I wish to congratulate you warmly, Sir, on behalf of the people and Government of Ghana and on my own behalf on your election to the presidency of the forty-third session of the General Assembly. I have every confidence that the vastness of your experience and the accomplished diplomatic skills that you bring to that high office will contribute significantly to the General Assembly's work at this session.
May I also pay a well-deserved tribute to your immediate predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Peter Florin of the German Democratic Republic, for his superb handling of the last session.
The common experience of developing countries since the General Assembly met a year ago has undoubtedly been the difficulty in dealing with the range of very grave economic problems that continue to affect them. The economic crisis, which is about a decade old in the developing world, is still with us. The gap between the haves and the have-nots continues to widen. For the vast majority of mankind the vision of a world of greater social justice and a better standard of living remains illusory. In sub-Saharan Africa in particular, the economic crisis has assumed alarming proportions. Despite the adoption of structural reform policies by most African countries, the subcontinent continues to suffer from the combined effects of, among other things, the sharp fall in the prices of commodities, the dramatic fluctuations in currency exchange rates and crippling debt obligations.
In the last five years the critical economic situation in Africa has occupied a position of high priority on the international economic agenda, culminating in 1986 in the adoption of the United Nations Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development. That Programme outlined the policy measures which should be pursued at various levels in order to halt Africa's economic decline and put the continent back on the path of economic growth. Halfway through the term of the Programme, however, Africa's economic performance has shown no significant improvement.
Since the adoption of the Programme the majority of African countries, in fulfilment of their commitments, have been engaged in resolutely implementing credible structural adjustment and economic reform programmes. Many more African countries may follow. But what incentives do those still weighing the question have in the face of the inadequate support that the pioneers have received? It should be possible to assure countries such as mine which are struggling with the task of implementing structural adjustment programmes that their efforts will not be in vain and that adequate and timely support will be forthcoming.
The mid-term review and appraisal exercise undertaken a few days ago by the Ad Hос Committee of the Whole of the General Assembly has afforded us a welcome opportunity to examine critically the implementation of the mutual commitments assumed by the African countries and the international community. The shortcomings and constraints have been identified and the General Assembly should decide during this session on the measures, policies and initiatives for overcoming them.
It is therefore pertinent to emphasize three separate but interrelated questions, because, in my delegation's view, they are fundamental and must be addressed squarely. I am referring here to the low commodity prices, the serious debt-servicing problems and the inadequate flow of development finance.
Africa would very much wish to be in a position to provide the bulk of the resources needed to finance its development through the returns on its own efforts. I it how can it realize this aspiration when prices of primary commodities of interest to Africa remain depressed? In the various structural adjustment programmes, rehabilitation of agricultural infrastructure and incentives to farmers have absorbed a large part of the investment, and it is discouraging that, when these efforts succeed in raising output, the returns are not enough even to cover the cost of investment. At present, Africa loses billions of dollars every year on account of 1ш commodity prices. Development and investment have suffered thereby and our debt-servicing capacity has been seriously undermined. In a marketplace where one group of operators is continually selling its wares cheaply and buying those of others dearly, protection needs to be given to the weak and vulnerable operators until such time as they are in a position to deal at arm’s length with the strong ones. This has been done even in the so-called free market economies. The present situation of the African countries in the commodities trade call for this approach and we note that it is part of the purpose of the Common Fund for Commodities to give such protection to producers of commodities. Apart from the economic provisions foe stabilizing commodity prices, provision is also made to enable producing countries to diversify their production. The Common Fund Agreement has at last met all the requirements for entry into force and presents us with a unique opportunity to eschew lip-service and ideological rigidity in favour of pragmatic and sincere efforts to remove one of the severe constraints on Africa's economic development. We call earnestly on all those countries which have not yet ratified the Agreement to do so.
The second fundamental question is the external indebtedness of African countries and the serious debt-servicing problems faced by most of them. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) , in a recent survey, concludes that the external debt position of sub-Saharan Africa has worsened considerably. It is an indication that the strategy for solving the problem has not worked, because frequent rescheduling has only postponed current obligations and added to the debt obligations of some African countries. We are pleased that some of these debts have been converted into grants. We also greatly appreciate the initiatives pertaining to the debt of the poorer countries undertaken by the recent Toronto summit. But, as we have constantly argued, it is only through a strategy that leads to significant reductions in debt stock as well as rescheduling of any residual debt over longer periods that the severe hardship imposed by debt-servicing burdens will be brought to an end.
A way will have to be found to deal with the debt owed to the international financial institutions, which, as a matter of policy, do not like to reschedule. As of now, five African countries have been declared ineligible for the use of IMF resources because of their arrears to the Fund. This is a serious development and if debt relief does not come in time many other African countries may find themselves in a similar situation. A number of proposals have been made in an attempt to find an acceptable solution to this problem. The Advisory Group on Financial Flows to Africa established by the Secretary-General has suggested refinancing of sub-Saharan countries' obligations. These proposals deserve serious attention in view of the prospect of mounting indebtedness disrupting relations between African countries and the Fund.
The third fundamental question relates to the inadequate flow of development finance to the African countries. Although the international community has made a commitment to relieve the resource constraints of African countries, resource flows to Africa have in recent years suffered a decrease. More importantly, official development assistance, which constitutes a significant component of financial flows to Africa, showed a decline in real terms in 1987 - a fact over which the Secretary-General was moved to express disappointment in his address to the Economic and Social Council during its second session in Geneva this year.
It is a matter of grave concern that at a time when many African countries are making determined efforts to implement structural adjustment programmes their efforts should be undercut by crippling financial constraints. The upshot has been the adoption of adjustment programmes in which demand management has been emphasized, even though it is generally accepted that adjustment with growth is the best route to economic recovery and development. Expenditure reduction measures, such as cost recovery and retrenchment of labour, have created serious strains in African societies, threatening the sustainability of the economic reform programmes.
My delegation recognizes, of course, that the international community, including the international financial institutions, has adopted some measures and taken certain initiatives in support of Africa's efforts. Those measures and initiatives have been belated and inadequate. Together they do not constitute a coherent and integrated programme that could seriously tackle the monumental development challenge facing Africa. As we take stock of our performance, let us boldly address the fundamental questions that have for so long bedevilled the economic development of Africa; and let us resolve to translate our commitments into concrete action.
The General Assembly is convened this year against a background of some financial uncertainty, even though there are some prospects for better times ahead. It would be unfortunate for the United Nations to be financially handicapped at a time when it finds itself actively engaged in urgent peace-keeping efforts in the Gulf and Afghanistan, with prospects for similar services in other areas of conflict. The administrative measures agreed upon in 1987 have either been implemented or are on course. We hope therefore that the withholding of funds by Member States will become a thing of the past. Financial obligations under the Charter are no different from other treaty obligations and they should be discharged without pre-conditions.
As far as the political scene is concerned, Ghana welcomes the current wave of peace sweeping the globe. Conflicts which but a few months ago seemed intractable are now being resolved at the negotiating table. The happy turn of events in the Iran-Iraq conflict comes as a relief to the entire world. The eight years of conflict, entailing unspeakable loss of human lives, cannot be justified. The cessation of hostilities is thus welcome. Ghana applauds the Secretary-General for the prompt steps he has taken to initiate the implementation of the provisions of Security Council resolution 598 (1987). We urge Iran and Iraq to extend maximum co-operation to the Secretary-General at this critical period of returning the war-weary region to peace and normalcy. Both parties must however realize that lasting peace can be built only on foundations of equity and justice.
Ghana equally welcomes the prospects for peace in Angola and Namibia. The denial of peace to the people of Angola since that country achieved independence 13 years ago cannot be justified on any grounds. The Angolan experience is a classic example of the consequences of unwarranted external interference in the internal affairs of a State Member of the United Nations. Similarly, the unsettled question of Namibian independence has seriously threatened the credibility of our Organization. Now that South Africa appears to appreciate the futility of policies of colonization, destabilisation and aggression, Ghana would like to believe that there will be no turning back.
Bearing in mind South Africa's vacillations and prevarications in the past, we must naturally remain sceptical. We recall that the present moves are similar to those of four years ago, when the Lusaka agreement was to have led to a cease-fire, a South African disengagement and the establishment of a joint monitoring commission. By the end of that year, however, not only had the Lusaka agreement collapsed but also South African troops had mounted a large-scale invasion of Angola. We also recall the insincerity of the Botha regime in relation to the implementation of the Nkomati Accord.
It is important that the international community should not adopt a complacent attitude towards the southern African situation. The truth of the matter is that the apartheid regime has not only intensified repression of its people but also introduced Draconian laws to stifle the expression of dissent. The banning since last November of all political activities by organizations committed to non-violence and the arrest of peaceful marchers, including clergymen, show that the apartheid regime is not interested in any meaningful reform. South Africa shows every indication of maintaining the apartheid system, and that means the likelihood of more aggression against the front-line States. The international community must take such measures as are necessary to eradicate the apartheid system, to deny the South Africans the capability of aggression and to strengthen the front-line States to withstand South African aggression.
It is within the power of South Africa to live in peace with its neighbours and to become a respectable member of the international community by taking appropriate steps to eradicate totally its apartheid system. Among the steps that need to be taken, the Botha regime should release Nelson Mandela and all political prisoners forthwith and initiate talks with the black leadership with a view to sharing power democratically with all South Africans, irrespective of race, colour or creed, Ghana believes that until that is done a further tightening of sanctions is necessary to ensure the total isolation and collapse of the South African regime.
Another outstanding regional conflict in Africa which also cries out for a solution is the one over the Western Sahara. We urge all parties to co-operate with the Organization of African Unity and the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the settlement of the conflict and an unimpeded realization of the self-determination of the Sahraouian people.
Hopes for peace have also been raised in Afghanistan and Kampuchea, and we are grateful to all those who continue to seek peace in those countries. Ghana welcomes the Geneva accords and the commencement of the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan. We are especially appreciative of the bold decision of the Soviet Union to withdraw from that country. We urge all parties concerned to co-operate for the successful implementation of the measures being promoted within the context of the United Nations Good Offices Mission for Afghanistan and Pakistan to help the Afghan refugees to return and to participate in the reconstruction of their country.
The recent exploratory talks in Indonesia between the parties to the Kampuchean conflict also constitute a welcome development." We believe that by building upon that foundation the parties to the conflict could narrow their differences and perhaps reach agreement. The people of Kampuchea yearn for peace and their wish must be fulfilled with the active support of the international community, but in the final analysis peace is possible only if the parties to the conflict summon the political courage to resolve their differences.
Hopes of peace in the Middle East continue to fade with each passing day.
That is largely due to the imperviousness of the Israeli Government to the wind of change that is sweeping the world. The intractable problem of the occupied Palestinian lands has taken a turn for the worse. The uprising which started in December 1987 is still raging with the Palestinian death toll mounting every single day. The real tragedy is that Israel continues to regard the uprising as simply a matter of law and order and has therefore resorted to an "iron-fist" policy to deal with the situation instead of recognizing that the uprising is a legitimate outburst of accumulated Palestinian grievances. We urge the Israeli authorities to face issues and to place a higher premium on human life, good-neighbourliness and peaceful coexistence with their neighbours and the rest of the international community.
It is the view of Ghana that the General Assembly should renew its call for the convening of an international conference on the Middle East. All parties concerned should be allowed to participate in the conference without any pre-conditions. The situation in Central America also continues to be a matter of concern. The hopes that we cherished last year for the subregion have been dashed by the breakdown in the implementation of the Central American peace accord thanks to the intransigence of the contras. Every effort must be made to revive the peace process without undue external pressure or interference. External pressures motivated by ideological considerations in our view underline the peace process. The General Assembly should appeal once again to all parties concerned to strive to achieve a political settlement and to abide by the principles of the United Nations Charter.
Another area in which political tension threatens to be permanent is Korea. The continued division of that country and the disagreements between the north and south do not advance the interests of Koreans. Ghana is glad to note the resumption of contacts and talks between the two parts of the country and hopes that even though no concrete advantage has as yet accrued, the dialogue will be maintained and intensified with a view to attaining the reunification of the country. The Korean people should be left free to determine their future without external pressure or influence.
The ever-escalating arms race remains a major threat to the survival of mankind. There can be no moral justification for current levels of expenditure on arms while the vast majority of mankind lacks basic necessities. It was against this background that we had hoped that the fifteenth special session of the United Nations, the third special session devoted to disarmament, held last spring, would provide an opportunity to adopt a programme of action that could give further momentum to the disarmament process. Regrettably, that special session failed, in spite of the propitious international climate provided by the signing of the Treaty between the United States of America and the USSR on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (the INF Treaty).
The special session did however provide the opportunity for various new proposals to be advocated, particularly those presented by the 120 non-governmental organizations which participated in it. These proposals should be examined for possible adoption. The Ghana delegation would be willing to work with any delegation that might wish to study and formulate those proposals into resolutions for the consideration of the General Assembly.
Although we continue to attach the greatest urgency to nuclear disarmament we also believe conventional disarmament deserves no less attention. The extravagant purchases of weapons in recent years clearly show that the international community should not relinquish its efforts to sensitise public opinion about the urgency of disarmament in all its aspects. But that must go hand in hand with a similar effort for social, economic and political justice for all nations. Let us hope that the co-operation that is developing between the super-Powers will aim at justice for all nations and peoples, particularly those nations and peoples that have been the victims of arbitrary power and insensitivity for centuries. The small nations will have no choice but to fight against any attempt to impose on them a vision of the world that ignores their essential prе-occupations.
In conclusion, my delegation renews its appeal to all Member States to put their minds and resources together in support of the principles and objectives of the Organization. The United Nations may not be perfect but it still is, and will continue for a long time to be, an indispensable instrument of peaceful coexistence.


Mr. President, it is my great pleasure to extend to you the congratulations of my government on your election to your high office. It is a recognition not only of your personal qualities but of the important role you have played in the re-emergence of democratic traditions in your country, and of the esteem that Argentina enjoys in the world community today.
We must also record our thanks to Mr. Peter Florin for the impeccable manner in which he conducted the proceedings of the forty-second session of the General Assembly.
Samoa has constantly sounded notes of hope and optimism lit our statements since we joined the United Nations 12 years ago - notes of hope that were often drowned out by the more despondent tones of doubt and the dire predictions of the doomsayers. However, we were not disheartened, and our faith and belief in the United Nations as the great hope of, particularly, the small nations, has never dimmed.
It is, therefore with a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction that we feel able today to say with confidence that our optimism was not unjustified. After some years of international introspection and critical self-examination, we have arrived at a time when a certain amount of congratulation is in order, and when it can be said that the international community is becoming aware of the importance of the United Nations once again. There are, indeed, successes for all to see.
These successes, which we must acknowledge, mark in most cases the fruition of long and often frustrating efforts on the part of all concerned, and owe much to the dedication, patience and persistence of the Secretary-General and our international civil servants. Through the difficult times, morale has been maintained, the quest for international peace has continued, and progress has been achieved.
It is, then, most timely and fitting that the Nobel Peace Prise should have been awarded this year to the United Nations peace-keeping forces, which are indeed a symbol to the world of the United Nations and its aims. We congratulate the Secretary-General, his staff, the troop-contributing countries, and, of course, the troops themselves. Their heroic stoicism and quiet sacrifice have too long gone unsung.
Let us then applaud the progress made in so many areas of the world where the problems had seemed insoluble. It is remarkable that across the world, from one far-flung trouble spot to another, settlements are slowly beginning to emerge, and world tensions are lessening. There is little doubt that major factors in this change are the lessening of tension between the great Powers and a new willingness on their part to work through the United Nations, thus enabling it more successfully to do the work envisaged by the framers of its Charter. We acknowledge and applaud this most encouraging development in international relations. We hope to see it grow and expand. If it does, then much credit will be due the leaders of those great nations for their enlightened statesmanship and the realisation that much of the world's well-being depends on them and the actions of their countries.
We turn, then, with hope in our hearts to a brief consideration of developments in the troubled regions of the world.
The Iran-Iraq cease-fire is an excellent example of the co-operation of the great Powers with one another and with the other members of the Security Council. Under the leadership of the Secretary-General, the Security Council has persisted with patience and diplomacy in pursuit of a settlement. How a cease-fire has been achieved, a result which seemed impossible a year ago. United Nations peace-keeping forces are in place and the expansion of the peace-keeping function to posts both there and in Afghanistan testifies to the important role those forces are able to perform world-wide if given the requisite goodwill. Now, for Iran and Iraq, the focus must b, on the full implementation of Security Council resolution 598 (1987), and on the healing of the wounds they have inflicted on one another.
In Afghanistan, the Geneva Accords were achieved, once again, as the result of steady and persistent effort under the auspices of the United Nations, with the Secretary-General and his personal envoy, Mr. Diego Cordoves, playing vital roles. The Soviet Union has withdrawn 50 per cent of its forces, as promised. While this is encouraging, it must complete its troop withdrawal as scheduled to enable the process of self-determination to take place within Afghanistan. While problems remain, the progress towards the restoration of peace to that shattered land continues. It must remain on track, for it is only when the fighting ceases, the refugees are enabled to return home and dialogue begins among the various groups in Afghanistan that the people of Afghanistan will be able finally to begin to put their lives together again and choose at last the form of government under which they wish to live.
We welcome the progress made in the negotiations on the problems in south-western Africa and are much encouraged by the improved prospects for the independence of Namibia. It is very good news that an advance team can now go to Namibia to prepare for the United Nations military and civilian presence in the Territory. At last, perhaps, the United Nations can play its appropriate role in Namibia, and the United Nations Transition Assistance Group can expedite the Territory's peaceful transition to independence.
Also showing promise, assisted by the good offices of both the Secretary-General and the Chairman of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), is the situation in Western Sahara. There, as the Secretary-General says in his annual report on the work of the Organisation,
"an appropriate climate has been established for a just and durable solution of the problem." CA/43/1. p. 3>
Once again, we understand, the United Nations will be significantly involved both in a military and in a civilian capacity, and a referendum supervised by the United Nations will give the people of Western Sahara the opportunity to make a genuine choice about their future.
When we consider the problems of Cyprus, we see that once again perseverance has paid off; the leaders of the two sides have agreed to meet for talks without any pre-conditions, and those meetings are under way. They will try to achieve a negotiated settlement of the problem by 1 June 1989. The Secretary-General's good offices have been instrumental in this process and have justified the faith the Security Council placed in him when it entrusted his mandate to him.
In our own region, development· in Now Caledonia in recent months give us reason to be greatly encouraged about peace and good-neighbourliness in the South Pacific. Initiatives embarked on by France, resulting in the Matignon and Oudinot accords have brought about dramatic change in New Caledonia. Where there was serious likelihood of a real tragedy, there is now optimism and a genuine spirit of realistic accommodation and reconciliation. The South Pacific Forum applauds the efforts and commitment of the administering country, France, as well as the courage and leadership that have been in evidence within the major groups in Mew Caledonia itself in making possible the progress so far achieved.
Western Samoa strongly supports the process now in train to produce a genuine and meaningful act of self-determination for a reconciled New Caledonia in a manner that will accommodate the legitimate interests of all its people, including its indigenous population.
That is true of the Kampuchean situation, for instance, which is showing promising signs but where there are some difficulties yet to be resolved. The members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASSAM) have shown diplomacy and leadership in the region on this issue. They have recently successfully brought the parties concerned together at the Jakarta Informal Meeting, convened by Indonesia. We trust that this has prepared the way for the convening of an international conference, preferably under the auspices of the Secretary-General. The Vietnamese must be held to their commitment to withdraw all their forces by 1990 and the country must then be readied for an act of self-determination. For this, national reconciliation is necessary and it should take place under the leadership of His Royal Highness Prince Norodom Sihanouk, with the quadripartite arrangement, representing all the parties concerned, in place. There must also be effective arrangements to ensure that there is no return to the universally condemned policies and practices of a recent past. During these processes there should be a role for United Nations peace-keeping and supervision.
There are some encouraging initiatives on the Korean peninsula. President Roh has recently proposed a meeting of the Presidents of the North and the South and, indeed, a direct dialogue is essential to any peaceful path to a solution. Once again, we feel that the United Nations environment is often the best for reconciliation and, in the interests of the universality which we strongly support, we would hope that North and South Korea will be represented in our Organisation in the near future.
The Republic of Korea must be congratulated on the manner in which it served as host to the Olympic Games, so successfully concluded a fortnight ago - evidence indeed of South Korea's competence in the international arena.
There is a definite role for the United Nations to play in regard to the Middle East. Here the problems remain intractable, with tensions recently aggravated by the uprisings on the Nest Bank, fuelled by years of frustration, and the manner in which they have been handled. The violence of these developments has made it clear that vigorous efforts must be made to find a solution for this increasingly volatile situation. An international conference under the auspices of the United Nations, with all concerned parties participating, would seem to us the best approach. It is imperative that Israel recognise the right of the. Palestinians to self-determination and their right to establish a State of their own. Conversely, the Palestinians must recognise Israel's right to exist within internationally recognised and secure boundaries. Both sides must renounce violence and must resort, for a change, to dialogue.
Another area which shows little promise of peace at the moment is Lebanon.
That tragic country is still devastated and divided, and the situation gives little cause for optimism. Once again we call on others to cease taking advantage of Lebanon's crisis and refrain from interference in its affairs. Also, the troops of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in place there must be allowed to carry out their duties without harassment and the threat of death.
In Central America the progress towards peace seems, sadly, to have stalled. There were promising signs - with blueprints for peace painstakingly laid out in the regional peace plan, Esquipulas II, adopted by the five Presidents of the Central American countries. That plan is based on the Arias plan formulated by President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica. For his efforts President Arias received the Nobel Peace Prise, and we had hoped that that would stimulate the peace process in  the region. We look to see a rekindling of enthusiasm and a revival of the dialogue so that eventually the aspirations of the peoples of Central America to live in democratic and peaceful conditions may be achieved.
In South Africa there can be no possibility of a solution until the South African Government is made to realise that it must abandon apartheid in any of its evil forms or manifestations. That Government must realise that there is no way that apartheid can be reformed: its total abolition is the only answer. The situation is constantly deteriorating, with increasingly repressive actions keeping the tensions at boiling point. The South African Government must release Nelson Mandela, now 70 years old and in poor health, and the other political prisoners; it must lift the bans front the prohibited organisations which oppose apartheid and thereby create conditions conducive to dialogue. Dialogue and the eschewing of violence and repression are the only case preliminary paths to the creation of an atmosphere where a solution can be sought.
In spite of international condemnation the South African regime remains determined to maintain, with whatever means at its disposal, its abhorrent total disregard for basic human rights. This intransigence, in Western Samoa's view, justifies the intensification and expansion of economic sanctions against South Africa.
While South Africa certainly stands out as the most blatant instance of the denial of human rights we have to contend with, we should not allow it to divert our attention from other abuses of human rights around the globe. The Organisation must ensure that the suffering and inhumanity that go hand in hand with abuses of human rights are addressed, and eliminated wherever they occur.
Human rights is one of the areas where we hope to see the United Nations role grow and expand, for we feel there is much potential for a United Nations in which the world has more confidence to operate more actively in this field. On 10 December we shall celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Sights. But there is little to celebrate when we consider the actual practices around the world. While human rights instruments have been proliferating, so have inhuman practices.
This grim irony is further exemplified  by the recent re-emergence of chemicals as weapons for one people's use against another. This practice mocks the very dignity of mankind and must be banned for ever. We are pleased to note President Reagan's proposal made here for the convening of a conference of the parties to the 1925 Geneva Protocol and that this proposal was also supported by Mr. Shevardnadse. Of course it is imperative also that the drafting of a convention banning chemical weapons be continued and completed as soon as possible.
One of the brightest hopes we have this year is the likelihood of the dawning of a whole new era in disarmament. Despite the lack of concrete results from the third special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament, we are much encouraged that the relaxing of tensions between the super-Powers has led to their agreement to dismantle an entire class of nuclear weapons under the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles - the INF Treaty. We trust that this breakthrough will herald a new attitude to disarmament. Much progress has already been made towards the conclusion of a START Treaty which would cut the super-Powers' strategic nuclear arsenals by 50 per cent. Both countries have accepted verification procedures that would have been anathema to them in the past. The two countries have gone so far as to exchange visits of military personnel at Chief-of-Staff level. This new-found flexibility and reasonableness must not only pave the way for future reductions of their own still awesome arsenals but will, it is hoped, encourage other nuclear-weapon States to begin the process of nuclear disarmament. Similarly it is hoped that those States that do not have nuclear weapons but might aspire to them will see the futility of acquiring such unusable and ultimately useless tools of war. We hope there will be a renewal of confidence in the Hon-Proliferation Treaty, a Treaty that deserves the support of all nations dedicated to a nuclear-weapon-free world. This is of crucial importance, especially to the small and vulnerable States of the world.
This year is the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Treaty; and it has served as an effective barrier to the acquisition of nuclear weapons by more States. In its 20 years of existence, no new nuclear-weapon State has emerged and more than 130 States have become parties to the Treaty and committed themselves not to acquire nuclear weapons. 2t must be strengthened and adhered to.
There is still an urgent need for the conclusion of a comprehensive test-ban treaty prohibiting all nuclear tests by all States in all environments for all time. As we learn daily how ignorant we have been about the destruction we have already wrought on this Earth, we are alarmed and realise with more certainty than ever before that all nuclear testing must cease. It must cease, not only because the further development of nuclear weapons is undesirable but also because of the damage to the Earth testing is causing, much of which may as yet have gone undetected by scientists. After all, scientists themselves have admitted how often they have been wrong in the past and how much there is still to learn about our environment.
We in the South Pacific have wondered and worried for years now about the effects of the French nuclear testing in our region. Once again we ask that it be stopped. We do not believe in the whole premise on which such testing is based; so why should we be subjected to its effects? We do not believe that nuclear weapons should exist and we believe that those in existence should be destroyed. We believe that the preservation of our God-given environment in as pristine a condition as possible is of paramount importance not only to our region but to the world as a whole.
Recent events have made us realise that we are all ecologically connected; events occurring in one part of the world can have ecological consequences on the far side of the world. Plastic bags thrown into one ocean choke sea creatures in another ocean; fumes from industrial pollution in one country cause acid rain to kill forests in another country thousands of miles away; deforestation the world over can not only cause erosion and floods miles from where it occurs, but is occurring on such a large scale that it threatens to change the climate of the entire world for ever.
It is certainly Ironic that just as we saw developments that give us reason to believe that we may be able to avoid the nuclear holocaust we have all feared for years we begin to realise that we may have irrevocably sown the seeds of destruction for this Earth in many other ways and that it may be too late to reverse much of the damage already done.
Scientists tell us that the thinning of the ozone layer and resultant greenhouse effect are the cumulative results of our pollutants. What is truly terrifying is that some scientists think that the damage we see today is the consequence of what we did 30 years ago when pollutants were fewer and less potent, and that it is our children who will feel the much greater damage resulting from our activities today.
How tragic for our children, or their children, to inherit an Earth enshrouded in a deadly pall of pollutants; awash with waters full of poison; fouled with animals dead or dying; stripped of timber; with soils exhausted, devoid of nutrients desertified or dangerously laced with toxins; and with valleys, rivers and lakes piled full of garbage. For it may come to this if we do not soon realise that the catastrophes we are experiencing are sighs from an ailing and weary Mother Earth moaning that she is just "not able to take it any more".
We sympathise with those nations - Bangladesh Jamaica Mexico the Dominican Republic and the Sudan - which have suffered the most recent tragedies; but it is at our peril that we ignore these warnings and all the other signs we have received. The World Commission on Environment and Development chaired by Prime Minister Brundtland put it to us squarely and we must act. Both rich and poor nations, both North and South are guilty. Development in the future must be in harmony with the environment.
No are pleased to welcome Prime Minister Mulroney's announcement here that Canada will establish a centre to promote the concept of environmentally sustainable development internationally and also Canada's support of a feasibility study on a World Conservation Bank to work with the World Bank, for environmental concerns MUST be an integral part of any development efforts. We strongly support the calls for a high-level United Nations conference on environmental matters, and the sooner the better.
While I said both North and South are guilty of environmental rape and pillage, the reasons are usually different in the two regions. In the developed countries misuse of the environment most often to provide comfort and convenience, and sometimes purely for sport or greed. Greed and expansion were certainly motives in recent attempts to export toxic wastes from North to South. While the countries of the South are certainly not free from base motivations, very often their populations are merely trying to survive.
Thus  we must urgently confront the inequities of the world's economic situation. The least developed feel these inequities most keenly, but all developing countries suffer from slow or negative growth, commodity price declines and adverse terms of trade, to name but a few problems. It is to be hoped that the international development strategy for the fourth United Nations development decade and other international initiatives will address more effectively the economic plight of the poorer nations of the world.
We began this address with a reaffirmation of our confidence in and commitment to the United Nations and its work. For there is no doubt that loyalty to the United Nations on the part of all its Members is the key to the Organisation's ability to carry its urgent work forward. Further progress in the reform and revitalisation of the United Nations depends on Member support, both moral and financial. Now is the time to encourage the progress begun. We are pleased that both the United States and the USSR now intend to pay their past dues and meet their financial responsibilities to the United Nations. We urge all Members to meet their obligations as well.
The spirit of multilateralism certainly seems to have been reborn and must be nurtured, for it must finally be apparent to all nations that the time for rhetoric and propaganda is past and the time for co-operation is at hand. The Secretary-General in his report last year said that it was as if "the sails of the small boat in which all the people of the earth are gathered had caught again on a light but favourable wind" (A/42/1, p. 2) - indicating that there was hope, though it might be faint. This year he is able to report that "With careful and patient navigation, the vessel has come within eight of large sections of the shore". (A/43/1, p. 2)
That is α much more hopeful future. Indeed, we agree, and while there are still sane reefs to negotiate, a safe arrival seems much more likely, for with the present international climate the sailing weather is good, or, as we say in Samoa: "A favourable wind is felt on the body. Let the boat be guided by an experienced and competent helmsman."


The Byelorussian delegation congratulates the Foreign Minister of Argentina Mr. Dante Caputo, on his election to the presidency of the forty-third session of the General Assembly and wishes him success in his work. We also wish to pay a tribute to the President of the last session, Mr. Peter Florin of the German Democratic Republic, and the Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, for the work done in the past 12 months.
Today's international situation, the global processes under way in the world and their qualitatively new nature, prompt us to consider what the course of action should be today and in the years to come for this universal, world forum, whose primary objective is to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. In view of the scope and character of contemporary international problems, it is necessary to consider to what extent the older, traditional methods are applicable in resolving those problems. Clearly, the strain of day-to-day affairs should not force the General Assembly to lose sight of this serious problem, the Assembly being, which in a sense, the collective mind of international politics. Movement without a clear-cut perspective is, at best, like the Brownian movement - chaotic, leading nowhere, and at worst leading directly to complications or even catastrophe, not only in military terms but also in the social, economic, ecological and other spheres.
To set the correct course, a navigator must know where his ship is and how and where to steer it. Looking back at the distance covered, and at the role the United Nations has played in the world, we realize the complexity of the Organization's development, which has gone through various stages; it has had its ups and downs and has overcome numerous crises. Yet we are confident that those were the difficulties of growth, rather than a decline, as claimed by those who do not believe in the potential and effectiveness of the United Nations. On the whole, those were the formative years of the United Nations, a period for promulgating its purposes and principles. Today, despite existing problems, the United Nations seems to be reaching the age of maturity, a process fuelled both by the internal logic of its development and, more important, by the urgent challenges of the day.
The world has become far too complex, multipolar and interdependent for nations to be in a position individually or in small groups to achieve the goals set by our time. Today, policies of restricted alliances can no longer ensure real security. What is needed is a global alliance and joint, concerted efforts. To achieve that, we require global multilateralism, which alone has the potential to measure up to the goal of a really secure world, a world secure for all, not just for some. The report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization states that "Multilateralism has proved itself far more capable of inspiring confidence and achieving results than any of its alternatives". (A/43/1, p. 2)
In our view, multilateralism is more than a system of international organizations. It is an approach, a concept, a method. In the final analysis, it is a regime of international politics whose pillars are universal priorities and joint endeavours. The current paradigm of international relations inherited from the past and based on the primacy of the narrowly interpreted interests of a given State has come to the end of its usefulness, just as in the past the theory of the sun rotating around the Earth was shown to be inadequate by Newtonian physics. This is clearly demonstrated by numerous threats to the existence of mankind, ranging from the nuclear threat to the ecological menace and acquired immune-deficiency syndrome (AIDS), which mankind cannot overcome through isolated efforts.
A new paradigm of international politics is needed; in fact, such a paradigm exists. It is г policy stemming from the priority of universal interests, the comprehensive nature of security, the primacy of international law and, consequently, an agreed multilateral approach. Taking a multilateral approach is not idealism. On the contrary, it is pragmatism, since it increases many times over the capacity of nations to cope with major international problems and, first and foremost, to ensure security.
This is amply proved by recent positive changes with respect to disarmament, the solution of a number of conflict situations and the establishment of co-operation between States. All these changes were made possible by the use of procedures and methods of multilateral diplomacy, including efforts made by and through the United Nations.
History and experience unfortunately show that the parties to a conflict often arrive at a reasonable solution only when all other options have been exhausted and their forces depleted. But is it always necessary to let problems reach such extremes and drain the parties' forces before a mutually beneficial solution is reached? Multilateralism can help avoid that.
Individually, nations are prone to giving short-term responses to long-term problems. Here too multilateralism has advantages. It provides for a more reasonable, balanced and prudent strategy. International political must be given an important new dimensions insight into the future. While traditional foreign policies are more often geared to reacting to specific emerging situations, multilateralism has the advantage of permitting greater foresight and preparation, which can make it possible to prevent the unfavourable development of a given situation.
Finally, multilateralism is far more in keeping with the principles of equality, and it restrains extremists from improper actions. It substitutes mutual influence and the primacy of common interests for unilateral domineering. In the final analysis, this is beneficial for all sides. That has been extensively demonstrated in the general debate that is to close today.
An individual human being is too weak and his voice, as the poet put it, is "thinner than the buzzing of a mosquito". Had he not learned to pool his efforts with those of others, he would have remained an unprotected, frightened creature in the immense wilderness of nature or might even have disappeared as a species unable to meet the challenges of the elements. But joint creative efforts have made him master of the planet. Today we have to learn anew to pool our efforts and overcome disunity, this time at the level of peoples and States. This might not be easy, but it is necessary.
The international community has experience here, and it is positive experience. In this context, I would refer to existing agreements and conventions on curbing the arms race, as well as international co-operation in the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), relief aid in cases of natural disaster, certain development programmes and recent very important examples concerning procedures for a political settlement of situations around Afghanistan and Kampuchea, the Iran-Iraq war, and certain aspects of the situation in southern Africa, Cyprus and Western Sahara.
It has been correctly emphasized during the general debate that the policy of national reconciliation and the achievement of the Geneva Accords on Afghanistan have become a model for the political settlement of other crisis situations. Those agreements were reached through the mediation and with the assistance of the United Nations. It is our common duty to ensure that all contracting parties without exception comply with the balance of commitments contained in the Accords.
The peoples of the world have enormous potential good will for peace and co-operation. A major task of the United Nations is to encourage its realization in appropriate forms. It is obvious that in order to ensure the success of multilateral endeavours all nations should give up policies of force, diktat and interference in the internal affairs of other countries and peoples, and should abandon obsolete stereotypes of thinking based on suspicion, enmity and the pursuit of domination.
The sphere in which multilateralism is applicable is boundless. The multilateral approach is needed above all to respond to the most urgent global challenges in the military, political, economic, social, humanitarian and ecological areas.
What is the effective way to resolve the problem of preventing war, ending the arms race and making a resolute move towards disarmament, first and foremost nuclear disarmament? The fact is that efforts to that end have been made regularly for several decades now. But over the same period the seriousness of the problem has tended to increase rather than decrease. Therefore, being realists, we have to adroit that the challenge cannot be met by traditional, established, conservative ways of thinking and by military and strategic approaches. Indeed, can the international community, facing the exotic and extremely destructive types of weapons of the late twentieth century, afford to follow the nineteenth century way of thinking? Does it have the right to do so? Can the community of States continue to live with the fact that the development of technology is outpacing the development of political and strategic thought? No, it cannot.
What is needed is a new, realistic approach based on an understanding of the special realities of the human predicament resulting from the emergence and accumulation of nuclear weapons and other types of weapons of mass destruction. The Soviet-United States Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles - the INF Treaty - is the first and, for that reason, all the more significant sprout of that understanding. However, one sprout does not make a good harvest. In order to ensure security and make the process of disarmament irrevocable, it is necessary to move seriously and radically to further goals - namely, a 50 per cent reduction in the strategic offensive weapons of the Soviet Union and the United States, while strictly complying with the Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Systems, as signed in 1972, and not withdrawing from it for a specified period of time; a comprehensive nuclear-weapon-test ban; the elimination of chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction on a global scale the prevention of the development of new and ever-more-destructive weapons and, in the long run, complete and general nuclear disarmament} a radical reduction of conventional weapons} and the use of outer space exclusively for peaceful purposes.
It is clear that palliative measures will at best produce palliative security. That is not enough for the peoples of the world. However, the development of more far-reaching measures in this area is blocked by the continued commitment of some nuclear States to a speculative paradox which holds that life is guaranteed by nuclear-death stockpiles. Life on this blue planet of the solar system may well be the price we shall have to pay for taking so much time to test that paradox. Experimenting on mankind in that way is inadmissible - all the more because the experiment is being conducted against the will of mankind. As one apt expression has It, one day we will have total and complete nuclear disarmament - with or without people - resulting from the use of nuclear arms in a war. Let us work together to ensure that total and complete nuclear disarmament will be the result of the peaceful dismantling of nuclear arms for the sake of guaranteeing the security of mankind.
The Soviet Union has already stated its readiness to renounce the status of nuclear Power in the interest of the whole of mankind. The abandonment of old stereotypes could provide other nuclear Powers with an opportunity to take that worthy position.
The new thinking also suggests a fundamental way to ensure security in the field of conventional weapons and armed forces ι to eliminate imbalances and asymmetries and to achieve equal, radically reduced levels and a strictly defensive structure for the armed forces. The question of what a defensive structure and a purely defensive nature of military doctrines are can and should be addressed at a multilateral level - for instance, involving to that end the Security Council and its Military Staff Committee the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic actively supports that approach. There is also a vast potential in the idea of establishing a multilateral military-risk-reduction centre, as proposed by the Secretary-General, as well as in the Soviet Union's initiative for setting up a European centre for reducing the risk of war and preventing surprise attack.
One has mixed feelings about the evolution of events over the past 12 months in the area of approaches to disarmament. On the one hand, there have been uncontested achievements, including those in the multilateral area - the INF Treaty, the progress in the work to ban chemical weapons, the movement in the area of confidence-building, openness, verification, the relationship between disarmament and development - and, on the other hand, there is the failure to reach agreement on a final document of the third special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament However, the spirit of that special session, the great wealth of new ideas, proposals and approaches that countries brought to the special session and have brought to the current session, their readiness to establish mutual understanding and to co-operate, are all encouraging signs. We are confident that quantity will inevitably result in new quality - the new quality of multilateralism, when the position of one State would no long block the realization of the will of all other countries.
The United Nations is capable of scoring serious successes also in the peaceful settlement of regional conflicts. The United Nations Charter and resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly contain both the conceptual and the structural basis for a multilateral and constructive approach. That is another approach that offers vast possibilities. The recent achievements by the United Nations in this field are encouraging and should stimulate the international community to be creative and bold and to take active, concerted measures in the Middle East, Central America, southern Africa, the Korean peninsula and other conflict areas.
As is well known, the United Nations peace-keeping forces have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. However, are the potential and the capacity of the institution of military observers being used to a full extent? In our opinion United Nations observation posts could be set up in potentially explosive areas  military observers could be placed along borders where countries are trying to protect themselves from outside interference} special fact-finding missions could be sent out, on the decision of the Security Council, to investigate situations connected with mutual accusations, to study ways of settling such situations and to monitor the termination of any foreign military presence in foreign territories.
Just as a really good doctor not only treats but also prevents disease, the United Nations operations could be used not only for settling conflicts but also for preventive purposes, in order to defuse emerging military confrontations. The future lies with preventive diplomacy. We should also discuss the question of United Nations naval operations, in the first place to ensure safe navigation in international waters, as well as the idea of setting up a United Nations military observer and armed forces reserve.
Comprehensive security requires a comprehensive approach. There is a growing awareness that if the peoples of some regions and even entire continents are left, deliberately or unwittingly, to be exploited and to lead a miserable existence, mankind runs the risk of setting off an explosion no less destructive than a military confrontation. Let us view the question of war and peace from another angle; In the wars of recent years, people have died and the resources of developing countries, so badly needed for their economic development and social progress, have been increasingly diverted. Therefore, to make the world a safer place, steps in the military and political spheres alone are not enough: what is also needed is a different - that is, a more just and mutually beneficial - economic order under which co-operation and assistance would serve mutual progress rather than the enslavement of some countries. It is necessary to help combat underdevelopment, manage the external-debt problem and promote the genuine stability of the world economy and co-operation.
Implementing the basic principle or disarmament for development should become a major element of this approach. This can and should unite humanity and promote the emergence of universal consciousness. The United Nations must move to take action on these issues.
The concept of internationalism permeates the Charter. The significance of the values it sets forth - peace, security, justice, freedom, human rights, equality and co-operation - will grow as the world becomes more interdependent.
Ensuring in practice the freedom of the peoples to choose their ways of development, putting an end to continued attempts to destabilize legitimate Governments and to impose a social and political system from outside means meaningfully consolidating the foundation of security in the world. Providing all with truly peaceful conditions of life and just conditions of economic development with jobs for the unemployed, bread for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, knowledge for the illiterate, rights for the deprived  satisfying the basic needs of hundreds of millions of people who still live below the level of human decency, pursuing everywhere the practical and full implementation of international human rights instruments, eliminating international terrorism and drug trafficking all mean enriching the content of security and creating realistic conditions for the world community to be able to focus fully on the lofty spiritual requirements of man and on reversing the dangerous and rapid depletion of the balance, purity and beauty of the environment.
Incidentally, ecology is the most vivid example, on the one hand, of the unique role and possibilities of multilateralism and, on the other hand, of the impotence of purely egotistical and narrow national approaches. Let us learn in this area as well how to work jointly on problems that do not lend themselves to unilateral solutions. The symbiosis of States with different interests, of systems with different social and political structures and, finally, the symbiosis of man and nature presupposes, to be successful, compliance with certain principles and rules of behaviour. Acting on this premise we favour serious efforts to assure the real primacy of law in all areas of international relations under the motto, "Security, confidence and co-operation through law". Obviously such efforts must include both the necessary rule-making and the mechanism needed to ensure strict implementation of the rules adopted. It is important to seek a common understanding of them so that when agreeing on the rule we do not sow the seeds of future discord because of differences regarding its interpretation.
Undoubtedly the development, testing and fine-tuning of a complex multilateral mechanism cannot be done overnight. It is a long-term objective, requiring effort, patience and understanding of the balance of interests. However, we must begin moving in the required direction now, focusing on those measures that are ripe and can produce realistic results.
We should try to consolidate in the United Nations a spirit of true multilateralism in the profound sense of the word. In particular it is appropriate to intensify the search for consensus decisions, and what counts here is not formal but effective consensus, what matters is consensus on the substance and not only in procedure. We need to think jointly about how to improve the procedures and the working methods of the General Assembly and its bodies, we need to consider the method of convening special sessions, rational and economic spending of available financial resources. The Security Council stands to gain greatly from the interaction of its permanent members and the elaboration of mutual commitments in the spirit of restraint and respect for the freedom of choice of the peoples, and the exclusion of great-Power involvement in regional conflicts. Its effectiveness would be enhanced by periodic meetings at the level of foreign ministers and by holding sessions in conflict areas away from Headquarters.
It would be very useful from every point of view if the permanent members of the Security Council and other States would accept the binding jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice on a mutually agreed basis.
A greater role for the Secretary-General in the settlement of conflicts and their prevention would also be in the interest of all. The potential of that role has recently been convincingly demonstrated by Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar and his staff. The Secretary-General could take initiatives in the Security Council, suggest measures he considers appropriate and submit reports to the Council on questions deserving attention. Investing the Secretary-General with functions of monitoring compliance with United Nations decisions, in particular in the disarmament area, could become an important responsibility for the Secretary-General.
The Byelorussian SSR shares the position of the socialist community that has been expressed during the general debate on the range of issues under discussion in the General Assembly and today has especially addressed the problem of developing and strengthening a multilateral approach to solutions to international problems, the analysis of its advantages and some concrete proposals in this respect. In so doing, we are profoundly convinced that multilateralism, as a system for dealing with international issues, constitutes a basic instrument for constructing a truly comprehensive approach to the issues of international peace and security. What we need are joint efforts of all States in all areas. There can be no customers or contractors in such construction work; there can only be equal shareholders. The contribution of each is readiness for honest co-operation in the interest of the common cause. The dividend for each is solid security, freedom, equality and prosperity.	·
Throughout its history the Byelorussian SSR has pursued these noble goals. Seven decades of hard work and struggle - this landmark will be celebrated by the Republic and the Communist Party of Byelorussia on 1 January 1989 - and the fundamental restructuring of our society on a socialist basis have enabled the Byelorussian people not only to ensure continuous economic and social progress, but also to make an acknowledged contribution to efforts to reach those goals at the international level. At the present new stage of the development of international relations the Byelorussian SSR is ready for further fruitful co-operation in building a world free of war or weapons, a world of co-operation and prosperity.


It is a pleasure for me, at the beginning of my statement, to congratulate Mr. Dante Caputo on his election as President of the General Assembly at its forty-third session. My country's delegation is confident that the deliberations of the Assembly at this session will be crowned with success and, owing to his consummate skills, know-how and sagacity, will achieve the desired results. I also take this opportunity to commend his predecessor, Mr. Peter Florin, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the German Democratic Republic, who presided over the work of the previous session with distinction and skill. We have no doubt that Mr. Caputo will prove a worthy successor.
A short time ago, the world lost one of its outstanding leaders. General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq, the late President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Although the loss of President Zia ul-Haq is a very great misfortune, we are confident that the new Pakistani leadership will play an important political role, in keeping with the high standing of the people of Pakistan at the regional and international levels.
At the present session, the Sultanate of Oman would like once again to reaffirm its faith and confidence in the noble principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and to assert its conviction that the organs and institutions of the Organization have a constructive role to play in devising solutions to the problems and crises afflicting mankind. That conviction stems from its belief that dialogue and understanding among nations achieved within the fold of the United Nations is the best way of overcoming such problems and crises.
The Nobel Peace Prize given to the peace-keeping forces of the United Nations this year is an expression of the world's recognition of the role of the United Nations in the context of peace and security. The award is a historic recognition of the role of the United Nations, and a sign of the international desire to emphasize the impetus towards world peace. We are truly overjoyed by this event, and congratulate everybody in the United Nations, but especially the officials who are working throughout the world to preserve peace and security.
Among the purposes of the Charter are the establishment and maintenance of a climate of confidence and mutual understanding within the international community, the creation of normal, just and equitable relations among Governments, nations and peoples on the basis of dialogue and non-recourse to war as a means of resolving conflicts, and compliance with the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of others. The United Nations has the capacity and the means to achieve the purposes and give effect to the principles set out in the Charter.
As members know, at the beginning of each of the last seven sessions of the General Assembly, in presenting ourselves here to participate in the work of the Assembly and to speak from this rostrum of the problems that beset international peace and security, we have begun our remarks by referring to the Iraq-Iran war as the regional problem that poses the greatest danger thereto. At the present session, from this rostrum, we extend our warmest congratulations to Iraq and Iran on the agreement they have reached for the implementation of Security Council resolution 598 (1987) and to congratulate the international community on the success of its efforts to quell the flames of the longest and most dangerous regional conflict the world has witnessed since the Second World War. In this context, we can only express our overwhelming sense of relief and satisfaction at that outcome.
We see it as our duty, moreover, to extend particular congratulations to the Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, on the positive and constructive role he has played, his tireless patience and his endurance under the psychological and moral burden of this problem until he was able to bring it to the threshold of peace. A success rarely matched in the history of the United Nations will thus be put on record to the credit of the Secretary-General. The role of the United Nations has undergone a diminution that has aroused the concern of all nations and peoples for the future of peace and security. What has been achieved in the Perez de Cuellar era, however, has restored confidence in the United Nations and in its peace-keeping role in the maintenance of security and stability. It has also added a new dimension to the credibility of the United Nations as a guardian of peace that allows all nations great and small to come together under its auspices and engage in dialogue with a view to achieving through its good offices, stability, reassurance and peace, in accordance with the Charter.
Accordingly, we call for greater self-sacrifice in maintaining the new momentum in United Nations endeavours, for action to reinforce those endeavours and for support for the role of the Secretary-General and co-operation with him in his efforts to solve other regional problems. He has our gratitude and our support for the efforts he is making to bring about a more tranquil and peaceful world.
The agreement reached on the implementation of Security Council resolution 598 (1987) in the Gulf region marks the beginning of a future brimming with hope, peace and prosperity. That would not have been possible without the courageous and judicious roles played by the leadership of both Iraq and Iran. The achievement brought about by resolution 598 (1987) will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the roost illuminating examples of the momentous acts that characterize great peoples and nations. We are hopeful that the agreement between Iraq and Iran will mark the conclusion of one era and the beginning of a long and all-embracing new era of peace and co-operation.
The key elements of Omani policy include the alleviation of tensions in the region, promotion of factors conducive to security and stability and encouragement of all parties to build mutual trust, with a view to ending disputes and achieving peace based on good-neighbourliness and mutual respect for the interests of the peoples of the region. The steps already taken by Iraq and Iran give us confidence that their readiness to take positive steps towards the implementation of resolution 598 (1987) will endure. We gratefully salute the two countries for the patience and diligence they have shown, and pin our hopes on the flexibility and co-operation that they are demonstrating in the ongoing talks, which will help in the achievement of peace and security in the near future.
Among the most important benefits of a lasting peace between those two countries are the reconstruction and development they will be able to achieve. The international community must therefore do everything in its power to support their efforts to rebuild and to restore an understanding that will have far-teaching effects in assuaging the bitterness left behind by the war between those two peoples. It must help them achieve the development and prosperity that will provide a firm foundation for a lasting peace.
As one of the two States bordering on the Strait of Hormuz, ray country has a special interest in the regulation of navigation in the Strait we continue as in the past to play our role in regulating shipping in that important international waterway in conformity with provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the rules laid down by the International Maritime Organization. The Sultanate of Oman reaffirms its determination to continue to perform that role in a way that will enable shipping in the Strait to catty on unhindered and in peace in accordance with the relevant international regulations.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and International Maritime Organization regulations accord equal rights to all coastal and land-locked States in the use of maritime straits, including the Strait of Hormuz, so long as that use is harmless and poses no threat to peace and security.
Following the lessons relating to Gulf shipping that have been learnt from the Iraq-Iran war, and following the negative developments that accompanied that war, the United Nations should ensure that peace agreements in the Gulf include an appeal for respect for freedom of international navigation and for non-interference with shipping both in international and in regional waters, including in ports, harbours and maritime installations, in time of peace or in time of war, in accordance with international law and recognized norms and within a framework of collective action for international legitimacy. Such action would ensure that the treatment accorded to shipping in the Gulf during the war does not become an acceptable precedent in international law that could be applied in other regions.
No discussion of navigation in the Gulf would be complete without reference to the foreign presence in the area. With respect to the growing dispute concerning the foreign naval presence, we should like to stress the importance of international co-operation in a framework of peace with a view to " king the Gulf region a zone free of international conflicts. We also stress how important it is that all States should refrain from using the Gulf in ways that would increase tension or be prejudicial to the interests of any State bordering on the Gulf.
We look forward to the day when we can speak here on the question of Palestine with a heart full of joy at the Palestinian people having achieved its aspirations: a day we hope is not far off. At this session, however, we are obliged to express our deep concern at Israel's continuing occupation of Arab and Palestinian territory and at its failure to respond positively to international peace offers that would enable the Palestinian people to exercise its rights and the Arab States to enjoy security and peace. Israel has rejected all international political initiatives aimed at achieving peaceful coexistence between it and its neighbours, and insists on perpetuating the state of belligerency in the region, just as it persists in its illegal occupation of Arab territories and its abasement of the Palestinian people by denying it the rights set out in the United Nations Charter and in hundreds of resolutions of the General Assembly and other United Nations bodies, first and foremost the Security Council, which is responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security.
It is time for Israel to wake up to the fact that, if it genuinely wants peace with its neighbours and coexistence with the Arab peoples, it must immediately abandon its present policy and cease its belligerent and oppressive methods. Peace depends primarily on coexistence with the Palestinian people? Israel must therefore become sensitive to the true nature of that people's peaceful uprising in the occupied Arab territories and respond to it by agreeing to the convening of an international peace conference on the Middle East rather than by using force and oppression against the peaceable Palestinian people.
Never in history has an occupying authority meted out such harassment as that faced by the Palestinian people in its peaceful legitimate struggle against Israeli occupation. Despite the international community's inability to play a role in keeping with the scale of the suffering of the Palestinian people and with the peaceful nature of its uprising, that people continues to hope fervently that it will be accorded justice and fairness by the international community, as represented by the United Nations, in the realization of its aspirations and of its legitimate right to the establishment of an independent State.
The measures announced on 31 July 1988 by His Majesty King Hussein bin-Talal of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan severing the legal and administrative ties between Jordan and the occupied West Bank will unquestionably advance the Arab approach to peace. Moreover, they will facilitate arrangements for convening the international peace conference on the Middle East, thereby highlighting Jordan's important positive role in achieving peace, a role indispensable to the Middle East peace process.
These positive developments have created historic new opportunities for achieving a just and permanent peace in the Middle East guaranteeing the rights of all parties concerned. If these opportunities are not seized now, similar ones may not arise in the future, and this issue could continue to threaten international peace and security. There are indications that solutions are at hand to certain regional issues that until recently clouded international peace and security; solutions that should provide the best of motives for placing the question of the Middle East atop the list of regional issues demanding speedy solution.
The Government of the Sultanate of Oman is satisfied at the developments regarding the issue of Afghanistan and particularly at the signing on 14 April 1988 of the Geneva Agreements. In that connection it endorses the agreement that was reached and commends the efforts made by the United Nations on that issue, undertaken by the Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, and his representative, Mr. Diego Cordovez. We express our complete satisfaction with the steps taken with respect to the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan, and with the latitude accorded the Afghan people to choose the system it desires without outside interference. The Sultanate of Oman further calls for the speedy solution of all issues relating to the implementation of the agreements, including the question of the composition of the future Government of Afghanistan. We urge the international community and all peace-loving States to make greater efforts to assist in the reconstruction of Afghanistan in order that it may overcome the devastating impact of the war that has afflicted it.
The Government of my country is hopeful that the international situation, which is brimming with optimism, will help in the solution of the worsening Kampuchean problem. In this connection, we should like to commend the sustained efforts being made by countries of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to solve the problem, and we also applaud in particular the efforts made by Indonesia on behalf of ASEAN. We regard the results achieved by the informal meeting of the Kampuchean parties held at Djakarta in July this year as particularly auspicious, and we hope that, God willing, the meeting will mark an opportune beginning for the resolution of the crisis. We wish success to all the efforts made to solve the Kampuchean problem, so that the Kampuchean people will be able to live in peace and choose for itself, of its own accord, whatever system it pleases.
Since it became a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Indian Ocean, my country, together with the other members of the Committee, has made modest efforts towards implementation of the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace, adopted by the General Assembly in 1971 in its resolution 2832 (XXVI). Its implementation would preserve equilibrium in the region and insulate it from the effects of great-Power rivalry.
Despite the fact that patience is all but exhausted by the deadlock that has stifled the work of the Committee in recent years, we are pleased to note that appreciable success was achieved in the Committee's preparatory work this year. We hope that this success, together with recent positive developments in the region, will provide a fitting impetus for the convening of the conference in question at Colombo in 1990, as a first step towards the implementation of the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace.
We feel a sense of gratification at the sustained endeavour by the States of Central America to implement the agreement on arrangements for the inauguration of a firmly established and permanent peace in the region, which was signed by the Heads of State of the region on 8 August 1987. This agreement promises a future of peace and prosperity, not only for the region of Central America but also for the entire Latin American and Caribbean region. We take this opportunity to express the support of the Sultanate of Oman for all efforts made to bring peace to Central America, particularly those: of the Contadora Group, which has continued to make exhaustive efforts to implement the letter and spirit of the August 1987 agreement.
The building of a world in which security, goodwill and harmony prevail requires that we eliminate those inhuman manifestations which the international community continues to endure, such as racial discrimination. The vile policy of racial discrimination pursued by the Government of South Africa against the black majority brings with it only increased destruction and bloodshed. While condemning that policy, we are hopeful that the international community will spare no effort to realize the aspirations of the oppressed peoples of South Africa for freedom and stability.
In that connection, the Sultanate of Oman welcomes the progress achieved thus far in the rounds of talks taking place, under the auspices of the United States of America, between Angola and Cuba on the one hand, and South Africa on the other. We hope that the results of these efforts will advance the interests of the peoples of South Africa and restore security and peace to that important region of the world.
The world is at present witnessing a unique gathering that exemplifies peace in its noblest sense the Olympic Games hosted by Seoul, the capital of South Korea. The Sultanate of Oman hopes that the spirit of peace represented by the Games will promote confidence and stability in the Korean peninsula. In this connection, my country would welcome any international move to admit either of the Korean States to membership of the United Nations, and we particularly welcome the sincere interest shown by the Republic of South Korea in addressing the General Assembly, especially since it announced, through the declaration made by its President on 7 July 1988, an end to the state of diplomatic enmity characterized by its rivalry and confrontation with the North. Such a move would strengthen the principle of universality which is the corner-stone of this Organization.
It is encouraging to see today that the process of dialogue and negotiation between the two great Powers has entered on a new course and has begun to develop. The positive results of that process have begun to show an appreciable impact in the easing of international tension, and they represent a sound basis for a more peaceful world and presage prospects for a dialogue of broad enough scope to include agreement on the solution of an increasing number of international issues. The entry into force of the Treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles is an important historic event. The Treaty, as well as being the first of its kind, has highlighted an important fact: that regardless of how great the destructive military power of a State might be, it cannot be assured of peace and tranquillity, and that the only way to achieve security and stability is to engage in dialogue and to respect the interests of others on the basis of justice for all nations, great and small alike.
That Treaty, although important, affects only a small number of the nuclear weapons on the face of the planet. We have nevertheless taken one step towards the world envisaged by the Charter, despite the statistics available on military expenditures. It is enough to recall, by way of example, that the world spends $1.3 million each minute for military purposes while in some of the developing countries hundreds of children are dying of malnutrition and disease, to say nothing of the 570 million human beings who are suffering from hunger, the 1,500 million in need of health services, the 800 million who remain under the shadow of illiteracy, and the 300 million unemployed.
These and other relevant facts make it incumbent on us to take urgent steps to break the deadlock that beset the disarmament process at the third special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament. The disarmament issue is not the unique concern of one State or one group of States, but a universal issue that involves all peoples because none will survive a nuclear catastrophe. Since we believe that nuclear war will eradicate the human heritage and human progress on this planet, there is no alternative to collective action to prevent its occurrence. This will of course only come about if every State assumes its responsibility with zeal and sacrifice in preparing for a concerted effort of universal scope to formulate a full and comprehensive programme for disarmament.
The structural changes experienced by the world economy during the 1980s raise questions and cause concern in view of the sharp decline that has taken place. The changes that resulted from technological and scientific progress, as well as from the overall economic policies of the large industrialized countries, have had a negative impact on growth and development in the world in general and in the developing countries in particular.
The worsening situation of the world economy is due to the interaction of a number of factors, including the fall-off in the prices of those commodities on which the economies of the developing countries depend j instability in the exchange rates of the major currencies; the protectionist measures adopted by the industrially advanced countries; the debt burdens of the developing countries; the deterioration in the terms of trade to their detriment, and the reduction in financial flows to those countries. This has led to an aggravation of the economic problems from which the countries in question suffer, perhaps the best indication of which is the decline in their average per capita income. The uncontrolled persistence of such an abnormal situation will compound the suffering of even more of the inhabitants of third world countries. If such policies on the part of the wealthy countries are allowed to continue, it will mean that the developing countries will also continue to suffer from backwardness and poverty and that their economies will not have the opportunity to achieve increased rates of growth and recovery.
Although the beginning of a new approach on the part of the industrialized countries towards alleviating the burden of third world indebtedness, extending repayment schedules and lowering interest rates was apparent at the recent Toronto summit meeting, that approach is not universal and we hope that it will not be an interim phenomenon. We call for more constructive co-operation from the industrially advanced countries in order to increase growth rates in the developing countries and alleviate their debt burdens, just as we call on those countries to show more flexibility and greater seriousness in negotiations on that matter.
The solution of many of the problems faced by the international community depends on improvement of the world economy as a whole and on ensuring equitable and fair growth for all countries. This naturally requires the countries concerned to be flexible enough to renew the North-South dialogue. We believe that the present session will provide an excellent opportunity to bolster the optimism that arose as a result of the resumption of the dialogue between producers and consumers. We have a duty to co-operate closely in order to create the conditions necessary to bring about a world economy that will be of benefit in a fair and balanced manner to industrialized and developing countries alike.
The United Nations has played a pioneer role in solving world problems and in promoting international peace and security. The Organization has demonstrated its ability and aptitude in devising solutions to many problems that had appeared to be insoluble, just as it has succeeded in breaking the deadlock in issues that had seemed to have reached an impasse.
The United Nations will remain the hope of mankind in its search for peace and security. In conformity with its policies directed towards the establishment of friendly and peaceful relations with surrounding countries and with the rest of the world, the Sultanate of Oman will continue to support all efforts to strengthen the role of the United Nations as the major collective instrument capable of solving the intractable problems facing mankind.