviet Union to leave.
The Afghan people roust have the right to determine their own future free of foreign coercion. There is no excuse for prolonging a brutal war or propping up a regime whose days are clearly numbered. That regime offers political proposals that pretend compromise, but really would ensure the perpetuation of the regime's power. Those proposals have failed the only significant test: they have been rejected by the Afghan people. Every day the resistance grows in strength. It is an indispensable patty In the quest for a negotiated solution.
The world community must continue to insist on genuine self-determination prompt and full Soviet withdrawal  and the return of the refugees to their homes in safety and honour. The attempt may be made to pressure a few countries to change their vote this year, but this body# I know, will vote overwhelmingly as every year before, for Afghan independence and freedom.
We have noted General Secretary Gorbachev's statement of readiness to withdraw. In April I asked the Soviet Union to set a date this year when this withdrawal would begin. I repeat that request now, in this forum for peace. I pledge that, once the Soviet Union shows convincingly that it is ready for a genuine political settlement, the United States is ready to be helpful.
Let me add one final note on this matter. Pakistan, in the face of enormous pressure and intimidation, has given sanctuary to Afghan refugees. We salute the courage of Pakistan and the Pakistani people. They deserve strong support from all of us.
Another regional conflict we all know is taking place in Central America - in Nicaragua.
To the Sandinista delegation here today I say: Your people know the true nature of your regime. They have seen their liberties suppressed. They have seen the promises of 1979 go unfulfilled. They have seen their real wages and personal income fall by half - yes, half - since 1979, while your Party elite live lives of privilege and luxury.
This is why, despite a billion dollars in Soviet-bloc aid last year alone, despite the largest and best equipped army in Central America, you face a popular revolution at home. It is why the democratic resistance is able to operate freely deep in your heartland. But this revolution should come as no surprise to you. I' is only the revolution you promised the people, and that you then betrayed.
The goal of United States policy towards Nicaragua is simple. It is the goal of the Nicaraguan people and the freedom fighters as well: it is democracy - real free, pluralistic, constitutional democracy. Understand this: we will not, and the world community will not, accept phoney "democratisation" designed to mask the perpetuation of dictatorship.  In this 200th year of our own Constitution, we know that real democracy depends on the safeguards of an institutional structure that prevents a concentration of power. It is that which makes rights secure. The temporary relaxation of controls - which can later be tightened - is not democratisation. Again, to the Sandinistas, I say: we continue to hope that Nicaragua will become part of the genuine democratic transformation that we have seen throughout Central America in this decade. We applaud the principles embodied in the Guatemala agreement, which links the security of the Central American democracies to democratic reform in Nicaragua. Now is the time for you to shut down the military machine that threatens your neighbours and assaults your own people. You must end your stranglehold on internal political activity. You must hold free and fair national elections. The media must be truly free - not censored or	'
intimidated or crippled by indirect measures such as the denial of newsprint or threats against journalists or their families. Exiles must be allowed to return, to minister, to live, to work, and to organize politically. Then, when persecution of religion has ended and the jails no longer contain political prisoners, national reconciliation and democracy will be possible.
Unless this happens, democratisation will be a fraud. And until it happens, we will press for true democracy by supporting those fighting for it.
Freedom in Nicaragua, or Angola, or Afghanistan, or Cambodia, or Eastern Europe, or South Africa or anyplace else on the globe is not just an internal matter. Some time ago the Czech dissident writer, Vaclav Havel, warned the world that
"respect for human rights is the fundamental condition and the sole genuine guarantee of true peace". And Andrei Sakharov, in his Nobel Lecture, said:  "I am convinced that international confidence, mutual understanding, disarmament, and International security are inconceivable without an open society with freedom of information, freedom of conscience, the right to publish, and the right to travel and choose the country In which one wishes to live."
Freedom serves peace. The quest for peace must serve the cause of freedom. Patient diplomacy can contribute to a world In which both can flourish. We are heartened by new prospects for improvement in East-West and, particularly. United States-Soviet relations.
Last week Soviet Foreign Minister Shevardnadze visited Washington for talks with me and with Secretary of State Shultz. We discussed the full range of issues. Including my long-standing efforts to achieve, for the first time, deep reductions in United States and Soviet nuclear arms. It was six years ago, for example, that I proposed the 2ero option for United States and Soviet longer-range intermediate-range nuclear missiles. I am pleased that we have now agreed in principle to a truly historic treaty that will eliminate an entire class of United States and Soviet nuclear weapons. We have also agreed to intensify our diplomatic efforts in all areas of mutual Interest.
Towards that end Secretary Shultz and the Foreign Minister will meet again, a month from now, in Moscow, and I will meet again with General Secretary Gorbachev later this fall.
We continue to have our differences and probably always will. But that puts a special responsibility on us to find ways - realistic ways - to bring greater stability to our competition and to show the world a constructive example of the value of communication and of the possibility of peaceful solutions to political problems. Here let me add that we seek, through our strategic defence initiative, to find a way to keep the peace through relying on defence - not offence - for deterrence and for eventually rendering ballistic missiles obsolete. The strategic defence Initiative has greatly enhanced the prospects for real arms reduction. It is a crucial part of our efforts to ensure a safer world and a more stable strategic balance.
We will continue to pursue the goal of arms reduction, particularly the goal that the General Secretary and I agreed upon: a 50 per cent reduction in our respective strategic nuclear arms. We will continue to press the Soviets for more constructive conduct in the settling of regional conflicts. We look to the Soviets to honour the Helsinki accords. We look for greater freedom for the Soviet peoples within their country/ more people-to-people exchanges with our country and Soviet recognition in practice of the right of freedom of movement.
We look forward to a time when things we now regard as sources of friction and even danger can become examples of co-operation between ourselves and the Soviet Union. For instance, I have proposed a collaboration to reduce the barriers between East and West in Berlin, and more broadly in Europe as a whole. Let us work together for a Europe in which force or the threat of force, whether in the form of walls or of guns is no longer an obstacle to free choice by individuals and whole nations, I have also called for more openness in the flow of information from the Soviet Union about its military forces, policies and programmes so that our negotiations about arms reduction can proceed with greater confidence.
We hear much about changes in the Soviet Union. We are intensely interested in these changes. We hear the world glasnost which is translated as "openness" in English. Openness is a broad term, it means the free, unfettered flow of information, ideas and people, it means political and intellectual liberty in all forms. We hope, for the sake of the peoples of the USSR, that such changes will come. And we hope, for the sake of peace, that it will include a foreign policy that, respects the freedom and independence of other peoples.
No place should be better suited for discussions of peace than this Hall. The first Secretary-General, Trygve Lie, said of the United Nations:
"With the danger of fire, and in the absence of an organized fire department, it is only common sense for the neighbours to join in setting up their own fire brigades."
Joining together to drown the flames of war - this, together with a universal declaration of human rights, was the founding ideal of the United Nations. It is our continuing challenge to ensure that the United Nations lives up to these hopes.
As the Secretary-General noted some time ago, the risk of anarchy in the world has increased because the fundamental rules of the United Nations Charter have been violated. The General Assembly has repeatedly acknowledged this with regard to the occupation of Afghanistan, The Charter has a concrete practical meaning today because it touches on all the dimensions of human aspiration that I mentioned earlier: the yearning for democracy and freedom, for global peace and for prosperity.
That is why we must protect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from being debased as it was through the infamous "Zionism is racism" resolution. We cannot permit attempts to control the media and promote censorship under the ruse of a so-called new world information order. We must work against efforts to introduce contentious and non-relevant issues into the work of the specialized and technical agencies where we seek progress on urgent problems, from terrorism to drug trafficking to nuclear proliferation, which threaten us all. Such efforts corrupt the Charter and weaken this Organization.
There have been important administrative and budget reforms. They have helped. The United States is committed to restoring its contribution as reforms progress. But there is still much to do. The United Nations was built on great dreams and great ideals. Sometimes it has strayed. It is time for it to come home. It was Dag Hammarskjold who said:
"The end of all political effort must be the well-being of the individual in a life of safety and freedom."
Should this not be our credo in the years ahead?

I have spoken today of a vision and of the obstacles to its realization. More than a century ago a young Frenchman, Alexis de Tocqueville, visited America.
After that visit he predicted that the two great Powers of the future world would be, on the one hand, the United States, which would be built, as he said, "by the ploughshare"; and, on the other hand, Russia, which would go forward, again as he said, "by the sword". Yet, need it be so? Cannot swords be turned to ploughshares? Can we and all nations not live in peace?
In our obsession with antagonisms of the moment, we often forget how much unites all the members of humanity. Perhaps we need some outside, universal threat to make us recognize this common bond. I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world. And yet, I ask, is not an alien force already among us? What could be more alien to the universal aspirations of our peoples than war and the threat of war?
Two centuries ago, in a hall much smaller than this one, in Philadelphia, Americans met to draft a constitution. In the course of their debates, one of them said that the new Government, if it was to rise high, must be built on the broadest base - the will and consent of the people. And so it was. And so It has been.
My message today is that the dreams of ordinary people reach to astonishing heights. If we diplomatic pilgrims are to achieve equal altitudes, we must build all we do on the full breadth of humanity's will and consent and the full expanse of the human heart.


I come before the Assembly representing the Guatemalan nation and its desire to contribute to peace in the world by helping build peace in Central America.
The Guatemalan people, as I pointed out in my statement in this Assembly in 1986, have taken over the conduct of their own history and are determined to travel, step by step, the road leading to the attainment of our own utopia: to make Guatemalan society a profoundly humane society, based on participation and pluralism, in which all inhabitants, without distinction as to race, ideology, social sector or economic status, can contribute actively to the taking of decisions essential to our nation. In order to travel that road, the people have chosen the criteria that we have proposed, and in order to attain our objectives we are making rational use of the available human and material resources.
It is important to emphasize this latter point, because when one seeks to understand the nature of the proposals we have made to our nation and to Central America one finds in all of them a conscious choice of absolute respect for the life of men and the preservation of the natural resources available to us, so that they may serve all Guatemalan families rather than the interests of a single sector.
The attainment of objectives at the lowest possible cost without compromising our principles is the common denominator of each of the measures we have adopted. We reject the concept that appears to have become widespread in recent decades, that the attainment of objectives justifies loss of human life or the destruction of the infrastructure and of natural resources, which do not belong to any ideology, faction or economic group but rather to the nation.
On the basis of that principle, we have made it our practice in all circumstances to work towards agreement and avoid confrontation. We define consensus as the maximum degree of agreement possible within disagreement and/ even though we exercise legitimate power in taking final decisions, we always make the greatest effort to ensure that those decisions will be the fruit of an extended process of consultation, discussion and the contribution of ideas even by those social, economic or political groups that do not share with us the ideological underpinnings that define the democratic society that we espouse. If at any time we have had to confront any sector, group or faction of our society, it has been because of its intransigence or negative attitude in the search for a common solution for the benefit of the community.
We call this process of seeking a consensus concerted effort. It is a method that some would describe as naive and others as slow or inefficient. But, since we pride ourselves on being familiar with our own history and do not wish to relive it, we well know that all other methods - violence or the exercise of absolute power - have, in the course of our independent life and particularly in the past 20 years, produced only destruction and death without achieving positive results for the benefit of our peoples, which still await a solution to many of their most elementary problems.
A decision of this nature requires historic courage because it involves a definitive change in many of the traditional attitudes of certain of the leaders of our countries: the temptation to seek absolute power; the rejection of ideological pluralism; party or sectoral fanaticism; the selfishness of the economic interests of families or individualism and, especially, the Impatience that often leads to erroneous decisions to accelerate processes that should develop throughout the life of an entire generation, in the hope that they can be completed successfully within a presidential term of office. Our peoples are tired of being sacrificed to experiment and expect of us, the current leaders of the Central American and American nations and of the nations of the world, a serious, prudent and realistic attitude, so that the path towards the construction of a more humane society will become a one-way street.
Today, democracy and human rights are inseparable concepts. If the restoration of democracy in a nation that has lost it is a difficult task, it is no less difficult to establish respect for human rights in a society that has suffered from a climate of violence.
The constitution of Guatemala, which governs our democracy, accords a primary place to human rights, and my Government has successfully undertaken to guarantee and protect those rights. Those concepts, which guide Guatemala's political conduct, are also fundamental to the policies we advocate at the international level, namely, active neutrality and a Central American parliament.
In defining the concept of active neutrality, particular account should be taken of its political, ideological and methodological aspects, and a due relationship to the legal sphere should be established as appropriate. Some who have commented on this concept have indicated that there can be no active neutrality, because when viewing the concept they take the two words separately; naturally, the word "neutrality," taken in its international context, has its basis in legal language. Our proposal is an integrated concept that would correspond to our international policy and would mean rejecting involvement in armed conflicts and working actively to achieve peace through diplomacy or political action involving concerted effort.
That policy is based on the belief that those efforts should be aimed at achieving agreements and establishing consensus to reduce any chance of confrontation so as to achieve the final objectives at the lowest possible cost. Of course, although we reject armed confrontation, we must recognize that there are problems in our region that could lead to such confrontation. In our history, many of the internal conflicts of our country have been instigated, supported, fomented or, at the very least, tolerated by some neighbouring countries that have  sought to impose their own ideology or to prevent the implantation of a neighbour's political system in their own country. That gravely erroneous course must not be repeated. We must attempt to establish in each country of Central America the conditions necessary for tolerance, pluralism and the free participation of all sectors in the political life of the nation.
If we act within the framework of established norms and in consultation with the people, using the most appropriate machinery to secure their effective and free participation, that will reduce domestic tensions and the chance of conflicts among our countries and inevitably lead to mutual respect, which we are entitled to expect.
Instead of accepting confrontation, we must act to establish methods that allow dialogue to lead to an understanding of our problems and to their solution. That is the meaning of "active neutrality": the rejection of armed conflict and active efforts to secure peace through concerted effort.
An international policy such as the one we have defined, the backbone of which is recognition of the realities peculiar to each country and the search for accords designed to establish regional consensus, requires a permanent instrument for implementation of the proposed method of concerted effort to establish the bases for Central American political unity, which would be the historical consequence, in the medium or longer term, of such a process.
Thus the proposed Central American parliament would be a forum for discussions and the taking of decisions relating to the solution of problems common to all of us or that affect one or more of the region's countries, problems that could threaten generalized conflict and impede the economic and social development of our peoples.
Such a parliament, inspired by the model of the European Parliament, would also seek to make our peoples and the various political and economic social sectors parts of the process of regional integration. It is vitally important that its members be elected directly. That would resolve the problem presented by broad political spread and pluralism and would open the way to proportional representation. At the same time, the proposed system would guarantee respect for the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of each country. The parliament could even eventually establish a higher-level political body in the form of a presidential commission to give executive validity to agreements reached at the parliamentary level.
A Central American parliament could also complement and strengthen those negotiating formulas that may lead to peace in the region through concerted effort and the setting aside of traditional attitudes of polarity and confrontation.
Concerted effort, active neutrality and a Central American parliament - those are the political instruments that embody our country's position in the context of the present-day reality of Central America and the need to achieve political stability, security and peace in the region.
With those instruments, we seek to inspire a positive and optimistic attitude towards the future without forgetting our geopolitical context and our economic and social problems, and to bring about specific and imaginative solutions to those problems that take both national and regional interests into account. With those concepts, we hope to give the countries of Central America an opportunity to work with all nations interested in our region. We hope to enable them to act together so that with each agreement and each year a further step will be taken towards making the peoples of Central America true protagonists in the historic events we are experiencing.
From the foregoing, it is easy to deduce the short- and medium-term objectives of Guatemala's international policy. The first objective is the initiation of a peace process. Peace in Central America is more than a utopian goal; it is a fundamental necessity in the process of the economic and social development of each country.
Armed groups that use violence in their attempts to wrest political power from constituted Governments provoke armed clashes that are no longer merely modes of political struggle but serious obstacles to the solution of political, economic and social problems. Those struggles, which entail a constant waste of resources, destroy the scant infrastructures of regions that have barely begun the process of modernization, and they compel Governments to allocate vast resources to armed confrontation instead of to the building of broader and more efficient infrastructures that can meet the basic needs of the populations. In such small-scale conflicts the final outcome is less significant than the fact that they prevent the countries involved from consolidating the democracy to which all aspire.
It is obvious that in the situation in Central America, at least in certain ' countries, violence is a major obstacle to the solution of economic and social problems. We are concerned that such violence may increase and become more widespread. The prevention of such a disaster was the goal of the Central American Presidents at the two meetings held in Guatemala, Escruipulas I and II, in which we sought formulas to eliminate the causes of confrontation and lay the foundations for harmonious and fraternal coexistence.
At the last meeting we not only worked to avoid the eventuality to which I have referred; when discussing the proposal contained in the document submitted by the President of Costa Rica, we also lay the foundations for processes to eradicate the causes of problems created by armed conflict that were leading to difficult situations, particularly in some countries.
Thus, in Central America it is not necessary merely to stop war; it is also necessary to begin to construct an infrastructure that would help to institutionalise democracy in the area and guarantee lasting peace and economic and social development. The essential corollary of peace is political stability, which is possible in a pluralistic environment in which all the sectors of society can organize and take part in the major decisions of the nation. My personal idea - and I am sure it is shared by the Guatemalan nation - is that that process can occur only in a democratic society, because that kind of society makes it possible to lower the tensions that lead to polarization and confrontation. In fact, our current experience in Guatemala - like the experience of other Latin American nations - shows that it is possible to solve economic and social problems through political pluralism and the organized participation of the people. If that process is consolidated in the Central American region over an extended period, we shall guarantee the wise use of our resources and their equitable distribution among all the sectors of the population.
But, while stability is necessary for the development of a nation, it is even more necessary for the development of a given region. Therefore, we state that institutionalising the political processes and learning to work together and develop our autonomy of action are factors that will help to make the Central American region stable.
No efforts to achieve peace and political stability can be sustained long enough unless the process of what I have referred to as "concerted effort" becomes institutionalised. That is why the proposal for a Central American parliament has been made - a political institution which would appropriately complement the various economic and cultural organizations that have been developed over recent years in the region, and which would help to create new institutions to strengthen and update the functioning of those earlier institutions.
Those three objectives are absolutely complementary, and we can state that we are on the way to achieving them, having signed the agreement of 7 August this year. The five Central American Presidents, overcoming the regional tradition, resolved their differences and, taking realistic account of the factors and circumstances that have a bearing on the Central American region, reached an agreement which, by its political scope and its potential effects, is in itself an example of concerted effort for the other nations of the world to see; the highest level of agreement possible within disagreement.
The document signed by the Presidents in the quest for a procedure for firm and lasting peace in Central America is truly a logical step towards the achievement of the objectives that I have described. That agreement would not have been possible without the contribution and the efforts of the Latin American countries of the Contadora Group and the unreserved solidarity of the nations of the Support Group. There can be no doubt that those efforts helped to promote an appropriate environment for a thorough discussion, in the various political and economic forums throughout America, of the problems of Central America. That led to the serious and strong endorsement of the expectations opened up by the signing of the "Esquipulas II" agreement.
It is my duty to acknowledge the role played by each of my Central American colleagues in the drawing up of this agreement. I laud the political courage and the historic commitment demonstrated by each of the nations in subscribing to that agreement, notwithstanding all the difficulties that each one of us could face as a result of internal and external opposition. Of course, we could not have taken any decision without the untiring efforts of the Foreign Ministers and their working teams, which made the necessary opening that enabled us to take the decisions at the right time.
The "Esquipulas ΙΙ" agreement is only a first step on a long road. We cannot proclaim to the world that the mere fact of having signed it has solved all the problems, that peace and stability have been achieved. Far from it: now comes the hard part of this task, because if it was difficult to achieve agreements that seemed quite improbable, it is even more difficult to put them into effect.
We Guatemalans, at any rate, are optimistic, because we believe that we can go a very long way if there is the political will to move ahead. Our peoples back us up. We look forward ardently to peace. We ate tired of suffering. That is why this agreement has encouraged a regional movement for peace, which young people and women have joined. That was the case at the first meeting of Central American First Ladies, held recently in Guatemala. And there will be other cultural and social events during the remainder of the year at which young people will manifest their feelings in this respect.
Today, I appeal to the international community to help us to convert the "Esquipulas II" agreement into concrete reality, so that that process will truly lead to a firm and lasting peace in Central America which will make it possible for us to change, once and for all, the sad destiny that had seemed inevitable for our peoples. There have been certain major achievements in this process already. For example, the interest of many countries in various continents has been aroused in the need to co-operate foe the economic and social development of the region. It has repeatedly been pointed out that it would be most important for this co-operation to be provided to the five Central American countries at the same time as a process of democratisation was being developed. This is the time for the international community to show its solidarity at all levels. I have no doubt that the response to this appeal will be enthusiastic and will enable us to feel that we are not alone in our struggle for a new regional society.
In that sense, we regard the interest of North American public opinion in the problems of Central America as very positive. We know that the people of the United States have a commitment to the cause of democracy and freedom in the world. That is why I wish to repeat here the appeal of the Central Americans for a quest for a bipartisan agreement in the United States in regard to our region.
In order to achieve these objective, it is essential to accept the idea that in the quest for peace and democracy in Central America the agreement by the Presidents is not a point of reference that one can take or leave, but, rather, a point of departure for finding solutions. For the agreement represents what we want, and it is within the framework of that agreement - if it is respected - that the discussion for the achievement of a firm and lasting peace in Central America should be placed.
We Central American Presidents have said what we should do to start, at long last, on the road leading to the realization of our aspirations: real and true democracy, in which all the sectors of the country will contribute and will participate in the taking of those decisions that will enable the political leaders to set up a government that will truly be of, for and by the people.
The alternative is to let the process collapse, or to force us to choose some other path. I do not wish to discuss that here, or even to comment on it, because it is what has always occurred in the countries that do not have the monopoly of force. That is the sad part of the history of the world.
Fortunately, a discussion has now been opened, in which we can talk about the method to change this traditional attitude and can abandon confrontation and move towards concerted political effort.
We Central Americans are aware that our problems are embodied in a world-wide set of problems, and that our imaginative efforts can contribute to the quest for solutions in that context. The subjects of peace in the world deserve our special attention. That is why we look forward with great hope to the attainment by the great Powers of agreements leading to gradual disarmament and the elimination of nuclear weapons and all the risks of the destruction of mankind.
Disarmament and development are two of the problems that weigh most heavily on the contemporary world they must be understood as two distinct processes that are closely related. Each has a separate development and distinct goals. One complements the other. Disarmament complements development by means of the reallocation of financial resources, which can be put to better use in development programmes, particularly the struggle against illiteracy, disease and malnutrition and the eradication of the poverty that afflicts more than two thirds of mankind. We sincerely believe in the need for a new international economic order and will therefore energetically support any effort to restore North-South dialogue·, and we are, of course, working to find new ways for South-South co-operation. I believe this is an area where much remains to be explored. Our role in the Group of 77 will always be to increase awareness of the need for greater and deeper links among developing countries.
The situation of the world economy weighs heavily on the developing countries. What is even more serious, the prospects for their future development are gloomy. This state of affairs obtains despite the internal effort most of our countries have made through adjustment programmes. We are facing an alarming decline in the standard of living of large sectors of our societies, and we meet with a lack of understanding and with selfishness on the part of some of the most privileged sectors.
It is clear that to escape the present deadlock we must make exhaustive efforts and accept sacrifices. Thus, we also need resolute and appropriate co-operation from the developed world. This must be a joint effort by all of us who make up the international community. The debt burden, limited financing and the sharp deterioration in terms of trade are problems we must face together, taking into account principles such as joint responsibility and solidarity.
Subjects such as the establishment of machinery to facilitate the renegotiation of external debt payments and the promotion of agreements among developed countries enabling us to recycle capital in order to modernize our service infrastructure should be the subject of prompt, careful analysis.
I am convinced that we are at the dawn of a new age in the history of mankind, when an awareness of the repercussions of war is making us try to build peace. The greatest responsibility here belongs to those who hold a monopoly of power, for they must let us exercise the sole power we have in good measure; the power of our own convictions.
May God help our international society move in that direction. For then our efforts in Central America could enable us to set a good example, so that other regions, now suffering the consequences of violence and confrontation, might look with hope upon the power of appropriate political agreements to build peace and stability and respond to the call of our peoples for the fulfilment of their own basic needs.