27.	On behalf of the Norwegian delegation I have the honour to extend to Mr. Leopoldo Benites our best congratulations upon his election as President of this Assembly. I can assure him of the full co-operation of my delegation in his important task.
28.	We are meeting at a time when international relations are marked by a general trend towards rapprochement and detente. As a result of this process of detente and normalization this Assembly has just welcomed the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic as full Members of the United Nations. I should like to join the preceding speakers in expressing my Government's satisfaction that the two German States and the Bahamas will now participate fully in the work of our Organization.
29.	The process towards normalization and detente has been particularly encouraging in East-West relations. Global as well as European trends, great-Power interests as well as European aspirations, have interacted to prepare the ground for taking up unsolved questions through talks in different forums and on different levels. The rapprochement between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Quadripartite Agreement on Berlin and the treaties between the Federal Republic of Germany and States of Eastern Europe represent particularly valuable contributions to the process towards normalization of relations and relaxation of tension in Europe.
30.	The Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe is a further confirmation that this positive process is continuing. My Government considers it particularly important that that Conference should enable all interested States in the region, large or small, to engage themselves actively in the work for relaxation of tension and for security and co-operation. We view the Conference not as an end in itself but as an important opening up of a new multilateral phase of East-West negotiations which we sincerely hope will progressively lead to more stable and co-operative relationships in Europe.
31.	The process of detente in Europe is, however, only in its first stages. It has not so far had any direct effect on the high level of armaments, nor has it brought a solution to the underlying causes of conflict. Determination and strong political will indeed will be needed to carry forward the trend toward security and cooperation. There is a close relationship between political detente on the one hand and concrete measures for arms control and disarmament on the other. The Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe and the forthcoming negotiations on force reductions in Central Europe represent important steps in the right direction. My Government fully and actively supports those steps.
32.	As to the broader question of the need for further efforts for arms control and disarmament, my delegation will at a later stage give a comprehensive presentation of Norwegian views on those vital issues. On this occasion I shall confine myself to underlining the importance which my Government attaches to the necessity of associating all States-and particularly all nuclear-weapon States-in both current and future negotiations on arms control and disarmament.
33.	Reverting to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, my Government has repeatedly stated that the Conference should base itself on a generous and outward-looking philosophy and should see to it that the increased co-operation between the States participating in the Conference will also benefit the developing countries and the world community. It is my conviction that it is in the best interest of Europe and the world at large that the process which has been started in Europe should continue. It is my sincere hope that this process might serve as an example and contribute to more stable relationships, increased security and more comprehensive co-operation between all States represented here.
3A. Unfortunately, those general trends towards detente and rapprochement are not reflected in all parts of the world. Today, at the sixth General Assembly since the six-day war, my Government strongly regrets that the situation in the Middle East has not yet been brought nearer to a peaceful solution. The international community should not allow this rather dangerous state of affairs to persist. We should all urge the parties directly concerned and the great Powers, which all have a special responsibility, to exert every possible effort in order to break the present deadlock and move towards a comprehensive solution, as anticipated in Security Council resolution 242(1967). My Government holds the opinion that the basic principles contained in that resolution still constitute the best basis for a lasting and just peace in the region; that the acquisition of territory by war cannot be accepted; that every State in the area should have the right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries; and that due regard must be paid to the rights of the Palestinians.
35.	While dealing with the situation in the Middle East I should like also to pay a tribute to the work done by the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency [UNRWA] and his staff. It is important that all Member countries now contribute towards providing UNRWA with a more solid financial basis for its work, which is important not only from a humanitarian point of view but also in a political context. In Norway, we attach special importance to the forward-looking aspects of its work, particularly in the field of education.
36.	Turning now to South-East Asia, my Government is deeply, disappointed that, despite the agreements reached, the parties to the conflicts in Indo-China have not yet created conditions which would secure the rights of the Indo-Chinese peoples to determine freely their own future. It is imperative that further efforts be made towards that aim. The uncertain destiny of the civilian political prisoners should be of deep concern to all of us. For humanitarian reasons we urge that all prisoners now be released and repatriated according to their free will.
37.	The situation in southern Africa, where still large parts of the African population are denied their inalienable right to self-determination and independence, is another discouraging aspect of the present world situation.
38.	In April this year Norway had the privilege of being host to the International Conference of Experts for the Support of Victims of Colonialism and Apartheid in Southern Africa, held at Oslo, and arranged jointly by the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity. The Conference itself did not formulate any formal recommendations, but it highlighted a number of proposals for a comprehensive plan of action for solving the problems of southern Africa. Those proposals will be before the General Assembly at this session. We hope that the Assembly will welcome the report from the Oslo Conference, and consider it in a positive way. The Norwegian delegation will participate fully in the following up of the Conference in a realistic and constructive manner.
39.	My Government's general position as regards the problems of southern Africa is well known. We will continue to support the oppressed peoples who are struggling for independence, self-determination and liberation. Our humanitarian and other forms of economic aid to the liberation movements recognized by the Organization of African Unity will be increased.
40.	In line with the general principles guiding our foreign policy, we should have preferred to see the process of
liberation of southern Africa taking peaceful forms through negotiations. We realize, however, that when one of the parties refuses persistently to negotiate, the possibilities for peaceful change are frustrated, and sooner or later armed struggle becomes inevitable. In cases where channels for negotiations are still open and available we would, therefore, strongly recommend that these be used before it is too late.
41.	World opinion has been appalled by recent reports of atrocities committed by Portuguese forces in Mozambique. My Government deeply regrets that the Portuguese Government has rejected suggestions presented to it by a number of Governments — including my own — to let the reported atrocities be investigated by a broadly composed, impartial international commission of inquiry, preferably under the auspices of the United Nations. This rejection on the part of the Portuguese Government cannot but strengthen the concern caused by these reports.
42.	These reports have -also strengthened our conviction that an end must be brought to this war and to Portuguese colonial rule. We find it difficult to understand that
Portugal, in this part of the twentieth century, in contrast to other former colonial Powers, does not realize the futility of fighting the colonial peoples' irresistible urge for independence and justice. We appeal to Portugal to abandon its colonial policies and to enter into negotiations with representatives of the liberation movements, recognizing the rights of the African peoples to self-determination in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter.
43.	Turning now to the Indian subcontinent, Norway welcomes the recent agreements between the three countries in the area on the repatriation of prisoners of war and the exchange of displaced civilians. The implementation of these agreements will demand substantial financial resources, towards which the international community should contribute. Norway will for its part assist in providing the necessary funds.
44.	We hope the agreements concluded will pave the way for normalization of the relations between the three countries and also of their relations with the outside world. Such a normalization would serve the interests of the subcontinent itself and the world at large. We hope that Bangladesh will this year take its place in our Organization,
45.	We take it that this Assembly will have a comprehensive debate on the Korean question. My Government holds the view that the two Korean Governments should be invited to take part in this debate without any pre-conditions. Although the results of the bilateral talks between North and South Korea have so far not been too encouraging, the direct contacts established between them and the general trend towards relaxation of international tension should facilitate progress in the Korean question. The role of the United Nations in Korea should now be adjusted in accordance with current developments. This should be done in an orderly manner which will not affect the legal and political basis for the policies pursued hitherto by the United Nations in Korea. We should also constantly bear in mind that the basic aim of our discussion and decisions is to promote peace and detente on the Korean peninsula.
46.	Norway and the other Nordic countries have now normalized their relations with both Korean Governments. I should like to reiterate from this rostrum the wish expressed by the Nordic Foreign Ministers in the communiqués from their meetings in Oslo and Stockholm this year that as many States as possible should normalize their relations with the two Korean Governments in order that those Governments may play their proper role in the international community.
47.	I should now like to turn to some of the more general problems confronting our Organization today.
48.	The Secretary-General reminds us in his latest report [A/9001/Add.l] that Governments have a tendency to pursue their strict and narrow national aims in the United Nations without regard to the Organization as such. We should all consider ourselves addressees of this warning. We should no doubt devote more time and energy to strengthening our Organization. The objective must be a strong and vigorous world Organization as the main basis of an international legal system and a global collective security system.
49.	Proposals have been made for a general revision of the Charter. That the Charter is far from being a perfect document is no doubt true. On the other hand, it is difficult to see any genuine need for a general revision. The Charter has shown itself to be a flexible instrument. Through a forward-looking and pragmatic interpretation of the Charter it should be possible also in the future to give a dynamic thrust to our Organization.
50.	Norway has always supported the principle of universality. If the United Nations is today to play the role of an effective world organization it must be open and representative, not closed and exclusive. In our opinion no useful purpose is served by excluding any country from participation in the United Nations. This general consideration ought to apply even to a Member State which fails to fulfil its commitments under the Charter or under resolutions passed by the Security Council and the General Assembly. Also with regard to such countries it is essential that we preserve for the world community the important means of influence and persuasion inherent in United Nations membership.
51.	In the many specialized agencies of the United Nations extensive technical co-operation is carried on which is of great value to all member countries. In recent years, however, we have experienced an increasing tendency to introduce political issues into the work. We realize, of course, that these organizations cannot isolate themselves from contemporary political currents and events. We must, however, see to it that progress in the many specialized agencies is not hampered by an inappropriate introduction of political issues. Such issues should not be dealt with in the specialized agencies but should be referred to the principal political body of the United Nations, the General Assembly, for discussion there.
52.	The development of the United Nations has in many ways emphasized some fundamental contradictions and paradoxes in the structure of the Organization. I should like to draw the attention of this Assembly to one of them.
53.	In principle the Charter prohibits intervention, in matters within the domestic jurisdiction of any Member State. At the same time the United Nations is committed to work for securing human rights for all. This cannot be done without some interference in what are traditionally regarded as "domestic affairs". Over and over again we see States invoking the argument of "domestic affairs" when attention is drawn to violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms. The Secretary-General has in his last report rightly pointed to the fact that the protection of human rights is an area where the credibility of the United Nations is especially at stake [A/9001/Add. 1, p. 5]. All States should realize that the impact of violations of human rights transcends national borders and influences in a rather negative way not only relations between nations but also the international climate in general. Such violations, wherever they occur, are consequently the concern of the international community as a whole and cannot be considered merely a domestic affair.
54.	In this connexion I want to say a few words also about recent developments in Chile. Through free and democratic elections three years ago, Salvador Allende was given the mandate to govern Chile on the basis of a progressive reformist programme aiming at social justice. This has now been brought to an end through the use of force. Thus the hopes of millions of people have been frustrated. We deeply regret these developments and we appeal for democracy to be restored in Chile.
55.	We are also concerned about reports of mistreatment and persecution of supporters of President Allende's Government in Chile. The international community has the right to expect that human rights will be respected and that all political prisoners will be released immediately.
56.	I shall now turn to some specific questions which will be discussed at this General Assembly and to which Norway attaches special importance. The first of these questions concerns international terrorism [item 94].
.57. The serious problems caused by international terrorism are of a global nature and should therefore be' dealt with within the United Nations or other world-wide organizations.
58.	To be frank, we are disappointed with the outcome of the work so far done by the United Nations in this field. In our view the highest possible priority should now be given by the United Nations to the work aiming at effective measures for the combat of terrorism. Substantial progress towards co-ordinated international action should be made as-early as this session of the General Assembly.
59.	We realize that it will be a difficult and time-consuming process to reach a comprehensive international agreement for the prevention of all kinds of terrorism. The best way of handling the matter would .perhaps be to deal with the different categories of acts of international terrorism and connected problems in separate conventions or other international instruments. Norway will support motions to give high priority at this session of the Assembly to the completion of a convention for the protection of diplomats [item 90]. Such a convention will, like the Conventions on safety in the air which have now been ratified or acceded to by the Nordic countries, form the basis for a global combat against specific acts of terrorism.
60.	When drafting conventions or other international instruments in this field, we should also have the following points in mind: first, conventions must respect the exclusive competence of the Security Council with regard to sanctions; second, conventions must not lend themselves to the interpretation that they are directed against the legitimate struggle of the African liberation movements for independence and freedom. We fully agree that, in accordance with the decision taken by the twenty-seventh session of the General Assembly, the underlying causes for international terrorism should be studied [resolution 3034 (XXVII)]. But I should like to emphasize that these studies or any other study of, for instance, the definition of international terrorism should not in any way be permitted to delay efforts to devise effective measures against international terrorism.
61.	Let me now turn to another subject to which this Assembly should give high priority. I am referring to the question of human rights in armed conflicts [item 54].
62.	Norway will continue to play an active role in the work" of the United Nations and the Red Cross expert conferences for the reaffirmation and development of the international legal rules regarding the protection of human rights in armed conflicts. We support the initiative taken by the Swiss Federal Council in convening a first session of a diplomatic conference on this important question in Geneva in 1974.  New and complex conflict situations- guerrilla and counter-guerrilla, technological and electronic warfare-have made it imperative to study the question of an improved legal protection of civilians, prisoners and combatants in such kinds of conflicts. New legal restraints should be imposed on the use of weapons and weapon systems that may cause unnecessary suffering, have indiscriminate effects or lead to ecological changes. The applicability of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 should be confirmed as regards all kinds of armed conflict, including wars of national liberation.
63.	The United Nations not only is an organization for peace and security, but is also meant to be an instrument for international economic and social co-operation and solidarity in a global perspective. The promotion of economic and social growth and the ensuring of access to resources and their consumption, thereby improving the standard of living for the have-nots of the world, should be one of the main tasks of the United Nations today. In this field, however, we must admit that the world community has so far only managed to make a very modest beginning. The gap between the poor and the rich in the world is steadily widening, and this state of affairs could in the future come to represent a very serious source of conflict. I think we should all be willing to admit that none of us in our practical policies has been willing to recognize the full consequences of this steadily deepening gulf between the industrialized and the developing countries as well as of the widening disparities between and within the developing countries. We are here faced with a challenge which seems to require a fundamentally new way of thinking, and sacrifices far beyond those that the industrialized countries and the privileged few in the developing countries have been willing to make so far. In the years ahead it will be an important task to convince public opinion in our countries of the necessity of such sacrifices.
64.	Special attention should be paid to the least developed countries. Furthermore, due consideration should be given to the willingness on the part of the recipient countries to pursue a policy of economic and social justice.
65.	Norway shares the view recently expressed in different international bodies — particularly in the Committee for Development Planning-that the development process should include, in addition to economic elements, certain basic social components, such as nutrition, health and education.
66.	Norway has fully endorsed the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade [resolution 2626 (XXV)]. With regard to the quantitative goal, my Government has decided to exclude private transfers from the 1 per cent target for total transfers, because such transfers consist of rather diverse elements and because governments have a limited influence on the volume of such transfers. Consideration of the poor countries' increasing indebtedness has played an important role in this regard.
67.	The Norwegian Government has, with the approval of the Norwegian Parliament, established a new set of basic principles and a new quantitative target for our development co-operation. Norway intends to reach 1 per cent of gross national- product in official development assistance by 1978. A part of this goal is the achievement of 0.7 per cent of gross national product in 1975 as stipulated in the International Development Strategy. With very- minor qualifications, all of this assistance is to be untied and on a grant basis. Furthermore, Norway intends to continue to channel about 50 per cent of its assistance through multilateral organizations.
68.	As regards the comprehensive multilateral trade negotiations officially opened in Tokyo recently, I would like to reconfirm my Government's full support for the aims of these negotiations. The benefits to the world economy as a whole of an expansion of international trade through reductions of tariffs and other barriers are obvious. However, the wider purpose of the negotiations cannot be achieved if we do not also consider the position of those countries which are not likely to benefit much from a general removal of barriers. For developing countries to achieve a reasonable balance of advantage, a new and imaginative attack upon commodity problems is definitely called for.
69.	Next year will be the World Population Year. It is my hope that the forthcoming World Population Conference will lead to an action-oriented programme which can bring humanity closer to a solution of the fundamental problem of how to bring the population explosion under control. If we should not succeed in this task, our common endeavours to create decent conditions of life on this planet will probably be doomed to failure. The question also has a strong bearing on the individual human being's legitimate claim to a decent existence and to a minimum standard of nutrition, health, housing and education. In reality, we are here dealing with a question of human rights and of .the freedom and dignity of the individual.
70.	In conclusion, I would like to address myself to the problems of the law of the sea. I shall not in my intervention today go closely into the substance of these problems. I would like, however, to emphasize the great urgency and the pressing need for solutions which characterize all the law of the sea issues. We must bear this urgency in mind when later in the session we carry out our review-as foreseen in last year's resolution [resolution 3029 A (XXVII)] -of the decision on the arrangements for the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea.
71.	The rapid advances of modern technology are increasingly posing new problems as regards the protection and distribution of the marine resources and the marine environment generally. These are problems with which all our Governments are daily struggling and which, in the absence of agreed international solutions, carry in them seeds of international conflict.
72.	Seen in that context the forthcoming Conference on the Law of the Sea has a bearing also on world peace. It is therefore essential that the Conference should result in solutions which can command the broadest possible support and which can reflect and accommodate the needs of the various groups of States.
73.	One such solution would, in the view of the Norwegian Government, be the adoption of the proposal for an economic zone limited to 200 nautical miles, in which the coastal State would have sovereign rights over the natural resources, while guaranteeing at the same time the right of freedom of navigation and over flight in the zone. Only a solution on these lines could, in our view, provide a sufficient basis for effective resource management- including the need to allocate the exploitation of the resources in a way which takes the interest of coastal populations sufficiently into account. The coastal State's rights under the treaty should, however, in our view, be coupled with a corresponding duty to exercise those rights in a way which ensures that the living resources are not endangered through over-exploitation, and which makes it mandatory for the coastal State to co-operate with the appropriate regional and global organizations to that end.
74.	It is furthermore of importance to remember that a treaty on economic zones would not by itself establish such zones. All it would do would be to ensure a recognized legal basis for their establishment, and this only to the extent that it would not be contrary to regional or bilateral agreements. Whether and to what extent the individual coastal State would wish to avail itself of this right would be for each State to decide in the light of the totality of its interests and circumstances. There would therefore be room under the treaty for regional and bilateral agreements with a view to meeting the particular circumstances of each region.
75.	As far as the natural resources on the ocean floor outside national jurisdiction are concerned, my Government believes that only the creation of a strong international authority with broad regulatory powers can answer the challenge which the situation gives rise to. Norway strongly supports the concept of the international sea-bed area as "the common heritage of mankind" and would like to see the new international machinery established in a way which would reflect that concept as fully as possible. And this must be done before an uncontrolled race for the resources concerned gets under way. Afterwards it may be too late.
76.	In line with the general consideration that the coastal State should be given extended jurisdiction over the natural resources in the coastal area, the Norwegian Government has expressed understanding of the reasons behind Iceland's decision to extend its fishery limits. Given Iceland's overwhelming dependence for its livelihood on coastal fisheries, we have shown understanding of the fact that Iceland did find it difficult to await the outcome of the forthcoming Conference on the Law of the Sea. Today we welcome the fact that temporary agreements have been or are about to be concluded, through peaceful negotiations between Iceland and certain other countries, among them Norway. We sincerely hope that the necessary conditions will soon be created for the resumption of talks about similar arrangements between Iceland and the United Kingdom in order that a very unfortunate conflict which tends in fact to disturb the general atmosphere and stability in the area may be brought to is end.


120.	 Mr. President, the Tunisian delegation would like to associate itself with the tribute which has been paid to you, to your career, which is well known in Tunisia, and also to your qualities of heart and of mind; all these are equally well known. That is why your well-deserved election appears to us to honour you at the same time as it honours your country and your part of the world. We are extremely gratified to be able to co-operate with you to ensure that our work proceeds smoothly at this General Assembly.
121.	We have emerged from a state of false peace into a state of genuine war, without any major upheavals, and perhaps with less noise and fuss than would be engendered by a brief meeting between the two super-Powers in connexion with the vague and mysterious question of international detente.
122.	This conclusion is born neither of moroseness nor of the acrimony of which we are generally and unfairly accused. It describes a fact. The historic day that marks the Middle East war has been a matter of daily occurrence. It is only now, here and elsewhere, particularly within the area of world public opinion — although certain newspapers continue to surround us by silence — it is only now that people are beginning to grasp the serious nature of the war and what is at stake. It is true that this time it is the war of the humble man who has had enough of being vilified; of the person who has suffered aggression and has had enough of occupation; of the simple refugee who has had enough of suffering despair and desolation.
123.	Yes, it is the war of the Palestinians, that nameless people, the Syrians and the Egyptians, who have been suffering in the shadows of poverty and enslavement. Refusing injustice and dishonour, they have launched a struggle for deliverance. For most of them it appears in the form of death — a just death that will contribute to the brotherly and worthy life of their peoples.
124.	In fact, these are stoic fighters who are waging war against war, against those responsible for aggression. They fight, showing to the entire world that man is, despite everything, better than this monstrous occupier —  all the more monstrous because Zionism has perverted it, and the power of money has spoiled it to such an extent that it believes it belongs to the race of lords and masters who are permitted everything, including the arrogance to thwart the United Nations, its Security Council and its permanent members, its General Assembly, its Secretary- General and all its resolutions.
125.	The ideal of these stoic Egyptian and Syrian fighters is something that has not fallen into this morbid mould which motivates their Zionist enemies and which consists of considering war as a perfected razzia and of setting records of atrocity and humiliation, thanks to sophisticated weaponry.
126.	Their ideal is beyond war; it is part and parcel of the concept of coexistence and fraternity — we repeat: coexistence and fraternity — between a Jewish community, de-Zionized and reconciled with itself, and that Christian-Arab community and Moslem community, rid of its complexes.
127.	The ideal of these fighters is to make sure that justice triumphs, even above heroes!
128.	Such an ideal means that one may be cast down but never overcome.
129.	Whatever the incantations we hear in the Assembly about detente, whatever the calumnies, the slanders and the ridiculous things that are said to deafen us, we will not be prevented from crying out this simple truth, the truth of the Egyptian and Syrian fighters, which is becoming an ever more evident truth as the days go by: that people cannot be occupied for decades against their will, whatever the military supremacy that is available to their occupiers. Today, in the Golan Heights and in the holy places of Sinai, hope is still felt where freedom has once again been restored through these valiant Syrian and Egyptian fighters.
130.	We in Tunisia are not fanatics or partisans of all-out war or peace at any cost. At the present stage of the struggle, no one can say whether this freedom which has gradually started to make its way in Sinai will accelerate progress towards justice and fraternity. No one can say whether this faint glimmer which we can see through the smoke of battle is the dawning of a new day on this earth where God once resided or a twilight that may bury new dead and our hopes once for all.
131.	The outcome of the war is still uncertain. But what is certain is that the Arab peoples will remain in the battle, because they are convinced that truth is on their side. If today our brothers of Egypt and Syria, although less trained and less versed in the techniques of modern war and perhaps under-equipped, are waging war against the forces of war with so much faith and courage, it is precisely because they know they are sustained by this wave of support from international public opinion, the opinion of valiant and right-thinking men, and because they know that, as General de Gaulle said, at the individual and State levels and at the level of any human community, the end of hope is the beginning of death.
132.	Everything, even decadence, ends. The Arab peoples of Palestine and elsewhere have passed beyond despair. It is by overcoming their despair that today they have encountered the highest possible form of hope: that which gives confidence to leaders, that which is synonymous with risk — because hope is also a question of risk.
133. Sooner or later sympathy, goodwill — or simply will — will gradually become polarized around these three principles which President Bourguiba listed in Geneva before the International Labour Conference, namely: the right of the Palestinian people to a homeland and to a State, the right of the Arab countries not to be occupied and humiliated, and the right of the Israeli people not to be thrown into the sea.
134.	Those three principles will, sooner or later, form the just and lasting foundation for settlement of the conflict that for more than a quarter of a century has been ravaging that area. On that basis and on the basis of the 1947 resolution [resolution 181(H)] — by which our Organization approved and legalized the birth of Israel — our President was even prepared to undertake, open-handedly and frankly, a dialogue with Israel. Israel thought that was a ruse and responded by polemics. Once again Israel missed availing itself of a reasonable initiative.
135.	Neither the subtleties nor the verbal tics of Mr. Abba Eban, nor the thunderclaps and threats of Mr. Moshe Dayan, nor the cold and cynical calculations of Mrs. Golda Meir can deceive us. Because they are buried in the sarcophagus of their prejudices, because they do not want to change and even prevent themselves from changing, they are lost in a maze of procedure and formalism for fear of entering into the substance of the debate; they condemn themselves; and they discourage their warmest supporters. They have not yet understood that to maintain occupied territories as direct guarantees, to create faits accomplis in some places and to cause an exodus in other places, to organize repression against Palestinians is to take out for themselves and for the entire region an insurance that their future will be an unhappy one. It is to opt for a kind of man and a kind of society bathed in chauvinism; it is to proclaim intolerance and fanaticism and to practise violence and contempt.
136.	Mr. Abba Eban, let me repeat what I have already said from this very platform. We believe that you are sincere in certain statements that you have made to the Assembly and it is this which gives us pause. Yes, we really begin to wonder whether it is in the nature of Israel, of its regime and of its leaders to be able to make peace. You have referred eloquently to certain international precedents and have concluded that only the Arabs and the Palestinians shirk dialogue for peace. But everybody is speaking. You know that under conditions of war there can only be people who talk further about war. The West and East Germans — whose admission to membership of our Organization we would like to welcome — managed to coexist in peace and fraternity only after they had clarified and spelled out the basic principles existing between them and between the great Powers. As far as North and South Korea are concerned, both of which we should be very pleased to see admitted to the United Nations too, if they have not yet arrived at that stage of unity and homogeneity which is so desired, it is solely because everything is not yet clear and agreed — at least as far as principles and objectives are concerned.
137.	Leave all the occupied territories, therefore, including Jerusalem; put forward yourself valid conditions for peace; accept the pertinent resolutions of the United Nations, particularly that of 1947; and you will be surprised at the sense of responsibility and the constructive spirit which will be manifested by the most intransigent Arab leaders, including those among the Palestinians.
138.	Meetings, direct negotiations, international precedents, logic, a scale of values, your logic, your scale of values — these are all nothing but words. It is not because you use these words that we should fear them. It is not because you have failed to bring about peace that we should fail to regenerate that peace. It is not because you' wish to exterminate the Palestinians that we have to exterminate you. Only a tolerant Palestine, where there would be coexistence between the Jews and the Palestinians in ways which remain to be determined, only an open society whose laws would be common to all and whose power would be assumed by its permanent members, Christian, Moslems and Jews — only this will make it possible for you no longer to be — in this tortured Middle East which has deserved better of mankind — the engenderer of hate, of fear and violence, a sort of pot which is ready to boil over. It is a question of time, perhaps, but it is also a question of the blood which is flowing in this tortured Middle East. Above all, it is a question of behaviour and commitment. Let the Israelis behave in a way which will bring about proper coexistence between Jews and Arabs, as has been the case and is the case in the Arab and Moslem countries; let the Zionists put an end to this dual and hateful tendency to suspect all other religions — even all other philosophies which do not believe in God — and to consider that the Jews, the citizens of other nations, are their own subjects, who can be mobilized whenever they see fit, in order to serve Israel hand and foot. Let them take care not to add to the bitterness of armed confrontation, the blindness of injured faith and religious passion.
139.	Let us not commit the crime of transforming, in the name of the Jewish faith, Jews here and our brothers and those of our colleagues in the General Assembly into perjurers, into mercenaries or traitors to their own country. Israel is not, after all, the homeland of all Jews. Have not the leaders of Tel Aviv committed the arrogance of giving Israeli nationality collectively to an entire African tribe living in Ethiopia? And this must be an aberration from the point of view of international law. Henceforth, with the present Zionist practices and requirements, let us be on our guard; any Jewish community living in Africa, Europe or America might simply wake up one day relabelled as a Zionist homeland. Thus any country which practises tolerance and coexistence between races and religions runs the risk of becoming one day the Palestine of a new Israel.
140.	When we realize that South Africa, Rhodesia and Portugal in particular are the unconditional allies of Israel, when we are aware that these countries help each other to practise scorn, arrogance and all the most abject forms of segregation, we can then understand the dangers which are lurking, particularly in Africa. In the structure of conquest and domination where the policy of Israel, as well as that of the racists of South Africa, Rhodesia and Portugal, is rooted, any defeat is considered as possibly being fatal. Thus, these protagonists of hate, scorn, colonialism and racism are quite naturally predisposed to violence by their very nature. Hence their desire to defy all reason and to thwart all peaceful efforts. They are predisposed to be more vain than heroic, more obstinate than prudent. They try to surround us in a dialectic of despair. As far as we Tunisians are concerned, the world is a witness of the fact that President Bourguiba, who has taught us the desire for fraternity, love, tolerance and co-operation, has never ceased tirelessly to seek practical ways to bring about peace and understanding. In 1946 — before the wars and before the atrocities — warned by the tragic experience of the German people with Hitler, he called upon the forces of good and progress, which were the Allies at the time, to help the Jews of Palestine to become de-Zionized, as the Germans of that time were being helped to become de-Nazified. We are happy to welcome here the great German nation which has been cured of its destructive demons. It now occupies the place which is due to it in the international community. Even if it takes the form of two Germanys, the joint effort of its worthy representatives is remarkable in all respects. Chancellor Brandt, while speaking fervently for peace, as he did here [2128th meeting], also deserved peace, as the prestigious Nobel Prize awarded him has emphasized. There is more than one precedent to be thought about by the Israelis if they are really looking for peace, and also by the friends of Israel. Perhaps there we can find some precious indication of the way which will lead to salvation. The Israelis might aspire to coexist with us, as the Germans are doing in Europe and throughout the world, if they were to take the step of de-Zionizing themselves. But to de- Zionize in Israel is something quite different.
141.	In the Middle East, where the sky touches the earth and has made it fertile with tremendous grace, one day all this hate will be succeeded by love; so much war must be succeeded by peace; so many tears must be followed by smiles; so many crises and sacrifices by a little joy and happiness. How can we help? The Egyptian fighters are dying even now to recover their territories, but also to revive the Suez Canal for international trade and peaceful commerce. It is important that all those in Europe and elsewhere who have suffered from the closure of the Canal because of Israeli aggression should assure Egypt of their sympathy and their support. For security throughout the world, for the development of trade and for the strengthening of the currents of fluidity to which man aspires, we demand that all countries, both great and small, should finally take action to ensure that the Suez Canal is reopened and that no longer will this path of peace be closed. A time will come when the instigators of war, the Israelis and the Zionists in particular, who have caused so much damage not only to the Arab nations but also to humanity, will have to answer for their crimes before men and before . God.
142.	Unfortunately, Israel continues to commit these crimes. It is attacking civilians, children, women and diplomats, particularly in Syria. While the Egyptians and the Syrians are sacrificing themselves and are dying, and are confining their combat to the occupied territories; while they regard themselves as occupied people, the Israelis not only do not regard themselves as occupiers but are making civilians targets in the battle.
143.	May I convey our condolences to all civilian victims of these indescribable acts, primarily to the Secretary- General for the United Nations victims and also to the Soviet Union, to its people, to its Government and to its delegation.
144.	We denounce this tendency to practise war along pure Hitlerite lines. We denounce this with particular force because Jews were among the first victims of the Nazi follies.
145.	Have the Arabs these days become a sort of Jew themselves? Have the Zionists themselves today become neo-Nazis? It is with horror that I ask that question.
146.	Has unreason taken hold of the Israelis to such an extent that they are no longer content with the honour they had of having been victims of the Nazis but are now so ignominious as to justify these Nazi practices by themselves attacking civilians?
147.	Today, the non-aligned countries, through their representatives, have been moved by the trials inflicted upon the civilian population and foreigners in Damascus. They held a meeting; they adopted a resolution and they have asked me to read it out, and with your permission, Mr. President, I should like to read it out:
"The heads of delegations of non-aligned countries, who met at the United Nations on Wednesday, 10 October 1973, considered the recent developments of the situation in the Middle East.
"They condemn the aggression of Israel against Egypt and Syria and express to both those countries their total support in their just struggle and in their heroic efforts to liberate their occupied territories.
"Recalling the resolution on the Middle East adopted by the Algiers Summit Conference,  they demand that Israel withdraw from all occupied Arab territories as the prior condition for any solution being found to the crisis in the Middle East.
"The heads of delegations of the non-aligned countries condemn the blind bombing of the civilian population of Syria by Israel, bombings which have caused the death of hundreds of innocent civilians, men, women and children, including foreign diplomats, United Nations officials and members of their families.
"They particularly denounce the fact that Israel has carried the war to the civilian population and it condemns these acts of barbarism which gives an already painful conflict an inhumanity which cannot be tolerated by the international community.
"The heads of the delegations of the non-aligned . countries have decided to remain in close contact with each other and with the representatives of Egypt and Syria in order to define what they may subsequently have to do, in accordance with the policies established by their Heads of States at the Algiers Conference."
148.	In this Organization we feel ourselves at a crossroads of anguish and anxiety. Every year, as new Members are admitted, our Organization gains in universality what it loses in effectiveness. Israel, Portugal and South Africa are simply burying, as they say themselves, the resolutions of the United Nations in what Israel has called "the cemetery of aborted decisions". Thus, they contribute to gravely harming public opinion regarding the United Nations.
149.	What can we do about that? That was something which was referred to by the previous speaker and it is a question I ask myself. It is one of the most serious problems which is being faced by our Organization. What can we do with those who refuse, and persistent in their refusal, to abide by United Nations resolutions?
150.	In the midst of these storms which are reverberating throughout the third world, facing these difficulties which are becoming increasingly many and complex as days pass, and despite the super-Powers who do not always give us encouragement and despite the "small" Powers which often harass and defy us, without forgetting the budgetary concerns and difficulties which are endless, we are very grateful to our Secretary-General for the way he is coping and is continuing imperturbably to proceed along the lines of innovation and research. A great deal has been said about our Organization, but it is a miracle that it has not yet stumbled and continues to spread its effect throughout the world by bringing about detente and peace.
151.	The contract which we have with the United Nations and by which we shall always be bound is possibly the sort of tacit contract which children, because of some mysterious far-sightedness, give to something which seems to incarnate their careless seriousness, their calm innocence, their intelligence and the tremendous promise of their future. That is the great favour which the United Nations gives to those people who have "just emerged from childhood" — as is often said with a certain amount of scorn.
152.	The real greatness of the United Nations is not to give wealth to the world but to maintain hope in the world. The surest star in the firmament of the United Nations in these stormy times is its faithfulness to its vocation.
153.	In Addis Ababa on the tenth anniversary of OAU, at Algiers at the Fourth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, we have applied ourselves to basing our action on studying a rigorous analysis of the situation in order better to understand men and situations. In doing so it seems to us that we have acted for the best in order to ensure that the cause which we serve, peace, the ideal of the United Nations, will have light, warmth and strength brought to it, which is the only way to bring about events and which alone can modify events sooner or later.
154.	The African voice has been heard here through two prestigious heads of State: President Gowon of Nigeria and President Mobutu of Zaire [2140th meeting]. That of the non-aligned countries, which are the majority of this Assembly, will shortly make itself heard through the voice of President Houari Boumediene whose name alone evokes seriousness, lucidity, refusal to be cast down and commitment to genuine peace, peace for all.
155.	To succeed in making the United Nations equal to the requirements of our times, to ensure that there is this contribution of light, strength and warmth, undoubtedly we need this sense of restraint, this sense of reality, this penchant for the concrete which is so typical of those peoples who have only just left childhood behind: in other words, these virtues which illuminate audacity, which ensure that things are thought out and which make action fruitful.
156.	President Mobutu expressed here what we Tunisians believe, both authentically and eloquently — virtues which he proved that he possessed when he showed us what his plans were. He also showed us, in a masterly way, that he was operating as a builder and that he was not one of those who built merely by abstraction. In his frank words there was a great freshness, a spontaneity which is. so characteristic of young peoples and which tomorrow could become the new sap which will rise and which will help us to rid ourselves of outworn slogans and all these complications produced by the interests of the great Powers and calculated strategies of detente.
157.	We represent in the United Nations peoples who in Africa, Asia and in America seem to be overshadowed by suffering and death but who continue to multiply their yearning for hope.
158.	We are very concerned about detente. We are particularly sensitive to the spirit underlying it, the tendencies rather than those old well-used incantations which often sound false. We would have deserved detente if only we could have injected some concern into this indifference towards us which is sometimes characteristic of the superpowers. We would be mad if we were not in favour of detente. But we know what detente means and should mean. We are in favour of genuine detente which would be effective everywhere and for all.
159.	Detente would be genuine if the arms race were brought to a halt, if total nuclear and conventional disarmament were brought about, if we no longer had to fulminate against those who test weapons, and if the force of law were restored and when we have the necessary remedies in order to reinforce the United Nations and bring about a more harmonious and balanced economic and financial order.
160.	It is true that detente would be everywhere and for all if it were to benefit, first, the countries of the third world, and if it made it possible for the Arabs to recover their territories, if it made it possible for the Palestinians to recover their homeland, for the peoples of Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, Guinea-Bissau and Cambodia and others finally to know what peace is, by recovering their full rights to live as they want.
161.	Detente would be universal and for all if useful and necessary steps were taken in order to banish famine and its scourges, which only ravage the soil of the third world. Human life, man, in our country, seems to have two extra risks — the risk of death by enslavement and death by famine. It will be understood that our needs pertain to life and death and we are aware that they are both easy and difficult to satisfy. We do not want to offend anybody. We do not want to ask the impossible of anyone, and that is why we welcome any sign of detente, even if it is limited to the great Powers. However, it does have to be real, not something which disguises dark designs.
162.	A genuine detente between the USSR and the United States would contribute to liberating for those of us in the poor countries some of the resources which are now completely taken up in the arms competition, and a little tranquillity for mankind as well.
163.	My delegation welcomes the initiative of the Soviet Union in revising the proposal which it had the merit of making as early as the General Assembly session of 1958 and which consists of taking 10 per cent from the military budgets of the five great Powers, permanent members of the Security Council [A/9191].
164.	The representative of the great Soviet Union will. I hope, allow us to say that since 1958 currency has depreciated considerably and that the Soviet offer would be better if it kept pace with present-day prices, and particularly if it had broad support, if only to prevent it from becoming a sort of common coin. May I add that we have not really understood why the Soviet delegation placed a great deal of emphasis on the fact that all five permanent members of the Security Council should agree, without a single exception. Does this mean that, if one of them did not agree, the offer would be completely void? We know that there is at least one who does not agree. However, we continue to believe that this is a genuine offer on the part of the Soviet Union, and not just an empty promise.
165.	We are aware that we, the small Powers, the unsatisfied and troubled countries of the third world, are often outside the decisions taken in the major capitals of the world and are often the object of these agreements, the thing at stake. We know the specific weight of each country and the attendant authority and responsibilities, and there is some justice that the super-Powers should feel more responsible and more involved in managing the affairs of the world. In fact, however, the behaviour of various countries does not always obey these laws of good conduct. Excessive use of the right of veto in some circumstances really gives us pause. Can we not say that the contemporary spirit is somewhat disturbed by the survival of the right of veto? It is true that, as Andre Malraux said, for the mind there is no minor nation; the mind recognizes only brother nations.
166.	We should have liked to have had the same sort of active affection embracing America, whose help we shall not forget in difficult moments in our existence; the Soviet Union, whose great contribution we appreciate; the countries of Europe, our allies, our natural partners. And in this regard I will begin by mentioning that country with which we have particularly privileged relations: France, the value of its teachings, its humanism and its desire for independence; the United Kingdom, with its ability to stand up to adversity; Germany, with its impressive degree of development; Italy, with its history; the Scandinavian countries with their devotion to peace; Japan, with its spectacular recovery; Canada which, with its contributions, helped to allay suffering; Australia, with its desire to heed the voice of the small and the weak; and not forgetting the tremendous country of China which is so fascinating, so rich in its wealth of teaching and which has such remarkable intelligence and aptitude, gauging as it can the precise feelings of the third world. We should like to have had equal and active affection for all those nations which, in their own way, have to a certain extent helped the countries of the third world. But is it not really time for these nations to revise the criteria for assistance, co-operation and active solidarity with the poor countries?
167.	We are full of admiration for so much moral and material strength in our Organization. We are full of admiration for all the reserves, the imagination, the talent and the creative power. At the same time, how can I disguise the fact that we are sorry to see so many seeds of division? And what a waste of energy is taking place among these nations.
168.	Sometimes we feel obliged to make a choice between the notion of exigency and interest represented by these nations, and alignment with one of the concepts of life they represent. The fourth Algerian summit conference said firmly and clearly that we refuse to choose in order not to accentuate these antagonisms, and we modestly, but tirelessly, seek to promote pluralism in our countries — each in his own way according to our national temperament, originality and national genius — and we do this to affirm our desire to practise in our way the principles of peaceful coexistence.
169.	I should like to conclude by asking a question which is particularly important to the hearts not only of Tunisians, but of others as well. Never has it been so obvious that the history of Jerusalem is linked with the history of our times. There can be no genuine peaceful coexistence in the world, no valid detente in the world, if fraternity and concord do not become necessities in this city of light, the only city where God chose to reside on earth, the only city which was chosen by providence so that three times in the history of mankind messages should resound in the ears of men through Jews, Christians and Moslems.
170.	There are places where, more than anywhere else, the Divine spirit can help to bring about tolerance and understanding among peoples. There are cities which teach faith and help to lift spirits which are tired and devoid of hope. They are predestined for dialogue between man and God, between man and man. Jerusalem is such a place; it is one of those cities and, in the present situation, when Israel obstinately blasphemes Jerusalem, the past and the future of Jerusalem turn their eyes towards us. We say: save Jerusalem!
171.	You, the representatives of the great nations with whom we wish to work together to try to overcome suffering, to restore dignity, to spread hope, if you often dislike getting involved in our small conflicts, and if you sometimes give us strength to settle our quarrels, if sometimes you quarrel to defend your own interests, if your words of detente and peace are not always in accordance with your actions, at least let Jerusalem give you an opportunity to co-ordinate your actions with us so that we can join our efforts to defend Jerusalem, to save the spirit of Jerusalem, to preserve what is dearest to us, what is most sacred to us, to help God and men, and to warn off those who disfigure Jerusalem and who commit a crime against man and God.
172.	Let us try together to produce a motion before this General Assembly concerning Jerusalem; let us all meet together to serve Jerusalem; perhaps only in this way can we save ourselves, can we save our countries, can we save the ideals of the United Nations, peaceful coexistence and the spirit of civilization of which we are all such staunch protagonists.


1.	In unanimously electing the President of the twenty-eighth session, the General Assembly has not only honoured a distinguished son of Latin America but also recognized his great skill and wisdom as a seasoned diplomat. My country has always had admiration for the friendly peoples of Latin America, and I wish to assure the President of our fullest co-operation in the discharge of his responsibilities. We are confident that under his wise leadership, we will be able to accomplish the tasks we have set ourselves.
2.	I should also like to take this opportunity of associating my delegation with those who have expressed their appreciation for the patience, devotion and the great ability with which the outgoing President, Mr. Stanislaw Trepczynski of Poland, guided our deliberations during the last session.
3.	We are happy to welcome in our midst today the representatives of the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. Bhutan believes in the universality of the United Nations and we are convinced that the admission to the United Nations of these three States will mark an important step towards making our Organization not only more representative but more effective. The Federal Republic of' Germany and the German Democratic
Republic, with their great economic strength and impressive record of post-war achievement, are bound to play an important role in the United Nations. The newly independent nation of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas will undoubtedly bring to bear its healing touch on the problems facing the world body.
4.	We look forward very much to co-operating with the delegations of these States both within and outside the United Nations. However, let me hasten to add that the process of universality of the United Nations will only be complete when all countries are represented in this great Organization. We hope, therefore, that the General Assembly will be able to act in a similar manner when dealing with the admission of other States to the United Nations.
5.	We in Bhutan are just recovering from the irreparable loss we suffered last year in the demise of our great King, His Majesty Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. We were indeed fortunate in having a person of his wisdom and vision to guide the destiny of our country at a momentous juncture in our history. Our-present King, His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, has reiterated his firm resolve to continue the great task started by his late father to build a modern Bhutan in which the people will enjoy social justice and economic prosperity. As we end the official period of national mourning for our late King, we realize, with even greater urgency than before, the unfulfilled tasks to which we have to address ourselves. We are, however, determined to forge ahead and complete the task of building our nation. In the external sphere we are convinced that a policy of non-alignment and peaceful coexistence based on friendship with all countries is the only practical policy for Bhutan.
6.	We, therefore, have become a member of the non- aligned group during the recent Fourth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Algiers. This, however, does not mean that Bhutan does not wish to play its rightful role in the comity of nations. Our policy of non-alignment is not a negative concept; it is in fact a policy based on the foundations of. independence of thought and action. We believe this policy is consistent with the United Nations objectives of reducing tensions and building a world in which relations between countries are based on the principle of mutual respect, sovereign equality and non-interference in each other's internal affairs.
7.	Last year, in our statement before this Assembly [2053rd meeting], we had the occasion to welcome the signs of detente which had begun to emerge on the international scene. As we meet this year, we have reason to be satisfied with the hopeful change in international relationships between nations and particularly between the major Powers of the world. In this context we welcome the development of normal relations between the People's Republic of China and the United States. The normalization of relations between Japan and the People's Republic of China will, in our view, undoubtedly contribute to stability in East Asia. The visit of Mr. Brezhnev to the United States this summer is yet another milestone along the road of reducing international tension and promoting a better understanding between the most powerful nations of the world. We welcome as a constructive development the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and the stabilizing agreements among Central European States. These are undoubtedly significant developments which have brought Europe out of the dark days of the cold war and also contributed substantially to promoting peace and harmony in Europe and throughout the world.
8.	Unfortunately, the improved climate so noticeably visible in Europe has not had a comparable effect in Asia and several other parts of the world. Although the conclusion of the peace agreements in Viet-Nam and Laos is a major step, Indo-China is not yet completely free from war and its disastrous consequences. The aftermath of war is as terrible as the war itself, as it involves the enormous task of reconstruction and the rehabilitation of the people in Indo-China which we hope will gain the co-operation of all the peace-loving nations. We therefore hope that the peace so assiduously achieved in Laos and Viet-Nam will be an enduring one and that it will be extended to Cambodia, too, by peaceful negotiations between the parties concerned.
9.	My delegation welcomed the promising signs of dialogue and understanding between the representatives of North and South Korea last year and we expressed the hope that that dialogue would lead to an understanding between the two Koreas for the eventual reunification of that country. It is the earnest hope of my delegation that both North and South Korea will continue their efforts to arrive at an amicable understanding so that the people of that peninsula will be able to devote their energies to the more pressing tasks before them. Bhutan fully supports the aspirations of the Korean people for reunification of their desire to live in peace and harmony, and hopes that the dialogue and conciliation between North and South Korea will be further promoted.
10.	Nearer home to us in Bhutan is the situation on the Indian subcontinent. The agreement on resolving the humanitarian problems flowing from the 1971 conflict, signed recently, clears the way for giving shape to the hopes of peace upheld in the Simla Agreement of 2 July 1972. We in Bhutan welcome that agreement between India and Pakistan with the concurrence of Bangladesh as a vital step for bringing about the much desired durable peace on the subcontinent. The parties concerned have indeed shown a great sense of urgency, accommodation and understanding for the solution of the unfortunate humanitarian problems.
11.	In that spirit we hope that the reality of Bangladesh will also be recognized. It is a reality recognized by over 100 Members of the United Nations. If we sincerely subscribe to the principle of universality, then the doors of the United Nations cannot be kept closed to the 75 million people of Bangladesh. We hope that before long it will be possible for the representatives of Bangladesh to take their rightful place in this Assembly of nations as full members.
12.	At a time when we welcome international detente and look with great expectation for a durable world peace it is unfortunate that armed conflict and hostilities have broken out once again in the Middle East. The underlying cause of that tragic event is, we believe, the continued occupation of Arab territories by Israel and the failure to implement Security Council resolution 242 (1967), which formed the basis for a just settlement. It is, however, gratifying to note that the Security Council is mindful of its responsibility and its commitments towards international peace and security in general and the Middle East situation in particular. We sincerely hope that the Security Council will take all possible steps and effective measures for the restoration of peace in the region. My delegation also feels that it is necessary to recognize the legitimate rights of all the States in the region to their existence within recognized boundaries, in the interests of a just and durable peace.
13.	One other area which continues to cause concern to my Government and to pose a threat to world peace and security is southern Africa. The people of Namibia have been denied the basic right to live in freedom and dignity. The policies of apartheid and racialism continue to be followed unremittingly in South Africa, in violation of all canons of civilized behaviour. In Southern Rhodesia the minority regime continues to rule the majority population by force of arms. It is regrettable that the illegal racist regime of Southern Rhodesia should survive, with the support of certain vested interests. We believe that all peace-loving countries which uphold the cause of justice, freedom and human dignity based on equality should accept and intensify sanctions against Southern Rhodesia. The policy of repression being followed by the Portuguese Government in its colonies in Africa continues to pose a serious threat to peace and security. Bhutan supports the struggle for independence being carried on by the peoples of all colonial territories. We believe that the solution of those problems requires a determined international effort, and we for our part are ready to join with others in any practical action that the United Nations may pursue in that regard.
14.	In the field of disarmament Bhutan welcomes the series of agreements reached between the United States and the Soviet Union, including preliminary arms limitation measures and the historic Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War, signed at Washington on 22 June. We are convinced that those agreements will contribute greatly to peace and security in the world and provide a further impetus for progress in the direction of complete nuclear disarmament. We are hopeful that as a result of those agreements we shall be able to achieve the ultimate goal of the total destruction of all nuclear and thermonuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. In that connexion we reiterate our support for the convening of a world disarmament conference and express the hope that the Special Committee on the World Disarmament Conference set up last year [resolution 2930 (X VII)] will be able to make sufficient progress so that such a conference may be convened at an early date.
15.	Bhutan has always supported the creation of zones or areas of peace, and last year we had occasion to express our support for the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace [resolution 2382 (XXVI)]. We hope that it will be possible for the Ad Hoc Committee on the Indian Ocean [resolution 2992 (XXVII)] to complete its preliminary work so that the much desired consultations with the permanent members of the Security Council and the major maritime users of the Indian Ocean may commence at an early date. It is important for the peace and security of the countries of the Indian Ocean area that the Indian Ocean be kept free from great-Power military rivalries and interventions. In this connexion it is also important that all foreign bases should be removed from the area. We for our part are willing to co-operate with the countries of the region to give practical shape to the proposal.
16.	Bhutan is looking forward to the forthcoming Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea with great interest and expectation. It is the hope of my delegation that as a result of the preparatory work done by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction the Conference will be able to take a decision on some of the outstanding issues pertaining to the law of the sea. As a land-locked country, Bhutan has a vital stake in the resources of the sea. We believe that this common heritage of mankind must be so exploited as to give each one of us an equitable share. The potentialities of the sea, as yet unassessed, may prove to be of immense value to all countries, and more particularly to the developing countries.
17.	When the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade was adopted in 1970, there were great expectations that the Strategy would be fully implemented for the benefit of the developing countries. We are, therefore, disappointed that the commitments assumed by the international community are not being implemented fully. It is important to review the progress made in the implementation of the strategy so that the interests of the developing and, particularly the least developed countries, can be given consideration.
18.	I cannot end my statement without paying a tribute to the work being done by our distinguished Secretary- General. During the short period that he has been in office, he has demonstrated beyond doubt his rare ability, capacity for hard work and devotion to duty. We wish him well and express the hope that he will be able to accomplish the great task before him. We on our part pledge our co-operation to him.


28.	Mr. President, it gives me the greatest pleasure to offer you, on my behalf and in the name of the delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic, our warm congratulations on your election as President of the twenty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. The fact that you were chosen for this high office is a genuine expression of the appreciation and esteem in which the international community holds your country and people.
29.	I am happy to welcome the new Members, the Democratic Republic of Germany, the German Federal Republic and the Bahamas. With their entry into the United Nations the principle of universality essential to the world Organization, which since the inception of the United Nations we have actively supported and have constantly striven to achieve, has been greatly enhanced. In this connexion, we wish to formulate the hope that the affiliation of the German Federal Republic with the Organization will usher in a greater understanding on its part of the problems of the third world, and particularly those of the Middle East.
30.	The convening of the twenty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly comes on the heels of an event which stirred world-wide interest: the Fourth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries held at Algiers from 5 to 9 September 1973, the greatest summit meeting human society has witnessed in the last decade.
31.	The declarations and resolutions of that Conference [see A/9330] incarnated the drive of the non-aligned nations towards self-fulfilment and the assertion of their identity, and to a reaffirmation of the principles of non-alignment, proven to be universal principles aiming at achieving justice, equality, coexistence and peace among nations.
32.	The basic significance of that Conference lay in the fact that it embodied the determination of over half the inhabitants of the world to be freed from unequal relations, to establish instead among nations a democratic relationship both in politics and economics, to eradicate colonialism in all its forms and to eliminate hegemony, foreign occupation, backwardness and deprivation.
33.	If the non-alignment movement has been described in the past as an expression of world conscience, the Fourth Conference revealed that that movement is proceeding with a firm pace towards achieving freedom in the world. That Conference, with the clarity of vision which characterized its work, was able to adjust to the international changes, affirming and developing their positive aspects without swerving from the principles on which the non-alignment movement rests.
34.	The Algiers Conference was a gathering that took a global view, at which it was pledged anew to realize the basic aims of the non-alignment movement — those universal goals conceiving world peace as a unit indivisible, centred on eliminating tension everywhere, increasing international co-operation, developing the innate capacities of
developing countries, ending privation, backwardness, and unequal relations between peoples.
35.	We hope the General Assembly of the United Nations will support the principal demands made in the declarations and resolutions of the Algiers Conference, because they are all fully compatible with the United Nations Charter.
36.	The relationship between the Conference of non- aligned countries and the United Nations arises not only from the fact that the non-aligned nations form half the membership of the international Organization, but also from the determination of the non-aligned countries to strengthen the role of the United Nations and within its framework to take upon themselves the work of realizing its goals and the objectives of the Charter in such way as to benefit all mankind.
37.	In our review of the international situation, special emphasis should, of course, be given to the new developments that have had an important impact on international relations. Aiming at eliminating the dangers of confrontation between the two great Powers and abating the tension in Europe, those developments nevertheless will be of limited effect and uncertain results so long as their benefits do not extend to all parts of the world, eradicating the oppressive conditions still prevalent in the third world, such as colonialism, exploitation, racism, occupation and aggression at the hands of imperialism and foreign control.
38.	International concord will remain an elaborate fiction if it means the monopoly of the big decisions ruling our destiny in the hands of a few and the consolidation of unjust conditions to which the peoples of the developing world are subjected, or if it is to be achieved at the expense of peoples and their rights to freedom, progress and self- determination. In those circumstances detente would be tantamount to extinguishing the focuses of dispute in a certain region of the world while feeding the elements of conflict in some other areas.
39.	In this connexion it is disappointing to see the United States of America bent on exploiting the international climate of relaxation in order to consolidate its interests at the expense of the interests of other peoples and sustaining aggression in all areas of the third world, especially in the Middle East.
40.	The state of international security today is far from permitting the majority of nations to achieve their aspirations for freedom, independence, peace, and progress. Imperialist aggression continues in important areas of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
41.	Faithful in its support of the principles of the freedom of peoples and their right to self-determination without foreign interference, and their right to territorial integrity, regional unity and permanent sovereignty over natural resources: faithful in its struggle against colonialism, imperialist control and exploitation, against discrimination on the basis of colour, race or creed; faithful to the Charter of the United Nations, the Syrian Arab Republic demands a cessation of imperialist interference and aggression against the people of Cambodia and considers that the five points of the Government of National Union are a practical and just basis for the solution of the Cambodian problem.
42.	We further demand the solution of the problem of Korea through the creation of appropriate conditions to hasten the union of Korea as an independent, peaceful nation. .We demand the withdrawal of all foreign forces from the southern Korean territories and the dissolution of
I the so-called United Nations Commission for the Unification and Rehabilitation of Korea. We believe that this session of the General Assembly of the United Nations should work towards uniting, not consecrating, the division of Korea.
43.	We welcome the Agreement on the restoration of peace in Viet-Nam.' We believe that the safeguarding of peace in this area is absolutely necessary for the carrying out in good faith of all the clauses of this Agreement. We therefore deplore the repeated violations of the provisions of the Agreement on the part of the imperialists and their agents, and we hope that the heroic Viet-Namese will  achieve complete success in their struggle to restore the social and economic structure of their country.
44.	We emphatically support the struggle of the national liberation movements in Africa, America and Asia. We strongly condemn the role of the racist minority in Rhodesia and in South Africa and the imperialist manoeuvres calculated to overthrow national governments in these countries.
45.	We warmly welcome the struggle of movements for national liberation bearing arms in the four quarters of Africa against the forces of racial discrimination and colonialist exploitation, and we offer them our support and
encouragement. We wish them the early attainment of their aims.
46.	In this connexion let me welcome the rise of that valiant country Guinea-Bissau to the status of independence through the struggle of its sons assisted by the great African continent and justice-loving peoples. It is high time that the Portuguese regime reviewed its reactionary policy and conceded the right of Mozambique and Angola to self-determination and independence. The admission of Guinea-Bissau — soon, we hope — to the ranks of the Organization's membership will be a landmark in the universal struggle for freedom and justice.
47.	World opinion endorses the fact that the Middle East problem now poses the greatest thereat to international peace and security. It is the one problem that bears within itself the seeds of a world war.
48.	The origins of the question, its tragedies and dimensions are known to everyone. Its ugly traces leap to the eye in the Israeli occupation of the land of Palestine in 1948, which has uprooted its inhabitants and deprived them of all their national and human rights. These ugly traces were further manifested in the expanded Israeli occupation of June 1967, which was an extension of settler colonialism and an imperialist conspiracy against the Arab nation.
49.	More than six years have passed since the Israeli occupation of territories of three Arab countries that are Members of the United Nations, and the imperialist forces are still striving hard to consolidate this occupation by the consecration of this aggressive fait accompli. The unlimited support offered by the United States of America to the Israeli aggressor has enabled Israel to defy the whole world and to deride the United Nations, its resolutions and its Charter.
50.	But peace-loving nations have come to perceive the dangers inherent in the continuance of this menacing situation, with the result that American imperialism and its Zionist creature are now lined up on one side facing all other nations on the other.
51.	The isolation of Israel and American imperialism in the United Nations and elsewhere in the international sphere has become one of the distinctive features of the present era in international relations. It reflects the attitude of rejection which the international community takes against aggression and the protectors of aggression.
52.	We place again before this international Organization the case of Israeli aggression because we are convinced that the United Nations, despite its shortcomings, is capable of playing a useful role in opposing imperialism, and in eliminating the consequences of aggression and protecting world peace.
53.	In a world of such intertwined interests, a world of common destiny, no responsible Government can be indifferent when its land and the peace of its people are threatened with destruction.
54.	The Middle East crisis does not threaten international peace and security alone; it is a menace also to the economic security of nations. In addition to this area being the most important route of communications by land, sea and air between three continents, it has the greatest known reserves of petroleum in the world — oil constituting the main prop of life with respect to any advance in civilization during our era.
55.	Signs and statistics indicate that the wheel of life in this world, and particularly in the advanced industrial nations, will for a long time and increasingly be dependent on. sources of energy in the Middle East. Accordingly, a view of the Middle East crisis from this perspective should prompt nations to intensify their efforts to eliminate the focuses of explosion in the region and to put an end to the reckless playing by Zion with the destinies of its peoples. Men everywhere have commenced to understand that their national wealth is one of the elements of their inherent strength and must play a role in protecting their independence and the integrity of their lands.
56.	Consequently, the situation in the Middle East calls for prompt, effective treatment by the United Nations and its Members. It requires that every effort be put forth to keep the Israeli aggressor from reaping the fruits of aggression. Condoning aggression by allowing the fait accompli to prosper threatens a continual erosion of the prestige of the United Nations and encourages aggression and expansion in every place upon the earth.
57.	It has been demonstrated in recent years that Israel, prospering through illegality, and adopting violence, terror, war and occupation to serve the objectives of its settler colonialism, has no regard whatsoever for the resolutions of the United Nations, no respect for any international or human or moral law. Israel's leaders have gone so far as to consider the resolutions taken by the United Nations as a sign of the bankruptcy of the Organization, morally, politically and legally.
58.	This Israeli arrogance and contempt for international law and custom has led Israel to embark on hideous practices that arouse the aversion and condemnation of the entire world. On 8 January 1973 Israeli planes undertook a brutal assault upon civilian targets in the Syrian Arab Republic, resulting in the slaughter of hundreds of civilians, old people, women and children. On 21 February 1973 Israeli forces raided the refugee camps in A1 Baddawi and A1 Barid in north Lebanon, killing a great number of women, old men and children. On 22 February this year Israeli armoured planes shot down a Libyan civil aircraft that had lost its way over Sinai. This resulted in the death of 108 innocent passengers. During the night of 9-10 April 1973 Israeli commando forces raided the city of Beirut. They murdered three Palestinian leaders in their sleeping quarters and slew a number of Palestinian refugees and Lebanese civilians. It was a real Mafia operation, yet it was perpetrated not by outlaw gangs but by the authorities of a Member State of the United Nations.
59.	Within this period Israel committed a series of deliberate murders of Arab individuals in Paris and Rome on the pretext that they supported the Palestinian cause or that they were suspected of supporting this cause. I think we all remember the murder of the Moroccan citizen Bouchiki in Oslo by Israeli intelligence staff and the ensuing expulsion of one of the members of the Israeli mission in Norway.
60.	On 5 August 1973 Israeli armoured planes abducted an Iraqi civil aircraft flying in Beirut skies to Lydda airport, endangering the lives of 76 passengers and gravely violating Lebanese sovereignty and the safety of international civil aviation. In its resolution 337 (1973) the Security Council condemned this aggression, as did the International Civil Aviation Organization.
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61.	On 13 September 1973,64 Israeli war planes of American manufacture undertook the most serious operation of violation of Syrian air space in a: attempt to strike at civilian targets. They were only prevented from achieving their objective by the opposition of our fighting planes. It is highly ironical that the leaders of Israel claim their planes were on routine patrol when our planes attacked them. Israeli arrogance goes as far as considering that Israeli fighter planes flying at a depth of a hundred kilometres within Syrian skies to be performing merely a routine flight.
62.	Israeli authorities have elevated terror to the level of the State's official policy in pursuance of the principle that the end justifies the means, with no regard to international law and without respect for the sovereignty of other nations. It is odd that such conduct by Israel, whereby it arrogates to itself the right to infringe the sovereignty of nations, has not
^aroused the foreign States that have suffered from it to take effectual counter-measures. Consequently, we find Golda Meir and Dayan announcing without trepidation that Israel will continue on its course, whatever the results.
63.	We must ask what the United Nations should do in the face of this situation, which constitutes a grave challenge to the international Organization and to the international and human community as a whole.
64.	The United States has impaired the competence of the Security Council by abusing the right of veto, which it has exercised to encourage Israeli aggression and the consolidation of the Israeli occupation of Arab lands, as reinforcement to American imperialist interests in the Middle East. It was natural that such conduct on the part of the United States should lead to the phenomenon of shifting the centre of gravity of United Nations activities and effectiveness from the Security Council to the General Assembly.
65.	The General Assembly, therefore, must bear its responsibilities under the Charter, it must make specific practical recommendations in the face of a situation which threatens international peace and security. The situation in the Middle East, menacing the peace and security of every nation, requires from the General Assembly that it adopt such resolutions as will exert real restraining pressure on Israel, in conformity with the provisions of Chapter VII of the Organization's Charter.
66.	The passage of six years since the Israeli aggression and occupation of the territories of three Arab nations is a clear indication that the leaders of Israel are not influenced a hair's breadth by the counsels and recommendations thus far embodied in the General Assembly resolutions, and that there is no alternative but to give such resolutions a new content.
67.	The Organization of African Unity \OAU\ comprehended this fact thoroughly and acted accordingly when in May 1973 it adopted a resolution stating that the attitude of Israel might lead OAU member States to take, at the African level, individually or collectively, political and economic measures against it, in conformity with the principles contained in the OAU and United Nations Charters. Further, the Fourth Conference of non-aligned nations held in Algiers in September 1973 called upon member States to take steps to boycott Israel diplomatically, economically, militarily and culturally, as well as in the field of sea and air transport.
68.	I wish in this connexion to hail the dynamic, progressive step proclaimed at the 2140th meeting by the President of the Republic of Zaire, General Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga, before the Assembly and the world. This is the most genuine expression of deep respect for the principles of the Charter of our Organization. It is an affirmation of the commitment of our peoples to support the struggle for freedom, justice and self-determination, and to act together in solidarity and determination against injustice.
69.	We welcome the spirit of courage and justice shown by all the States which, perceiving the aggressive expansionist nature of Israel, have severed relations with it. We call upon the General Assembly to adopt a resolution with such restraining provisions as will induce Israel to end its aggression, in accord with the provisions of the Charter. We remind the General Assembly, in this context, that Israel is the unique Member which has been received conditionally into the .United Nations. The General Assembly's resolution 273 (III) of 11 May 1949 further recalls the two resolutions concerning Palestine and- repatriation of the Palestinian refugees [resolutions 181 (II) and 194 (III)]. Israel has continued to violate those resolutions from the day of its entry into the Organization up to this very day.
70.	With this stand, Israel has put itself outside the pale of United Nations membership from a legal aspect, and there is no doubt that its repeated violations of the Organization's Charter have made it the more justifiable that Israel should have its membership stripped from it. We ask ourselves how the Organization can protect its existence from the fate encountered by the. League of Nations if it does not cast out from its ranks any Member that is insubordinate to its constitution; that tramples on its prestige, and announces, with the tongue of responsible authority, that morally, politically and legally it is a bankrupt Organization.
71.	We call upon the General Assembly, in defence of the international Organization's prestige and its very existence and out of respect for the principles of right and justice, to approve a resolution divesting Israel of membership and boycotting it diplomatically, economically, militarily, culturally, and in sea, air and land communications; demanding the immediate, unconditional withdrawal of Israeli forces from all Arab territories occupied since June 1967, and that all measures taken by Israel in those territories to alter their demographic and geographic features be considered void, with non-recognition of the consequences of those measures; further, that it recognize the right of the Palestinian Arab people to the restoration of all its national rights in its homeland.
72.	The authorities of Tel Aviv try to .ad world public opinion by promoting the idea of negotiations and secure boundaries. The world, however, saw the spuriousness of the Israeli position when Israel announced that it would not accept withdrawal from the Golan Heights or the Gaza Strip or Old Jerusalem or Sharm el Sheikh or the areas of Sinai, behind a line drawn from Sharm el Sheikh to Rafah; that the West Bank, though to be restored in a large part to the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Jordan according to the Israeli plan, should remain open to the citizens of Israel, who should enjoy the right to own land and work there, and that Israel would retain a number of army sites along the length of the Jordan river. Israel sees all these as sine qua non premises on the basis of which any negotiations must start, though it does not consider them prior conditions. The very fact of continuous Israeli occupation during a period of over six years, in itself, constitutes a condition which hangs heavily over us, and in the shade of which equal negotiations between, the occupier and the victim of occupation cannot take place. Any negotiations proceeding in such circumstances can lead only to submission and acceptance of the occupier's terms. This is what Israel and the forces behind her actually desire and are working toward.
73.	As for the idea of "secure boundaries", as Israel calls them, this is a mere ruse. Israel is contemptuous of the intelligence of us all when it justifies its expansionist greed by terming it an effort to obtain secure boundaries. In our day is there in truth such a thing as secure geographic boundaries? Technological advance and the new developments in weapons — of which Israel possesses the most advanced types — have erased boundaries, and there remain no geographical barriers on land or water of any significant effect in the face of these weapons. There is not one nation in the world, therefore, that can claim for itself secure geographical boundaries.
74.	True security is that which is built upon justice, on remedying any sense of injustice entertained by neighbouring countries, on respect for law and adherence to the principles of the Charter. This kind of security is naturally inconsistent with the expansionist goals of Israel. The "secure boundaries" which Israel is trying to promote for itself are expanded, movable boundaries which it carves out by altering the demographic, economic and geographic features of occupied territories and by bringing in millions of settlers from all quarters of the globe for conversion of the occupied territories into a Jewish land and preparatory to occupation of new territory at the expense of the Arabs.
75.	Following a debate held in the Executive Committee of the Jewish Agency three days before the creation of Israel was announced, Ben-Gurion said:
"Take, for instance, the American Declaration of Independence. They did not mention in it specific boundaries, and we are not obliged to mention boundaries for the area of Israel."
That shows the intentions of Israel; those are its aims.
76.	The position of the Syrian Arab Republic with respect to the Palestine problem and the imperialist Zionist aggression against our territories is a firm stand upon principle, consistent with the Charter of this Organization and with all international law and the rules of justice and right. There are two basic conditions for the establishment of peace in the Middle East: firstly, recognition of the rights of the Palestinian people to their lands and homeland and their full right to self-determination; and, secondly, immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of Israeli forces from all occupied Arab territories.
77.	Our determination to struggle for the liberation of all occupied Arab territories and the restoration of all the national rights of the Arab Palestinian people has never been stronger than it is today. We are certain that liberation of Arab earth from the Zionist imperialist aggression is a part of the universal struggle to create a world built on equality, justice and freedom, and that the realization of our goal of liberation enhances the aims of the United Nations and its lofty objectives.