May I begin my statement by congratulating Mr. Amerasinghe most warmly on his unanimous election to the presidency of the thirty-first session of the General Assembly. His broad and fruitful activities not only as the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka in our Organization but also at the head of the delicate tasks of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea are outstanding qualifications for his difficult task.
128.	I wish also to express my gratitude to the outgoing President, Mr. Gaston Thorn, for his effective and constructive discharge of his duties during the last session.
129.	Argentina is pleased at the admission of the Republic of Seychelles to our Organization, and we most sincerely wish to co-operate with it,
130.	The Argentine Government considers that the United Nations has a role of paramount importance in the international system. It is so because the Charter has combined, developed and put into effect principles which are basic and irrevocable axioms of Argentina's foreign policy, and because in recent years, our Organization has formulated other principles which, although novel, are nonetheless important since they lay foundations from which Argentina hopes to see arise a legal framework that will enable us to tackle the solution with possibilities of success.
131.	With the admission of new States at the current session, the United Nations has taken one of the final steps towards achieving the earnestly desired aim of universality. No doubt, this fact marks the end of one stage and the beginning of another of equal or greater importance, because universality is not and could never be an end in itself but is rather the indispensable means of achieving, completely and comprehensively, the aims and ideals which led to the foundation of the United Nations thirty-one years ago.
132.	The time is, therefore, propitious to pause and objectively examine the road we have traveled so far and, what is even more fundamental, to take an inquiring look at the road we will have to travel together if we want to turn a dangerously uncertain future into a promising reality.
133.	It is undeniable that, in recent times, and for the most varied reasons, the Organization has been the target of unfavorable criticism and judgments, either for its actions or for its lack of action. These judgments did not come exclusively from a particular group or sector and in some cases they have been the result of excessive skepticism because of the changes of all kinds that have occurred since 1945; in other cases they have been due to a failure to perceive or accept the reality of the moment and the profound changes that have taken place in the world.
134.	These disappointments probably have, to some extent, a common origin, namely, the fact that misguided or exaggerated expectations have been placed in what the Organization should do to fulfill particular aspirations. But, if we accept the premise that, in the final analysis, the Organization will be what its Members want it to be, it is obvious that, if the political will exists to reconcile individual interests in furtherance of the general interest, we may be able to forge it into an effective instrument of co-operation to solve the pressing problems we face. This is a task that brooks no delay.
135.	The multiplicity of approaches created by these problems, far from discouraging Us, represents an additional challenge in overcoming a temporarily difficult situation, whose greatest ally is immobility.
136.	It has been said, and rightly so, that the United Nations is the mirror of the world. With its shortcomings and its virtues it constitutes the institutional framework which reflects the reality of a dynamic society in a state of constant evolution. What is more, we should be pleased that it has not only been sensitive to changes but has, in many cases, also carried them resolutely forward and legitimized their existence.
137.	Such has been, for example, its history in all matters relating to decolonization. In a process which posterity will recognize as one of its most positive achievements, the Organization was a decisive factor in hastening the end of colonial domination. Resolution 1514 (XV), one of the General Assembly's greatest achievements, was the catalyst which mobilized the efforts to promote decolonization. Its provisions embrace guidelines for dealing with different situations and make them adaptable to each particular case, whether it is the monitoring of self-determination or ensuring the inviolability of a country's territorial integrity.
138.	It is within this latter context that Argentina hopes that an early solution will be found to the problem of the Malvinas, a remnant of colonial expansion in America, which has for so long obstructed the relations between my country and the United Kingdom. The justness of our claim, so often recognized by an overwhelming majority of the States Members of this Organization, with the support of the Latin American countries, reaffirmed in the Inter- American Juridical Committee Declaration of 16 January 1976 [see A/31/23/Rev.l, chap. XXX, annex II] and more recently at Colombo by the Foreign Ministers and Heads of State and Government of 85 countries [see A/311197, annex I, para. 199], was further endorsed by the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in its resolution of 17 September last [see A/31/23/Rev.l, chap. XXX, para. 8], in which it reiterated the appeal to the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom to expedite the solution to this dispute over sovereignty.
139.	This encourages us to persevere in our efforts through bilateral negotiations, as urged in General Assembly resolutions 2065 (XX) and 3160 (XXVIII). In this connexion the Argentine Republic constantly bears in mind the interests of the present inhabitants of the islands, whose well-being it guarantees and will continue to guarantee, having shown already specific evidence of this concern which, furthermore, has been acknowledged by this Organization. But it goes without saying that our action cannot be unilateral. Similar determination must be forthcoming on the part of the United Kingdom to enable us to decide together on the measures for ending this dispute and thus cementing the friendship which has predominated in our traditional relationship.
140.	Through the full implementation of the Charter, the United Nations in a few years assisted in the orderly and peaceful transition of numerous peoples and territories from the status of dependence in which they had been for centuries to the status of free and sovereign nations. The very membership of this Assembly is the best permanent tribute to what has so far been done in this field.
141.	The accession of almost a hundred countries to independence entailed some other fundamental consequences also affecting our Organization. First, it promoted the democratization of international relations by enabling all States, regardless of their political, economic or military potential, to express their views and hopes. Secondly, it enabled the new Members to participate on an equal footing in the adoption of decisions likely to have a decisive impact on world events. More important still, it encouraged the emergence of new common areas of interest and created the conditions for a more just and balanced distribution of power. Lastly, a better and broader knowledge of each other's positions has gradually fostered the awareness among States that co-operation and understanding are the only viable means of maintaining peace.
142.	In discharging this primary responsibility of maintaining peace under the Charter the record of the United Nations is not consistent. Although it was unable to set up the machinery of collective security, based on the harmonious collaboration of the great Powers, it can be stated without any doubt whatsoever that, directly or indirectly, it has helped to avert a third world conflagration which would have endangered man's survival. Certainly, on not infrequent occasions it has been powerless to prevent the outbreak of local wars but even so, in many cases, its intervention has served to limit the extent or duration of the conflict. By offering a forum for venting grievances and passions, it has managed, to a significant extent, to ward off situations which in the past would inevitably have led to armed confrontations.
143.	The presence of United Nations forces in different areas of the world where serious possibilities of conflict exist; besides being one of the most instructive examples of what international co-operation can mean, has been and continues to be a vital element for ensuring peace. Once minds were set in the conviction that a nuclear war would entail mutual destruction and the disappearance of every vestige of civilization, the United Nations promoted and welcomed with hope the emergence of a new climate of understanding among the great Powers. Of course, much still remains to be done before the ideal proclaimed at San Francisco of saving "succeeding generations from the scourge of war" is completely fulfilled. The tragic events in the Middle East and the critical situation in southern Africa are a constant reminder of the fact that this effort must be continuous and unflagging.
144,	Nevertheless, it is discouraging that spiritual values are still failing to guide the world along a path which would lead to the elimination of hunger, violence and injustice.
145.	With the decline of colonialism in its traditional form, the problems of development became one of the key concerns of the system. In response to urgent needs, and to the actual precepts of the Charter whose Preamble includes the pledge "to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples, the United Nations is devoting increasing efforts to this task. A first stage, whose main feature was the identification of the problems and the formulation of the strategy for overcoming them, has slowed down after performing the crucial function of awakening the world's conscience to the problems of development and to their importance for the maintenance of international peace and security.
146,	Now, as is clearly evident from the conclusions of the sixth and seventh special sessions of the General Assembly, we are well into another stage which ought to be characterized by joint action to achieve a more equitable balance between the developed and the developing countries. It is here that most practical opportunities open up for the so frequently mentioned co-operation between Governments and peoples. It is here that the United Nations can also play a key role in reconciling and concording the legitimate interests and needs of both before the gap dividing them assumes dangerous proportions. It is here, finally, that.the real capacity of the Organization to conclude and implement comprehensive agreements reached through a genuine process of negotiation will be put to a severe test.
147.	Every success in this endeavor will set a meaningful course that may well promote consultations in other fields, such as disarmament, which continues to require urgent and categorical decisions. Despite the numerous resolutions adopted and the incessant urging of the great majority of countries, the armaments race has assumed steadily growing proportions both in terms of the astronomical budgets allocated to it and of the dangerous and sophisticated nature of the weapons themselves. The United Nations has exerted tremendous efforts, by all the means at its command, to check the pace of the competitive armaments race among the great Powers. Hence, it is the latter which must assume the essential responsibility of devoting greater efforts to achieve agreement on effective disarmament measures, giving priority to nuclear disarmament.
148.	The objective of the inescapable negotiation process to be faced and developed in economic relations and disarmament is to devise practical solutions to the global problems now confronting the international community, such as ensuring man's subsistence and guaranteeing his dignity and respect for his essential rights, the production and distribution of food, protection of the environment, the rational and balanced use of resources, population growth, the establishment of a legal regime for the sea, the use of outer space for peaceful purposes and for the benefit of mankind, the application of science and technology to development, trade, and the international monetary system: all these questions must be tackled and solved not by one nation or group of nations, however powerful they may be, but by the whole organized community.
149.	This brings us to a matter that attracts increasing attention, namely, interdependence. Only a relatively short time ago this was a topic deserving academic treatment in the same manner as any working hypothesis is analyzed. The circumstances that I have previously mentioned have radically changed this state of affairs. Nowadays the interdependence of nations and peoples is a fact allowing of no discussion. What can and must be discussed are the guidelines for achieving it, for determining the community of interests it involves and for reactivating the machinery that would foster better international co-operation while respecting and reconciling the identities of the different countries.
150.	Interdependence implies, first of all, recognition of the existence of different cultures, policies, ideologies, and legal and economic structures, it entails above all the obligation not to try to impose any system at the expense of another by force, by coercion or by any other form of outside intervention. Interdependence presupposes the sovereign equality of all States and their right to participate in the adoption of decisions that may affect their interests. Interdependence also means the need to conserve the resources of this planet, in order to guarantee our children and our neighbors' children a world worth living in. Interdependence is also the commitment by all States not to jeopardize unilaterally the biological and natural balance of an ecosystem by actions which might affect other countries.
151.	In this connexion I take the liberty of drawing attention to the permanent and effective action taken by various bodies of the United Nations system to ensure compliance with customary and positive norms pertaining to the environment and to improve them on a continuing basis.
152.	There is no doubt that the attitude of the permanent members of the Security Council had a categorical impact on the decisions adopted at San Francisco and, ultimately, on the shape that the Organization would take. The same can now be said regarding the vital questions of peace and war. But what is singularly striking is the ever-increasing role being played by all the other countries, large or small, strong or weak, in the shaping of world events. This growing strength which the great majority of States have been acquiring through their active presence on the international scene must be accompanied by a comparable degree of responsibility and maturity because, in the final analysis, this majority can benefit more from the United Nations in the furtherance of its rightful claims. It is not rash to state that the very existence of the Organization depends on that fact.
153.	The recent significant reduction in the tensions between the super-Powers, the crisis of colonialism and its immediate aftermath and the emergence of new independent countries on the international scene are contributing factors which must help to revitalize the United Nations so that, with renewed impetus, it becomes the forge in which the new formula of understanding are to be molded or, to use the words of the Charter, so that it serves as a center for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of. .. common ends".
154.	This difficult assignment is both urgent and possible. One prerequisite is the conviction that from confrontation no one will gain and all will suffer; that no sector can prosper in isolation, ignoring the legitimate demands of the rest; that, in order to reconcile conflicting interests and secure shared benefits, it is indispensable to act with realism and to make mutual concessions, especially for those better able to grant them.
155.	In some cases it is absolutely indispensable to define the feeling of the international community accurately in matters involving the protection of high moral values or principles that are fundamental for nations and peoples. There cannot and must not be any compromise when resolutions of this nature are adopted. Would it in any case be justified to soften the condemnation deserved by apartheid and all forms of racial discrimination, with the sole objective of getting the support of a few more countries for a draft resolution? To do so would mean evading a solemn responsibility and distorting the spirit of the Charter.
156.	There are areas in which the majorities, and, of course, the minorities, must show greater flexibility and willingness to compromise. I refer to those action-oriented areas in which the success or failure of a decision depends on the general will to carry it out. It cannot be claimed that certain sectors will docilely comply with resolutions of this kind if their opinions have not been sought or duly reflected in the texts prepared.
157.	In order to strengthen the role of the United Nations as an instrument of co-operation it is essential to reverse certain trends which militate against its authority, prestige and effectiveness. Without assigning priorities, I shall name some of them in order to emphasize the singular importance of the task: holding consultations and reaching agreements outside the Organization on essential matters such as peace, security and development when the interests of all Member States are at stake; failing to consider certain questions which are strictly within the competence of the United Nations-a salient example of this is the passivity so far shown towards the serious crisis afflicting Lebanon; applying selective and partial criteria, for political purposes that cannot be concealed, in judging actions and omissions with regard to some problems while ignoring similar situations in other countries; substituting procedural expedients of very doubtful legality for strict compliance with the Charter; ignoring the decisions adopted by the bodies of the system, a large number of which have not begun to be implemented, or obstructing international conferences convened to deal with specific items, by introducing political controversies which can only be analysed and settled by this General Assembly or the Security Council; stressing the importance of problems that are of unquestionable current interest or. of real or potential concern to all countries, while allowing sectional interpretations to intervene in the search for solutions,
158.	I must pause here to refer, in this context, to a tragic scourge afflicting the whole world, independently of ideologies and economic systems, namely, international terrorism.
159.	As a contribution to this Assembly, I wish to refer to our unhappy experience. Impelled by its nihilistic motives and in pursuit of its disruptive objectives, terrorism began to creep into our country through the cracks that the free operation of unwary democracy leaves open. The Argentine Government has therefore had to contend with intense and strongly entrenched terrorist activity. The cruelty with which the terrorists act and the suffering they have inflicted and are inflicting on the country are common knowledge. Personal security and the most elementary human rights are constantly threatened by indiscriminate terrorist action, It is obvious that the ultimate aim of the terrorist groups is to destroy the State and undermine the political institutions. My Government is resolutely and firmly determined to take whatever action the situation may dictate to maintain peace and security.
160.	Recently some international forums have been showing a dedicated concern for the exercise of human rights in Argentina. In these forums it is forgotten that the Argentine Republic has a tradition and well-deserved reputation as a country that respects the rights and fundamental freedoms of the human person and that it has been a pioneer in developing the right of asylum. Its population is composed of all those who came from other continents in search of peace and liberty, so necessary for the progress offered them under the system and the political organization oT our generous and open land without distinction as to nationality, race or creed. This is the political system which international terrorism is seeking to destroy in Argentina, invoking for the purpose alleged socio-political claims and the enjoyment of human rights.
161.	We Argentinians know that we live in a land of hope for the world; we know the rights we enjoy and we do not shirk our responsibilities vis-a-vis the just causes of mankind. My Government appeals in this honorable Assembly to the Member countries to take cognizance of the dangers which this scourge of the modern world creates for mankind, of the manifold and complex forms in which it manifests itself and operates in the different regions of the world. We realize that distance may make difficult the understanding of the true state of affairs, particularly when information does not reflect it objectively.
162.	In this endeavor, the mass media, which constitute an indivisible part of the international community, and therefore share the responsibility incumbent on all in the effort to create an ever-improving world, are called upon to play a fundamental role in presenting daily events with sincerity so as to provide the world with a true picture of the problems and of their magnitude and thus help solve them.
163, In his statement to this Assembly a few days ago [7th meeting], the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany, suggested that we should undertake a partial study of the matter regarding the taking of hostages for purposes of extortion. While we support this idea, we think it does not fully cover all the complex forms in which international terrorism manifests itself these days. We therefore consider that we should resume the work started by the Ad Hoc Committee on International Terrorism established by resolution 3034 (XXVII) of 18 December 1972, and try to reach an understanding of the broad and general context in which terrorism regularly and tragically appears, with a view to deciding, on the basis of consensus, what international action ought to be taken to solve the problem as a whole. We say this with all the deep conviction of people who are suffering its indiscriminate effects and consequences. We therefore cannot but join the Secretary-General in urging that once and for all the United Nations should address itself with determination to finding a solution to the tragic scourge of international terrorism.
164.	In addition to its universality aspect, Argentina's foreign policy has pursued, is pursuing and always will unswervingly pursue one mandatory concern, namely, America. One of the essential features of our international policy is the.priority we give to America, a priority which is subject to our respect for the principle of national sovereignty. This principle does not involve restrictions, but is on the contrary a clear premise for our firm advance towards continental union.
165.	The Argentine Republic pursues this objective consistently, following in a rational manner a geographical and historical plan that obliges it to phase its activities, which extend all the way from intensive trade with the countries sharing its borders to the continuing search for circumstances conducive to strengthening the bilateral and multilateral links in the region.
166.	We are stout defenders of peace in the continent based on mutual agreement aimed at progress and our contribution to this end is practical and specific. We know we are not alone in this endeavor, that American solidarity is a constantly improving reality and that the day is not far off when our geographical continuity will reflect an outlook based on liberty, democracy and human and community development.
167.	I also wish to reiterate, in this forum, my country's renewed commitment to the objectives of co-operation and physical integration on which the joint program of the Rio de la Plata basin has been and continues to be based. In this region, defined as such for its dependence on one hydrographic basin which is possibly one of the world's richest, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina continue to develop joint projects and enterprises both in the field of hydroelectrical power and in the planning of bridges, thoroughfares, roads and communications net-works, thus strengthening the links forged by the geography they share.
168.	Although differing opinion still exists as regards the best utilization of the resources shared by the region, we are convinced that a new spirit of co-operation will soon emerge for the purpose of carrying out all the scheduled projects on an equitable and rational basis. To that end my Government will take all the necessary steps to clear the way in the assurance that all the other nations of the basin will show a similar will for joint action. Our country has assigned special priority in its foreign policy to the integrated and joint development by all the countries of the Rio de la Plata basin and believes that co-operation in the region can develop on such a scale and acquire such a degree of exemplary effectiveness that its impact will spread to other areas of the world.
169.	With this knowledge and in the conviction that the water problems confronting my country today are of a universal nature, it is opportune that Argentina should have offered to be the venue of the United Nations Water Conference to be held at Mar del Plata in March 1977, in respect of which our Government has already committed itself. In this connexion, I wish to extend to all the countries and organizations here present the wannest of welcomes to Argentina. I am sure that this first international meeting on one of the world's most important resources will enable us to sharpen our critical awareness and at the same time nurture our hopes regarding the possibilities of international co-operation.
170.	The thoughts which I have had the privilege of expressing are motivated by the fervent desire to make a constructive contribution to the progress of our Organization.
171.	The Argentine Government wishes thus to affirm its deep-rooted faith in the United Nations, because it is completely convinced that this Organization is man's most consummate effort to build a future of peace and concord; because, with its long list of successes and mistakes, it is still the only effective means of establishing civilized norms for the coexistence of peoples; because, in it and thanks to it, Argentina has been able to extend its friendly relations to all countries of the world on a basis of mutual respect, thus fulfilling one of the basic precepts underlying its foreign policy; and, finally, because the triumph of the ideals that inspired its creation, with which we fully identify ourselves, is not just an option but a most categorical necessity if reason is to prevail over force, understanding over confrontation, and co-operation over selfishness.


Mr. President, as I join my voice to those of the distinguished speakers who preceded me in congratulating Mr. Amerasinghe on his election to the high office of President of the General Assembly, I do so, not merely to conform to standard General Assembly practice, commendable as it is, but also to pay a heartfelt and profound tribute to an outstanding statesman of great vision and comprehension of the contemporary world and, equally important, to one whose deep and innermost sense of moral values does not, however, detract from his objectivity and pragmatism. We are firmly convinced that, under his accomplished guidance, the work of the thirty-first session of the Assembly will be carried out with statesmanship and vision.
184.	I also wish to pay a tribute to his predecessor, Mr. Gaston Thorn, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, for the exemplary manner in which he presided over the work of the thirtieth session of the General Assembly.
185.	Jordan is happy to welcome to the United Nations its newest Member, the Republic of Seychelles, and wish it success and prosperity.
186.	A study of the agenda of the current session, which contains nearly 125 items, shows how monumental it is in scope, variety and magnitude. It is a true affirmation of how far the United Nations has come in its never-ending search for the emancipation and advancement of humanity in many fields.
187.	There are landmark achievements which have fundamentally transformed the political map of the the world and have restructured relations among nations, replacing a long and painful era of dominance and subjugation by one of liberation, independence and formal equality among nations. There still persist pockets of non-emancipation, injustice and aggression-relics of ages past. But it is, we are certain, a foregone conclusion that these pockets will wither away sooner rather than later and that the United Nations; with its unbending commitment to its Charter and its collective determination to abide by that Charter, will be a principal catalyst in achieving this goal.
188.	It would be an exercise in futility even to attempt in this relatively short address to tackle more than a few highlights of the issues which my Government deems of the utmost urgency for world peace and security, as well as for the fulfillment of the principles, purposes and ideals of the United Nations. The attainment, by and large, of the new international political order has now been complemented by concerted efforts towards achieving an equally equitable new economic order, in which formal equality is given substantive expression in the life of nations and of humanity at large. The desire for and achievement of sovereign national existence, formerly a final objective, are giving way to the stark realization of the imperatives of interdependence in a continually shrinking world.
189.	The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, in his exemplary introduction to his report on the work of the Organization [A/3111 /Add.l], has summed up and focused attention on the major areas of vJnited Nations achievements and concerns. In a balanced, sober and oftentimes critical appraisal, the Secretary- General has most ably alerted us to what was, what is and what ought to be if the willingness and the will are available to help us move forward towards the realities of a changing world.
190.	The overriding concern of humanity is the preservation of international peace and security, which in the nuclear age means nothing less than the survival of this earthly planet and its people. It goes without saying that Jordan, like other nations, rejoices in the continued preservation of the policy of detente and looks forward to its concrete institutionalization and expansion. Some cynics say that detente is the result of the "balance of terror" and the "balance of prudence". But regardless of the motivation, the policy of detente has spared humanity the certainty of its own global destruction.
191.	My delegation can only express the hope that the negative motives of. detente can be transformed so that there may be positive and constructive coexistence. That requires a "mutation of consciousness", so that aggressiveness may be replaced by friendship and understanding.
192.	World peace and security require the intensification of the current efforts in the field of disarmament, which, we must regretfully note, have been painfully slow and inconclusive. It is very difficult to assess the complex factors which, quantitatively or qualitatively, have blocked the achievement of progress in this field. The super-Powers long ago exceeded the levels of global over-kill. None the less, further success in controlled disarmament is symbolic of a healthy change in orientation, from resignation to the feasibility of war as an option to a firm determination that war shall never be an option.
193.	I would express my Government's hope that the realization that global war is impossible will not be supplanted by a tolerant attitude towards sub-global and regional wars, which, although they may not destroy the whole world, can bring great destruction and in the end can, even by accident, escalate and lead to doomsday.
194.	While I am speaking on this important subject, I should like to affirm once again my Government's support for the proposal that the Middle East should become a nuclear-weapon-free zone. But it must be emphasized that this proposal can have credibility and permanence only if it is accepted by all States in the area without exception. It is an open secret that Israel has subtly acknowledged its nuclear capability and has leaked information about its readiness to include that capability in its military arsenal and options. That is a dangerous situation, whose grotesque and far-reaching implications can hardly be over-emphasized, particularly at this crucial juncture when all States, large and small, are addressing their urgent attention to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. This is a situation in which the world cannot accept exceptions. This is a contagious, dangerous disease which must be promptly and firmly contained.
195.	It is now an accepted truism that international society, like any national society, cannot be sustained indefinitely in conditions where the world is divided between small islands of riches and affluence, and vast oceans of human poverty. The earlier optimism, of the 1950s and 1960s, when hopes hinged upon a gradual but imperative bridging of the gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots," is gone. The original gap seems to be widening today rather than narrowing and at an accelerated rate which only phenomenal technological breakthroughs are making possible. There is a growing realization that national efforts at economic and social betterment are wholly inadequate to remedy a situation whose seriousness is compounded as we enter the final quarter of this twentieth century. It was in recognition of that lamentable fact that the General Assembly, meeting in its sixth special session in 1974, issued a call for a new international economic order and later, at its regular session, adopted a Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States. Since then the forums of debate have proliferated and multiplied, which has been only natural in view of the complexities and wide-ranging dimensions of the issues involved.
196.	This year alone has witnessed five major conferences, not to mention more limited regional meetings, endeavoring to grapple with the ever-growing economic and social ills which afflict our contemporary world of interdependence. The law of the sea, the fourth session of UNCTAD, Habitat, the World Conference on Employment  and the recently concluded Conference on Economic Co-operation among Developing Countries in Mexico City are but highlights in the ongoing progress of collective co-operation. It was heartening that at the last-mentioned conference, in Mexico, a major key-stone was the emphasis on the concept of collective self-reliance. This is highly gratifying because the developing countries, with their deep sense of pride, would never wish to be in the position of coveting the riches of the more richly endowed or of queuing up to receive doles in the name of economic egalitarianism.
197.	Jordan endorses the proposal of Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, concerning the convening of a summit conference of developing countries, which was adopted in Mexico.
198.	There are historical circumstances, including colonialism and exploitation, and there is also the social and scientific gap. There are also the dwindling natural re-sources. All these factors make the developing countries remain backward when compared to developed countries. If those countries look forward to anything, it is to themselves planning and controlling their internal development. But it is clear that they need assistance in order that their development may be pursued seriously.
199.	The developing countries urgently need technology, education, experience and initial capital outlays, which are available to only a small number of countries. It is against this background that we are dismayed to read that, whereas close to $300 billion were spent on wasteful armaments last year alone, a mere $15 billion were spent in official aid for developing countries. The figures just cited show clearly that we are still in the embryonic stage of the drive to structure the new international economic order and that at this session and for decades to come the United Nations should give all its attention to the appalling inequities which afflict the world.
200.	The great continent of Africa is dear to our hearts not only because of the numerous cultural and historical ties which have bound the Arab world to the peoples of Africa since the dawn of recorded history but also because, like ourselves, the peoples of Africa have in the past been among those most maligned, exploited, colonized and discriminated against. We rejoice that Africa is once more master of its own destiny and a potent force in the family of nations. But there are still residues of resistance to the newly emerging world of freedom, dignity and common decency . South Africa stands condemned before the world as the standard-bearer of resistance to the newly born world order.
201.	First there is the situation in Namibia, where South Africa while feigning readiness to comply, continues to defy United Nations decisions to grant the Territory and its people their inalienable rights to freedom and independence, in its efforts to ward off the relentless pressure of the international community to make it comply fully with United Nations resolutions.
202.	Secondly, the long-overdue solution to the tense situation in Southern Rhodesia seems to have reached a turning-point in the direction of a peaceful solution, thanks to the courageous struggle of its people, the concerted efforts of the United Nations, and, latterly, the serious pressure the United States and Britain have exerted to bring about the long-sought solution. We look forward to removing the loop-holes which the leaders of Africa most directly concerned find unacceptable and to welcoming Zimbabwe to this Assembly in their near future.
203.	The policy of racial discrimination and apartheid in South Africa itself continues as an affront to the conscience of the civilized world. Its exclusive nature, identical with the exclusive nature of its counterpart, the Israeli system in the Middle East, is a blatant violation of everything the United Nations Stands for.
204.	At the outset of my discussion of the Middle East I cannot but express the most profound sorrow concerning the tragic events which at present afflict Lebanon and its inhabitants. Lebanon has always been and will continue to be a land of fraternity, tolerance, love and peace.
205.	We hope that the efforts which all parties concerned are at present exerting towards the restoration of peace, stability and tranquility to Lebanon will be concluded successfully within the framework of its national unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty so that it may resume its leading role in the contemporary.Arab renaissance.
206.	In discussing the intractable situation in the Middle East, by far the oldest item on our agenda, we find that it still seems the most unnameable to reasonable solution or even to any movement forward in that direction. On the contrary, any moves are in the direction of continual retrogression, as I shall explain later.
207.	No statement could with greater precision have described the situation in the Middle East today than the Declaration adopted by the Fifth Conference of non- aligned countries at their meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in the summer of this year. That is why I beg the Assembly's indulgence as I quote from that Declaration. It states:
"The Middle East situation continues to pose a grave threat to international peace and security. About nine years following its 1967 aggression, Israel continues to occupy Arab territories and violate the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people. The Israeli aggressors persist in their policy of expansion, annexation, mass expulsion and repression of the Arab population, in violation of the United Nations Charter and resolutions and the principles of humanitarianism and international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention. Moreover, Israel continues to establish settlements in the occupied Arab territories and take measures aiming at the alteration of the political, demographic and cultural features and religious character of Jerusalem and other occupied Arab territories." [A/31/197, annex I, para. ',0.]
208.	I may add on this occasion that I condemn the desecration of the Ibrahimi Mosque in recent years by the Israeli settlers, at a time when the occupying authorities were present and able to see all these desecrations.
209.	The Israeli authorities are indulging in these acts of spoliation, sequestration and plunder with a zeal and lust which surpasses their absorption of the territories which they occupied in 1948, both within and without the areas allotted to them by the United Nations. It is to them a race against time-a time when the world will have mustered the will and the courage to bring them to account. And when that time comes, they will answer: "But how can we change the new faits accomplis? "
210.	The Israelis have practically devoured the heartland of the occupied West Bank. The Jerusalem which they claim as wholly theirs, against the categorical and irrevocable will and decisions of the world community, has been so expanded in area that it now encompasses the outskirts of Bethlehem to the south, Ramallah to the north, the Nebi Sumwail to the west and the Khan el-Ahmar to the east. As the United Nations well knows, this has been done in violation of all its relevant resolutions, and all of you know that the greater part of the Jordan Valley, west of the River Jordan, has been largely confiscated from its legitimate farmers in the pretext of its being a military zone, which invariably means colonization by Israeli settlers. Even within the remaining hinterland, confiscations are being diligently carried out, often with official approval, and on many other occasions by groups which take the law into their own hands. Arab quarters and lands in Jerusalem, Nablus, Hebron, Jericho, Kofr Qaddum and many other locations throughout the length and breadth of the West Bank and Gaza -in themselves a mere one fifth of Mandated Palestine - are regarded by the Israeli occupation as attractive prey to its insatiable lust and ambition, with no regard whatsoever for the legitimate and elemental rights of their inhabitants.
211.	The peak of the tragedy of a decade of occupation, and its most grotesque manifestation, is the tragedy of the city of Jerusalem, which has befallen not only its inhabit-ants but also hundreds of millions of people, belonging to every race and creed throughout the world.
212.	How can the Israelis deny that Jerusalem has, throughout history, been the object of infinite veneration, worship and hope, not merely to themselves but to countless millions in the Muslim and Christian worlds, and indeed to mankind as a whole? For 1,4G0 years we have been the proud and faithful custodians of its uniquely universal and indestructible legacy and glory. How does Jerusalem stand today? It is being defaced and dismantled systematically beyond recognition. New structures have ringed the city on all sides, in violation of the norms which govern the status of ancient and historic cities- and, indeed, in violation of specific and categorical General Assembly and Security Council resolutions in this respect, which had reiterated that all Israeli actions in the city are totally invalid and should be revoked.
213.	It is inconceivable that the universal character of Jerusalem should be desecrated, compromised and emasculated by the exclusive claims to hegemony of Israeli occupation.
214.	I need hardly reiterate my Government's deepest concern and sorrow over the adamantly insoluble question of the Middle East and the fate of well over 3 million people of Palestine, who are at present divided between dispersal and suffering on the one hand, and occupation on the other. Their fate continues to be a deep wound in the minds and hearts of all humanity. My Government's most profound concern is understandable, considering that Jordan is so inextricably involved in the daily sufferings and. ordeals of this unending tragedy.
215.	The all-important quest for international peace and security is intimately related to this. The peace and stability of the Middle East as a region hinge upon the solution of this problem.
216.	My delegation finds no useful purpose in engaging in futile acrimonies which only serve to play into the hands of Israel in its present policy of ambivalence, deliberate procrastination and obstruction. What we most decidedly seek is movement-in deeds rather than words-towards an equitable and just solution. We do not share the prevailing view that the situation in the Middle East is in a state of stalemate and that, therefore, prompt action can be postponed to a more appropriate time. The truth is that there is no stalemate in the occupied territories that would permit postponement of speedy and decisive action.
217.	The valiant resistance of our people in the occupied territories, which has been sustained at great cost and sacrifice for so long, is a reflection of their firm belief that, if the present situation were allowed to continue for any additional length of time, their whole existence as a people would be placed in mortal jeopardy.
218.	Having posed some of the aspects of the Middle East crisis and the Palestinian tragedy, my Government urges, in the strongest possible terms, that the United Nations should, without any further delay, implement its resolutions pertaining to the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all territories occupied in 1967.
219.	Likewise, my Government urges that prompt and effective action should be taken by the United Nations concerning the implementation of the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people, including their natural right to repatriation, self-determination and sovereignty.
220.	To achieve these goals there must be movement to transform resolutions into concrete actions. The different avenues, procedures and modalities are mere means which should not block the road to achieving the end.
221.	In the meantime, and pending effective and practical steps, which it is empowered to carry out, and to which I have referred, the United Nations should reassert its demand that Israel desist forthwith from its present course of changing the status of the occupied Arab lands as a precondition to any viable, feasible and positive movement towards the desired solution.
222.	Let us hope that the General Assembly and the Security Council will, at long last, throw their full weight behind implementation of these resolutions in order to put an end to one of the most sordid, intractable and tragic issues which has haunted the world for almost three , consecutive decades.


It is with great pleasure that I join previous speakers in Congratulating Ambassador Amerasinghe most warmly on his election as President of this session of the General Assembly. The exceptional qualities of leadership and experience which he brings to his high office are well known to the international community. My Government is particularly grateful for the dedication, the experience and the tireless efforts which he has so amply displayed in his leadership of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. His election to the presidency of the General Assembly augurs well for the future work of this session, and is a tribute to the country which he has so ably represented in this hall. He can be assured of our fullest co-operation in his challenging task.
53.	Five years have elapsed since Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim was elected as the chief administrative officer of our Organization. I should like once more to express to the Secretary-General our deep-felt gratitude and appreciation for his ceaseless energy and dedication to the cause of peace and the promotion of international co-operation. His outstanding leadership qualities have enhanced the prestige of the United Nations and been a great asset to this Organization.
54.	The agenda of this session of the General Assembly contains many and important issues, such as disarmament, the situation in the Middle East, the conflicts of southern Africa and the whole complex of problems related to the search for a new international economic order-to mention just a few.
55.	We can approach these items from various angles, all relevant. One approach can be based on considerations of power politics: how will the way in which we attack or resolve a problem reflect or affect existing power relation-ships in the world?
56.	Another approach is to deal with these problems in a more functions! perspective, reflecting on how the process towards internationalization and interdependence are con-fronting us with an ever-increasing number of problems common to all countries, and which can be resolved only through concerted action.
57.	There is a third approach, however; one based on considerations of and concern for the peoples of the world, the situation of the human beings of whom these peoples consist. Nation States as well as international co-operation exist for the sake of the individual, and not the other way around. The rights of each individual, as they have been spelled out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, should therefore be the very basis of the work of the United Nations.
58.	Thus the international responsibility and international challenge confronting us are, firstly, to work to secure for each human being those basic political and civil rights which are today being violated in so many countries. Secondly, to safeguard individuals and groups of people against suppression and racial discrimination, practiced most flagrantly today in southern Africa. And thirdly, to protect each individual human being against hunger and want in a world where the gap between a rich minority and an impoverished majority is becoming increasingly wider.
59.	This will be my approach. My basis when I deal with some of the main items on our agenda is the responsibility that we all have for each other and for the peoples of this world.
60.	In the introduction to his report on the work of the Organization, the Secretary-General has reminded us once more that the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms is a primary goal of the United Nations.
61.	This year we have moved a little closer towards that goal with the entering into force of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The parties to the Covenants are now under more specific and binding obligations to observe human rights. Our objective must be universal acceptance of the Covenants.
62.	However, more than formal acceptance is needed. As Mr. Gaston Thorn stated when he presided over the opening meeting of the current session:
"As long as practical measures have not been taken in each of our States to respect, and to ensure respect, for the rights of each individual, our words, void of sense, will remain lies and hypocrisy". [ 1st meeting, para. 6.] .
63.	It is a regrettable fact that, in spite of solemn pledges, human rights are flagrantly being disregarded in many parts of the world, even in countries where the material and general social conditions should present no obstacle to their observance. Numerous reports from unbiased and reliable sources provide evidence of torture and other inhuman practices. This is intolerable. The international community has a collective responsibility to deal seriously with these matters.
64.	All implementation of legal norms require action. Each Government must seek actively to fulfill its obligations. The United Nations, for its part, must establish the organs and the procedures necessary to encourage Governments to act. My country therefore welcomes the establishment of the Human Rights Committee under the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We continue to support the work of the Commission on Human Rights, which is a central organ in the United Nations work for human rights and should focus its efforts on preventing and correcting violations of human rights, irrespective of where they occur. We also believe that the proposed office of a United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights could render valuable services in this respect. As an "ombudsman" for human rights, he might be able to survey the status of human rights all over the world, assist individuals and provide guidance to Governments in fulfilling their obligations.
65.	Acts of terrorism affecting innocent victims are also, regardless of their motivation, an intolerable form of violation of human rights. We have so far failed to establish effective procedures to deal with these problems. We must recognize that there is a need for the international community to take defensive measures against international terrorism before it will prove possible to solve the underlying causes. The problem of international terrorism is complex and manifold. We may therefore find it more productive to seek partial solutions aimed at protecting innocent victims. In this connexion, the Norwegian Government supports the idea put forward by the Federal Republic of Germany to seek an agreement outlawing the taking of hostages.
66.	One of the areas in the world in which human rights have long been systematically violated and ignored is southern Africa. The apartheid policy of South Africa, the white minority regime in Rhodesia and South Africa's illegal occupation of Namibia are all remnants of an outdated political and economic order.
67.	For years the prevailing situation has been an affront to the United Nations and to the international community, and time is now rapidly running out for peaceful solutions. Developments in southern Africa have entered a decisive phase. We all fear that developments in this area will end in tragedy and in a blood-bath.
68.	The Nordic Foreign Ministers, meeting recently, adopted a program of action with a view to stepping up their support for the liberation movements of southern Africa, and with parallel efforts to further isolate the white minority regimes of the area. This continues to be the policy of the Norwegian Government. In our view, world opinion, formulated in the main through resolutions of the United Nations, has been a decisive factor in shaping the developments now under way in southern Africa.
69.	A new element in the present situation is the important last-minute American initiative efforts which we are following with expectations and anxiety. It has given us a glimpse of hope that a bloody war can, in spite of all odds, be prevented and that a peaceful solution can be found. The white minority regime seems to have recognized for the first time that there exists no alternative to black majority rule. This recognition comes late, as we are confronting a very difficult and complex situation indeed. The proposals now put forward might require more patience and a greater readiness to compromise than may be left at this late hour. We still have, however, to embrace the hope that the efforts which we are now witnessing can prevent an all-out war with its tragic consequences and its dangerous implications for the world as a whole. In our view, the big Powers share a special responsibility. A solution of the outstanding problems in southern Africa requires their support and active participation. Their co-operation is, according to the United Nations Charter, a prerequisite for action by the Security Council. In the present situation it is of vital importance that the problems of southern Africa are not made part of the east-west conflict. The big Powers have a joint responsibility not to give these conflicts further international repercussions and to see to it that they do not develop into an increasingly serious threat to world peace.
70.	Human rights are more than legal instruments. Today we must apply an extended concept of human rights. This comprises basic security-the absence of social violence, in the form of war or civil strife; or the surrender of the social structure to disorder and chaos. Human rights also comprise satisfaction of the basic material needs of the ordinary person freedom from hunger and want. In this sense, the safeguarding of human rights on a global level depends on our ability to solve the problems which arise as part of the new international economic order.
71.	My Government is deeply concerned with the widening gap between the rich and the poor countries. We refuse to accept this trend ,as irreversible. We are determined to make our contribution, within the limitations placed on a small country, towards bridging that gap.
72.	We regard our commitment towards the new international economic order as a logical extension of the internal policy, pursued by successive Norwegian Governments at home, aiming at the implementation of an egalitarian concept of society. This was the basic underlying theme of a report on our over-all economic relations with the developing countries submitted by my Government to Parliament last year and adopted by an almost unanimous Parliament early this year. The report is based on a realization of the fact that a call for a new and more equitable international economic order has to be combined with calls for new national economic orders on both sides of the great economic divide.
73.	The Norwegian Government looked forward to the fourth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD] as an important milestone in the implementation process to follow the sixth and seventh special sessions of the General Assembly. We saw the fourth session of UNCTAD as a test case for the ability and readiness of the international community to respond in practical terms to policy guidelines hammered out in difficult but successful negotiations in this Assembly during the last two years.
74.	All the expectations of my Government were not fulfilled in Nairobi. Yet I think we can conclude that the fourth session meant a significant step forward. When the nations of the world agree unanimously on the need for an over-all approach, including an integrated program for commodities, and also agree on a concrete plan of implementation, this represents by itself substantial progress. The consensus of Nairobi is now committing us all. Challenging possibilities are contained in the resolution on that subject adopted during the fourth session.  If we succeed in implementing the main principles of an integrated program for commodities as intended, in which a common fund remains a main element, a more orderly functioning of a key sector in international economic relations will be secured. An integrated program for commodities will represent an important step on the way towards a better regulation of the international economy. It will entail a more stable situation in the field of raw materials. This will be of benefit to all of us but above all to producers of raw materials among the developing countries. The Norwegian Government will work actively for the following up of the. resolutions adopted at the fourth session of UNCTAD. If our countries do not succeed, this will represent a grave defeat for all of us who are looking forward to seeing a better controlled and regulated world economy emerge.
75.	Politics is mainly a question of setting priorities. Good politics is to get one's priorities right. Here a world which is annually spending $300 billion on armaments, while the net flow of official development assistance amounts to only some $15 billion, has still a long way to go. Even the most superficial look at the world of ours must make it clear to any reflective human being that the priority of the hour should be the needs of the poor. It may give us some satisfaction that at the sixth and seventh special sessions of the General Assembly the needs of the developing countries have been the main focus. The same is true of the many ad hoc conferences of the United Nations on such problems as population, food, human settlements and employment. That goes for the fourth session of UNCTAD as well. This is an indication of a world community-and a United Nations system-on the way towards getting its priorities right. But here again the crucial requirement is that of implementation. It is our joint responsibility to prevent future generations from passing the following judgment on the efforts of our generation: that never in human history have so many negotiated over so much with such meager results. Thus I will make this appeal to the industrialized countries, of which Norway is one: let us through concerted action come to the effective assistance of the developing countries by meeting their legitimate aspirations for a more equitable world order.
76.	It goes without saying that, in order to come to grips with problems like mass poverty in the world, the crises of population growth and mounting unemployment, such far-reaching and basic reforms are needed that nothing short of a new international economic order can be the ensuing result. However, having stated this, I should also like to state that it is urgently necessary that we give consideration to the structural and institutional aspects of this new international economic order.
77.	I do not in any way want to distract attention from the problems of substance; but, even if it were to prove possible to mobilize the necessary political will to meet many of the aspirations of the developing countries, we should soon be faced with organizational and institutional shortcomings. The world community of today is far from having developed the necessary institutional framework. For that reason we welcomed the decision by the seventh special session to establish an Ad Hoc Committee on the Restructuring of the Economic and Social Sectors of the United Nations System.
78.	We fully realize that the Committee is facing a difficult task. We would only be fooling ourselves if we were to close our eyes to the fact that vested interests also have developed inside the United Nations system. Thus my Government is not discouraged by the slow progress made so far in the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on Restructuring; but evidently more political backing is called for to prevent this important work from ending in frustration. The Committee has a very broad mandate and has itself identified certain priority areas. Perhaps even this program is too ambitious if we want to see concrete results within the foreseeable future. My Government would like the Committee to single out the Economic and Social Council as the priority area. An Economic and Social Council restructured along lines on which I understand there is already a high degree of agreement inside the Committee would be in a position to discharge its duties under the Charter much more effectively and would itself be able to play a main role in a wider restructuring of the system. Thus concrete action in this field should not have to be delayed till agreement has been reached in all the fields covered by the broad mandate of the Committee.
79.	I have dealt with the problems of restructuring the economic and social sectors of the United Nations at such a length for two main reasons: first, because I am convinced of the necessity of substantially expanding and improving our means and instruments of international co-operation and, secondly, because my Government wants to see the United Nations system playing a central role in the process leading to the development of a new international economic order. The United Nations system should not only be prepared to adjust to change but should itself be an instrument of change.
80.	There is a need for a rationalization of the work of existing international organizations. There is also a need for such changes in existing institutions and organizations as would make them more capable of coping with the distributive aspects and in this way better reflect basic changes which have taken place in the composition of the world community over recent years. However, there is also a need for new institutions and organizations, and this leads me to the final matter on which I should like to comment, namely, the Conference on the Law of the Sea.
81.	The fifth session of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea was concluded two weeks ago. My country regrets that greater progress was not made at that session. We note, however, that during the past year the Conference in fact achieved a large measure of agreement in highly important fields. Virtual consensus appears to exist on such major issues as a 12-mile limit for the territorial sea, the sovereign rights of coastal States to the resources of an economic zone of 200 miles, freedom of navigation and rules for the prevention of marine pollution.
82.	The widest disparity of views concerns the international sea-bed area and the common heritage of mankind. Those problems are new, important and complicated. But it is imperative to avoid an uncontrolled race for exploitation contrary to the spirit of the declaration of principles adopted by the General Assembly in 1970. An effective international authority is indispensable if the concept of the common heritage is to become a reality. There is a close connexion between sea-bed mineral mining and general economic issues. The regulation of production and marketing is related to the new international economic order. We must therefore regard the Conference on the Law of the Sea in a broader perspective than before. This will be an important perhaps the most important element in the next, decisive session of the Conference. My country will approach that issue with an open mind. We must all be prepared to avoid dogmatism and insistence on prior positions.
83.	The views of my Government on that Conference are well known, and so is the high priority which it has been accorded. We thus fully subscribe to the assessment made by the President of the Assembly in his acceptance speech last Tuesday [1st meeting] when he stated that this co-operative endeavor is without parallel in history. We, too, feel that a universally acceptable agreement assuring all countries, rich and poor alike, an equitable share would be an outstanding contribution to the just and stable economic and political order which the United Nations is striving to create.
84.	It is the recognition of this fact which has guided Norway's participation during the sessions already concluded; and, based on that recognition, my Government will lend its full support to efforts aimed at leading the Conference to a successful conclusion.


First of all, Mr. President, I should like on behalf of the Albanian delegation to express to you our warmest congratulations on your election as President of the General Assembly at this session.
84.	During the period that has passed since the last session of the General Assembly of the United Nations many events have taken place in the world which bear witness to the continuing aggravation of contradictions and confrontation which exists between peace-loving people on the one hand and imperialism and the forces of reaction on the other.
85.	Peace-loving countries and peoples are continually aware of the fact that it is only with a resolute struggle that they can defend their freedom, independence and sovereign rights. They are strongly opposed to imperialism, hegemonism, colonialism and neo-colonialism. In various parts of the world the people who are suffering from imperialist exploitation, colonial oppression and racial discrimination are fighting for national and social liberation. The determination of sovereign States to strengthen their political and economic independence and to ensure their free and independent development has increased. The developing countries are making their voices heard ever more courageously or the important problems of our time. International solidarity is increasing among those countries that are fighting for freedom, among those countries who are victims of aggression and are constantly threatened by the policies of hegemony of the two super-Powers and the forces of reaction.
86.	However, in spite of the important victories of sovereign peoples and States and the successive defeats of the imperialist forces and other forces of reaction, the situation in the world remains explosive and complicated. Many dangers pose a threat to the peoples, world peace and general security. A number of important international problems have not yet been solved. There are still crises and sources of tension in various areas, and new conflicts are added to old ones. Many countries and peoples are still victims of foreign political, economic and military domination, of imperialist, colonialist and neo-colonialist exploitation and the ferocious forms of racial discrimination and brutal interference in their internal affairs. The economic and financial crises of the capitalist countries dominated by the new revisionist bourgeoisie are increasing. The burden of this crisis is very great on the workers of many countries who are directly concerned, and this is especially true in many developing countries. The aggravation of this crisis is accompanied by a continuing aggravation of the political, economic and military contradictions at the international level, and they create serious possible sources of war, aggression and major conflagration.
87.	The primary source of all the dangers which threaten the people of the world and cause tension and insecurity in the world is the hegemonist aggressive policies of American imperialists and Soviet social-imperialists. The development of events, the complicated situation in Europe and the Middle East, the tragedy in Lebanon, the crimes perpetrated against the Palestinian people, the tense situation in Cyprus and the growth of tension in the Mediterranean and conflicts and quarrels in Africa and other parts of the world show that the two imperialist super-Powers are constantly intensifying their rivalry to dominate the world, to preserve their zones of influence and to maintain areas where there are now sovereign States. The United States and the Soviet Union are trying to camouflage their policies of war and aggression, their methods of violence and blackmail by making a great deal of demagogic noise about "detente", about their "good intentions", about their "efforts" to contribute to the settlement of world problems, to contribute to the establishment of peace and general security and so forth. The two super-Powers speak a good deal about disarmament, about the reduction of military forces. They have much to say about the farce of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, about the Vienna talks and about many other proposals from conferences and international meetings devoted to these subjects. At the same time, though, they obstinately pursue the unbridled armaments race. They increase their arsenals. They perfect their weapons, outrageously increase their military budgets and cover the world with their naval fleets and air forces, their military bases and their troops. The Soviet Union and the United States have become the largest purveyors of weapons that history has known. They have sold colossal quantities of weapons to suck the blood of the peoples of the world and to encourage other countries to wage war; at the same time, they do not hesitate to produce for themselves new modern weapons to preserve their superiority in this area and to implement their policies of aggression and hegemony.
88.	There is no continent or zone in the world where the two imperialist super-Powers have not made their presence felt. There is no conflict nor source of difficulty that they are not involved in. There is no important international problem where they do not try to play the role of arbiter and impose their will.
89.	Many fine phrases have been devoted to the results of the conference on so-called European security, and that in spite of the hesitations and skepticism of the participating countries. Those results have been considered as the "beginning of a new period of peace in Europe". Life has shown, though, that the first anniversary of that conference has been celebrated without glory. As could be expected, what had been signed at the conference has remained on paper; nothing, in fact, has been implemented. Nothing has been put into effect, because everything had been worked out disregarding European reality.
90.	In Europe after Helsinki the' dangers for national independence and the security of the European peoples have not decreased but in fact have increased. Insecurity has increased. The military bases of the two super-Powers and the aggressive military blocs of NATO and the Warsaw Pact have remained intact. Each of the two super-Powers, claiming that there is a need to defend itself against the other and to maintain balance, has redoubled its efforts to create new bases to strengthen its aggressive bloc, and at the same time they have endeavored to enlist other States. The military maneuvers of NATO and the Warsaw Pact have become more frequent and more threatening. The military maneuvers of the imperialist Powers have always been a prelude to aggression. It is pure illusion and even a dangerous one to think that it is enough to implement the Helsinki decisions on the prior announcement of these maneuvers and the sending of observers for the danger to be  induced and for there to be no longer any danger of war and aggression.
91.	There is no need for us to dwell on this undeniable truth, that the demagogic noise of the two super-Powers on the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe is nothing but an attempt to subjugate the European people, to lull them to sleep, to create further possibilities for imposing their will in Europe. Even before the ink on the Helsinki documents had dried the two super-Powers once again proclaimed their reactionary doctrines of dividing Europe into zones of influence.
92.	The position of the People's Republic of Albania on the question of European security is well known. The Albanian delegation wishes once again to stress that genuine peace and security in Europe cannot be brought about unless there is effective action to do away with the dangers for the people of Europe of the aggressive policies of the two super-Powers and to modify the existing situation in that continent. Firstly, that requires the liquidation of the aggressive blocs of NATO and the Warsaw Pact. It requires the withdrawal of American and Soviet troops from the territories of European countries, the dismantling of all the military bases of the two super-Powers, a ban on their military maneuvers near the borders of sovereign European countries and the departure of war fleets from the Mediterranean. Any illusions regarding the value of the decisions adopted in Helsinki, far from serving the cause of European peace and security will be taken advantage of by the two super-Powers to the detriment of the vital interests of the peoples of Europe.
93.	The two super-Powers and other reactionary forces have also striven to exploit propaganda about detente and the documents and the spirit of the Conference on European security as a means of making people forget a number of questions that have been awaiting a solution since the end of the Second World War and to deny the right of the European peoples to demand a settlement of these questions.
94.	The Federal Republic of Germany, inter alia, is trying to take advantage of this situation. Using the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union it is trying to assert itself as a Power of the first rank in Europe. The support and constant encouragement that it gets from the United States and the repeated concessions from the socio-imperialist Soviet Union have only served to en-courage revanchist tendencies in the Federal Republic of Germany. The successive Governments of this country have intensified from year to year their efforts to have the Federal Republic of Germany go down in history without having discharged its obligations as a conquered country in the Second World War after the crushing of Hitler's Nazism by the peoples of the anti-Fascist coalition.
95.	The Government of Albania on a number of occasions in many documents has clearly defined its views on this question and three years ago we stated our views on this question in the General Assembly when the two German States were accepted as Members of the United Nations. The delegation of Albania believes that it is necessary once again to say that the Federal Republic of Germany has major obligations and great debts to the Albanian people for its innumerable barbaric crimes and the damage and devastation caused by the Nazis in Albania during the Second World War.
96.	The Government of the People's Republic of Albania recently made a request to the Federal Republic of Germany for war reparations. The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany has not taken any measures to satisfy the rights of the People's Republic of Albania regarding the question of war reparations but has put forward justifications which are completely unfounded to deny us our rights. That is an attitude which is hostile toward our people and which reminds us of the cruelty and killing of German Nazis during the Second World War in Albania. By pursuing this course of action the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany is only assuming an even heavier responsibility.
97.	The People's Republic of Albania will never give up its legitimate claims, which cannot be denied and which are permanent. On no pretext can the Federal Republic of Germany avoid its responsibilities and be freed of its obligations. The Albanian delegation declares that the only just and acceptable way to settle this problem is for the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany to reconsider its position and to begin to pay Albania the war reparations which are our due.
98.	The considerable increase in the intensification of the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union for the expansion of hegemony in the Mediterranean makes the situation particularly tense in that part of the world. This year the two super-Powers have in an unprecedented manner increased their war fleets with new aircraft carriers and cruisers, with nuclear submarines and a number of major troop-carrying vessels. The new provocative and threatening maneuvers of these fleets throughout the Mediterranean bear witness to the policies of blackmail which the two super-Powers have been pursuing to frighten and break the will of the peoples of the Mediterranean countries. High-ranking admirals and military men of the two super-Powers have visited a number of the Mediterranean countries, and American and Soviet war vessels under the cover of friendly visits have been entering and leaving a number of ports in the Mediterranean and have tried to remain at anchor as long as possible. And those ports have practically become permanent bases for mooring and resupply. Today there can be no illusions about why the two super-Powers' fleets are in the waters and ports of the Mediterranean and what their designs there are. The just action taken this year by the Egyptian Government, which drove from the ports of Egypt the war vessels of the Soviet social-imperialists, once again confirms that the war fleets of the two super-Powers, even when they arrive in a country allegedly to bring assistance and with friendly purposes, become a constant danger for the freedom and independence of the countries where they are found and other neighboring countries.
99.	The Mediterranean belongs to the Mediterranean countries, and the people of those countries want that sea to become a zone of peace and tranquility. The Government of Albania has stated its view publicly that to achieve that goal it is necessary for each Mediterranean country resolutely to oppose the aggressive policies of the United States and the Soviet Union. The countries where those two super-Powers have established their military bases must see to it that they are liquidated and that no port facilities are given to American and Soviet fleets. Comrade Enver Hoxha, the leader of the Albanian people, has stated:
"No pretext is valid when it is used to make it possible for the fleets of the two super-Powers not only to have permanent bases but also to moor, to make repairs and to obtain supplies. That is very dangerous not only for the countries making those concessions but also for their neighbors. We cannot agree with anyone regarding those practices,"
The visits of American and Soviet war vessels in the ports of the Mediterranean are in no way friendly visits. They are but an expression of gunboat diplomacy. What kind of friendship is it when the so-called friend comes to you armed to the teeth with guns and weapons and ready to open fire?
100.	Nor is there peace and tranquility in the Balkan Peninsula, and that is due primarily to the policies of hegemony of the United States and the Soviet Union in that part of the world. Those countries have sought to interfere in the internal affairs of the Balkan countries. They have tried to cause conflict there and to pit the people of that part of the world against each other. That situation gives rise to legitimate concern on the part of the Balkan peoples. The higher interests and lofty aspirations of those peoples who wish to be free and sovereign people living in peace and with friendly relations require that there should be resolute opposition to interference in the internal affairs on the part of the two super-Powers, which must not be allowed to trouble the waters of the Balkans and to use one Balkan country as a beach-head and as a tool for their policies of aggression.
101.	The People's Republic of Albania has been consistently pursuing a policy of good-neighborliness with countries near ours and we have not spared any effort to contribute to genuine peace and stability in the Balkans. Through our concrete actions we have shown that we have not permitted and indeed will never permit the peoples of neighboring countries and other Balkan peoples to be the victims of any wrongs on our territory.
102.	The Government of the People's Republic of Albania appreciates all sincere efforts to bring about understanding and co-operation of a genuine kind in the Balkans and, on the basis of the present situation in the Balkans, we have openly expressed our views on what course of action should be followed precisely in order to bring about that comprehension and co-operation. Our view basically is that at the present time it is through the development of relations among the countries of the Balkans by bilateral means and within the spirit of a policy of good-neighborliness that the aspirations of the peoples of this peninsula can best be met.
103.	A just settlement of the problem of Cyprus is of particular importance for peace and stability in the Balkans and in neighboring areas. The Albanian Government has always been in favor of the existence of a free and independent State of Cyprus. We have always supported respect for its sovereignty and territorial integrity and a settlement of the problem of Cyprus by the two communities of the island, who should live in harmony and understanding. We are opposed to any intervention on the part of the imperialist Powers in the internal affairs of Cyprus and we are opposed to the plans and intrigues of the United States and the Soviet Union to exploit the question of Cyprus for their own policies of hegemony.
104.	The events which have taken place this year in the Middle East have had the effect of aggravating and further complicating the already explosive and dangerous situation in that part of the world as a result of the imperialist Zionist aggression against the Arab people. The events that have taken place there confirm once again that the two super-Powers and Israeli Zionists have never abandoned and indeed never will abandon their hostile plans against the Arab countries. At present one may see particularly clearly that American diplomacy and "step-by-step" diplomacy there and the demagoguery of the Soviet socialist- imperialists at the Geneva Conference, the hypocritical smiles and promises of friendship on the part of the two super-Powers toward the Arab countries have been nothing but a smoke-screen to camouflage their rivalry in the Middle East, to cover up their efforts to undermine the positions of others and to plot intrigue against the Arab peoples.
105.	The clearest example of the harmful consequences of their deeds is today the tragedy in Lebanon. The fratricidal war which has been raging for the past few months in
Lebanon and has caused many human victims and incalculable material damage is not the result of the special political and social conditions in the country but is indeed the work of the two imperialist super-Powers and Israel. They have provoked and have indeed cultivated the armed conflict in Lebanon in order to destroy the liberation movement of the Palestinian people and to liquidate the Palestinian question, to divide the Arab people, to bring about war among them and to prevent them from uniting their forces on the main war front to liberate the lands held by the Israeli Zionists and to drive the two super-Powers from the Middle East. The Israeli Zionists are indeed pleased to see the camps of the Palestinians and the cities and towns of Lebanon becoming battlefields for the Arabs and with their typical arrogance they have not failed to threaten the Arab people with new aggression and to undertake themselves acts of aggression and terrorism in the very heart of Africa thousands of kilometers away.
106.	It is not the first time that the Palestinian people have been the object of odious attacks and machinations on the part of imperialist Zionist and Arab reactionary enemies who wish to deny their rights, leaving them without a homeland for ever. But the Palestinian people are with standing these difficulties and they will not be deterred from their struggle for their rights, nor will they ever fall into the traps that have been laid for them. The just cause of the Palestinian people is one that has been supported and upheld by all the peace-loving peoples of the entire world, who condemn those who would subject them through arms or drive a knife into their backs.
107.	As they fan the flames in Lebanon the two imperialist super-Powers are also intensifying their efforts to cause conflict and contradictions among other Arab States, to create difficulties and internal difficulties in one country and then in another according to the theory "divide and conquer".
108.	In the face of all these dangers the Arab people now fully realize that their unity must be strengthened and that they must fight with resolution for the restoration of their national rights. The Albanian people strongly support, as indeed they always have done, the just struggle of their Arab brothers and they condemn the Zionist imperialist aggression and all hostile activities and plots against the Palestinian people.
109.	The year 1976 has also marked the intensification of rivalry among the two super-Powers in Africa. Their intervention in the internal affairs of the sovereign States of Africa intrigues to sow the seeds of discord and undermine African unity, have had the effect of aggravating certain conflicts and sources of tension. They tried to cover up their activities with demagoguery and noisy promises. The high officials of the American administration who have been traveling throughout Africa in all directions and who are planning to pursue their ill-fated "step-by-step diplomacy" in that part of the world too swear that the United States will put pressure on the racist regimes of Salisbury and Pretoria. But it is well known that they are the most ardent defenders of those racist regimes and that they are the enemies of the liberation struggle of the peoples of Namibia, Azania and Zimbabwe against racial discrimination, apartheid, colonialism and neo-colonialism. The Soviet social imperialists for their part have posed as the "natural allies" of the liberation movements and of the independent African countries and have promised "assistance". They have offered "advisers" and "specialists", in order politically, economically and even militarily to penetrate in the largest possible number of African countries.
110.	The African peoples from their long experience and their long struggle for freedom and independence against imperialism and colonialism are familiar with the flattery and promises of the imperialist Powers. They have had many opportunities to understand the designs of the neo-colonialists and the super-Powers on the African continent. The Albanian people welcome and support the liberation struggle of the peoples of Zimbabwe, Azania and Namibia. They are convinced that the peoples in the sovereign States of Africa will fight resolutely against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism and racism and are convinced that they will defend their national interests and that they will resolve the problems which are of concern to their continent.
111.	The Korean peninsula has been and remains a source of tension and a threat to peace and stability in the Far East as a result of the aggressive policies of the American imperialists which have long been pursued against the Korean people, as a result of the maintenance of American occupying troops in South Korea and the provocation and warlike action of the United States and their puppets in Seoul against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The United States, acting against the will and legitimate aspirations of the people of Korea, continues to undermine a possible just settlement of the Korean problem. It has done its utmost to prevent the reunification of the nation of Korea in a single State and to pursue its "two Koreas" plan.
112.	The Albanian people and their Government denounce the aggressive policies of American imperialism against the Korean people and denounce their provocations against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. They support the just demands of the Korean people that American troops should be withdrawn from South Korea and that the so-called United Nations Command in Korea should be dissolved, and the right of the Korean people to the independent reunification of the country without foreign interference.
113.	The Albanian people welcome the success of the developing countries and peoples in their struggle to put an end to the plundering and exploitation of the two super-Powers and other imperialist Powers. We support the just demands of those countries that the existing system of exploitation in international economic and trade relations should be changed. We support their efforts to strengthen their political and economic independence and their measures to establish their own control and national sovereignty over their natural wealth and natural resources and we support their free and independent development. Naturally the imperialist Powers are not very pleased with the demands of the developing countries. Time has shown that they obstinately sabotage the efforts of those countries and that they bring pressure to bear and use blackmail in the form of assistance and credits to preserve their position and their ability to plunder and exploit others throughout the world. But the peoples of the world will fight against imperialist exploitation and oppression. They will continually strengthen their mutual co-operation, unity and solidarity. The just struggle of the democratic and progressive sovereign peoples and States of the world for their defense and freedom, independence and sovereignty is supported by the People's Republic of China, a powerful socialist State and a resolute fighter against the aggressive policies of hegemony of the two imperialist super-Powers.
114.	The year 1976 is a year that has been filled with events of political, social and economic importance for the People's Republic of Albania. The Seventh. Congress of the Labor Party of Albania, which will be held in November and which coincides with the celebration of another great event, the thirty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the Labor Party of Albania, will draw up the balance-sheet of the success achieved in building socialism in all fields in Albania and will open up still greater prospects for the future of the Albanian people.
115.	The fifth five-year plan, 1971-1975, has been an important stride forward in the building of socialist society in Albania. There has been great success in strengthening the material and technical base of socialism and we are continually raising the living standards of the working masses and strengthening the defense of our country. Our country's economy is on a sound, solid basis and we know neither stagnation nor crises. During the fifth five-year plan the social product, the national income and industrial production and agricultural production and investment have increased two or three times faster than the population. Industrial production in 1975 was 52 per cent higher than in 1970. Agricultural production increased 33 per cent, investments for development in the economy in-creased 53 per cent. During the same period the national income increased 38 per cent. The real per capita income in cities increased 8 per cent and in the countryside 20.3 per cent.
116.	The sixth five-year plan for the period 1976-1980 will represent a new phase of economic and cultural progress. During that period it is planned that there will be an industrial production increase of about 41-44 per cent, an agricultural production increase of about 37-40 per cent and an investment increase of 35-38 per cent. National income will show an increase of 3840 per cent, whereas real per capita income will show an increase of 11-14 per cent.
117.	The debate among the masses for a new constitution for the socialist People's Republic of Albania has created a new and exciting atmosphere. This document is of particular importance to the present and future of the people of Albania, and it reflects the major victories and radical transformations of a political and economic and social nature which have taken place in socialist Albania under the aegis of the Labor Party of Albania and under the leadership of Comrade Enver Hoxha and establishes a new foundation for continuing and irresistible progress along the path of socialism.
118.	The draft for the new constitution reflects the principles of the foreign policy of Albania, which are the policies of a free and independent socialist State serving the interests of the people and building socialism in Albania, serving the interests of people and international peace and security. The draft constitution clearly establishes that the socialist People's Republic of Albania follows a policy of friendship, co-operation and mutual assistance with the socialist States on the basis of Marxist-Leninism and proletarian internationalism. We are for peace and relations of good-neighborliness with all States on the basis of equality, respect for national sovereignty, non-interference in the internal affairs of others and mutual advantage. We are firmly opposed to any form of imperialist aggression, to all forms of colonial exploitation, hegemony and diktat. We are opposed to all forms of national oppression and racial discrimination. On the basis of the principle of the full exercise of national sovereignty, the draft constitution places a ban on the establishment of foreign military bases and forces on the territory of Albania.
119.	In conclusion, the delegation of Albania declares that, once again at this session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, we will spare no effort to make a modest contribution to the consideration of the various items on the agenda.