It Is a great honour for me and the entire Rwandese delegation to convey to the President our warm congratulations on his election to preside over the work of the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session. His election is recognition by the international community of the outstanding personal qualities and his ability as a seasoned diplomat. It is also, through him, a tribute to his country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has always striven to strengthen ties of friendship and cooperation between all peace-loving and justice-loving countries.
We also congratulate the other officers of the General Assembly elected to direct the work of this session. The Rwandan delegation at this session of the General Assembly wishes to assure the President that it stands fully prepared to make its contribution to the success of the Assembly's work. Our appreciation is also addressed to his predecessor, Mr. Guido de Marco, who guided the work of the forty-fifth session with wisdom and competence, the results of which were unanimously lauded.
Permit me also to pay a tribute to the Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez do Cuellar, who has for ten years served and directed our Organisation with competence, wisdom and dedication in discharging the extremely burdensome and complex responsibilities conferred upon him. The many different successes scored bear testimony to his exceptional qualities and have redounded to the esteem and credit of our Organisation. The Rwandese Republic will always remember him as a man who devoted himself heart and soul to the cause of peace, justice, solidarity and the well-being of peoples. He may be assured of our profound gratitude.
I should also like to add my voice to that of those who have already offered the new Members a heartfelt welcome to the family of the United Nations, namely, the two Koreas; the three Baltic Republics: Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia; the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands. They may be assured of our sincere felicitations and our encouragement in working for the blossoming of the noble ideals and, more particularly, contributing to the consolidation of much better international relations of solidarity.
In keeping with well-established tradition, the annual convening of the General Assembly is intended to provide an opportunity to take stock of a year's activity by the United Nations, with a view, especially, to preparing for the future on the basis of lessons learned, experience gained and results achieved. It also provides a special opportunity for all Member States to set forth, publicly and solemnly, their positions with regard to the problems currently of concern to the international community. It is an opportunity also to voice the hopes they have for the future, hopes the realisation of which will depend on the mobilisation and contribution of all peoples in the context of more active solidarity above and beyond pious hopes and mere declarations of intent.
It is against this backdrop and notwithstanding the rather positive turn of events in international political relations that Rwanda continues to be gravely concerned over the international economic situation. That situation hardly gives any grounds for optimism, mindful as we are of the worsening of the structural crisis in the world economy that is broadening the gap between the industrialised and the developing countries.
Before putting forth Rwanda's position on the major problems of international politics in terms of political relations and economic issues, the Rwandese delegation would like first of all to draw the attention of all delegations gathered here for the forty-sixth session of the General Assembly to the gravity of the state of war that my country, Rwanda, has been living through ever since 1 October 1990, when it was attacked by armed elements from Uganda.
Indeed, since 1 October 1990 the assailants - including a number of former Rwandese refugees hired by and serving in Uganda's regular army, the "National Resistance Army" (NRA), and calling itself the Rwandese Patriotic- Front, or FPR-INKOYANYI - invaded Rwanda before being thrown out on 30 October 1990 and since then it has been organising armed attacks against the Rwandese population in areas bordering on Uganda,
The first attempt at an explanation advanced by the aggressors to justify the armed invasion of Rwanda was their allegation that the Rwandese Government had refused to agree to the return of Rwandese who had fled their country at the end of the 1950s in connection with the struggle of the Rwandese people against a feudal-monarchical regime and in favour of the establishment of republican institutions in the country.
It should be recalled that this phenomenon of Rwandese refugees grew out of the social revolution of 1959, which brought the overthrow of the feudal regime in favour of republican democracy. The supporters of feudal monarchy rejected the new democratic system and preferred exile with their partisans in neighbouring countries, from where they have regularly launched armed attacks against the newly-constituted Republic of Rwanda between the years 1963 and 1968.
However, Rwanda has always sought a definitive solution to the problem of its refugees, one based on national legislation and international conventions to which my country is party. It is in this spirit that voluntary repatriation, at the specific request of individual refugees, has been carried out on a continuing basis.
Moreover, it is important to stress that the war that has been going on in Rwanda since 1 October 1990 began at a time when our country was at an advanced stage of negotiations with Uganda with a view to a definitive settlement of the problem of the Rwandese refugees living in Uganda. On the basis of the outcome of those negotiations with Uganda, Rwanda had envisaged ways and means of also settling the problem of Rwandese refugees living in other neighbouring countries and elsewhere in the world.
Only two months prior to the invasion of Rwanda, the joint Rwanda-Uganda Ministerial Committee - which had been established In 1980 to work out a definitive settlement of the problem of the Rwandese refugees in Uganda - had just held its third meeting in Kigali, from 27 to 30 July 1990, with the participation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Organisation of African Unity. On that occasion, the Rwandese and Ugandan Governments had just reached agreement to the effect, that under the auspices of the High Commissioner for Refugees a survey was to be conducted among the refugees themselves to ascertain their wishes concerning the three options proposed to them, namely, voluntary repatriation to Rwanda, a definitive settlement in Uganda with naturalisation, or a third option of their choosing.
It is appropriate also to recall that it had been decided that the Rwanda-Uganda Ministerial Committee, working in concert with the High Commissioner for Refugees, was to meet again in January 1991 to finalize and endorse the solutions arrived at on the basis of the outcome of the survey, and that in the meantime a group of refugees was to visit Rwanda to see for themselves the social and political situation in the country and to report their impressions to the other refugees so that the latter could make a fully informed decision on the matter.
Unfortunately, that visit, which was to have taken place from the end of September to mid-October 1990, was cancelled by one side and instead Uganda began on 1 October 1990 to carry out an armed invasion against Rwanda.
Ever since the onset of the armed conflict thus imposed upon it, Rwanda, aided by friendly countries, in particular countries of our subregion launched a number of political and diplomatic initiatives aimed at restoring peace in the country and in the region. Against this background the summit meetings held at Mwanza in Tanzania and at Gbadolite in Zaire stressed respect for the cease-fire between the belligerents, the opening of a dialogue between the parties to the conflict, and efforts to find a definitive solution to the problem of the Rwandese refugees.
It was precisely for the purpose of studying ways and means of finding a definitive solution to the problem of Rwandese refugees that a regional conference was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on 19 February 1991, bringing together the Heads of State or Government of the region. On that occasion the Government of Rwanda, while very much deploring the fact, that the war that had been imposed on it since 1 October 1990 had brutally cut short the process of finding solutions to resolve definitively the problem of its refugees, once again expressed its conviction that the voluntary repatriation of all Rwandese refugees was a legitimate right and a factor that would promote peace and reconciliation.
Rwanda consequently reaffirmed its readiness to take the necessary steps to facilitate the smooth return of those refugees wishing to return and to ensure their reintegration into the various facets of national life, but in this connection asked for the indispensable support, of the international community.
In conformity with the decisions taken at that Dar es Salaam conference, the Organization of African Unity and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees are now in the process of working out, in cooperation with the countries concerned, a plan of action for finding a lasting solution to the problem of Rwandese refugees, a plan which will be submitted to a pledging conference to be held at the beginning of next year. The Government of Rwanda, for its part, is in the process of taking specific action to prepare for the return of: Rwandese refugees that opt for repatriation. A law guaranteeing a general amnesty for Rwandese refugees will shortly be adopted. Nevertheless, the state of war under which Rwanda has been living for a year now hat proved that the quest for a definitive solution of the problem of Rwandese refugees was not really what concerned those that had committed the aggression against Rwanda. Indeed, as the Head of State of Rwanda stressed at
the twenty-seventh summit meeting of the Organisation of African Unity, held at Abuja last June, the Rwandese Patriotic Front, as soon as it realised that the pretext of the refugee problem advanced to "legitimise" before the world the invasion of Rwanda no longer carried weight with African and international public opinion, changed the direction of the discussion and called the invasion the defence of the ideal of democracy, endeavouring to make people believe that what it was doing was prompted by its determination to establish democracy in Rwanda.
The fact is that since January 1989 the Rwandese Government had been proposing that there be a political renewal, and this idea took tangible shape subsequently, notably through the adoption on 10 June 1991 of a new Constitution legitimising political pluralism as well as effectively establishing political parties, which are already operating and irreversibly committed to strengthening the democratic process.
In view of the fact that virtually all the pretexts put forward for launching the war cannot be justified, it is difficult to understand the rationale that is prompting those who committed the aggression against Rwanda to continue the hostilities, to reject the cease-fire recommended by the various summit meetings of Heads of State hold at the subregional level and to refuse to lay down their arms and engage in dialogue under the auspices of the mediator accepted by both parties to the conflict.
Rwanda, profoundly convinced that the ending of hostilities is the essential condition for the settlement of this conflict, which has now lasted for a year, has never ruled out political negotiations with the aggressors. However, it has always stressed that such negotiations are possible only if the guns are silenced and the cease-fire agreement signed between the belligerents on 29 March 1901 is complied with.
It is therefore the obstinate position taken by the Rwandese Patriotic Front in continuing hostilities that has held up progress towards dialogue. The Head of State of Rwanda made clear Uganda's share of responsibility in this regard when at the last summit meeting of the Organisation of African Unity, held at Abuja - after having demonstrated that those attacking Rwanda had no bases within Rwanda itself but were operating from Uganda, where they were being sheltered and were receiving all the necessary logistical support - he asked the Organisation of African Unity to enjoin Uganda to disarm the aggressors on its territory.
A positive circumstance to be noted is that the summit meeting of Heads of State held in Gbado-Lite, Zaire, on 7 September 1991, once again stressed the need to abide by an immediate and complete cease-fire and recommended that the parties to the conflict enter quickly into a dialogue. The first round of that dialogue was held from 15 to 17 September 1991 in Gbado-Lite, under the auspices of the mediator, the Head of State of Zaire, Marshal Mobutu Sese Seko.
But we have found, to our great regret, that the Rwandese Patriotic Front, counting on the support of the Ugandan Army in continuing the war, has been engaging in stalling manoeuvres to boycott that dialogue and prevent it from moving forward. Surely it is through dialogue that positions can be reconciled. The Government of Rwanda, for its part, is profoundly committed to such dialogue and remains ready to resume it without delay and without preconditions. It is the strong desire of the Rwandese Government that this dialogue swiftly bring about results conducive to ending the conflict, thus creating a propitious climate of peace and security within Rwanda as well as throughout the region, and at the same time facilitating the return to Rwanda of those refugees wishing to return. Rwanda is counting very much on the support of the international community, of all the countries Members of the United Nations represented at this forty-sixth session of the General Assembly, as we seek to make that hope a reality.
The safeguarding of international peace and security and the constant building of ties of friendship and cooperation among nations remain the basic objectives of our actions as mankind continues its long march towards the realization of Its most profound aspiration - that is, the flourishing of international concord, of freedom and of the progress of peoples everywhere.
Rwanda wishes once again to affirm its solemn commitment to the triumph of the cause of peace and it pays a profound tribute to the United Nations for the invaluable successes it has achieved since its inception. We take this opportunity to express our hopes for a further strengthening of the bonds of fraternity and solidarity among peoples, so that we can bring to an end the crisis persisting in the world, particularly in the southern hemisphere, including Africa, a crisis that is both economic and political.
Notwithstanding the generally successful record and tireless efforts of the United Nations since the forty-fifth session of the General Assembly, the international community today is still confronting certain conflicts which cast a pall over the international political scene. The world is still torn apart by bloody tensions and deadly conflicts arising out of anachronistic situations of intolerance, colonization, oppression and racism. Naked violence holds sway wherever the sovereignty of peoples and the integrity of States are flouted, wherever the dignity and the fundamental rights of people are disregarded or trampled underfoot.
As to the major issue of fundamental human rights and the dignity of the human person, the Government of Rwanda welcomes the step taken since the liberation of Mr. Nelson Mandela, President of the African National Congress of South Africa (AHC), on 11 February 1990, in the process set in motion in South Africa with a view to eliminating the system of apartheid.
The removal, officially, of that system on 30 June 1991, after the three juridical pillars of apartheid had been eliminated - namely, the Land Acts, the Group Areas Act and the Population Regulation Act, as wall as the agreement reached on 1 July 1991 between the South African Government and the ANC concerning the freeing of political prisoners - opened a new chapter in interracial relations in South Africa.
And yet, we deplore the fact that acts of violence and massacres still persist, especially in the black townships, and that the South African Government, which is responsible for maintaining law and order, has not managed to prevent them. We also denounce the secret financing of such acts by the South African Government.
Thus, while we note with satisfaction certain positive changes in South Africa, the Government of Rwanda believes that a great deal still remains to be done in the process of dismantling apartheid. It lauds the efforts made by the President of South Africa, Mr. De Klerk, and the President of the ANC, Mr. Nelson Mandela, and encourages the South African Government to pursue negotiations with the representatives of the other South African racial communities, including the ANC, to speed the day of the actual eradication of apartheid, once and for all, in that part of our continent.
As to Angola, my Government welcomes the Peace Agreement signed in Lisbon on 31 May 1991 between the Government of Angola and UNITA. This agreement constitutes a major step towards restore peace, security and stability to Angola. The international community is called upon to support the efforts that are being made, at the bilateral and multilateral levels, to give tangible expression to the goals embodied in that agreement in the interests of international peace and security.
As to Namibia, it is our view that the international community must support the negotiations set in motion between Namibia and South Africa to reintegrate Walvis Bay and the offshore islands, into Namibia, in keeping with Security Council resolution 432 (1978).
The Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity, meeting at Abuja, Nigeria, from 4 to 6 June 1991, were of the opinion that the problem of Walvis Bay and of the offshore Namibian islands was not a border dispute but rather an issue involving decolonization, an issue which must be resolved fairly and definitively as quickly as possible.
Rwanda also reaffirms its support for the Mozambican people and is pleased at the efforts made by the Government of Mozambique and RENAMO to find a peaceful settlement of the conflict, which has been rending that country asunder for several years now.
Notwithstanding the significant progress made at the forty-fifth session of the General Assembly, the problem of Western Sahara still remains a concern for the international community.
In fact, at the end of April 1991, the Security Council adopted an overall plan which took effect on 17 May 1991, entrusting the United Nations with the responsibility for organizing and monitoring a referendum on self-determination in Western Sahara next year to determine whether the people want to be independent, as POLISARIO wishes, or whether they prefer to become integrated into Morocco. Rwanda therefore welcomes the positive turn of events there and encourages the parties concerned fully to cooperate with the United Nations in finding a definitive solution to that conflict.
Elsewhere in Africa, the Government of Rwanda hopes for an end to the civil war in Ethiopia and Somalia and encourages the peoples and governments of those countries to spare no efforts to ensure peace, justice and security in that part of Africa.
As to the civil war in Liberia, Rwanda remains convinced that only through dialogue can peace be restored in that country, together with security in the region. Hence we would very much like to see the parties to the conflict, supported by the countries in the region, continue the consultations with a view to restoring peace and unity to the Liberian people.
Rwanda firmly believes in the value of dialogue in finding a peaceful settlement to disputes and in the principle of non-resort to force, and in consonance with international ethics and modern international law, it strongly condemns terrorism and aggression.
In international forums Rwanda has invariably voiced its dedication and commitment to pea and political dialogue and has always striven to translate them into action on the subregional, regional and international levels. Thus, like other countries that espouse peace and freedom, we heaved a sigh of relief when the cease-fire agreement was signed in the Gulf region on 28 February 1991 after Kuwait had been liberated by the anti-Iraqi Coalition forces created under United Nations auspices to free Kuwait from the invasion and Iraqi occupation that had gone on since 2 August 1990.
As it did throughout the Gulf crisis, Rwanda supports the measures and efforts undertaken by the international community under the aegis of the United Nations to restore law, justice, peace and security in that part of the globe.
The situation in the Middle East continues to be very alarming and the Israeli-Arab conflict - a conflict which is being exacerbated by the Palestinian problem - continues to give rise to acute disquiet in the international community which is, after all, agreed that a comprehensive, just and lasting solution be found to this problem.
Thus the General Assembly at its forty-fifth session once again invited the Security Council to examine the steps necessary for the convening of an International peace conference on the Middle East, under the auspices of the United Nations, with the participation of the five permanent members of the Security Council and all parties to the conflict, including the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
The Rwandan Government welcomes the results that have already been achieved, through the efforts of the Secretary of State of the United States of America, Mr. James Baker, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations as well as those of the countries of the region, to convince the parties concerned, including Israel and the PLO, of the need to hold an international peace conference on the Middle East to put an end to this conflict, which has been with us since 1947.
The international community is thus duty-bound to support all efforts exerted at the bilateral and international levels to facilitate the holding and success of this conference, which is scheduled to be held in October 1991.
With respect to the situation in Cambodia, we express our satisfaction at, and our total support for the cease-fire agreement signed on 25 June 1991 between the Cambodian Government and the anti-government Cambodian coalition, as well as the results of the election of 18 July 1991, which brought Prince Norodom Sihanouk to the presidency of the Supreme National Council, the provisional body which is to hold power in Phnon Penh starting this coming November until the holding of general elections to be organised and supervised by the United Nations. Rwanda supports the efforts of the United Nations and the other concerned parties to resolve this conflict once and for all to the benefit of international peace and security.
Rwanda also continues to encourage all efforts aimed at the peaceful and independent reunification of the Korean nation and hopes that the admission of the two Koreas States to the great family of the United Nations will contribute to making a reality of that legitimate aspiration of the Korean people.
Elsewhere in the world, we note with optimism and support the noble initiatives for dialogue and negotiations for peace and reconciliation already under way in Latin America, notably within the framework of the Contadora Group. We believe that the outcome of the Mexico Summit is a significant contribution towards consolidating peace and security in the region.
The international economy is still in crisis - a crisis which for the third-world countries increasingly poses a threat to their very survival and runs the risk of negating the laborious efforts at development that have already been undertaken. The crisis is essentially structural in nature because it involves machinery which currently governs international economic relations, with the increasingly negative impact Inherent in the instability of financial markets, the continued deterioration in the terms of trade, the stagnation in commodity markets, and indebtedness.
The African continent is still experiencing tragic problems of underdevelopment) economic projects for the majority of countries in the least developed category are grim, especially for those countries, like Rwanda, which are faced with various structural handicaps that are exacerbated by the current economic situation. These are the most disadvantaged countries of the world) they are witnessing a worsening of the living conditions of their peoples, unable to do anything about the scourges of poverty, hunger, malnutrition and ignorance.
Rwanda, one of the very seriously affected victims of the persistent international economic crisis, deplores this situation and once again appeals to the international community to display greater solidarity and more effective understanding, with a view to overcoming the constraints and development problems.
The problem of indebtedness is of acute concern to the developing countries, particularly the least developed among them. As so rightly recalled by the Summit Conference of the Heads of State or Government of the Organisation of African Unity held in Abuja from 4 to 6 June 1991, the unprecedented drop in prices for the commodities sold by African countries which has led to worsening terms of trade, the adoption of increasingly protectionist measures and restrictive trade practices on the markets of the industrialized countries aimed against exports from Africa - those are some of the chief external causes that have led to our continent's indebtedness.
Rwanda regrets that the need to convene an international conference on Africa's external debt does not yet enjoy consensus between the industrialized countries and the developing countries, notably within the United Nations,
where, none the less, a broad consensus is emerging on the desirability of developing international economic cooperation on the external debt. While we welcome the decision adopted at the Summit Conference of the seven major industrialised countries held in London on 18 July 1991 to cancel between 50 per cent and 80 per cent of the official debt incurred by the least developed countries, we none the less continue to feel that a conference on Africa's external debt should be convened; such a conference could provide an appropriate framework in the search for an urgent solution to this serious problem that is mortgaging Africa's economic development.
In this connection, we hail Japan's initiative to host the International Conference on Africa's Development, scheduled for 1993, with the participation of the African Heads of State. The Republic of Rwanda pays a ringing tribute to the people and the Government of Japan for this historic initiative of great benefit to the African continent.
With respect to the international trade situation, Rwanda continues to believe that, in order for the international trade system to be acceptable, it must provide for the elimination of all kinds of trade barriers and for the integration in the system of small countries that are now marginalised, including African countries. Also, in order for the system to be viable, it must be profitable to all trade partners.
Therefore, it is important for all participants in the Uruguay Round negotiations to pay special attention to the problems and concerns of the African countries. We stress that all the parties to the negotiations should take part on an equal footing so that the negotiations' outcome will be fair and acceptable to all. Rwanda welcomes the establishment by the Summit Conference of the Heads of State or Government of the Organisation of African Unity, held in Abuja from 4 to 6 June 1991, of the African Economic Community, one of whose goals is to promote Africa's economic, social and cultural development and the integration of its economies, with a view to enhancing economic self-sufficiency and promoting endogenous and self-sustaining development.
We call upon the international community, and especially the most industrialised countries and the international financial institutions, to support this initiative in every way and to help the nascent African Economic Community attain its noble goals.
We call for just and appropriate measures to support the effort at revitalization undertaken by our countries at considerable sacrifice, and for better integrated and more adaptable solutions to be developed with the full cooperation of all parties, in order to ensure that mankind will enjoy a future of fairness, balance and harmony.
It is in this context that Rwanda wishes once again from this rostrum to express its sincere thanks to all countries and international organizations which, on a bilateral basis or at the multilateral level, are providing the additional support it needs for its development and, in particular, for its structural adjustment programme, which has been in the process of implementation since November last year.
Ecological problems are now of world concern. But there are still differences of view with respect to the causes and responsibilities linked to the deterioration and the protection of the environment, as well as with respect to the measures to be taken in this field. Once again Africa finds itself the victim; there is drought, desertification, floods and devastation the result of insect infestations. My country, Rwanda, ascribes particular importance to preserving its natural patrimony and has made the protection of the environment one of the major priorities of its food self-sufficiency policy.
Rwanda is glad that the international community la tackling the problem of the environment and is aware of the urgent need to mobilise all resources necessary to provide solutions that will guarantee the survival of our planet. There are grounds for hope that the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development scheduled for Brazil In June 1992, the preparatory work for which is continuing, will reach concerted and appropriate solutions to preserve a sound and viable environment for mankind. Rwanda is participating in this work and is making its modest contribution to ensuring its success.
The forty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly is being held in a climate of particularly favourable international relations. Rwanda welcomes the fact that the cold war, which after the Second World War divided the world into two antagonistic blocs and maintained the division of Europe, has once and for all ended thanks to the policy of perestroika and of glasnost of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. This led to the changes in Eastern Europe, especially the peaceful reunification of Germany on 3 October 1990.
We welcome the general relaxation of tensions in the world-wide political climate, which has made possible, indeed facilitated, a solution to many different local and regional conflicts across Africa, Asia and Latin America. The winds of freedom and democracy which blew across Eastern Europe, and the effects of which were quickly felt in a variety of other places around the world, especially in Africa, are a major factor in the political changes now under way.
Rwanda takes note of and appreciates the support which Western countries are giving to this democratic upsurge. It is of the view, however, that, while supporting the democratic processes thus set in train, the Western countries should do nil they can to see to it that the economic development of the countries concerned becomes the strongest pillar of that democracy because, and this must be emphasised, it is an illusion to seek to build a around democracy without promoting the socio-economic development of peoples.
My country which, in June 1991, began to establish a political system based upon a multiparty approach, seizes this opportunity to reaffirm its unbroken faith in and commitment to respect for human dignity and other values universally recognised as human rights. He also reaffirm our faith in a future marked by a better world, a world of peace and solidarity, a world from which war and all manner of violence, terrorism and discrimination are banished for ever, a world freed once and for all of the vestiges of colonialism, racism and injustice, a world marked by understanding, dialogue and cooperation.
We strongly urge the United States and the Soviet Union to preserve the gains of dialogue joined in the realm of disarmament, to the great relief of mankind, and we welcome the signing of the strategic arms reduction Treaty which took place on 31 July 1991 between the United States and the Soviet Union on the occasion of the Moscow summit. He also welcome the conclusion of the treaty on conventional disarmament between the East and West signed on 19 November 1990 in Paris by the Heads of State and Government of the 35 countries on the occasion of the summit meeting from 19 to 21 November of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. On the same occasion they signed a joint declaration solemnly putting an end to the cold war and affirming that they were no longer adversaries but rather had decided to establish new relations of friendship and partnership.
We hail especially the declaration taken by the United States and the Soviet Union in favour of a unilateral reduction in their nuclear arsenals. We welcome in advance the idea that the other major nuclear Powers will certainly follow suit. Rwanda deeply believes in the United Nations and recognises its indispensable role in maintaining peace, security and justice in the struggle to bring well-being to peoples the world over. We express our sincere gratitude to the agencies throughout the United Nations system which are contributing to the social and economic development of mankind.
We support the establishment of a new and more fruitful North/South cooperation with a view to promoting more equitable economic and political ties between States. Such cooperation will serve the general interests of international peace and security and is likely to promote the economic recovery of all countries but especially the developing countries and among them the least developed.
In this spirit Rwanda will actively participate in the work of this forty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly and will constantly strive to make its contribution to the fulfilment of the noble objectives of the Charter. These include the attainment of a new international economic order for peoples the world over, within the context of equality, complementarity, understanding and solidarity, and a greater measure of peace, justice and well-being for people everywhere on Earth.


On behalf of the delegation of the great Libyan Arab People's Jamahiriya, I wish to extend to Ambassador Shihabi my most sincere congratulations upon his election as President of the forty-sixth session of the General Assembly. We are confident that his wisdom, experience and eminent personal qualities will enable us to achieve optimum results.
I should also like to express the appreciation and satisfaction of my delegation to his predecessor, Mr. Guido de Marco, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the friendly Republic of Malta, who demonstrated consummate skill in conducting the deliberations of the forty-fifth session of the General Assembly in a manner worthy of high esteem and commendation.
My delegation should also like to express its appreciation and pay a tribute to the Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, who has exerted sincere efforts in enhancing and promoting the role of the United Nations.
Moreover, we welcome the admission of the Republic of Korea and of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. We are confident that their admission to the United Nations will help to fulfil the aspirations of the Korean people to reunify the Korean peninsula. We should also like to welcome the admission of the three Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - as well as that of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.
The United Nations has made significant contributions in international cooperation in various forms. It has played an important role in decolonization during the past four decades. The international community at present is more than ever in dire need of enhancing the role of the world Organization. We believe that this can be achieved only through serious collective action that is free from self-interest. This requires, first and foremost, a sincere political will on the part of member countries and unconditional moral, material and political support to the United Nations. The Organisation would thus be able to rise to the level of the hopes and aspirations of the peoples of the world as envisaged in the Preamble of the Charter and enshrined in the lofty and noble principles of the United Nations.
This also makes it necessary for the international community to reconsider the veto privilege and to move from the stage of making demands to taking concrete action upon such a recommendation. It is clear that there is no longer any justification for retaining the veto privilege which has continued to be a major obstacle to the proper discharge by the Security Council of its principal task, namely the preservation of international peace and security and the cause of the consequent paralysis of the United Nations effectiveness. Furthermore, the veto privilege has caused untold harm to the peoples of the poor countries as it has been exploited in entrenching concepts that run counter to international legality.
We call for an immediate start on serious efforts to enhance the role of the Organization. We believe there is an urgent need to reconsider some of the provisions of the Charter which are no longer compatible with the changing international circumstances. My country, which has the honour of having taken the initiative of calling for the reconsideration of the veto privilege, shall maintain its principled and steadfast stand on this matter, as we are convinced that this is the proper way to ensure that a strong and effective United Nations develops in such a way that it becomes an effective deterrent to those who espouse the policies of force, who practise injustice and oppression, aggression and organized terrorism and economic and scientific blockade against the poor developing nations.
My country calls for the enhancement of the role of the United Nations General Assembly, so that the Security Council may become an organ that expresses the will of the peoples of the United Nations to preserve international peace and security and the principles of respect for sovereignty, and not a council for the security of certain States.
My country has suffered the scourges of colonialism in the past and recently. At the beginning of the century, we were the victims of an abhorrent fascist invasion, occupation and settlement, under which we suffered all forms of oppression, genocide and depopulation. During the Second World War, Libya's territory was transformed into one of the main theatres of military operations. Our people have paid a heavy price in material and human terms in a war in which we had no interest. Since the end of that war, up to the present, the Libyan people has continued to suffer the effects of the war and its aftermath in the shape of mines and explosives sown by the warring countries in our soil. The international community has adopted numerous resolutions in this and other organizations in which it called upon the countries responsible for that to provide the necessary information and the technical assistance for the removal of such mines and other war materiel and to pay reparations for the damage caused. Today, we wish to repeat our call, through you, to the countries concerned to shoulder their responsibilities in this respect, to respond to the calls of the international community and to abide by the provisions of the General Assembly resolutions concerning the aftermath of war.
The most recent act of aggression perpetrated against my country was the barbarous military attack waged against us on 14 April 1986 by the previous Administration of a super-Power that is a permanent member of the Security Council. That act of aggression was a flagrant violation of the Charter and the principles of international law and all other international covenants and norms. In addition, there have been numerous provocations and repeated hostile acts perpetrated by that country against my own State since the beginning of the 1980s, side by side with the imposition of a boycott and an economic, scientific and cultural blockade. The international community has voiced its clear condemnation of that treacherous military aggression in various resolutions adopted by international and regional organisations, the foremost among which was General Assembly resolution 38/41, which called on that country to eschew the use of force against Libya, reaffirming the right of Libya to receive compensation for the material and human losses sustained by it. Today, we reiterate our call to urge the country concerned to listen to the voice of justice, reason and logic, to respond to the call for peace and to refrain from any measure which would increase tension and aggravate the differences between the two countries. He call on the United States Administration to engage in dialogue and to resolve every difference, if any, by peaceful means, through negotiation. Ours is a call for peace. Through you, Mr. President, I wish to address a new appeal to the United States to respond to the call for a dialogue on a basis of constructive, honourable and just cooperation.
My delegation, which abides by the United Nations Charter and the principles of international legitimacy, respect for the sovereignty of States and the right of peoples to self-determination and non-intervention in internal affairs, calls for the establishment of relationships of cooperation and friendship so as to consolidate international peace and security and bring about tranquillity and confidence among all peoples of the world.
Respect for human rights has been at the core of the new decade's events, with all its important political changes and developments. In this context, I wish to state that my country has always paid great attention to questions of human rights. This respect for human rights stems from our unswerving conviction that such respect for the dignity of man is the basis for the prosperity and progress of peoples. We are determined to pursue our support for the efforts of the international community, through the United Nations and its organs concerned with human rights, for the achievement of the lofty human objectives we all aspire to. In this context, we welcome the call to convene an international conference on human rights in 1993. My country was one of the first to reaffirm the principles of human rights, in our great green Paper on human rights which was circulated as a General Assembly document in 19B9. This culminated in practical and legislative measures aimed at protecting and enforcing human rights and basic freedoms of expression and the right to gain a livelihood. We call for respect for these rights on both the national and international levels. The beginning of 19B9 witnessed events which consolidated what has taken place in this field. We have enacted a law which enhances freedoms and we have ratified a number of international agreements and instruments in the field of human rights. We have established the International Committee on the Qaddafi Prize for Human Rights, and we have hosted its meetings during the past three years. We have constantly expressed our effective cooperation with all humanitarian organizations dealing with human rights and we have called for the demolition of penitentiaries and the abolition of capital punishment.
The problems of the environment are foremost among the concerns of many countries, especially those which suffer from the problems of desertification, drought, natural disasters and pollution. The developing countries have more acutely suffered from the problems of the environment, in addition to the problems of poverty and backwardness and the difficulties of managing natural resources so as to face up to the challenges of development. In this field, my country has faced challenges of development, and very difficult natural and material problems, such as desertification, the scarcity of water resources, the shortage of arable land in the midst of vast deserts and the shortage of manpower. In the circumstances, my country is implementing a great project for a man-made river which is designed to conquer the desert, to spread green vegetation over Libyan lands and to provide a dignified life for the coming generations. The project is based on pumping water from the aquifers in the desert and moving them through a pipeline to the Libyan coast, so that the water may be used for drinking and for irrigation and industry. Praise be to God that we have completed the first stage which involves the pumping of 2 million cubic metres of water daily to irrigate an area which extends for 660 kilometres along our northern coast, through a pipeline 2,000 kilometres long.
On 28 August of this year, we celebrated the arrival of the waters of the great man-made river to the Benghazi area. The celebration was attended by a number of leaders from Arab and other friendly countries. We should like to take this opportunity to express our thanks and appreciation to Dr. Mohamad Mahathir, Prime Minister of Malaysia, who mentioned this project in his statement in the general debate.
We take pride in this achievement because we believe that every inch of green added to the arable land of any developing country represents a response to the many-faceted natural challenges facing those developing nations and that every effort made in dealing with the problems of development and backwardness and providing the vital requirements of millions puts contemporary man on the threshold of the proper solutions for the problems involved in meeting the just demands of people and their need to attain prosperity and progress.
We have built our man-made river ourselves, without the help of foreign loans or financial assistance. Libya's efforts in the area of such positive undertakings, that aim at the preservation of the environment and the promotion of development make us look forward to the world Conference on the Environment and Development scheduled to be held at Rio de Janeiro in 1992, which we hope will yield positive results.
The Middle East region continues to be one of the most tense of the world's hotbeds of tension because of the Zionist entity's occupation of Palestine and large tracts of Arab territories. Over the years, the international community has adopted numerous resolutions on the Palestinian question, all of which have reaffirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, especially their right of return and their right to self-determination. However, despite this just and steadfast International recognition, the Palestinian people remain deprived of their political and human rights because of Israeli intransigence, which is the basic impediment standing in the way of all sincere international efforts to reach a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian question.
The intifadah of the Palestinian people against the Israeli occupation is a reaffirmation that when right is on the side of the weak he shall stand invincible against the technology of the unjust. The Palestinian Intifadah has proved that the will of peoples to realise their legitimate aspirations cannot be suppressed. Our position is based on adherence to international covenants. We steadfastly support the right of the Palestinian people to liberate their homeland and to establish their own independent State with a capital in the Holy City of Al-Quds.
The immigration of Jews to Palestine from the Soviet Union and other countries and their settlement in the occupied Arab territories today represent the most serious threat to a solution of the Palestinian question. The statements of the Israeli leaders and their call for a greater Israel are clear proof of their sinister intention to create a new demographic situation in Palestine and the occupied Arab territories by altering the demographic composition of the area and turning it into an obstacle to the achievement of any solution of the Palestinian question that would guarantee the restoration of the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.
At present, there is a great deal of talk about peace and the finding of a just and durable solution to the problems of the Middle East and the Palestinian question in line with United Nations resolutions, some of which were adopted about 40 years ago. First, there was General Assembly resolution 181 (II) and then, the many resolutions that followed. The Palestinians and Arabs from Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon have expressed their determination to achieve peace. Today, I must clearly state that the ones who do not want peace are the Israelis; those who will undermine every effort to achieve peace are the Israelis. That is because they believe only in the logic of force and war. This is their creed and their unchanging strategy. While the rest of the world moves towards detente. they manufacture weapons of mass destruction. They reject the world's calls to place their nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency. They are preparing for a new type of war in the region, namely, the war for water.
The suffering of the people of South Africa under the racists and their practices cannot be set apart from the suffering of the Palestinian people in occupied Palestine. We in Libya support the just struggle of the people of South Africa, and we call upon all the peoples of the world to support the just struggle of that people to eliminate apartheid. We strongly condemn the racist practices against the black South African majority.
As mine is a country bordering on the Mediterranean, we consider that it is very important to enhance peace, cooperation and security in that region. We hope that it will not become a hotbed of tension in the world or a springboard for direct attacks against coastal States. We still repeat our call to transform the Mediterranean into a lake of peace and cultural exchange and to remove weapons of mass destruction, foreign fleets and bases from it. It should become a model of cooperation between peoples in the north and in the south and an embodiment of the slogan, "No aggression, no invasion, but continued peace and tranquillity, a source of food for the hungry and of shelter from fear."
The problem of Lebanon has been the locus of Arab and international efforts to bring an end to the tragic situation in that country. My country supports national reconciliation that will preserve unity and territorial integrity and sovereignty. However, notwithstanding national efforts inside the country and international efforts outside Lebanon, the Lebanese people still continue to suffer a deep wound in the southern part of their country as a result of Israel's continued occupation of a part of that territory, in brazen defiance of the resolutions adopted by the international community. My country, which has always called for safeguarding Lebanon's integrity, unity and sovereignty, believes that resolving the Lebanese problem requires the immediate and complete withdrawal of Israeli forces of occupation to allow the legitimate Lebanese authority to extend its control over all its national soil.
General and complete disarmament under effective international supervision is the desired goal of all the peoples of the world. It is incumbent upon all countries, and especially those that possess nuclear armaments and weapons of mass destruction, to do their utmost to advance towards the realization of that goal within the framework of full respect for the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter and in accordance with the priorities spelled out in the Final Document of the tenth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament.
That comprehensive view, which we share with many countries, is based on a full awareness of the terrible threats facing our planet as a result of the production, stockpiling and possible use of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. In that respect, disarmament should involve all the countries that produce and possess such weapons, without distinction or discrimination. The twenty-fourth article of the green paper, which was approved by the Libyan Arab people, states:
"The citizens of the Jamahiriya call for abolishing the nuclear, chemical and germ weapons, as well as all means of mass destruction and the destruction of all such weapons now in the stockpiles. They call for the deliverance of mankind from nuclear power stations and the danger of their wastes."
As one of the parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Convention prohibiting bacteriological weapons and the Geneva Protocol, my country supports all international and regional efforts designed to put an end to the nuclear arms race and eliminate nuclear weapons. We also support all international efforts aimed at prohibiting all forms of weapons of mass destruction, without distinction. We support the principle of establishing nuclear-weapon-free zones in all parts of the world, including Africa and the Middle East. Unfortunately, in this respect our hopes have been dashed by Israel's persistence in possessing, producing and developing weapons of mass destruction in spite of repeated international appeals and condemnations. The Israelis have refused to forgo the possession of nuclear weapons and continue their tests of delivery systems and refuse to place their nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

With regard to disarmament, we listened with close attention to the proposal of the United States President, George Bush, wherein he declared unilaterally a project for major reductions in the nuclear arsenal of the United States. We believe that this proposal is important and positive. We call upon the United States of America to continue to move in that direction in the service of international peace and security and in recognition of the fact that its technical and scientific achievements are the result of the collective efforts of all mankind, through the immigration to the United States of millions of people from all over the world.
We call on the parties that possess weapons of mass destruction - bacteriological, nuclear and chemical - to take initiatives to destroy their stockpiles, to refrain from producing or stockpiling such weapons, and to give a binding pledge that they will refrain from using them and, thereby, save human lives.
My country follows with close attention the positive developments towards finding comprehensive political solutions to regional problems. These developments are due to the efforts of the Secretary-General in pursuance of Security Council resolutions. Foremost amongst these problems are the situations in Cyprus, Cambodia and Afghanistan. Given our steadfast stand on the need to search for peaceful solutions to all problems within the framework of full respect for the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter and of international law, my country welcomes all efforts to find just and comprehensive solutions to the problems of Cyprus, Cambodia and Afghanistan within the framework of international legality, respect for the sovereignty, independence and integrity of those countries and for their non-aligned status, and the absence of any foreign interference in their internal affairs.
We welcome the efforts of the Secretary-General and the use of his good offices towards the implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions, and we wish to express our appreciation of his tireless efforts towards the achievement of comprehensive and just political solutions to these problems. My country, which has always provided all forms of material and political support for the just causes of peoples and their legitimate struggle to regain their freedom and independence according to the provisions and principles of the United Nations Charter, wishes to reaffirm its continued support of that struggle. Our desire to see those peoples realise their legitimate aspirations stems from one steadfast and unswerving belief in the cause of freedom and the need to champion the cause of the oppressed everywhere in the world.
My country also supports the Korean people in their legitimate aspiration to the achievement of unity through peaceful means and without foreign interference, exactly as the German nation was unified following the fall of the Berlin wall. The first person to predict the crumbling of that Wall was President Muammar Qaddafi.
Just as we support the right of every people to unity, we also reaffirm the right of the Arab peoples to unity without foreign interference. This is a new phase in history. A page has been turned. We support respect for human rights and for the principles of non-interference in internal affairs and the non-use of policies of destabilization. We wish to see democracy reaffirmed, and dictatorships removed from the world. We hope to see the disappearance of one-man rule and of rule by class, party, tribe, vanguard or elite. We wish to see the sovereignty of peoples enhanced and their will respected. We call for adherence to the principles of international legality on the basis of equality and in line with creative human ideals, so that peace and cooperation may prevail, in the world, the gap between rich and poor nations may be bridged, mutual benefit may guide cooperation between States, and lofty human ideals may reign supreme in our world.


Mr. President, may I congratulate you upon your election, which does justice to the tradition of international cooperation supported by Saudi Arabia and is an eloquent acknowledgement of your own talents.
I have great pleasure in welcoming the representatives of the new States that have now become Members of this Organization: the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.
The admission as Members of the two Republics that form the Korean peninsula is emblematic of an auspicious moment for world peace.
The presence in these halls of the representatives of the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Lithuania, whose tenacious struggle for independence commanded universal recognition, brings a special kind of joy to the community of nations.
I also wish to pay a well-deserved tribute to the Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, for the balanced and dedicated manner in which he has been exercising, for some 10 years now, the highest-ranking functions of the Secretariat of our Organization. We are privileged to live at a time of universal affirmation of the rights and freedoms of the individual, of pluralism, of respect for the will of the majority, of protection of minorities, of free enterprise.
These achievements come in an age that is weary of conflict and arbitrariness. These achievements highlight an essential point, namely that collective Interests always prevail, sooner or later, over the wishes of groups that cling to privilege.
Our aim is to open up a whole new historical cycle in which there should be no place for totalitarian coercion over peoples or countries, in which democracy, freedom, development and peace can be truly universal values. I address the General Assembly of the United Nations as the representative of 150 million Brazilians, as the elected leader of one of the largest democracies in the world. I come here to join in the celebration of glad tidings. I come here to share in the celebration of joy, but also to share concerns. I come here to celebrate, but also to draw attention to serious problems.
We face the challenge of reshaping the world, of building a peace that will not be the offspring of the constant threat of war. The ideological and strategic motivations for global confrontation are fortunately on the wane and exhausted. Sources of tension subsist, however, that still have to be extinguished.
The roads towards prosperity and the distribution of its fruits are known to all of us. In spite of that, parochial interests widen the gap that makes our objectives fade in the distance and that has to be bridged in our undertaking. It is as though we were simultaneously heading for common rejoicing in freedom and for separation in inequality. Liberal ideas have won. We should now labour to ensure that they will prevail in a consistent, widespread and, above all, innovative manner.
Such observations are made from the viewpoint of a country that has opted for a liberal project clearly oriented towards social concerns, for social liberalism. That is the viewpoint of a society that for 18 months now has been striving to realize those ideas.
Liberalism places the emphasis on the freedoms of the individual, which are invariably more fully exercised once the material conditions that a great majority of our citizens still lack are assured. The time has come for liberalism to take on, at the international level, the sensitivity to social problems that it has already incorporated at the domestic level.
Liberalism highly values the freedom inherent in the market, but it cannot turn away from the mechanisms needed to curb distortions and prevent the non-observance of its most elementary rules, as is the case with existing discriminatory and protectionist policies.
This means that the international community will have to devote priority attention, at the political level, to development problems. This means supplementing the functioning of market mechanisms with measures intended to correct serious imbalances, the persistence of which would put good relations at risk.
Just as nobody can feel secure facing the possibility of nuclear war, nobody can consider himself to be secure and at peace in a planet where the poor and forsaken are dramatically expanding in number and in extent.
I shall not repeat here statistical data and indicators, many of which were drawn up within this Hall and which demonstrate with alarming clarity that developing countries are worse off today than they were 10 years ago.
We are approaching a global consensus on the values of democracy and we must carry through its ethical premises. Concern for the individual lies at the very heart of the democratic conscience. Through political participation and responsibility it is individuals who frame the destiny of their collectivity. It is towards individuals that the actions of democratic governments must be oriented, for the aims of such governments are only accomplished if they can ensure each and every citizen the effective means of well-being and justice.
The democratic conscience cannot but be universal in scope, since it is based on the overriding principle of equality of rights and opportunities for all. There cannot be relative democracy, under any pretext whatsoever. Thus, it is incongruous that three-quarters of mankind should live in pitiful and often inhuman situations of poverty. If political oppression affronts our democratic values, so does economic exclusion. This is all the more true as the victims of hunger and misery are often children and adolescents, so that the indignation of the present spills over into a future of hopelessness.
Last year, here in New York, the World Summit for Children revealed a broad consensus that the issue must be addressed at the highest level and with the utmost determination. It is necessary, however, that the international community give concrete shape and follow-up to that commitment.
In my country, the Government seeks to mobilize all levels of society to make children our first national priority. At the same time, various measures have been taken, such as the assignment of a special cabinet-level portfolio for children, to coordinate efforts in that area and to launch an ongoing programme to build several hundred integrated facilities, making it possible for destitute children to leave the streets and receive education, food, medical care, and cultural and sports opportunities. With the scarce resources at our disposal, we are earnestly attempting to do our best.
The international community faces three major challenges: the economic challenge of development, the political challenge of peace and the ethical challenge of ensuring a life of dignity for all. These are challenges that cannot be met separately but that must rather be faced jointly and simultaneously. These are challenges that must be met democratically, with
the participation of all. These are challenges that, in the end, test our ability to elevate solidarity to the highest plane of international relations.
It is development that ensures the consolidation of democracy and represents the fundamental premise of peace. Where inequality holds sway, quarrels and confrontation are bound to take root. In a world where universality of values is increasingly pursued, little progress is being made on the path to universal patterns and paces of development.
We have a responsibility to build a truly democratic and balanced international society. In a democracy, a citizen abides by the law because he feels legitimately represented in its elaboration. The same principle should hold for norms affecting relations among States: it is participation and not coercion that provides the basic stimulus to lawful behaviour. For that reason, the General Assembly, as the world parliament, where citizens of every country are effectively represented, is the forum where we ought to work together for a better, more just, more prosperous and more peaceful world.
The definitive establishment of peace demands decision-making processes that are more open, that ensure wider participation and that are binding on States in a broader and deeper way. The natural course towards meeting the great challenges that lie at the heart of our agenda is cooperation by means of universally applicable rules genuinely agreed upon and followed by States. It is through pluralism born of tolerance, consensus born of understanding, the synthesis born of differing opinions freely expressed that the pillars of genuine cooperation can be built. The General Assembly cannot accept having its legitimate prerogatives diminished, since it symbolises to an increasing extent the triumph of democracy the world over, which in turn opens up the prospect of victory for an international system that is also democratic. The war in the Gulf has shown us the United Nations effectively at work. We count on its ability to influence the course of events and to overcome hotbeds of tension in the international scene.
Peace in the world is contingent upon peace in the Middle East. Our friends in Lebanon are already joining together to rebuild the country on the basis of a loftier goal - a united, free, prosperous and peaceful Lebanon.
Now the time has come for the Arabs and the Israelis. The grand design of a region where all may live in peace within internationally recognised boundaries will be realised through respect for the rights of the Palestinian people and a change of attitude towards Israel.
Brazil strongly supports the initiative of convening a peace conference on the Middle East, with the participation of all interested parties, aimed at the full implementation of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations. We hope that all parties will display the necessary flexibility to remove obstacles, both physical and emotional, to the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the region. In this context we believe that the application of labels that have exacerbated mistrust among the parties should be reconsidered.
Alongside political and economic challenges, the United Nations cannot avoid facing the ethical challenge to which I have alluded. It is necessary to design new approaches and more creative and consensual instruments for action in priority areas of the environment and development, human rights, world population questions and the situation of women and children.
In the years leading up to the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations we must set down guidelines for international relations in the twenty-first century.
The 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development will be the first among the major universal gatherings to take place in the next few years. The Conference has an Inescapable obligation to future generations, inasmuch as it is they who will stand to benefit most from our work, the main objective of which is to improve the quality of life for all people.
Lasting solutions to global problems require the commitment of the international community as a whole, each country according to its responsibility relative to the origin of those problems and to their management, as well as to its economic and technological capacity to overcome them. The months leading up to the Conference will require intensive consultations. Brazil intends to explore opportunities for dialogue to the fullest and hopes to find its interlocutors to be open and determined.
Perhaps the most striking characteristic of such a Conference on Environment and Development is that it should allow for as broad a debate as possible, as profound a discussion as the political will of the participants will allow. It is with those objectives in mind, and without constraints or preconceptions, that we believe the issues of the Conference must be tackled and its crowning decisions adopted.
At the Conference we shall discuss the economic policies of developed and developing countries alike that are best suited to eradicating poverty and correcting unsustainable patterns of production and consumption. The transfer of environmentally sound technology requires an innovative approach to intellectual property rights that will allow for a regime that effectively favours access by the developing countries to the progress made by the industrialized world in that field.
The Conference should not act the stage for grievances and recrimination;
it should, on the contrary, provide the framework for mature and feasible proposals. In effect, it amounts to finding a proper response to the common interest of ensuring the survival of mankind and of the planet itself.
Just as the question of development has yielded to other issues on the international agenda, I am concerned that the issue of the environment may also yield to other aspects of the day-to-day life of the world.
It is understandable that the dramatic developments of the past two years have attracted considerable attention. But it should be pointed out that the political task of peace building does not take place in a vacuum. It depends on economic development, which, in turn, is dependent on environmentally sustainable economic models.
We cannot abide having an environmentally sound planet and a socially unjust world. Hence, the convergence of the political, economic and ethical dimensions on the question of the environment, which ultimately brings together the challenges of peace, development and the improvement of the quality of life of mankind as a whole. Hence, the importance of our commitment to come together at the highest level at the Rio Conference in 1992. I again invite all Heads of State and Government from all regions of the world to be present in Rio de Janeiro. Their participation will ensure that the decisions we adopt enjoy the needed political support. Brazil awaits you all with open arms.
My country is striving to ensure its rightful place on the International scene. We are aware of the fact that to that end we must rely above all on our own efforts. It is our obligation to manage our domestic affairs, to solve our problems among ourselves and to persevere on the right path.
There is no other path to progress, harmony and social well-being. There is no other path to the role to which we aspire in International decision-making processes. Me ask nothing of the world that we are not prepared to give. We propose nothing to the world that we are not in a position to do ourselves.
Brazil is too complex a nation to be treated according to standard prescriptions. There are no magic formulas and no economic miracles. We join the concert of nations with an open mind, with a vision of the future and with generosity, and we expect the same attitude in return.
We are perfectly aware that respectability is beholden to responsibility. In the course of our national history we have cultivated consistency and responsibility in our international relations, in conformity with the rules and principles of relations among nations. The world is witness to this tradition.
Last year I announced in this very forum my Government's decision to abstain from any nuclear explosions - including for peaceful purposes, as if it were possible to explode atomic bombs for peaceful purposes.
On 18 July 1991 in Guadalajara, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina signed the Agreement on the Exclusively Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy. The Agreement has great historic significance for our countries and constitutes proof that it is possible to ensure nuclear security through nuclear cooperation.
The Safeguards Agreement that Brazil and Argentina will sign with the International Atomic Energy Agency will provide all pertinent information for verification of our commitment to the exclusively peaceful uses of nuclear energy and will also preserve the technological advances that we have arduously attained in the realm of the nuclear energy cycle.
Less than one month ago we also signed, together with Argentina and Chile, the Mendoza Commitment, on the basis of which we formally and collectively renounced all chemical and bacteriological weapons. He are aware of the example we have just set for the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, and we hope that a similar agreement at the global level will be finalised in the near future. It is Brazil's understanding that the aforementioned instruments afford renewed and sufficient assurances regarding the exclusively peaceful objectives of our national nuclear energy programme and regarding our repudiation of weapons of mass destruction.
International flows of sensitive technology goods, services and know-how are today a vital issue. We should look for formulas that would serve to reconcile two basic interests: avoiding the possibility that such technologies are used in weapons of mass destruction; and ensuring that access to such technologies remains open. This is an essential prerequisite for building and modernising the technological capacity of countries like Brazil.
It is easy to welcome change and to exult in the prospects for building a new world. It is painful, however, to speak of the many obstacles that still stand in the way of hope. Among these obstacles we find the acute problem of external indebtedness that drains the developing countries of scarce capital, arbitrary constraints on the transfer of technology and disregard for market
principles under the protectionist policies pursued, first and foremost, by the industrialised countries.
The paths leading to an international framework that ensures peace and fosters development are complex and have yet to be defined. There is consensus on the objectives and perhaps on the means, but resistance to real change remains enormous. The great strides that have been made in the ideological and strategic realms must be matched by no less courageous strides towards building confidence and cooperation.
In the political sphere, democracy should open up the way for new decision-making procedures in the international field. Security must be an effectively collective endeavour, enforced by law and not by the spectre of arms.
If in the economic sphere we have shed the facile and simplistic dreams of radical reform of the international economy, and if we know that great transformations begin with hard work aimed at internal reform, we cannot all the same forgo realistic and sensible proposals for international cooperation. He are committed to fighting for the success of the Uruguay Round in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), as we believe that the philosophy of free and open trade should rest on a solid and balanced foundation.
In the realm of values, there is a consensus that our first duty is to struggle for the full exercise of human rights on the political, economic and social levels. That is the great objective that international solidarity should attain.
Brazil is pursuing no other policy than to warn, to caution, to propose and, above all, to collaborate. The growing imbalance between developed and developing countries poses a tangible threat to international stability and security. This threat will only increase if there is no effective support for the consolidation of democracy and development. There is a need to create, at the world level, a sturdily built, consensual programme of action, organised around the question of development, to guide and spur negotiations on specific items pertaining to relations among nations at all stages of economic progress.
On the American continent, the enterprise for the Americas initiative, currently known as the Bush Plan, is a first indication of willingness to reach understanding. Along the lines of this same drive towards the actual integration of the continent, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay have signed the Treaty for the Constitution of the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUL), which already dovetails with the Enterprise for the Americas through the Rose Garden Agreement, signed in Washington earlier this year.
In order to realise the hopes thus raised among the peoples of the region, both initiatives must incorporate as a priority goal the search for a solution to the serious social problems that still confront us. This political, economic and ethical imperative cannot be regarded as constituting a claim by any particular country or group of countries. It is an ensign to be flown by all States, by all governments.
We are drawing nigh to the universal and ultimate triumph of the revolution of democracy and freedom. What remains is to carry it through with the revolution of social justice and solidarity. May God be with us.


Allow me. Sir, to extend to you my heartfelt congratulations on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its current session. We are particularly pleased that the representative of Saudi Arabia, with which Ethiopia enjoys close and friendly relations, is presiding over this Assembly. It is my pleasure to assure you of my delegation's fullest cooperation as you discharge your responsibility.
I also wish to express our sincere appreciation to your predecessor, Mr. Guido de Marco, for his able stewardship o£ the General Assembly at its forty-fifth session. Indeed it was gratifying to have received Mr. de Marco in Ethiopia in June 1991, barely a few days after the downfall of the military dictatorship that ruthlessly brutalized and dishonoured our country during the past 1? years. Mr. de Marco's fruitful visit to Ethiopia has helped to make the plight of hundreds of thousands of refugees from neighbouring countries a focal point of international attention and concern.
I should like to take this opportunity also to pay a tribute to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Perez de Cuellar, for his distinguished service to our Organization, and to congratulate him on leaving behind an Organization with greatly enhanced stature and credibility. He wish him success and good luck.
Let me also extend my warmest welcome to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea, the Baltic Republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands on their becoming Members of our Organization during the current session.
The profound changes taking place throughout the world have brought about the emergence of democratic transformation. Now that the cold war is over, international relations have tended to promote cooperation in place of confrontation. Peace is indeed taking root, and freedom is on the march, with peoples, nations and nationalities exercising their rights to self-determination. Tyranny and repression are being wiped out by peoples in full exercise of their will, taking their destiny into their own hands. They are winning in their pursuit of freedom, democracy and justice.
The victory of the Ethiopian people over a ruthless military dictatorship is a case in point. I beg the indulgence of the Assembly to speak briefly on the painful experience of the past 17 years in Ethiopia before dealing with the current situation in my country.
The international community is aware of the unparalleled suffering and misery endured by the Ethiopian peoples. The blatant policy of war and repression pursued by the defunct terrorist regime, coupled with recurrent droughts and famine, inflicted an enormous human toll. It should be recalled that premeditated murder of Innocent people was the order of the day. Youngsters in their teens were rounded up from schools, streets and homes for forced military conscription. Villages were destroyed by blanket bombing aimed at suppressing people who wanted to be free. The cruel war uprooted hundreds of thousands. A great number of people perished, while others fled in search of refuge to countries near and far.
I cannot but note with regret and sadness the deafening silence of the United Nations system in the face of gross violations of human rights and its failure to make tangible efforts to stop the mayhem in my country. It is our considered view that this international Organization, whose cardinal objective is "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war", should have spoken out with sufficient vigour, instead of hiding behind a convenient excuse to justify inaction when confronted with the most egregious human rights violations and continual bloodshed.
In contrast, donor nations and non-governmental organizations spoke and acted with tremendous dignity and compassion. In spite of the familiar "food as a weapon'' policy of the regime, they persisted in their determination to
provide, and sometimes succeeded in providing, timely assistance to victims of drought and famine in our country. He sincerely appreciate this humanitarian commitment.
The downfall of the military junta and the successful take-over of state power by democratic forces on 28 May 1991 marked the beginning of a new era of peace, democracy and justice in Ethiopia. At the time when the junta in Addis Ababa was crumbling, talks on ending the war were being held in London on 24 May 1991, under the mediation of the United States Government. In this regard, I should like to seize this opportunity to express our gratitude to the Government of the United States of America and in particular to Ambassador Herman Cohen, a distinguished and able diplomat, the official mediator on behalf of the United States Government, for the painstaking efforts made to arrange the London peace talks, in which the former parties to the Ethiopian conflict took part.
It was agreed in London to convene a National Conference in Addis Ababa on 1 July to chart the future political course of the country. The Conference, held on schedule, brought together 24 organizations representing a wide range of political views and aspirations of various nationalities. He were delighted to note that the National Conference on Peace and Democracy was honoured by the presence of international observers, including representatives of 16 Governments, the United Nations, the Organization of African Unity and the European Community. Their attendance at the Conference has strengthened our determination to work closely with the international community in resolving the formidable problems and challenges confronting our country.
The National Conference has charted the future course Ethiopia will follow. It has adopted a charter explicitly based on the United Nations
Declaration of Human Rights. This charter is the supreme law of the land for the transitional period, which will lead to multi-party elections to be conducted in about two years. In accordance with the provisions of the charter, the people have begun freely expressing their views. Political parties have emerged and are already introducing their programmes to the people in the run-up to free and fair elections.
A broad-based administration, embracing various political groups, is in place, acting in the framework of a coalition Government. A landmark principle of the charter is recognition of the rights of nations and nationalities to exercise self-determination, which is the cornerstone of the democratic processes embarked upon by the peoples of Ethiopia. This has opened up new avenues for forcing harmonious peace and unity on the basis of universal human values. We do not believe that there can be lasting peace in our country without recognition and application of this cardinal principle.
It has often been said derisively that self-determination would lead to fragmentation and chaos. However, our experience, like that of some countries in Eastern Europe, proves otherwise. To be sure, the denial of the right of self-determination of the various nationalities in Ethiopia and the disregard for their aspiration to equality were the major causes of the civil strife we experienced.
It is important to emphasize that recognition of these basic rights by the Transitional Government has done more than consolidate peace: it has also become a significant factor in convincing many groups which in the past worked for separation that their grievances could best be redressed in a new Ethiopia

on the basis of recognition of the right of self-determination as the bedrock of its political life. Those groups have therefore decided to give unity a chance.

The position taken by the Conference on Peace and Democracy in Ethiopia with respect to resolving the long-standing Eritrean conflict must be seen in the context of the imperative need to maintain stability and peace and create conditions propitious to the success of the process of democratisation in the area.
Respect for the rights of the Eritrean people to determine their future freely in an internationally supervised referendum is, therefore, an integral element of the democratic process aimed at achieving durable peace and stability. In this regard, the Transitional Government of Ethiopia welcomes the decision of the Provisional Government in Eritrea to defer the holding of a referendum for two years, as well as its desire to involve the United Nations in supervising the process.
The introduction of political pluralism in Ethiopia is being complemented by new thinking in the economic sphere. The transitional legislature and cabinet will soon approve and adopt an economic policy for the transitional period. A draft economic policy which is currently being discussed and scrutinized by the people envisages the formulation of strategies that could accelerate recovery and reconstruction.
The main thrust of this policy is its greater emphasis on private enterprise and market forces as instruments of revitalization of growth and development. It takes into account the need to overcome problems such as famine relief and rehabilitation of displaced persons and demobilized soldiers, in the short run, and the need to expedite the process of laying down the necessary basis for sustainable development, including overcoming environmental degradation and ensuring food security, in the long run.

It is evident that all this will require vast resources, far beyond the means available to us. It will therefore call for the mobilisation of international assistance in coping with the emergency situation. In this regard, it should be stated clearly that the international community should spare no efforts tangibly to encourage and support the fledgling peace and democratic process in Ethiopia.
Although significant progress has been made towards ensuring peace and democracy in Ethiopia, formidable challenges still confront us. Famine still prevails in Ethiopia, thus threatening the very livelihood of millions of our citizens. Food shortages caused by the recurrent drought and severe environmental degradation persist. Millions of refugees from neighbouring countries and an equal number or more of our own citizens displaced by war are in a desperate situation and are in need of urgent assistance. The infrastructure, shattered by the protracted conflicts, calls for immediate attention. Our economy is completely in shambles due to past disastrous policies and is burdened with a huge loan, the responsibility of the past regime. It therefore needs to be revived, an undertaking beyond Ethiopia's capacity.
The accumulation of the economic and social problems to which I have referred not only is bound to prolong our people's life of misery and destitution, but also could frustrate our determination to promote lasting peace, stability and democracy.
It goes without saying that it is for us Ethiopians, first and foremost, to put our house in order and resolve our own problems, however vast and complicated they may be. Already the Transitional Government has set a national policy and is mobilizing the people for the difficult but compulsory
task of rehabilitation and reconstruction. He are hopeful that the international community will respond positively to our request for assistance and supplement our domestic efforts.
Let me, at this juncture, turn to the foreign policy of the Transitional Government. Now that Ethiopia is at peace with itself, the opportunities to become a factor for peace and stability in the Horn of Africa - a region torn by conflicts - are greater. Our foreign policy objective is to further and cement ties and promote fraternal common interests with all our neighbours.
We are determined to maintain friendly relations with all our neighbours - indeed with all nations - based on principles of mutual respect for the sovereignty and equality of States, non-interference in the affairs of others and the promotion of mutual interests. To this end, we have already taken confidence-building measures. For example, we have waived visa requirements for citizens of neighbouring countries with a view to facilitating cross—fertilization of ideas and communication in order to enhance trade and commerce. We have undertaken measures to preclude the use of our territory by armed opposition groups for destabilization purposes. We are dedicated to do everything possible to bring about peaceful resolution of the fratricidal conflicts in which our brothers and sisters across our borders are engaged. Discussions and consultations are already under way to identify the ventures and joint endeavours which we can develop and harness for our common development needs.
As a founding Member of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organization of African Unity, Ethiopia is committed to the promotion of international peace and security. Accordingly, we are concerned that peace in the Middle East still hangs in the balance even as the efforts of the United
States Secretary of State, Mr. James Baker, are making significant headway towards bringing the patties to the conference table. As a country in close proximity to the region, Ethiopia welcomes such encouraging developments and hopes that the Palestinian question, which is the core of the Middle East problem, will eventually be resolved In accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions.
Similarly, we have followed with great interest the encouraging developments in South Africa. While we regard with satisfaction the repeal of repressive apartheid laws and the ongoing dialogue among the political groups in the country, it is important that the process should continue and should lead to the abolition of the apartheid system and the establishment of a non-racial, democratic and united South Africa,
The United Nations plan on Western Sahara has come a long way with the establishment of the United Nations Mission on the Referendum in Western Sahara. We are hopeful that the efforts of the United Nations in this regard will be crowned with success.
We are anxious about the unfinished business before the United Nations regarding resolution of conflicts. Peaceful settlements in Cambodia, Afghanistan and Cyprus are critical to the consolidation of world peace
Meanwhile, we are gratified to note the significant reductions in the level of nuclear armaments. Negotiations under way between the super-Powers for further cuts and the recent decision by the Government of the United States to scrap substantial portions of its short-range missile arsenal, as well as the latest proposals by the Soviet Union to match and even accelerate these efforts, will hopefully further the goals of eliminating weapons of mass destruction.
In this connection, we support the need for disarmament negotiations to include conventional weapons as well, in the interests of consolidating peace and in conformity with the current trend towards democracy and respect for human rights. It should be stated that the dividends from disarmament efforts should be used to ameliorate the pitiable socio-economic conditions in many parts of the world, thus satisfying the material and spiritual needs of peoples.
Despite reforms and growth-oriented measures in several countries, most developing countries continue to suffer an ever-increasing decline in standards of living, food production, incomes, and health and educational services. Hot only are we witnessing widespread poverty in both the urban and the rural areas of the developing world, but the gap in incomes between the developed and developing countries has been expanding. In particular, the situation in Africa is pathetic, to say the least. After five years the United Nations Plan of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development has very little to its account.
Today, the lot of Africans has deteriorated even further. There is less food but more mouths to feed; there is more export but less earnings, little savings but little investment; there is more outflow of resources but less inflow of imported goods.
How can Africa be expected to address its central structural problems when income earnings continue to decline owing to the collapse of commodity prices? The external-debt burden and debt-servicing obligations of African countries, which as a percentage of gross national product rose from 54 per cent in 1986 to 109 per cent in 1990, have siphoned off from Africa
resources that could have bean otherwise used for the programme of economic transformation. Furthermore, official development assistance during 1986-1990, which in real terms remained constant at an annual average of $US 16.5 billion, is woefully inadequate.
In presenting this bleak picture our intention is not to apportion blame or to deny the importance of the domestic policies of recipient countries. What is needed is a sincere approach and commitment by both developed and developing countries, in a spirit of understanding and accommodation, to address realistically the development bottlenecks in the third world.
There is serious international concern regarding environmental degradation. In particular, the region where my country is located is threatened by an alarming increase in desertification. Drought and the successive decline of life-supporting resources have taken a heavy toll. The situation calls for concerted international action to help sustain the minimal resources still available. He hope the forthcoming Conference on Environment and Development to be held at Rio de Janeiro will be both global and specific in scope and produce concrete measures to halt the accelerated pace of environmental degradation, including the problems of encroaching desertification.
In conclusion, let me say that we have come with an open mind and with devotion, and that we will thus spare no effort in the collective search for peace throughout the world as well as for progress and development through more freedom and respect for human dignity. We remain convinced that no better means than the instrumentality of the United Nations system exists for ensuring and strengthening the solidarity of nations in the attainment of those noble objectives and in solving common problems in compliance with the
Charter of the United Nations. The new Ethiopia that now finds itself at an important threshold in its history pledges its loyalty to the lofty ideals and principles of the United Nations Charter.