Just over one year ago my country, Jamaica, was devastated by one of the worst hurricanes in our history. At that time we received generous and spontaneous assistance from the international community, from a large number of individual countries, large and small, and from thousands of individuals within those countries. This assistance supplemented the heroic efforts of our own people and enabled us to repair the physical damage and resume a reasonable approximation to normal activity in a shorter time than originally seemed possible. But, even so, the structural and underlying economic damage still presents us with formidable challenges. This experience gives us a special feeling of sympathy aid solidarity with the peoples of the Eastern Caribbean, Puerto Rico and South Carolina that have recently suffered similar devastation from hurricane Hugo. We extend to them our deep and heartfelt sympathy. We have ourselves given whatever immediate help we could, particularly to our Caribbean Community partners - Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Antigua. We stand ready to do whatever else we can. We strongly endorse the appeals to the international community to assist those countries as generously now as we ourselves were assisted in our time of need.
On a happier note, Sir, we extend to you our warmest and most sincere congratulations on your election to the presidency of this session of the General Assembly. You are one of Africa's most experienced and skilled diplomats, and we therefore believe that your election augurs well for the success of our deliberations in this important session. The historical links and close fraternal relations that have existed between your country aid ours gives us a special aid particular pleasure in welcoming your leadership in these deliberations. Tb your predecessor, Mr. Dante Caputo, of Argentina, we join previous speakers in expressing sincere appreciation for the constructive and able manner in which he presided over the affairs of the forty-third session.
It is particularly significant and must give you, Sir, a special sense of gratification that your presidency of the assembly coincides with the moment when a long-awaited and long-overdue political development is taking place in southern Africa. The fact that we can look forward to the completion of Namibia's progress towards independence not only is a source of satisfaction to all those who have struggled so tirelessly and persistently against South Africa's obstinate and illegal hold over that Territory, but is a tribute to the work of the United Nations in mobilizing the world community around this issue.
But we must not celebrate too soon. We have to remain vigilant to ensure that even at this late stage South Africa does not succeed in subverting the electoral and constitutional arrangements for Namibia's independence. We are deeply concerned at reports of widespread harassment, intimidation and killings of supporters of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO). We must continue to insist that South Africa scrupulously comply with the full implementation of resolution 435 (1978) in its original and definitive form so that the people of Namibia can participate freely and without intimidation or violence in the electoral process, under the control and supervision of the United Nations. We in Jamaica have joined with others in sending personnel to Namibia for the purpose of ensuring these objectives, and we are a part of a Commonwealth team that is now in Namibia investigating and monitoring the ongoing process. We trust that the Security Council will lend its full weight to ensure that South Africa proceeds to disband all its paramilitary and commando units, particularly Koevoet, that still threaten the implementation of orderly progress towards independence.
This brings us once again to a consideration of South Africa itself and that odious blot on human civilization known as the practice and doctrine of apartheid.
We must never forget, either here car anywhere else in the civilized world, that apartheid is not merely another eccentric or aberrant political system. It is both in theory and in practice a crime against humanity. Apartheid cannot be reformed? it can only be destroyed. The international community cannot, therefore, relations commitment to the eradication of apartheid, but must persist in its demand for the lifting of the state of emergency, the release of all political prisoners and detainees, including Nelson Mandela, an end to the harassment of anti-apartheid activists and, most important of all, the free and unrestricted participation of all political groups aid parties in the political life of South Africa. We look forward to the forthcoming special session of the General Assembly, in December, which will focus on apartheid and at which we must ensure that additional concrete steps are taken to increase the pressure on the South African regime to abandon apartheid in all its forms and dimensions.
Jamaica was the first State to apply trade sanctions to South Africa. Since then many others have followed suit, end we remain consistent in our determination to continue to press for the ever-widening adoption of this strategy. Moreover, we believe that the extension of this strategy into the area of embargo en all forms of financial flaws is the surest way of achieving a non-violent solution to the South African situation. The fact remains, however, that not enough is being done in this regard by the major industrial countries and the major transnational corporations that have still continued to do business with South Africa. This makes it possible for the regime to continue to exist, even in the face of universal moral condemnation. The soothing words aid cosmetic gestures now coming out of Pretoria should not be mistaken for a genuine commitment by that regime to eradicate apartheid. They are primarily designed to prevent or dilute precisely the kind of effective economic pressure which the major countries and major
transnational corporations can exert upon Pretoria. Nevertheless, the fact that these words are being used and these gestures are being made does indicate that such sanctions as are in place are having soma effect. They also point to the fact that there is a significant and growing body of opinion within the white community in South Africa that recognizes both the basic immorality aid the ultimate non-viability of the system. If we are serious about ending apartheid, then this is the moment when we should seek every possible means to intensify the pressures on the regime.
I now turn to look at the present situation in the region of which my country is a part - Latin America and the Caribbean. There is no doubt that at the political level considerable progress has been made towards the reduction of tensions aid the enlargement of political freedom and the democratic process. In Central America particularly, the Agreements, concluded last August by the five Central American Presidents at Tela, Honduras, have given dramatic impetus to the regional peace process, to the strengthening of the movement towards democratic pluralism aid to the establishment of political stability in that region. We note with satisfaction the arrangements which have now been finalized for the establishment of an international support and verification commission, involving the deployment of United Nations military observers, and the important step taken by the Government of Nicaragua in inviting the united Nations and other bodies to send teams of observers to monitor its own electoral process. We strongly commend the Secretary-General, who, through the skilful use of his good offices mission, has unremittingly persisted in efforts to obtain a negotiated solution to the Central American conflict.
He should also take note of the fact that Haiti., after many setbacks, appears to be heading towards a restoration of democracy, but it is still too early to be sure that this process will move smoothly to its completion. A ministerial delegation from the Caribbean Community, in which Jamaica participated, visited Haiti recently end held talks with a wide cross-section of the Haitian population in an effort to encourage this process. The announcement of a date in the next year for the holding of elections is encouraging, aid the members of the Caribbean Community have pledged to give every assistance to the Government and people of Haiti so long as we see steady progress continuing towards this objective.
On the other hand, it is distressing to observe that in Panama a regressive movement away from democratic aid constitutional government was set in motion with the aborting of the elections in May of this year and with the installation of an unrepresentative puppet regime, which took office on 1 September. This melancholy picture has, however, been brightened by certain factors', first, by the strong support expressed by all Latin American coin tries, through the Organization of American States (OAS), for the Panamanian people in their quest for the restoration of proper democratic and constitutional government and the rule of law? secondly, by the efforts of the OAS itself; and, thirdly, by the willingness of the united States to refrain from unilateral action, and to work within the multilateral inter-American system. While these efforts have not, so far, brought the desired result, we in Jamaica believe very strongly that this is the right way to proceed and that if the efforts are persisted in, firmly and consistently, an appropriate and acceptable solution will be arrived at. In the final analysis, it is the Panamanian people who have to decide their own destiny. But the international community must give strong and appropriate support to those which seek a speedy return to constitutional government.
There are, unfortunately, other areas of the world in which long-existing and seemingly intractable disputes continue not only to bring misery and insecurity to the peoples of the countries affected but also, in may instances, to create areas of tension and potential super-Power confrontation, which could threaten world peace ad security. I refer particularly, of course, to the Middle East, Afghanistan and Kampuchea. This Organization must continue its efforts in all these areas, however may disappointments ad frustrations may be experienced.
There is, however, one general area in respect of which we can only express the most profound satisfaction, ad which holds out the greatest promise for the future of mankind. I refer to the notable improvement in the relations between the super-Powers, the continued progress in disarmament ad arms control, ad the developing convergence of attitudes of the countries of the Eastern and Western blocs. It would, of course, be premature to say that the bipolar world which emerged at the end of the Second World War, and which has been the dominant feature of the past 45 years of world history, is now a thing of the past. Nevertheless, there is good reason to believe that it is becoming so. For the first time, we can dare to believe that the threat of humanity's being destroyed in a nuclear confrontation between East and West will be lifted permanently, and that an era of co-operation, rather than confrontation, between the major ideological ad political systems of the world is becoming a real possibility and not just a Utopia dream.
But, even as we recognize and applaud these favourable developments in the political field, we must also recognize that for the majority of mankind the current world economic situation presents a far less favourable picture. Even as the spectre of the mushroom cloud recedes from our immediate vision, there are other spectres, less instantly dramatic but perhaps just as deadly in the lag run,
that demand the attention of the world community. It is to these other natters that X now turn.
In general economic terms, the decade of the 1980s has been a bleak and, in many cases, disastrous one for most countries of the developing world. The industrialized countries of Europe, North America and Japan have experienced steady growth, rapid technological advance and increasing affluence. By and large, however, they have tended to keep their increasing wealth to themselves - official development aid to, and capital investment in, the developing countries have declined in real terms. Indeed, debt-servicing payments, the fall in commodity prices and tine drying-up of commercial lending to the debtor countries have resulted in a massive transfer of real resources from the developing to the developed industrialized countries.
It is true that a handful of developing countries - primarily in East Asia - have experienced spectacular growth and are on the threshold of graduating into developed industrial economies with huge financial surpluses and improved living standards, But for the vast majority of developing countries in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and West Asia the picture has been radically different. Here the picture has been, by and large, one of negative growth, declining per capita income and - what is even worse from the long-term point of view - a decline in standards and levels of education, nutrition, health care and housing. These are, of course, the essentials of human-resource development, without which no sustainable economic growth is possible. A vicious downward spiral has been created whereby, in many countries, the social fabric and political stability are increasingly threatened by a rising tide of misery.
Central to this melancholy picture is the debt crisis - both a symptom and a cause of increasing impoverishment in much of the developing world. Oceans of analysis and of prescriptions have been produced on the subject of the debt crisis,
but there has been barely a trickle of effective action to arrive at any definitive amelioration of the problem.
The debtor countries, for their part, have sought - indeed, have been obliged - to follow the path of structural adjustment. In so doing, they have increased their export volume markedly - by some 56 per cent over the decade - and have reduced their import volume by 13 per cent. But, in spite of this tremendous effort and achievement, their debt burden has not been reduced. Indeed, it has increased and is continuing to increase. Over the last three years, the external debt of developing countries has moved from 31,152 billion to 31,320 billion. For the 17 most indebted countries, the net transfer of resources to creditor countries totalled in the year 1988 alone approximately 331 billion. Moreover, the immediate effect of these structural adjustment programmes is often to exacerbate income imbalances within a national economy. This results in the highly explosive situation whereby the production of a stagnant or shrinking economy is being divided in an increasingly unequal fashion.
It is clear that the debtor countries cannot get out of their predicament by their own efforts alone. It is clear also that the lending institutions - both the commercial banks and the multilateral lending agencies - are limited, in the contribution that they can make to a solution, by the imperatives of their own operational requirements and, in many instances, by their own basic rules and regulations.
A much more significant contribution is required from the Governments of surplus creditor countries than they have so far been prepared to make. It is disappointing to note that yet another meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund has come and gone without any indication, from these countries, of a willingness to make the kind of response that the situation requires.
The fact is that, while the creditor countries cannot be said to be comfortable with the present situation, because they recognize its long-term dangers to world trade and international stability, they are, however, not so uncomfortable as to be prepared to make the effort and incur the political risks that would be involved in their taking the kind of financial action that is required.
In our view the time has come for the united Nations to take the lead in organizing a constructive dialogue leading to effective action among all the parties involved, the debtor nations, the lending institutions and the creditor countries. A special session of the General Assembly to be convened in 1990 for the purpose of focusing on international economic co-operation could provide the opportunity for such a dialogue. We believe that out of such a dialogue an agreement should emerge to establish an international debt organization funded by contributions from the creditor nations for the purpose of acquiring significant portions of outstanding sovereign debt from the commercial banks at market-determined discounts and passing on the benefit of these discounts to the debtor countries.
In addition, the multilateral lending institutions should be permitted to refinance and restructure their loans so as to eliminate net transfers to them from heavily indebted countries. The debtor countries, as a condition of obtaining this relief, should be required to implement sound economic programmes that would enable them to service their reduced debt obligations and accumulate a sufficient surplus to resume the process of economic growth, social development and a more equitable sharing of the products of their economic systems. By this kind of collaborative effort, with all three parties making an appropriate contribution, there will emerge a real possibility of achieving a permanent solution to the debt crisis, thus creating expanded world trade and a healthier global environment for productive investment from which all people will benefit.
If, as I have said, there is a lack of balance in the degree of seriousness with which creditor and debtor countries view the debt crisis, there are two other problems about which there can be no doubts that all countries of the world, big and small, developed and undeveloped, must share an equally urgent concern. The first of these is the safeguarding of our environment. The dangers posed to the future of the human race, and indeed to all life on this planet, by the continued pollution and degradation of the total natural environment is at last beginning to get the focus and intensity of attention that it has always deserved. While sound national environmental policies are central to any effort in this regard, there is no doubt that concerted action by the international community is also urgently required.
The numerous environmental problems that are global in nature, which many countries are not equipped to tackle on their own, demand and require a multilateral response. Water and air pollution, soil erosion, waste disposal - to name just a few - all require an increasingly high level of international initiative. Such plans for international action, however, must recognize that in so far as poor developing countries are concerned, there is a causal relationship between environmental degradation, poverty, low educational levels and sheer lack of access to environmentally sound energy and other resources.
The proposed 1992 conference on environment and development represents a step in the right direction towards international co-operation. We must be alert to seize the opportunity to look at all aspects of the problem and to recognize that the alleviation of the economic problems in the poorer countries of the world is an essential pre-condition for the maintenance of sound environmental practices.
This is particularly evident in relation to matters such as deforestation. It is unrealistic 'co believe that people who have no access to any other source of energy to warm themselves or to cook their food will refrain from cutting down trees for firewood out of deference to the possible ecological effects of their actions in some seemingly distant future.
Finally, I turn to the problem of drug abuse and drug trafficking. Mrs. Margaret Anstee, Director-General of the united Nations Office in Vienna responsible for the united Nations work on this issue, said recently about the narcotic threat: "It is a threat striking at the foundation of civilization and places peace and security in their most fundamental sense increasingly in jeopardy".
Just a few days ago, President Virgilio Barco Vargas of Colombia passionately and movingly described from this rostrum the mortal danger in which his country stands as a result of this increasingly dangerous scourge. There is no doubt that the drug problem has today assumed proportions that are far beyond the capacity of individual States to control. The production, illicit trafficking and distribution of narcotics have resulted in the growth of some of the most terrible criminal organizations the world has ever seen. This is not a problem that affects one or two countries. Nor is it limited to specific areas of the world. Like bizarre caricatures of transnational corporations, the drug cartels are seeking to globalise the financing, production and distribution of their products.
If they succeed, Governments, judicial systems and other national institutions in one country after another will become hostage to them in a horrible game of death and destruction. Nor can responsibility be assigned only to those countries in which illegal narcotics are currently being primarily produced. There is, if anything, an even greater responsibility on those nations which provide the bulk of the consumer market and there is apparently an insatiable and escalating demand.
We acknowledge the valuable work that has long been done by the United Nations in identifying the dangers of this traffic and in exploring ways for encouraging international co-operation in combating it. We express our appreciation to those Governments and individuals that have given such valuable service to the United Nations Commission on narcotic Drugs and provided leadership and guidance for the vital work being carried out by various United Nations bodies. We also acknowledge the useful legal framework to strengthen the capacity of Governments to deal with the illicit production, trafficking and use of narcotic drugs that has been provided by various United Nations conventions. The most recent, of course, was the United Nations Convention concluded in Vienna, in December 1988, which has already been signed by a large number of countries, including my own. But the harsh fact is that, notwithstanding these efforts, this problem has steadily grown to the monstrous and frightening proportions we see today.
In 1986 our Secretary-General made the following statement on drug control in an address to the General Assembly: "Further forms of co-operative international efforts my well be needed. I wonder, for example, if member States have yet adequately considered the possibility of a strengthened global involvement capability which might reduce the need for Governments to rely on other types of control."
My Government believes that it is incumbent on the Organization to accept the Secretary-General's challenge. Pursuant to this, our Prima Minister has sought and obtained the support of a number of countries in our Caribbean region, as well as others outside the region, and he will continue to canvass support for a specific proposal we shall be presenting to the General assembly at the appropriate time within the next few weeks. The proposal is for the implementation of a strategy within the united Nations system designed and structured to assist all member countries in their efforts to inhibit the use, interdict the supply and prevent the traffic within and across national boundaries of all illegal narcotic and psychotropic drugs. It is proposed that this strategy would have the following elements : first, a central intelligence-gathering operation which would collate and co-ordinate information on drug trafficking world wide, with particular emphasis on tracing financial flows from this activity; secondly, a training facility for anti-narcotic agents in both investigative and interdiction activities; thirdly, a capability to assist countries that require it in public education designed to control the demand for illicit drugs; fourthly, provision of technical assistance for the creation and maintenance of effective rehabilitation programmes for individuals who have become addicted to narcotic drugs; fifthly, assistance in the planning and administration of income substitution programmes, so as to provide alternative forms of economic activity for persons now engaged in the primary production of narcotic substances, who are often driven to this activity for lack of any other means of livelihood; sixthly, a multilateral and multisectoral unit, operating under United Nations control, consisting of specially trained paramilitary personnel who could be made available to assist countries which request such help to strengthen their own security forces in the war against the well-armed and well-funded forces that protect this illegal traffic.
We believe that in the absence of such an international capability, to which individual countries can look for assistance, two dangerous possibilities exist. A number of countries will find their institutions so corrupted aid their security forces so overwhelmed that an orderly democratic society, governed by the rule of law will become impossible. The other danger is that countries so threatened may feel compelled to invite, or powerless to resist, a degree of involvement in their internal affairs by some other countries to which they are obliged to turn for assistance that will be inconsistent with their sovereignty. These are not imaginary dangers. They are very real and present threats being faced by many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
We need hardly emphasize, of course, that the establishment of such a multilateral and multisectoral unit would be based on full respect for each country's sovereignty and would be an instrument available to countries that request it - and only when they request it - and would operate entirely within the limits set by the countries themselves. We hope that this proposal will receive the support of all the members of the United Nations. We are ready and anxious to consult fully with all Member States so as to ensure that the proposed unit - and all the other elements of the strategy that I have outlined - meets such requirements as Members may see necessary, is supported by the necessary financial resources, and comes into existence as rapidly as possible. We therefore ask all Member States to work with us and our co-sponsoring Caribbean Community (CARICCM) partners to achieve a consensus that will provide an effective international answer to this grave and present danger to the international community.
In closing, Jamaica reaffirms its strong commitment to the multilateral process which is enshrined in tine Charter of the United Nations. We continue to pledge our support to this Organization, an Organization which we feel represents the best hope for the future of mankind.


The election of Ambassador Garba of Nigeria to the presidency of the forty "fourth session of the General Assembly is a recognition of his great diplomatic skills and a confirmation of the effective role that Nigeria plays on the African and the international scene. While extending to him our warmest congratulations, I wish also to express my appreciation to his predecessor, Mr. Dante Caputo, who conducted the deliberations of the last session with such wisdom. I also pay a tribute to the Secretary-General for his efforts and his activities designed to achieve just settlements to urgent international issues.
Undoubtedly, there are now positive trends in international relations.
Foremost among those is the steady improvement in relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, where confrontation and mistrust have given way to understanding, detente and co-operation. While welcoming the agreement reached between the two countries on halting the arms race end on disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament, we believe that what has been achieved so far is only a small portion of what we aspire to achieve in this field. Further steps are still needed for the reduction of nuclear strategic weapons and other weapons of mass destruction which constitute a threat to life on our planet. Only then will our efforts be in the right direction to implement the will of the international community and the strategy agreed upon for general aid complete disarmament under effective international control.
Naturally, the positive developments on the international scene have had a positive impact also at the regional level in different parts of the world, enabling this international Organization to play its role in achieving political settlements of a number of questions that remain of concern to the international community. In this context, bringing an end to the destructive war between Iraq and Iran has been a major success for the peace efforts of the international community. We take this opportunity to appeal to both countries to break the deadlock that has stalled negotiations to end their dispute and achieve progress towards the desired settlement and the complete and comprehensive peace that will guarantee the interests of both peoples. We also hope that the two countries can reach an agreement on the exchange of prisoners of war in the immediate future.
In connection with Afghanistan, the Geneva Agreements represent a valid framework for a political settlement that guarantees the interests of the Afghan people. We call upon all concerned parties to remain committed to those agreements.
As regards the new developments in the Horn of Africa, we welcome the current efforts to halt the fighting and to move to the negotiating table with a view to reaching peaceful solutions to the problems of the region.
In Western Sahara, there are certain new developments of a positive nature. The same applies to the situation in Kampuchea, from which all the Vietnamese forces have recently withdrawn, thus paving the way for a peaceful settlement that would guarantee the security and stability of that region.
We appreciate and welcome the agreement arrived at among the leaders of the States of Central America. All parties concerned are called open to provide favourable conditions to guarantee the effective implementation of those agreements, in a creative manner, so that peace stability can prevail in that region.
We also hope that it will be possible to reach a just settlement to the Cyprus problem that will guarantee the unity of Cyprus, its territorial integrity and its non-aligned status. The same is true of the Korean question, whose solution requires the achievement of a settlement guaranteeing the unification of Korea on a peaceful and democratic basis. Today, we are following with interest the completion of the process of independence for Namibia in accordance with the United Nations plan. We look forward to the day when independent Namibia aid its people can stand side by side with the other members of the international community and participate in its work. But this positive development should not lead us to abandon our common efforts to eradicate the policy of apartheid, or our continued support for the struggle of the people of South Africa for freedom.
It is regrettable that the positive climate prevailing in international relations has had no impact on the situation in the Middle East, where the Palestinian question, which is the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict, still remains without a just and comprehensive settlement that would guarantee the national inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.
The fact that cannot be ignored is that the Palestinian leadership  represented by the Palestine Liberation Organization, has proved beyond any doubt its keen interest in achieving peace in the region well as its positive response to international efforts made to that end. The decisions of the Palestine National Council have been positively received on the Arab and international levels. They also were endorsed by the emergency Arab summit meeting held in Casablanca. They were crowned by the positive initiative that Chairman Yasser Arafat announced before the General Assembly in Geneva. It goes without saying that the increasing international recognition of the State of Palestine reaffirms the belief of the international community in the legitimacy of the Palestine Liberation Organization and its serious endeavours to reach a just and comprehensive settlement to the Palestinian question.
This positive initiative has been accompanied by the steadfastness of the Palestinian people's intifadah in the occupied territories. From this rostrum we salute the continued courage of the Palestinian people engaged in an in equal confrontation with the Israeli occupation, it is important to state that Israel's true image has been clearly revealed to world public opinion. Does any doubt still persist about the fact that Israel does not want peace to prevail in the region? Does any doubt still persist about another fact that Israel's policy is based on expansion and colonial settlement? Has it not yet been proved beyond any doubt through clear, tangible, irrefutable evidence, that Israel violates human rights in the occupied territories? Has the world forgotten the crimes committed by Israel against the defenceless Palestinian people, burying them alive and breaking their bones?
The international community as a whole calls for terminating the Israeli occupation of Palestine and other Arab territories. It calls for seizing the opportunity to proceed with the preparations for the convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, in accordance with numerous successive resolutions adopted by the General Assembly, with the participation on an equal footing of all parties concerned, including the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. That is the right approach, agreed upon internationally  it would lead to a just political settlement in the Middle East that would guarantee the national inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among which is their right to self-determination and to the establishment of their independent State.
We take this opportunity to call m the United States to adopt a positive attitude towards the international efforts for peace, and to associate itself with the will of the international community, within the agreed-upon framework for a political settlement in the Middle East, in order to enable the Security Council to take the practical measures for the preparation for the convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East. We also call upon the United States to use its influence to bring pressure to bear on Israel in order to make it respond favourably to the international peace efforts.
The success of Arab efforts, as represented by the Arab Tripartite Committee in making some important steps on the road to restoring security and stability to Lebanon is a development which we highly appreciate and of which we are proud. The halting of fighting between brothers and the gradual restoration of normal life to brotherly Lebanon are indeed important developments. We ate all the more pleased to witness the success or the Arab Tripartite Committee in convening the Lebanese House of Representatives in Taif, Saudi Arabia, and we hope that a political settlement guaranteeing the unity, security and stability of Lebanon will be reached.
At the same time, we once again demand the immediate and unconditional termination of the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, in accordance with are relevant resolutions of the Security Council.
In the context of the Middle East, we reiterate our warning against ignoring Israeli nuclear armaments and the risk this poses to the region and its peoples, as well as the potential threat it entails to international peace and security. In this respect, we demand the taking of immediate measures to end this danger, a danger that runs counter to the desire of the peoples and States of the region to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the area. We also warn against the risk of Israeli missile-launching tests in the Mediterranean and the threat such tests pose to the peace and security of the States in that region, particularly since one of these missiles landed close to the territory of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.
Man  speakers have made particular reference to certain items on this session's agenda according to their own concerns and priorities. We should like to confirm our country's position on some of those issues. We condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including State terrorism. Me censure using this subject as a slogan to strike at national liberation movements and stifle their legitimate struggle for freedom and self-determination or to interfere in the internal affairs of other States. We welcome any joint international efforts to confront terrorism to be agreed upon in the international conference proposed for this purpose within the framework of the United Nations. We also support any joint international effort to combat drugs and illegal drug trafficking.
We believe that no one would oppose international efforts for the protection of the environment. However, we reiterate that our starting-point in this context must not only be confined to the protection of the environment from further pollution or degradation but must also take into consideration our belief in the need to develop and improve the environment to serve the socio-economic development of the developing countries.
Above all, our priorities remain based on the social and economic development of the developing countries and ways to promo to that development in order to improve the living standards of our peoples. Hence, we wonder how we can ever boast of the progress achieved both regionally and internationally in the political and security spheres if this is not accompanied by parallel progress in the economic field that is so closely linked to our lives. What kind of peace and security is it if the circle of poverty in the world is increasingly widening and if the gap between the developed aid the developing countries is deepening day by day? And how can we ever guarantee the political stability of the world if it is threatened daily by an exacerbated economic aid social situation?
The stagnation which has marked the process of growth and development in developing countries and the negative growth rates of their economies have readied tragic proportions. Still worse is the suffering of the foreign debt-ridden States, and that of the least developed countries to which we belong.
Our situation is made even worse by the national disasters we face. Like many other least developed countries. Democratic Yemen was struck by torrential rains and floods that caused great loss of life and inflicted much damage end destruction on economic installations as well as on agricultural land and crops. While once again we express our thanks and appreciation to all States and organizations that provided us with timely emergency relief assistance, we look forward to more economic support to enables to rebuild aid reconstruct vital economic structures that were destroyed by the floods.
The worsening economic situation prevailing in the developing countries requires the adoption of urgent measures aimed at finding just solutions and bringing about essential changes in the structure of international economic relations, and to establish the new international economic order, an order that will contribute to balanced and steady growth, accelerate the process of development in the developing countries, aid deal with the problems of foreign debt, money, finance and trade, as well as other problems affecting the world economy.
In this respect we look forward with keen interest to the convening of the second conference on the least developed countries to be held in Paris be shall make every effort, along with other least developed countries, to come out of that Conference with a clear strategy that will assist our countries in promoting their economies and increasing their growth rates in a way that will guarantee a minimum decent standard of living for our peoples. We attach the same hope to the special session of the General Assembly, to be held in 1990, devoted to international co-operation for development. We deem it necessary to continue the world economic negotiations between the North and the South and to break the current stalemate. We are indeed aware of the requirements of this era in the light of recent developments in international relations. In our country we are undergoing, an important phase of comprehensive political and economic reforms which we regard as a necessary  urgent process dictated by subjective and objective circumstances and the developments experienced by our revolution. The process of political and economic reform is based on certain premises, mainly on pursuing a realistic policy, spreading democracy and openness, promoting the rule of law aid guaranteeing the political, economic, social and human rights of our citizens.
Side by side with this important internal process, our efforts continue on the national level to achieve Yemeni unity, which is the fate, destiny and the aim of our Yemeni people. We believe that the way to achieve this noble goal is peaceful dialogue and brotherly understanding on a set of common denominators between the two sectors of Yemen. It gives us pleasure that our relations with our brothers in the northern sector of the homeland are positive and developing. The implementation of the two important agreements concerning the movement of our citizens between the two sectors and joint oil investment is proceeding smoothly. He look forward to further measures that will pave the way for the restoration of the unity of Yemen, which can only be a factor contributing to further stability aid development in Yemen and in the region as a whole.
In our relations with our Arab brothers there has been considerable progress. We are keen to strengthen and promote these relations on the basis of mutual respect for independence, national sovereignty, and non-interference in internal affairs, for our mutual benefit, in a manner that will serve the interests of our peoples and further our issues of destiny. In this respect, we are working to promote co-ordination with our Arab brothers within the framework of the regional and international organizations to which we belong, so as to achieve stability  id to avoid tension in the area.
The same applies to the remaining neighbouring countries in the Horn of Africa. Furthermore, and on the basis of the same principles, we are making intensive efforts to improve and develop our relations with the other countries of the world. In this regard, important contacts and visits were made this year. We hope that our pursuit of this objective will be met with an adequate response so that our relations with other countries may be promoted to the level to which we aspire. On the wider international front, we are seeking to expend out activities within the framework of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, with whose members we have common principles and goals.
As one of the Indian Ocean States, Democratic Yemen strongly supports international efforts aimed at making the Indian Ocean а zone of peace. We look forward with interest to the convening of the international Conference on the Indian Ocean next year. In addition, we shall host an international seminar on the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea early next year. The seminar, which is being organized by our Government in co-operation with the Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity Organization, will be attended by prominent persons from all parts of the world.
In the framework of the United Nations, we take pride in the fact that our efforts will be crowned, in this principal international forum, with the confidence expressed in us by the group of Asian States, which we shall represent in the Security Council during the term 1990-1991. We fully understand the dimensions of this responsibility and declare that we shall spare no effort in shouldering it. We shall be the mirror reflecting the Arab position, and the echo of the Asian voice  We shall reflect the principles governing the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, as well as the will of the international community to maintain international peace and security, in co-operation and co-ordination with the other members of the Security Council.


I have the honour to congratulate Mr. Garba, on behalf of Kuwait, upon his election to the presidency of the forty-fourth session of the United Nations General A3seitbly. We are pleased that he comes from Nigeria, a friendly African country with which we maintain good relations and share common interests. We are confident that his experience and competence will be of great help to us in ensuring the success of the work of this session.
I am also pleased to commend his predecessor, Mr. Dante Caputo, the former foreign Minister of Argentina, for his success in conducting the work of the last session.
I am making this statement "after having listened and followed for the past three weeks, the speeches of many Heads of State and delegations representing the entire world community, with all its different policies and orientations. The common denominator and consensus among all those valuable contributions made by those who have spoken before me was that, on the threshold of the 1990s and drawing near to the advent of the twenty-first century, the world is encountering unprecedented opportunities for peace and development, as well as new challenges that have arisen from the nature of the political, economic and social evolution of
the world. We must face these opportunities and challenges with new thinking and advanced methods of action that take into consideration the international variables we are now experiencing and witnessing. It is our destiny and responsibility at this juncture to seize opportunities that have the potential to create the appropriate atmosphere for a new dawn in international relations, a dawn that derives its light from the triumph of reason and diplomacy over bigotry and force. It is also our destiny and responsibility to stand up to the new challenges that will put our will to the test, in particular the challenges resulting from the international economic situation, of which indebtedness is one of the most significant components. There are also the challenges of the social situation, in which the questions of environment and drugs are salient features as well as the challenge of international terrorism, which threatens the very core of our values, traditions and norms.*
The role and importance of the United Nations increase in such conditions and thus the organization requires continuous support. Kuwait wishes to express to the Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, its deep appreciation of his efforts and dedication in utilizing the positive aspects emerging in the international arena for the benefit of world peace and to consolidate its foundations, and to reaffirm its support for him and his endeavours.
There is no doubt that the international political atmosphere is improving and that there is detente in international relations. There is the danger, however, that this improvement will not continue while the world economic situation continues to deteriorate and seems even to become more complicated, since the gap between the developed and the developing countries remains wide and is increasing. Meanwhile, the world debt is growing, the prices of raw materials are falling. tariff and trade barriers are increasing, the balance of payments is in a state of disequilibrium, and technical know-how and technological advancement remain the exclusive monopoly of a handful of nations which refuse to share them with others. Kuwait feels that the debt problem poses the most intractable and significant obstacle to development. It requires urgent, comprehensive solutions that take into consideration the human suffering that afflicts the peoples of the debtor countries. The debt problem has become a source of despair and frustration to them.
It was against this backdrop that the historic initiative by His highness the Emir of the State of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber A1 Ahmad A1 Jaber A1 Sabah, was announced from this rostrum last year. Its aim was the alleviation of the debt burden and the distressed economies of the developing countries, thus extricating those countries from the cycle of crises in which they have been rotating and launching a new phase of more equitable and just international economic relations.
In line with his commitment to this benevolent approach. His highness the Emir proposed before the ninth summit Conference of non-aligned States, held in Belgrade last September, an appropriate mechanism to set in motion the implementation of his proposal concerning the debt problem.
The Emir of Kuwait did not confine his effort to sounding the alarm about the debt problem, but embarked boldly upon tackling the issue, with toe appropriate prescription for its cure, in which he pursues justice and highlights altruism. The world community should therefore study this proposal, toe text of which was submitted to the Secretary-General, by virtue of his responsibilities, so that it might be considered in a spirit of co-operation and faith in our common human destiny.
Together, we are proceeding towards the 1990s benefiting from the positive developments in most centres of international disputes, developments which have been inspired by the new spirit whose warmth has begun to thaw the frost around those disputes. An earnest and impartial attitude is necessary on all sides, together with a rearrangement of our priorities, to exploit this new spirit.
The withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and Cambodia, the implementation of the plans aimed at settling the situation in Central America and the continuance of dialogue in Cyprus are all examples of the new responsibilities of the people in those countries in the realization of national harmony and unity, the consolidation of stability and security, and the preparation and implementation of the economic development plans which the peoples of those regions need.
However, neither global peace and security, nor economic development and world prosperity can last or be ensured as long as the Palestinian question remains without a "just solution. The Middle East region has for four decades been living with a conflict which has always been and still is a threat to world peace, security and stability. At the root of that conflict is the cause of the Palestinian people, a people that Israel has been attempting by the most inhumane means of all kinds to uproot aid expel from its land, while obliterating its national identity.
Nevertheless, Israel daily awakens to the fact that brute force, however tyrannical, cannot extinguish the torch of the political struggle being waged by the Palestinian people. On the contrary, it only fans the flames, and consequently brings nearer the attainment of that people's legitimate objectives. There have been two developments of considerable significance in the Palestinian struggle: first, the outbreak of the intifadah, which is nearing the end of its second year, and, secondly, the positive and brave position adapted by the Palestinian leadership since the meeting of the Palestine National Council in November 1988. At that meeting, the Palestinian leadership declared its readiness to assume full responsibility for the establishment of a comprehensive peace based on the principles set forth in the Proclamation of the independent Palestinian State, with Holy Jerusalem as its capital, and with ail the international rights and obligations that such readiness implies.
At the recent summit conference at Casablanca all the Arab countries endorsed and supported the resolutions of the Palestine National Council and the new line adopted by the Palestinian leadership. As a result, the Palestinian position is now an Arab one. It is a position that seeks peace anew and puts forward an integrated plan based on justice, international laws and relevant United Nations resolutions.
Those two developments with respect to Palestine increase the responsibility of the international community in general, and the United Nations in particular, to deter Israel from persisting in its obduracy, its rejection of every just peace initiative and its continued perpetration of crimes. Israel must be pressed to respond to international variables and to yield to the logic of right and justice. Israel cannot swim against the world tide; it certainly will not be able to resist its surging waves forever.  Comprehensive peace is a product of international will, which is unified in calling for an international peace conference with the participation of the five permanent members of the Security Council and all parties involved in the conflict, including the Palestine Liberation organization (PLO), the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, on an equal footing. The international community believes that such a conference constitutes the legal framework within which the Palestinian issue must finally find a just and la3ting solution.
The people of the sister country of Lebanon have for 14 years been suffering through a crushing tragedy that threatens their security and stability and has completely devastated and wreaked havoc on their country. The use of force and violence has intensified to the point that the country's national unity and territorial integrity are seriously jeopardized. Earnest and sincere Arab efforts have been exerted to halt the irresponsible hostilities in that Arab country and to achieve national concord based on the justice, equality and coexistence that have characterized the Lebanese people throughout history. At present the sister Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is acting as host to a meeting of members of the Lebanese Parliament to debate the document on national concord proposed by the Tripartite high Arab Committee that was authorized by the recent Arab summit conference to find an appropriate formula for national reconciliation that would definitively stop the fratricidal fighting, preserve Lebanon's national unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty over all its soil, and realize the coexistence and fraternity of all the population in one unified entity on a basis of equality and justice. The international community, which is shocked by the deteriorating situation in Lebanon, is urged to support the Tripartite high Arab Committee and to help it succeed in attaining its goals.
We are, however, in duty bound to declare that the situation in Lebanon will not be settled as long as Israel continues to occupy part of its territory, to interfere in its internal affairs, and to persist in acts of aggression against Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity. The international community roust compel Israel to implement the many Security Council resolutions calling for complete unconditional withdrawal from Lebanese territory. Without such withdrawal, the cycle of violence will continue to afflict that torn country and abort every sincere effort made for its sake.
Perhaps one of the most remarkable achievements of the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace and security is Security Council resolution 598 (1987), which provided the foundation for the halting of the Iran-Iraq war. Since the endorsement of that resolution by the two parties, regional and international efforts have been focused on achieving success in the on going negotiations between the two countries under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary-General. However, unfortunately those negotiations have not vet led to the desired conclusion, namely consummation of a lasting peace based on good-neighbourliness, fraternity and constructive co-operation in which the countries and peoples of the region will enjoy security and stability. We are therefore obliged, by necessity and by duty, to continue to support the efforts of the Secretary-General aimed at making the negotiations a success and full implementation of Security Council resolution 598 (1987).
We are looking forward to the forthcoming visit of Mr. Jan Eliasson, the Secretary-General's Personal Representative, to Baghdad and Teheran, we support his benevolent efforts, and we wish him all success in his coming mission. Kuwait is grieved to see that an important humanitarian aspect of the sequels of hostilities remains unsolved. The exchange of prisoners of war has not yet been completed, nor have some of its technicalities been ironed out. We call for the
completion of that exchange as expeditiously as possible, for we believe that that would demonstrate the goodwill and intentions of both parties with regard to the full implementation of resolution 598 (1987) so that peace, security and co-operation may prevail in that critical part of the world.
The positive developments in Namibia, as reflected by the implementation of the steps set forth in Security Council resolution 435 (1978), are gratifying to the international community. Kuwait urges support for fee United Nations efforts to implement resolution 435 (1978) fully and calls for alertness and caution vis-à-vis fee practices and strategies of South Africa aimed at undermining Namibia's independence plan or at turning it into independence in name only. Kuwait, which has always supported fee South West Africa People's organization (SWAPO) as fee legitimate representative of the Namibian people, is hopeful that the young State will join fee ranks of independent countries and contribute to fee security, stability and welfare of the African continent.
Although fee world has managed to score some progress in fee Namibian question, the African wounds will not heal until the abhorrent system of apartheid in South Africa has been dismantled, until the native black majority there has fully regained its rights and until democratic majority rule has been established in feat country, thus restoring to African persons in South Africa their dignity and sovereignty over their land and returning life to normal.
We look forward to a General Assembly session notable for its achievements and expressive of the positive spirit that lights the sky and serves as a beacon and inspiration for our countries and peoples. May God grant us success.


Let me at the outset offer my sincere congratulations to Mr. Joseph Garba on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its current session. I hope that under his leadership the Assembly will be able to achieve desirable results. To that end, he can rely on the co-operation of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
My thanks go also to Mr. Dante Caputo for his able work during the forty-third session, as well as to the Secretary-General for his untiring efforts at the United Nations and on the international and regional scene.
The demise of Imam Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic world and the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran - may God be pleased with him - was a tragic loss for the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic world and all freedom-loving people. During many years of relentless struggle, he spared no effort to oppose exploitation, tyranny and injustice. Our people have entered the second decade of their revolution with precious experience gained from 10 years of resistance against aggression, political propaganda and economic pressure, and are now making great strides towards national reconstruction with resolute determination and reliance on the fundamental principles of the Islamic revolution.
As we approach the 1990s, the world is moving towards relaxation of tension both at the global and the regional levels. The international community's efforts to resolve regional conflicts are indeed commendable, but we cannot afford to lose sight of the fact that there remain many unresolved disputes with the potential to threaten international peace and security. The principal cause of the perpetuation of these crises is the domineering policies pursued by the big Powers against the interests of third-world nations. In order to set this situation right, we must therefore alter unjust international relations and give them a basis of justice and respect for international law.
The Non-Aligned Movement has called for the designation of the 1990s as the decade of international law. During that decade Governments and international forums should redouble their efforts to strengthen respect for the rule of law in international relations. History has shown that it is those with power and might who are more prone to violate principles of international law. Unlawful actions by the United States against my country - such as the seizure of out assets, attacks on our oil platforms and the downing of our civilian aircraft - are clear examples of disrespect for legal norms by those who possess power and might. It is our hope that in the next decade, with the efforts of the United Nations and a reassessment by the bio Powers of their behaviour and conduct on the international scene, the ground will he laid for the rule of law.
Political and economic domination have been addressed at length in international forums, but what has not received adequate attention is cultural domination. The world-domineering Powers use cultural domination - a prelude to other forms of domination - to gain political influence and to alienate the nations of the third world from their social and cultural values. Unfortunately, nations that desire to return to their own cultural identity are subjected to severe attacks by the domineering Powers. Decisions by the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement aimed at countering cultural domination by arrogant Powers in the Islamic world and the third world have ushered in a movement to eliminate that form of domination. Cultural attacks by some Western countries have been carried out as a result of an incorrect assessment of the realities and an underestimate of the strong feelings and beliefs of Muslim nations. During the presidency of France, the European Community can gain its rightful place in its relations with Muslim nations, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, by correcting its past political mistakes and by respecting the principles and social and religious values of Islamic societies. At this point I must address one of the destructive, devastating social tragedies of our time, namely, trafficking in and the production and use of drugs. The international community has rightly devoted special attention and displayed special sensitivity with respect to this problem. Iran is located geographically in a region that provides a link for a major part of the illicit drug trafficking from east to west. That has put a special burden of responsibility on the shoulders of the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran with respect not only to the apprehension of international drug traffickers but also to safeguarding the health of our own society. To achieve this aim, we have begun during the past year to close the ways through which illicit drugs are brought into our country, by strengthening co-operation with neighbouring countries and expanding operations to discover and destroy international drug-trafficking networks. Those measures - supplemented by strict laws and heavier punishment for the merchants of death -	have, in a short time, resulted in a considerable reduction in drug trafficking and consumption in Iran. But because of the nature of this phenomenon, an effective campaign against the international mafia of illicit drugs is not possible without international co-operation. Therefore, the Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes international efforts to that end.
In the course of the past year, efforts to gain access to quantitatively larger and qualitatively better weapons have continued unabated, while at the same time multilateral negotiations on disarmament with the ultimate purpose of achieving general and complete disarmament under effective international control have continued with undiminished momentum. It appears, however, that the speed at which weapons are amassed is much faster than the pace of efforts in the field of disarmament. Meanwhile, chemical weapons have become comparable, in terms of their
capacity for mass destruction and their brutal nature, to nuclear weapons, and pose a grave threat to regional and international peace and security, arousing serious concern on the part of the international community.
Eight years of global indifference to the use of chemical weapons against the Islamic Republic of Iran has encouraged some countries such as Iraq to build the largest arsenals of chemical and biological weapons and to improve them qualitatively and quantitatively.
The international community's failure to respond properly to Iraq's repeated use of chemical weapons against its Kurdish citizens, during the war and even after the establishment of the cease-fire, as well as ascertainment of their practical advantages have caused world-wide concern over the increasing escalation of such weapons. The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a country that has suffered the most from the recent use of chemical weapons, is convinced that the ultimate remedy lies in the total destruction of all chemical weapons and that such transitory solutions as the prevention of the proliferation of such weapons will not be effective.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has expanded its efforts in the Conference on Disarmament for the conclusion of a comprehensive convention on the prohibition of the production, development, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. The principle of universality is an absolute necessity for ensuring the security of States that have been the victims of chemical-weapon use and those that are potentially subject to be threatened by such weapons. The universality of such a convention requires adequate punitive provisions as well as sufficient incentives. Pending the conclusion of the convention all States are bound to abide by the provisions of the 1925 Geneva Protocol on the prohibition of the use of chemical weapons, and delinquent States must be punished immediately after first use.
More than a year has elapsed since the establishment of the cease-fire between Iran and Iraq. With the utmost regret I must declare that, despite 15 rounds of direct talks under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary-General and the with the assistance of his Personal Representative, no step other than the establishment of the cease-fire has been taken for the full implementation of even the first paragraph of Security Council resolution 598 (1987). In paragraph 1 of that resolution, the Security Council demands that
"as a first step towards a negotiated settlement, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq observe an immediate cease-fire ... and withdraw all forces to the internationally recognized boundaries without delay". That paragraph, which is fully in Line with the most fundamental principles of international law, leaves no room for doubt or for self-serving interpretations, since both the cease-fire and withdrawal to internationally recognized boundaries are mandatory measures that need to be taken unconditionally prior to and independent of any negotiations.
On that basis the Secretary-General in his proposed timetable of July and August 1988, envisaged that withdrawal to internationally recognized boundaries should take place within 13 days after the cease-fire. The Islamic Republic of Iran agreed in principle with that timetable, which includes timing and procedure for the implementation of all the provisions of resolution 598 (1987). Iraq, however, refused even to consider that timetable and continued to insist on its prerequisite of direct talks prior to the cease-fire. Even after the announcement of the cease-fire and prior to its establishment, the Secretary-General, in his letter of 16 August 1989 to Iran and Iraq, called upon the two countries to begin withdrawal simultaneously with direct talks.
During the past year Iraq has refused to take the very first step in fulfilment of its obligations under the United Nations Charter and the Security Council resolution, namely, withdrawal from the territory of Iran. On the contrary, Iraq has tried to take advantage of its illegal occupation of the territory of Iran to realize the illegitimate and expansionist ambitions for which it launched a war of aggression against its neighbour. On the other hand, Iraq tries to deceive world public opinion by raising the issue of prisoners of war - a Purely humanitarian issue - and utilizing it in its campaign of deception.
A selective approach to the implementation of the provisions of resolution 598 (1987) is not acceptable. According to the letter of the resolution, withdrawal must take place prior to and independent of negotiations. Nevertheless, out of purely humanitarian considerations we have declared that we stand ready to exchange prisoners of war according to the plan proposed by the
Secretary-General. On the basis of the first plan, all prisoners of war should have been released by 20 November 1988, and according to the October plan all of them should have returned to their homes by the end of 1988. The Islamic Republic of Iran has declared its acceptance in principle to both plans; Iraq has failed to accept either plan.
I should also mention at this point that there is an imbalance in the number of prisoners of war registered by the International Committee of the Red Cross in the two countries. Iraq authorities have up until now admitted the capture of about 45,000 Iranian prisoners of war. Of that number, only 19,000 have been registered, while approximately 50,000 prisoners of war have been registered in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which constitutes the majority of Iraqi prisoners of war. That imbalance needs to remedied soon.
We are prepared to continue direct talks under the auspices of the Secretary-General. It has now become clear that the problem does not lie in the form of the talks or in the lack of confidence between the two countries. The real problem lies in Iraq's refusal to implement the Security Council resolution. As long as there is no serious reaction to this dangerous and illegal stance of Iraq it is highly improbable that we will see progress in the implementation of the resolution, and dwelling on side issues will produce no results. The responsibility is incumbent particularly upon the Security Council, given its commitment in its resolution. However, the world has witnessed with great surprise that the same Security Council that adopted resolution 598 (1987) with much international fanfare has not taken a single step to help with the implementation of that resolution. Rather, it has chosen to watch with total indifference the continued occupation of Iranian territory and the non-implementation of resolution 598 (1987).
Iraq must realize that peace is to the benefit of the two countries and the region. The continuation of the present "no peace no war" situation can gradually move the region towards a resumption of tension. We are earnest and serious in our determination for peace between the two countries and for stability in the Persian Gulf region. We stand ready to implement resolution 598 (1987) without delay and free from preconditions and excuses. The 1 October plan was proposed after long discussion with the two sides and consultation with the Secretary-General. We accepted that plan despite our comments solely to help the Secretary-General discharge his duties in the implementation of the resolution and because of our confidence in him. Iraq, however, has so far refused to accept the plan. We welcome the visit of Mr. Eliasson, the Secretary-General's Personal Representative, to the two countries. But if those efforts do not lead within a reasonable time to a change in Iraq's stance, other measures must be contemplated.
I now wish to touch upon a number of points regarding peace and security in the sensitive and strategic region of the Persian Gulf. Without doubt the security of that region is closely linked to international peace and security. We believe that durable peace and security should be provided by the States of the region, without foreign interference.
Common religious, cultural and economic grounds among the Persian Gulf countries provide the essential motivation for their greater solidarity as well as the needed strength and power for the maintenance of security in the region without the presence or interference of foreign Powers.
The Islamic Republic of Iran desires to expand bilateral relations with the countries of the region on the basis of mutual respect for legitimate rights and interests, and endeavours to provide a solid foundation for a durable peace and security without the presence and interference of foreign Powers in the Persian Gulf.
The complete withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan was welcomed by us and by the international community. The Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently insisted on the indisputable right of the people of Afghanistan to self-determination aid to choose their future form of government. While declaring anew our support for the struggle of the Muslim people of Afghanistan, we stress the need for the creation of an Islamic, popular aid non-aligned government that will be free of foreign interference and friendly to all its neighbours, a government which can be realized only with the unity of all segments of the Muslim people of Afghanistan. We shall continue to exert our utmost effort towards that end. We will continue, as we have done in the past, with humanitarian assistance to Afghan refugees in keeping with our Islamic and humanitarian responsibility. We hope, however, that with the final resolution of the Afghanistan problem and an improvement in social and political conditions the road will be paved for the honourable and voluntary repatriation of refugees aid displaced persons.
Last year the oppressed people of Palestine and Lebanon witnessed important and extensive developments. The uprising of the Muslim people of Palestine in the West Bank and on the Gaza Strip, which has lasted for more than 20 months, and other resistance movements of the Palestinians, are a natural consequence of neglecting the inalienable rights of the people of this land. The people of Palestine continue to resist validly and resolutely in the face of the aggressive and criminal practices of the Quds-occupier regime which seeks brutally to suppress the uprising by beating, killing and torturing a large number of revolutionaries. The continuation of this uprising has shown that under no circumstances will the Muslim people of Palestine be ready to accept compromises on their inalienable rights.
If the international community seeks to find a solution to this crisis and to bring about peace and security in the Middle East, it should realize that the only viable remedy lies in the full restoration of the rights of Palestinians, or, in other words, the liberation of the occupied territories the establishment of an independent State in the entire territory of Palestine. Any solution that falls short of meeting the legitimate aspirations of the people of Palestine cannot guarantee peace and security in this region.
Expansionist acts of aggression by the Zionist regime have widened the scope of the crisis also to Lebanon. The occupation of southern Lebanon, the creation of instability in the region, the suppression of Lebanese and Palestinian resistance groups, the abduction of persons and personalities such as Sheikh Abdul Al-Karim Obeid, and the use of puppets and mercenaries have contributed to further aggravation of the crisis in Lebanon, a country that has already suffered destruction. As if that were not enough, Iraq has also fanned the flames of a destructive civil war in Lebanon by pouring armaments into that country, adding to the number of human losses and subjecting that nation to the peril of partitioning. While emphasizing independence and territorial
Reassuring developments on the world scene and an improvement in the international political climate concerning some of the problems and crises that I have touched upon have thrust the international community into an  era of anxiety  tempered by hope. Weathering this era and easing these anxieties will depend to a large extent on the far-reaching and serious efforts made by international forums and in particular by the United Nations.
1 hope this session will see significant, practical and effective steps taken towards the attainment of those goals.


In view of your remarks, Mr. President, I am a little embarrassed but I would like to extend to you my congratulations and best wishes as you assume your important duties as President of the current session of the General Assembly. The wisdom and the understanding that you bring to this position is well suited to these historic times. I am also confident you will do great honour to the legacy left by your predecessor and my good friend, Dante Caputo. Before beginning my main remarks I want to comment on two particular developments of relevance to the United Nations. The first concerns the application of modern technology to the challenge of peace-keeping, in April of this year, Canada completed a comprehensive study the purpose of which was to explore the utility of all forms of aerial surveillance to the peace-keeping tasks now before the international community. The conclusion of this study was that these overhead technologies - satellite or airborne - could significantly increase the efficiency of peace-keeping operations and related verification endeavours. This study will be submitted to the United Nations for its consideration.
 I believe this is an important development both symbolically and as an achievement in its own right. It is the sort of pragmatic, concrete work necessary to allow the United Nations to handle its ever-expanding peace-keeping responsibilities more effectively, it also symbolizes one of the fundamental purposes of this Organization: harmonizing the wonders of modern technology to the tasks of peace-making and not war-making.
The second development on which I would like to comment is the readiness by Canada, if asked, to supplement the United Nations presence in Namibia by sending trained and respected police forces. Canada enthusiastically supported the idea that nations should help meet the urgent requirements for skilled policing in Namibia. We are ready to send members of our national force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who have played such a decisive and constructive role in our own history.
They were, in effect, Canada's first peace-keepers, in 1874, in one of the actions which made us a trans-continental nation, the North-west Mounted Police marched west across 1,000 miles to establish by their presence the rule of law in the Canadian west. They brought order, not force, and by their conduct established a respect that endures to this day and has made them one of the most admired police forces in the world. They would carry to Namibia not only their skills, hut their reputation as keepers of the peace.
This would be the first time in Canadian history that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has undertaken such a role and in order to be ready, their Commissioner has asked for 100 volunteers. So far, 2,000 members have responded to that call from a total force of over 14,000. We believe that Canadian Mounties, Who, more than a century ago, brought a universal respect for law and order to our own West can extend that tradition to Namibia, as that new nation finally comes of age. This is an unprecedented and challenging period in world affairs. On the one hand, there is real movement on problems that not long ago seemed intractable. That is true in southern Africa, in Indo-China, in parts of the Middle East and, most dramatically, in East-West relations.
At the same time, the sense of crisis becomes more acute. Our climate is changing, bringing drought or inundation or other threats to our very survival. New diseases develop. New technologies allow proliferation of the most deadly weapons. Terrorism becomes more widespread. What is common about these problems is that none of them can be solved by one nation acting alone, nor by one group of powerful nations combining their will.
In the past, we assumed the world could survive man's worst excesses. Now in an age of suitcase bombs, the AIDS pandemic, holes in the ozone layer, there is doubt about that elementary ability to survive. There is doubt, but not despair -indeed the opposite of despair, what marks this period in world affairs is an activism and a pragmatism which yield surprising results and they come together here in the United Nations.
We are entering an era where the words of the United Nations Charter must cease to be goals to which we aspire, they must become descriptions of our common actions. And the term "United Nations" cannot simply be the name of our institution, it must become a statement of our common purpose.
Who, today, can imagine a nuclear war in which there are winners and losers? Who can envisage a conventional war in Europe which does not consume the prize? Who can construct a solution to the debt crisis which does not involve compromise? Mho can foresee a cleaner global environment without international co-operation and joint action? And who can imagine a resolution of the many crises in the developing world without a reasoned and productive dialogue with the developed world? In the past it was the adherents of unilateralism who were known as realists and the advocates of co-operation who were labelled idealists. I submit that the reverse is now the case. Co-operation is now the new realism and pragmatism is the path to progress.
Much has been accomplished in recent months and years, much more remains to be done. Within the East-West relationship there is a new  willingness to abandon sterile linkages and to seek solutions to tractable problems even when other areas remain contentious. This welcome attitude has invigorated this institution and brought hope to many conflicts and regions of the world. We encourage its continuance.
Arms control is now characterized by real compromise and give and take. Problems which are truly acute are being addressed first. Areas where technology threatens to overtake politics are being given priority and the unnecessarily large and undesirably unstable balance in conventional forces is finally being dealt with head-on. Canada warmly welcomes the significant progress made in recent days by the United States and the Soviet Union on a variety of fundamental issues. In particular, movement towards the abandonment of the linkage between research on strategic defence and progress on strategic nuclear arms control is a very positive development. So too is the progress registered on eliminating chemical weapons, including the exchange of data on stocks. We strongly welcome President Bush's offer to reduce stockpiles to less than 20 per cent of current levels while efforts continue in Geneva to negotiate a chemical weapons convention.
Canada endorses also the United States and Soviet agreement to explore an open-skies arrangement between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Warsaw Pact. Such an arrangement would be daring in its simplicity, yet path-breaking in its consequences: an agreement that the aircraft of each member of both alliances could enter the airspace of the other alliance subject only to basic air-safety regulations. That would increase the assurance of every member that military activities were not becoming preparations for surprise attack.
From the beginning, we have urged the United States to move forward with this visionary proposal, and to make it an alliance-to-alliance arrangement. An open-skies agreement would be a compelling symbol of the new East-West relationship, it would build confidence and serve as a useful vehicle for the verification of other agreements, including an eventual agreement on conventional forces in Europe.
We are prepared to go beyond moral support. On Sunday, after consultations between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, Prime Minister Mulroney announced Canada's offer to act as host to an inter-alliance conference as early as November, in order to explore the possibilities of a formal agreement on open-skies.
 It is of fundamental importance to deepen and widen East-West relations. A stable structure of peace cannot endure if its only component is concurrence on arms control, no matter how far-reaching that agreement might be. Enduring peace requires understanding, a sense of shared problems and a shared stake in the future. Above all, it demands a sense on each side that the survival of the other is in its own best interests. What is required is agreement not only on the avoidance of war but also on the advantages of peace. Therefore we welcome and encourage the broadening dialogue on regional, economic, social and environmental matters.
It is for that reason that Canada has strongly supported expanding the field of activity of NATO to pursue more energetically the alliance's mandate for political and social dialogue. In that connection, during NATO's most recent summit, a Canadian proposal was adopted to assist young political leaders in learning how to make democracy work. More initiatives of that type are required.
The progress in East-West relations owes much to the refreshing breezes of change sweeping Eastern Europe and the USSR, ideology is giving way to compromise. Governments are recognizing that the old ways do not work, that new strategies are required, that lessons may be learned abroad, and that co-operation in the economic and social spheres does not constitute an acknowledgement of defeat but is rather a recipe for success.
Canada's support for the changes now underway in the East is unequivocal. There must be no turning back, and that requires imagination in the West as to practical ways to strengthen the remarkable process of reform and liberalization. In the Eastern bloc and elsewhere around the world, the turning towards democracy and the expansion of the market-place is a welcome victory for pragmatism and realism. Totalitarianism is fading not because it is regarded by its subjects as wrongs it is being discredited because it does not work, it does not deliver.
Democracy is not only a set of values, it is also a statement that there is no monopoly on truth, that different groups at different times may have different solutions to different problems. It is the politics of pragmatism, it works. It delivers, a free market is not simply a particular means of ordering the economy. It is a framework that enables the individual to act on his or her own merits. efforts, and capacities, it conforms to human nature. It is the economics of pragmatism, it works, it delivers, it is for that reason that Canada welcomes the tide of democratization and the shift to the market-place evident around the globe. On that trend rests the hope for social stability. And such stability is a firm foundation for international peace.
The past months have seen remarkable progress in many regional conflicts that have posed serious threats to global stability and caused untold sorrow for their victims. The Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, the settlements in Angola and Namibia, the cease-fire in the Iran-Iraq war, and the progress evident in Central America: all are testimony to a new willingness to compromise. They are also testimony to the crucial role played by the Organization end by its Secretary-General in the search for global order. Much more needs to be done. There is a difference between the absence of war and the presence of peace. The international community must continue to do everything in its power to ensure that the processes now underway in those troubled regions move from truce to settlement, from stand-off to stand-down.
We believe it is particularly important to maintain the pressure against apartheid. There are real reasons for encouragement. President de Klerk has promised reform and has demonstrated both flexibility and imagination. The African National Congress has shown courage and foresight in preparing itself to participate in genuine negotiations, popular demonstrations in South Africa, and their tolerance by the authorities, reflect a popular will that reaches across colour. International attention and the use and threat of sanctions have contributed to this climate of change, and they must not be relaxed until substantial reform is in place.
Even today, children starve and adults perish as old conflicts born of hatred and greed continue to fester, cheating future generations and defiling the honour of ancient civilizations. In Lebanon, blood continues to be spilt in a tragic struggle for domination in that once noble land, while is now being destroyed by those who would be its ruler. We renew the call for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Lebanon and reiterate our strong support for the efforts of the Tripartite Committee of the Arab League. In the Middle East, there is an urgent need for confidence and dialogue. We support Israel's proposals for direct elections in the occupied territories, we welcome the moderation evident in the positions of the Palestine Liberation Organization. But much more confidence-building is needed on both sides if these initial gestures are to be translated into a meaningful peace process for that troubled and war-ravaged region. Canada welcomes President Mubarak's imaginative 10-point plan as one avenue out of the current impasse.
And in Cambodia, the recent International Conference in Paris failed to Produce an agreement, owing to many outstanding difference between the parties. It is to be hoped that the future will bring compromise before that land endures yet another bloody conflict. However, I believe the Paris Conference served a positive Purpose: it has put the issue firmly on the international agenda and identified international control mechanisms and reconstruction processes that can be brought into play when a settlement is reached. As some regional conflicts have been brought under control, the unique and important United Nations instrument of peace-keeping has been brought to bear. At the same time, welcome and pragmatic suggestions are being made to improve operations and funding. Canada supports the Secretary-General's call to provide Peace-keeping with a rational and secure funding base. Peace-keeping has become too important to the mission of the Organization to be subject to charity or whim.

One of the central tasks of this Organization has been to weave a new fabric of international law. This it has done assiduously, often without fanfare. The foundation is being laid for an international society governed by legal principles and codes of conduct. As with domestic society, stability is not possible without law, and law is powerless without consensus. The integration into domestic law of the rights codified by the United Nations in its Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the covenants on racial discrimination and the rights of women is testimony to a growing international consensus. We must build on this success by acting this year to approve the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
We are witnessing today a profound transformation in the substance of international discourse. Issues once thought intractable are now remarkably close to resolution. And issues once considered the province of domestic governments are now the focus of international activity. These are on the international agenda because they are pressing and because no State, no matter how powerful or well- intentioned, can resolve them on its own.
Thus the environment is emerging as the most important international challenge of the remainder of this century and the next. In a very few years, the environment will be seen as a threat to human existence in the same way as nuclear war has been regarded in the past. It is now a challenge to national survival. It is also an area where the distinction between the domestic and the international agenda is collapsing. Pollution knows no borders. In the end, we all share the same air and water-, we all suffer from its corruption or its loss.
Let us agree during this session of the Assembly to hold the proposed Conference on the Environment and development in 1992. Let us move forward towards a convention on climate change with regard to which Canada has played a leading role in the development of a United Nations draft. And let us start a realistic dialog between the developed and the developing world on the environmental scourge which threatens all states, rich and poor. I detect today a new and welcome change in the stale and unproductive state of relations between North and South which marked the 1970s and the first part of this decade. There is growing recognition that grand. vague visions must give way to pragmatic dialogue, and that attribute, blame does little to solve problems.
In fact, without fanfare, without grand initiative, a new process of dialogue has already begun between the developed and the developing world. In the Cairns Group, diverse entries such as Canada and Thailand, Australia and Argentina have joined together on agricultural issues. international financial institutions, the debt crisis is being approached with a new spirit of realism and a sense of shared risk. Economic prescriptions are now plain, married with political and social considerations. This sensitivity is required if fledgling democracies and fragile societies are not to collapse over the wrenching effect of debt repayments. In the Commonwealth, a multiracial and global membership has allowed for increasing pressure against apartheid. In La Froncophonie, new programmes to preserve the French heritage and promote distance-learning are emerging, and human rights are now on the agenda for the first time. And within the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, there is a refreshing determination to put ideology aside and seek practical co-operation with the developed world. I attended the Summit Conference of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries in Belgrade as a guest. I did so in search of common ground on a variety of international Issues. 1 was pressed by the new spirit of moderation shown by many makers, as I was by the wise and deft chairmanship of Yugoslavia. I quote from their Final Declaration:
 We are not to be burdened with prejudice or dogma." I attended the Summit Conference not because Canada is questioning its alliances - we are a proud and permanent member of NATO and we are committed to a market economy and liberal democracy - rather, I attended because Canada happens to share a world with the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries.
At Belgrade, I took the opportunity to explore further the proposal made by India, Egypt, Senegal and Venezuela during the Paris economic summit for a serious and responsive dialogue on issues of concern to us all. Canada, along with France, supported that proposal in principle at Paris. I reiterate that support now, and suggest some variations that may make the concept more effective. we should all learn from the mistakes of our past, set aside our differing world views, and come together, collectively and calmly, to discuss particular problems those resolution we all seek.
Canada believes it is useful to encourage intensive consultations leading to a new conversation between the developed and the developing world, a conversation on focused issues, with a view to arriving at joint action for a common cause. Conversation, not confrontation. We cannot remake the world. But we can - and we must - redress the errors of the past - methodically, pragmatically, realistically and collectively.
Discussions on the environment, on drugs, on investment, on trade, on debt, are all worthy of early pursuit. The agenda should be balanced, covering issues of interest to both the developed and developing world, we will be pursuing this question actively in the months ahead with our G-7 partners and the developing world, soviet involvement in this effort would be welcome, giving them the opportunity to act further on their interest in contributing to the international order, it would also reflect the universal nature of this challenge.

In this connection, the coming year will provide two opportunities to encourage this new dialogue: the special session on the revitalization of Growth and Development-, and the elaboration of the fourth international development strategy. These two events can contribute to a new understanding of the basis for sustained economic growth and development, particularly for developing countries.
The challenge before us today is to alter our traditional behaviour at an unprecedented rate, faced as we are with a planet showing so many signs of use and abuse. We know only too well the litany of global horrors before us: a burgeoning global population whose size will expand by almost 3.5 billion in 35 short years-, an ailing environment whose forests are dying or disappearing, whose air is being poisoned, and whose oceans and rivers are becoming dump-sites and cesspools; 14 million children dying each year from common illness and poor nutrition? a generation debilitated by drugs, the world trade in which now exceeds the value of trade in oil and is second only to the arms trade-, dozens of economies unable to pay simultaneously for past mistakes and develop a successful future; the proliferation of weapons - chemical and nuclear, as well as the spreading technology of weapon-delivery systems - creating a time-bomb which threatens the relief we now feel at the new-found co-operation of the super-Powers.
This Organization, like other international assemblies, reflects the world from which it draws its Members and its mission. There have been many successes: the quiet but spectacular victories of UNICEF, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Health Organization; the triumph of peace-keeping, 50,000 participants in which so deservedly received the Nobel Peace Prize; the mediation of disputes, so honourably presided over by the present Secretary-General. But there have also been failures, opportunities lost to dated ideology and the lack of political will. The challenge posed by the future is not to invent new institutions but to make this United Nations family of institutions work more effectively and humanely.
We are in a new type of race, one in which we will either all be winners or we will all be losers Let us lay to rest the worn out stereotypes of the past. Let us ,	put aside our differences and work forth-rightly for a secure global future. Let us consecrate ourselves anew as united Nations. And let us confront squarely the problems of our era as men and women aware of the challenges before us, mindful of the consequences of failure, and dedicated to solutions that will work, not to dreams that will die.