I wish to extend, on behalf of my delegation and on my own behalf,
warm congratulations to Mr. Hollai on his well-deserved election as
President of the thirty-seventh session of the General Assembly. His
accession to this high office is a tribute to his personal qualities
and wide knowledge and experience of international affairs. I assure
him of my delegation's co-operation in the months ahead. I should
also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Kittani on the
wisdom and competence he displayed in guiding the debates of the
thirty-sixth session, and to express our gratitude for his devoted
service to the work of the General Assembly. It is a pleasure for me
to pay a tribute also to the Secretary-General, whose first year in
office has been particularly difficult. He has faced the challenges
of his office with courage, realism and persistence. By his efforts
on behalf of world peace and the authority of the United Nations, Mr.
Perez de Cuellar has shown himself to be worthy of the great
responsibility upon his shoulders.

219. As the General Assembly takes stock once again of the world
situation, there can be little cause for satisfaction over the state
of international" affairs. Whether we consider the proliferation of
dangerous regional conflicts or the inability of the United Nations
to maintain peace and security through collective action, the outlook
is not encouraging.

220. In the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, southern Africa,
Afghanistan and South-East Asia and in the recent Falkland (Malvinas)
Islands dispute, the United Nations has not been able to fulfil its
most fundamental purposes of peace-making and peace-keeper. In many
cases when people suffering from injustice, oppression and foreign
domination turn to the United Nations for redress, basing their hopes
on the provisions of the

221. After nearly four decades of experience in using the Charter as
the legal standard governing inter-national relations, the wisdom and
validity of its principles remain incontestable. However, its wide,
global objectives continue to be subordinated to narrowly conceived
national interests. In our view, this is the cause of the current
breakdown in inter-national law and order. Unless Member States
address themselves seriously and sincerely to this dilemma, they
cannot hope to achieve workable solutions to

222.	In the Middle East Israel's denial of Palestinian rights is
the driving force behind its lawless and barbarous devastation of
Lebanon. International anarchy is nowhere so rampant as in this area,
where Israel has shown that there are no limits to its con-tempt for
international law and its callous inhumanity. Not content with
denying Palestinian rights, the Israelis are seeking to exterminate
the Palestinians themselves. In pursuit of their final solution to
the problem they have launched a criminal aggression against a
sovereign State, and they have had no qualms about the destruction of
cities through saturation bombing and the killing and maiming of
thousands of civilians, including women and children, by the use of
vicious phosphorous and anti-personnel cluster bombs.

223.	The recent massacres in the Shatila and Sabra camps in west
Beirut have confronted us with horrors similar to those of the
holocaust of the Second World War. Israel cannot escape
responsibility for aiding  and abetting the perpetration of the
crimes against the defenceless civilians of those camp-rimes which
have been strongly condemned by the entire world community. Israel
has in the past claimed in inter-national forums that its actions
stem from a special religious and moral authority. Are we now asked
to believe that the wanton destruction of life and property in
Lebanon was carried out at the dictate of a just Creator, or that
tragedies of the past which have no bearing on the Middle East
justify Israel's expansionist greed and genocidal policies?

224. My Government hopes that the General Assembly will be
uncompromising in its condemnation of Israel for the carnage in
Lebanon and will also be vigilant in opposing any Israeli attempts at
imposing new faits accomplis with regard to Lebanese territory. It
must demand Israel's 'immediate, complete and unconditional
withdrawal from Lebanon.

225.	The General Assembly must also keep inter-national public
opinion focused on Israel's arrogant annexations of Arab territories,
including the Holy City of Jerusalem. It must be reaffirmed that the
status of the city, which is sacred to Moslems and Christians as well
as to Jews, cannot be unilaterally determined. The increased level of
persecution in the West Bank and Gaza and the defiant escalation of
the illegal settlement policy must also continue to be strongly
condemned. .

226.	The failure of the Security Council in the past to take
effective measures against Israel for its violations of international
law certainly encouraged the Israeli Government to believe that it
could flout any international convention, commit any act of
aggression or carry out any atrocity with impunity. It is more than
time for it to be disabused of this belief. Israel has undoubtedly
breached the peace of the Middle East and threatened world peace and
security. Its outright rejection of all proposals which could serve
as a basis for negotiations shows that it has turned its back on
peace and that it plans to continue with is expansionism at any cost.
In our view, if the Security Council is to maintain any credibility
and authority in world affairs it must be prepared to take
significant action, including the imposition of sanctions, in order
to check Israel's dangerous and irresponsible course.

227. The tragic conflict between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of
Iran is another unfortunate reflection of our troubled times. My
Government sincerely I hopes that the ongoing mediation efforts will
succeed in the difficult and sensitive task of bringing an end to
this conflict which has destabilized the Gulf area. Somalia adds its
voice to the appeals of other Member States for the immediate
cessation of hostilities and the start of negotiations which would
ensure a return to peace and amity in the region.

228. The problems of southern Africa have always involved the
fundamental principles of the Charter and over the years have
increasingly threatened regional and international peace and
security. These problems remain acute in spite of the fact that the
struggle against South Africa's racist and colonial policies is in
its final stages. .

229.	Unfortunately, the Pretoria regime is encouraged by the
continued political, economic and military support of its main
trading partners to intensify its racist oppression in South Africa,
to remain illegally in Namibia and to attempt to dominate the
southern African region through military aggression, political
pressure and economic subversion. Clearly, the General Assembly must
reiterate its call for unremitting efforts by the world community to
eliminate apartheid and to enable the United Nations to carry out its
legal responsibility for leading Namibia to independence.

230.	Within South Africa the racist policies of the apartheid
system are being applied with ever- increasing severity as the
liberation struggle gains in effectiveness and strength. The
legitimacy of that struggle cannot be over-emphasized. In the long
history of the uprising of peoples against tyrannical and colonial
forms of oppression, revolutionary wars have been fought for much
less pressing reasons than the degrading inhumanity of apartheid.

231.	The liberation movements within and outside South Africa
deserve the strongest moral, material and political support for their
efforts to regain the human dignity and fundamental right of the
majority of the population. As for South Africa's ruling minority, it
should be ostracized and isolated until it is prepared to take steps
to establish a just society.

232.	In the case of Namibia the salient factor is the illegality
of South Africa's presence in the Territory, a status determined by
the International Court of Justice and Security Council resolution
435 (1978), which remains the only valid basis for a settlement. It
is now four years since South Africa began its machinations aimed at
obstructing Namibia's independence. No longer can the international
community tolerate South Africa's bad faith, its oppressive
domination of the Namibian people and its brutal war against their
liberation movement under the leadership of SWAPO.

233. My Government sincerely hopes that the current optimism over the
prospect of a Namibian settlement is justified. However, in view of
South Africa's past performance we believe that the General Assembly
must not fail to remind the five Western States of their commitment
to independence for Namibia as speedily as possible. In our view,
there will be little progress on Namibia or on other southern African
issues unless South Africa is made to understand General
Assembly-Thirty-seventh Session-Plenary Meetings that it will
certainly face comprehensive economic sanctions if it continues its
intransigent, aggressive and inhuman policies.

234. The growing use of brute force as an instrument of foreign
policy is disturbingly evident in the Soviet Union's continued
occupation of Afghanistan, a small non-aligned State, and in its
attempt to crush the resistance of the proud and courageous Afghan
people. The same super-Power which invokes in the United Nations the
doctrine of the non-use of force in international relations is
responsible for the loss of thousands of innocent lives at the hands
of its invading forces, for the devastation of Afghanistan's economy
and for the creation of one of the world's largest refugee
populations.
235. The ruthless nature of this war is further illustrated by the
use of Afghanistan as a testing ground for forms of chemical warfare
long condemned as barbarous by the international community. The
General assembly must continue to keep the plight of Afghanistan
before the attention of the world and to stand firmly by its
resolutions and those of the Security Council which call for the
unconditional withdrawal of all foreign troops from the country.
236. The presence of foreign troops in Democratic Kampuchea is
another example of the subversion of national independence through
foreign domination. Here again military aggression and alien rule
have given rise to a tragic refugee situation and to chronic tension
and conflict. My Government hopes that the efforts of the members of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other States to ensure
the restoration of legitimacy and national independence in Democratic
Kampuchea will be successful and that the constructive proposals made
at the recent International Conference on Kampuchea will be fruitful.
A political settlement would undoubtedly have far-reaching effects on
the peace and stability of the whole South-East Asian region.
237. Since the adoption of General Assembly resolution 2832 (XXVI) on
the Indian Ocean, serious obstacles have been placed in the way of
implementing the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace
by Soviet military intervention in the affairs of the countries of
the region and in their local conflicts. Moreover, with the military
and naval forces of the  Soviet Union firmly entrenched in bases
provided to it by certain regional States, there has been a steady
deterioration in the stability and security of the countries of the
region. These dangerous developments have set the stage for the
escalation of super-Power confrontation and military rivalry in the
Indian Ocean. It is, therefore, more important than ever for Member
States to reaffirm their commitment to the principles enshrined in
resolution 2832 (XXVI) and to the provisions of the Final Document of
the Meeting of the Littoral and Hinterland States of the Indian Ocean.
238. In supporting these principles and provisions my delegation
places particular emphasis on the dismantling of all foreign bases
and the withdrawal of all foreign forces, including surrogate troops,
from the regional and on the obligation of the regional States to
settle disputes with one another by peaceful means, on the basis of
the principles of the United Nations Charter.
239. The Horn of Africa, my own area, continues to be affected by
tension and conflict, not because of territorial or boundary
disputes, as Ethiopian propaganda would have the international
community believe, but because of the denial of the right to
self-determination by the colonial regime of Ethiopia to its subject
peoples of Western Somalia and of Eretria.. The importance of this
right is emphasized in Chapter I, Article 2, of the Charter, which
directs the United-Nations to develop friendly relations among States
based on respect for the principle of equal rights and the right to
self-determination of peoples.
240. The grave regional and international repercussions of the denial
of those rights continue to trouble the Horn of Africa. The exodus of
the hundreds of thousands who fled from persecutions and oppression
to take refuge in Somalia and other neighbouring countries involved
great human suffering, placed intolerable burdens on host countries
and continues today to be a disaster situation calling for
humanitarian assistance from the international community.
241. My Government's overriding concern in its approach to the
problems of Ethiopian colonialism is that the peoples of Western
Somalia and Eritrea be allowed to exercise the rights guaranteed
under General Assembly resolutions 1514 (XV) and 1541 (XV).
Certainly, if the European colonial Powers had opposed the freedom
struggle in Africa with the same arguments which Ethiopia continues
to advance today to explain its continued occupation of Western
Somalia, very few colonial peoples would have been able to take
advantage of the provisions of resolutions 1514 (XV) and 1541 (XV).
242. It is important for the world community to understand that until
the 1890s when the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik joined the European
Powers in their scramble for Africa, the people of Western Somalia
enjoyed an independent existence and controlled their own affairs. It
was in the course of MeneJik's presumptuous attempt to extend the
Ethiopian Empire from Khartoum to Lake Nyanza that the Ogaden was
brutally seized.
243. Unfortunately, it served the interests of the colonial Powers to
support Menelik's territorial ambitions, and in typical imperialist
fashion illegal treaties purporting to transfer Somali territory to
the Ethiopian Empire were concluded-without the knowledge of the
people of Western Somalia. It was particularly ironic that the
supposed authority for transferring Somali territory was the series
of treaties between the colonial Powers and Somali chiefs which
guaranteed that the Somali people would be protected by those same
Powers and that their territory would not be ceded to any other Power.
244. It should be noted that Ethiopia was unable to exercise
sovereignty over an area which was clearly outside its normal
political, cultural and ethnic influence until after the Second World
War, and in some instances as recently as 1955. During the Halo
Abyssinian war of 1935-1936 Western Somalia was occupied by Italy.
Shortly afterwards the British conquered former Italian Somaliland
and Western Somalia
and, together with Somali territories already under British
colonialism, virtually all of Somaliland was united under a single
colonial Power. In "1942 Britain restored Ethiopian sovereignty in
Ethiopia proper which it had captured from Italy during the war, but
it retained the administration of Western Somalia. Unfortunately, the
inhabitants of the territory were once again betrayed by the British
Government and transferred against their will to Ethiopian rule in
1948 and 1955.
245.	I take the liberty of recounting these historical facts not
only to refresh the memory of representatives present in the Assembly
but also to underscore the fact that the Territory of Western Somalia
is no different from other Territories which have since the Second
World War benefited from the process of decolonization in recognition
of the universal principle of the right of peoples to
self-determination and national independence, as enshrined in the
Charter. It is the denial ofthat right by the Empire State of
Ethiopia which is at the root of the conflict in the Horn of Africa.

246.	As I have already stated, Ethiopian colonial repression has
generated refugees numbering millions. In Somalia alone there are
700,000 persons in camps and a similar number are living among the
population all over the country. Unless the problem of Western
Somalia is resolved on the basis of the exercise of
self-determination by the people of Western Somalia, the refugees
will not be able to return to their homes in safety and honour, and
there is every likelihood that their presence in Somalia and other
countries of the Horn of Africa besides constituting a grave danger
for the peace and security of the region will also take on a
permanent character necessitating continued relief aid and assistance
by the international community. The dangerous situation already
existing in the Horn of Africa, owing to colonialist Ethiopia's
policies of repression and genocide at its denial of the right to
self-determination to the people of Western Somalia-and, indeed, to
the other subject peoples within the Empire State of Ethiopia such as
Eritrea, Oromia and Tigray-has been further aggravated by that
country's wanton invasion of the territory of the Somali Democratic
Republic since 1 July of this year.

247. As representatives are no doubt aware, my Government has
addressed several communications to States Members of the United
Nations regarding this invasion and has given details of the nature
and extent of the unprovoked aggression, in which tanks and armoured
personnel carriers, long-range artillery and fighter bombers,
supplied to Ethiopia in massive quantities by a super-Power have been
deployed. Heavily armed Ethiopian infantry brigades. supported by
foreign forces, have managed to cross the de facto border-at one
point as deep as 32 kilometers in an effort to cut the important
arterial road which links the southern and northern parts of the
Somali Democratic Republic in order to disrupt a major lifeline of
our country. The town of Galdogob and the village of Blambal1e have
been captured and Galcayo, the regional capital of Mudug, has been
subjected to several aerial attacks by MIG-23s.

248. Somalia has opposed this invasion of its sovereignty and
territorial integrity in conformity with its right to self-defence
under Article 51 of the Charter and has so far repelled further
incursions into its territory. Unfortunately, both sides have
stuttered heavy casualties and considerable damage has been caused to
property in those areas of my country which have been attacked.

249. Ethiopia has attempted to spread the fiction that its forces are
not responsible for this naked act of aggression against Somali
territory. However, the recorded statements of deserters and
prisoners, along with captured documents in Russian and Amharic,
substantiate beyond any shadow of doubt that it is the Ethiopian army
which has undertaken the large-scale aggression mounted against my
country.

250. The use of T-55 tanks, MIG-23s, armoured personnel carriers and
heavy artillery, much of them new and complete with Soviet operation
manuals dated 1982 and bearing Ethiopian military insignia is
indisputable evidence  of Ethiopia's direct responsibility for its
invasion.

251. It is ironic that the major Ethiopian air base at Gode in
occupied Ogaden. from which Ethiopian planes make their murderous
attacks on the Somali population, is the same airport which the
Ethiopian regime requested the United Nations, through a report of
the Secretary-General of 12 September 1980,8 to finance and
reconstruct, supposedly as a centre for humanitarian missions in the
area.

252. The international community has strongly condemned Ethiopia for
its invasion of my country -its shameless denials notwithstanding. By
way of example, the 69th Inter-Parliamentary Conference. which was
held in Rome in September. strongly condemned Ethiopia's invasion and
called for, among other things, the immediate, total and
unconditional withdrawal of all foreign forces from the territoryof
the Somali Democratic Republic Similarly, the Twelfth Arab Summit
Conference held at Fez in September, also strongly condemned Ethiopia
for its invasion and called for the strict observance of Somalia's
sovereignty and territorial integrity.

253. The Somali people are united in their determination to stand
firm against Ethiopian aggression, and the Somali armed forces will
continue to repel the attacks against our country. However, it is not
my Government's wish that the Horn of Africa should become a
permanent trouble spot threatening regional and international peace
and security. Colonialist Ethiopia must therefore be forced by the
international community to evacuate its forces from Somali territory
and to desist from committing further aggression against our soil.
For our part we remain ready to co-operate in the search for
effective political solutions to the problems of the area. What is
certain is that these problems will not be solved by oppressive
measures and premeditated aggression. Peace and stability can be
achieved only if historical wrongs are redressed and legitimate
national aspirations are recognized and respected.

254. My Government is deeply disappointed by the failure of the
second special session on disarmament to draw up a comprehensive
programme of disarmament. We deplore also the continued spiralling of
the arms race in nuclear weapons, the setback to negotiations for a
test-ban treaty and the stalemate on the establishment of a
convention prohibiting the use of chemical weapons.

255.	It is clear therefore that there must be redoubled efforts on
the part of the nuclear Powers and militarily significant States to
translate the goals of the tenth special session into practical terms.

256.	Bold new initiatives and higher levels of statesmanship will
be required if the nuclear Powers are to break out of the vicious
circle of mutual suspicion in which they are caught and if they are
to remove the threat of nuclear annihilation that hangs over the
world. In this regard the start of talks between the United States
and the Soviet Union on the reduction of strategic weapons and the
high level of public interest and involvement in disarmament issues
are grounds for some optimism.

257. It has been repeated so often that the nuclear-arms race and the
search for new weapons of mass destruction endanger mankind's
survival, that this very real threat is unfortunately in danger of
losing its persuasive power to bring about progress towards nuclear
disarmament. One pressing reality which cannot be denied or ignored
is that the astronomical sums spent each year on nuclear and
sophisticated conventional weapons fuel world inflation and obstruct
the establishment of amore just international economic order.

258. World inflation of course affects all States but its effects on
developing countries have been particularly cruel. Where in developed
countries inflation means the curtailment of luxuries, in the least
developed it often t leans deprivation of the necessities of life.
For the (ïeast developed, many of which, like Somalia, suffer from
natural and man-made disasters, the enormous debt problems caused by
inflation, the worsened conditions of trade and the drop in
development assistance have been catastrophic.

259. It is no doubt true that, except in the case of a few relatively
prosperous developed countries, the development goals to which the
United Nations membership is committed have never been so far from
achievement as at the present time, when we have already entered the
Third United Nations Development Decade.

260. My Government joins in calling on the developed countries to
co-operate in the launching of global negotiations-an initiative
which could give new impetus to the implementing of established
development goals. The steadily increasing gap between rich and poor
countries cannot be in the interest of peace with progress. We hope
it win be understood that the economic arrangement of the past cannot
justly serve the needs of an interdependent world, that the peace and
stability so desperately need\ d today go hand in hand with economic
growth and, finality that it will be for the benefit of all if the
poorer countries are helped to develop their resources to the point
where they in turn can contribute to a prosperous world economy.

261. In conclusion 1 should like to observe that, while there is
undoubted cause for deep concern over the inability of the United
Nations to solve inter-national political problems, it is important
that the blame for this situation be ascribed not to the Organization
and the Charter but to those who treat the obligations of membership
with indifference, neglect or contempt and who are prepared to
su1pport the world body only when its decisions conform to their
interest. As the Secretary-General points out in his report, in the
context of the peaceful settlement of disputes, we site lack a
binding sense of international community believe, however, that a
sense of inter-national community has developed through the
wide-ranging achievements of the United Nations in social, economic
and humanitarian fields.

262.	As the agenda shows, the responsibilities under-taken by the
international community under the aegis of the United Nations range
from the sea-bed to outer space. The nexus of relationships and
responsibilities established in less political fields will not easily
be broken. In the last resort the United Nations remains an
unparalleled centre for international diplomacy and mankind's best
hope for peace.


I should like to begin by extending sincere congratulations to you,
Sir, on your election to the presidency of this session of the
General Assembly. I feel certain that the experience and knowledge
you have acquired in the course of a brilliant career will enable you
to guide the proceedings of the Assembly with all the skill required
in these troubled times. I should also like to express our sincere
gratitude to your predecessor, Mr. Kittani, who deserves our praise
for the dedication and skill with which he carried out his duties
over the past year, which was a particularly challenging time for the
United Nations. This is the first opportunity I have had publicly to
congratulate Mr. Perez de Cuellar on his appointment as Secretary
General. In his first year in office he has made an impressive
beginning which gives encouragement and hope that during his tenure
the United Nations will make greater strides towards the full
attainment of its purposes and objectives. The current session of the
General Assembly is being held against the background of an alarming
deterioration of the international situation, characterized by global
confrontation, military intervention, foreign occupation, a spiraling
of the arms race, and the frequent resort to the use or threat of the
use of force against the sovereignty, political independence and
territorial integrity of States all of this in the midst of a deep
global economic recession. A review of the agenda for this the thirty
seventh session of the General Assembly points to a growing number of
items dealing with unresolved crises, and an alarming increase in the
outbreaks of fresh hostilities. It is not without ironic significance
that it is precisely the smaller, underdeveloped and economically
more vulnerable countries of the third world, currently being
buffeted by the effects of global economic recession, which art At
the same time the focal points of tension and conflict, particularly
in the Middle East, southern Africa, Asia, as well as Latin America
and the Caribbean. For the most part these conflicts have been
intensified and made worse by the intrusion of super Power
confrontation, and as a consequence of flagrant disregard the
principles of the Charter and the by passing of the United Nations as
the proper forum within which to seek a peaceful settlement of
disputes. Recent events in the Middle East, culminating in the
abominable massacre in the Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut, have
shattered some long held illusions. But the military prowess of the
Israelis has not destroyed the basic fact. That basic fact is that no
lasting peace and stability is possible unless the fundamental right
of the Palestinian people to statehood is satisfied. Jamaica holds
firmly to that view. Equally, we believe that all States in the area
are entitled to exist within their internationally recognized
boundaries. We note that important initiatives have been taken by the
Twelfth Arab Summit Conference at Fez, and by the President of the
United States, Ronald Reagan, to try to give a new impetus for a
settlement of the Middle East problems. It is clear that there are
many obstacles ahead, but it is noteworthy that there is now at least
a common factor, and that common factor is a recognition that the
Palestinian people have rights which have to be satisfied. Jamaica
recognizes that the forthcoming United Nations Conference on
Palestine could have an important bearing on the settlement of the
problems of the region. The Conference output to be substantially
more than an exchange of views. It should try to make specific and
realistic recommendations which would be helpful in the peace making
process. In fact, we are tempted to suggest that the issues with
which it is dealing and the international climate are such that the
Conference ought to be held earlier. It is clear that the
circumstances which gave rise to the need for a conference, and the
assumptions on which its convening was based, have been largely
overtaken by events. Its importance and its usefulness, therefore,
will depend upon itsability to seize the propitious signs. The United
Nations must not cease in its efforts to find a formula for cessation
of hostilities in various parts of the world. We wish to draw
particular attention to the war between Iraq and the Islamic Republic
of Iran which has been going on for two years now and which has
already taken thousands of lives, and left thousands more wounded,
and we join in the pleas to both parties to end the conflict.
Similarly the pivotal roles of the non aligned movement and the OAU
in the anti colonial struggle and in the quest for peace, detente and
disarmament must continue. The events in the Middle East and other
areas demonstrate the failure to enable the peace keeping mechanisms
of the United Nations to function as intended. They also underscore
the need for more systematic and imaginative use of the Security
Council to monitor areas of potentially dangerous conflict. Over the
years the practice of the permanent members has inexorably expanded
the range of their interest and has brought so many minor areas of
tension under the umbrella of their perceived interest that the
collective security system has broken down. It has to be noted that
too often the permanent members of the Security Council resort to use
of the veto with scant regard for the overall interests of the
international community, and in disregard of their own obligation to
maintain international peace and security. The institutional marriage
of the nineteenth century concept of the Concert of Europe with the
concept of collective security implicit in the Security Council, has
not worked in the interests of the international community. Something
has to be done to remedy this situation; I congratulate the Secretary
General on his departure from recent practice by presenting to the
members of the Assembly a brief, easily read, and challenging
invitation that they should pause and consider the state of the
Organization and decide to do something about its shortcomings. The
Secretary General's report on the work of the Organization [/37/V] is
a direct challenge of the most profound kind addressed to every
member of this body. To the Security Council as a whole, it is a
challenge to recognize how far we have departed in practice from
standards which were contemplated and set for us by its founders. The
report is equally a challenge to every Member. State to think again
about the readiness with which we have been prepared to accept that
the whole United Nations must remain flouted, ignored and powerless,
if the Security Council, whose main responsibility is the
preservation of international peace and security, is unable to act.
Jamaica maintains that the entire United Nations collective security
system should not remain hamstrung and powerless because the Security
Council is deadlocked. In the name of my Government, I renew
Jamaica's commitment to the provisions of the Charter. Jamaica
endorses the suggestion that a workable system of collective security
should be reintroduced. We solemnly commit ourselves to the search
for such a process and to the effective implementation of any useful
measures which may be found so as to restore to the Security Council
an effective capacity to discharge its responsibility for the
maintenance of peace. We urge that a meeting of the Council should be
called before the end of this session of the Assembly, which should
be attended at the very highest levels, and which will deal with the
effectiveness of the Security Council in discharging its
responsibilities for the maintenance of international peace and
security. We further urge that the General Assembly should assign the
subject of the Secretary General's report on the work of the
Organization to a Main Committee at this session, in which the Member
States would actively consider the implication of the Secretary
General's report, and the action they might take when the Security
Council is unable to act. Another subject of urgent concern is that
of Namibia. The movement towards independence for Namibia continues
to be slow, notwithstanding the hints from the contact group that
progress has been made. South Africa continues to block effective
action. Security Council resolution 435 (1978) must be fully
implemented. Jamaica does not share the view that the independence of
Namibia should be linked to the withdrawal of Cuban troops from
Angola. The two are separate issues and must be dealt with
separately. We condemn South Africa's continued military aggression
and campaigns of destabilization against Angola and the other front
line States. In South Africa Itself, the policy of continues to be
more deeply entrenched every day. All the internal institutional
changes point in the direction of a further entrenchment of this
abhorrent system. Yet we are told that sanctions are inappropriate in
this case, while there are exhortations to apply them elsewhere;
alleged forced labour is decried elsewhere, while the brutal
treatment of the entire black population of South Africa is glossed
over or excused. The criteria used to assess the problems of black
people are always different, and a failure to apply the same
standards is always clothed in specious excuses and sophistry. We
cannot allow this degrading situation to continue. Jamaica deeply
regrets that the recent second special session of the General
Assembly devoted to disarmament failed to achieve any significant
results, particularly as regards a comprehensive programme of
disarmament. This is a major disappointment. The world community had
expected much from this special session, particularly at a time when
many States are embarking on dangerous rearmament programmes which
they mistakenly believe will enhance their security. They must be
made to realize that this absurd and perilous escalation of the arms
race in both the nuclear and the conventional field consumes valuable
resources which could more profitably be spent on economic and social
development, particularly in developing countries, to correct the
neglected problems which are the root cause of the struggles in the
various regions. It is estimated that some $500 billion are being
spent annually on armaments, whereas at the same time, according to
the statistics compiled by the Organization, 450 million people
suffer from hunger or malnutrition; there is an annual infant
mortality rate of 12 million babies who die before their first
birthday; 42 million people are blind, or nearly so; 2 billion people
do not have water that is safe to drink; 250 million people live in
urban slums or shanty towns; 870 million adults cannot read or write;
500 million people have no jobs or are less than fully employed; and
130 million children are unable to attend primary schools. These
statistics frighten us. This is the nature of some of the global
social problems and these are what we want addressed when we say that
money now spent on armaments could be better used for development.
Jamaica hopes that Member States will now take increasing account of
the concern manifested by the masses of people for effective
disarmament measures, and that this will encourage a renewed
commitment to general and complete disarmament. The World Disarmament
Campaign which was approved by the special session, will certainly
contribute to that end. Furthermore, the pledge by two nuclear weapon
States on the non first use of nuclear weapons is also a welcome step
in the right direction, and Jamaica hopes that the remaining nuclear
weapon States will make similar commitments in this regard. In the
midst of all these problems, we cannot ignore that singularly
important achievement of the United Nations, the adoption of the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on 30 April 1982.
Jamaica is among the developing and developed countries that welcome
this event. The Convention has codified and progressively developed
international law in several important areas, but I cite the
following as its most significant achievements. First, the
proclamation that the area beyond national jurisdiction is the common
heritage of mankind is a significant landmark in the history of
international relations. We believe that the regime which it
establishes for the exploration and exploitation of the natural
resources of the deep sea bed is just and equitable, and will operate
to the mutual advantage of developed and developing countries.
Secondly, the Convention has solved the age old question of the
breadth of the territorial sea by the establishment of an economic
zone of 200 miles, including a territorial sea of 12 miles. It is the
firm view of my Government that the Convention contains a body of
rules on the rights and duties of States which is the law that
governs the uses of the sea. A major achievement of the Conference
which we wish to highlight is the exemplary use in its proceedings of
the device of consensus as a system of decision making. It is indeed
remarkable and commendable that in a Conference in which as many as
150 countries participated and which extended over eight years, the
negotiations were almost entirely conducted and concluded without a
vote being taken. Jamaica has a great sense of pride at having been
selected as the site of the International Sea Bed Authority, of the
Preparatory Commission for the International Sea Bed Authority and
for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and of the
ceremony for the signing of the Convention from 6 to 10 December
1982. I want to assure you that Jamaica is sensitive to the
obligations which go with the conferment of those honours. As you are
aware, the Preparatory Commission comes into being on the signing of
the Convention by 50 States and will commence its work within 90 days
thereafter. It is obviously essential that, consistent with the
programme and objectives of the Preparatory Commission, adequate
provision be made for its effective functioning. That is a
recommendation of the Group of 77 which we fully endorse. We exhort
all States to sign and ratify the Convention as quickly as possible
so that it will enter into force in the shortest possible time. An
early entry into force of the Convention can only operate to the
advantage of all countries, developed and developing, particularly
where it deals with the regime for the exploration and exploitation
of the deep seabed. We would not wish anyone to be left in doubt as
to our view that activities in the international seabed area can take
place lawfully only within the framework established by the
Convention on the Law of the Sea. We hope that no country or group of
countries will engage in actions or adopt measures whose effect will
be to undermine the Convention. We are not only beset by political
turbulence and insecurity; we are confronted once again with a dismal
picture of the world economic situation. The indicators are
discouraging. They demonstrate the further entrenchment of world
recession and stagnation. In 1981 the international economy recorded
a growth of only 1.2 per cent, that is, one third of the rate
achieved in the recession prone decade of the 1970s. For the
developing countries, growth in 1981 was 0.6 per cent, representing a
fall in per capita gross domestic product, which was a novel
experience in the developing world in the post independence period.
My own region, Latin America and the Caribbean traditionally an area
of relatively high growth, has been severely affected. Gross national
product in the region actually declined by 0.4 per cent and per
capita gross national product declined by 2.7 per cent. World trade,
itself a powerful determinant of the pace of economic growth, also
presents a grim picture. Last year, for the first time in nearly two
decades, world trade showed virtually no growth, after a minimal
growth of 1.5 per cent in 1980. The situation is compounded by the
alarming decline of 22.5 per cent in the prices of primary
commodities between January 1981 and June of this year. Developing
countries, notwithstanding the decline in their earnings as a result
of this, are constrained to increase their imports in order to
provide the basic necessities for their populations. The downturn in
global economic activity, as evidenced in the growth and trade
indicators, has caused a worsening in the debt situation and the
prospects for many developing countries. For 1981 the total external
debt for capital importing developing countries was in the area of
$500 billion, an almost threefold increase since the latter half of
the 1970s. The gravity of the debt situation is revealed by a
comparison of certain features in international financing between the
beginning of the 1970s and the present. During that period, the
average debt service ratio of the oil importing developing countries
increased from 8 per cent to 19 per cent. Average maturities on loans
contracted by developing countries fell from 20 to 12.7 years, and
the interest burden on developing countries, measured in relation to
their gross national product, increased four times. This brief
analysis of the global economy is intended to highlight the need for
immediate action if we are to avert the collapse of the international
system. We are all agreed on the necessity to achieve a rate of
economic growth consistent with the aspirations of our peoples and
the requirements for achieving international peace and security. In
seeking to fulfil those objectives, we must make a special appeal to
the developed countries to desist from the application of
protectionist trade policies. The experience of the 1930s has shown
that measures by developed countries to protect sectors in their
economies that have lost their competitive edge in the international
marketplace are self defeating. They serve only to contract
international purchasing power and to generate unemployment in their
own economies as well as in the economies of the developing world
that provide markets for their exports. Jamaica is firm in the view
that the marketplace and work place of the developing world hold the
best solution for reflation without inflation. The unsatisfied and
growing demands of the consumer market and the unsatisfied and
growing capabilities of the work forces of a growing number of
developing countries need only the catalyst of expanded credit
resources to fuel an expansion of trade through export  led growth.
Jamaica commends for the consideration of the Assembly the essential
features of our Prime Minister's presentation on this subject at the
joint World Bank and International Monetary Fund meeting in Toronto
in September. There Jamaica emphasized the urgency of introducing
emergency measures which would be immediately implemented to assist
those member countries which are on the brink of collapse and
reinvigorate international trade and investment. Jamaica considers
that the Fund's Eighth general Review of Quotas provides a good
opportunity to create credit as a means of trade expansion.
Accordingly we support the early conclusion of the review of quotas
in 1983 as called for by both the Intergovernmental Group of 24 on
International Monetary Affairs and the Interim Committee of the Board
of Governors on the International Monetary System. We fully support
also the need for selective allocations and a substantial increase of
quotasóan increase which in our view should not be less than 50 per
cent. Jamaica is of the view that increased liquidity for trade
expansion could also be accomplished by the expansion of trade
credits, utilizing excess liquidity in the commercial banking system
accumulated through the increased savings resulting from current anti
inflationary strategies. As practice has developed, these savings are
likely to be available only for short  term financing. The concern of
commercial banks about current levels of credit exposure to
developing countries indicates that an intermediary to trigger a
meaningful flow of these under utilized resources may be necessary.
One such intermediary mechanism already exists in the Bank's lending
programme, through an export development fund for export trade
credit. With appropriate modifications this mechanism could fulfil
the purpose of a ready and available instrument to mobilize ready and
available resources to be utilized by ready and available productive
capacities, to expand trade, growth and employment on a basis
consistent with the objectives of the adjustment process. The
financial dislocations brought about by the global energy situation
continue to inhibit the search fbr economic stability within the oil
importing developing countries. The development of non conventional
sources of energy must therefore remain a priority. Jamaica looks
forward to the report on the progress made by the Interim Committee
on New and Renewable Sources of Energy on the implementation of the
Nairobi Programme of Action fbr the Development of New and Renewable
Sources of Energy. Jamaica is concerned that the effectiveness of the
World Bank in the development process could be eroded, as evidenced
in the obstacles being placed in the way of establishing an energy
affiliate to support an expanded programme for energy investment. I
have focused on a few of the elements inhibiting the economic growth
of developing countries and hence of the global economy. It should
now be obvious to all that the issues are so closely interrelated as
to necessitate a coherent and integrated approach to deal with them.
No one should at this stage find it useful to argue in favour of
separating the concerns of the North from those of the South. The
crisis in the international economy and the measure of collective
fears are reflected in the concerns which all countries, including
those with surpluses, have regarding the world wide balance of
payments situation. The concern of the Assembly must, however, go
beyond simple accounting indices. We must be aware of the
implications of such indices for the quality of life of those we have
the honour to represent. The global economic recession's net effect
on them is increasing unemployment brought about by the weakening in
the world demand for goods and services. High levels of unemployment
now threaten the social and political order in both the North and the
South. In the developing world, unemployment levels of up to 30 per
cent are not unusual. Vast sectors of young and courageous
populations have never had the chance to secure gainful employment.
The employed live daily under the threat of loss of jobs because of
the decline in the prices of primary products, because of
bankruptcies and closure of factories and other productive
operations. These are brought about by the effects of economic
recession transmitted through the network of international economic
linkages. We have throughout the years debated priorities from the
perspectives of the North and the South and accommodation of what we
have perceived as our just aspirations. I submit that we must now
face up to the global priority. We must bring to bear our
intellectual capacity and our political authority to halt the global
economic recession and correspondingly to induce growth and
development internationally. This calls fbr all of us, rich and poor,
to recognize the basic reality of the 1980s, and that basic reality
is the force of global interdependence. A few years ago the concept
of interdependence was the basis fbr interesting but largely semantic
debates. Today interdependence is an inescapable reality. The
proposed global round of negotiations, which has been under
consideration for the past three years, must now be recognized as
offering the best prospect of bringing about the changes required to
establish an economic system which can fulfil the aspirations of our
time. Jamaica hopes that the sense of realism which has been shown by
the developing countries on this issue will be reciprocated by the
North in order to facilitate the commencement of global negotiations
in early 1983. The establishment of the necessary framework must be
concluded by this thirty seventh session of the General Assembly. Our
obligations to each other derive from our interdependence. We simply
cannot live without one another. The recognition of that fact must
constantly mould our actions so as to bring about a peaceful, just
and prosperous world. That is Jamaica's objective.


 My delegation is pleased and gratified to see you presiding over the thirty-seventh session of the General Assembly, especially since my country is linked to yours by bonds of close friendship. In the name of my delegation, I extend to you our warmest congratulations on your election as President of the Assembly. We are confident that your experience and wisdom will contribute to the successful outcome of this session, which is held in extremely delicate and complex international circumstances, and will enable it to arrive at conclusions that will she international peace and security. I cannot fail to pay a tribute to the efforts and the competence of your predecessor, Mr. Ismat Kittani, in guiding the proceedings of the last session and of the special and emergency special sessions held under his presidency. I take this opportunity also to express my appreciation
of the role played by the Secretary-General in consolidating the purposes and principles of the Charter.
30.	The current session is being held against a background of extremely grave international developments. International imperialism, led by the United States of America, has escalated its efforts to perpetuate its hegemony and increase its influence by harnessing its political, economic and communications capabilities to serve its aggressive policy, reinforcing its military bases, establishing rapid deployment forces, expanding its military machine and military capability, establishing alliances and military and political blocs, subverting secure and stable States in order to undermine their progressive regimes and their national liberation movements, creating hotbeds of tension and sowing seeds of dissension and division among Member States.
31.	Lebanon has recently suffered the full force of the imperialist-Zionist conspiracy against the Palestinian Arab people and the Lebanese national movement aimed at the definitive elimination of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, led by the PLO, its sole legitimate representative. The aim of that conspiracy is to alter conditions in Lebanon to bring them into line with the Camp David agreement, which is unilateral in character, and to impose capitulation and dependence on the whole of the Arab area. The American Government has provided Zionism with all the military and political capability to persist in a policy of expansion and aggression.
32.	Israel has occupied Lebanon, violating its independence and territorial integrity. It has unleashed a war of unprecedented barbarism against the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples in violation of all international instruments and the purposes and principles of the United Nations. At the height of its brutal action Israel did not hesitate to use the deadliest weapons, including internationally prohibited weapons, against the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples. In the middle of last month Israel carried out a massacre that claimed the lives of defenseless Palestinian refugees  the elderly, children and women in an attempt to displace the Palestinian people and halt its revolutionary march. But the steadfastness and valor shown in Beirut and the struggle of the Palestinian freedom fighters proved incontestably that the Palestinian people, led by the PLO, will not be dissuaded by massacres, terrorism or coercion from persisting in demanding its right to return to its homeland, to self- determination and to establish its own independent national State.
33.	While the direct aim of Israel's aggressive war is the liquidation of Palestinian resistance and of the Lebanese national movement, the Zionist dream of expansion in Lebanon and of usurping its waters are in essence the aims declared by the leaders of international Zionism, as well as the leaders of Israel, a long time ago. Furthermore, the recent Israeli invasion of Lebanon is but a further link in the chain of Zionist aggression and terrorism.
34.	Israel has usurped the entire land of Palestine and annexed the whole of the Golan Heights and the City of Jerusalem. It is also establishing settlements and colonies in the occupied land and practicing oppression and racial discrimination of all kinds
against the Palestinian people; it is confiscating its territory and its water, and trying to displace it and to change its identity and culture and the historical features of its land.
35.	Israel would not have been able to invade Lebanon, wage a war of annihilation against the Lebanese and the Palestinian peoples, or occupy an Arab capital that is, Beirut without the support and unlimited encouragement which it has received ever since its inception from the imperialist States. By virtue of American military, political and economic support, in particular, Israel has been able to wage repeated wars against the Arab countries, usurp Palestine, occupy the West Bank and Gaza and annex the Golan Heights and Jerusalem. There is amazing irony in the fact that the American Government plays the role of mediator for the maintenance of peace in the Middle East while it does not hesitate to provide Israel with all possible sophisticated military devices.
36.	The United States is the only State that has used the right of veto in the Security Council against draft resolutions aimed at stopping aggression and bringing about Israeli withdrawal. It concluded a strategic alliance with the State of terrorism and aggression. It sides with the aggressor and protects it in its expansionist greed. Is there still any doubt about American collusion with Israel, as well as about cooperation between Washington and Tel Aviv, and coordination of their efforts, against the Arab peoples?
37.	Partial and unilateral solutions have proved to be sterile and a failure. Peace is indivisible. Justice is not confined to one people, to the exclusion of all others. The Palestinian question is at the heart of the conflict in the Middle East. A just, comprehensive and permanent peace is possible only with complete Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian and other Arab territories, including Jerusalem, as well as the realization of the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people. Those rights include its right to return to its homeland, to have self-determination, and to establish its national, independent State on its own soil, under the leadership of the PLO, its sole legitimate representative.
38.	The international community has condemned Israel, which it regards as a State that is not peace- loving and respects neither the principles nor the Charter of the United Nations. It is high time to impose sanctions against it, in accordance with Chapter VII of the Charter or, better yet, to expel it from the United Nations.
39.	As it celebrates the fifteenth anniversary of its independence, which it won after a long, bitter struggle, Democratic Yemen can say that from its modest experience it has learned self-reliance, in co-operation with all peace-loving and justice-loving nations. We are working under the Yemeni Socialist Party to establish a new society that guarantees proper living conditions for our people and raises its material and spiritual standards. In our attempt to achieve that we have encountered certain obstacles. In the past two years we have suffered unprecedented torrential rains and floods which have harmed our overall development plans. Agricultural lands were ravaged, dams, roads and houses were destroyed, and thousands of citizens were displaced. However, we have every reason to face
the future with confidence. I should like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to all those States and international organizations that provided our country with help to overcome the harmfiil effects of the rains and floods.
40.	Together with our brethren in the northern part of our homeland, we are seeking to create favorable conditions for the peaceful and democratic reunification of the Yemeni people and territory. Positive steps have been taken towards the co-ordination of these efforts.
41.	My country has opted for the policy of non- alignment. It is opposed to imperialism, colonialism and Zionism. It supports efforts to consolidate peace and stability in the world, as well as the struggle of the peoples that aspire to freedom, justice and social progress. Its policy towards its neighbors is founded on good-neighborliness, respect for national sovereignty and non-intervention in their internal affairs, as well as peaceful coexistence between the various social systems.
42.	Because of the neighborly and historic links between us and the countries of the Horn of Africa, we have a stake in the maintenance of peace and security in that area. We seek to establish the best possible relations between the countries of the area, for the common good, in order that they may use their potential for the well-being and prosperity of their peoples. We are taking all necessary steps for the common good of the area, in conformity with the Charter of the Organization of Africa Unity [OAU].
43.	We follow with concern the war that is raging between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran, a war that does not serve the interests of the people of either country, since it drains their resources. Moreover, it prejudices peace and security in the area. The war has led to an increase of the imperialist military presence in the Arabian Sea and the Arabian Gulf. We look forward tr an end to the hostilities between the two countries, so that they may direct their resources to the best interests of their people, as well as the security of the area.
44.	As a littoral State of the Indian Ocean, my country wishes to express its concern about the dangers to which the area of the Indian Ocean has been subjected. The American Government is reinforcing and expanding its military bases, especially in Diego Garcia. It sends aggressive fleets and conducts provocative maneuvers in the Arabian Sea, the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea. All these actions jeopardize the peace and security of the States of the area. The intention is to prejudice their independence and international peace and security and to return the world to a policy of cold war.
45.	We reaffirm the need to make the region of the Indian Ocean a zone of peace. I also emphasize the importance of holding the Conference on the Indian Ocean in the first part of next year.
46.	Because of the importance we attach to peace in our area, a question that is vital to the progress and growth of our peoples, our President, Ali Nasser Mohammed, initiated a proposal in January in 1981 to open the Conference to participants from the Gulf States, the Arab Peninsula and the Horn of Africa to

consider, in the presence of the other interested parties, the complete elimination from that area of all foreign military bases. We also support the Soviet proposals to make the Arab Gulf and the Indian Ocean into an area free from any foreign military presence as well as foreign bases.
47.	We must express our concern and disappointment over the failure of the second special session of the Assembly devoted to disarmament to achieve a comprehensive program of disarmament, as a result of the obstacles placed in its way by the United States Government and its allies. We appreciate the constructive proposal put forward by the socialist countries and first and foremost by the Soviet Union aimed at achieving disarmament and maintaining the policy of detente, and creating an atmosphere of peaceful coexistence leading to world peace, with due regard for all the interests of all the peoples. We call for an end to the procrastination of the imperialist Powers in their desire not to enter into serious negotiations for disarmament, their insistence on increasing their military expenditure in the arms race, particularly on nuclear weapons, and their attempts to negotiate from a position of power so as to achieve military superiority.
48.	We insist that the United States and its allies demonstrate the political will necessary to achieve the goals of disarmament, to lessen international tension, to end their resistance to multilateral negotiations on disarmament and to prohibit all nuclear tests and the production, stockpiling, deployment and use of neutron nuclear weapons and rescind the refusal to give guarantees to non-nuclear States that they will not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against those States.
49.	We also call for the necessary steps to be taken to prevent the United States Government from persisting in its efforts to produce harmful chemical weapons, and call on it to work towards a comprehensive treaty on the prohibition of the development and manufacture of new weapons of mass destruction, and to halt the arms race in outer space. We consider it essential that an international conference on disarmament, with the participation of all nations, be held as soon as possible.
50.	The escalation of the arms race and the military buildup is consuming much of the vast resources needed by mankind and obstructing economic and social development efforts in the developing countries. Disarmament should be designed to promote economic development for all nations, particularly for the developing countries, and the establishment of a new international economic order, so that the impoverished millions of the world can overcome the problems of hunger, malnutrition, illiteracy and disease.
51.	Many areas of Asia, Africa and Latin America remain the subject of imperialist threats and intervention, and suffer from the remnants of imperialism and every form of persecution, oppression and racial discrimination. Democratic Yemen condemns the policy of apartheid, detention, torture and assassination carried out by the racial regime in South Africa against those in the indigenous population of South
Africa who resist racial discrimination, as well as against the liberation movements.
52.	My country also condemns the way in which the United States and other Western countries are violating the arms embargo against the racist regime in Pretoria, and it condemns the nuclear collaboration between the two racist regimes in Pretoria and Tel Aviv. We call for the imposition of comprehensive sanctions against the racist regime in Pretoria, including that of an oil embargo.
53.	We reaffirm our support for the struggle of the people of Namibia under the leadership of SWAPO, its sole legitimate representative, to bring about the full independence of Namibia. We also call for the implementation of Security Council resolution 435 (1978). We oppose all imperialist and racialist attempts to obstruct the independence of Namibia by linking it to the withdrawal of the Cuban troops from Angola, because that is a matter of arrangements between two independent States, Angola and Cuba, arrangements that are governed by their bilateral relations in that respect. We also condemn all the aggressive and provocative acts committed by the racist regime in South Africa against the front-line States of Africa, and especially against Angola and Mozambique. We likewise condemn the attack by mercenaries against Seychelles.
54.	My country confirms its support for the Sahraoui Arab Democratic Republic in its efforts to achieve stability and to consolidate its sovereignty in Western Sahara. It also supports the efforts of the three countries of Indo-China, Viet Nam, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Kampuchea, and the positive proposals made to eliminate the causes of tension and enable the peoples of South-East Asia to settle their differences in such a way as to guarantee the stability of the area.
55.	My country also supports the efforts of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and its proposals for establishing security and stability in South-West Asia without any intervention in the internal affairs of Afghanistan. We support direct negotiations between Afghanistan and its neighbors to put an end to the current hostilities.
56.	We confirm that it s important to respect the independence and sovereignty of Cyprus, together with its territorial integrity and its non-aligned status, as well as to ensure the withdrawal of foreign troops from Cypriot territory.
57.	We demand the withdrawal of United States troops from South Korea and support the proposal of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea for the peaceful reunification of Korea. We see in its proposal a proper and reasonable approach to the reunification of that country.
58.	Democratic Yemen condemns the policy of aggression and intervention, as well as the imperialist and colonial pressures used by the United States Government against the peoples of Cuba, Nicaragua and Grenada, in an attempt to destabilize those States. We also condemn the oppressive United States practices against the peoples of El Salvador, Puerto Rico and other countries of that area. We underline our support for Argentina in its efforts to exercise its
sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, in accordance with the resolutions of the non-aligned movement and the principles of the United Nations.
59.	At the basis of the political situation of which we are speaking is the worsening international economic crisis, which in fact affects most of the developing countries, especially the least developed. That crisis is the result of inequitable international relations and the fact that certain hegemonistic countries want to maintain their narrow, selfish interests.
60.	Despite certain limited positive steps here and there, there is a stalemate in the international negotiations aimed at establishing the new international economic order. Despite the flexible position of the developing countries represented in the Group of 77, global negotiations have not yet been launched and have not been able to remove the old traditions which need radical change. All the indications are and they are supported by facts and figures that the standard of living in most of the developing countries is deteriorating. That exposes these developing countries to increasing economic problems, which hamper the implementation of their plans for economic and social development. Moreover, their foreign indebtedness is constantly increasing and the export earnings of the countries involved are decreasing as a result of inflation factors and adverse foreign trade terms.
61.	Thus, these countries find themselves in a vicious circle in which they are subjected to more backwardness and dependence, while the capitalistic developed countries see only their own interests and those of their transnational corporations, and create obstacles and set forth restrictions, both of form and of substance, to proposals designed to resolve this intractable issue. We must stress the necessity of developing a genuine' political will for change. Serious and responsible stands must be taken on these issues, in order to provide the proper climate to launch global negotiations without delay.
62.	With the potential and capabilities which all the developing countries have, they can overcome the many obstacles placed in their path by the capitalistic countries. They can do this by exercising collective self-reliance and increasing their economic and technical co-operation; in this regard I am thinking especially of the least developed countries. But this requires a practical consecration of their resolutions, as well as concrete programs both for the short and the long term.
63.	The grave deterioration in international relations calls for action to strengthen the role of the United Nations in promoting international peace and security. We welcome the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization, which advocates the strengthening of United Nations organs, especially the Security Council, which must shoulder its responsibility under the Charter. At the same time, we wish to stress the important role the United Nations must play in finding solutions to the problems facing the world. In that way the hopes placed by our peoples in the Organization could be strengthened. To that end, we assure the Assembly that our country will spare no effort in co-operating with all States that sincerely desire international peace and security to be maintained.


It is a pleasure, Sir, to see you on the podium
conducting the affairs of the thirty-seventh
session, whose agenda includes the most important
issues, issues directly related to the security,
peace, stability and future of mankind; We have
great confidence that your vast knowledge and
experience, and the active role played by your
friendly country in international relations, wi!!
help us, and you, realize our expecta¬tions of
this session. In the name of the Amir, the
Government and the people of Kuwait, please
accept our congratulations on your election.
166.	The thirty-sixth session was fortunate in
having been presided over by a colleague who is
dear to you and to us, Mr. Ismat Kittani; he
played a distinguished role and one deserving of
our appreciation and our gratitude.
167.	Since this is the first time I have
addressed the general  Assembly since the
Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar
took office, I take this opportunity to say again
that my country welcomes his accession to that
high position; we wish him good luck and all
success.
168.	Furthermore, I must not let this
opportunity pass without expressing to the former
Secretary- General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, our thanks
and appre¬ciation for his constructive and
dedicated efforts to help establish world
security and stability during his term of office.
We extend to him, too, our best wishes in the
coming years.
169.	The world situation has entered on a new
era of complication and confusion, which have
left their mark on the noble values that mankind
has accepted as its constitution, values such as
those of sovereignty, independence, justice,
non-interference in internal affairs, peaceful
coexistence among nations, and the elimination of
the pains and evils inherent in blocs and in
competing selfish interests.
170.	The political rivalry between the two
competing camps has led to dialogue and being
replaced by confrontation and estrangement, and
thus has put an end to what was left of the
policy of detente, with its favorable impact on
international relations.
171.	The increasing complications of
international relations and conflicts among
various interests have increasingly involved
smaller nations in the spheres of influence of
the super-Powers, to an extent that actually
jeopardizes even the unity, solidarity and
effectiveness of the regional organizations which
have been playing an important role in furthering
the secu¬rity and prosperity of the countries and
peoples of the respective regions.
172.	The confusion arising from the ambiguity
of the international situation has had an obvious
impact on the ability and effectiveness of the
United Nations and its various organs,
particularly the Security Council. In his report
on the work of the Organiza¬tion, the
Secretary-General was honest with him, and
accurately described a fact which can no longer
be denied when he talked candidly about the
weakening of the effectiveness and credibility of
the United Nations as an instrument for achieving
peace and preventing war. We realize that the
United Nations has, unfortunately, not been able,
except in a few rare occasions, to act
effectively to maintain peace in the world.
Instead, we note that it has become a stage which
the competing Powers use flagrantly as an
instrument for defending their own interests by
every possible means, to the extent that the
Security Council has been unable to fulfil its
primary responsibility—not because of remoteness
from the scene of events or any reluctance to
exert efforts, but because of the abuse by some
of its members of their right of veto.
Those members, upon whose shoulders rests a
special responsibility for maintaining
international peace and security, have in
addition used their power in the Council to
prevent any collective measures from being
adopted by the international community whenever
such measures would affect any part of their
spheres of influence.
173.	There is now a very wide gap between
com¬mitment to the principles and provisions of
the Charter and the actual behavior of nations in
their inter¬national relations. Resorting to the
force of arms and military supremacy as
instruments to solve problems rather than on the
force of truth, justice and interna¬tional values
has impaired the prestige of the United Nations,
which once embodied the hopes of mankind in a
society where security, prosperity, justice and
brotherhood prevailed.
174.	The State of Kuwait believes that this
dangerous situation makes it imperative urgently
to consider responsible and serious action by all
the members of the international community to
rekindle the commit¬ment to the principles of the
Organization.
175.	Since the beginning of this year the
General Assembly has had to convene several
special sessions to discuss the dangerous
developments relating to the question of
Palestine and the situation in the Middle East.
The Security Council has also met several times
during the same period for the same purpose.
Those two bodies have adopted resolutions, under
the pro¬visions of the Charter, to deal with the
flagrant aggres¬sion perpetrated by Israel
against an independent and sovereign Member
State—Lebanon—and against the displaced
Palestinian people. That people's loss of its
land and legitimate rights and its dispersal and
the suffering inflicted upon it for more than 35
years have been caused primarily by the creation
of Israel itself.
176.	As recorded by all the Western news
media, Israel's actions in Lebanon were more
brutal and inhuman than anything ever witnessed
by the world before—a human holocaust which did
not discriminate between men, women and children,
the total destruc¬tion of everything on the land,
under the pretext of security safeguards, a
pretext universally acknowl¬edged to be
fallacious.
177.	We wonder what would be the fate of the
world if all nations tried to solve their
security problems in this manner.
178.	The horrible massacre which shocked
every¬one's conscience throughout the world has
once again confirmed the dimensions of the blind
fanaticism and the racist Zionist hatred of the
Israeli regime directed against the defenseless,
innocent people in the Palestinian camps, which
had been evacuated by the Palestinian fighters
when they left west Beirut under guarantees from
the United States of America —which is precisely
why that country bears a moral as well as a legal
responsibility for what happened there.
179.	Hence the international community is
called upon to do more than express condemnation
or shed tears, because evil forces do net react
to moral prin¬ciples or human feelings. It is
therefore necessary to restrain them by means
that are not beyond the capabilities of the
international community. As usual, Israel has not
respected any agreements, pledges or charters.
Its behavior is not governed by any values or
principles. This is clearly shown by the extent
of its disregard for United Nations
resolutions—which is precisely what has led us to
call upon Member States, after all that has
happened, to suspend Israel's membership of the
United Nations as a first step as well as a
deterrent to force it to obey the will of the
international community.
180.	The Arab land, the cradle of divine
revelations which participated in bringing the
principles of peace, justice and brotherhood to
the peoples of the world, is victim today to the
Zionist arrogance of power, with all its American
arms of destruction—an arro¬gance of power that
has caused such frustration among the people of
Palestine and the other peoples of the region
that the resultant explosion threatens tc add a
new element to the present conflict of power and
arms, with the emergence of bitter anger and
mutual hatred.
181.	While drawing the attention of the
international community to this dangerous abyss
towards which our region is heading and which
reminds us of the tragic human conflicts of the
ages, we appeal to it firmly to resist this
imminent danger. It is possible to disarm the
hand, but difficult to defuse hatred in the heart.
182.	After what happened in Lebanon, Kuwait is
convinced that the independence, security,
territorial integrity and safety of the brotherly
people of that country cannot be a subject for
debate. It follows that the necessary measures
must be taken to compel Israel to abide by
Security Council resolutions 308 (1982) and 509
(1982) calling for its immediate and
unconditional withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
183.	The Palestinian people, under the
leadership of the PLO, have emerged from the
latest tragic events much stronger and more
united and cohesive. Through its conduct
politically in negotiations and militarily on the
battlefield, the PLO has proved that it is the
legitimate spokesman of the Palestinian people
and that it is deeply committed to international
responsi¬bility and its role in the preservation
of peace and security in the Middle East.
184.	It has become obvious from a whole series
of Israeli violations, such as the annexation of
Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights to the
raid on the Iraqi nuclear installation and the
barbaric invasion of Lebanon, that Israel's
ultimate intention is to achieve one particular
objective which it does not even bother to
conceal—namely, the establishment of Greater
Israel—and its strategy to achieve that objective
has become crystal clear—namely, to use the
flimsy pretext of security as a means of
achieving ' its expansionist designs.
185.	In their constant search for a peaceful,
just and honorable solution to the Palestinian
question, the Arab countries were able to
manifest once again, at the Twelfth Arab Summit
Conference, held in Fez, the Arab nation's
capability of living up to the situation by
adopting a series of general principles as an
accepted basis for a peaceful and durable
solution to the Palestinian question which would
safeguard the legitimate rights of the people of
Palestine. Elements of the proposed settlement
were inspired by the Arab countries' sense of
international and historical responsibility and
the principles and bases of interna¬tional
charters, as well as of United Nations
reso-lutions, such as the inadmissibility of the
acquisition of territories by force, the right of
all peoples to full self-determination, free of
any narrow or biased interpretation, the peaceful
settlement of disputes and the Security Council's
responsibility for maintaining international
peace and security.
186.	The unanimity shown by Arab heads of
State in adopting the principles of the Fez
Conference offers the international community a
unique opportunity to move ahead on the road to a
new era based on this initiative, which is
rightly considered an important turning point
whose meaning should not be lost on anyone and
which expresses the genuine and firm desire of
the Arab countries to end the conflict and
preserve peace in the area.
187.	It was not surprising to see that Israel
rejected those Arab principles, for that
rejection reflects the Israeli strategy in the
Middle East—a strategy based on the consolidation
of the	and the impo¬sition of new on the
international community.
188.	In our view, the international community
must consider those Arab principles as the
greatest oppor-tunity ever offered to settle the
Middle East crisis and the Palestine question on
a concrete and realistic basis.
189.	It is the view of Kuwait that the United
States, in particular, should seriously consider
this Arab ini-tiative, should understand its
meaning and should respond to it positively so
that it will become an accepted fact which will
establish truth, security and justice in a region
where the clouds of injustice and aggression have
been and still are looming. On the other hand,
the group of European countries which had for a
long time sought to participate in any
con¬structive approach to settling this thorny
issue should seriously consider those principles
and should not let the dream of peace in the
Middle East be dashed by the misleading and
deceptive policy of Israel. It is within our
reach to hold on to the ray of hope—to preserve
it and strengthen it so that it will eventually
turn into an impregnable bulwark protecting the
rights of the just and preserving peace.
190.	I should now like to refer to what I said at
the 18th meeting of the thirty-sixth session
about the establishment of the Gulf Co-operation
Council, which has now become a fact and which
has proved to be the right and successful
instrument for developing co¬operation among
member States, improving their rela¬tions, and
achieving co-ordination, integration and
interdependence among their peoples in all
fields, thereby serving their mutual interests
and strength¬ening their capability of
participating in the preserva¬tion of peace and
security in that vital area of the world. It has
also stressed another important fact: namely,
that security and stability in the Arabian Gulf
area are the responsibility of its peoples and
countries, which reject foreign interference from
any source and under any pretext and that the
member States alone have the right to defend
their security and maintain their independence.
The Council has also emerged in the field of Arab
relations as a tributary of Arab unity and
solidarity.
191.	Kuwait views with great concern the
ongoing war between two Moslem neighbors, Iraq
and Iran, which has exhausted, over a period of
more than two years, the great potential of their
human and economic resources and has exposed the
area more than ever before to the possibility of
intervention by foreign Powers attempting to
impost their hege¬mony and their influence and to
international areas and internal affairs.
192.	Kuwait commends the positive initiative
of fraternal Iraq concerning the withdrawal of
its forces to the international borders and the
cessation of hostilities. It views this as an
honest and genuine contribution on the part of
Iraq to put a quick end to the war. We are still
hopeful that neighbouring Moslem Iran will soon
follow Iraq's example in this respect.
193.	Kuwait fully appreciates all the honest
efforts exerted by all parties concerned to find
an honorable and just solution to the dispute—one
which would safeguard the rights and dignity of
both parties. But in spite of the fact that those
efforts have, unfor¬tunately, not been successful
so far, we still believe in the necessity of
continuing them and even inten¬sifying them. We
also hope that the supreme interest of
maintaining peace and security in the area will
prevail over all other considerations. We are
con¬vinced that the immediate cessation of
hostilities would create the right climate for
the solution of all problems, in accordance,
above all, with the spirit and ideals of Islamic
brotherhood and with interna¬tional law.
194.	The situation on our Asian continent is
still replete with explosive crises that threaten
our peace and security. Foreign troops are still
on Afghan soil, and all the efforts exerted by
the United Nations to reach a peaceful and just
solution to that crisis on the basis of the
various resolutions adopted by the As¬sembly are
foundering. While we appreciate the
par¬ticipation of the parties to the dispute in
the meeting recently held at Geneva under the
aegis of the United Nations, we call for an
intensification of efforts at subsequent meetings
in order to arrive at a solution that will
safeguard the rights of the people of Afghanistan
to self-determination and to establish the
political system they deem suitable, free from
any foreign intervention. We also affirm the
right of the Afghan refugees to return to their
homeland. Kuwait is con¬vinced that none of these
goals can be secured without the withdrawal of
foreign troops from Afghanistan and
non-intervention in its internal affairs.
195.	We regret the failure of the efforts made
so far to convene an international conference to
discuss the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a
Zone of Peace. Kuwait has been stressing the need
to convene such a conference because of its
conviction that the peace and security of the
Indian Ocean and the withdrawal of foreign bases
from that area are vital and closely linked to
international peace and security. Kuwait also
reit¬erates its advocacy of the declaration of
the Middle East as a nuclear-weapon-free zone in
order to enable the countries of that region to concentrate
on solving their development problems and
carrying out their economic development
programmes.
196.	Like the Middle East, the African
continent continues to be an arena of strife and
conflict that threaten its political stability
and impede its economic progress. The Middle East
is plagued by an aggressive and racist Zionist
regime, while the African continent is plagued by
a similar racist regime that is still being
imposed on the people of South Africa and Namibia
despite all the international attempts to find a
just and honorable solution to their problems.
197.	Kuwait reiterates its support for and
solidarity with the people of Namibia in their
just struggle and with the black majority in
South Africa as it struggles against the policies
of discrimination and apartheid being pursued by
the white minority in that country . We salute
and support the front-line States and SWAPO for
their political perseverance in attempting to
find a peaceful settlement to the problem of
Namibia. We also condemn the perverted methods
used by the racist regime in South Africa in its
attempts to obstruct a peaceful settlement to
that problem. Kuwait would also urge the Western
nations to exert the utmost pressure on South
Africa in order to force it to respond positively
to international efforts to achieve a
comprehensive and just settlement to the
situation in southern Africa.
198.	Kuwait is also watching the development
of the situation in Eritrea and hopes that a just
solution that will guarantee that the people of
Eritrea attain their national aspirations can be
found.
199.	In a few months the Seventh Conference of
Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned
Coun¬tries will convene in the Indian capital.
The movement non-aligned is still? 20 years after
its creation, facing tremendous challenges; it
requires from its members an increased adherence
to its principles and ideology. By taking the
initiative of not acting as host to the Seventh
Conference, Iraq has proved its earnest desire to
maintain the unity and effectiveness of the
movement. Kuwait believes that States members of
the movement should avoid being drawn into the
conflict between the great Powers, which seek to
polarize those States towards one camp or the
other. Kuwait also feels a special interest in
the forthcoming Conference in India and hopes
that its results will reflect the aspirations of
the third world.
200.	We cannot fail to note the sense of
disillusion¬ment felt by the international
community at the failure of the second special
session on disarmament. The continuing
development of weapons of mass destruc¬tion, the
continued conducting of nuclear tests and the
continued stockpiling of huge quantities of
weapons has exposed the lack of political will on
the part of the Powers involved to create a
favorable climate for disarmament.
201.	Kuwait believes that the economic
problems facing today's world are for the most
part caused by the tremendous costs of the arms
race. We therefore call upon the United Nations
to refuse to allow itself to be impeded by the
temporary set-back of the failure of the second
special session and to continue its attempts to
achieve the cherished aspirations and dreams of
mankind.
202.	Through its long experience in
contributing to the development of third-world
countries, Kuwait realizes that the achievement
of development in the developing countries is
primarily the responsibility of those countries.
That responsibility, however, does not release
the advanced countries from their commitments to
the developing nations and, conse¬quently, a
formula should be worked out to co-ordinate,
follow up and implement the activities of
economic co-operation among the developing
nations them¬selves, on the one hand, and between
them and the developed and advanced nations on
the other. While Kuwait fully appreciates the
efforts that were made during the past year to
launch global negotiations to achieve economic
co-operation, it expresses its disap¬pointment at
the many obstacles being placed in the way of
such negotiations by the developed nations, which
continue to look upon this vital matter from the
viewpoint of their selfish interests.
203.	The Third United Nations Conference on
the Law of the Sea made important specific
progress when it adopted the draft Convention
which the Conference had been debating for more
than 10 years. Kuwait, aware of its international
responsibility, appeals to all nations which have
not yet approved this Con¬vention to join the
rest of the international community in its common
conception of the organization and utilization of
all the important and vital aspects of the
Convention in the best interests and for the
prosperity of mankind. Kuwait hopes that this
Con¬vention will be ratified as soon as possible.
204.	The delegation of Kuwait, while sharing
the concern of the international community over
the current international political and economic
situation, is convinced that it is imperative to
continue the dialogue and intensify the bilateral
and multilateral contacts among all nations. This
concern for interna¬tional peace and security, as
expressed by all Mem¬ber States, makes us fully
confident that, given honest intentions and
explicit goals, it will be possible to realize
our hopes in the establishment of co-operation
among peoples and to avoid the evils of wars and
disputes. Progress and prosperity will thus come
closer and be more significant.