169.	: Mr, President, I should like to congratulate you on your election by the General Assembly. It is a tribute not only to your personal merits and to those of your country, but also to the principle of universality which all of us in Latin America and in Colombia have defended.
170.	This year the General Assembly is meeting under the best of auspices. The peoples of the world have for many years awaited the end of the cold war that now seems not too distant. Strictly speaking, since the end of the Second World War, mankind has not enjoyed complete peace because of the grave effects of that catastrophic war-not only where the actual fighting took place, but also on other continents as well. In addition to the political turmoil, there was social and economic upheaval, the poverty of many regions and the displacement of countless persons. As if all that did not suffice, the victorious Powers found themselves at odds, which created more problems for the establishment of peace.
171.	The birth of the United Nations was surrounded by grave doubts regarding its ability to survive and continue for a number of years. This Organization was conceived as a means of creating united action among the great Powers, and the Security Council was to be a forum for the important decisions of war and peace. Once that unity was shattered, the rules that had been meticulously drafted in the cool atmosphere of Dumbarton Oaks and even in San Francisco to create a comprehensive and perfect system of world-wide collective security were left in mid-air. International life became far more complex and difficult than the drafters of the Charter of the United Nations had anticipated. However, we all realize that the great inadequacies in the political functioning of the Organization were due to the hard times of the cold war that has marked the last 25 years.
172.	We are therefore encouraged by the signs of a thaw in that cold war which we see today. There are evident signs of a European reconciliation: there is tangible proof that the differences separating the Federal Republic of Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the Western States from other countries of Eastern Europe can at last be settled. There is also a new Berlin Agreement that gives rise to this hope that the wall dissecting the former capital of the German Empire may disappear. In a word, there is a trend in the international community to do away everywhere with cold-war methods.
173.	To that trend must now be added the announcement of a forthcoming visit by the President of the United States, Mr. Richard Nixon, to the capital of the People's Republic of China. The meeting of those two gigantic nations will have a salutary effect if, with that meeting, mankind is brought closer to a period of real coexistence among peoples. However great may be the ideological differences that separate Colombia from the Asian giant, we could neither ignore nor conceal the importance of a nation of almost 800 million inhabitants co-operating with the United Nations. Nor can we forget what that meeting might signify in terms of fending off a new world war which would this time be a ghastly atomic holocaust on the Asian continent.
174.	The announcement of the Sino-United States rapprochement caused a sudden about-face in world politics and we are now witnessing the not-too-distant prospect of the entry of the People's Republic of China into the United Nations. In the event of such an occurrence, Colombia wishes to take a realistic approach in analyzing the facts. So we say that there is no perfect solution to a difficult problem. To admit Peking China by expelling Taiwan China is neither a praiseworthy nor an advisable solution, for it would be tantamount to applying a punitive measure to a
Government that has lawfully occupied a seat in this Organization. Yet the "two Chinas" thesis cannot fail to raise questions of the legal interpretation of the United Nations Charter regarding the presence of two representative Governments of one nation,
175, Of the two choices confronting us, Colombia tends to favor the second, without admitting that such a "two Chinas" stand could in the future be invoked as a binding and valid precedent in similar cases. This would be an exceptional solution for an exceptional problem and small States possessing little military power must not be at the mercy of the decisions of the great Powers when they decide that another small State is to be punished by expulsion. Therefore we do not oppose the admission to the United Nations of a great Asian State of recognized power, but we do oppose the jurisprudence of expulsion on the orders of the Great Powers. That would be a return to the harsh practices of the Holy Alliance 1815.
116. The presence of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations must not mean the expulsion of the Republic of China, of whose capacity to govern itself freely and to accept the obligations imposed by the Charter we have no doubt whatsoever. Allowing a new and great State to join the Organization would be in accord with the universality that Colombia has always advocated and would be in keeping with an undeniable reality of the contemporary world. But when the People's Republic of China joins us as a new Government represented here, it does not mean that the principles and systems of the United Nations should be changed, but instead that the new Government should join our system with all the rights and, at the same time, all the duties imposed by the Organization.
177.	Colombia categorically affirms that the right to representation of States implies a status similar to the right of citizenship and cannot be arbitrarily withdrawn by the international community. Still less can it be withdrawn in the United Nations, which is based on the principles of universality and the juridical equality of States. The precedent now being established would create a chink in the jurisprudence of the United Nations Charter.
178.	We are living in a period of negotiation and of contacts among nations with different ideologies in order to do away with the cold war and replace the use of force to settle situations that might lead peoples to wide conflicts. "If you desire peace, prepare for war", said the Romans, si vis pacem, para bellum, but today, with the sombre picture in mind of what the last world war was, and the thought of what a new armed clash among nations possessing the greatest atomic power in the world would mean, we have to coin the old aphorism differently and say rather "Si vis pacem, para pacem", "If you desire peace, prepare for peace".
179.	We are heading towards a pluralist world towards truce among the continents. Warring over ideologies has shown that none could alone unify the universe. We are therefore forced to recognize an ideological plurality and the diversity of political and social doctrines of nations if we wish wisely to acknowledge a palpable feature of our day. Never before- has it been more necessary to recognize the principles of self-determination of peoples and of non-intervention, which are the two cornerstones of our international world order. Without them, we would be back to the dismal and tragic period of interference by the great countries of the world in the domestic affairs of the small which for so many decades blotted the history of our American continent. We now aspire to full coexistence among the American .nations without any of them seeking to interfere in the free life of the others.
180.	Each country must have the right to channel its own institutions along the lines chosen by its citizens through the free play of popular vote and thus we shall be able to turn our attention to international co-operation on the basis ,of the principles that this General Assembly approved in 1970 in resolution 2625 (XXV), which might warrant repetition since they embody a supreme hope for legitimate peaceful coexistence among all States-regardless of their political and social doctrines or their national institutions.
181.	By that resolution the General Assembly approved the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and presented them as follows: the principle that States shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the principles of the United Nations; the principle that States shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice are not endangered; the duty not to intervene in matters within the domestic jurisdiction of any State in accordance with the Charter; the duty of States to co-operate with one another; the principle of equal rights and the self-determination of peoples; the principle of the sovereign equality of States; and the principle that States shall fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the Charter.
182.	If we are to act consistently with those principles, therefore, we must condemn the exporting of revolutions and we must accept the plurality of ideologies. Intervention is an aspect of the cold war that is being replaced as an obsolete policy. Nothing could be more absurd than the imposition of an ideology by the force of arms. A movement is gaining ground against such methods, and other techniques in the mutual relations of States are gaining ground-such as, for example, the visits of Heads of State of different beliefs and talks between Ministers of Foreign Affairs. Despite difficulties in the international field, the world is now guided by dialog and a sense of human understanding and solidarity.
183.	Without a doubt this was the trail blazed by Pope John XXIII, the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, who must be called the precursor of the' policies" of understanding that become manifest in events in the Far East and in Europe. In his encyclical Pacem in Terris, that outstanding leader outlined what should be true peaceful coexistence in the world, based on true balance between rights and duties, respect for minorities, a legal order in harmony with moral order and the common good based on the principles of economic justice. I shall quote his words;
"There is reason to hope, however, that by meeting and negotiating, men may come to discover better the bonds that unite them together, deriving from the human nature which they have in common; and that they may also come to discover that one of the most profound requirements of their common nature is this: that between them and their respective peoples it is not fear which should reign but love .. .".
184., It would be premature to try and foretell the outcome of this new period of understanding among all States, over and above their national idiosyncracies. Perhaps this pluralistic world of which we speak may come closer to that ideal that was sought at the beginning of the nineteenth century : the democratic State with the coexistence of its citizenry. We are transferring to a world-wide scale what was fulfilled within the narrow confines of the "independent State". The freedom of the State as a social group is today as necessary as freedom of thought to the citizen at the beginning of the democratic era. States therefore have the right to dissent. Among the great monoliths that are the atomic Powers small nations have a place. Ideological terror imposed by vast armies is today nonsensical.
185.	Colombia reiterates its adherence to the principles of international law and to the doctrine that the fundamental rights of the State is an essential need of the present day. This is an inevitable requirement of our era of relaxation of tensions and closer bonds and the general .assumption now is that different ideologies can coexist in the world without resorting to the occupation of free peoples or the desperate measures of war, bombing and the annihilation of defenseless populations.
186.	But that view has one more implication. European reconciliation, the shrinking of the conflict areas, the trend towards an ending of the war in Viet-Nam are all factors that should contribute to the conclusion of the unfinished business of disarmament as much as the entry of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations.
187.	A conference of all the atomic Powers seems today both possible and necessary, with the contribution of that great State, to avoid the arms race which weighs so heavily ori the developing nations and even on the countries which stockpile the weapons. In April of this year the Secretary- General of the United Nations, with his enlightened view of world needs, proclaimed the necessity for disarmament at the fourteenth session of the Economic Commission for Latin America and he quoted the alarming figure of $200,000 million as the disproportionate sum invested yearly by the nations of the world in the purchase of arms.
188.	Colombia has championed the elimination of all unnecessary military expenditures in Latin America. We believe that it is still not too late to extend to other highly sophisticated weapons the prohibition covering atomic arms
in our continent contained in the Treaty of Tlatelolco. There is no reason for the peoples that bear the burden of poverty and suffer the rigors of constant work in order to overcome the limitations of under-development to invest exorbitant amounts of money in armaments that are disproportionate with the true needs of their national defense. In Latin America we are running the risk of getting into an arms race, because we lack agreements prohibiting sophisticated and costly weapons.
189.	We are neither Utopian nor are we visionaries, but we are anxious to meet the needs of national defense. We wish to contribute to the economic and social development of our countries with all our resources and to the fullest extent of our ability. The arms race in the under-developed continents cannot but be the denial of the basic needs of men.
190.	And with disarmament, we face the harsh visage of poverty.
191.	Every year, from this very rostrum, the developing nations rise to repeat complaints about the deficiencies in world trade which hamper the expansion of their economies and hinder an increase in their resources. Colombia does so this year also, and with more than usual concern, because of the unexpected turn in the world monetary market. The developing countries had seemed to be the only ones to suffer from monetary readjustment due to imbalances in their balance of payments; but, paradoxically, this phenomenon now seems to be affecting the richer countries. We feel we are in good company although we face greater limitations because the crisis in the world monetary market affects us so vitally.
192.	This crisis is characterized by the unequal distribution of gold reserves and the impossibility of maintaining rigid exchange rates. We cannot nurture the illusion that it has been business as usual since the Second World War in the monetary and international trade institutions, inasmuch as the Bretton Woods pillars of monetary regulations are crumbling before us. But analyzing the consequences of these events we are led to state that it would be unjust completely inimical to the urgency of narrowing the gap between the wealthy and the poor countries if the financial imbalances of the former were allowed adversely to affect the scarce monetary reserves of the latter which have been accumulated through savings and constant work. This new Development Decade cannot be permitted to become a period of greater frustration.
193.	Consultative machinery in the international economic field that seems to be deteriorating to the great prejudice of the multilateral approach on which the 1944 Articles of Agreement on the International Monetary Fund rested must be re-established. We are in effect witnessing the existence of a double standard in monetary regulations: one that permits the great nations to ac' as they will and another that forces the poor countries to submit to the strict discipline of deprivation and poverty. We must return to the principle that no single country can by a unilateral decision alter the international exchange situation. Latin
America has just made a most vigorous protest against the recent United States decision to impose a 10 per cent surcharge on imports and it has taken a unified position on immediate and long-term solutions to the problem of revising the world monetary system which have been put forward by the Minister of Finance of Colombia, Dr. Rodrigo Llorente, on behalf of Latin America.
194.	Although this problem is under lengthy discussion in other forums, it is appropriate to mention that it would have been fairer towards the developing countries had the United States not applied the surcharge to them, since basically the rivalry that exists is between the great exporting nations. By exempting them it would have virtually granted the trade preferences that are still an imperative measure if the trade balance is to be restored. We must realize that the situation in the developing countries which in all continents represent the area with the largest population has not improved sufficiently in the past few years and could deteriorate if these circumstances are not remedied.
195.	Colombia believes that everything should tend towards the opening of new markets for our products. In the strategy for development of the countries with fewer resources, it would seem that what Mr. Raul Prebisch called "the persistent and systematic effort to overcome foreign strangulation" has to be resorted to. Apart from the need for structural reforms and the accumulation of their own resources, and the development of greater technological capacity, that distinguished economist, in a study on Latin America published under the auspices of the Inter- American Bank,  warned us that in the future our countries would depend on new exports.
196.	The problem of world trade is daily becoming more acute and distressing for the developing countries, which depend on their exports to pursue their plans for progress. The dilemma facing these countries is either export or suffer from poverty, and that of the developed countries is to share their profits or to increase world disorder.
197.	At past regular sessions of the General Assembly, Colombia advocated consideration of certain aspects of a concrete revision of the United Nations Charter. We are fully aware of the very serious tactical problems which would be involved in a genial revision of the San Francisco Charter. We have taken a very specific approach to this and we have referred to the problem of universality and the acceptance of new Members in the United Nations.
198.	-	We think that the institutions governed by the Charter can be perfected. First of all, we would like to have regional covenants of collective security used mere broadly in the Lengthening of peace. Experience has shown that the Security Council, in most eases, is paralyzed because of political obstacles which have been created by the antagonistic stands of the major Powers, and that is why greater flexibility must be given to it in application of Article 53 of the Charter.
199.	It was felt in San Francisco that regional arrangements were a dangerous exception to the general rules of collective security and an intense campaign was waged to render the Charter compatible with the rules of the Inter-American system. Today we note the contrary phenomenon taking place. No one would challenge the advantage of appealing to the countries directly concerned in a given conflict.
200.	Regional collective security agreements are the best instruments for co-ordination among the countries directly interested in solving international problems before appealing to the Security Council.
201.	Secondly, the International Court of Justice needs to play a more active role in the maintenance of peace. The Statute of the Court grants limited jurisdiction in whatever controversial matters the parties submit to it, and this has led to important decisions that have enriched international jurisprudence. But exclusively legal matters, and questions of the interpretation of treaties have constituted the main subjects for discussion by the Court, and these should not be the sole concern of that judicial body. If it were not possible to extend the competence of the International Court of Justice to matters of peace, as Colombia has already advocated and defended from this rostrum last year [1846th meeting], it might be advisable to consider granting it special competence to safeguard human rights throughout the world.
202.	The International Court of Justice would then act as an organ to protect human rights and would play a decisive role in one of the areas of international law where valuable experience has already been gathered by the European Court of Human Rights, which a number of Western nations established. This competence could be open to acceptance by States, and, little by little, a new jurisprudence would build up on the principles of the international covenants on human rights of the United Nations which otherwise run the risk of becoming just a manual of pious good intentions without practical application.
203.	The United Nations is studying a grave matter, the law of the sea. The 1973 Conference, convened by the General Assembly pursuant to resolution 2750 (XXV), is being actively prepared for, but a thorough study of the subjects allocated to that Conference is still required. In practical terms, that Conference will have to deal with all the problems of the law of the sea, going from the breadth of the territorial sea to the international regime for the sea-bed, without overlooking such related issues as the continental shelf, the contiguous zone, fishing and the exploration of marine resources.
204.	At the last session, Colombia sponsored the convening of this Conference and we feel in duty bound to draw attention to the undeniable need to prepare a strict program of work that will lead to mature and carefully pondered decisions at the future session. Perhaps the best way of ensuring positive results would be not to contend that all subjects should be discussed at the same time, but problems should instead perhaps be staggered in different stages or sessions of a Conference that might well stretch over for a number of months, or might even be held in two consecutive years. It would be far better to advance thoughtfully step by step than to try to rush through the whole gamut in one single session.
205.	The problems confronting us under the heading of "The Law of the Sea" are vast in their implications. On the one hand there is the question of the international regime for the sea-bed and ocean floor and the subsoil thereof beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. The Declaration of Principles adopted by the General Assembly in 1970 in resolution 2749 (XXV) spells undoubted progress in shaping the new doctrine of the "common heritage of mankind" as applied to the sea-bed. As the Declaration states, that area "shall not be subject to appropriation... by any States" and "shall be open to use exclusively for peaceful purposes". All activities in the area shall be governed by the international regime to be established. Much progress has been made thanks to the preliminary study carried out in the enlarged Committee on the Peaceful Uses of the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction of the United Nations which has considered a number of draft resolutions, one of which, co-sponsored by Colombia and 11 other Latin American countries, provides for an international sea-bed authority possessing sufficient autonomy to undertake scientific research of the abyssal depths and their exploitation.
206.	On the other hand, there are still the matters left pending after the first two United Nations Conferences on the Law of the Sea, which were held in 1958 and 1960. In reality, the four Conventions approved in 1958 constituted the most ambitious codification of the regulations of the sea that might have been imagined in the days of John Selden and Hugh Grotius, and they are the very basis of maritime international law today. However, there can be no doubt that the enormous strides of science and technology have brought out new problems not contemplated in 1958. The very matter of the joint exploitation of the sea-bed calls for far greater precision in the definition of concepts related to each of the four Conventions adopted that year on the territorial sea, the continental shelf, the high seas, the fishing zone and the conservation of the living resources of the sea.
207.	Colombia believes that significant agreements must be arrived at if the Conference is to be a success, and to that end, we suggest:
(a)	The principle that all States shall be free to utilize the marine and submarine zones contiguous to their shores and that they shall be considered an extension of their territory;
(b)	The principle that there exist reasonable limits to the setting of the sovereign and primary interest of the State over the marine and sub-marine zones contiguous to their shores, and that there can be no hindering of the Jus commune nationis nor the common progress of mankind;
(c)	The principle that the international community should offer the State guarantees and safeguard it against undue usurpation of its marine and submarine resources by devising, for international maritime law, a concept of Uti possidetis maris similar to that which exists in Latin America for national territory.
208.	We also would point out the need to differentiate between the territorial and the patrimonial sea. In many cases the differences that occurred in international maritime law have been due to the mistaken use of the territorial sea to meet the economic needs of our day, when these could better be served with the new notion of the "patrimonial sea". The former is the zone of exclusive sovereignty recognized for the coastal State, over the sea, the air space and the subsoil under the waters. It is an old part of international law whose origins go back to the Middle Ages and which was always understood as defined by Pradier Foddrd as "the defensive line of the territory".
209.	This concept is deeply embedded in the legal customs of man, but with all due respect to the countries of Latin America which have adopted ample breadths for their territorial sea. Yet one still wonders whether it is appropriate for the State to enjoy the unlimited right of setting the breadth of the territorial sea to the point that it might close off the lines of communication of other States. The jus commune nationis of which Francisco de Vitoria wrote is still a vital need today, and if we leave in the hands of States the right to set any breadth whatsoever for the territorial sea, or to extend it to the coasts of another State across a gulf or a strait, the freedom of communications across the sea would be endangered.
210.	At the last two United Nations Conferences on the Law of the Sea, a quasi-unanimous consensus was arrived at on the 12-mile maximum breadth for the territorial sea, which seems in itself sufficient under normal circumstances to permit vigilance to be maintained over the coasts. Of course, however, with modern weaponry and intercontinental missiles, medieval concepts have been made obsolete, and if the countries with lesser military potential insist on contending that the territorial sea can be extended arbitrarily, the great Powers could quite easily close off the seas altogether by the mere application of the principle stated by Bynkershoek, when he proclaimed that territorial sovereignty ends with the range of weapons (Potestas terrae finiri ubi finitur armorum vis).
211.	A confusion has arisen in the present discussions between the territorial sea which should reach the 12-mile limit and the patrimonial sea which had begun to appear in international law as a zone where the coastal State enjoys special privileges for the exploration and exploitation of marine and submarine resources. Today, the patrimonial sea is what the territorial sea was to the Middle Ages: a consequence of biological and economic needs and also of the need to defend a nation's own resources as well as a way of compensating for the poverty of many areas, or, in other cases, for the lack of a continental shelf, and it includes the exclusive authority to explore and exploit the sea and all its resources.
212.	The patrimonial sea could well be 200 miles wide while the territorial sea merely reaches the 12-mile limit. The special privileges recognized for it should be the subject of a separate convention unifying rights over the contiguous zone and the continental shelf. Thus we might come to a reasonable compromise between the old and the new- between the 12-mile limit and the 200-mile limit that some countries claim; between the States which contend that the territorial sea cannot be widened unrestrictedly by unilateral measures and those which advocate the present-day concept of the economic interests of State applied to the
legal regime of the sea. The common denominator would be to avoid closing off the high seas.
213.	To the universality of the principles of the Law of the Sea is added the need to accept the regional nature of solutions for each of the seas themselves, considered separately. Surely the Pacific Ocean, where distances are immense, is not the same as the Caribbean or the Baltic Seas. Colombia considers that a regional agreement will have to be arrived at for the Caribbean which includes all States having islands or mainland coasts on it, whatever their national situation. It is only thus that we will be able to settle the specific questions that arise with regard to the narrow area of the Caribbean, where no country can claim its 200 miles without encroaching upon the waters of another State.
214.	Regional marine agreements will facilitate the already complex work of the future universal conference of the law of the sea. A regional conference of the countries of the Caribbean region would, I believe, be very advisable, to establish special formulas for this island-studded sea, as a preparatory stage for the world conference.
215.	If a special formula of 200 miles has been arrived at for the Pacific or the Atlantic, surely it would be possible to devise a more appropriate one for the Caribbean, or the Baltic or the Persian Gulf or the Red Sea.
216.	Universality and regionalism have never been incompatible concepts as far as political and security aspects are concerned, and we believe that the solution to the problems of the sea lies in these two concepts.
217.	May I conclude my statement paying a tribute to our Secretary-General, UThant. For many years he has been the man who has been directly responsible for the fate of the United Nations. Information on the grave situations confronting mankind has been placed in his hands-and thanks in large measure to his serenity, ability and wisdom as a great statesman of Asia, none of these has led to a confrontation. His calm demeanor has been a model of international wisdom, yet it has never been devoid of energy. On the war in Viet-Nam and on conflicts that have afflicted other regions, UThant has made categorical declarations and issued warnings to the major Powers.
218.	In the forthcoming election of a new Secretary- General of the United Nations, Latin America claims the right and the honor to elect one of its own citizens of this continent. Europe and Asia have already exercised this right, and it is only natural that Latin America should obtain this honor and responsibility in the person of a son of its own continent.
219.	Colombia expresses a most fervent wish that the United Nations shall truly be an Organization of peace, law and justice, for mankind, which still places its hopes and trust in the principles of the San Francisco Charter.


138.	Mr. President, on behalf of the delegation of Chile, I have the honor to offer you our warmest congratulations on your election to preside over the twenty-sixth regular session of the General Assembly. Your nomination is a tribute to your capacity and your experience. We cannot lose sight of the fact that in Bandung, in 1955,  basic principles were established for common action on the part of the countries of the third world.
139.	My delegation is also particularly happy to welcome the representatives of the three new States that have just been admitted to our Organization: Bahrain, Qatar and Bhutan. We are sure that we shall establish solid ties of friendship and co-operation with them.
140.	To U Thant I bring a very special greeting from the people and the Government of Chile. We should have preferred him to stay at the head of our Organization. His performance has been deeply imbued with heartfelt idealism but, at the same time, with very acute and wise understanding. He has advocated the peaceful settlement of disputes, international co-operation and the strengthening of the moral authority of the United Nations. His work has been exemplary, and we are most appreciative. We know that he will continue to co-operate in all the great undertakings that may spell a benefit for mankind as a whole.
141.	A political and electoral decision by the Chilean peoples, ratified by the National Congress in accordance with our Constitution, last year led to the establishment in our country of a new Government that has decided to begin the creation of a socialist society in Chile in keeping with our own national characteristics.
142.	The triumph obtained was the result not only of an electoral exercise but also of a crystallization of a long period of struggle and experience which tempered and organized the Chilean people, awakening its political awareness and teaching it to start through new roads an ambitious and important revolutionary undertaking. The strength and flexibility of the Chilean political institutions, reinforced by the loyalty of our armed forces to democracy, is enabling us, with the least possible social cost, to cross the bridge between the past and the future, although not without having to confront the stubborn and insistent resistance of the interests affected by the changes taking place within and outside the country.
143.	Therefore, I do not speak on behalf of a stagnant people, or one that is wanting in the great ideals of peace, justice and liberty which underlie the United Nations. I speak for a people that calls for respect and encouragement from the international community for its laborious efforts to obtain that justice within the framework of the law, in strengthening and widening fundamental freedoms and human rights.
144.	The domestic and foreign forces that oppose the social transformations we are carrying out constantly endeavor to distort our image to the world in order to alienate us from our friends and to make it difficult for us to obtain international and bilateral assistance, with the final aim of blocking our revolutionary task and trying to maintain a past that no longer has the support of our people nor any historical justification.
145.	That is why this appearance before the Assembly is not mere routine. We have a determined purpose, and that is to fit our policy within the framework of the United Nations, and thus contribute to the efforts of the Members of the international community represented here to achieve a stronger and effective peace, which is the imperative condition for the progress of the world's peoples. We are here also to encourage and assist the United Nations in the work being carried out by peoples, to convert foreign dependence, which immobilizes and deforms them, into a vast and authentic framework of international co-operation.
146.	Chile is now undertaking a policy aimed at nationalizing its natural resources which are in foreign hands, widening and extending our agrarian reform, and taking over control by the State of the essential economic activities of the country so as to allow us, in a rational and planned manner, to utilize our natural, human and financial resources for the common good. We are deeply convinced that these objectives are at one with the achievement by the United Nations of its own supreme goals.
147.	We value, support, and are endeavoring to contribute to a transformation of the humanistic principles of the United Nations into tangible reality. We recognize that this entity is the most valuable instrument thus far created to encourage international peace and justice and, thereby, to help man to reach a fuller and better future. These aspirations have met with great obstacles created by vested interests desirous of maintaining in nations, and in their mutual relations, the irrational, dependent and unjust structure which, unfortunately, still prevails in the world.
148.	The United Nations has now become an irreplaceable world forum; a network of agencies that are of undeniable advantage and a source of law. But it is still not the tool that we need in order to permit a solution to the problems linked to international peace: that is, the full strengthening of the sovereignty of States, respect for the principle of the self-determination of peoples, and the economic progress of the developing countries.
149.	The principles of the Charter of the United Nations are still valid and are consonant with the aspirations of peoples. But they must be translated into positive action in order to alleviate the lot of man and keep up with the revolutionary transformations taking place in our world.
150.	Chile fully shares the concerns and views expressed about these matters at Lusaka and at other conferences of non-aligned nations. We must point out that in the last 26 years economic and social development, impelled by the United Nations, has been fruitful in some cases, but sterile in others, Hundreds of millions of persons have been liberated from the colonial yoke; peoples have acquired a greater awareness of their needs and of their future. But we still live in a period of armed peace, and therefore a precarious peace. Moreover, the contrasts and distances between the wealthy countries and the dispossessed masses of mankind are increasing, while the basic principles of peaceful coexistence are violated as are those of respect for the political and economic sovereignty of States and unconditional co-operation without interference. The reactionary forces of imperialism, colonialism and neocolonialism have no compunction in putting down or pressuring peoples struggling for independence or desirous of consolidating it through economic emancipation.
151.	There is an indifference or perhaps an inability to face tragedies such as the flight to India of millions of East Pakistanis. Surely this is a problem worthy of special attention by this Assembly, as the President of Chile expressed in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. There is a war of extermination in Indo-China; there is a constant threat of war in the Middle East; there are African peoples that are still the victims of colonial slavery or of brutal racial persecution; and in Latin America there is an increasing feeling of frustration and helplessness.
152.	Yet, despite these sombre aspects of the international picture, despite these limitations to the work of the United Nations, we still believe that we must in that work stress the formulation of important principles of international law which respond to the voiced aspirations of the great majority of peoples and which help to create s new and more just world order.
153.	Among such principles I think it most timely to recall those that have established the right of peoples not only to political independence, but also to economic sovereignty.
154.	It is obvious that the principle of the self- determination of peoples and its corollary, the termination of colonialism, have been greatly strengthened by resolutions of the General Assembly, particularly 1514 (XV), the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, a resolution which has now made unchallengeable the right to struggle for full political emancipation.
155.	In the same way, other fundamental resolutions, such as resolution 1803 (XVII), which proclaims the right of States freely to exploit their resources and natural wealth, as well as to exercise permanent sovereignty over them, and have therefore signified explicit recognition, on the part of the international community, of the right of peoples to economic independence.
156.	It is within the very context of these principles, so solemnly declared by the United Nations, that the Government of Chile, as a means of overcoming its economic dependence, lias undertaken a process of recovery for the country of those natural resources and wealth which are basic for the development of the national economy. Pursuant to that policy we have nationalized the great copper-mining industry, within the framework of respect for the principles of international law and our own traditional observance of the domestic legal order. That nationalization was born of an initiative taken by the Government of Popular Unity, which was unanimously approved by the National Congress, in which the opposition is in the majority,
157.	The Government of Chile is convinced that the exercise of its sovereign right to recover for the country its natural resources-a right recognized by the United Nations -will be respected by the affected interests. We therefore hope '.at no new pressures or reprisals will be taken against us for that reason.
158.	I am happy to point out that in the recently issued Joint Declarations signed by our own President and the Presidents of Ecuador, Colombia and Peru on August, 31 August and 3 September respectively, in accordance with those principles, express mention was made of the repudiation by all our countries of any undue pressure to limit or condition the free exercise of the right to recover control over natural resources.
159.	The exercise of sovereignty over basic resources cannot be divorced from another very important question being discussed at the moment in this Organization. I speak of the law of the sea.
160.	For developing countries such as my own, utilization of the national resources of the maritime areas adjacent to their coasts is intended primarily to meet economic needs in order to ensure the welfare of the population.
161.	It was these measures which led an increasing number of Latin American States, including Chile, to proclaim our sovereignty and jurisdiction up to a distance of 200 marine miles in order to ensure the conservation and exploitation of those natural resources.
162.	Chile is convinced that the aims we seek are hindered if, in all the extension over which we exercise our jurisdiction, there is any restriction of the freedom of navigation or over-flight to which all planes and ships of
any flag have a perfect right. *
163.	Chile will continue to participate actively in the debate on the law of the sea in order to contribute to the establishment of norms and regulations which, while recognizing the just interests of other States particularly in the field of international communications, will guarantee the right of the coastal States to exercise their sovereignty over the natural resources of the marine areas adjacent to their coasts.
164.	The efficacy of the United Nations depends to a large extent on the degree of universality it is able to achieve, Universality means to throw open the doors of the
Organization to those countries that have so far been excluded, such as the People's Republic of China, the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic and the now divided States such as Viet-Nam and Korea; it also means to welcome the countries and territories that are still under colonial domination.
165.	Chile hopes that at this session we will redress the enormous historic error of having kept the People's Republic of China out of the world Organization. When we correct an unjust and anomalous situation, we will be breathing new life into the United Nations. We will, with the co-operation of China, be given a new impulse to all the undertakings leading to peace and welfare of all peoples. The recognition of the legitimate rights of the People's Republic of China must be stated clearly and unambiguously, without subterfuge. It is a question of recognizing it as the legitimate representative of all China with a just right to occupy a seat in the Security Council and in all other United Nations organs and conferences and to recognize that Taiwan is part of China and to bar any other representation.
166.	Guided by the principles of the Charter, which set forth the sovereignty of peoples and respect for international agreements freely arrived at, my country wishes to express its solidarity with the heroic people of Viet-Nam that have never yielded to the cruel sufferings of a war imposed on them by invading forces and that prefer to die rather than bend the knee and abdicate their freedom and dignity. We express our desire for an immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of foreign troops from Viet-Nam and support the seven-point proposal of the Provisional Government of Viet-Nam to solve this grave conflict,
167.	We also repudiate the invasion of the other peoples of Indo-China, such as Cambodia and Laos, and we support their aspirations to live in peace and to decide upon their own future without foreign intervention.
168.	For the same reasons of principle, with regard to the conflict in the Middle Bast, my Government is still convinced that resolution 242(1967) of the Security Council, accepted by the parties concerned, is the key to restore peace to that tormented region. We consider that the people of Palestine deserves not only humanitarian attention, but a recognition of its legitimate rights. In accordance with that resolution, we feel that the Israeli troops should withdraw from occupied territories, that any effort to annex such territories should be condemned, that all States of the zone, excluding none, have a perfect right to a recognition of their territorial integrity, their sovereignty and political independence, as well as to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries. We trust that Ambassador Jarring's mission will be resumed and that the four great Powers will continue to seek the best way of ensuring application of resolution 242 (1967) and that both the Security Council and the General Assembly will again examine all possibilities of finding a just solution to the conflict in the Middle East which threatens international peace and security.
169.	My delegation is very happy at the very felicitous African initiative to co-operate in the search for a solution among the countries that are now in conflict and that may lead to a formula that will solve the question in a way the entire world desires,
170.	We wish to state our understanding of and solidarity with the African and Asian peoples that struggle for independence. This Organization that has contributed to the liquidation of colonialism must increase its efforts supporting the movements of national liberation and forcing the colonial Powers to fulfill the terms of the Charter. The people and Government of Chile trust that very soon the delegations of Angola, Mozambique, Guinea (Bissau) and of the peoples of Zimbabwe and Namibia will take their seats in this hall, but in the meantime those territories and peoples are being martyrized in their just struggle for independence, and in southern Africa there is being created an extremely dangerous colonialist and racist bloc, Once again Chile condemns the practices of apartheid and of racial discrimination, which are an insult to mankind.
171.	Reaffirming these points of views, we have very often expressed our support for the agreements arrived at during the Third Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Lusaka in September 1970. I am happy to state that China is now a full member of the group of non-aligned nations, where we will be able actively to co-operate in the achievement of true peaceful coexistence, avoiding a division of the world into blocs and endeavoring to ensure that all countries, great and small, will contribute to understanding and co-operation among peoples.
172.	The Government of Chile considers that at this new session of the General Assembly two subjects will be thoroughly and jointly discussed: the strengthening of international security and general and complete disarmament. We believe that this Assembly must implement the Declaration on the Strengthening of International Security, adopted last year [resolution 2734 (XXV)]. Furthermore, a Soviet Union suggestion was put forward for the holding of a world disarmament conference [A/8491], and my Government supports it whole-heartedly.
173.	The arms race is in direct proportion to international tension. One provokes the other. Despite agreements arrived at, we believe it is in the interest of the smaller and non-aligned nations that any initiative to slow down the arms race, be it nuclear or conventional, be welcomed. Chile is ready to co-operate in a task which we consider to be the most important of our day.
174.	Along this line of reasoning, we cannot but condemn the proliferation of nuclear weapon tests, particularly those carried out in the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean, which have caused a number of justifiable complaints from the coastal States, For this reason, in the Organization of American States we supported the Colombian proposal to study an effective limitation of armaments in Latin America,
175.	This concern shown by our country to diminish international tension and bring us closer to a world system of security to replace the blocs we inherited from the cold-war period leads us enthusiastically to welcome the
Quadripartite Agreement on Berlin, signed in that city on 3 September 1971. These agreements help to solve the German problems on the strength of full recognition of the international personality both of the Federal Republic of Germany and of the German Democratic Republic. At the same time they open the way for the holding of a conference on European security to herald the dawn of a new era of peace and co-operation in that vital part of the world.
176.	Consistent with the political beliefs I have mentioned, in bilateral relations my Government has endeavored to strengthen, establish and maintain relations with all countries all over the world, regardless of their domestic regimes but on the basis of unconditional respect for self-determination and non-intervention. Following that line of conduct, we have re-established relations with Cuba and thus redressed a historic injustice. We have also established relations with the People's Republic of China, the German Democratic Republic, Guyana, Nigeria, the People's Republic of Mongolia, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Arab Republic of Libya and Albania.
177.	The visit that I made to the socialist countries of Europe, heading a fruitful political and economic mission, and the welcome we offered in Chile to a number of high-level delegations from all regions of the world, including those of very old countries of Western Europe that have contributed so greatly to our progress, attest to this true opening up of Chile to a new and wider understanding of international relations.
178.	We have endeavored successfully to broaden our relations and ties with the sister Republics of Latin America. The recent visit of President Allende to Ecuador, Colombia and Peru, and the wide consensus reached with those countries, and set forth in constructive joint declarations, as well as the support and impetus which we have impressed on the Andean Subregional Integration Agreement within the framework of the Latin American Free Trade Association, also reflect this new orientation of our policy.
179.	I wish to state with great satisfaction that we have reached an agreement with the Argentine Republic to solve through arbitration, the pending border problems with that country at the Beagle Canal, This attests to the warm and friendly relations between our country and that great neighbor and is an example of a peaceful and legal solution to an international problem, which the Presidents of the two countries attempted to establish at their historic meeting in Salta.
180.	We have been, and are, ready to resume diplomatic relations with Bolivia unconditionally and thus to put an end to an unjustified state of affairs and allow an always necessary dialog to take place between two sister Republics.
181.	This entire policy bespeaks our vocation of fraternity and co-operation in Latin America, and that is why we are concerned about the unjust economic isolation to which the sister Republic of Cuba has been subjected. To continue that situation of discrimination against that country seems to us juridically and morally unacceptable and we shall do all in our power to do justice to that valiant people that, in different ways but still in keeping with its own desires, is, like Chile, pursuing the dream of creating a socialist society on American soil.
182.	My country is happy to note that we have normal relations with the United States of America. We believe that questions pending involving private American interests should not alter our traditional friendship with that great nation.
183.	At the last session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States [OAS] held in San Jose, Costa Rica, in April 1971, the Government of Chile expressed its views regarding the role which that organization has been playing in inter-American relations. We contended then that the OAS had been used to increase the relation of dependency between the United States and Latin America. We said that for an inter-American system to serve as a means of constructive dialog between the North and the South of the continent, the fictitious principles on which the OAS at present rests must be replaced by others more in keeping with reality that will recognize the objective divergence of interests of the United States and Latin America, as expressed in the concrete practice of international relations and as we have begun now to see them in the Special Committee for Latin American Coordination (CECIA) since the Consensus of Vina del Mar of May 1969.
184.	That practice has shown that the gap between the advanced capitalist countries and the developing nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America tends to increase; despite words, despite declarations and despite international agreements, what people see is a failure on the part of the traditional patterns for development, the repeated lack of fulfillment by the prosperous countries of their commitment to eradicate under-development, and the systematic refusal of the industrialized nations to adopt measures to redress the imbalance of international trade.
185.	To prove these statements, suffice it to recall what has been happening to the trade of the dependent nations whose participation shrinks constantly and is less equitable than ever on the world market: the result of the measures for financial assistance which have turned the nations of the third world into constant debtors, the uncontrolled exploitation of the natural resources and wealth of the countries which were purportedly being helped by investments by monopolies, the costly transfer of a minimum of technology and th?. abusive control of marine trade.
186.	'	The instruments and machinery regulating the monetary system of the world, as well as international trade, established at the end of the Second World War, despite their declared principles, have proved to be incapable of achieving a balanced development of the world economy and have hindered the economic growth of the backward regions. Today, when these systems turn out to be unfavorable to their proponents, they are abandoned unilaterally and upheavals are created that have negative effects on the developing countries.
187.	We must protest vigorously against this unjust situation for Which we are not responsible. Latin American
Governments shared this opinion unanimously at the session of CECLA held in September of this year, in Buenos Aires, where they stressed the damage which the recently adopted measures of the United States would do to Latin American economy and the economy of the developing nations in general. That position of Latin America was also expressed at the seventh session of the Inter-American Economic and Social Council where, unfortunately, no positive understanding was shown by the United States delegation. Lately we have seen that new formulae have been studied to reorganize the world monetary system. We hope that those formulae will not overlook the legitimate interests of the under-developed countries and will not further increase the vulnerability and dependence of their economies.
188.	The formulation of the bases for international trade relations must be discussed at the third session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD]. The agreements of the developing countries to be arrived at by the Group of 77 when it meets in Lima in October must improve upon previous agreements and establish the background for the debates at the third session of UNCTAD, to be held in Santiago, Chile, in April 1972. In so doing, the dialog which was begun in New Delhi among the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America with the capitalist industrialized countries and the socialist countries will be resumed: It is to be hoped that by that time the outlines, for a general system of tariff preferences will be implemented as the European Economic Community and Japan are already doing and as the United Kingdom and the Nordic countries have promised to do very soon.
189.	As the host country we shall do all in our power not only to ensure the material success of the conference but also to contribute, in close co-operation with the other countries of the Group of 77, so that the aspiration to international justice will gain ground and set aside egotism and recalcitrance.
190.	To succeed, all undertakings in that direction must be met by a corresponding domestic effort on the part of each of the developing States to develop, increase, mobilize and make rational use of their natural and human resources. But in order to achieve that end, the peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America must develop their own scientific and technological capacities, make profound changes in their social and economic structures. They will have to adjust the foreign components of the development process to the needs and priorities of national development. They will also have to channel the role played by foreign private capital in order to achieve those priorities, and they will have to encourage the preparation of regional and subregional plans for integration as well as increase their mutual co-operation.
191.	This struggle of the under-developed countries to impress an impulse on their economic development, to strengthen their political sovereignty and to achieve their social emancipation is supported by the workers of the whole world and by the progressive and advanced nations whose policy is not committed to the maintenance of the present unjust domestic and external structures.
192.	In its activities the United Nations must reflect the combination of all those forces, which doubtless are the most powerful in the world and thus make accessible to man and society the new and greater form of coexistence.
193.	The people and Government of Chile will stint no effort to succeed in the struggle, nor shall we be found wanting. This is proved by the fact that domestically we are trying to reconstruct our society along the lines of socialism, under the auspices of justice and freedom, and when we give our assistance to peace, detente, security and international co-operation.
194.	By our assistance we contribute to the creation of a future that we wish to be more just and free. Inexorably, that is the course of history, and we Chileans, consistent with our austere and hard-working tradition, will make all sacrifices to assume our full responsibility within a more active, creative and united international community.


83.	 Mr. President, the first words of my delegation and of my Government, in participating in this general debate, must be those of satisfaction at seeing the Foreign Minister of Indonesia presiding over the twenty-sixth regular session. Your great experience and your well-known judgment. Sir, your impartiality and your conciliatory approach, augur well for our work during the next few months; work that is filled with very heavy problems, but nevertheless most promising and open to decisions of great significance to the future of the international community.
84.	The United Nations will no doubt be the arena for new alignments of world political powers. In fact, the move towards the universality that the United Nations Charter defines will allow States heretofore outside this international forum to join us, and, due to their own unique position, they might help in a redefinition not only of the political interests at play, but what is more important, the political forces that move economic and social development and relations among the developed and the developing countries.
85.	We can foresee that in the not too distant future the nations which today are divided will, with their own consent, find a place in the Organization. The admission of those States, to the exclusion of their counterparts, would be like trying to square the circle. Therefore, the only solution is to offer equal opportunities to the nations divided into States, whose division was caused by the armed conflicts that took place in the last 30 years. The duration of that division will depend upon the nations themselves, since they alone can decide upon their ultimate political reunification. In the meantime, their absence from the international arena creates a breach in significant and promising negotiations.
86.	The application of the principle of universality pre-supposes the recognition of certain political facts, without thereby justifying them or endeavoring to interfere in the domestic affairs of other States. There are, however, certain facts that have lasted for a number of decades and will apparently be crystallized for many more. The United Nations is not creating those situations which the historians will have to unravel and politicians solve. The United Nations has to work with the world as it is. The least we can do is to accept to negotiate with the spokesmen of all sides and ideologies present. Otherwise, we are doing a disservice to peace and security and are, a priori, closing the road to agreement and compromise.
87.	Therefore, any discussions that might confuse agreements that could ultimately lead to the principle of universality's being applied should be postponed or dealt with very simply, without acrimony of any sort. Declaring a truce in the verbal war that has taken place year after year and that has presented no new argument to the point that we have heard them so often we might say that we know all the arguments by rote-would be a service to the United Nations and to the peoples which have most directly lived through those antagonisms for the last few years.
88.	We must point out that the mere increase in the Members of the United Nations, although bringing in new forces, and probably new ideas for the treatment of problems, is not in itself a solution to the great pending problems themselves. However, it is a better basis on which to deal with those problems than the present one. If we do some honest stocktaking, we would have to recognize that the United Nations has been absent, or has only participated very incidentally, in the most critical problems in the last few years. Even arrangements for the achievement of universality have been carried out outside the United Nations through bilateral or multilateral negotiations. The United Nations should have participated in explorations and negotiations taking place that will in the future lead to the admission of new Members. Thus, not only would we strengthen the concept of the United Nations presence, but by positive action we would also assist the world in achieving the objectives and principles of the Charter. Probably for technical reasons-but we might be well advised to try to overcome them through political initiatives and with the agreement of the interested parties-the United Nations has been absent from the entire problem of Indo-China.
89.	On the other hand, its activity in the Middle East has been significant, but in the last few months has had to yield to bilateral diplomacy. We note an atmosphere of detente, of lowering of guards, of diminution of tension, and to contribute to that atmosphere we might set some very difficult problems aside for a while. This, of course, does not mean that we will forget them nor that we have solved them; but merely to give breathing space, a precious time in which to study them and also allow the United Nations to contribute, with its prestige and its peacemaking resources, to their ultimate solution.
90.	Obviously, it still holds true that the golden rule to be applied in the solution of all international problems is direct negotiation, and in these cases, with the assistance of the United Nations. Certain situations cannot be improvised, we cannot artificially create states of mind, but we can yearn for those periods when, carried by the favorable breezes of history, the United Nations played a pioneer role in many of the fields of international relations, and, with its faith and its spirit, spurred on the crusade for peace and economic and social development, and was felt in the farthest corners of the world.
91.	Among the different causes for the weakness of the United Nations, some political and even academic circles in many developed countries, point to the imbalance between real power and the number of States; that is to say, the majority decisions on the one hand, with majorities composed generally of smaller States, and strength or power on the other primarily an economic strength but also military power. This judgment defines the measure of the problems of the international community in terms of Realpolitik and the traditional balance of power. Yet, neither Realpolitik nor that balance of power inspired the Charter, except where the first left its imprint on the structure of the Security Council. But the United Nations was conceived along certain progressive lines of international law, such as the legal equality of States, cooperation with the international community, the peaceful settlement of disputes. Other principles, such as justice, although mentioned, did not hold sufficient sway. Yet the field was left open for work to be done in the reorganization of the international community through the principles of true distributive justice. Thus, the Declaration of Principles Governing the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor, and the Subsoil Thereof, beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction [resolution 2749 (XXV)} and the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade [resolution 2626 (XXV)] constitute important milestones. They can perhaps be improved upon--they may perhaps be strengthened in terms of trade relations and of the new regime of the oceans.
92.	International law must necessarily establish a single yardstick for international relations, and it responds to the process of humanization of all institutions, as well as the growing process of rationalization. Within this process, to
surrender to Realpolitik and balance of power is tantamount to abandoning the process of humanization and rationalization, and therefore means surrendering the long- range interests and the projections for the future to the petty interests of the moment. In domestic law great efforts and significant progress have been made in the curbing of power. In the international field, although belatedly, these efforts show the progressive line of the development of mankind and can only be achieved through a legal order based on principles that rest on the concept of humanization and rationalization. Of course, peace and security are basic values in this entire picture, but as we progress along those lines, it becomes obvious that true peace can only rest on justice and that the type of justice that must govern international relations is proportionate justice which the ancients termed 'distributive justice'.
93.	Obviously we cannot in a few years expect to change the habits and views of centuries and traditionally we have considered expediency from the unilateral and short-range view of each State. The type of society created by science and technology has changed the systems of traditional interests and we have come to an interrelation of all of them. However, we still measure and judge our relations on the basis of the old models, thus international activity, and in particular that of international organizations, is sadly unbalanced when confronted by the realities of the present-day world. With its undeniable weaknesses, the United Nations is an irreplaceable instrument allowing the international community to rationalize its relations, to enable new principles of distributive justice to gain ground, and to base peace and security on concrete foundations, not simply on the inert maintenance of the status quo ante. It would be deplorable for us to surrender to those who still survive from the period when the rights of States coincided with their strength. Traditionally, men have always sought a better city than that in which they live, and the passage of time has proved that that sought-after city is not one of dreams, but the one that becomes reality in the course of time. Therefore, we must not yield to the past or to the vices of the present, we must look to the world-city, built on the control of power, the true understanding that peace
it	and prosperity are one and indivisible, and that there are obligations derived from sharing this planet-earth.
94.	As the United Nations increases its membership, it is merely following the lines drawn by its Charter, be these new Members great or small; it is gradually achieving universality and putting to work all the peoples of the world together. Right is not measured by might and it is to be hoped that, in the world concert, Governments will carry out the difficult and laborious apprenticeship of rationalizing their decisions, which does not mean that they need ignore their own interests, but rather that they should discern the existence of common and long-range interests that must prevail over the immediate ones. The weakness of the United Nations does not lie with the increasing number of its Members, many of them extremely small, but with the fact that it has allowed the policy of balance of power to replace the policy of collective security, and that it has been satisfied with programs of economic and social development conceived somehow within the old concepts that recent history has shown to be insufficient or inadequate. The developed countries have refused to make the change to make of development a truly common undertaking and to consider the development of other countries as an international and national objective, on the understanding that, even from the standpoint of economic interests, the development of the third world will increase the prosperity of the developed countries themselves.
95.	The executive power of the United Nations lies with the Security Council, but the Council is paralyzed because the policy of balance of power has replaced the policy of collective security; in it, it is the lowest common denominator that is sought by voiding resolutions of any significant sections and using oracular language which allows of contradictory interpretations and can thus satisfy even the most opposed interests. And thus has been created a new irt in the drafting of resolutions which touch on all possible points but have carefully built-in curbs. This art might be praiseworthy if it led to a solution of the problems; but not only do the problems persist, but, what is worse, they become aggravated.
96.	With regard to the increase in the membership of certain bodies of the United Nations, we must point out that, although this does respond to the desire for greater representation and is thus very valuable, we cannot see in it the panacea that will revitalize all these organs. Thus, the proposal to raise to 54 the number of the members of the Economic and Social Council is important since it would make that Council more representative and would establish the balance between its composition and the number of Members of the United Nations, which in the last years has increased considerably. But the Economic and Social Council can be invigorated only by the will of its Members; and we ought not to try to invigorate it at the expense of activities which are being carried out by other bodies of the United Nations, such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development fUNCTADJ. We can quite justifiably fear that the transfer of competence from UNCTAD to the Council may decrease ks effectiveness, since UNCTAD is an organ of the United Nations with exclusive competence, with true specialization, and it is largely due to this that it can render services to the international community. To transfer these powers to a Council that has a very wide competence, might reduce those powers and water them down. If the price of the increase of membership of the Economic and Social Council is to water down the specific and specialized activities of UNCTAD, my Government would not be ready to pay that price.
97.	The twenty-fifth session of the United Nations was very significant because of the declarations adopted. At least some of them have blazed new trails in the history of international relations: the Strategy for the Second Development Decade, the Declaration on the principles on the sea-bed, the Declaration on the Strengthening of International Security [resolution 2734 (XXV)] and the resolution on basic principles for the protection of civilian populations in armed conflicts [resolution 2675 (XXV)].
98.	But the twenty-sixth regular session of the General Assembly is one in which the United Nations might well take a new tack in specific areas. It may well be that, at the present session, for the first time in the history of the United Nations, the first concrete steps towards disarmament may be taken, in this case as far as biological weapons are concerned, because what has occurred thus far with all
the treaties that deal with armaments is that none of them has been truly one of disarmament but only preventive agreements to stop the build-up of potential arms, therefore their scope has been very limited, and they all fall within the framework of the policy of the balance of power. This is the year of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on Namibia and this, too, is a milestone in the treatment of decolonization.
99.	The achievements of the United Nations in economic, social and legal questions are undeniable. Of course, this does not free the United Nations of its political responsibilities, particularly with regard to peace and security.
100.	The trend to justify the United Nations for its technical achievements is questionable, although I would not want to underestimate their importance. But the United Nations was not created as an entity to solve technical problems, but rather to take full advantage of technology to achieve its greatest objectives: peace and security based on development, human rights and distributive international justice.
101.	The famous policy, the International Development Strategy, suffered a set-back in the last few days, and it is precisely the developing countries that have been squeezed between the rivalries and antagonisms of the great developed countries.
102.	We understand the problems of balance of payments, for they are not the monopoly of a few countries; however, the defensive measures of the United States have been extended to the exports from the developing countries and include their first few manufactured goods. Yet the problem of the balance of payments of the United States is not primarily caused by the importing of such merchandise from those countries.
103.	It has been said that one cannot discriminate and that therefore protectionist measures must apply equally to all countries. This argument should be examined in the light of the realities of the international community of today, and among these realities we should stress the following: first, the growing ties among all countries that are becoming partners in a great common undertaking; secondly, a defined policy of international development-United Nations documents, the strategies for the first and Second Development Decades; and thirdly unanimous international agreements and efforts, which take into consideration the particular situation of the developing countries.
104.	Special arrangements arrived at by these countries have never been called discriminatory. On the contrary, they respond to the very normal and reasonable agreement that rules and accords are adapted to the circumstances they are intended to deal with. If there is a world program and a defined program to encourage development, if we even speak of transferring 1 per cent of the gross national product of the developed countries, it is inconsistent to raise tariff barriers to the incipient exports from those countries, when it is through those exports that they are strengthening their economy and paying salaries that will allow them to create their domestic markets and therefore allow the vertical development to which they aspire.
105.	But today's case is not the only one that can be looked at. Any other day it may be another industrialized country, or a war of tariffs might be unleashed or retaliatory measures might be adopted. As developing countries, we wish and we have the right to be protected
the conflicts and problems confronting the developed countries. And in this we do not discriminate, we do not ask for capricious concessions; what we ask for are political coherence and adaptation to the norms of reality. This may soon pass, but it is a tocsin which announces the problem, it is an alarm and should be considered coldly before new decisions are taken by other countries.
106.	My country proposes that the appropriate bodies of the United Nations, without trying to antagonize any country in particular, should examine the specific case of protectionist measures that might be decreed by industrialized countries. Together with other declarations and as a means of ensuring effectiveness for the doctrine of the Development Strategy, it should be proclaimed that the developing countries shall not be affected by such measures and countermeasures adopted by the industrialized countries.
107.	Of course, in order to have a firm starting-point in dealing with world problems, we have to begin with our own home and neighborhood. We cannot act. appropriately in the solution of foreign problems when we overlook those that beset us at home, and we have to begin with our own, that is, by seeking the full potential of each and every country and State. Therefore, if we express an interest in peace and security all over the world, it is because we are ready to seek and establish peace and security on a firm and just bas in our own region.
108.	The preservation of peoples and States today calls for a dynamism and requirements that have been increased by technological society. Only in movement, in the exercise and expression of our wills, can we maintain the health of our political bodies. And today the way in which this domestic consolidation is possible is by understanding and by co-ordinating interests into progressively widening spheres from the sub-region to the region and so to the world, and in the case of my own country from the region of Central America to the Latin American continent and then to world organizations. Without resorting to rhetoric here, we may say that preservation requires movement, the discovery of our own personality, the understanding of other personalities, the establishment of an historic affirmation of our own existence and a recognition of how closely we must work and collaborate with other peoples.
109.	The great word that has polarized wills and rationalized national and international activities is "development". Development is the main component of peace and security and can only be achieved through two major resources which are: negotiation and agreement and a sense of justice in harmonizing the interests of all and in making the fullest use of the products and the benefits of regional and world co-operation. The best way of preserving the international personality of peoples and of preserving their identity lies in their active and responsible contribution in the different geographic, historic and cultural spheres in which they find themselves as a result of many vicissitudes and historical events which they were unable to avoid and cannot reshape.
110.	Although development is intended for these purposes, today it hinges on at least three decisive factors: first, a thorough understanding of all the developing countries without any restrictions based on spheres of culture or geography; second, the creation of great integrated zones, and third, the capacity of the developed countries to understand the problems of the third world as also being their own, in a true perspective of time, history, solidarity and particularly of justice.
111.	For the first factor to express its constructive presence the solidarity of all countries in the developing sphere is required, that is, all those that constitute the so-called Group of 77. The forthcoming meeting in Lima might well be a milestone, not only in restoring understanding among the "77" themselves, but in making it even deeper as a consequence of finding the common character of their interests and the strengthening of negotiations, which is the cement that binds them together. We believe that international agreements must not continue to consider all developing countries as in the same position; they must recognize the relative differences among them and therefore norms have to be established that will give more to those who have less, and therefore carry out that distributive international justice among the third world nations that we call for from the developed countries.
112.	With regard to the programs of integration, it is the firm and definitive opinion of my Government that this is the only way of ensuring decorous survival in this period of accelerated technology. Every day we delay integration means a postponement in meeting the elementary needs of our people and diverts us from enjoying economic and social welfare and the possibility of ensuring our peoples their education and development.
113.	El Salvador knows that it is its mission to integrate with its neighbors. In Central America we have come to the point where new, irrevocable and profound decisions of integration which will have to be made-not only to cover the trade aspects as in the past, but also political, social, and international matters. Experience has taught us that purely economic agreements have been shattered for lack of the political and legal organs of machinery to deal with them. It was nevertheless a useful experience, and for 10 years it allowed the Central Americans to take full advantage of the benefits of horizontal development. But only with vertical development, which increases the productive and consumer capacity of the people, their level of education and their handling of technology, can they keep up with the progress of other countries and regions. Therefore, El Salvador is ready to form part of the Central American community, with all the social, political and economic obligations involved, as a preliminary step to our integration within the Latin American community, and of course with the firm purpose and prospect of organizing responsible spokesmen and participants in efforts with other regions and peoples of the world to strengthen the international community in accordance with the up-to-date terms of the Charter.
114.	The problems of the last few years in the Central American region which, by dint of slow and patient effort, are being smoothed out through direct contacts will show a completely different picture of the Central American community.
115, The sorrows, the anxiety and all the sequels of harm that were left behind by discord and in general the loss of perspective in international relations, lead to reflection and to the understanding of the situation, and therefore ineluctably we are taught by history that we have mutual respect, justice and a reasonable understanding of the interests of the parties concerned.
116 Within that completely new dimension of the Central American community, which for political, geographical and sentimental reasons must include the sister republic of Panama, El Salvador feels constrained in this forum to speak up in solidarity with the legitimate aspirations of the people of Panama that the Canal Treaty signed in 1903, be renegotiated on a more just basis which will recognize the full sovereignty of Panama over all its territory, and we trust that such claims will be heard by the great Power which, in accordance with the wise declaration of its historic leaders, finds its raison d'itre not only in liberty but also in law and justice.
117.	With regard to the dependence of development on the understanding of the great countries, we have made some progress but we are far from having met with the true awareness that, in promoting the development of all the regions of the world, the super-industrialized nations are also promoting their own development. In this field the work of the United Nations has been significant since it allows this and other problems to be defined, permits their continued study and the establishment of organs and machinery for global negotiations. The dismantling of UNCTAD would be an obviously backward step in the programs of the United Nations and would be the greatest setback that the developing countries might suffer.
118.	The United Nations is about to adopt decisions which will have a great impact on the immediate future of the international community. It could be hoped that the effectiveness of the considerably delayed principle of universality might be carried out without exclusions or reprisals or, in other words, what it gains on the one hand, it should not lose on the other, or to speak more specifically, my Government believes that we should preserve the representation of the Republic of China in the United Nations for it is one of the realities of the contemporary world.
119.	The admission of Bahrain, Qatar, Bhutan and Oman was fully supported by us. To these new Members and to their representatives we offer the best expressions of friendship of the people and Government of El Salvador. Their presence confirms the universal vocation of the United Nations. We trust that we will be able to work with these new Members of our Organization on the basis of the greatest cordiality and in full co-operation.
120.	In brief, El Salvador reaffirms its unshakable purpose to contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the Charter and the establishment of an increasingly interdependent international community, motivated by a feeling of impregnable solidarity and with a vocation for justice as the basis for peace and security.